BLACK FRIDAY.... The very words strike terror in the hearts of parents. Thousands rise before sunrise on the day after Thanksgiving Day and head out to the mall, discounts stores and yes, even the discount-discount stores to snag a small share of the thousands of dollars sales offered to kick off the Christmas holiday season.
Normally, I shun the Black Friday shopping frenzy with a deep abiding passion. But this year my daughter was in town from NY where everything costs twice as much so I girded my, er, loins (or a reasonable fascimile) and we sallied forth to see what we could see.
You will of course, be delighted to know that we found everything on our list so we are done! I was very pleasantly surprised to find that we met with no long check-out lines. All cashiers were very nice and helpful. Other shoppers smiled and got along. Overall, it was probably the most pleasurable shopping experience I've had in a long time.
On the other hand, my knees will no doubt take a few days to recover. Right around the tenth time I hauled my carcass up into the truck, they began to protest loudly and by the time we parked at home, the old body had begun to protest as well. I'm glad to be done, but I have to say that I'm not built for marathon shopping and I'm heartily glad to be finished.
For the rest of you--happy shopping!
Anny
When last we left the Saga, Amarinda had cleverly arranged for Matilda to deal with the Red Ranger:
"Sunshine, I am not revealing anything to you." She reached into her glovebox and pulled out at a long silver wand. As a white witch she could only use it in extreme emergencies. Boredom by nerd was close enough. She turned around and gave him her best pissed off hormonal look. "Get out or I turn you into a frog."
His eyes opened wide with fright as he stared past her. "Ah, you have another problem bigger than me."
"What?" The fear in his eyes was too real to be faked. Matilda felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. Only one person gave her that feeling. It couldn't be him surely? Valerio was still in jail. Wasn't he? Matilda turned and saw the face she knew only too well. Holy crap! She knew her vow was no longer safe.
“So, Matilda, whatcha doin’?” Emmeline demanded. “Didn’t you like the movie?”
“What a load of …”
“How rude. I offered to send you a free ticket. I even offered to kick in a coupon for popcorn and soda.” Emmeline paced around the car, opened the door and hopped in. “You may as well take me home.”
“Me? Why should I take you home? Do I look like a taxi?” Matilda waved her wand in Emmeline’s direction. “Out of the car. And take the Red Ranger with you!”
“Listen up! Just because you’re my cousin doesn’t mean that you can boss me around. And I’m not responsible for your losers, especially not the ones in red tights and capes. Where’d you get him—rent-a-ranger?”
Matilda’s lips tightened in irritation. “He’s not mine, loser or winner. And I don’t need caped crusaders aggravating me after watching that swill. Go!”
The Red Ranger sat back and crossed his arms. “I’m not leaving until you fulfill your vow,” he declared stubbornly. “You can’t make me.”
Emmeline stared at Matilda in puzzlement. “What vow?”
“Matilda made a vow and I’m here to make sure she fulfills it.”
“Oh yeah? And who are you, anyway?” She asked.
“I’m Your Destiny!” he growled. “Wanna make something of it?”
Emmeline reared back in astonishment. “Did you just proposition me?” she demanded incredulously. “Did you?”
“You are insane. I wouldn’t proposition you if you were the last woman on Earth! I tell you that I’m here to see that Matilda—”
“Yes, yes, fulfills her vow. So what is the vow?”
Where will Kelly take the Saga on Monday? I haven't a clue. Tune in on Monday to find out. In the meantime, check in at www.amarindajones.blogspot.com for the latest from OZ and then pop over to www.kkirch.blogspot.com to see what Kelly has in store.
Must have been your Zen Queen presence that made all in the shops more amiable. Hmm, when your knees are recovered can I send you my list?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful girls! You must be a proud grandma. So cute.
ReplyDeleteHappy post turkey day, sweetie. I have not shopped for Christmas yet. I'm thinking of how to be thoughtful, considerate of what they want/need, and still keep expenses low. We are seeing ALL the cousins, and both sides of the family. This is going to be a spendy holiday. I wish enjoying each other's company were enough but I know it won't be as we will get the jaundiced eye if we show up empty handed. It, sadly, will be bad as it is just because we aren't spending a fortune on everybody.
You would think we could celebrate the season sans gifts from any quarter just once.
Love the pictures:) Your grandkids look as if they are truly happy to be spending time with Nanna:)
ReplyDeleteGifts that aren't too expensive... Last year I made "memory" books for everybody. I gathered recipes that were special to our family. Used publisher clip art to decorate each recipe. At the bottom I had a section that told about the history of each recipe and where it came from.
ReplyDeleteInterspersed with the recipes I had short stories and Christmas memories that I've written over the years. And then randomly, I printed out "album" pages of photos. Some from when I was a kid. Some from when my kids were little. Old family photos. I made sure that each was dated and identified. Total $$$ per book was $6 (three ring binders and plastic protector sheets) I placed the "pages" back to back, two sheets per protector sheet so that if they wanted to pull the recipe page out to use, it would be protected.
It's a personal book that your girls could help you assemble and help you choose photos, clip art, or they could even draw some pics.
Mine were very big hits. Takes time to make the initial decisions and type one set, but then you just print out and assemble.
I'd rather put a railroad spike through my eye than go shopping - I admire your fortitude. You rule, Anny!
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