*Hee hee* Only 12 guns? God, you must be a Coastal....

Someday (like, when I get my oven fixed!), I am sooo gonna invite all of you over for Thanksgiving. Seriously.

This makes me want to kidnap your grandma, and leave them to their own devices. My own grandmothers have passed on- I'd be delighted to borrow yours. (And feed her a meal she DOESN'T have to cook herself!)

Jesus. Your family, other than you grandmother, SUCKS.

Thanks! That Safety Lecture is exactly the reason why I did it so early (the boys are 10 and 7)- it pissed me off, and still does, that *I* had to be the one on the defensive all of the time.

I didn't wait for that- those kinds of changes are too damned slow-moving. After this was first publicized, I actually sat my boys down and we talked, for a very, very long time. Why wait until they're teens? And hell, will there even be a sex ed class for them here, by the time they're that age? (I doubt it. I'm in…

At the time, they were still just Boxing Day sales- not yet with added crazy. (That came later.) But the prices were just stunningly low, for the times, and it wasn't but a few years down the line that people brought the crazy into it, to get that one last item...large groups of shoppers + small quantities of loss…

I know! Just found out about this extravaganza this morning, and have already made a date with Mr. Tractor for it! :D

Nope! And the farther south of the border you go, the more blank looks you get, when you mention it. As I moved, bit by bit, I found that south of Seattle, few people knew; by the time I got to Portland, it was an open-mouthed "Whuh?" I'm in Boise, these days, and NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW what I'm talking about, except…

Either variety: "EWWWWW!"

I hate to say it, but- I think Black Friday is the cheap American knockoff of your Boxing Day. When I was a kid, growing up on the Canadian border, we'd see the ads for the crazy sales for Boxing Day (I still remember reeling over the idea of a VCR for $5 in the late '80's, at a retailer in Vancouver- WILD stuff!).…

You're a really, really good person. They'll appreciate that, so much.

Don't forget the folks at nursing homes and assisted living places, too. When I worked medical dietary cooking in hospitals and the like, our personal faves were gifts of cookies and candy- the kinds that we didn't produce ourselves! So break out the Danish butters and the fudge- we were ALL about it! :)

Oh, hey, I know- we could wear these with an Ugg on one foot, and a Croc on the other. With black socks! But what to wear on top...?

*Giggle* Yup! It's like they're catering to the anorexia crowd...oh, wait. Um, they are.

I was thinking that it was more along the lines of, "Buy these jeans, or our model will be forced to eat this beagle in order to survive." I mean really, am I the only one thinking this poor gal needs a big plate of fried chicken and mashed spuds...? (With extra gravy.)

Asked Thing One and Thing Two what they wanted for Christmas this year. Thing Two said, "A tool kit, with all the tools. Real ones. Like you have." (Meaning a basic tool kit with a hammer, a screwdriver...nothing fancy, just a functional kit for fixing basic stuff.) Thing One smiled, looked off into the distance,…

Whoopie cushions are a must-have. It is known.

Yes, please.

*Hee hee* The main thing that I remember is the bit about how sex just wouldn't be pleasant for any of us gals until we were at least 25.