Christmas Shopping

As of 8:31pm Mountain Time, Christmas Shopping is done. Hooray for Crass Consumerism! Three Cheers for Materialism! Woo-hoo!
A few milestones:

1. This is the first christmas where EVERY purchase was made online. I never set foot in a store or walked among the masses. The closest major shopping center being about a two hour drive, partly over ill-maintained roads might have had something to do with it, but I plan to do this more often. Ah, the marvels of the 21st Century! This year, Santa drives a Brown (Yellow/Red?) truck.
2. This is also the first year where I didn't have to do the Gift Certificate cop-out, not even for the difficult to buy for relatives. I hope to do this again next year, but only time will tell.
3. This year, I experienced the pleasure of not having to cheap-out on anything or avoid buying something absolutly PERFECT for someone just becuase it's a liiiitle more than I'm willing to spend. It's nice to have less of the tight-wadery and still not go out of my means. Thank you Curent Employer for redefining what my means are!

And now, I rest. Good night!

Fictional Beasts

So, I'm buying last minute Chistmas Gifts for people, including my grandparents, Grandparents being that group of people that just about everyone has trouble buying for. So I asks myself, "self, what do your grandparents like?" They like:

* Tacky nick-nacks that they display around the house.

* Said nicknacks often have a Western/Southwestern theme.

* Mementos of their grandchildren.

Hey, I think were onto something here...

BEHOLD! The Jackalope, hunted down on the 31st of June (The only day of the year a Jackalope Hunting licence is valid), stuffed and nailed to a slab of knotty pine, with which to remember their beloved Grandson that moved a zillion miles away.

BTW, for the few people who read this blog and don't know my grandparents, I'm not risking 'ruining the surprise'. My G'rents have avoided any and every electronic gadget made since 1977, including all Personal computers, digital cameras (until recently my grandmother was forced to buy one after they stopped making the film for hers), and anthing that even remotely uses an IP address or URL. They'll never see this, trust me.

(Photo courstesy of JackalopeJunction.com)