Day 798 Globes & Catalogs

 I woke up to find my little houseguests arrived while I was sleeping. Bridie and the boys were snuggled in their beds, putting my two guest rooms to good use. Bridie was up and out of the house early, heading to a ball game so Tim and I had the boys all to ourselves for the day. They quickly pull out all the familiar toys  and search for new ones. I was busy cooking a big dinner all day, the boys helped me decorate a cake and we all got ready for two of my kids and more Grandchildren to come over for dinner. The boys were so excited to see their cousins with the highlight being three of them sitting and studying the amazon Christmas catalog, Cash a bit too old to be dazzled by the book. Brilliant on Amazon for trying to resurrect the old Sears catalog, proving as much as things change they also stay the same. Forget all the new gadgets and technology, give a kid a book filled with photos of toys and they are mesmerized for hours. Once they had come to the end of the catalog, after successfully researching each page, they all agreed they needed to start from the beginning and go through it again. Once satisfied with their scrutinization of the catalog they were on to other investigations, the world their oyster....or at least the globe with a bit of imagination. They searched for places they'd like to visit, found were in the world their friends could be and spun the globe looking for new possibilities for travel....oh, how I know the struggle. The house was full of family right up until bedtime, when the boys scurried up to their beds, exhausted from a full day of playing. Let's not forget...the big tv! Yes, it arrived and is securely on the marble shelf, towering over the room. Amazon provides an unboxing service where they open the box, put together the stand and attach it, set up the tv then take away all the packaging. Color me impressed with how spoiled our society has become, now we don't even open our own boxes?! Before the workmen could take all the packaging away I asked them to leave the giant cardboard box, it makes the best hen house insulation for the winter. I lined the floor of the coop with cardboard then put their pine shavings on top, my girls will be so warm and toasty! I learned first hand how warm cardboard is several years ago when Tim and I attended the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, on what was the coldest day in history (or at least seemed like it). Standing on the cement, the cold shot right up your entire body through your feet...unless you had a piece of cardboard to stand. That think brown layer of trash became the best barrier to the cold and everyone searched for a piece. Seriously, you could make a fortune just selling strips of it on the cold city streets. Clearly I wasn't going to let my giant box end up in the landfill and my girls will be happy I saved it. Tim turned on his giant tv and fell asleep just as quickly as if it were our old 47" tv but I'm sure somehow I'm sure the larger screen made it better. The boys and I were too busy for television, maybe tomorrow we'll watch a cartoon, or go back to the Amazon catalog for another review, after all, Christmas is right around the corner! Thank goodness for globes and catalogs for endless entertainment.