Black Friday Indeed

From today's much earlier post. I mentioned I had gotten up too early, and was going back to bed. I did. To my OTHER bed. The futon in the living room. I turned on Fox News and went to sleep. It was lovely. I woke up hungry, so I ate some stuffing with a touch of gravy on it. And went back to the futon again. When I awoke the second time, imagine my horror to see that Fox had reporters in mauls, reporting on Black Friday.

Now, I like to walk around in flea markets, junk stores, and antique shops, but I cannot ABIDE the whole MAUL scene. And this horseshit of Black Friday shopping just turns my stomach. I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would subject themselves to hoards of pushing and shoving people, general parking nightmares, and sitting in traffic for a 29.99 DVD player. I mean some people are SERIOUS about their Black Friday shopping 'plan'. They have it all mapped out, whos getting what gifts, what store has what special when, the time they can break...I mean the whole ball of wax. Some women make it a family bonding experience, where grandmothers, mothers and daughters go to the Maul on Black Friday. Hmph. Whatever floats your family boat, I suppose. The Momster and I both recoil in horror at the Black Friday concept. Oh my goodness know.

I did go to Lowe's today. After unwrapping myself from the quilt, I thought I'd better to something today besides clean up the leftovers. So I did all the dishes, cleaned the stove and sink (ooh sparkling!!) Showered, then trundled off to Lowe's. I needed to get the plastic film to put over the windows here at the Ranch. It cuts down on the breeze, and actually provides a little barrier to the cold. JUST A LITTLE. I also bought some weather stripping cord, and 2 cans of that cool foam that you shoot in the cracks and it swells up and seals it tight. I realize that these measures are akin to a bandaid on a bullet wound, but hey. It makes me feel better, anyway. And just for a little self abuse, I bought 10 gallons of kerosene to dump in the fuel tank til Tuesday when I can phone in an order for more oil. Anyway, I've been told that running some kero thru the furnace isn't a bad thing.

So Lowe's was only a little nuts. The cashiers were as nice as ever, and the guys on the floor very helpful. It's a new Lowe's and it's pretty damn big, so I tend to wander and forget what I'm there for. At least I can tell the nice men on the floor what I think I'm looking for, and they direct me very well. I did get the Momster one in a series of Lowe's gift cards. Come Spring, she haunts Lowe's garden center, brandishing a wad of gift cards. (The anal retentive gardner neighbors give her a Lowe's GC every year too, in hopes she'll tame her wild garden and yard. But her wild garden and yard is a beautiful thing just the way it is. Someday perhaps the anal retentive neighbors will realize that.) So now I can say, "I started my Christmas shopping...." lol....I might do some shopping on the road trip, and then it'll be all done. I'm graced with hardly any family (Momster) and few close, gift exchanging friends. So it's a damn short list. The cookie giving is where I get off on Christmas giving. And I've gotten to the list portion of that right now. In coming weeks, it'll amplify to epic proportions, and thats a good thing. I promise this year I will not have myself in the grand mal snit as in years past. I'm at least planning it now.

Black Friday my ass.