All shopped out ..

I finished my Christmas shopping today and in doing so began to see the donut not the hole, and the glass half full not half empty.

This morning I started by pulling everything I had purchased throughout the year from the "Christmas drawer". Wow! I had at least half of the presents I wanted to give right there. I should have been so pleased.

I confess I set off to make my final purchases full of doom and gloom. I was convinced I would blow the budget, buy too little, or too much, forget something .... You get the picture? I normally love Christmas shopping but have struggled to get into the spirit of the season, let alone get my head around appropriate gifts for loved ones.

What-do-you-know? I had a wonderful time! Everything I went for was on special, I found car parks easily, everyone was friendly and I am happy with all my choices. I saved so much on some books I really wanted for friends that I treated myself to lunch - which was a great chance to look at my lists and check I was on track. Tonight I delighted in wrapping gifts for my family and very close friends - and I feel that joyous peace sneaking up on me.

After all my saving I decided to pop into my local second hand store for some holiday reading. I got the bag of washers and the hinges for $1.50 - I think the owner thought he was ripping me off, but I was so pleased. There are hundreds of washers there! And, some of those hinges have 4 different colours of paint showing through. I did buy books as well, a whole bag for $5.