When the alarm rang at six, I wandered out to the living room and took the ad scraps I'd cut from the paper yesterday into the bathroom with me.
It convinced me there wasn't anything I wanted That Damn Bad. :-) So I went back to bed until James' alarm rang.
He went off to work (his phone rang once and it wasn't even a "real call") and I went to Lowe's, where they had various holiday containers on sale for $4.99. Since the cheapest I've seen those tall skinny giftwrap containers has been $8.96 (that was JoAnn—at half price!) I grabbed two, one for Christmas wrap and one for presents the rest of the year.
I did wander into the garden center and saw that they had little tabletop-size Frasier firs with container for only $14.95. Boy, was I tempted; I love real Christmas trees. But it would have to live on the porch since I'm allergic. Sigh. Sorry, I don't want bronchitis for Christmas like I did the last time we had a real tree.
With some trepidation, I went to Target. By this time it was almost nine and I expected a mob. There were lots of cars, but absolutely no long lines. Most people were crowded in the electronics department. I was astonished. Anyway, I got sale copies of the special edition of Miracle on 34th Street (with commentary by Maureen O'Hara!), Ice Age 2, and for $5.95, a copy of National Treasure (I don't really like Nicolas Cage, but this movie was just goofy fun enough that I enjoyed it).
Oh, and I got the very last Shark stick vac they had for $10. If it doesn't last long, well, I didn't spend much. It's basically a hand vac with a "power head" and a stick handle that turns it into a little stick vac.
Stopped at Walgreen's to pick up a little "garnish" for a couple of presents and got a red sweatshirt to make Christmasy. Then drove to the elegantly named "the Avenue at West Cobb" (there's also an "Avenue at East Cobb" that has a Borders and a Bed, Bath and Beyond; this one has the Barnes & Noble and the Linens and Things). I assume the partner shopping center also has two big red Christmas ornaments flanking its entrance, too. :-)
Just checked out the magazines and bargain books in B&N, then pondered a high-dollar purchase in Linens, and checked out what the weekend specials were at Hallmark before I committed myself. Then I drove on to the Town Center area and hit Costco for gas before going to Borders.
Turned out the one Christmas CD I wanted from them was not at that Borders, but at all the others. Sigh. Just popped on the freeway and drove down to the Borders that is closest to our house. The CD was the newest Revels release, English and Scottish Christmas and celebratory music. I also got three books on the bargain table: Eloise at Christmastime (sold for $17.95 last year; I got it for $2.99), a book of Christmas stories, recipes and crafts, and a little book of Christmas prayers and poetry.
The newest of Jill Churchill's "Grace and Favor" mysteries was out, so I got that, too, and something called Carpe Demon, which sounded cute: soccer mom is also a demon hunter (think Buffy the vampire slayer grown up). And the November issue of the British version of "Country Living." I love the British version because the American one is cool, but it basically talks about decorating your house in country style and recipes. The British version is about really living in the country and features interviews with smallholders, people who run walking tours and construct buildings or gardens in the old manner, etc. Lots of pics of the countryside.
Came home, tidied the house (it was cleaned for Thanksgiving, so I was home free) and watched Miracle with the commentary on. I can't say that I learned all that much from it, but Maureen O'Hara told a little about how she got the role and how strict the studio was, complimented Natalie Wood's talent, mentioned her other two roles with John Payne, reminisced about Christmas in Ireland, and commented, of course, on the famous "Post Office" scene, which I guess is everyone's favorite scene in the movie--anyway, it is mine! :-) She sounds so well, voice very strong, and she was 86 this summer--bless her!
I watched the colorized version. It was okay. I usually hate colorized movies like poison, but when they said in the liner notes that they had looked at color photos of the actors and Macy's and New York to get the colors right, I decided to try it. Some things were quite good, but they still don't have white flesh yet (the African-American lady who appears briefly as Doris' maid looks as if she was on color film, but the white complexions are still pretty-fake looking). I noticed that in anyone who doesn't have lipstick on, the men and the children, the grey of the black and white comes through the lips and looks unnatural and teeth still look grey. On the other hand, the clothing, wallpapers, upholstery, Christmas trees, and scenery was not too bad. The gold lettering on some of the stores and the gold trim looked best of all.
Also listened to the Revels album and then a couple of other Christmas things while I looked through my books. However, I still hadn't looked through my embroidery threads before James came home. They're on sale 5/$1 at JoAnn and I need to look and see if any of my colors are getting low.
We went to JoAnn anyway. I'll look at the threads tomorrow and go back while he's at his club meeting.
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