Black Friday Creeps North by M. K. Stelmack

I'm from Alberta, Canada. Americans know Canada as the same but different. Take Thanksgiving. Both sides of the border have turkey and family and long drives but we do it on the second Monday of October, soon after the actual harvest. In the past, we in The True North have merely observed the mayhem of the US Thanksgiving having survived ours a full six weeks previous.

Not quite so anymore.The last few years has seen Black Friday creep across the border. Speaking solely of my patch of Canada (other parts of Canada are also the same but different), it began maybe five, six years ago furniture outlets and department stores ran Black Friday specials through the weekend. I remember people asking, "What's Black Friday?" wondering if it signaled a massive power outage or market crash or a remembrance of some kind. Nope, just a sale.

Every year, Black Friday spread to more stores and the discounts swelled. It spawned, just like with the US, a cousin named CyberMonday and this year, the arrival of Red Thursday. Normal boundaries of time dissolved and one day became all week and weekend.

Yesterday on Red Thursday, my son's newspaper route required him to deliver this:



Really, the weekly newspaper was merely wrapping for the flyers which spread out looked like this:


The newspaper is the thin one at the top left. I admit that I caved and helped out my boy. 

I will also admit that the sales appeal to my thrifty side. Well, okay, every side of me is thrifty. I'm the kind of person who saves up my used teabags and then boils a pot of tea that tastes like--well, what you'd expect teas of different varieties and ages would taste like. Not two pots the same.

I digress. I sneak away with a cup of my 'whatever' tea to shop in the darkened, quiet bliss of online shopping. Also, not Canadian, and known only within my family, is the two pronunciations of shopping. When the accent is on the first syllable, shopping is the routine kind--groceries, new tires, light bulbs and so on. Shopping with the accent on the second, on the *ping* is a whole other breed. That's when you buy the cozy throw, the gold-trimmed platter, the Blahniks (okay, I wouldn't buy his shoes, either)...you get the idea. 

I know for all you Heartwarmers out there, it's the books, isn't it? Our brick-and-mortar bookstore had an 50% online Black Friday (but starts Thursday) on top titles and I went shop*ping*. Sadly, the few romances available were gone but I did score Ken Follett's big, fat Column of Fire and Palacio's Wonder and Brene Brown's Braving the Wilderness and Wohlleben's The Inner Life of Animals plus more..

Now over to Amazon to scoop more deals while my American friends are still in their turkey stupor...


Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Shop*ping*!!!

And speaking of deals, don't forget about this happening next week at a computer near you...



M. K. Stelmack will bring A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS, her debut Spirit Lake heartwarmer to you in February, 2018. Spirit Lake is closely based on a real town in Alberta, Canada where she lives with pets who outnumber the humans two to one, and with dust bunnies the size of rodents because that’s what happens when everyone in the household prefers to live in their imagination or outdoors. She loves how vibrant and friendly and complex her lakeside community is and tries to inject the same heartwarming drama into her own stories.

Oh, oh, oh, wait, before you go...my cover reveal...one of four Fab Feb Heartwarmers.






Comments

  1. I'm sitting here at 7:14 AM all dressed to go. I don't usually buy all that much on Black Friday, and gave up the zero-dark-thirty part of it a few years back, but it's a fun time with my girls.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You go, girl! Elbows up! And shopping with others adds to the excitement. May you get the deal you'll talk about for years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good day everybody my name is Mrs Caroline Gilli am here to share with you my life experience how a great man called Dr Alexzander saved me and my marriage.I have been Married & Barren for for 5 years i had no child. i have never been pregnant i was a subject of laughter from my Friends & neighbors, i almost lost my marriage because of this issue.i was so confused that i did not know what to do until i came across this great Dr online and i contacted him at once i was scared weather it was going to work because i never believed things like this before, so i decided to give it a try and i did all what Dr Alexzander asked of me and today to my greatest surprise i took in the first time and i gave birth to a bouncing baby boy and now my marriage that was about crashing before is now restored. my husband now love and want me better, Am so happy for everything that have been happening my life since i met this Dr Alexzander.
      I want to tell all the women out there who have a similar situatio like that the world is not over YET they should dry up their tears and contact this great man and their problem will be gone or are you also having other problems you can also contact Dr Alexzander, here is how you can contact him alexzanderhightemple@gmail.com Or Contact him via his whats-app number +2348075823891.
      Thank Dr Alexzander for everything you did in my marriage.
      Thanks
      Caroline Grilli

      Delete
  3. Very funny post M.K. and as a fellow Canuck I can relate to the bewildering shopping extravaganzas of this weekend. Your Feb cover is fabulous! Looking forward to Spirit Lake. Happy shop*ping!

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    Replies
    1. Bewildering is the perfect word for it. This is 70% off...still money out the door...I could make good use of the fryer...you've survived so far without one...and on it goes. Best, Janice!

      Delete
  4. By-passing the deals this year while sitting at home nursing a cold. Happy Thanksgiving all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ugh. Take good care! All the more reason to snuggle in with a good book. Best!

      Delete
  5. Only once in my life did I go to Black Friday shopping. The store opened at 6 a.m. and by 5:30 the double line wrapped around the store. Once the door opened it was like a stampede, or running of the bulls. I said never again. Our Thursday newspaper looked like yours. A thin bit of news a gazillon ads. Still not enticed. Good luck to all of the brave souls who go out. Love your cover.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I braved it. Not too bad at all. No lineups, at least where I went. I have even returned an item that I bought elsewhere for $40 bucks less. I justified the savings to buy something that cost $120. But I'm with you. I'd turn tail if it was a stampede. I like the cover, too! Best!

      Delete
  6. Shop*ping*! I love it. I'm about to head out for a few minor bargains. If I don't return, tell my family I love them.

    P.S. I love that cover!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I did my sopping on line. I’m terrified of the stores. Pre-thanksgiving was a horror in Houston. No parking. Jammed stores. I know there are bargains, but I just can’t do it. I do like to shop in December. Have cocoa with a friend. Take my time.
    And breathe in the ambiance of the season.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shopping online--while sipping cocoa--is such a guilty pleasure. A friend operates a delivery van, and puts in 14-hour days at this time of year. We do what we can to support the economy, right? Best!

      Delete
  8. I don't go near the stores on Black Friday...those shoppers are frightening! Great cover, M.K.!

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    Replies
    1. I got what I wanted so I wasn't too menacing.:) The guy on the cover is really a hottie, isn't he? I saw it and immediately thought of all the smart-aleck-y comments his family would make about it. And yes, I know they're imaginary!

      Delete
  9. I tend to hide on Black Friday lol. All those crowds...not my thing. I'd rather shop online ;). Love your cover, btw! And thanks for including a shout out for the Starry Nights & Romance party!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. So interesting. Sorry that our US shopping chaos has encroached upon you up there in Canada! I wouldn't be caught anywhere near a store on Black Friday. However, I will admit to contributing to the success of this year's Cyber Monday.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good day everybody my name is Mrs Caroline Gilli am here to share with you my life experience how a great man called Dr Alexzander saved me and my marriage.I have been Married & Barren for for 5 years i had no child. i have never been pregnant i was a subject of laughter from my Friends & neighbors, i almost lost my marriage because of this issue.i was so confused that i did not know what to do until i came across this great Dr online and i contacted him at once i was scared weather it was going to work because i never believed things like this before, so i decided to give it a try and i did all what Dr Alexzander asked of me and today to my greatest surprise i took in the first time and i gave birth to a bouncing baby boy and now my marriage that was about crashing before is now restored. my husband now love and want me better, Am so happy for everything that have been happening my life since i met this Dr Alexzander.
    I want to tell all the women out there who have a similar situatio like that the world is not over YET they should dry up their tears and contact this great man and their problem will be gone or are you also having other problems you can also contact Dr Alexzander, here is how you can contact him alexzanderhightemple@gmail.com Or Contact him via his whats-app number +2348075823891.
    Thank Dr Alexzander for everything you did in my marriage.
    Thanks
    Caroline Grilli

    ReplyDelete

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