Happy day!

[dimity_blue]

I met up with a friend of mine, Christine, in Preston today. We had lunch, we discussed Christmas decorations and how early they've gone up this year, and we shopped.



Christine adores Christmas, and she doesn't mind at all that almost all the shops are looking particularly festive on the 4th of *November* - even the bistro we passed had a fully-decorated Christmas tree propped up by the counter! To be honest, I felt rather Scrooge-like as I complained to her about the amount of Christmas stuff that's out but I know I'll be sick of the sight of it (as I said yesterday) by Christmas.

Btw, I heard someone speculate that maybe the retailers are pushing Christmas stuff now before the heating bills come rolling in!

And, just to make me feel a bit hypocritical, Christine bought my Christmas present while I was there. We were in Waterstones, taking a look around, and came across these fun Egyptian books. Yes, they're for kids, but they are absolutely gorgeous and filled with fun stuff. The larger one (which was half price, but still cost near enough a tenner) is the one Christine bought, and it's the journal of a woman who travelled through Egypt in 1926. If you know anyone who likes Egyptology (and you're in the UK, obviously) check out your local Waterstones as these books are gorgeous!

The second one is smaller and it's a course in Egyptology, but done in the same fashion. Tons of facts, but lots of little things to explore to make it even more interesting. I feel like a kid with it! :oD

Anyway, take a look:

Comments

Sadly...

[(Anonymous)]

in the US, Halloween and Christmas decorations are side by side in the stores and have been for years.

Shoppers compalin about it all the time but the retailers don't care and drag the stuff out earlier and earlier each year.

I Christmas shop early anyway (with 3 kids I have too!), but the early decorations don't make me buy any more than I nomally do and I don't buy any decorations until I get into the spirit, which is around mid December.

Enjoy your new book! Do you get it now or do you have to wait?

Re: Sadly...

[(Anonymous)]

Hey that's me Carebear68 (kim) above. Duh,I didn't log in!

Re: Sadly...

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Hey Kim! ::waves to Kim:: Almost didn't recognise you there - you must be undercover. ;o)

Shoppers compalin about it all the time but the retailers don't care and drag the stuff out earlier and earlier each year.

I wonder if they'd start caring if one retailer held back until December and got more customers as a result? They're such sheep!

I'm glad you don't end up spending more than you intend do though. Impulse buying is not a good habit! ::blushes::

I've got the small book (that's the one I scanned in) now, but I've got to wait for the bigger book until Christmas. It'll be fun to read on Christmas Day. :oD

Re: Sadly...

[carebear68.livejournal.com]

Yes I was undercover. If anyone finds me I will have to do some laundry, so don't out me.

I wish shoppers would boycott all of the holiday stuff until after Thanksgiving. It will never happen though.

We like to watch the Macy's Parade on Thanksgiving morning. Santa is always the last float. I always tell my kids to not talk to me about Christmas until they see Santa in the parade.

You don't have Thanksgiving, so what is the traditional start of the holiday season for you?

Re: Sadly...

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

If anyone finds me I will have to do some laundry, so don't out me.

Not the laundry, anything but that! ::vows to protect Kim's secret until...well...some really strong threats are made::

I wish shoppers would boycott all of the holiday stuff until after Thanksgiving. It will never happen though.

Nope. And you know the people who rush out to buy everything they possibly can as soon as it's on sale, are the same people who are in the supermarket in the run up to actual Christmas buying everything in the store. The shops are only shut for what...a day? And yet they're stockpiling for a seige and fighting over the last can of baked beans!

Santa is always the last float. I always tell my kids to not talk to me about Christmas until they see Santa in the parade.

That's a great idea! It must take a lot of pressure off you and off your kids.

You don't have Thanksgiving, so what is the traditional start of the holiday season for you?

You know, I don't think there is one. Some people put up their decorations on the 1st of December, some people wait until later. I try to get mine up on about the 12th, although the decorating usually ends up being spread out over a few days. I'd say that I start feeling that it really is Christmas about a week or so before the actual day.

[admiralandrea.livejournal.com]

Can you tell me more about the travel diary, like, the name of the author? I'd really like to look for it!

Did you watch "Egypt" the other night on BBC1? I taped it to watch and actually found it pretty disappointing... I don't think I shall bother with the rest.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Can you tell me more about the travel diary, like, the name of the author? I'd really like to look for it!

Oops, that would be handy, wouldn't it? The journal is based on Emily Sands' journals, about her expedition to Egypt to find the tomb of Osiris. Here's (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1840118520/qid=1131136818/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_10_1/202-9158908-9025400) the link to the Amazon UK page about it. I didn't get a chance to get a good look through it, but the cover is beautiful.

And no, I didn't see "Egypt" on BBC1 - I didn't know it was on! Was it a new series? Obviously not a good series though. :o(

I used to love watching the Discovery Channel's documentaries on Egypt. Did you ever watch them? Bob Briers was hilarious to watch because he was *so* into it all, and filled to the brim with enthusiasm!

[admiralandrea.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. It does look lovely.

Yeah, Egypt is a docu-dramatisation, in that it was mostly dramatising events in the lead up to the finding of Tut's tomb, but also had little scenes of Tut becoming Pharoah as well, and voiceovers. It was beautifully filmed but for some reason, it felt quite bland to me. Here's the link to the BBC's history page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/

I've never seen the Discovery Channel stuff, unfortunately :-(

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for the link and the heads up on the programme. I've made a note and hopefully, I'll remember. I'm still trying to catch an episode of "The Closer" on C4 - I'm terrible at remembering when programmes are on.

The Discovery Channel Egyptian documentaries were really good - if only for the sight of Dr. Bob Briars getting totally caught up in whatever he was explaining. At one point, he was in the remains of an artisan's home, (imagine 3 inch high walls and that was it!), and he's all, "Here, c'mon into the kitchen!" like there was actually something there to be seen!

Anyway, I hope you manage to get the book (if you want it). It looks even better in reality.

[admiralandrea.livejournal.com]

Well, it's on BBC1 on Sunday nights and there's also another program on BBC2 about Egypt, I noticed earlier.

As for The Closer, it seems to have disappeared from the schedule, not sure if it's permanent or not :-( I shall have to email Channel 4 and find out what's going on...

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

What is it with Channel Four lately? "Monarchy" disappeared off the schedules too!

[admiralandrea.livejournal.com]

Well, I did notice in my listings guide that Monarchy seems to be on More4, which I don't get as I don't have functioning cable. Not sure if that's repeats or not, though.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Hey, Avon! I used to like Blake's 7 - well, when Avon was in charge (and ignoring the last episode completely).

I checked on More4, thanks, and it was a repeat. In fact, it was the last episode I saw - the one about Cromwell and how the Parliament discovered they couldn't do without a king after all.

The site said that that was the last episode in the series. But I'm sure that that means there were only three or four episodes this series - last series there were six episodes!

[jessriley.livejournal.com]

I bought this for my daughter last year (different cover though, but its about Emily Sands?) There's actually a series of these books out. One on 'dragonology' and another on 'wizardology' Very cool books!
Well I'm off to find 'Chistmas icons' Promise I won't use until Dec 1 - lol

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Yep, this is the Emily Sands book - well, both of them are. I love how they're laid out, and the binding is absolutely beautiful!

Well I'm off to find 'Chistmas icons' Promise I won't use until Dec 1 - lol

LOL! Hey, I just thought, your Christmassy icons will be more summery, won't they? Um...like your icon. So unless you have a Santa Claus icon, I don't think we'd realise!

[jessriley.livejournal.com]

Yep, this is the Emily Sands book - well, both of them are. I love how they're laid out, and the binding is absolutely beautiful!

The one on dragons is a gorgeous book as well. It has some beautiful illustrations.

LOL! Hey, I just thought, your Christmassy icons will be more summery, won't they? Um...like your icon. So unless you have a Santa Claus icon, I don't think we'd realise

You will if my Santa has his board shorts on and a surfboard tucked under his arm -- And don't laugh -- it happens *grin*

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

You will if my Santa has his board shorts on and a surfboard tucked under his arm -- And don't laugh -- it happens *grin*

LOL! I believe you. What else would Santa be wearing during an Australian summer?! :oD