I was up between 7:30 & 8:00am. The kids were up even earlier but Mindy sent them back to their rooms. Bella headed downstairs with me. I did my usual set of exercises before setting out on my morning walk with Ykraps. It was impressively sunny but chilly. I took my camera along to hopefully capture some of the late autumn beauty. I sat on the porch and brushed Ykraps before going back inside. He’s shedding his summer coat in preparation for winter.
I prepared and left for a run a little after 9am. I remember fretting for just a minute that it was already Friday. The long weekend was moving swiftly, indeed. After my run I prepared a relatively short grocery list to facilitate our own TG dinner Saturday. After a quick shower I was ready to head out. In the meantime, Mindy was already decorating for Xmas. In fact, she had actually begun putting away Autumn/TG on TG morning.
Before leaving, I mentioned a possible stop at Home Depot too. I thought about Garden Ridge as well. I made my first stop Home Depot. There I bought 3 colored spot lights (two green and one red) to replace the bright white lights out front. I also bought a large poinsettia. No Xmas is complete without one resting on or near the hearth.
My next stop was Garden Ridge, but the lot was packed and once I realized what I might be up against inside, I opted out and drove directly to Kroger. Kroger, to my delight, wasn’t crowded at all. I made quick work of my shopping list and got a great deal on a fresh 19lb turkey. Homeward!
Once home I carried in my haul then quickly installed the colored festive spots. Mindy asked for my help decorating. She’d already spent her entire morning setting up her nativity scene and Xmas village. My assignment was to install the lighted pine roping on the banisters. We eventually made our way to the family room to prep for the tree. The kids were off playing with neighbors making it a little easier for both of us. Before we could proceed I insisted on cleaning/vacuuming the family room blinds and window sills. Truth is they need it more often than I do it. Plus, with the brick sawing escapade from a couple weeks ago, there was still plenty of red dust amongst us. The more I cleaned the more into I got. We spent about an hour or more cleaning/vacuuming all the crevices and walls in the family room. I was surprised that the wall north of the fireplace still held a fine coat of brick dust visible only after raising the blinds. I took the time to clean thoroughly behind the entertainment armoire’, too.
Finally satisfied with our cleaning, we tinkered with various furniture arrangements to help accommodate the tree without depleting available seating. We finally found one we liked, but in the process agreed that we really needed to get a cover for our over sized chair. We moved on with setting up the tree. That went better than expected working as a team. The neighbor called asking if we wanted to go see Fred Claus with all the kids. Funny thing was, we considered going to see it earlier but opted against. Mindy hadn’t even showered yet. EWH!!! We politely declined the invite and kept working on the decorating until we could take it no more. Eventually, Mindy headed up for a shower while I walked Ykraps.
Our plan called for a trip to Target & Kirkland’s and eventually end up at Minelli’s for pizza. We left the house around 6:30pm making stops at the new Hilliard Rome Target, Kirkland’s and then the Mill Run Target. The kids were getting cranky and hungry. We headed to Minelli’s directly from Mill Run after ordering two pizzas for pick-up. We had to wait about five minutes after arriving but that was OK by us. That way they were hot out of the oven.
After pizza, Mindy put in the new movie, Santa Claus-e 3. The kids got to stay up for an extra hour or so watching it. Jim called and talked with the kids. He shared the good news that LSU was beaten earlier by Arkansas. That puts the Buckeyes a smidge closer to edging their way back into the National Championship game. With the kids finally in bed, Mindy and I watched the Boise State/Hawaii football game. Not any surprise, Mindy went to bed around 10pm. I stayed up watching the rest of the game. Hawaii won in somewhat dramatic fashion.
I prepared and left for a run a little after 9am. I remember fretting for just a minute that it was already Friday. The long weekend was moving swiftly, indeed. After my run I prepared a relatively short grocery list to facilitate our own TG dinner Saturday. After a quick shower I was ready to head out. In the meantime, Mindy was already decorating for Xmas. In fact, she had actually begun putting away Autumn/TG on TG morning.
Before leaving, I mentioned a possible stop at Home Depot too. I thought about Garden Ridge as well. I made my first stop Home Depot. There I bought 3 colored spot lights (two green and one red) to replace the bright white lights out front. I also bought a large poinsettia. No Xmas is complete without one resting on or near the hearth.
My next stop was Garden Ridge, but the lot was packed and once I realized what I might be up against inside, I opted out and drove directly to Kroger. Kroger, to my delight, wasn’t crowded at all. I made quick work of my shopping list and got a great deal on a fresh 19lb turkey. Homeward!
Once home I carried in my haul then quickly installed the colored festive spots. Mindy asked for my help decorating. She’d already spent her entire morning setting up her nativity scene and Xmas village. My assignment was to install the lighted pine roping on the banisters. We eventually made our way to the family room to prep for the tree. The kids were off playing with neighbors making it a little easier for both of us. Before we could proceed I insisted on cleaning/vacuuming the family room blinds and window sills. Truth is they need it more often than I do it. Plus, with the brick sawing escapade from a couple weeks ago, there was still plenty of red dust amongst us. The more I cleaned the more into I got. We spent about an hour or more cleaning/vacuuming all the crevices and walls in the family room. I was surprised that the wall north of the fireplace still held a fine coat of brick dust visible only after raising the blinds. I took the time to clean thoroughly behind the entertainment armoire’, too.
Finally satisfied with our cleaning, we tinkered with various furniture arrangements to help accommodate the tree without depleting available seating. We finally found one we liked, but in the process agreed that we really needed to get a cover for our over sized chair. We moved on with setting up the tree. That went better than expected working as a team. The neighbor called asking if we wanted to go see Fred Claus with all the kids. Funny thing was, we considered going to see it earlier but opted against. Mindy hadn’t even showered yet. EWH!!! We politely declined the invite and kept working on the decorating until we could take it no more. Eventually, Mindy headed up for a shower while I walked Ykraps.
Our plan called for a trip to Target & Kirkland’s and eventually end up at Minelli’s for pizza. We left the house around 6:30pm making stops at the new Hilliard Rome Target, Kirkland’s and then the Mill Run Target. The kids were getting cranky and hungry. We headed to Minelli’s directly from Mill Run after ordering two pizzas for pick-up. We had to wait about five minutes after arriving but that was OK by us. That way they were hot out of the oven.
After pizza, Mindy put in the new movie, Santa Claus-e 3. The kids got to stay up for an extra hour or so watching it. Jim called and talked with the kids. He shared the good news that LSU was beaten earlier by Arkansas. That puts the Buckeyes a smidge closer to edging their way back into the National Championship game. With the kids finally in bed, Mindy and I watched the Boise State/Hawaii football game. Not any surprise, Mindy went to bed around 10pm. I stayed up watching the rest of the game. Hawaii won in somewhat dramatic fashion.
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