Holiday tableware looks really nice but I won’t buy any. I can’t see any great value in dishes that only come out for two weeks of the year and then have to be stored again. Maybe if I had a bigger house and more storage I’d feel differently. There are some great sales if you buy at the right time. I’ve been tempted on occasion but just have nowhere to put them. Do you have holiday dishes?

The holiday season is here. Actually it’s been here for a couple weeks already. I went into both Walmart and Target the week before Halloween and saw Christmas merchandise out. That’s too early! When do you think is the right time to start selling Christmas merchandise?

We don’t tend to travel on holidays because of traffic and too many people making bad choices to drink and drive. No matter where you are I hope you’re having a good weekend and that you’re safe. Take a moment to remember the true meaning of Memorial Day.

Today’s Saturday Safari takes us to celebrate Mardi Gras, going on right now in New Orleans. The webcam is located in the French Quarter, on the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Peter. Mardi Gras is a carnival type celebration that occurs just before Lent. Some people view it as the last opportunity to eat certain things. I’ve been to New Orleans but not during Mardi Gras. I think it’s more of a single or couple thing, not something for people with children. I’d love to hear if you’ve ever been to a Mardi Gras celebration and if you enjoyed it.

Being Valentine’s Day and all, I decided to go in search of love. I didn’t have to look far. The EarthCam Valentine’s Day Cams feature cams in Las Vegas wedding chapels,  NY Times Square, Prague, The Eiffel Tower, Trafalgar Square, Little Italy and St. Croix. My favorites were the two Las VEgas wedding chapel cams.

We have a huge dining room table. When both of the leaves are in it can easily seat a dozen people. I cook both Easter and Thanksgiving dinner every year and invite everyone in my family and some additional folks as well. We usually can find enough room at the table but for a couple of years we never had enough chairs. If you’re in the situation I used to be in and need some extra seats, try an office furniture store. You can usually find some inexpensive office chairs. Some even carry folding chairs. No need to recycle seats or pray someone doesn’t make it to dinner anymore!

Well, this week’s safari goes everywhere and nowhere specific. Earthcam has a whole New Years page up featuring webcams in a number of cities. It was a lot of fun to watch the New Year begin in so many different places. Webcams were broadcasting in the US from New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Key West, Memphis and Seattle.  There were 13 cameras set up for Times Square, New York alone. Cities in other countries with webcams up were Prague, London, Paris and Niagara Falls.

I hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Year!

If you want to add to your existing holiday decorations, or if you’re moving out on your own and need to buy holiday decorations, pay attention. The best time to buy any type of holiday decorations is right now, in the first few days after Christmas. Most stores will slash prices on everything that they have left in stock just to get people to buy it and get it out of the store. It’s the perfect time to buy expensive things like lawn figures, inflatables and artificial trees because they’ll be priced much less then they usually would be. It’s a great time to purchase less expensive things such stockings and ornaments, because the stores will price most of them so low they’ll almost be giving them away. And, you will find no better time to buy things like holiday cards and wrapping paper. Every couple of years I like to buy a bunch and stock up on them for use in future years. What’s the best bargain you’ve ever gotten shopping right after Christmas?