I am a merchandiser for 3 companies & Wal-Mart is one of the stores I work in. The vendors have to be through by 5 a.m. - meaning some of them will be in at 3 a.m. or be off that day - or wait until after 3 or 4 p.m. Today, the day before Thanksgiving, has been crowded & tomorrow until about 11 will be as crowded. Workers & customers constantly getting in each other's way. Whew!!!! And, I'll have to go "pull up" a couple of more times today! I made the mistake of going to the day after sale & never again! First, you have to park 10 miles from the store. Then you get all the way to the door & find out that everyone's already taken all the shopping carts. Then, you have to inch around shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. When I went, I was buying 3 boys' bikes & a smaller girls' bike. They were in boxes & I liked to not have gotten them in my cart - so good luck finding someone to help you. Then, I had to fight through the crowds again to the cash registers, where I stood in line for an hour. Then, getting them through the parking lot - keep in mind people are constantly backing up & moving - & into the car. Again, never again! Last year, I made the mistake of having to go in for toilet paper or something - one item - & it took forever because of the long lines at the check outs (why don't they ever have all the registers going? is it just me?).

Oyster Stuffing 1 cup (1/2 pound) butter 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped celery 7 cups day-old bread cubes 2.5 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground mace 1 pint shucked oysters, drained, liquid reserved, and chopped about 1 cup milk Melt the butter in a skillet and saute onions and celery until soft. In a bowl combine all remaining ingredients except the milk and oyster liquid. Mix well. Pour in the oyster liquid, then slowly add enough milk to moisten. Do no make too wet. Loosely stuff into the turkey cavity. If there is extra, bake separately in a buttered pan during last hour of roasting the turkey. Roast Duck 1 duck (or boiler-fryer chicken) 3-3.5 pounds 3 cloves garlic 2 bay leaves 3 tablespoons butter, melted 3/4 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon thyme 1/4 teaspoon majoram 1/4 teaspoon oregano leaves 1/4 teaspoon ground sage 1/4 teaspoon dry basil Remove giblets and reserve for other uses. Rinse bird and pat dry. Split 1 clove of garlic and rub skin of bird with cut sides of garlic. Place garlic cloves (including the cut one) and bay leaves inside the bird cavity. In a small bowl, stir together butter, salt, pepper, thyme, sage, majoram, oregano, and basil, Put about 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the cavity of the bird. Tie legs together. Generously brush bird with remaining butter mixture. Place bird, breast side down, on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovere, in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes. Turn bird over and continue baking, basting occasionally with any remaining butter or pan drippings, for 40-45 minutes more or until meat is no longer pink when slashed. Makes about 4 servings

yep shaving it again, caudex aint that big on this group yet

How exciting for her! She looks very professional! I hope she was warm enough. When I was I high school, our band played for the governor's inauguration; he was from our town. Well, it was 4 degrees and we had to keep our mouthpieces inside our uniforms so our lips wouldn't stick to them. And our toes were sooooooooooooo cold. We wore white canvas Keds and you can only fit a couple pairs of thin socks inside.