Shopping Thoughts

Just about every retailer celebrates the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday. No need to spell out what this whole movement means other than to buy more stuff which may eventually end up in a garage sale, recycled, given to charity or thrown away. There's also the Opt Outside movement to spend Friday out of doors. I think this additional name for the Friday after Thanksgiving was started by a retailer. You know what Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are all about.

Garden Gift Ideas

You will find no complaints from me when it comes to selling and buying stuff - as they say, to each their own. I have enough stuff, really, the only problem I have is coming up with ideas of stuff to give others for the holidays. Giving cash is so impersonal, we only do that for the local niece and nephew still in secondary school. 

My siblings are gardeners, so they are easy to buy for. Over the years they've gotten some useful garden gifts. A mason bee house, frost protection blankets, garden magazine subscriptions, garden gloves, seeds, seeds and more seeds. If they all didn't live out of state, I'd send them Colorado made compost, fertilizer or plants grown here. One year my sister gave to a wonderful food charity on our behalves, great idea Lee! 

This year I veered from gardening gifts for my siblings and gave them all a 2019 desktop calendar in honor of our Mother who passed away exactly a year ago at Thanksgiving. She had given up active gardening the past few years, other than caring for her indoor plants and geranium slips. She enjoyed the Maxine character immensely and often gave a desk calendar to her siblings. She outlived all but one of her siblings. Her sister, my dear Aunt Jo passed away a few months ago at the age of 95. She was the remaining generation of ten children and one of my favorite Aunts, also a life long gardener. I'm her namesake - Betty Jo.

So what am I doing this Friday as I write this blog post?  No driving or shopping that's for sure. Sorry garden retailers, but I'll see you another time soon. I spent the morning on a sunny, crisp walk around the park with Glen and Ferris, then planted some holiday containers which I'll write about very soon. The red and green plants put me in the holiday spirit so after planting I pulled down the ornament boxes from storage and am ready to decorate. 

We've officially begun another holiday season. Wouldn't you know - snow is expected in the Denver area tomorrow. 

My Mom, "Dickie" (third in from the right), her siblings (not shown, Martin "Buddy" died when he was seven).
Her parents 50-year wedding anniversary photo, 1955