I know. I know. It’s not even Halloween. Much less Thanksgiving. Much less Christmas. But. You know how it goes at TJ Maxx and their Christmas Selection. If you don’t buy it when you see it, you most likely will miss out.
Trees
Unexpected colors of sparkly trees seem to be the highlight this year. In addition to sparkly silver, gold and bejeweled trees, there were deep blue, purple and even a lot of black accents.
Our house does not need one more decorative tree, so I only took pictures to share with you. Nothing at all in my shopping cart.
Traditional Red
In with the traditional red décor was an assortment of cardinals. They are so pretty. I’ve seen many more of them used in Christmas decorations in the past couple of years.
When I see a cardinal in nature, I always think it’s my lucky day. And guess what? It is!
Pooh
Winnie and friends were on a number of Christmas-themed dishes and they could not have been more precious. They had Mickey and friends, but Pooh is sweeter and more unique for Christmas.
Gingerbread
Okay, pun intended, the icing on the cake was the gingerbread men. The display of baking dishes and cookie jars and serving dishes with the gingerbread men was the best. The items were merchandised such that they are front and center and not shoved into a shelf. Those will sell out quickly.
Anthem Days
For locals, this weekend marks the Anthem Days celebration. Twice a year there is a carnival and local vendors with booths, music and a beer garden in our park.
With the beautiful weather we are having I know there will be a good turnout. My daily exercise included a walk to the park where I watched the carnival being set up. I rarely miss taking a gander at that. Don’t know why but it’s just a cheerful thing.
Can you see the gorgeous deep blue skies that day?
What I’m Reading
The third in the Thursday Murder Club series, The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman is so good I rated it five stars on Goodreads. If Osman wrote a book every week, I’d read it. If those old people lived in my neighborhood, I’d hang out with them.
Osman’s characters are rich and multidimensional. Authors often miss the mark when they write from the point of view of the other gender or a different generation or a different nationality. Not this man. He nails it all. Well, I think he nails the Russians and Poles, I can’t quite qualify that.
In any case, this is a run, don’t walk, situation in order to gobble right up these delicious nuggets.
Out of Town Company
We have two sets of visitors in town this next week and we are over the moon happy about it. I’ll fill you in on the details later. But in the meantime, heaps of blessings on you and yours for a wonderful weekend.