It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Spent the morning dusting the music, dining, and TV areas of the living room and putting up the Christmas garlands, wreath, and nativity. It takes me far less time to dust the living room area than it does my bedroom, mainly because there's a lot less stuff out there!

Mom gave me the garlands a few months before I moved. She always puts garlands of fake greenery, ribbons, bows, and strings of beads over the windows at her house, but she'd gotten tired of doing every window in the house over the years and decided to give some of the garlands to me. I can kind of understand her frustration. The garlands are pain in the rear to tack up, but the effect is wonderful when it's finally done. Mom gave me the wreath for an early Christmas present the year I moved. The nativity is dark and somewhat grimy but very old. According to Mom, it was one of the items she got from her mother when SHE moved on her own. She and my stepdad bought a newer, brighter nativity a few years ago and gave the old one to me. It goes on the top of the video drawers.

Called my stepdad right before going to work. He seemed to be all right, maybe because he was the only one at home. Mom and Keefe seemed to have gone to work on the new house. He was watching the New York Giants-Minnesota Vikings game and just kicking back; he's a huge Giants fan. (And ouch - I just checked the score, and it seems the Giants got ripped big-time, 41-17. Poor Daddy! I wanna hug him now.)

(On the other hand, the Eagles are 7-7 at press time against the 10-0 New England Patriots. Just the fact that we actually scored a touchdown against them, in the first quarter, no less, makes me happy even if we don't win.)

Work was pretty much the same as yesterday - steady, long lines only because we were severely short on help. As nice as full-time hours would be all the time, I think only head people and head managers are full time. I think most cashier positions are part-time. Even some of the cashiers who have literally been there for decades are only part-time!

Christmases Come In All Shapes And Sizes

Watched the other two items I received from Linda today, the first Christmas episode of the 1970s Depression-set drama The Waltons, "The Best Christmas," and "Merry Christmas, Bogg" from the early 80s family action show Voyagers!. The Waltons, a Tennessee mountain Depression-era family, want to get together on Christmas Eve for a big family gathering, but a huge blizzard and various crises conspire to keep everyone apart. The entire family does finally make it home...and learns that even when families are apart, they're together.

I'd never seen or heard of the little-known, short-lived Voyagers!, which appears to be a family-oriented cross between MacGyver and Quantum Leap with a history bent. An orphan kid and a soldier of fortune travel across time, righting historic discrepancies and teaching the audience a little about the history of whatever time they're in on the way. In the holiday episode, they help George Washington right before the crossing of the Delaware and aid Samuel Gumphers in the beginning of the American Labor Movement. Exciting, fun, and original, I'm surprised this show didn't last longer but apparently was up against stiff competition, including 60 Minutes.

I headed to work after watching The Care Bears this morning. Work was steady-to-dead, and the lines were only backed up because we were still short on help, thanks to the holidays and scheduling snafus. They actually asked me to stay an extra hour...and I would have, if I hadn't worked so many hours earlier in the week. Turned out I'm at the limit for part-time workers and legally CAN'T work more hours this week!

I dusted my bedroom after I got home, which badly needed it. I usually just dust around the Star Wars action figures and the porcelain dolls and collectible bears on the top of the closets, but I actually did under them today...and boy, were they dusty! I can't remember the last time I cleaned under them. I'll do the living room/dining room area and put up the garlands tomorrow. The tree will go up Tuesday.

Christmases Past, Present, and Future

I was finally able to open another present from Linda Young today. This one contained several holiday-related DVDs. The first one was The Snowman, the gentle, dialog-less 1982 animated short about a little boy who builds a snowman whom he befriends. He introduces his frosty pal to the delights of a typical middle-class British home, while Mr. Snowman takes the little boy to the North Pole to revel with other snowmen and to meet Santa Claus himself. This was a frequent cable favorite of many an 80s child, with lovely, colored pencil animation and a gorgeous score, and I was glad to see it again.

The animated Rankin-Bass special 'Twas The Night Before Christmas was the other item I watched this morning. It's a cute bit of holiday fluff that somehow turns the famous Clement C. Moore poem into the tale of a brainy little mouse who almost ruins a whole Victorian town's Christmas by writing Santa a letter claiming he doesn't believe in him. One of Rankin-Bass's lesser efforts, but charming, with some very nice music.

I checked out the three Christmas-related documentaries when I got back from work and finished vacuuming the apartment and doing the windows. Christmas Past, about English Christmas traditions, was the most fascinating. The English have many wonderful memories and traditions that never really made it to this side of the Atlantic. I loved hearing stories about pantomimes, crackers, Christmas for servants on an English estate, and Christmas for evacuated London children during World War II.

I already knew most of what was covered in the other two, the History Channel's Christmas Unwrapped and the syndicated special TV Guide Looks At Christmas, but it was cool to see them anyway. I especially liked the clips from 60s and 70s variety programs in the TV Guide special. I was born in 1979, as variety shows were dying on TV, and very few of them are on video or DVD. I actually have the soundtrack to the Judy Garland variety special shown on this documentary, and I'd love to see and hear the Perry Como and Bing Crosby specials, too!

My Black Friday could have been worse. No, I did not attempt shopping today. Thank goodness no one I know asked for electronics or fancy toys! I did do some grocery shopping after work today. Work was a bit of a pain, VERY short staffed, and with lots of customers who were grouchy from overeating and the traffic around the malls.

I got some pre-holiday cleaning done when I got in, and I took down the Thanksgiving decorations in the hope I'd actually get them up tonight. Never got close. I was too pooped after I did the windows and never even got to dusting. I'll see what I can do tomorrow.

We Gather Together

Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans! I opened my Thanksgiving with Garfield's Thanksgiving, a 1991 tale of everyone's favorite fat cat going on a diet the day before the holiday, even as his owner invites the vet who made the diet decree over for the Thanksgiving feast. Other than featuring a rare appearance by Grandma (of the Christmas special), the third Garfield holiday special isn't nearly as memorable as the first two but is recommended as one of the only Thanksgiving specials on DVD.

After Garfield, I did something I haven't done in about four years. I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in it's entirety. I don't have cable, but I can get CBS on my TV on a good day, and this morning was a good day. It was windy here but apparently far less so in New York, lower-mid 60s and just gorgeous. There were absolutely no problems with CBS' telecast this morning, other than if they showed another stupid soap opera star, I was going to scream. I HATE soap operas. Couldn't they have shown another Broadway production number in addition to the "Spamalot" number (which was hilarious)? Other than that complaint, I loved the parade. Coolest balloon by far was Hello Kitty in her awesome little superheroine outfit.

After reading Matt's annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade review at X-Entertainment (he always reviews a parade from the 80s or early 90s on Thanksgiving eve), I went over to Bruce and Ken's house for dinner around 1PM...only to find dinner wasn't until 5. I ended up spending most of the afternoon playing Mario Party 2, a board game-style video game for the Nintendo 64, with my adopted stepsister Jessa, and later our cousin Taylor.

I came down first so Jessa could get dressed (she was still in her pajamas when we played games). I watched the very end of the Packers/Lions game with Bruce, Jodie, Taylor's dad Jim, stepmom Karen, Karen's 1 and 1/2-year-old son C.J, and a couple of Jodie's teenage sons. We ate shortly after the girls, including a dressed Jessa, joined us. Dinner was wonderful. We had turkey, stuffing, creamed pearl onions, broccoli, corn, cole slaw, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, butter, Uncle Ken's apple pie, and my cranberry bread and the gingerbread cookies I made this morning, and everything was wonderful. I even took a big platter of food home for the weekend (I'll probably make most of it into turkey chili).

I watched my new A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving DVD when I got home. Tomboyish Peppermint Patty, her shy best pal Marcie, their mutual black guy friend Franklin, and "Little Birdie" Woodstock make their debuts in this special. Peppermint Patty talks her, Marcie, and Franklin's way into dinner at Charlie Brown's house. Trouble is, Chuck is about 10 years old and is eating at his grandmother's this year. He, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock make a small "dinner" of popcorn, toast, pretzels, and candy, but Peppermint Patty is offended. Where's the real dinner? It's Marcie and Linus who remind their best friends of why we REALLY celebrate this holiday.

The second special also dealt with the true meaning of the holiday. The Mayflower Voyagers came from the 1989 series of Peanuts US history specials This Is America, Charlie Brown. It covered the real (more-or-less) history of the Pilgrims, from leaving London to the first Thanksgiving. While drier than Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, there's also more action, and it's nice to hear about a part of American history that doesn't often get covered outside of New England.

I'm thankful I opted to stay here this year. I have to work early tomorrow (8:30AM), and as much as I love the other side of the family, that move really has them frazzled. I called Mom this morning. She was cleaning the house while my stepdad and brother were the annual high school football game. Apparently, they've had some trouble lately; two nights ago, one of the kids in their neighborhood accidentally ran into Mom's parked car. Not only does she love her car and it's no longer being made, but the front of the car was totaled and the kid and his single mother have no money. Yes, the kid will have to pay some damages (and lose a license he'd just gotten), but it sounds like they'll have to pay, too.

Plus, they're supposed to move to a fairly remote area of Lower Township in about three weeks to a month. Mom says it's because Dad doesn't want to wait, but as with when we moved around Christmas when I was 11, it's just poor timing on both their parts and a lack of communication. Dad's impatient and Mom's bossy, and they both assume that one will want what the other wants...without talking it over.

I guess I'm just feeling a bit confused lately. I love both sides of the family, but I feel left out on one side and I don't know the other well. None of my close friends live around here, though I am thankful for all of them. I'm thankful for them, and for everyone who reads this blog, and for being able to lose 40 pounds (as of Monday, anyway), and that I'm healthy and living in a nice apartment with a nice landlady on a nice street. I just wish I could do more.

Bless the Turkeys and the Children

The day before Thanksgiving dawned sunny, breezy, and actually a bit TOO warm for this time of year...but that was good enough for me to run to the Oaklyn Library and return The Thanksgiving Treasure, Christmas In America, and Cranberry Thanksgiving. On my way to the library, I passed a gaggle of preschoolers from the little preschool on West Clinton Avenue and their teachers who were on their way to the park next to my apartment. They were so cute. They and their teachers waved to me and said "hi!" I waved back and wished them all a Happy Thanksgiving! Really made my day.

Work was insane busy, with lines into the aisles for most of the night, but I expected that. This IS the day before the biggest food holiday of the year in America! Thank goodness, we seem to have received more turkeys some time this morning and there were no riots. In fact, most people seemed to be in a good mood, and most orders were small ones, just things people forgot.

The Cozy Lodge Living Room

Oh, and to cheer myself up last night, I splurged and bought my WebKinz Rose and Miles their new living room. They're going to need a place to put the Christmas tree when it's available! I did it all with a rustic theme, taking some of the country items, some of the pirate items, and the cheapest TV. (Rosie Pony sure seemed to enjoy Monkey & Monkey!)

Turkey Trouble

Thankfully, all I got after last night's brouhaha was another scolding from Jill that pretty much said the same thing as Linda's comments from my last entry - calm down, don't take things so hard, don't be so hard on yourself.

It's a lot easier to remember that when I'm awake. I was tired last night, and I was again tonight. While my temper didn't blow, we did run into a very big problem. We ran out of turkeys. Some of the managers tried to give rain checks, but who wants turkey after the fact? We later found out there'll be a shipment tomorrow morning, but that didn't please a lot of the people who wanted their turkey NOW or were working or busy tomorrow.

I did my laundry and pilates this morning (probably the only time this week I'll be able to fit in pilates, given my long hours). Tried to find out from Bruce when dinner is; all I got was "sometime in the afternoon." Oh, well, I'll go late morning and see what happens. Oh, and I made Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread, with fresh (not dried) cranberries as a thank-you gift to Dad and Jodie for having me over.

Emma and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Day

This was a lousy day at work. People were rude; people were obnoxious. We ran out of large turkeys half-way through and started selling ANY turkeys with the coupons, at ANY size. The lines were long right up until I left at 9:30. I worked 1:30 to 9:30 and was dead tired by then. I wish I was used to working eight hours, but I'm not.

It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't gone and done something stupid about fifteen minutes before I finished. An old man wanted to buy crab legs and a can of crab meat. He got so upset when the crab meat came up what he thought was the wrong price, he refused to sign his credit card slip! No amount of begging or cajoling could get him to do it. He left me standing there with crab legs, crab meat, an open register, and an unsigned credit card receipt.

That cantankerous old jerk was the last straw. I threw the pen across the register. Hard. It thankfully missed the next customer in the line and ended up in the next register! The customer was a familiar face and was really sweet about it, but I felt absolutely horrible...and just felt worse when Jill, the manager in charge, took me out of the line and tried to send me home! I told her I had to stay; I needed the money. Besides, I'd just feel even worse than I already did if I didn't finish my shift, like a real adult.

I'm not a real adult. Real adults don't throw pens when they're upset. They act calmly and rationally. They have husbands, children, and/or pets. They have lives. Their friends live down the street, not across the state or the country. They don't bite their nails and they don't bunk with stuffed animals. They don't come home from work everyday feeling worthless and stupid. They have real jobs, jobs where they sit down and work with their peers and feel respected and wanted.

Why can't I do something right? I'm sure I'm going to get written up now, maybe even suspended. Greg, the other manager on duty, said he had to handle the old guy with the crab after he stormed away from me, and the guy gave HIM just as hard of a time as he gave ME. He STILL wouldn't sign for Greg either...and when Greg finally did get him to sign, he stormed off without anything!

And this at the holidays! Why do people have to be so stressed around the holidays? Why can't they just enjoy themselves?

I wish I could work from home, or at least from somewhere less stressful. Everything went fine at home this morning. I got the bathroom and the kitchen cleaned, and they both needed it badly. (I needed soap, but for some reason, in addition to a run on turkeys, there seems to have been a run on the cheap Ivory soap. Every last bit of it was gone when I went back there, and I wasn't going to chase after it. I guess everyone wants to be REALLY clean for Christmas.)

Pumpkins and Cranberries...and Little Brothers, Too

First of all...happy birthday to my little brother Keefe, who is 15 today. I can't believe he's fifteen. I called him and Mom this morning to say "hi" and wish him a happy day. He seemed pretty happy. He was in the Halloween Parade in Cape May last month, playing drums with his school marching band, and loved it. Like me, he was never a big trick-or-treat fan, so this was his big Halloween thing.

He said he'd already gotten a call from my stepdad, who is out fishing...and he sang for him. This would be less of a problem if Dad had a decent voice, but he's terrible. He has no sense of pitch whatsoever. I told Keefe it could have been worse. He could have been live.

Most of my day was spent at work (as most of this week but Thanksgiving day will be). A few obnoxious or stressed customers, but nothing bad. It was busy, but busy on-and-off, with some surprising downtime given we're coming up on the biggest food holiday of the year in America.

Oh, yes, and it seems the Eagles did win today, 17-7... but the victory might have been a little sweeter if they hadn't been playing the Miami Dolphins, who were 0-9 going into this game.

Cold Thanksgiving Treat

So, you say you want pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but you don't have the time to make one, or you don't like to bake? Here's a chilly pumpkin pie that's easy and quick to make...and just as tasty as the real thing.

Pumpkin Mousse Pie

1 box Jello Pumpkin Spice Pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 tub non-dairy whipped topping (I used Cool Whip Lite, but any should be fine)
1 pre-prepared 9 inch graham cracker crust (I bought a reduced-fat crust, but you can use any shortbread or graham cracker crust...or your own recipe)

Prepare Pumpkin Mousse as in recipe on side of pudding box. Instead of putting the mousse in glasses, pour it into a 9 inch graham cracker crust. Put it in the freezer for an hour or until firm.

This stuff is so good, I bought three more boxes of pudding and may make it all holiday season long!

Harvest Time

Went to the last Collingswood Farm Market of the season today (the first time I've gotten to the farm market in over a month). Pears are gone, but I bought mushrooms, celery, an onion, a green pepper, sweet potatoes that still have a "fresh from the earth" scent on them, and beautiful little apples. The honey booth, crepes mini-cafe, live music, and a few veggie booths were gone; in their place were several craft booths, though their wares were too expensive for me.

Stopped at the post office to get Christmas stamps; I have bills and holiday cards to mail. The line in the cramped little Oaklyn Post Office was almost out to the door when I arrived! The poor guy (and only guy) working said despite the time of year and the crowds on Saturdays, the post office apparently refuses to hire more help for that day! According to him, several people had already walked away. He's right; they are losing revenue. (I also checked out a church bazaar and a yard sale, but nothing interesting at either place.)

I wasn't surprised that work was very, very busy. People are starting to buy their Thanksgiving dinners this weekend (not to mention food to feed all the guests they'll have NEXT weekend). What DID surprise me was getting my break snack on the store for the second Saturday in a row. They were having a big chili cook-off for employees. No, I didn't join in; it's hard to carry a crock-pot on a bike. I did get to vote, t though, and sample not only the chili, but the cake, fruit, and dip that was also in the back room. (No, my choice didn't win. I was the last voter before they "closed the polls," though.)

I got up early this morning and was fairly tired by the time work ended...or didn't end. I stayed an extra half-hour. Once again, I need the money...but I am tired. I'm not entirely happy with next week's hours, either. Thanksgiving is my only day off, and I begin work at 8:30AM the day after...Black Friday, one of the quietest days of the year. Who wants to go grocery shopping the day after Thanksgiving? All the older women and mothers must have decided they wanted to hit the Black Friday sales for their kids and grandkids and requested the day or morning off.

Oh, and my WebKinz are both very happy. Not to be obvious, but Rosie Pony eats like a horse...and she eats a lot more than Miles! I may have to buy a second fridge just for her and put it in her room. ;)