Did you hear? It’s Black Friday. :reaper: I know this, because every store I’ve ever made a purchase from (or even driven by) has been telling me so for about two months now. In case you don’t know what BF is all about, it means you have got to go out and buy shit. Lots of shit. It’s your patriotic duty, and, in order to do their part, fine American merchants are selling Korean, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, and Mexican merchandise at deep, deep discounts in order to stimulate you. Yes, you! Home Depot, for instance, is selling a Rigid 16-gallon shop vac (technically not a shop vac, I guess, since Shop-Vac® is a registered trademark) for a mere $28.88. Although they’re probably sold out by now, since the Depot opened up at 5AM (plenty of time for you West Coasters to get out there, though). I have two Shop-Vacs already (official ones, too – an old red and black one that I use for the pellet stove, and a big ass yellow and black one that I use mostly for wet pickup), but still feel compelled to by another. I could keep it in the basement. But I won’t.

I do have a need to go to Home Depot this morning, though, as I need to fix a 4″ drain line that’s leaking (in two spots, no less; I have a plethora of fittings left over from the septic project, but could probably use another hunk of pipe), and I could also use some pressure treated plywood (to recover the septic tank cover) and maybe even some 5/4″ PT to deck the 3PH carry-all I bought for the tractor, and have yet to actually use (for one thing, it would mean taking off the back blade). But venture out into the world on this, of all days, amongst the teeming throngs of humanity (and I use that term loosely)? I don’t really like people to begin with – let alone large numbers of them all at once. So, maybe tomorrow.

Otherwise I trust you all had a good holiday yesterday. Or at least a fairly standard one. If you’re like me you were forced to resist being force fed while explaining why it is you weren’t eating (while you were in the middle of eating), or have the size and content of your dinner plate commented upon. I’ve never quite figured out why people seem to be worried about what other people are eating (or drinking, for that matter). I mean, I can honestly say I don’t give even a tiny bit of shit what anybody eats. But I guess I’m just weird that way.

Oh well, at least that’s over for a month or so, and I didn’t actually have to leave the house.