Move over Fat boy, the Turkey gets his day first.

 Thanksgiving is just a week away. I love the holiday and the celebrating of all that is Autumn. Gathering together with family and being thankful for the wonderful life we have. So why is Christmas being shoved down our throats before Halloween is even past. Thanksgiving is becoming just a part of the Christmas celebrations and is barely acknowledged as it's own holiday any more. There are already quite a few homes in my town that are fully decorated for Christmas. Lights on the house, massive Christmas themed inflatables and so many really trashy decorations. It just drives me crazy! 

I remember back to when I was a child. The first Christmas ad on TV was on Thanksgiving afternoon and was traditionally the Norelco Shaver ad with Santa riding the shaver like a sled. There catch-line was "even our name says Merry Christmas - Noelco.  The weeks that followed felt like eternity waiting for Christmas morning. I feel so bad for the children now being subjected to this anticipation for two solid months. It must be torturous for them. 

I did love as a child that Thanksgiving day was the official kick-off of the holiday season. Just look back at the Macy's Thanksgiving day Parade, it was all things Thanksgiving until the final float of the day - Santa! I haven't watched it in quite a few years as the coverage was more about the celebrities than the parade itself. As a child there were no crazy black Friday sales. The ones that now stretch for weeks instead of a single day. Santa arrived at the stores and malls after Thanksgiving. 

Christmas was simple in our house. We would usually get a toy off our wish list, maybe something my mom thought we'd enjoy, a new sweater or outfit, socks, and winter hats, gloves or scarfs. It was always enough. I was never disappointed. With my own children I tried to keep it close to the same. I was able to buy maybe a nicer toy, or electronics. I often tried to get one nice family gift. I did not spend thousands of dollars though. I don't think I ever spent one thousand dollars on presents for the entire family. I still don't. Since my kids and even my grandson are all adults I love to do theme gifts. One year (Co-Vid) I put together at home spa-day kits. Robes, slippers, soaps, oils, etc. I've made themes of cooking supplies that appeal to cuisines they want to learn such as - Pizza, Korean, Soups. I also look to things they are interested in - Quilting, Gardening, Travel. I love just buying them all PJ's and a cozy blanket with teas or hot chocolate mix. I keep it simple. I even sometimes look to thrift stores and used book stores for unusual items or books suited to the theme. 

I do love the holidays, but I prefer it to be simple. I want to celebrate Thanksgiving before I get inundated with Christmas ads, decor, music, etc. My Autumn decor stays up through to the end of November. Christmas decorations go up on or after December 1 now. When Alan and I were still married he loved to decorate the house and yard. The only time he ever had though was Thanksgiving weekend. So no matter the date it went up then. I often held back on putting the tree up though until after the first. I still have most of the lights and yard decor he put out. But it is just too much for me to do on my own now. A wreath on the door and my 1960's Santa Face that hangs on the front of the house and I call it done. I do a bit more inside, but I have scaled it back a bit. It is my decorations in the house though that bring me so much joy and bring back memories of Christmases past. It is these memories that we cherish the most. I will write about them on another day.

https://youtu.be/fpb9iyE6WCw?feature=shared

Noelco Ad

Election highs and heartbreaks

 November 2024, another presidential election just passed. This one was a heartbreaker. I am what they refer to in Texas as a Yellow Dog Democrat - I'd vote democrat even if it was an old yellow dog.  This was a bad year for democrats at both the State and National level. I had hoped and dreamed that this would be the year a woman would be elected President. I was excited to support Kamala Harris, the polls showed a very tight race, but in the end she was defeated. The Republicans ruled the day all the way down the ballots. 

In my lifetime I have never witnessed such a political divide in this nation as we have now. There isn't a middle ground anymore. The far right conservatives and their agenda go against so much that I believe in. But they say I am a far left liberal. Why? I believe that a woman should have the freedom to make decisions about her own body guided by her beliefs. I believe that we should help immigrants (legal or not) as this is what this country was founded on. It is the right and humane thing to do. Should the border be wide open - no. But the mass deportations that the second term Trump administration is planning is inhumane and will damage the economy in ways we can't even fathom. Trump is a felon, a sexual predator, facist wanna-be dictator. He lies. he manipulates and is also easy manipulated. He was a terrible president his first term. He even lost his re-election bid in 2020. Many that were on his Whitehouse staff turned against him and said he was unfit to be President. But yet here we are again four years later and a more insane Trump preparing to take office in January. He is old and senile. Delusional. Dangerous. Never in my lifetime have I felt so threatened by what our president will do to destroy our freedoms and rights. 

I fail to understand how the majority of voters feel he would be the best leader. I cannot understand how they can support him. He is immoral. He is a lunatic. How do people not see that? 

I first voted in 1984. President Reagan was running for re-election against Walter Mondale. It was the only time I voted for a republican. I regretted it fairly quickly as the policies to improve the economy in his first term (aka Reaganomics) began to fail. They were only good for the short term but masked the underlying issues and the economy faltered once again. By the time he left office he was becoming senile, and often fell asleep at the most inopportune times. He became an embarrassment to the country. 

1988 - George H.W. Bush vs. Michael Dukakis. Bush easily defeated Dukakis. Bush failed to turn the economy around and was not a well - liked president. 

1992 - Bill Clinton a former Governor of Arkansas ran for the Democrats and defeated the Senior Bush. Bill also won re-election in 1996 (he was challenged by Republican Bob Dole). While he was never popular with republicans, he balanced the budget, re-built the economy and America prospered under his two terms. I did not get a chance to vote in this or the following election in 2000 as I was living in Ireland. In 2000 Al Gore ran for the Democrats against George Bush (Jr.). It was a dirty election and the courts had to step in. Florida had a rigged recount (George's brother was Governor there) and they tossed out ballots that would have won the election for Gore. But Bush was eventually declared the winner by electoral votes event though Gore had the popular vote. This I think was the beginning of the great divide in politics. Distrust of the other party, election rigging, strong party divides.  

By the 2004 election I had returned to Texas and was committed to the democratic party. The democrats had a strong candidate with John Kerry. But Bush won again as too many people felt that a change at the Whitehouse during a time of war wasn't the best for the country. Bush did nothing for the war. It wasn't until after he left office that America finally got the upper hand.

2008 - Barack Obama! need I say more. I have to say though he did defeat a nice moderate republican John McCain. 2012 Obama wins again beating Mitt Romney. 

2016 - WTF! It all fell apart. Hilary Clinton (democrat) was challenged by Trump. She led the polls. She won the popular vote, but for the second time in my life the electoral votes went to the republican. 

2020 - Biden the democratic candidate beat Trump. It was a dirty transfer of power that further divided the nation. Trump should have been impeached. He should have been sent to jail. But instead we end up with him running again in 2024 and this is where we are now. I have to say the democrats faltered by choosing Biden in the Primaries when it was becoming apparent that he was too old. The cracks began to show when He failed miserably in his debate with Trump. He stepped aside and the Democratic party came together to back his Vice President Kamala Harris as the parties nominee. I and many others were thrilled. Her momentum was powerful the first month, but I could feel the excitement waning as the election grew close. Polls were tied. I was hopeful but prepared for the worse. It was the worse. I will now for the next four years be shaking my head thinking WTF. WTH. I will hibernate and watch NetFlix. I will hope that the Democrats can pull together and find a candidate reminiscent of Obama. Someone that can pull the country together. Someone smart. Someone inspiring.  Someone kind.