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Post by staytuned on Jan 3, 2022 15:20:46 GMT
Good morning everyone! Well, it's 2022 according to my new Dollar Tree calendar. Looks like we'll finally be getting some measurable snow late Thursday and Friday to let us know it's really winter. Currently 26 degrees with 8 mph wind which makes it feel like 17 degrees. Might as well get out and finish what I wanted to do last week/year. Hope everyone has a safe week and those who shop and sell many whoo hoos and cha-chings to ring in the new year!
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Post by staytuned on Jan 3, 2022 15:22:07 GMT
And for those who over-indulged for the holidays:
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kritter
Mod Squad
When we lose sight of how we treat animals, we tend to lose sight of our humanity
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Post by kritter on Jan 3, 2022 17:04:14 GMT
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Post by Desire on Jan 3, 2022 18:19:53 GMT
I don't know about that one Kritter. I've got glitter all over the floor here where the tree was and it's not vacuuming up and it's sticking to my socks and tracking everywhere and I really DON'T want to sparkle all day! Ya' got anything else for this Monday??
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Post by blissfullymiserable on Jan 3, 2022 18:25:56 GMT
Other than a Christmas tree (a new normal size tree) I don't have decorations for any holiday. I've never gotten into it for some reason (and I'm not all that young) but this year my plan is pick some up at GW when I see nice ones. It's always shocking to me how many holiday decorations GW puts out. Every single store has so much of almost any item you would need around the holidays. They used to do Christmas is June but I don't remember them doing that last year.
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Post by staytuned on Jan 3, 2022 18:42:02 GMT
You'd be surprised how fast Christmas stuff filled up a gaylord when I worked at GW. We used to have seasonal gaylords and went through them a couple months before the holiday and Christmas took up an entire aisle. Now, it's whatever comes in gets processed and if it's deemed worthy enough for resale, to the sales floor it goes. GWs here now have all holiday stuff year round which, in a way is good, but when it comes to the actual holiday, there's not really much to look at. Christmas is always the most plentiful followed by Halloween/Thanksgiving and Easter.
I remember way back when I frequented a Salvation Army Family Store and befriended most of the employees, they said they couldn't wait for it to get close to Christmas because stuff was taking up half the back room.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,734
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Post by val2525 on Jan 3, 2022 18:55:17 GMT
I packed up all the indoor Christmas decor yesterday, removed holiday pillow covers, washed all the towels and holiday throws and they're now in the linen closet. I like Christmas but it's nice to have my regular colorful art work back up on the walls, I need to climb up on the stepladder and take down the garland & ornaments from the ceiling over the breakfast bar and then I'm done with the inside packing up. I decided to leave the outdoor lights up a few more days. I'll take them down Wednesday or Thursday, when it warms up a tad. I like the cold but not enough to stand in it to take down Christmas lights that I'll be happy to enjoy for a few more days  I'm putting the yellow lighted floral tree back up on the patio. I think I may leave the strand of multi-color edison lights up though, they can be used year-round. Hmnnn. I'll have to see if they are available in seasonal colors. |
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 3, 2022 20:52:39 GMT
People start taking down the Christmas outdoor lights here around...oh, April or May lol.
ETA: The incredible splashy displays are usually gone by the Epiphany but it's amazing how many just leave their strings up for a long time.
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Post by staytuned on Jan 3, 2022 22:28:45 GMT
From the perpetual Christmas lights hanging up around many homes around here, the answer would probably be, "You're supposed to take them down?". Hardly anyone set up any real decorations besides inflatables, which, sorry if you do it, implies to me you're too lazy to decorate. Throw a piece of plastic out on the lawn (or several), plug in and call it Christmas.
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kritter
Mod Squad
When we lose sight of how we treat animals, we tend to lose sight of our humanity
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Post by kritter on Jan 3, 2022 22:34:32 GMT
I don't know about that one Kritter. I've got glitter all over the floor here where the tree was and it's not vacuuming up and it's sticking to my socks and tracking everywhere and I really DON'T want to sparkle all day! Ya' got anything else for this Monday?? Nope, I am going with the glitter sparkle. I love when I sparkle all day.  |
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 3, 2022 23:37:59 GMT
We took down the outdoor lights yesterday. No indoor decorations due to dogs.
Snow totally missed us today.
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kritter
Mod Squad
When we lose sight of how we treat animals, we tend to lose sight of our humanity
Posts: 19,871
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Post by kritter on Jan 4, 2022 0:13:44 GMT
My back alley neighbor leaves his Christmas lights in the backyard up all year. I love seeing them.
I have a bunch of twinkling solar lights to put up in my backard that will stay up all year. Going to get a couple of trees cut down before I get in gear with the lights.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 4, 2022 6:00:49 GMT
I love the lights being up as long as possible. The white lights are the most popular to be left up - our winters are like 9 months long so it's understandable that some are left up all year round.
The company that made my precision hand coffee grinder would like a photo of my espresso machine (my 50-year-old lever machine) with the coffee grinder - coffee culture is amazingly big in many parts of Asia and they're way into precision Italian equipment, but this company wants to show off more machines actually in Taiwan. I've been chatting with one of the people at the company (it's a small company working with a precision watchmaker) with their grinder endorsed by La Pavoni, the storied Italian espresso machine company so La Pavoni might end up with some photos, too. Since Pavoni tried to sue La Cara (makers of my espresso machine) back in the early 70s for what they felt was copying design, it might be interesting lol. There are not a lot of La Caras still around, but mine is lovingly restored (I think piques their interest, also).
I need to stage some nice photos to send to the people in Taiwan - I love to show off the machine. The DH finds my preoccupation amusing and actually rather fascinating - sometimes he just watches me making my morning coffee. I'm getting better at it.
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 4, 2022 14:41:47 GMT
Frozen tundra here today. Walked outside at work yesterday in that cold windchill with sub 30 temps. Sun is out today for the first time in a week but it is still very cold.
Just bought my second Filson product. A down vest off eBay. Hoping it fits.
Love the frozen ground. Makes dog duty so much easier. I can even do it when I get home at 11:45 PM. Hubby “forgets” to do his afternoon duty and I get tired of reminding him. With 6 big dogs I try to stay on top of it.
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Post by frakinfashion on Jan 4, 2022 16:48:42 GMT
Finally got down to 28 degrees today and going up to 34. Just fine with me as I run hot. I don't even let the radiators heat the apartment; just put the psychopoodle in her pink sweater so we're both comfortable. Hate, hate, hate heat whether natural or man made. And I'm a native Miami girl. Not a snow fan as I don't like climbing up banks or slipping in it. But I like me some cold.
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Post by staytuned on Jan 4, 2022 17:09:44 GMT
It's currently 33 with windchill making it feel like 24. The good news is the sun's out and it's still warmer than yesterday, but frozen precip on top of the Cube is still there so hope I can get it off so I don't brake and have an avalanche on my windshield that might be too heavy for wipers to remove. I do need to go to a few places and it is nice to see sunshine while it lasts.
Chap, that's awesome and hope you post a pic or two that you're sending.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,734
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Post by val2525 on Jan 4, 2022 18:24:21 GMT
I think I'm going to leave the outside Christmas lights up until this weekend. That way a) I can enjoy them longer and b) I'll have more time on Saturday to set up the patio lights for the next season. That's my story and I'm sticking to it Walmart had the edison style lights in multicolor at a really good price in the Christmas lights section, so I bought 2 strands. I only need one for the patio but now I'm glad I have a backup strand. I priced them on Amazon and they're way more expensive than what I paid for mine at Walmart  A bit chilly here today, but warmer than yesterday. My apartment is really well insulated. We were in the 20s night before last and 30s last night, and even with no heat on the coldest my place got overnight was 63. That's a perfect temp to snuggle under the blankets.  The cats were laying by the space heater in the living room earlier (radiant heater than looks like a small fireplace) but now they've all moved to their favorite cat bed or throw blanket. |
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Post by staytuned on Jan 4, 2022 19:48:49 GMT
Val, my MIL has one of those heaters and amazing how much heat they put out to really warm up a room.
It may be sunny, but glad I wore my down parka because those wind gusts were really cold. Just went to the bank and Aldi which is the second one I've been to that's been out of several products. I did, however, get a few containers of red raspberries last day of sale and a couple other things.
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Post by staytuned on Jan 4, 2022 20:16:33 GMT
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Post by jesmelric on Jan 4, 2022 20:23:16 GMT
Hey, guys. I hope everyone had a nice New Year Holiday. I watched some Twilight Zone (A MUST!) and had my sister and mom over for a meal and we had a nice visit. It was quite warm on Saturday but we got very cold and windy on Sunday. That's Houston for you, one extreme to another. It is nice to get a bit of winter. And today it's sunny with a high in the 60s so no complaints here.
I guess I'm in the minority but I take my Christmas decor down the day after Christmas, typically. I love Christmas but when it's over, I'm done with it. I have a lot of Christmas decor, much of it vintage. We don't hang lights outside anymore. As we've gotten older it's too much of a pain. But I do have vintage blow molds I put on the porch and in the yard. Easier to set up and take down. I always feel sad for few days after I take the decor down, the house seems a bit drab.
DH had to go back to work Monday so his mood wasn't the greatest. For myself, I don't mind getting back into my routine. I guess I am a routine kind of person. My sister changed jobs so our new day visiting mom will be Wednesdays, starting tomorrow. A new routine to get used to! lol.
Oldest DD in Portland feels like she has a cold, she's getting a Covid test this afternoon, but not the rapid kind. She was vaccinated in the spring, had Covid in Sept, and had the booster maybe 3 weeks ago? She said it feels like a bad head cold. I don't know, it could be just that. I guess she'll know in a few days. This thing is crazy contagious.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
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Post by val2525 on Jan 4, 2022 22:02:30 GMT
National Spaghetti Day, eh? I love spaghetti sauce but I'm not crazy about the pasta part. I always add meat and chopped veggies to my sauce (mushrooms, onions, red & green bell peppers and zuchinni) so maybe that makes it marinara sauce instead? Tonight though, it's southwest seasoned beef tips and fresh green beans. I may have to make a batch of spaghetti sauce this weekend since (thanks to Shirley) I now have a craving for it.  |
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 5, 2022 0:22:42 GMT
38 deg and raining - waiting by the trail for my friend tp show up to go running. Eh - we"ll dodge the slush.Too much latrr znd everything will be iced over agsin. Splish splash!
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 5, 2022 0:38:14 GMT
We are supposed to get freezing rain in the morning and then snow Thursday night/Friday.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
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Post by val2525 on Jan 5, 2022 0:45:54 GMT
We're supposed to be 71 tomorrow.
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kritter
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When we lose sight of how we treat animals, we tend to lose sight of our humanity
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Post by kritter on Jan 5, 2022 1:00:13 GMT
We're supposed to be 71 tomorrow. Thank goodness! |
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 5, 2022 2:33:26 GMT
My friend showed up with Dickens the dog, who we always put in a mile or two with. Unfortunately, about a third of a mile in Dickens ran between my legs to get at another dog and SPLAT! I went down like ton of bricks. Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn...! It knocked the wind out of me. My friend was horrified, the other dog walker felt terrible (not her fault). He helped me to my feet and I limped around a bit, we reassured the other dog walker, then turned around. Dickens went back into the car (he was ready to go, anyway, even with his jacket on it was cold). My friend and I ran another couple of miles but that's as far as I could go as my knee was stiffening up, so we finished up and went to the grocery store.
Lots of bare shelves and for produce we purchased pretty much what we could find. He said that he couldn't find short grain brown rice anywhere, but I know where to get 20 lb bags of it, so I may get one and offer to split it with him.
My friend amazes me - he's maybe 5'9" and 150 lb, but when he was helping me up, I could feel him lifting me literally off the ground (I'm not particularly light). I recalled again how weirdly strong he is (he's 70, as well).
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Post by labbypaws on Jan 5, 2022 5:16:16 GMT
I know the locals here were complaining of no produce this past weekend.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 5, 2022 7:18:44 GMT
The supply chain problems are also pushing inflation. It's going to take a while to unsnarl things. I've gone hungry enough in my life to just be grateful for what I can get right now and I'll be patient, though I know it might be hard on people trying to feed families and the like.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,734
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Post by val2525 on Jan 5, 2022 19:37:13 GMT
Corporate profits are at an all-time high - I don't think "inflation" is causing the price hikes. Manufacturers and retailers are using it as an excuse to raise prices that in many cases, don't need to be raised. Good article about it from Robert Reich, who is a finance/economics expert and really knows his stuff: www.salon.com/2021/12/01/whats-really-driving-inflation-corporate-greed_partner/A good example of recent price increase due to "inflation": if Dollar Tree had cut the multi-million dollar salary of their CEO, they wouldn't have needed to raise their prices to $1.25. |
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jan 5, 2022 20:25:10 GMT
Corporate profits are at an all-time high - I don't think "inflation" is causing the price hikes. Manufacturers and retailers are using it as an excuse to raise prices that in many cases, don't need to be raised. www.salon.com/2021/12/01/whats-really-driving-inflation-corporate-greed_partner/A good example of recent price increase due to "inflation: if Dollar Tree had cut the multi-million dollar salary of their CEO, they wouldn't have needed to raise their prices to $1.25. I have no doubt that greed is driving a lot of this, but the greed is operating on the scarcity which is a knock-on from supply chain issues. Also, when I was shopping last night, I put two packs of veggie burritos in my basket instead of just one, because "well, they might run out" - probably not moving the needle a whole lot, but people may be hoarding a bit, as well. CEO salaries are out of control - no one is worth as much money as many of them get. |
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I'm putting the yellow lighted floral tree back up on the patio. I think I may leave the strand of multi-color edison lights up though, they can be used year-round. Hmnnn. I'll have to see if they are available in seasonal colors. 
The cats were laying by the space heater in the living room earlier (radiant heater than looks like a small fireplace) but now they've all moved to their favorite cat bed or throw blanket.
