Black Friday.

Nah. Glitter Friday, yes. Leftovers Friday, also yes. Don’t get out of pajamas all day? You betcha.

It was the changing of the decorations from fall to Christmas. I love my fall stuff best, probably because it isn’t so involved…and it’s understated. Christmas is an undertaking. And I feel like I end up cleaning house from top to bottom twice before it’s done. But it’s still better than getting in all that mess out there in the world.

I got a slow start. But it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I’m answering to anybody. I had all the time in the world….or three days, anyway.

I made the executive decision to only put up the one big tree this year at home. After all, I put up the one at work and Aunt Bren’s, too. And if I can talk JA into not being a Scrooge, I’ll be head of the decor committee there, as well. I’d miss my mermaids, but not enough to drag it all upstairs and put it up. (Although the Mardi Gras tree is tempting….).

Only about half my lights worked. This is so infuriating. Isn’t it bad enough I have to settle for a fake tree? My lights should just WORK. I don’t have a light tester, nor do I have the patience to fiddle with checking each individual bulb if I did. But I dutifully placed each strand back in their Dollar General or Food City bag to be contended with at a later date, and set them in the closet with the non-working strands from last year that I haven’t got around to fixing. The closet may get renamed Dead Lights Closet. I was thinking about calling it The Closet of Clothes That No Longer Fit But Were Too Expensive To Throw Away. Actually, that’s not true. There’s only one dress in there that doesn’t fit.

And still has the tags on it. It makes me sick. I wish somebody would buy it.

Anyway. Lights. So I had prepared for this eventual scenario last year, because I had two unopened boxes in my stash. I think I got them on clearance last New Years at the Meijers in Bowling Green. Whatever, I was thankful to have them. And so it was probably a good thing I didn’t have a real tree, because real trees eat lights and you end up needing double what a fake tree has. And why was I putting lights on my fake tree? Why isn’t it prelit? Well, it used to be. And every year a new section would go out. So one year, instead of trying to find the problem fuse or bulb or wire, I just cut them all off in desperation. That was a job in itself, but I’ve never regretted it. I’m due for a new tree but I’m gonna wait till the end of the season and get one at deep discount.

I’ve been saying this for a good three years now.

So I get lights on and the tree fluffed and decide not to start decorating it and instead get everything put out around the house. That’s way less stressful. And, smart me, put away the heaviest stuff in the trunk in the library last year so I don’t have to heave the cumbersome storage tote upstairs. Last year I about herniated a disk and popped a hemorrhoid.

It’s tricky remembering where everything goes. I shouldn’t have made so much fun of Kevin, referring to his pictures. I don’t mind switching things up but sometimes I think, “that doesn’t look quite right….” Oh well. It’s just me, and I don’t care.

I am so glad to be off today. I remember my first years of working when I had to go in and fight traffic just to get a parking spot . I worked at the Corning store at Red Roof Mall, then over at Belz Mall, and eventually at Five Oaks. It was always atrocious and people were so hateful. I remember no sale was ever good enough. They wanted you to pay them to take it, seemed like. Co-op wasn’t so bad, but it also wasn’t so good 🤣🤣 it’s just a drag to have to get up and go when you’d rather be home and cozy and putting your tree up and fighting with lights 🥰

Maybe I’ll put up one of those book trees tomorrow…

Maybe I’ll eat cookies and question life choices, the decision is all mine!

Hope y’all got the deals of your dreams and nobody cried.

Love from Appalachia,

~Amy