Yule Tide Aftermath!!!

Seriously, have to say, this Christmas turned out alright!  A very special shout out to both Angi and my folks for their contribution to the coffers!  Would not have been anywhere near as much fun for the kids without the assist!  Some wise and thoughtful gift selection on Angi's part lead to some very happy kiddo's, not to mention her last minute gift choice (with the help of money from Grandma) of a new PS3 Game system.  This is the type of gift the kiddo's have been hinting for, for years!  And Boy oh BOY the response they gave when they discovered what it was!  We also sprang for remote control cars for three of the boys and a remote control helicopter for Logan (with a special nod of appreciation to Pat over at Zone Red for the discount!) As it turned out, all three cars worked on the SAME FREQUENCY!  So it made for some VERY interesting, uncontrolled racing!  Logan, the mechanically creative kid (who up until yesterday was FAR to involved in electronic devices) got his very first model kit!  You'll see him up here working on it as mom said no stinky glue and paint in the house!  We also got him and Elijah (as well as Mom and Dad) each a deck of Magic: The Gathering cards.  These are my two Fanboy Geek sons, and Magic is just a handheld card game version of Dungeons and Dragons!  But difficult.  Logan took to it immediately, and after one test game beat both Mom and Dad (experienced players) twice!  Up until the Video game was revealed, I think Elijah and Kaleb were a little less then thrilled with their "grown up" gifts.  Aside for some Hot Wheels cars for Kaleb (he collects them) they got clothes, aftershave and Kaleb got a high octane bottle of hot sauce and Elijah an alarm clock, travel bag and coffee mug (in preparation for next years job traveling the country).  Of course, Momma always spoils the little ones, and both Izzy and Miranda got a bevy of cute pink things, which both tried to claim all for themselves.  I picked out a cute train set for Izzy, which Kaleb helped set up.  With the addition of a set of plastic dinosaur toys her and I made the Jurassic Train Park and had fun with the dinosaurs trying to destroy it.  Both Rozy and Owen are now part of the "Electronic Device" club in the house (much to my chagrin) as Momma found Rozy a real sweet deal at "Southern Pawn".  It's the kid equivalent of an I-Pad, and she got it on the cheap!  A couple games and a charger later, and Rozy was in cyber heaven!  Elijah gave Owen his old touch screen phone and at one point everyone in the house (except me and Izzy, we were destroying the train set) was on their device (even Miranda had a toy touch screen!) it was surreal!   Angi, going against my mandate, squirrelled away some dough and bought me a few things as well.  Amongst them, my OWN model kit, of course, it was the USS Enterprise 1701 (the original) which I'm sure you will see hanging in the shop soon!  She also picked up the last two volumes I needed to complete my collection of rest room books, "Calvin and Hobbs!"  We were up until after midnight playing Magic with Logan, then I took my turn at the video game, and a very humoring Angi let me rot my brain until about 2.30 this morning! 
All in all a very wonderful day!
Speaking of Holidays, As it still is technically the holiday season, I think I can get away with some more favorite moments in Holiday history!
Christmas 1997.
We had only been in Texas for a couple years and I had been with the carpet cleaning company for a little while, and had not yet risen to my position of authority.  As was far to often the case, money was tight and we were looking at another light Christmas.  About three days before I was sent out on a routine job, the basic two rooms and a hall special, and was in a less then pricey neighborhood.  When no up selling was expected I had anticipated a "Blow and Go".  I was met at the door by a very nice elderly man who took me to the Living room/sitting room that I would be cleaning.  I was quite shocked when entering the sitting room to discover that it was wall to wall toys!  Not collectible, mind you, but just a ton of well preserved play things.  This room was large, easily 500 square feet, and you could barely move, there was so much stuff!  I asked him if he was only looking to do the traffic areas, but he insisted he needed the whole room done.  At that point I was fretting the hours it would take for me to move everything to get under them, and asked him, reluctantly, where I could put everything while I cleaned.  In response, he asked me, if he paid me a little extra, would I mind just bagging it up and getting rid of it!?  He went on to explain that all his grand kids had outgrown them  and they would not be having kids of their own any time soon.  It was all just "taking up space".  I asked what he wanted me to do with it all, and he just responded by asking "do you know anyone with kids?" 
BOY HOWDY!  DO I!!
When all was said and done, I'd filled two large boxes worth of Hefty bags FILLED with toys (some of them vintage!) and had them precariously stacked and tied down in the back of my truck atop my equipment.  If that wasn't enough, he handed me a $100.00 tip for the clean out, that he would not let me refuse!  Giddy with excitement, and it being my last call of the day, I hurried back to the office, unloaded my equipment, did my paperwork and called home to inform Angi not to let anyone in the garage when I came home.  Once there, I kept my little secret from everyone and buried it under the tarp in my garage work space (they all knew not to invade the sanctity of Daddy's work shop).  Come Christmas eve, well after Angi and the kids were asleep, I snuck out (a major feat considering Angi is a light sleeper) and spent the next couple of hours setting up all the gifts (no, I didn't wrap a one of them!) By the time I was done, our living room, being only half the size of the  gentleman's great room, was stacked calf deep, wall to wall with an ENORMOUS selection of toys!  I made sure Christmas morning I was the first one up and sat at the table (very groggy) sipping on coffee waiting for the rest to come out.  The shock and amazement of all of them was well worth the sleepless night!
ALRIGHT!  On to work!  Christmas eve day around here was another blitz!  Given the hustle and bustle of the season and the day, my mind is a little foggy on just what we accomplished and sold, so you'll forgive me if I fail to mention it all.  We did have several last minute fixes and we thank you for the faith and trust, good people!  But I DO remember that we sold the vintage Paramount to our Schwinn Collecting friend!  He came in last minute to check out the latest and talked himself into an early present for himself!  Oh yea, we did manage to get two new goodies out as well!  A really fine condition Mongoose BMX that is SO bright, you'll have to wear shades while riding it!  Also got a almost new looking Mongoose XR-75 Mountain bike!  The owner was looking to upgrade so we got his leftovers! 
Today is looking like it's going to be a busy one as well!  Have a couple more repairs lingering and a few looky loo's coming in to check out our wares with one couple looking to get one of the other bikes we picked up Christmas eve after she's finished, so I best get at it!
See ya all REAL soon!

LIKE I SAID...
VERY BRIGHT 20" MONGOOSE BMX!
LIKE NEW!!!
ONLY $75.00!!

LIKE NEW MONGOOSE XR-75!!
ONLY $95.00!!!