Black Friday

THROWBACK THURSDAY: THANKSGIVING 2012

While Mauricio is busy with The Cat Scout Jamboree (for which I am his designated typist), I have decided to do something for the first time…share an old post. I went back to my first year of blogging: 2012. This was the only post that published on a Thursday in November. It just happened to be Thanksgiving.

As none of you were reading my blog then, I thought you might enjoy it. I had only two comments that day, which was one more than usual. Most of my posts back then only garnered one comment. That was always from Meredith (my friend’s daughter).

So here it is with an added photo of Calista Jo (also an oldie but from a post the following week).

ARE KITTIES EVER THANKFUL?

by JANETBLUE on NOVEMBER 22, 2012

Not only are my eight turkeys normally not thankful for anything on this earth—they are cats after all—but they also are pretty ticked off that I am not preparing the Martha Stewart turkey roasted with a white wine and butter soaked cheese cloth covering it and basted in super goopy, maple syrup. Heck, I’m disappointed in myself for not making this fowl of deliciousness!

But I put Tom on a plane yesterday for Argentina so he can teach an International Volleyball Referee Course, and the closest I plan to get to a turkey is Michael Angelo’s frozen Chicken Parmesan. I will miss the roasting turkey and baking pumpkin pie smells. I think I have a pumpkin aroma candle somewhere. That should do the trick!

While I am waiting for the current temperature of 32 degrees to get a little closer to the predicted 64 degrees so I can head outside for a day of gardening, I am watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And what should be at the start of the parade? The Hello Kitty balloon. What an auspicious start!

Kitten Calista Jo

Calista did seem pretty happy sharing my blueberry yogurt this morning! To show her appreciation, she sat in my lap purring and kneading. How blessed I am to have such a sweet, little furball to snuggle up to me before taking off to play with one of her favorite toys: the torn-off edge of my granola bar wrapper.

And now for the news I promised you, the weight of today’s newspaper: 4.4 pounds. It fell short of the promised 5 pounds. However, the number of pages of ad inserts far surpassed the prediction. They number a whopping 700. If I planned to shop, I think Black Friday would be well past by the time I poured over all that newsprint. So…off I go to the recycling bin and then the garden.

The Thanksgiving Day 2012 “Roanoke Times” Virginia newspaper.

So that was it. Hope you enjoyed this blast from Thanksgiving past.

I bet the 2014 BLACK FRIDAY newspaper won’t come close to that of 2012. The evening news tonight said that retailers are already advertising and offering BLACK FRIDAY sale prices. My response to BLACK FRIDAY is always, “Just say, ‘No.'” That was actually the post following this Thanksgiving one.

CATWORKS Giveaway

For an opportunity to win this adorable, original painting by Kevin Harwood, please visit the post, CATWORKS by Kevin Harwood with Giveaway, and leave a comment prior to 5 p.m. EST tomorrow. The painting is 9 1/2 x 12 inches and is valued at $20.00.

In addition to providing this painting for the giveaway, Kevin is offering a 10 percent discount in his Etsy Shop through December 31. Use the code CATZ10 at check-out.

If you see a CATWORKS piece you love but wish the cat resembled your own, Kevin can do a custom version inspired by the look and coloring of your cat. Send an e-mail to dallywaters1@mac.com with a photo of your cat. For an additional $5 [total of $25 prior to the 10 percent discount and Free Shipping] Kevin will be happy to create an original work.

ARE KITTIES EVER THANKFUL?

The Thanksgiving Day 2012 “Roanoke Times” Virginia newspaper.

And now for the news I promised you, the weight of today’s newspaper: 4.4 pounds. It fell short of the promised 5 pounds. However, the number of pages of ad inserts far surpassed the prediction. They number a whopping 700. If I planned to shop, I think Black Friday would be well past by the time I poured over all that newsprint. So…off I go to the recycling bin and then the garden.

Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2012 by Janet Blue Thanksgiving 2

BLACK FRIDAY: JUST SAY, “NO”

Five Pounds of Shopping Ads

Our local newspaper has been pridefully advertising that our Thanksgiving Day paper will weigh more than five pounds and currently is more than 600 pages and growing. The first thing I do to the Sunday paper is to strip it of all the advertising supplements, right before I begin the crossword puzzle. You can count on me to weigh the Thanksgiving offering just prior to throwing most of it in the recycling bin.

I remember one past Thanksgiving when I dined with friends who had also invited some other friends. That couple spent most of their time pouring over the Black Friday ads. Very rude!

I have never and do not plan to ever participate in the ritual known as “Black Friday.” Nor do I plan to shop on whatever the current nomenclature is for Thanksgiving Day shopping, when many stores plan to be open. If brick and mortar retailers rarely see me the first eleven months of the year, they are not going to see me either of those days or any day thereafter through the end of the year.

Skip the Mall

I hate the mall. I grew up in the pre-mall era. We shopped at our neighborhood stores and managed to find everything we needed and wanted. Our first mall was constructed when I was a pre-teen. These multi-store, mammoth, money pits mushroomed from that point forward. As teens we did not hang out at the mall. We had so many other activities to keep us occupied, and those did not include video games. But I have gone a little off track as I sometimes tend to do.

Black Friday shopping: Long-haired grey cat sitting on a computer keyboard.

Cat cyber genius, Giulietta.

Dad Tom and I have a rule that we never go to the mall after Thanksgiving! So all those ads are of no use to me. If I don’t finish my Christmas shopping by the end of August (which I didn’t this year), I hit the “Cyber Monday” sales. Always having been a catalog shopper, taking up online shopping was a no-brainer. Some of my friends shun it, as they do not want to pay the shipping and handling charges. But I think they are worth every penny to have the items delivered to my front door or the door of my recipient.

Kitties Blue Help With Shopping

Black Friday shopping: Dilute tortoise shell cat lying on computer keyboard.

Calista Josette, who’s ready to shop, protests my puzzle solving by covering the entire keyboard.

And besides, what could be more fun than shopping with kitties helping; though, they have been known to add unwanted items to my cart, such as a side of beef, a giant catnip bush, several heating pads, or a bushel of live mice. Or they cancel my entire order just prior to me hitting the submit icon.

Even with those inconveniences, I’d rather skip using up my very expensive gas hunting for a parking place, elbowing my fellow shoppers as I try to pass them in the store aisles or standing in endless lines to make my purchases.

Thanksgiving = Yardwork for Me

Tom will be in Argentina for Thanksgiving, so I intend to spend Thursday and Friday working in the yard as the temperature is predicted to be an unseasonable 61 degrees. Enjoying the world God created for us seems infinitely better than suffering the worst of human nature as other people struggle to purchase even more items made in China!

If you haven’t checked out Giulietta’s cyber skills, click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkrfD77YMIY.

Update

12/05/2023: During COVID the malls in our area, and most areas of the country, became ghost towns. One of ours only has a few perimeter stores. The remainder of the mall has been taken over by the local medical community.

If you enjoy Black Friday shopping at the mall or big box stores, I hope you had fun and got some great deals.

November 20, 2012 by Janet Blue Backstory Christmas Thanksgiving 10

YOU
For Fiona

It seems like only yesterday…
You were just a kitten.
When I saw your pleading look,
I was completely smitten.

Now at only six years old,
You are getting ready to leave,
Soon you will have your wings.
I’ve already started to grieve.

You’ve fought hard for the past year,
And I’m not ready to say good-bye.
I can’t imagine you not in my life
I am so sad…today I had to cry.

I am grateful and blessed
For my six years with you.
You’ll live in my heart forever.
You’re one of the best ever Kitties Blue.

YESTERDAY

Many yesterdays have passed since
You gained your angel wings. Today
Is six months since you left us behind
To remember and mourn. Our hearts
Continue to hurt, and we miss
You as much as the day you left.
Giulietta whined from the catio
Yesterday as I worked in the yard.
I know you put her up to it. That
Was your way of getting me to,
Allow you to join me as I
Gardened. You were there with me
In spirit. With every meow
I thought of you and how much I miss
Your sweet face and disposition.
In these past few months, many friends
Have traveled your same path in your
paw-steps. I am certain you were
Waiting to greet them with purrs and hugs.
I pray you and your friends are laughing,
Frolicking and having fun together.
Picturing that makes me smile, but
Does not lessen my sadness at your
No longer being here to snuggle
And receive our love, care and kisses.
Fiona, please do not ever forget
You are still and always will be loved.

ONE YEAR MISSING YOU

One year has passed since you flew away,
And I still think of you everyday.
I see your sweet face in my mind’s eye
And wish we’d never had to say good-bye.
It’s nice you’ve sent us kitties needing a family,
But my dearest love, we are now at capacity.
You thought it would take more than one cat
To take your place in our habitat.
We love Cooper Murphy and baby Sawyer dearly
But thinking either could replace you makes me teary.
You were one-of-a-kind and will stay in my heart
Until the day I join you and we’re no longer apart.
When once again I can hold you in my arms
And revel in all your love and feline charms.
Together with you and all who have passed.
I will spend eternity contemplating how blessed
I was to share my life with my furry children,
Each and every one of you one-in-a billion.

UNTIL

I miss you each day.
Until we meet in heaven,
The pain will remain.

ONE OF A KIND

I don’t know how to say good-bye.
I thought you were invincible; though,
You used up many of your nine lives.
You ruled us all with an iron paw;
Never took “no” for an answer
And always got your way.
If not, you’d bark to signal your
Displeasure and sometimes raise a paw.
I always joked that you were bi-polar.
When I told people you were a calico
They immediately understood what I meant.
Today was unnaturally quiet in the house.
Can a home seem empty with eight cats?
I will miss waking up at night to find you
Sitting next to me and staring at me.
I will miss you yelling at us as you did
When you wanted breakfast and dinner.
I will miss watching you lounging and snoozing
On the porch settee on a warm afternoon.
But most of all I will miss your kisses!
When kitten Sawyer befriended you,
We suspect you were imparting your
Wisdom and secrets for controlling us.
Time will tell if he was a good listener.
But whatever he may have learned,
Neither Sawyer nor any other cat
Can or will replace you in our hearts.
Lily Olivia, you were one-of-a-kind.