Only 92 shopping days until...

Yep, the merchants are speeding up the calendar ever further, perhaps in anticipation of a lean yearend. In any event, on my last picture shopping excursion over to the WalMart West mall, it was already Solstice Shopping Time, which is one of the six merchandising seasons of the year. (The others: Hearts, Bunny Egg, Flags, Sun, and Harvest.) I found these upscale Santas at Tuesday Morning, which featured an entire aisle of Christmas decorating goodies.

The ornaments were quite pretty, too. And pricey. Those below, $17 a pop.

But, oh, I do like these medieval holiday cats! I might treat myself.

Still more seasonal items, including a handful declared as clearance merchandise.
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JoAnn, down a few doors, was just revving up for the winter solstice; Autumn was still on display...

...while the WalMart fabric department had an excellent selection of Christmas prints. Of all the seasonal stuff I saw the other day, the yard goods makes the most sense; after all, if you plan on special holiday sewing projects, you need to work well ahead.

Even the CVS store has already allocated space for Christmas decorations: one side of an aisle. As for what ever happened to the Autumn Season (back-to-school/Halloween/Thanksgiving), I'm not quite sure. Perhaps they've mostly past in the merchandising universe.

A Gift of Links: In keeping with tonight's theme, here's a potpouri of interesting sites I've come across. First, a critter movie from Firefly Forest: bats cleaning out her humming bird feeders. More interesting critter pix from Quilted Dogs: subject, the jellyfish at the San Diego Aquarium. Perhaps you'd like to compare Arizona Then and Now ... read reviews of over 35 different Prescott restaurants ... wallow in 60s jukebox nostalgia ... or make prickly pear cobbler -- it's all yours for a simple click. Enjoy!