Apocalypse Now and other thoughts…

Lancaster, PA is where Andy and I spent our Thanksgiving this year. Lancaster, while known for the Amish community, is also a large shopping hub, as Pennsylvania does not have sales tax on various items like clothes and food (I think). So what comes after Thanksgiving?? BLACK FRIDAY! I know I am a couple of days late on this thought but this was my first real experience of Black Friday and totally need to share.

Thursday morning, the sale papers were being passed around the breakfast table and a strategy formed…Toys R’US was advertising fifty percent off of everything in the store, Wal-mart had great sales on toys, etc, etc, etc. The decision was made among the Crawfords to hit Toys R Us first and then head over to Wally-World. Then after Wal-mart, we would head to the outlets! So to make this story short – we went to Toys R Us at 10pm and the line was wrapped all the way around the store and beginning to make a second lap. My immediate thought – Apocalypse Now. Seriously looked like a line of desperately hungry people looking for food. The blank eyes focused on food – in this case though – toys. Subsequently we ditched Toys R Us and headed to the Wal-marts. At our next stop, it appeared as if we were going to have better luck or at least an easier time of it…well, we were wrong. Yes, we got in the store without standing in line but we had to protect our interests the whole time. Lines formed early for sale items especially the leapsters…there was a mob around those. Andy actually witnessed a fight over 500 thread count sheets (we got three sets).

Black Friday Cheer

I documented some of the evening – picture above is sister-in-law Bradley and mother-in-law Teresa guarding the Leapsters. They are the only ones with smiles on their faces…

So after Wal-marts, adrenaline was pumping – we made our way to the outlets. I have never seen so many people in a strip mall-esque place. Lines to get in to J.Crew and Coach. Pay to park lots in pastures. Late night corndog and pretzel tents. This was serious business. But we all made out like bandits. Cute kids in the White and Crawford families will be getting great toys that we bought at great prices. And the adults that went on the late night adventure found themselves a few trinkets as well…”baby needs a new pair of shoes” – and I got them…

In other news, the house is coming along. Jim, the contractor, and Chris, the painter, worked some days over the Thanksgiving break and got lots done. The basement is complete – new paint on the walls and the floor – and it looks amazing and smells clean! Tape and mud has been put on all the sheetrock. Hopefully, Rodney, the floor guy, will start working on the floors this week, and Jim can start putting together the cabinets.

Here is a picture of the half bathroom pre-Thanksgiving. I don’t have any pictures of the kitchen yet. But it looks oh so different now. f

Expanded Bathroom

Have I mentioned the kitchen floors?? Jim pulled the blue linoleum up out of the kitchen and found heart of pine kitchen floors. He said it looks like the original owners covered the wood floors up immediately so it’s almost like they have been perfectly preserved.

A view of the blue…

Blue linoleum

A view of now…

Wood floors

That’s all for now. Hopefully, I can get a few more pictures tomorrow to show the house post-Thanksgiving.