Seasonal Calendar

Here's a great calendar so you'll know what to buy in what months of the year. You can access the way cool web site with all this kind of info on it by clicking on the word 'Seasonal' above. --Susan

Seasonal Sales Calendar 2009

January - New Years, Chinese New Year, Super Bowl Sales, Harmons Case Lot
Grocery Sales – Turkey, apples, grapefruit, oranges, and pears, breakfast cereal, canned chili, soups, dry bouillon, prepared meals, teriyaki and soy sauce, oriental noodles
Seasonal Sales – Winter clothing & accessories, winter boots & shoes, white sales, Christmas clearance, furniture, computers, storage containers, organizers, shelf organizers, planners, filing cabinets, CDs and DVDs, cookware, treadmills and other exercise equipment

February - Valentine's & President's Day Sales, Case Lot Sales (checking on dates)
Grocery Sales – Post Valentine’s Day candy, apples, grapefruit, oranges, pears, breakfast cereal, canned chili, Case lot sales (canned soups, fruit, vegetables, beans, meats, stew, honey, jelly, mac & cheese, Spam, hand grain mill, etc.), eggs, ham, paper products
Seasonal Sales – Winter coats, furniture, mattresses, snow blowers, digital cameras, DVD players, humidifiers

March - National Frozen Food Month
Grocery Sales – National Frozen Food Month (frozen vegetables, meats, breakfast items, and TV dinners)
Seasonal Sales – Spring cleaning supplies, garden supplies, spring clothing & shoes, luggage, infant clothing, winter sports clearance, computers, TV's

April - National Garden Month, Easter
Grocery Sales – Eggs, ham, marshmallows, broccoli, and cauliflower
Seasonal Sales – Spring clothing, men’s suits/ties, Easter dresses, paint, digital cameras

May - Cinco De Mayo, Mother's Day, Memorial Day
Grocery Sales – Hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, buns, asparagus, pineapple, BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, frozen veggies, baked beans, paper goods, olives, taco sauce, enchilada sauce
Seasonal Sales – Athletic shoes & clothes, tires, home maintenance, white sales, women’s undergarments, sunscreens, bug spray, cordless phones

June - National Safety Month, Father's Day
Grocery Sales – Bottled water, dairy products, tomatoes, croutons, salad dressing, Gatorade powder, lemonade powder
Seasonal Sales – Summer clothing, dresses, summer sports gear, men's clothing, refrigerators, fabrics, building materials (wood for food storage shelves), computers, canning supplies, insect repellent, sunscreen

July - Canning Month, 4th of July
Grocery Sales – Bottled water, ketchup, BBQ sauce, steak sauce, mustard, croutons, salad dressing, mayonnaise, pickles, relish, hot dogs, ground beef, Jell-O, beef steaks, chicken, paper supplies, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, corn, cherries, squash, watermelons, cantaloupes, tomatoes, plums, peaches, and nectarines, Gatorade powder, lemonade powder
Seasonal Sales – Summer clothing clearance, shoes, camping equipment, hiking boots, used cars, air conditioners, fuel oil, summer sports equipment, carpet, radios, summer sports equipment, craft supplies, computers

August - Back to School Sales
Grocery Sales – Squash, green peppers, salad fixings, berries, apples, melons, peaches, apricots, and fresh fish, juice
Seasonal Sales – Camping equipment, barbecues, patio supplies, school supplies, new car clearance, lawn mowers, sprinklers, yard tools, school clothes, back to school, swim suits, computers

September - National Emergency Preparedness Month & Case Lot Sales
Grocery Sales – Case lot sales (canned soups, fruit, vegetables, beans, meats, stew, honey, jelly, mac. & cheese, Spam, Ravioli's, Spaghettios, hand grain mill, etc.), apples, broccoli, cauliflower, school snacks, Capri suns, fruit snacks, cereal, peanut butter/jelly, bottled spaghetti sauce
Seasonal Sales – Camping equipment, gas grills, gardening supplies clearance, bicycles, car parts, children’s clothes

October - National Fire Prevention Month, Halloween
Grocery Sales – Vegetable and other oils, canned pumpkins, cranberries, grapes, oranges, sweet potatoes, and yams, instant potatoes, stuffing, canned cranberries, marshmallows, ice cream, pie shells, whipped cream, crackers, candy making supplies, nuts, choc. chips, frozen pizza, corn syrup, soup mixes
Seasonal Sales – Gas grills, winter coats, school clothes clearance, hosiery, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, fire escape ladders, glow sticks

November - Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Sales
Grocery Sales – canned cranberries, canned pumpkin, stuffing, olives, whipping cream, cool whip, frozen vegetables, fresh cranberries (freeze for later), cream cheese, chicken broth, turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, yams, and post-Halloween bags of candy, condensed milk, cake mix, frosting, brownie mix, cooking spray, pie filling
Seasonal Sales – Coats, boots, gloves, quilts, blankets, heating devices, baby blankets, water heaters, appliances, men’s/boy’s suits, Thanksgiving week sales

December - Christmas Sales
Grocery Sales – Candy making supplies, flour, sugar, nuts, choc. chips, oranges, apples, and grapefruit, broth, soups, party foods, baking cocoa, hot cocoa, pasta, vanilla & other extracts, cream of tartar, cooking spray
Seasonal Sales – Winter coats, toys, gift items, bikes, new cars, quilts & blankets, electronics, small appliances, after Christmas sales, gift wrap, candles, cold medicine, thermometer, toothbrushes, batteries, vitamins

(updated 12/31/08)

2009

I'm so happy to see 2009 come. 2008 was not very nice to our family, so we really need a break. My health went bad, Miguel lost his job, the stock market crashed and took a lot of our money with it. Housing prices fell to an all-time low, which is going to make it so hard to sell our home this coming year or 2010. We will sell it, but certainly not for what we could have gotten, and needed to buy another home outright. And I know all things happen to us for good reasons so I accept it all, yet with reservations because of all our retirement plans. All in all I don't think 2009 could be worse, and hoping it's so much better. I most heartily wish the best for all of you in 2009 in every way.

Moving On

For those of you who follow my blog that do not know about my second hospitalization here goes:

Two days after I came home from my 6 day stay after the surgery I ended up with my head in a trash can throwing up blood and blood clots. Tony rushed me to the emergency room and after diagnosis I was treated via a nasal gastric tube to lavage my stomach of the blood and clots and was place in the Critical Care Unit for two days. After that I was put back into a regular room and was watched over like a hawk. I had developed two internal abcesses, one was on the back of my pelvic wall and the other a little higher up. The docs decided to put me on fast acting anti-biotics, they worked. But after not eating/drinking anything for 10 days I was left very weak and pitiful, I could barely walk. Consequently I have had a really rough recovery. In the beginning (after my second discharge) I had a nurse coming twice a day, then after a week once a day, and now only every other day. And as soon as I have no more drainage then I will be back on my own and very happy about it thank you!

I'm so glad to be in the middle of my recuperation. It means I don't have to be at the beginning of it. I'm much stronger and not so depressed for the inability to do things for myself. Tomorrow Tony goes back to work and leaves me home to fend for myself. I can do it, but I cannot do anything but make my meals, use the bathroom and the computer. I can open the door for my nurse and I can set everything up for him/her to re-pack my incision before he/she comes.

I can use my scooter to get around downstairs to decorate for Christmas in a limited way. As Neil A. Maxwell said, I cannot afford to visit the saloon of self-pity! I can listen to talks on BYU that are uplifting and spiritual, I can read or play my video games and I can finish my 'Twilight' book series. I do not feel sorry for myself, yet I am getting antsy about doing more in the house. I have been cooking with the aid of my kitchen high stool which hasn't been too confining, except I cannot cook/bake anything too complicated because I cannot go back and forth from the pantry to the kitchen.

I cannot thank God enough for allowing to get better so I can soon be doing all the very mundane things in life that most of us take for granted. So I vow to be good and not push myself too far. I want to be all better by Christmas so I can spend it happily with family and friends.

Recuperating

It's been a week ago yesterday I went into the hospital to have hernia surgery. Something that was supposed to be fairly routine ended up being my worst nightmare.

Yeah, yeah, I know - my labor pains were worse than yours. That's not what this is all about though.

When the surgeon proceeded with the laser surgery he found he could not finish without opening me up incisionally. The first hernia surgery I had was the cause of all my problems. Wire mesh had been inserted to prevent another hernia in that particular area of my abdomen, but the mesh had wrapped and twisted itself around a large portion of my small bowel and had strangulated. Now I know why I suffered such excruciating pain when I would have an episode. To make a long story short - the surgeon ended up having to re-sect my small bowel after removing 5 inches of it.

The next day found me in bed packed in ice because I was spiking a fever of more than 102. I spend the next three days packed in ice, sweating profusely. I had nothing to eat or drink for five days and was watched over by a wonderful cadre of nurses and aids. I remained on a morphine drip for six days and when I finally woke up on Tuesday morning I realized I had not been okay. The surgeon told me he was so very, very worried about me. I was so messed-up I didn't even realize why the nurses kept packing me with ice. The worst of it for me was in the middle of the night when I would start perspiring so badly my sheets and gown would have to be replaced, and then again each morning.

I am so grateful to God for His kindesses to me and for allowing me to come back to the living all in one piece,and for the prayers of my family and friends, but most especially for my dear husband who has watched over me with unceasing love and kind attention.

Family Stuff

So far this month has been uneventful, thank goodness!

Last month I was terribly ill, Miguel was a victim of his company's downsizing and became one of the many unemployed, Ramona and Dan were dealing with a severely unruly teen, Julia Ann was a lady-in-waiting and my head was spinning.

Now, Julia Ann has a darling little boy, Eli Anndrew, Miguel is teaching in a music school in Santa Monica, CA, I am still ill and am scheduled for surgery on November 7th. Thanksgiving is coming up (at Ramona's again this year) and Christmas is around the corner! Yikes! Where did the year go?

But I guess the BIG NEWS of the year will be the fact that we are back in contact with Audrey and her children and grandchildren and our great-grandchildren! Hallelujah! Forget the past I say and let's move on. Enough already. I still don't know why Audrey just walked away from the family - we didn't do a thing that I recall to precipitate her decision. At least we don't have to deal with anything like that.

We are happy to note that by the end of November we will be the proud great-grandparents of eight (8)! Yay!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Fall to all out there in cyberland, and may you enjoy your family more in the coming months than you have for a long time. I know we will.

Dodgers!

I'm so fed up with the Dodgers pooping out this late in post-season! Just Get 'er Done!

!Home Sweet Home!

We've been home a whole week today and I finally feel back. Tony and I have scrubbed and sterilized the kitchen/pantry, and I've gotten a little cleaning done on the second floor. Basically it's as though we just moved in. Everything is still in boxes, etc.

We also had to buy and install a new stove in the apartment kitchen because the production company dropped the old one and broke the electronic ignition in it, along with the bottom back step of the back porch - which they replaced. But I couldn't prove they broke the stove so we were out $400.00... ouch! They also had to replace a mattress for one of the beds in the guest bedroom. I'm just glad to be home.

Miguel and Greg took such good care of us at their home, it was truly amazing. I only cooked twice in the whole five weeks we were there. I have really learned to appreciate our home and our comforts from this experience, and to never, never trust a production company when the people say they will take excellent care of our home.