I’m going to work….which is good because this way I don’t have to cope with frantic shoppers !!

Janice I just saw you on TV (yeepee!) and you looked beautiful!!

Guillaume

Morning Janice….Just saw you on FF….love the red on you

I admit no shopping for me…..I actually avoids stores this time of year simply because many of then put out as much of their invitory as possible …even with racks of clothing in the middle of the isle….and frankly it makes it difficult for me to manuver with bumping into…and even knocking over …..merchandise…And with high volume of crowds I have start being mindful of them becuase they tend not to see me…So shopping can be more a hassle then a pleasure….Over the years I have become A great fan of ecommerce….

Guillaume….Yes mine is coming up….This Tues is the day of my personal celebration!!!

I need coffee….haven’t opened my blinds yet but look dark out…

You have work too Guillaume?? Well you have a old day as well…

Janice!!..You make a GREAT Santa’s Helper!! Love the hat…

Also love the idea of telling each of the 75 Santa what you want for Christmas!!

(Opps Guillaume…that should have been a ‘good day’ …not an ‘old day’…..iPhone fingers is the excuse…HA!)

JANICE GOT TO SIT ON SANTA’S LAP!!

When are you due?

I agree with you Dawn: the Santa hat looks great on Janice

And thank God she cheered Santa up because he didn’t seem to be too much successful with the two little cute kids!

Nobody can resist our Weather Machine’s magic!!

(hope the new microwave is on the way! )

Guillaume

Good morning, Doing all my shopping on line. Just wanted to let u know I’ve had MS for 20 years. Had 3 daughters all grown up. Admire your spirit Keep it up. God bless watch u all the time Karen

Still at work here! Had a very subdued Thanksgiving while working but was very busy with the India thing and the ongoing piracy issues. We had a Thanksgiving potluck and I made homemade dinner rolls. I brought 10 dozen and they were all consumed so I think I had a good batch!

We had you up on the “big screen” which is about 20 ft high and 45 ft wide in the center of the watchfloor yesterday. Pregnancy has never looked as big (haha) and one of the analysts mentioned…”I think she is really pregnant”. I responded by saying “Brilliant deduction Columbo…….what gave it away?” I guess we all had a little laugh and one of the analysts who is also pregnant said she hopes she looks as good as you when she gets that far along!

I will check into some shopping tomorrow while the family is still up at the grandparents. I have quite a bit done as I pick things up during the fall. I used to do the early morning thing and will go when the wife and kids want to go. I am the crowd clearer.

No shopping for me — at least in the stores — I was planning to check out that CyberMonday website mentioned on Fox News earlier in the week. I think I’ll be able to do everything online, in fact I’ve been getting good online coupons in my email inbox since last weekend.

Good to see you on this morning, Janice, Santa didn’t look frightened at all when you hopped on this lap!! Our son wasn’t exactly scared of Santa, more like “conflicted” because he knew he needed to give Santa his requests, but didn’t want to get too close. My husband says he was torn between greed and personal safety!LOL

The hubby has gone on a hunting trip, so I’m going to spend the weekend getting caught up on some movie watching and reading. I’m just hoping the delicious pumpkin roll my friend left in our refrigerator doesn’t call my name all weekend.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend, Friends!

Hey Janice,

I’m feeling a little sluggish this morning so I might be suffering from turkey hangover! I don’t plan on going anywhere near a store today. Before I got a full-time librarian job I was an assistant manager in a toy store and after surviving a Black Friday and Christmas shopping season at that place, I decided never to out shopping the day after Thanksgiving again! It’s just too crazy. At 4:00 this morning I was sound asleep and enjoying it! Those people who get up in the middle of the night to shop are crazy. I plan on doing some shopping online today. I just checked my e-mail and I had about 10 shopping related e-mails…’tis the season!

I hope you have a great day today and enjoy those leftovers! I’m sure you’ll be tired from having to get up so early so I hope you’ll get a good rest when you go home. My sister-in-law gave us a bunch of leftovers so we’ll be enjoying those today.

Have a great day everyone!

Margie

Good Morning Janice..

I survived Turkey Day..and no hangover except at the waistline..

No shopping for me today…I can’t handle the Black Friday Frenzy…I have went in the past and Wow what an experience..ppl shoving, grabbing, out of breath, some almost in tears, even a few punches and cuss words being thrown around. That’s not for me. I’ll do mine after the craziness and do some online.(frenzy free). My daughter and some of her friends are going today..they were getting started at 4am..(yawn).

It’s a bit cloudy here..current temp is 42…high supposed to be 55..nice for the last week of November.

That was very thoughtful of Sean to bring you leftovers..we had so much food, there will be leftovers for days and days…. Enjoy yours!

Have a great Friday..although it doesn’t feel like Friday..at least not to me.

Deb

My roommate was up bright and early, but I slept in until about seven o’clock. She’s getting better every day. For the past few days, she makes her own instant oatmeal and either eats it standing up in the kitchen if I’m still sleeping or asks me to carry it to the bedroom for her.

Yesterday morning, Greg and Jamie offered good coverage of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, but from 11 AM (Pacific), Fox News ran reruns of O’Reilly and other shows. I watched CNN from time to time throughout the day as I prepared dinner. CBN’s London Bureau was the focal point for their outstanding coverage of the tragedy in Mumbai. MSNBC showed re-runs of a series I wouldn’t have watched in the first place.

Hi Gang,

It’s nice to have a nice relaxing morning. I got to enjoy 2 cups of tea with my nice leisurely breakfast this morning. I’ll be helping my parents put up Christmas decorations this weekend. Since it’s harder for them to do it now, it’s become a tradition where I help them on Thanksgiving weekend. I always enjoy helping them out.

I enjoyed yesterday with my brother and his family. Since I played with the kids a lot I managed to avoid any problems with my brother. A political discussion started at dinner but we decided to end that quickly since my brother has very differing opinions from my parents and me. My little nephew is just so cute. My sister-in-law told me that when she told him that Grandma and Grandpa Gacki were coming to visit, he asked if I was coming, too! He was napping when we got there and when he woke up he was cranky. He wanted his mommy so my brother came out to get her. I went in with her and my little nephew’s face lit up when he saw me. He started smiling and giggling–I think he likes me! Before he woke up I spent time coloring with my niece. We had a good time together.

I got a headache during dinner so when I finished I stretched out on the sofa in the living room to take a rest. Well, with two kids in the house, I didn’t get much rest! My nephew came over and wanted to play so I wrestled with him a little. Both my niece and nephew decided to jump on me–thankfully not at the same time–but I must say it’s not too fun having someone jump across your stomach after you’ve eaten a big meal!

I was doing fine with eating until I decided to have a second helping of mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes so it was hard to resist. Thankfully we had a little break before dessert so I did manage to find room for a piece of pie–yummy!

Leftovers are on the menu for today–turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pie. Now I have to go get dressed since it’s coming up on noon. I should do something useful with my day! I hope everyone has a great day.

Margie

It was on this day in 1990 when I began working as a salesman at Allied Model Trains in Culver City, California, then the world’s largest toy train store.

Born in 1940, I grew up with Lionel trains in the 1940’s and 1950’s and have loved them all of my life. But on my first day at Allied, I knew I had so much to learn!

I worked in the Lionel and LGB section. I arrived at work at 9 AM, a half hour before the regular starting time, because the owner, Allen Drucker, wanted to show me around the store and the stock room. He said he would be working in my section, too, and would be glad to help me out. He did so all day long.

Doors opened at 10 AM to a long line of customers anxious to get inside. By 10:20 AM, I was ringing up my first sale, and LGB Christmas train ($495.00), a whistling box car, a couple of other cars, extra track, and some building kits. Total sale: about $1,100.00.

Around 10:45, I spotted one of my favorite actors standing at the LGB counter, waiting for me! It was Richard Crenna! “Walter Denton!” I said as I walked over to him. That was the name of his character with a high-pitched voice on “Our Miss Brooks” on radio and later on TV in the early days of television. Richard was 6′4″ tall! In later years, he usually played a good guy who always ended up with a young woman. My kind of guy!

In fact, Richard and his wife had been married for years. He was visiting Allied with his neighbor from Encino. “We’re on our way to LAX to pick up my little boy. I wanted to stop here first and get a few things for our Christmas layout.” I helped select a few cars and set them aside while they drove four miles south to LAX.

They returned about two o’clock with Richard’s “little boy” — a 25-year-old young man who was even an inch or two taller than Richard!

I was busy all day long. It was liking shooting fish in a barrel. As the day went by, I quickly learned my way around the store as I helped one customer after another waiting for me to help. The owner helped me find things and ring up sales. We worked until 9 PM that night.

By the end of the day, I had sold six or seven LGB Christmas train sets at $495 each, four or five regular LGB train sets at $395 each, extra LGB track, Lionel train sets, locomotives, cars, track, and accessories, and a variety of other merchandise.

I stopped at McDonald’s on the way home. When I arrived a little after 10 o’clock, my roommate asked me how my first day went.

“I’m really tired,” I said. I wasn’t used to standing all day, but within a couple of weeks, I was used to it. It was hard to believe that, for Christmas 1990, people were still buying toy trains like crazy, every day, from 10 AM until 9 PM, nonstop.

George Spink
Los Angeles

George;

I bought both my sons trains as they were growing up. We still have them. Thats a classic and timeless gift for a child!

I love watching movies, too, Janice.

One of my favorite movies at this time of year is “Holiday Affair” (1949) starring Janet Leigh, Robert Mitchum, and Wendell Corey.

The film begins with Lionel’s beautiful model of the Santa Fe Super Chief running around a large Lionel train layout in a New York City department store.

Robert Mitchum plays a Lionel train salesman at this store. Janet Leigh plays a comparative shopper for a competitor. She buys a Lionel train set and meets Robert Mitchum. Wendell Corey plays Janet Leigh’s finance. She also has a little boy, who thinks the Lionel train set is for him, but Janet Leigh has to return it the next day.

Her husband was killed during World War Two. Corey doesn’t stand a chance against Mitchum.

This is one of my favorite movies. I watched it every year on WGN-TV in Chicago long before cable TV.

Large department stores in New York, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago, and elsewhere had big operating Lionel and American Flyer display layouts in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. I loved watching them at the stores in Chicago!

Only yesterday….

(And that’s the title of a great book by Frederick Lewis Allen, a suggestion I offer for the readers among us.)

George Spink
Los Angeles

Shopping Update…

My son called a little bit ago from Sears where he was TV shopping..and said he bought a 46 inch flat screen for $899 ..which was one of their Black Friday specials..He asked if I wanted one..so guess what?? I had him pick me up one too..

Couldn’t resist the good deal…and I didn’t have to have a fist fight to get it..haha

Comment by Don in Alexandria
November 28th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
George;

I bought both my sons trains as they were growing up. We still have them. Thats a classic and timeless gift for a child!

You’re so right, Don! Toy trains are timeless gifts for a boy — or a girl. And for their father, too!

Way to shop Deb!! That was very nice of your boy to call! Looks like he was brought up right!

Thanks Don

He’s hooking it up now…I’m loving it!!

Hey everyone. No shopping for me (said with Seinfeld Soup Nazi voice). I’m just getting my free downloads of school stuff from one of the sites that I occasionally buy stuff from.

I’m currently suffering from the got home from the in-laws at 5am with no decent sleep for about 24 hours hangover. Hubby got a couple decent naps, but we’re both on empty today. We drove past Walmart by our house when we came in, and the parking lot was packed with parking vultures circling. They had even taken up the nearby Chick-Fil-Et parking lot nearby. Total insanity. You could not pay me to go anywhere near there today. (Although I do need to send hubby to the grocery store for some frozen chopped onion so I can make soup with the turkey stock and dark meat that I made/deboned the other day.)

Saw you on F&F this morning while I took care of something before I could go to sleep (you’ll understand in January). Contrary to what the moron mentioned in the other post said, you look great. As someone else already mentioned, I only wish I looked as good as you do when I was pregnant (all 3 times). Since you’re due close to it, January 6 is a great day to have a baby, just ask my mom! (Although she still hasn’t forgiven me for costing her tax deduction for 1974.) Your intern and I could eventually share our 21st bdays.

Oh, and Don, I’d like to personally thank you Seahawks for their generosity yesterday. I didn’t get to watch the game, but there were people checking out the score with their phones and keeping my father-in-law and I informed.

I didn’t shop today but signed more than 40 books at a book-signing in Colonial Williamsburg.
One awesome family, whose mother asked, “You’re not one of those revisionist historians are
you?” “No way,” I answered. “Not even a little, c’mon tell the truth,” she persisted. “I lecture
at Hillsdale College all the time,” I proved. “I’ll take seven,” she replied. Took about 20 minutes
to sign all of her books and have a delightful conversation.

You can get your copy of “Hurricane of Independence” for only $13.77 at Amazon.com. I know
a lot of you are shopping on-line. When it arrives, you can send it to me to personally sign
as many of you have already done!

Thanks,
Tony

Hey Tony, I’m going to go to my local bookstore and order it, then see about sending it down to you in the good ole USA.

Peter,

My humble thanks. If I recall correctly, you’re from England, and the book is definitely being
sold in every English-speaking country and website – England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada,
South Africa, etc.

I hope you enjoy it, though you may have a different of the “American rebellion.”

Thanks again,
Tony

I avoid Black Friday like the plague. I do my Christmas shopping a few weks after thatso around the 13th or so. Usually get stuff half off. Will get a few things online but most ly stik with area stores maybe one of the malls for 1 or 2 items. I dont buy for the whole extended family but maybe the younger cousins and the ones I ont see but a few times a year get cash. It helps and thank God for the small bonus I will get in my next check that will help.Still stuffed from Thursday lol