The bare spot on my office wall bothers me. This space is normally filled with a calendar, preferably with lovely pictures, but this year it is empty.
Hardware Hank presented me with a lovely Farmers’ Almanac calendar that hangs on my refrigerator, and Joynes Department Store provided a nice scenic one that fits next to the computer at work, but I need just the right size for my home office wall and haven’t found it.
I might have to actually buy one.
Confessing to be a calendar addict, I also admit that this time of the year, I feel a little nervous when my calendar quota isn’t filled. I hang them everywhere… the bedroom… the office….our shop…I’d love to place one in my car, but car manufactures have filled all available space with ridiculous items like GPS and music systems, so that’s a no-go. I even find a pocket planner necessary and one is always snugly tucked in the zipper compartment of my handbag.
The problem is—I don’t like to spend money on calendars. Call me a calendar cheapskate, but I love the freebies. Although 2014 has been a good year, and I’ve scored four free calendars from generous merchants and that thrills me, I need three more. However, time is ticking. New Year’s Eve is already history.
I might be forced to resort to one of those kiosks in Duluth’s Miller Hill Mall. They traditionally start selling next year’s calendars sometime in late October at unbelievably high prices. After Christmas, the prices drop 20 percent which is still far too much to pay. Even the appearance of the new year and a corresponding 50 percent drop isn’t enough for me.
I wait until sometime in mid-January, when prices are lowered to 70 percent, and then I pounce. Scooping up sometimes as many as five calendars for the price of one in high season, I feel a thrill of victory.
Okay, so I admit to being a cheapskate calendar addict, but I wasn’t always that way. At one point in time, Labrador retriever calendars were worth the high prices. When I first acquired Mr. Magoo, the pug, I went crazy for pug calendars. Paying full price for the adorable puppy photos did not bother me in the least, but somehow, over the last few years, I’ve found it more and more difficult to pay the high kiosk prices, so I wait for the discounts.
Two years ago, my cheapness back-fired. Swooping down on the mall kiosk, I was ecstatic to see the 80 percent off sign. Was I in luck or what? But as I looked over the merchandise, I realized that the pickings were slim.
I had no options. With February looming on the horizon, merchants had long since given all the giveaways, and I could no longer afford to be picky.
That year, I had to endure some pretty ugly calendars. I searched high and low, but not a single cute puppy photo beamed down at me. All scenic ones were long gone. In fact, all the pretty calendars had been sold. I spent that year looking at antique tractors and vintage diesel locomotive engines.
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