So all the freaks went out shopping yesterday morning, er, some late Thursday night…to find that perfect bargain.

Black Friday’s bargain frenzy kicked off just after midnight as throngs of shoppers shrugged off Thanksgiving Day fatigue to grab early bird sales on flatscreen TVs, clothes, jewelry and toys.

Electronics - especially high-definition plasma and LCD TVs, GPS navigation devices, Apple’s iPhone and MP3 players - were expected to be among the most sought-after items.

Many retailers offered “doorbuster deals,” which are special sales offered only for the first few hours on Black Friday.

Not me.
I’m all done with my Christmas shopping. I wouldn’t have the patience to go out shopping on a day where millions of others are out; I would definitely get arrested for assault and/or battery against my fellow (crazed) citizens.

Speaking of things I have little to no patience for: Christmas LISTS.

That’s right. I hate being given lists of things others want me to buy them. Where’s the surprise? Where’s the wonder? Don’t gimme that crap you don’t know what to buy people…come on…use your imagination and be creative. An exception to my rule might be for aunts and Grandparents buying for very young kids: You should check with their parents to make sure you’re all not getting the same toys. But that’s about it…I wouldn’t even ask what the little ones WANT beyond that.

I know people, parents, who insist their teenage kids give them a list every year for holiday shopping. How annoying it must be to be a kid now a days. To know exactly what you’re going to get…to know your list demand is your parents command. I never asked for lists from my daughters when they were growing up. Evah! Of course I was an involved and active parent who knew what they needed, wanted and dreamed of owning; shopping for them was fairly easy. It still is too now that they are college aged and a little older. Some claim it’s difficult to buy for tweens and teens; NOT when you know them really well.

I shop all year for Christmas gifts. There are plenty of bargains to be found too- and the WII and other hard to locate items are available before the mad rush sets in. I manage to find things for everyone on MY LIST- which includes most people I know not just the few I decide to budget for at the end of the year. Co-workers, long lost friends, acquaintances, bosses, selectmen, the pizza delivery boy are all people I buy for. Without breaking my meager bank account. I never get gift cards or give cash…those have to be the cheesiest and laziest gifts ever.

Ah well to each their own, I guess. It is a totally foreign concept to me to NOT have my shopping completed by October 1st of each year; all the gifts are wrapped and labeled and put away until the tree is up. Speaking of which, I am decorating for Christmas today since I have the weekend off from work.

SOME of my Santa Collection:

How do you take care of Christmas shopping and similar things? Do you ask for or need lists? Do you wait until the last moment to do your shopping?

The best answer to anger is silence.

Author Unknown

It’s a woman thing, too.

Built: 1969, Finland
Capacity: 100 passengers
Tonnage: 2,400 Cruising speed: 11 knots
Engines: 3,800 hp diesels
Crew: 54
First custom-built expedition ship
Known as the ‘Little Red Ship’ to aficionados
Became the first passenger vessel to navigate the North West passage in 1984
Involved in rescue of crew from Argentine cargo vessel off Anvers Island, Antarctica, in 1989

“The ship ran into some ice. It was submerged ice and the result was a hole about the size of a fist in the side of the hull so it began taking on water … but quite slowly,” said Susan Hayes of G.A.P. Adventures of Toronto, which owns the stricken MS Explorer. “The passengers are absolutely fine. They’re all accounted for, no injuries whatsoever.”

Throughout the day, Chilean aerial photographs showed the ship listing heavily, its white superstructure and red hull starkly visible against the gray, choppy waters and overcast skies. The navy eventually lost sight of the ship and wreckage indicated it had gone under completely, according to a navy press officer who declined be identified in accordance with department policy.

Ahh, the big dinner is upon most folks right about now. (This is a pre published post).

How do you all feel after eating?

Read the rest of this entry »

As Thanksgiving approaches, most of us anticipate the roast turkey, family-recipe stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, sweet-tart cranberry sauce and cinnamon-spiced pumpkin pie that will adorn our dinner tables. Many of us also assume that these dishes are inspired by what the Pilgrims and Native Americans consumed when they first gathered centuries ago. Guess what? We’re wrong.

The first Thanksgiving feast was held in 1621, and while there is no exact evidence of the actual date, it is thought to have taken place sometime between late September and early November. It lasted three days.

So what did they eat??

Not this.

From Winslow’s account, historians only know for certain that venison and fowl, which may have included wild turkey, were served at that first meal. However, they do have a good idea of what foods were available to the colonists at the time. These may have included:

• Seafood: cod, eel, bass, clams, lobsters, mussels

• Fowl: wild turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, eagles

• Meat: venison

• Grains: wheat flour, Indian corn, and barley

• Vegetables: squashes (including pumpkin), peas, beans, onions, leeks, lettuce, radishes, carrots

• Fruits: plums, grapes

• Nuts: walnuts, chestnuts, acorns

• Other: Olive oil (brought over with them), liverwort, watercress, sorrel, yarrow, maple syrup, honey and small amounts of butter, cheese and eggs

Some of our most popular Thanksgiving dishes would never have appeared on the 1621 table.

Sweet potatoes and white potatoes were not a part of the meal since they were not yet common in New England. Also, you can scratch cranberry sauce off the list. While the colonists did have cranberries, they didn’t have sugar.

Interesting stuff…I learned all this in second grade. Do people believe otherwise?

“Thanksgiving puts steel into our patriotic veins. It reminds us or our great heritage. It carries us back with numbing nostalgia to that first dreadful winter at Plymouth where less than half the handful of people survived. It speaks in clear, crisp tones of forgotten terms, like:

integrity…bravery…respect…faith…vigilance…dignity…honor…freedom…
discipline…sacrifice…godliness.”

Charles R. Swindoll

Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

Now that it has snowed up here, I dug out my winter stuffs. All I need are a few vital things:

Ragg wool socks:

Flannel lined jeans:

…and chamois shirts to wear over the t shirts:

Scrubs for work, my gear for snowmobiling and boots are also on the list.

RMS Celtic II
Built: 1901, Harland & Wolff, Belfast.
Yard No: 335
Funnels: 2 Masts: 4
Tonnage: 21,035 GRT
Dimensions: 213.4 x 22.9 m / 700 x 75.3 ft.
Engines: Quadruple Expansion by builders.
Twin Screw; 14,000 IHP; 16, max 16.5 kn.
Hull: Steel, 4 Decks, fcsle-105 ft, Bridge-334 ft, Poop-81 ft.
Cargo: 17,000 Tons.
Passengers: 347-1st Class, 160-2nd Class, 2,350-3rd Class

When the Celtic was launched on April 4, 1901, she was the last ship ordered by Thomas Ismay. She was the first of the class known as the ‘Big Four’. She was delivered July 11, 1901 and made her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on July 26, 1901. Until 1903 the Celtic was the largest ship in the world.

On August 4, 1914 she was taken over at Liverpool for war service. On October 20 she was commissioned as an Armed Merchant Cruiser with 8 x 6 in guns. She was then assigned to the 10th Cruiser Squadron on December 4, 1914. In January 1916 she was decommissioned and converted for trooping. On February 15, 1917 off the Isle of Man she was mined. Seventeen killed.

On March 31, 1918 she was torpedoed in the Irish Sea by UB-77. Six killed. On April 2nd she was towed to Liverpool and repaired there by Harland & Wolff. In 1919 she was returned to her owners and reconditioned at Belfast.

In January 1920 she resumed the Liverpool to New York service. Her passenger accommodation had been altered to: 350-1st Class, 250-2nd Class, 1,000-3rd Class. On April 21, 1925 she collided in the Irish Sea with Hampshire Coast of the Coast Line. The Celtic suffered only superficial damage. The Hampshire Coast was much worse off, but made port safely. On January 29, 1927 she collided, off Long Island, with the US Anaconda of the US Shipping Board. Little damage was done to either vessel.

In 1928 she was converted to Cabin Class only with accommodation for 2,500. On December 10, 1928, when entering Cobh harbor in a gale, Celtic was driven ashore and eventually became a total loss. The wreck was sold to Petersen and Albeck of Copenhagen and dismantled as she lay. The demolition was finally completed in 1933.

Source

Here’s a story that brought a smile to my face today.
Heh.

Manchester – A man armed with a shotgun picked the wrong house to enter Monday night. He’s now under police guard in a hospital bed, recovering from head injuries received in a beating by the residents, according to police.

Police charged Corey Bryson, 18, of 306 Auburn St., with armed robbery and burglary after responding to a call from 140 Beech Hill Drive at 11:45 p.m.

Lisa Czzowitz called police, saying a man broke into her home and was being detained by her two sons.

When they arrived, officers said they found Bryson being held down inside the house. He was bleeding from a head injury and was taken by ambulance to Elliot Hospital.

I’m sure the leftards of my state will come to the defense of this poor abused criminal. Perhaps he was beaten as a child, you know.

Matthew Czzowitz, 20, was on the computer when he heard a knock at the door, said police. When he opened the door a crack, police said, a masked man pushed his way inside, pointed a shotgun at Czzowitz’ face and demanded money.

Police said Czzowitz grabbed the shotgun barrel, tried to take the weapon away from the intruder, then fell to the floor wrestling Bryson for control of the weapon.

Once on the floor, police said Bryson repeatedly punched Czzowitz in the face, but Czzowitz wouldn’t let go of the gun for fear he’d be shot.

Czzowitz then saw his 15-year-old brother come downstairs, said police.

The younger brother struck Bryson with a bat until he and Matthew were able to get control of the shotgun, said police. The brothers then pinned Bryson down until police arrived.Police said they found the shotgun on the couch and the stock, broken during the fight, was on the floor. Police said the shotgun was loaded.

Lesson? Keep weapons of self defense around you at all times: Guns, loaded and ready to use; cast iron pans, baseball bats, whatever. Be prepared. Be ready to fight back. Your life could depend upon it. Your possessions could depend on it.

Good work Matt and Jake! You’re my heroes.

My back yard- it began snowing at 8am and it’s piling up. Soon to turn to rain though…