And that's done...

Beating Cyber Monday by a few hours. I have now completed my Christmas shopping, barring some "surprise!" friend or relative giving me a gift and my wanting to reciprocate.

I found stuff at Lehman's (a store that caters partly to the Amish, but also partly to the back-to-the-lander/doomsday prepper types. Though I admit I kind of want one of their olive oil lanterns just in case of ice storms....I could get the lantern and a couple bottles of cheap olive oil, and be set (at least with light) if the power goes out. And they do seem to have good quality stuff). And King Arthur Flour. And Duluth Trading Company. (And two of those three places gave me free shipping if I spent $50, which, I confess, I added to both orders in order to get. Yes, I know. But it seems better to, say, get a second shirt, than it does to spend $15 or whatever on shipping....)

All of those things are being shipped to my parents' house, aka "The Site of Christmas This Year" so I don't even have to transport them.

Really, I think mail order is a superior way to shop. Or, at least superior to the mall/big box store madness that happens this time of year.

***

I also didn't mention one more thing from over break - I helped my mom put out the Christmas lights on the hedges (my dad's knees are too bad now for that sort of work). As typical, the net lights had a couple sections that had gone bad in storage and wouldn't light. (I wonder, does anyone make GOOD net lights, I mean ones that last more than a couple years without getting messed up? They're really a nice way to do hedges but it seems the ones we've had have been so cheaply made they die after a couple years, even with being carefully put away at the end of the season). We managed to make do by layering and arranging the blank sections so they looked okay, but still - it kind of bugs me. The first old strand of lights I used to have on my Christmas tree (which I just replaced last year, I think, after several of the sockets went) were ones I had used for at least 15 years. Now, granted, they were indoor lights, which maybe makes a difference. But I'd just like to be able to buy a set of something and keep using it, and have it stay good, for a long time, without having to replace it regularly. I'd happily pay twice or three times what a cheap whatever would cost if I knew I was getting one that would save me having to replace the cheap one in a couple years.