Peter is very shopping-averse. There are few things he dreads more than being dragged to a shopping mall. So when our son Jeremy's shopping website, www.jasmere.com offered some gorgeous pearl jewelry, I persuaded Peter to shop online with me for my holiday gift. He would get a great buy, give me exactly what I wanted, and contribute to the future well-being of our grandchildren, all with the click of a mouse.

However, because I had some questions about the length of the black pearl necklace I wanted, I called the contact number on the website, http://dolmapearl.com/. Even though it was Sunday, a nice woman answered and told me that the owners (her daughters, Shannon and Ashley ages 23 and 25) were at their warehouse and she would call them there, ask my question and call me back before the offer expired the following day.

Sandy told me about her daughters and how they started their online jewelry business. She said she has gone to China with them twice to visit their workers, and that her daughters know all of them by name.

So of course I told her that Jasmere, the site that is featuring her daughters' jewelry, was started a year ago by my son Jeremy. And the love fest began. Her girls think Jeremy is great (despite the fact that they've only met online). I reported to her that Jeremy had told me how much he enjoyed talking to her daughters and how excited they were about being featured on Jasmere.

One phone call—a new necklace and a new friend.