November blitzed by and all of a sudden Thanksgiving was here. It seemed like we were just celebrating Halloween and suddenly the stores were infiltrated by Christmas decorations and goodies. Then people were talkin’ turkey. That’s because 2018 is one of those years when the first day of the month began on a Thursday, so that means Thanksgiving Day is earlier than usual.
It also means you have lots more time to get all those gifts without a mad dash at the last minute.
So relax.
Put your feet up.
Sneak in a little nap.
Then have another turkey sandwich and some of that pie if there is any left.
A little mirth about girth.
So, did you indulge to the max yesterday and need to wear your turkey pants again today, or did you slip right back into those jeans without a hitch? I heard a story on the news earlier this week, that for the first time, the sales of yoga pants surpassed that of blue jeans! Well, they’re a lot more comfortable, especially around the holidays with all the goodies that are coming your way.
Did you shop ‘til you dropped?
I was reminiscing with Shelley, a fellow blogger, about Black Friday the other day. I haven’t been to the mall on Black Friday since around 1982 or 1983. It was my first and last Black Friday and it was at Fairlane Mall. People shuffled along inside the mall, a throng of bodies, and you almost needed to put your personal blinker on to shift over to the right, or the left, to get to your desired store. That was before any stores were open on Thanksgiving Day, and, in those days I think the earliest the stores opened on Black Friday was 9:00 a.m. The bargains are out there and we get advance notice online and in e-mails from our favorite stores, so the deals are there for the taking. We’ve come a long way haven’t we?
Turkey Day trotting.
I did a little trotting around Council Point Park yesterday. I HAD intended to go to Bishop Park and Dingell Park down at the Detroit River too, but the cold and blustery temps kept me away from those venues. I awoke to temps in the “teens” and by the time I got home from my little trek, it was 23 degrees F. It was blustery and some of the water was ice-covered and there patches of snow that had not budged from our last mini-snowfall on Tuesday morning. Up to today, there had been no sun to melt that snow, so it wasn’t going anywhere.
I treated the squirrels to walnuts and walked six miles. I came home with frozen fingers because I took a slew of pictures which I’m going to divide into two days. The first is today and tomorrow I’ll include some more nature-type pictures. I did not want you to overdose on too much squirrel cuteness at one time!
Wing-Nut.
Here in Michigan we have our professional sports teams just like any other state or country, and, though I’m not what you’d call a sports fanatic, I do try to keep abreast of how the Tigers, Lions, Pistons and Red Wings are doing. In 2018, we got new coaches for our baseball, football and basketball teams, but the Red Wings coach has been around since 2015. So, are we Michiganders any different from other fans who love their teams when they’re hot, and scoff at them when they’re not? Right now they are doing pretty well. The diehard Red Wings fans are called “Wing-Nuts” and at Council Point Park, I could not help but notice that one of the memorial trees has been decorated for Christmas. The holiday décor sure stood out, even on a gray day.
As you see, not just one, but two Christmas wreaths are on this memorial tree. The wreath up top piqued my interest as it was full of Detroit Red Wing ornaments.
I’m guessing that Brian Skinner was either a Wing-Nut or enjoyed hockey. I Googled around to see if I could discover any info on this gentlemen, but all I learned was that he passed away suddenly at age 41.
I’ll bet Brian loved hockey and the Red Wings and he’s probably smiling from up above at his Winged Wheelers, don’t you?
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Today was the first time ever I bought something on Black Friday,or any similar sale day. I don’t think it’s fun with so many people crowded, but today I bought a Bluetooth speaker. My workmate showed me one he bought and I just wanted it.😊 Well, I think I will enjoy it…
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I think you will enjoy it John – I don’t have Bluetooth anything but I know they are big as to portability and no wires to have to hook up … even nicer. Our malls have been busy since Thankgiving afternoon when a lot of the sales begin and I heard on the traffic reports today that people are waiting in lines around major shopping malls, trying to find an empty space at the mall … that has been going on since the early morning hours. There are a lot of big-screen TVs and other electronics on sale today and people waited overnight for those deals and it was really cold last night. Did you decide where to go on your shoot tomorrow? Hope you have good weather for it.
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I had to laugh when I read the part about the yoga pants. I am definitely wearing my yoga pants today. I just got a new pair that has fleece on the inside. They are so comfy and so warm. I want to wear them every day, but especially on the day after Thanksgiving!
I did NOT go shopping today. I am not a very good shopper, even in the best of times. I went to Body Pump class with hubby and then drove for Meals on Wheels. Much more fun than shopping (in my opinion!)
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I didn’t go shopping either Laurie, and the malls here have people waiting in line to even get a parking space, with most of the big stores opening yesterday afternoon. We actually had sun here today – it was wonderful as it seems it has been weeks since I saw the sun. Did your fleece go all over the place when you stepped out of the pants? I bought new sweatpants and I am tall so got men’s sweatpants as they will go down to my ankles – the women’s sweatpants do not. So there was a trail of black sweatshirt fuzz all around the house, all over my socks and when I stepped out of them, fuzz all over my legs … yes, they are toasty though. 🙂 I know that’s going to be happening even after the first times I wash and drive them.
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No…I washed the pants before I wore them, so most of the fleece wound up in my dryer filter! 🙂
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That’s what I should have done and I intended to but it got so cold so fast and I thought my other ones were not warm enough so I said “how much fuzz could come off anyway?” Sigh.
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Those were beautiful photos of Brian’s wreath.
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Thanks Anne – I was curious if he liked hockey, maybe was a coach? I Googled around hoping to find out a backstory on why the family chose to put the Red Wings wreath there and a second wreath with a similar Red Wings color scheme. There was nothing. The family that maintains this memorial tree changes the wreath as the seasons change – I don’t know if you recall, but I posted a picture of that tree with an autumn wreath and a garland of Fall leaves wrapped around the tree trunk. They had a picture of Brian fastened to the tree but I think it must have blown away. Many years ago I wrote a story about a memorial wreath that someone placed by a big fir tree in the Park. I saw a woman come and sit in the car in the parking lot near the wreath. After tracking down the story, I think it was this marine’s mom and someone with the same last name started following my blog. I think someone saw the blog post and told her about it. (My blog is carried in the local newspaper as well as on Patch.com.) So, I was able to trace down the sad story behind the memorial wreath by the fir tree. It had USMC so I thought the marine had died in combat … he was killed by a drunk driver. I have the post if you get a chance to read it …. https://lindaschaubblog.net/2014/11/11/over-hill-over-dale-as-we-hit-the-dusty-trail/
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What a story! I’m so impressed that your local paper carries your blog.
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Yes it was a very sad story and later in the season, maybe even Winter, we had some high winds and it blew over and was damaged and then it was gone. I don’t think the Park would have removed it, (though this fir tree was not one of the memorial trees that people pay for). I have my blog on the local newspaper’s blog roll, and have done this since the Summer of 2013. What is exciting to me was it was just the “Downriver” version where my blog appeared originally … that is a collection of local cities near me, but now it is in other newspapers for other locales around Michigan, so that really makes me happy. Here is the link to the community blogroll where I am fifth down on the right-hand side: http://www.thenewsherald.com/blogs/#community_blogs
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NEAT!!!
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I also blog at the Wyandotte Patch, a hyperlocal newspaper – this was suggested to do by Marge as she used to work in a psychic tearoom as a hostess for years and they advertised in it. It is just online, but I did not use my actually blogs like at “The News Herald” as you have to set up your blog right there. So it is a different name. I do a post there every time I blog on WordPress – the problem is their format. You have to put your photos in “gallery-style” not embedded in the post, and their software platform does not handle vertical pics very well and the pictures are often distorted on the horizontal pics as much as you try to resize them. But I give my actual WordPress link so people can find the blog to see the pictures if they want to. https://patch.com/michigan/wyandotte/lifestyle
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Miss Linda…………………………..thank you for telling and showing us about the very nice Red Wing
Wreath at the park…………………………….yes it was very bitter cold yesterday………………it took me most of today to recuperate from yesterday’s prep and clean-up…………………..I’m glad Thanksgiving is over……………………………..now unto Christmas………………………how many days left do we have?
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You’re welcome Ann Marie – I would like to know if this gentleman was a coach, or just liked hockey. It was a unique-looking wreath. You had a long day – first the soup kitchen, then the turkey dinner so that’s a long day indeed and the weather was so cold and ugly … the sun was wonderful to see today. We have not seen enough of it, that’s for sure. As of today, 31 days until Christmas according to my handy-dandy calculator: http://www.xmasclock.com/
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Linda,
Glad the Thanksgiving rush is over. I like the concept of the yoga pants everything. I often wonder how people fit into jeans of any size- I don’t think I can ever. No post can be too squirrelly for me. I have grown to love those furries as my own. Did you get a couple of emails I sent you before I left on my trip about the cat poisoner?
The red and white colours of those wreaths are like peppermint handles and I love those colours.
Its good his family chooses to remember him through seasons.
Susie
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Hi Susie – Yes I did and I passed it along to Carol for her info and was (and still am) waiting on a response from her to give you her thoughts and mine at the same time. I’ve not heard from Carol. I know you are sad about this and I don’t blame you in the least. Carol is still mourning the death of her own cat which she had euthanized earlier this month. I feel badly for you as you invest your love and effort and money into taking care of those little fur babies only to have someone poison them. It is cruel and beyond words for someone to do this to these helpless kitties.
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I rather enjoyed that blog today so many different things to read about . we’ve taken two black Friday over here now I think online retailers make it possible even though we don’t have Thanksgiving or any sort of holidays
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That’s amazing to me that you are into the Black Friday event as well and a Swedish photographer mentioned he had gotten Blue Tooth speakers as part of Black Friday and that surprised me. Here people now shop on Thanksgiving Day for bargains. Thanksgiving here is all about feasting and stuffing yourself, football, going to the Black Friday sales and oh yes … family too. Glad you enjoyed the post and if you want a laugh, here was my Thanksgiving Day post since you like a dose of squirrels every so often – check out the captions … even squirrels are gluttons on the holiday: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/11/22/eat-eat-and-be-squirrelly/
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Indeed though it’s just about the sales here none of the fun things that you folk enjoy this weekend ..
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Thanksgiving was a week earlier since the first Thursday in November fell on a Thursday, so people have a whole week more to shop, eat Christmas goodies, go to parties, etc. For some it is a whirlwind until 01/01/19!
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No shopping for me Linda especially on Black Friday. Most of our gifts will be homemade so over the next month I will be busy making some gifts. We just don’t buy into the commercialism that Christmas has become.
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I don’t blame you – I went the one time in the 80s and the stores opened at a reasonable time and it was madness … this was at Fairlane Mall in Dearborn. Never again. It is nicer to have gifts that are homemade and made from the heart. I always get myself something and more and more it pertains to my walking and the blog … I really only got those gloves to be able to take photos all Winter.
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I love that Christmas decoration.
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Thank you – I liked it too and would have liked to know the story behind it – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wreath like that before and wonder if it was specially made just for this memorial tree. It does light up that area of the Park, especially as we’ve had such gray days here in Southeast Michigan. So, this wreath is a bright spot in the Park. There is another memorial tree I am going to spotlight next month … the people have put glass ornaments on most of the low branches. They do this every year and have been doing it as long as I’ve been walking there (2013). (I apologize for missing your comment before now – I usually am diligent about checking comments and responding to them.)
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Looking forward to the others. 🙂
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You’ve got the best pictures. I really like the history you add with each.
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Thank you Bryan. I am trying to include a lot of pictures with each post so readers feel like they are there with me. Unbelievably, in the beginning I had no pictures, or one very small picture. I am glad you like the history part as well. I like to have a backstory for some of these posts and I have done a few other posts about the memorial trees. I try Googling around to find out something about those people whose names are on the memorial stones. I felt badly I could find no info on Brian Skinner to connect the dots with the Red Wings hockey wreath.
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I definitely made sure to get those stretchy pants out!! No way was I going near a jean of any kind, lol! The pictures of the memorial are beautiful.
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I’ll bet you did as you said you were going to be cookin’ up a storm! I liked that wreath too Mackenzie … I’ve spotlighted a few of the memorial trees in my blog and one in particular was a young woman and every Spring her family hangs these crystal-looking angels and gossamer butterflies on the tree and they have planted yellow tulips.
It looks very pretty and it is a flowering tree (pear I think) so I got pictures of the white blooms with the angels and butterflies … very special. Funny though … they don’t decorate the rest of the year. Brian Skinner’s family decorates for every season, but these were new wreaths. I took pictures today of a memorial tree where someone hung glass ornaments on all the bare branches – at a distance it was not really remarkable, but up close it was, so I took a bunch of photos and will see how they turn out.
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Can’t wait to see them if you share them!!
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I looked at this guy’s memorial stone and he was born on 12/16 and died on 12/15 … so I thought I’d do the bulbs post one of those two days – although as I write that, it may be a little morbid to do this. There aren’t that many people that decorate for Christmas … I have a few weeks to think on it.
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Thanks for the mention – I must confess, I did buy a pair of comfy pants on Black Friday………….I can’t wait to wear them! xx
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I should have put your blog site – I will amend it now as many of the people who regularly comment are likely behind due to the holiday weekend. You are all set with the comfy pants for walking outside if they are warm. I bought some new sweatpants in black – now this could be a blog post because whenever you get new sweatshirts/pants, the fuzz comes out … on your socks, on the carpet and I see these black blobs on the light-colored carpet for the first few times worn, even after washing them. I know it has to be fuzz, but I’m terrified of spiders and centipedes. Much angst with sweatshirt fuzz … maybe a Tuesday Musings post. Hmmm.
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I’ve never wanted or needed anything badly enough to brave the Black Friday crowds! Here in our area stores have been displaying Christmas merchandise since early September. We had a couple of gorgeous sunny days here so I spent my time outside. Fortunately it wasn’t nearly as cold as it is in your town!
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Same here Sabine … one trip on Black Friday was enough for me. The stores rush the seasons as it is and they seem so skip right over Thanksgiving and zoom to Christmas. I did a long walk and worked outside and it was quite mild after our temps have been 20 degrees below average. I hate to see the snow arrive – even a little bit will mess things up, and ice up the perimeter path as well.
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Yes they do rush the seasons! I’m afraid that’s probably not going to change again. I’m glad you got a walk in with some reasonable temperatures today.
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