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Post by Phalon on Jan 1, 2018 8:39:49 GMT -6
And a happy and healthy new year to you too, Katina!
Oh, no, no, no. It's gotta be better....politically, weatherly...grammatically.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jan 2, 2018 0:32:02 GMT -6
Yeah. If I didn't have a calendar, or any other way to know it's a new year, I'd never have noticed any difference.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 19, 2018 7:55:54 GMT -6
Is it too early? Though I know that there are many who are in the full-swing of the Christmas spirit already, it seems like it's early for me - I've always been a one-holiday-at-a-time type person, and usually don't start even thinking about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Hubs though, brought it up yesterday when he said, "Where are we going to put the tree?"
Christmas for us is so up in the air right now. The plan was that we'd do Thanksgiving here, and Christmas down in Indiana; LX wanted to host her first the big family Christmas celebration in the house where they were staying. They never moved in completely though, and now that they are both working in Detroit, Indiana is out of the picture. Right now, the Boyfriend's employer is still putting them up in a hotel, though they hope to be in an apartment by Christmas, and she still wants to have the family Christmas celebration there. If not, we'll have it here...even if we don't, we'll still put up the tree and decorations. But like Hubs said, "where?"
Everything just happened so fast, and on short notice. They were moving to Indiana; the Sunday morning they were moving, the Boyfriend got the call to ask if he wanted the month-long job in Detroit. They took some of their things to Indiana, and what he needed to work for a month, they took to Detroit. The rest of it is still in our house - in the front room, the back room off the living room, a bedroom, in the garage, and in the basement. Who knew a one-bedroom apartment could hold enough stuff to end up so spread out in a 22,000 sq. ft three level house! The month-long job was extended when the company that he's working for got another contract, and LX's weekend trip to visit, turned into a week, then two and three, and then she got a job there. They took a quick trip to Indiana this past week, picked up the little bit of stuff they had there, brought some of it back here, and took some of it back to Detroit. They are still living out of suitcases in a hotel...which means most of their belongings are still here. Getting into an apartment, realistically I think, is going to take some time (probably longer then either of them wants or expects it'll take) - which is the same problem they first ran into this summer when they were looking to rent in Detroit; many of the places they were looking at require three-months employment in the area before they'll rent to anyone.
The best plan seems to be while they're here for Thanksgiving, to move everything into our basement, except the furniture, which would be difficult to get down the narrow, steep stairs...and then back up the stairs when they are ready to (finally!) get it out of here. Their furniture we could move to the back room off the living room, and at least clear out the front room which is where we've put up the Christmas tree for the past few years.
It's all very chaotic seeming right now, but just like I do with holidays, gotta just think about one thing at a time. Right now, that one thing is getting my greenery for the Holiday Market this weekend. Oh, two things! I need to get groceries for Thanksgiving! And a million other things I need to get done in the next couple of days!
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 19, 2018 15:21:29 GMT -6
I don't decorate. It's just me, and there's no place to put a tree anyways. Mom made me a tree with hangers, garland and lights, so sometimes I get that out. I got it out last year and put on the nightstand in my room. It's still there. I only need to plug it in this year.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 22, 2018 7:37:10 GMT -6
Oh, I remember that cute little tree! You posted a picture of it once.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 23, 2018 0:35:04 GMT -6
Yeah. I also posted videos so others could make the tree as well.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 23, 2018 0:39:30 GMT -6
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Post by Phalon on Nov 25, 2018 8:28:24 GMT -6
Whew! The first weekend of the Holiday Market was yesterday, and I sold-out! The arrangements all went first, and I ended up taking orders for next weekend. I had just a few berry bundles and mixed greenery bundles left on my table for the last couple of hours, and those sold too before the end of the market.
It's always such a toss up though - do I make more than I had this week for next week? Even if I make the same number of things, will they sell, or was this past weekend a fluke? There have been a couple of years when I had a lot left at the end, which isn't bad necessarily, because I can donate them to the Humane Society - they have their big Holiday Home tour and sale at their resale shop the Sunday after. It's just a lot of work though....and looking at the forecast, today is my only shot to get out to the nursery to cut more boughs and berries; it's supposed to snow every day this week.
Still not quite in the holiday spirit full-throttle yet, but getting there.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 27, 2018 6:28:20 GMT -6
It spat rain and ice, but I'm soooo glad I spent the time on Sunday to go to the nursery and get all my boughs and berries cut, and then the extra time at home to get them packed in the shed in buckets of water. Being in the shed won't keep the water from freezing, but it'll keep them from getting covered in snow....which we have a lot of now, with more on the way!
I also on Sunday, made a nice big arrangement for the front porch and a wall basket to hang above the mailbox next to the front door. Though I didn't have time to get the lights up yet, it's beginning to look like Christmas is on its way.
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Post by Mini Mia on Nov 27, 2018 17:38:59 GMT -6
In a week or two, I will need to buy candy for Santa's sacks. They get passed out after the Christmas program. They used to have the program at Christmas time, but the last few years they have it the week before. I wait so late because I also add fruit to the sacks, and I get them last minute. I'll probably have the store order the fruit sometime next week. I also have to gather up the Christmas cards and bundle them up to be handed out that night. I inherited these jobs from Mom, plus having to take care of the Sunday School money. I'd pass the jobs off to others, but we're down to under 20 showing up for SS. And just a few more come in for Church. We've been this small before, I kind of like it on the small side, less in-house bickering.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 29, 2018 6:43:48 GMT -6
Oh! That sounds fun, Joxie - packing bags full of goodies! I could see myself going overboard, decorating the bags, putting little notes inside, tying them with ribbons and such. I always loved when the girls were in elementary school and they'd have classroom parties on the various holidays throughout the school-year; parent participation was always welcomed. I had it easy - the girls are far enough apart in age so that by the time BP started elementary school, LX was in middle school where they don't have parties. My Mom though, was "Room Mother" all throughout the seven years of elementary school (including kindergarten) for both my brother's classroom and mine - we were only a grade apart, and she'd have to run back and forth from one class to another during school parties, sometimes across the entire building (it was a big school). I liked that she was "Room Mother" but never fully appreciated how much work she put into it until I was older, and saw her do the same for my other brother's classes (he was six years younger than me).
I'm sure the people who get the bags and cards appreciate all the work you put into it.
It's similar with the Holiday Market. Everyone keeps telling me that I should do the bigger ones, but I like that the one I do is on the small side. A lot of the vendors, just like me, have been coming since the beginning. I only see these people once a year for these two weekends, but it's like seeing old friends - we all spend a lot of time chatting and catching up during the lulls in customers.
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Post by Phalon on Nov 30, 2018 7:58:10 GMT -6
I put the tree up yesterday evening - not decorated; we'll do that this weekend, when the kids come in. It's such a pain to put up though, I figured I'd get it done beforehand, and while I was doing that Hubs took all my buckets of greens and berries from the shed into the garage, so they'd be thawed enough to me to work with today.
I did just a bit of decorating around the house too. I didn't get everything out just yet, but put a few things here and there, one of which was the tabletop tree that I decorated with Mom's Christmas cookie cutters that I strung with ribbon last year. It's on the side table next to the couch, and after Hubs and BP went to bed, I turned off all the lights except the ones on the little tree. Although it's not the big tree, I just love the way the room looks with only the glow of a lit Christmas tree.
Today, I make centerpieces for the market tomorrow- an all-day ordeal. I'd better get moving so it doesn't turn into an all-day and into the night ordeal.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 2, 2018 9:32:00 GMT -6
Whew! The Holiday Market is done for another year! I didn't do as well yesterday as I did last week; nobody did - there just weren't as many customers due to the rain, (we were all guessing). There's such a warm feeling of camaraderie among the vendors though, it makes it all a ton of fun, customers or not. And the customers that did brave the cold rain to venture into the market were very chatty; despite the crappy weather, it was a very festive atmosphere.
I knew though, that I was taking a risk making a lot more basket arrangements than I did the previous week - and I've only got three left, two porch-sized ones, and a big wall basket. Since I don't like the way the arrangement I've got out there now looks - it's too tall, and looks out of proportion - I'll use these on the porch, and put the tall one that's on the porch now, next to the bench in the garden. I've got a few mixed bundles left of greenery and berries too - with those, I'll make some nice bouquets. One for a friend, and BP wanted me to make something for her Boyfriend's mom and grandmother. Maybe one for our kitchen table too, minus the spruce and pine - the stuff that triggers my allergies if I'm around it too long!
We decorated the Christmas tree when I got home yesterday, all pretty and glowy - but minus LX's ornaments, and the tree definitely doesn't look as full without them (with them, it's hard to find a branch without an ornament). She unpacked the box and looked at them all, but packed it back up, leaving the box here when they left last night. They have an appointment to look at another apartment on Tuesday, still hoping to be in one by Christmas. They were again denied the apartment they wanted this summer -the one that the landlord screwed them over, but it was the apartment LX really wanted. Keeping my fingers crossed for them on the one they see this week!
With the Holiday Market done and out of the way, I can begin the Christmas shopping! I'm excited - got lots of ideas already!
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Post by stepper on Dec 2, 2018 21:07:40 GMT -6
Glad you had a good time with the Christmas Market. But I have to admit I'm surprised LX opted to delay putting up her ornaments. I get it - she wants to put them up on her tree in her own place if that's possible. She could have put up a couple of them for mom though. Our tree is up with all the necessary decorations - and the outside is done too. I have a couple of the inflatable displays and I guess it influenced one of the neighbors as they have a snowman up this year. I’ve seen several yards with displays this year instead of just lights on the house - guess I'm not the only fan. I'm having trouble with gifts this year - we're all older and simply don't need "stuff". Rounds of golf, and Red Lobster gift cards will figure in prominently this year.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 3, 2018 10:54:43 GMT -6
Honestly, I'm glad she didn't put any on the tree. If they do get in an apartment before Christmas, I can see myself forgetting the ones on the tree, and then of course, I'd hear about it - like every year I hear about the toilet paper roll. When you have kids, from daycare age all through elementary school, Moms get handmade ornaments. And we cherish them, so even though the ornaments I've given LX through the years aren't on the tree, I've got lots of special ornaments the girls made (one of my favorites is a green bulb with a tiny white hand-print on it - each of the fingers has a carrot nose, button eyes, top hat, and red scarf drawn on with a Sharpie by the teacher; the handprint is BP's when she was two and in daycare). One of these handmade ornaments though, that has been missing for a number of years, is a toilet paper roll painted green with lots of glitter globbed all over it that LX made when she was also about two - and every year that it hasn't been on the tree, I've heard about it, and have been accused of purposely "losing" it (granted it was one that always hung toward the back of the tree) despite my objections that I did no such thing. But guess what?!!! I actually found it yesterday when I was rummaging through a box of seldom put out Christmas decorations - I left it in the box, but should dig it out again, and text her a 'see, told you so' photo. (or mail it to her in creepy-@ss doll fashion) You trend-setter, you! You don't see many of those inflatables around here - maybe a few, but I'm thinking the weather we get makes them impractical; if not covered in snow and ice, they'd probably rip apart in the ferocious wind off the lake. There are a lot of wooden displays though - a couple of my favorites in the neighborhood are made from old winter "toys". One around the corner from us, is a set of antique wooden cross-country skis standing on end with the tips crossed in the air, with a ski pole as a cross bar - kind of like in the shape of an artist's easel, like an "A". They hang a big decorated wreath over the crossed tips. The other one is similar, but made from a long sled with runners (we used to have a sled just like it that fit all of us kids piled on top of Dad); ice skates and greenery hang from this one. I wonder if one house got the idea from another - both of these displays have been out at Christmas for a number of years. I have to get my porch done and the lights up today - snow is in the forecast for the rest of the week. I do a lot of those kinds of gifts too, and I like to get creative with them, especially for Hubs, who like you said, I've had trouble finding gift for in the past because he doesn't need stuff or if he does, gets it for himself...often just before Christmas! For the past few years I've arranged outings for us as his gift, and it's worked out really nice - the private Michigan Stadium tour with Xena Sis and her Hubs; the hockey game, last year we went to a Kansas concert. We've always had a lot of fun. This year I'm booking a craft beer breweries tour - there's a company up in Grand Rapids (considered Beer City, USA and the Best Beer Town because of all its microbreweries). It sounds fun - they take you on a tour of three different breweries (I had to consult a friend on which three to choose; her and her Hubs are all into craft beers), you get four samples at each, get to talk with the brew master, and get a behind-the-scene tour of each brewery. "Time" magazine had a Special Edition last month all about the history of beer which gave me the idea; I'll wrap the tour tickets with the magazine. I'm also doing a tour for LX and the Boyfriend. I asked them when they were here this weekend how much exploring they've done of Detroit - the city has some wonderful museums, and a ton of history. They haven't really gone anywhere, trying to scrimp and save every penny. I found this tour company which gets fantastic reviews, and has a number of really fun-sounding and off-the-wall tours offered; I'll get them a gift certificate, and let them pick which tour they want: www.detroithistorytours.com/shop/When the neighbor kids were school-aged, I'd get them family passes to the movie theater in town, or the ski-skating rink. The kids are all in college though, so for the past couple of years, I've done gift certificates at different local restaurants. Then are a few people that I make donations in their name to causes and organizations that they believe in - the Sierra Club, the Humane Society, etc. I've been mulling this over for more than a week, but this year - and I don't know if this would be weird or not - I want to take the money I'd use for these different donations, and make one larger donation directly to the Paradise California School District. This really tugs at my heartstrings - not only do these kids have to deal with losing everything they owned and are living in cramped temporary shelters, eight out of the nine schools in the Paradise area were completely destroyed in the wildfire. In some sort of semblance of normalcy, makeshift schools started today: www.apnews.com/721ec44366614665972fc3df42b6196b
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 3, 2018 15:23:11 GMT -6
You should put the toilet paper roll on the tree and say nothing. Let her find it herself. I think that would be the best surprise of the holiday for her. You should try and video it for safe keeping.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 6, 2018 8:39:56 GMT -6
Oh, that would have been perfect!! Still don't know though, where we're celebrating Christmas this year; they might not be back here for her to see it. I did text her a close-up of it on the tree - I don't know how she could tell where it was positioned exactly, except for maybe the corners of others ornaments around it, but her response was 'Aw, and it's right in front too!!!' (along with a plethora of smilies and hearts). I moved it from the front to the window-side of the tree after I took the photo - I'll have to remember to move it back to the front if they come here for Christmas!!!
The house is all festive looking - the porch is decorated, the front room, living room, and kitchen are decorated; was thinking about even putting a nice greenery and berry bouquet on the vanity in the bathroom downstairs too - I definitely have enough leftovers to make one, but it's all in the brush-pile, covered in snow, and digging through it is something I don't feel like doing just yet. Maybe later.
All the other bouquets have been delivered, and I made up a nice big one in a blue, gallon Mason jar (it was Mom's - I've saved all the blue ones) on the kitchen table.
Had our Weekly Winter Coworker Coffee Klatch the other day, which after this week, will be missing one of our members - he and his hubs are doing the snowbird thing this year, spending the winter in California and Arizona. Going to miss him; he's always too much fun. He gave me a loaf of pumpkin bread his hubs made, and if it's anything like the lemon pound cake Crazy Cheryl gave me, I've got to get it out of here! OMG, that pound cake was sooo dense, and sooo good, I found myself taking a nibble here and there, and before I knew it, I'd eaten half of the loaf myself in just two days!
I stopped in at one of the boutiques downtown (carrying the pumpkin loaf in one hand like a pizza because I didn't quite know what to do with it after he gave it to me - my car was parked on the other side of town); I had a partial gift certificate left from last Christmas, and wanted to get a festive sweater for a writer's group gig we've got tomorrow; we are reading at the senior center. I put the loaf on the counter, offering it to the sales woman, who I know has a sweet tooth. She was tempted, but is on a gluten-free diet now and I had no idea of the pumpkin bread is gluten-free. She gave me a great idea though - why not take it to a holiday party or gathering? Perfect! I'm supposed to bring cookies to the senior center gig tomorrow, and cookies/pumpkin bread - what's the difference? I suppose I'll have to taste-test it before tomorrow, just to be sure it's acceptable to share, ya know.
I've got to get a package to the post office today - not one I'm mailing, but one that was delivered here yesterday. WTF? The address is not even remotely close to ours - not a single number in the address matches, and it's an entirely different street not in this neighborhood. It has me just a bit concerned - this was delivered by a mail-truck, not the carrier that walks his route (who routinely delivers our mail to the neighbor's house, and their mail here, btw). I saw the truck through the window, drive up in front of our house, turn around on the side-street kitty-corner, then drive off. Makes me think there was actually something to be delivered here, and he just grabbed the wrong package from the truck. I've got Christmas gifts already ordered on-line, and wondering if one of them ended up at a different address.
What would the season be without a snag or two?
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Post by Phalon on Dec 6, 2018 13:38:33 GMT -6
BOLL! OMG, I'm such a dork!
So I took it back to the post office, explaining it was delivered to the wrong address, and the address on the label wasn't ours; it didn't even have our name on the box. The post office lady, who has been there for years and years, and knows me by name, points out our address on the box, "This is where you live, yes?" Uhm, yeah.
BP had purchased something from Amazon. The part of the label I was looking at read "Shipped from Amazon" and "Ship to such-and-such" address - which was the post office address! BP's name and our address was much further down the label (and in tiny print, I have to say).
She got a big kick out of my mistake. So did the guy behind me - luckily, he was the only other customer in the building!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 6, 2018 19:10:42 GMT -6
Life sometimes has a way of keeping you humble ... or humiliating you to no end. Write it down and keep it for a memoir for your family one day.
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Post by moonglum on Dec 7, 2018 2:14:47 GMT -6
Ah....senior moments! They come earlier and earlier these days. Mind you.....Vox was panic-stricken. "We've run out of milk. Where did it all go, there was six cartons in here yesterday." I walked over and looked over her shoulder. "You're right! Have you, mmm, looked in the new fridge. You know, the fridge where we keep the milk?" And that's when the fight started.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 7, 2018 8:31:13 GMT -6
HA! Poor Vox, but she's definitely not alone. Hubs was looking for something in the fridge last week and couldn't find it, even though I knew I'd purchased whatever it was at the store recently, and knew I'd used it since - in another senior moment, I now forgot what it was he was looking for. He found "it" when there was something in the fridge that shouldn't have been in there (which I've also now forgotten what is was), and when he put that thing in its rightful place in the cupboard, found there the thing that should have been in the fridge. When I'd put these things away after using them, I'd switched their places. He, of course, couldn't resist teasing me about having a senior moment.
The thing is though, I've done this - and other things like it - many times in the past. Now that I'm older, at least I can use "having a senior moment" as justification!
Speaking of senior moments - I taste-tested the pumpkin bread my friend gave me. I am right to take it to the senior center today. Oh. My. God. It was soooooo good!!! The sooner I get it out of the house, the better off I'll be!
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Post by moonglum on Dec 7, 2018 10:38:51 GMT -6
Senior moments are fine as long as that's how long they last. It's when they last longer, that's when you should start worrying. Mind you, by then you've probably forgotten what it is you should be worrying about!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 7, 2018 19:06:32 GMT -6
You could cut up the bread and freeze it in an "two slices per bag" option, and get out one bag every few months. (I've been watching a lot of 'Large Family Kitchen' videos.)
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Post by Phalon on Dec 8, 2018 8:14:11 GMT -6
Know what's funny? I've had senior moments for years, and technically, I'm not even a senior yet!
It was good to bring it to the senior center yesterday (which turned out to be a lovely program, btw) - it served multiple purposes: 1.) I got it out of the house. 2.) I didn't have to rush to bake anything myself. 3.) Ok, who am I kidding? I wouldn't have baked anything anyway. I didn't have to rush to the store to find something that looked as if it was homemade.
But oh-my-gosh, there were soooo many desserts, there were about four slices of the pumpkin bread left-over at the end of the program. I brought it home (only because it was on a serving dish I didn't want to leave there!), where BP had a piece and declared it "Fire." (teenager to adult translation: kick-@ss, the best, ultimate goodness)
Hoping she'll take care of the rest. The thing about these kinds of holiday treats is that you've got to find someone who will eat them - someone that's not yourself!
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 8, 2018 20:48:09 GMT -6
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Post by moonglum on Dec 9, 2018 3:26:15 GMT -6
Our decorations are going up this weekend. Youngest daughter and partner are putting them up so the 'old fella' doesn't have to climb. Vox asked me to print out our xmas grocery shopping list on friday. We save the list and print it out each year tweaking it as necessary. Well, the second item of 'lektrickery' decided it didn't want to be a printer anymore and promptly turned into a pile of junk. So our xmas list cost £150 and that's before we've actually bought anything on it. Sheesh!
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Post by Phalon on Dec 9, 2018 12:20:13 GMT -6
Joxie!!! You, of all people, should know this is a PG board, and yet you post an X-rated video! That chocolate cheesecake with the whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top - it's pure dessert porn!
Oh! That's such a great idea! (If you have a working printer, that is! First the fridge, then the printer - everything always seems to go at once, doesn't it.) I think I'm going to steal your idea - it seems there's always some ingredient forgotten when cooking those big family meals, and then you've got to send someone out on an emergency grocery run!
I had a bit of fun playing Santa at Walmart yesterday. I hate going to Walmart, and try to avoid it at all costs, but when the Boyfriend was here Thanksgiving weekend, his watchband broke; not wanting to have to go out when they got back to Detroit and buy a new one before work on Monday, he bought a cheap one at Walmart - that didn't fit his watch. He meant to take it back before they left, but I guess he forgot about it - I found it in a bag up in LX's bedroom, and thought I'd do him a favor and return it, and maybe get some stocking-stuffers while I was there (I always put some candy and a few toiletries in the stockings, and have to admit, Walmart has the best prices on this kind of stuff).
The line at the customer service desk where I had to return the watchband was deep, and stretched around the corner from the actual service desk counter. A few people ahead of me was a woman in a wheelchair, not in line, but kind of tucked back out of the way. The line progressed pretty quickly, and it wasn't long before I was almost standing next to the woman, whose companion had just finished being waited on at the counter. She said to him, "Did you remember to get postage stamps?" Apparently he didn't remember, and he started to shuffle back to the end of the line. Oh, my gosh - I'd recognize that shuffle anywhere!
It was Henry, and the woman in the wheelchair was his sister, Phyllis! I haven't seen them in probably 10 years or so, when they lived a few houses down the street from us, except on rare occasions at the grocery store that we no longer have, and usually then it was with a group of seniors being helped by an aide who always seemed too frazzled and rushed for me to stop to talk to the elderly couple for more than a minute or so. Sad story. Henry is a WWII vet, and came back from the war not quite mentally and physically fit, with short term memory loss, and very wobbly on his feet. He can tell you stories from long, long ago - amazing stories of what it meant to be black growing up in rural Michigan, and serve in the war - but he can't always remember some of the basic day-to-day things, and since he can't drive, he'd walk everywhere in town - everyone knew Henry; you couldn't help but know him because he shuffles along so slow, he could tell you (and he did) his life story in the time it took him just to walk down the sidewalk in front of your house; he took two steps backward for every three he took forward. He lived with his older sister Phyllis, his rock, who worked at the hospital, and took care of him. Every Christmas when the girls were little, they'd come by and bring little Christmas gifts to them - I'd always have a tin of chocolate and cookies ready for Henry, (he loved his sweets), and a basket of fruit for the both of them. They were lovely people.
One day, Phyllis fell and broke her hip; the surgery that followed didn't go well, and she's been in a wheelchair since. You'd ask either of them how things were going, if they needed help with anything, and they would both say no, things were just fine. Soon after Phyllis became wheelchair bound though, it became apparent that Henry was getting worse. He became grumpy in conversation when he couldn't remember things, and one afternoon Hubs found him laying in the parkway in front of our house, unable to get up. Worse still, was after all those years of Phyllis taking care of Henry, Henry could not take care of Phyllis. Social services were called, found their situation unacceptable, and recommended Henry be placed in a home for the mentally disabled, and Phyllis be moved to assisted living for the physically disabled. Phyllis, bless her, was having none of this; she knew Henry would deteriorate without her. She stuck to her guns, and they were moved to an assisted living apartment for the both of them.
When I saw them yesterday, aside from her hair being white instead of black-streaked-with-gray, Phyllis has not aged a bit. The same cannot be said of Henry - he's a little old man now, quite shrunken from the portly gent with the sweet tooth who used to shuffle down our street. He knew me right away, asked about Hubs and the girls, and everyone on our street from the old days - he might have forgotten the simple short-term instructions to get stamps while he was in line, but his long-term memory still seemed sharp. We had hugs all around, and a bit of catch-up conversation before I told Henry to stay with Phyllis, and I'd buy their stamps for them, just a tiny Christmas present. A nice gentleman behind me in line pulled over a bench that was against the wall near-by for Henry to sit on next to Phyllis while they waited. More hugs were exchanged when I gave them the stamps, and I asked if they had time for lunch to chat longer (there is a McDonald's in the Walmart); unfortunately, the senior bus that brought them there was on its way back and they couldn't stay. More hugs before they left.
I'd love to get a tin of cookies and chocolates, and a fruit basket to take to them at the assisted living place where they live for Christmas, but very shamefully, I don't know which one - there are more than a few of them in the area. Looks like I'll have to do some detective work this week.
After I left Henry and Phyllis, I had to go back to the store's entrance to get a cart so I could start my shopping. Outside the door, standing in the cold and wind, was the Salvation Army bell-ringer, who'd I rushed by when I first came in more than half and hour prior, wanting to get my Walmart experience over and done with as quickly as possible. I'd say the man had to be frozen stiff, except he was moving - stamping his feet and blowing into his gloved hands in probably what was a vain attempt to keep warm. I stuck my head out the door, and asked if he wanted something to eat from McDonald's. "No, Ma'am, but I sure wouldn't mind a hot cup of coffee." Black, with four sugars - just like he'd requested, and piping hot. I put change from the coffee in his bucket, and was happy to see it was full, and that he wasn't standing out there in the cold for nothing; I had to cram the few dollars I had into the slot.
Yanno...the price of a book of postage stamps, a cup of coffee, and a few dollars for charity is not much at all. It's barely anything, but the personal exchange I had with these people while doing these things, really made my day, and I was more in the Christmas Spirit than when I first drove into the parking lot, dreading stepping foot in Walmart. Not too bad of a Walmart Experience after-all.
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Post by Mini Mia on Dec 9, 2018 21:42:49 GMT -6
You know, that's what this holiday is supposed to be about, giving. Somehow it became about getting.
Sheesh! You got me there for a second. I thought maybe the video had been replaced with something else. That has happened with hot linked images before. Not sure if it can happen with YouTube videos though.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 10, 2018 8:42:59 GMT -6
Didn't mean to scare you, but hhhhmmmm....payback in exchange for all those times you got me with those screaming Halloween videos? Speaking of Halloween in the Christmas thread...back when I was doing my Halloween Movie Marathon, the Hallmark Channel and similar channels were airing those one-plot-fits-all Christmas movies. I usually avoid these types of movies because, basically, if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. I watched one of these made-for-TV movies last week though that was better than typical - "A Perfect Day" stars Rob Lowe and Paget Brewster, which is the only reason I watched it; I like Paget Brewster. Lowe is a struggling writer who suddenly becomes successful and struggles to cope with instant fame, which leaves his young (the movie is over 10 years old) wife (Brewster) and child on the fringes, and largely ignored by Lowe. Good up until a point, but the ending is back to the one-size-fits-all plot. Last night, I watched another made-for-TV Christmas movie - it's hard to believe I've never seen it before - it was made in 1991. "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" stars Ed Asner, Charles Bronson, and Richard Thomas (John-boy from the Waltons). The movies plays very, very - extremely - loosely with the facts surrounding the famous, most re-printed editorial in history; aside from their names, the characters little resemble the people on which they were based, and the events leading up to the writing of the 1897 editorial are probably fictitious. It's a wonderful movie though, I think, and is one I'm adding to my must-see seasonal favorites. Here's the famous editorial on which it's based, still relevant 120 years after it was written: www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-virginia/
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Post by stepper on Dec 10, 2018 18:07:30 GMT -6
I missed it, but had I known it was on I would have watched it. I saw it several years ago and I agree that it was worth watching. Seems that every couple of years someone I know is surprised to find out that the story is based on fact, and of course the shows HAVE to quote the newspaper article which is a wonderful piece. IIRC, in the TV movie Prancer Sam Elliot reads the Virginia article to the girl who plays his daughter - it's her favorite Christmas story.
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