The 12 Days of Christmas, Marco Style . . .

The first part of this post is for the locals. Apparently we had an ad for our retail store in the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday editions of the Dayton Daily News. I say "apparently" because it was in the "garage sale" section of the classifieds, so I didn't see it -- but I'm told that section works for us! The store is having a special event they're calling "The 12 Days of Christmas" that runs all this week and next. Lots of big sheets and closeouts in the vacant storefront next door (which I've heard may become ours permanently in the near future), and 1,000 items in the store with markdown stickers up to 75% off!

And here's the big news -- more FREE Make It & Take It opportunities this week and next. This week, the usual Wednesday edition will be from 9:00-11:00 and will be led by Sandy Livingston -- and there will be different projects offered from 1:00-3:00 by Judy Davidson and Barry Payne. Then on Saturday there will be two different projects offered from 11:00-1:00, one by Barry Payne, and the other by "Becky" (sorry Becky, I don't know your last name).



Here's a look at both of Barry's projects. For the uninitiated, this is the type of thing we do in the store every Wednesday from 9:00-11:00 and Saturday from 11:00-1:00. And it's FREE -- just bring along your basic stamping kit including scissors, double sided tape (or your favorite adhesive), pencil, bone folder, pop dots, glue stick, small ruler, and a paper cutter if you have one.

And for you folks out in the hinterlands, we have extended the FREE SHIPPING OFFER until December 17. Through December 17, place your order of $50 or more and we'll ship it free by UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail (our choice). Retail purchases only -- applies only to Continental U.S. addresses. For Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and Canada, we'll ship by Priority Mail for 1/2 the regular rate. For other international addresses, we'll be happy to check to see if we can do the same economically, but can't guarantee it. Please remember to ask for the Free Shipping Offer when you place your order.


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It was a great weekend in Ohio. Thanksgiving was cold and rainy, but Saturday and Sunday were really nice -- I was able to get by outside with a couple of sweatshirts while I was putting up the Christmas lights on our house.



I have always been afraid of heights, though it's much better now than it was when I was a kid. Still, the peak on our garage roof is WAY up there. I have done it myself for the past few years, but this time my neighbor was out doing his lights at the same time and he offered to get the highest stuff out of the way for me. I really like our neighborhood -- we help each other out.



This is the finished product, which of course doesn't show up very well in the dark! We didn't do outside lights for years, but I built a rock wall around the landscaping on one side of the house about four years ago and I wanted to run some lights around the stones. And then I wanted to try something else, and then I wanted to try something else again, and one thing led to another. Our neighbors especially like the lights above the dormer windows.

Zoe loves it when I'm putting up the lights, since I'm outside all afternoon for two days. Sunday, I was stringing lights on a shrub when I heard her bark -- just one short bark. I was ready to get after her and then I saw what she was doing . . .



Our neighbor's grandson Tanner was out in their yard and Zoe was trying to get his attention. Tanner's mom and dad were helping with Grandma and Grandpa's outside decorations. Zoe LOVES Tanner (and vice versa). This may have been the only time Zoe was still -- she spent most of the time running back and forth in front of Tanner and sprinting laps of our backyard. There is still a lot of puppy in Zoe, and that's what she does when she's excited. You should see the damage she can do in our living room . . .