Since I am writing this Tuesday (early deadline this week folks), we haven’t had our family Thanksgiving dinner yet, but I am really looking forward to it.
I love turkey and dressing and cranberries. (and mashed potatoes and green bean casserole and rolls….). It is my favorite meal, but with that enormous amount of calories on the table, it is a good thing it only comes around once a year. More often and I wouldn’t fit through the doors…
We are being hosted by the Thayers this year. These days daughter Lisa, bless her heart, has taken over the preparation of the big dinners. Jack will be making pumpkin pies and I’m hoping Lisa will allow me to help a bit by making something too. And the family crowd is a bit smaller these days too. Most of the family is far from home, or will be attending other festivities.
Times change as we all grow older.
As you are reading this, Thanksgiving is over, as of today (Friday) and another “Black Friday” is here.
That means the Christmas shopping season is officially upon us although the black Friday sales have actually been going on for a couple of weeks now…
According to my calendar, counting today, weekends and Christmas Eve, we now have 25 days left to get the Christmas shopping done and wrap the presents for the big day.
I’ve always wondered why it is called “Black Friday,” so I got on the trusty internet this afternoon and here is what I found – according to Wikipedia:
Black Friday” has evolved in meaning and impact over the years, initially referring to calamitous days, with a notable early instance being Black Friday (1869) in the US. This financial crisis saw a dramatic plunge in gold prices, affecting investors. The term was later used in American retail, starting ambiguously in the 1950s. Initially associated with workforce absenteeism post-Thanksgiving, it was reinterpreted by Philadelphia police to describe the shopping-induced congestion. Attempts at rebranding to “Big Friday” failed, and the term “Black Friday” solidified by the 1980s, referring to the pivotal point where retailers purportedly shifted from loss (“in the red”) to profit (“in the black”). This day marks the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, with promotional sales aiming to draw large crowds. Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States[3][4][5] and retailers prioritize it and Cyber Monday as highly profitable holiday shopping days.[6]Although it hasn’t always been the busiest, Wikipedia says it is now…
Now you know just as much as I do about it all.
Believe it or not, I really have started my Christmas shopping already and have most of it done finished by now, although we don’t buy as much as we used to. With eight grandchildren, most with spouses, and ten great-grandchildren, and both of us retired (well at least Jack is), we just don’t have the available budget for it these days.
And, we just can’t spend too much time on shopping as I would like anymore. The spirit is willing but the stamina just isn’t there anymore.
So, I try to buy or make something special for the great grands each year anyway and a little ornament for every person in the immediate family – that has become my “Christmas tradition.”
When I said I am “mostly” done getting ready for Christmas, you know that means I will probably be finishing up on Christmas Eve as usual… This year it is a couple of themed quilts and a few other things I have in the works in my sewing room so my finishing up may be happening right here at home in my little multi-purpose sewing, office, storage, pantry, 2nd bedroom/guest room here in the “big camper.”
By the way, if you can’t guess, it is a mess.
You know what all that means, I have become an “internet shopper,” and a home crafter at least part of the time, although I still try to buy supplies and other things as much as I can locally…
I send Jack to town for stuff!
