Good day for a change

Today was a good day. I've written enough sadness that I thought I owed myself, and you (and there are a few of 'you' are out there) a good story. I didn't plan it. Well, that's not exactly true. I did plan to be busy today. Although, I was so busy last week, when Sunday rolled around I was emotionally...well...the previous post pretty much says it all. So I rested and watched movies on Monday and Tuesday. Nothing, can you believe that nothing was scheduled?

So my neighbor came over this morning and we began a transformation of the house's arrangement. We started with things that Charley and I had talked about then I took it to a whole new level. This afternoon, another friend, a BIG, smiling, happy dude with muscles, and his son came over and moved the big, heavy, awkward stuff. I worked and was on my feet all day and didn't even stop to eat until 8:15 tonight when I finally sat down. It's not finished, but all the furniture is basically sitting in different spots and in different rooms (not that my house has many rooms). Now, I'm left with little stuff that gathers in places as I found myself saying a time or two, 'Oh, so that's where that went.'

Today's story is good. I only cried a little this morning with my neighbor as we ran through memories of his things. Good news about that is I'm beginning to cry a little. For about a month and a half it was all inside about to implode. I'm going to go take a bath in our beautiful, claw-footed, cast iron bathtub and lay my weary body down to sleep. Good night. 

How to kill the seasonal spirit

I went to Sam’s Club today and what do you suppose I saw? Christmas decorations! It’s only the end of August! Since stores have been complaining about the decline of seasonal sales I wonder when they figure the season starts. I realize that they think that if the sales are down, just start selling the stuff sooner and sooner. But August? Now really!

Retailers have been complaining for years and years about the decline of spending during holiday seasons; well, no wonder! Now, the next sentence is going to make me sound old but here goes anyway. When I was growing up, we didn’t see Halloween decorations until the beginning to mid-October. Thanksgiving décor came out the day after Halloween. We NEVER saw Christmas ‘anything’ until the day after Thanksgiving which was the starting whistle to the beginning the season’s shopping sales and sprees. Now by the time Thanksgiving is over, we’re blasé and tired of the holidays and who really needs to see more of the holiday season at that point.