ninos...I wondered why people line up 3 miles to get into that Midnight Madness sale. I didn't realize they pull them in with a $500. gift card hidden in a goodie bag...lol. No wonder. I would love to do Black Friday but I never do. My husband is not a fan of shopping period and he hates traffic more than most people. He hates waiting more than most people. None of my kids enjoy it either, so any interest I have in shopping on that day is very quickly squelched. [g] Actually, I haven't suffered for not going to Black Friday sales. Last year, I was looking for a camera and had my eye on a specific one and about mid December, Staples had the lowest price I had seen or expected to see and they bundled it with a printer. It was a Canon camera and rated highly. I notice this year, they were offering the same camera yesterday for what I bought it for last year without a printer. So that was a pretty great price for a camera that was just on the market last year. ninos...I also am not a pocketbook fan any more. I used to be for many years, but when my kids were small I got in the habit of using a fanny pack. I found one I really liked that was small, slim and black and looked pretty good. That was about 12 years ago and I still use the same fanny pack. lol Believe it or not, it still looks really good. No wear spots or tears or stains. I am a homebody so I am sure it gets less use than most handbags. [g] oceanna...that is one gorgeous table AND what a great job you did in bringing it back to life! Craig's List...I am going to have to keep my eye on that more often. Which categories do you look in the most? That is a great reminder and you are right of course, recycling is healthier for all of us and the planet too. I was horrified recently to discover when shopping for a new mattress that the government actually requires all manufacturers to use fire retardant on them. What is wrong with them? So you are breathing that all night every night, just 'in case' your house catches fire some day. When, if the fire gets to your bed, you probably would be dead from smoke inhalation anyway. So we have postponed buying a new mattress. This year, I have been thinking of becoming less of a 'consumer'. I think I already have been pretty reasonable over the years but there is always room for improvement. I have never been one to put lights up on the house at Christmas, but more because we just don't have the time or energy to do it. Now, with global warming and energy costs what they are, I just can't understand why I continue to see people escalating their outdoor holiday decorating. I went into Lowe's over the weekend, which apparently I rarely do over the holiday season, because it was the first time I saw where people are getting all these huge light displays. Unbelieveable. I LOVED when I was a kid and our parents would take us to see 'the lights' at Christmas, but I think times are different now. Anyway..that is the subject for another thread, [g] it would be nice to keep this thread going over the holiday season and we would have it for next year too, to compare. Thanks for contributing... :-) pm2

DH and I ordered new living room furniture....our sofa and love seat were at least 30 years old and looked it. Not worth recovering. That is our Christmas present to each other. The only family I have left in this world is my sister and BIL and I have almost bought what I plan to get for them. Friends are almost done, I usually make their gifts. DH and I took on two families to look after from Project Share. We've bought their children's toys but still have to get a weeks worth of groceries for the families. We still need a little something for the parents. We will go out this week and get the canned and boxed food and give them $$$ for the turkey and fresh veggies. Each year DH saves his air miles through out the year and we turn it into grocery money for the families. We also save the Shopper's Drug Mart points and use that to buy the toys for Christmas. My sister also contributes to our families. We always have fun trying to see how much we can get with these points. This year we really did well with the point collecting and may even be able to take on a third family. We get to deliver what we bought which is always a lot of fun.

YES and I got better deals because online I can find all sorts of coupon codes for discounts and most all had free shipping so I got it for cheaper than it would have been in the store and I did not spend a dime for gas to go get it. I much prefer to do it online if I can get it for the same or lower prices. I am just not into the big shopping crowds. In a wheelchair it is really difficult to get around in crowds and I am always afraid of someone falling on me or me running over someones foot. I had one guy a while back at the mall, he was busy talking on his cell phone totally not paying attention to his real surroundings and veered right into me and ended up sitting in my lap!! Then they act like it was your fault! A lady walking beside us that saw what happened told him well it's a good thing it was not a fountain you would end up on youtube like the other idiot that was not paying attention while on their cell phone. I thought that was a great come back!!

I like overstock.com they have a great shipping price and a lot of stuff. I like Truly Texan it has several Texan companies and artist all linked there in one place. Truly Texan WE have done a lot of smoked meats gifts between family and a couple of the places we like are Farm Pac New Branfels Smokehouse Oakridge Smokehouse Gifts I get their catalogs and just drool over all the wonderful stuff they have in there. Everything we have ever ordered was great. I ordered more from that last one oak ridge. for Cajun I go with this place, in fact I have some of their food in my freezer right now. It is all Good La Boucherie they have a store front here near my house! I love to give and also receive unique cookbooks especially ones from small towns, church cookbooks, jr league, clubs etc. I have found a lot of those at Cracker Barrel. this right here is one of my very fave ones, I have given it as a gift so many times and everyone thanks me many times for it. I am surprised it is still available I got it long long ago. It is by the Jr League of Lake Charles, LA. Pirate's Pantry: Treasured Recipes of Southwest Louisiana I also have most of those others shown on that Amazon page. The river road series and the best of the best ones are very good. a couple of other online stores I have used are RedEnvelope, DesignToscano, and Maggies Pharm, I have ordered from Maggie for so many years. I used to go to the store when I lived in Memphis, was so glad when she went online. Amazing stuff. My fave is the china musk and china rain Body Silk. Maggie's Pharm