No scrambling, No trampling

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my aversion to shopping of any kind with the rare exception of hardware stores and garden centers I avoid s-t-o-r-e-s unless absolutely necessary.

So, the idea of ME going out anywhere near any kind of "special deal" "door-buster sale" "hot, hot pricing" is as ludicrous as finding me on a tropical beach basking in the mid-day sun, wearing a string bikini.

Ludicrous.

Several years ago my employer added the day after Thanksgiving as a paid holiday for regular, full-time employees (such as myself.) And even before then I was fortunate to take a vacation day on that day. Historically the day has been filled with outings with the kids, catch-up chores around the homestead, gorging on left-overs. . . in other words, just chilling.

To paraphrase Taylor Swift, never (ever)< did it include getting trampled by or being the one trampling on bargain hunters burning off the turkey with all the trimmings scrambling through the malls of hard knocks.

This Friday will be no exception. Tomorrow we will visit and eat and drink and some of us will repeat the eating and the drinking. And repeat once again. But then it will be Friday and beyond spending a few hours winterizing my mother's apartment, I haven't yet mapped the day. But, I can guarantee . . .

there will be no< shopping.

And speaking of ludicrous, opening stores earlier and earlier on Friday---so early, many are opening later in the evening on . . . Thursday!

Ludicrous.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Peace ♥


   

Snack Packing

A few weeks ago I tried my very first friend Twinkie. It wasn't horrible but it also wasn't a taste sensation I had any desire to re-visit.

And now with the news that Hostess is asking the bankruptcy court to liquidate, Twinkies (and other Hostess brands) being snapped off store shelves, it isn't likely I'll get my hands on the little spongy cake.

And while I'd rather not have the fried Twinkie exploration be my last Twinkie memory, I am not about to get into a bidding war for a box of cakes. Seriously? Hundreds of dollars for a box of mass produced snack cakes?

People are weird.

Prior to a few weeks ago (and the fried Twinkie exploration) I hadn't had a Twinkie in . . . I can't even remember when. I remember having them in my lunch bag on occasion, I remember packing them in my kids lunch boxes every now and then.

Truth be told, Twinkies weren't even in the top 5 of Hostess brand snack packing.

ME:                                THE ACTOR:                THE DAUGHTER:
Suzy-Q                            Apple Pie                       Honeybuns*
Ding Dongs                     Honeybuns*                    Cupcakes
Ho Hos                            Nutty Bars*                    Apple Pie
Cupcakes                      
Sno Ball Cakes              

*Little Debbie Brands

I feel awful that so many workers will lose their jobs due to (by most accounts I've read) bad management. I feel awful that while some of the brands may indeed live on (someday--as the food conglomerates scramble to snap up the more popular snacks) the Hostess bakers likely won't get their jobs back--or at least not anytime soon.

A cursory look-see was executed during Saturday's grocery trip and as I suspected not a Twinkie, Ho Ho, Ding Dong, or Suzy-Q to be found. A similar act will be conducted on my "last minute" shopping excursion sometime over the next couple of days.  I'm not holding on to any hope of finding any of the more popular cakes, especially Twinkies which seem to have grabbed the nation, if not the world, as some sort of beacon to all snack cakes everywhere.

If the fried Twinkie is my last Twinkie experience, then so be it. I'm sure the pumpkin cheesecake on tap for one of Thursday's desserts will serve as a more than adequate Twinkie memory dasher.

Two Days Running

There are many great pairings like chocolate and peanut butter, spinach and mushrooms, cheese and crackers, soup and crusty bread, bacon and . . . well, most anything, to name but a few. Conversely, there are pairings that are not so great, for instance, (any) breakfast sandwich with American cheese, fish on pizza, brussel sprouts and . . . well, most anything.  

I've come to the thoughtful opinion that another not so great pairing has to do with wonder puppy. Wonder...yes, she is that. She is also quite rambunctious. QUITE! And what doesn't pair well with rambunctious puppy is being ill. Especially that brand of ill that involves many instances of emergent . . .needs.

 . . And then there is the other, uhm, emergent need. The one that begins with a rumbling in the tummy. Not the gentle gurgle signaling the need for a bit of food. No, not that. The roiling, bubbling churn signaling that all is about to break loose. . . 

A bug infected Daughter's workplace, some of her co-workers, many of the children, and daughter herself caught said bug and suffered various manifestations. Daughter's version included emissions, an emptying of stomach contents from both ends--two days worth, several days ago.

When the bug caught up with me it meant,  well, let's just say, "thank goodness there is no vomiting" to quote Daughter.

Rambunctious puppy still needed walking, feeding, watering, training, engaging, guidance in burning off as much of that puppy energy as humanly possible. Not only thank goodness there wasn't vomiting, but also, no fever, no body aches (after the first day) and more. I recognize this bout of illness (not quite over but so much better than yesterday and the day before) could have been worse and am grateful it wasn't, for all involved.

On a side note, the flash of brilliance I had of taking rambunctious out for her last walk later (10 p.m) in hopes of her sleeping through (or at least staying sated and relatively quiet) until at least 5 a.m. (she's been rousing at 2:30--3:00 ish most mornings) was doused by the cats--who came tromping through at 3:30 this morning. Buttah, feeling neglected and likely overwhelmed has been sticking to me like glue today and deciding hell or high water he's going to beat this big floppy dog at her own attention getting game.

Wonder Woman Dog

 My daughter wouldn't be my daughter if she didn't dress the dog(s) cats and any other animals (breathing or filled with fluff) in the outfit of the day. On this day (yesterday) Cinnamon appears as the canine equivalent of Wonder Woman®  I wasn't home during the Trick-or-Treat hours but I understand she was the talk of the block. She favored the witches, ghosts, goblins, and more with aerials, flips, and just plain old rambunctious puppy play.

We are learning more and more about her every day. 

For instance, she is not wild about baths. 

Nor about getting her facial hair clipped. 

She does love being outdoors, though not in the rain. I'm anxious to see how she does with snow. And  while there is still some work to do, she's a fun (and loud) puppy dog, who by the way doesn't like getting her facial hair cut. Her face is a little uneven. She is just fine with that.  She is Wonder Dog.