Christmas Kick-off

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. My daughter came home for a couple of days--first time she's been home since Labor Day. The folks and a step-brother came for dinner. I actually timed everything right for once--all of the food got done on schedule! We usually have Thanksgiving at Mom's but the kids like my turkey better, so I figured I might as well do it this year. (Mom bakes it the traditional way, I brine mine and stuff it with fruit and vegetables--it makes for a much juicier bird!) I had to be at work at 7 a.m. on Black Friday, so no crazy shopping for me! Usually customers start trickling in after 9 o'clock as they return to town from hitting the sales in the neighboring town and it's fun to listen to their stories. This was my husband's first Black Friday since he started working at Walmart. He works in one of the smaller stores and people are usually fairly civil. They didn't have any problems this year, but I guess last year they had a couple of women get into a fight in the toy aisle. Next year I may have to take the day off and give it a try! My daughter wanted to put up a Christmas tree while she was home, so we did the big one Friday night. Today I'm trying to put up some of the other decorations. I figure I'll take my time and try and do a box or two each evening. That way the cats can gradually acclimate to the new "toys". The new kitten is doing pretty good so far--he's knocked a couple of ornaments off, but he hasn't actually tried to climb the tree. I think that's a good sign!!