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Post by aln1982 on Nov 6, 2007 0:41:50 GMT -5
^ I know. Stores keep getting ready for Christmas earlier every year, it seems. Almost too early. Probably to increase the selling season. ;D I guess that means I can start reading BSC Christmas books like this one earlier, too. ;D
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Lauren
Sitting For The Newtons
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Post by Lauren on Nov 6, 2007 0:45:23 GMT -5
^ My husband was at Wal-Mart earlier today and he was saying that they'd already changed the Halloween candy aisle to Christmas stuff. It still seems a little early to me to be thinking about Christmas.
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lyricalangel
Sitting For The Newtons
Logan's love-bunny
Posts: 1,918
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Post by lyricalangel on Nov 6, 2007 1:38:30 GMT -5
^Our Wal-Mart has huge Christmas trees in the front entrances already.
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Post by sweetvalleygirl99 on Nov 6, 2007 21:52:13 GMT -5
I guess that means I can start reading BSC Christmas books like this one earlier, too. ;D Lol, good idea because there are tons of BSC Christmas books to choose from ;D. When I went to the mall last weekend, most of the stores had their Christmas decorations up. I did a double take because I wasn't sure of what month it was for a second lol.
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Post by aln1982 on Nov 7, 2007 0:47:27 GMT -5
^ In my opinion, they shouldn't start getting ready for Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. For some reason, my "moods" that go with certain holidays and seasons have seemed really messed up this year and maybe this is why. I guess I should just go ahead and read my Christmas books and there will be time to read them again. ;D As for Aunt C being a guest, that might not have been the right word but I was thinking more about what Mr. Ramsey said and I think the point he was trying to make is that it was his house - not hers. I totally agree with that. No matter what the arrangements were, how much she paid or didn't, and no matter how much she did or didn't help, it wasn't her house or her family. Would be the same thing for a boarder or a maid or live-in nanny. The final decisions belong to the parents and to whoever the house belongs to. Might sound harsh but those are my feelings on it, too.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Nov 7, 2007 3:55:22 GMT -5
I think this is where it gets murky though... Aunt Cecelia wasn't an employee with a strictly professional relationship, she was a (contributing!) member of the family who had been invited to make their house her home in exchange for the childcare/housekeeping services.
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Post by aln1982 on Nov 7, 2007 8:48:54 GMT -5
^ It's kind of like a grandparent, though. They are a part of the family but not the parent. It would be the same thing, in my opinion, as if Jessi or Becca (if they were adults, of course ;D) started trying to take control with Squirt and telling their parents what to do and acting like they were in charge. That's what I seem to remember Aunt C doing. These are just my thoughts on it, though, and I'm sure all families have different situations. I can see where Mr. Ramsey is coming from is all but understand why others can't.
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wanderingfrog
Sitting For The Arnolds
Official BSC Archivist
Posts: 2,552
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Post by wanderingfrog on Nov 7, 2007 18:55:34 GMT -5
^ In my opinion, they shouldn't start getting ready for Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. That doesn't really work as a guideline in Canada, though. We've had a special Christmas section in our bookstore since before Halloween, but at least we haven't actually put up any winter holiday decorations. Neither have the rest of the stores in the mall where I work, but some other malls I've been to recently have. And while I agree that parents and homeowners should have the ultimate say regarding their kids and their homes, I also definitely think that "guest" was the wrong word for Mr. Ramsey to use. Yeah, so Aunt Cecelia doesn't own the house, but she's a family member who takes care of his children in lieu of paying for room and board monetarily.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Nov 8, 2007 0:32:07 GMT -5
^ It's kind of like a grandparent, though. They are a part of the family but not the parent. It would be the same thing, in my opinion, as if Jessi or Becca (if they were adults, of course ;D) started trying to take control with Squirt and telling their parents what to do and acting like they were in charge. That's what I seem to remember Aunt C doing. These are just my thoughts on it, though, and I'm sure all families have different situations. I can see where Mr. Ramsey is coming from is all but understand why others can't. Oh I can definitely see where he's coming from, I just think guest was the wrong word. The Ramsey parents had the ultimate authority, but it wasn't like Aunt C was a non-contributing "guest"
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Post by aln1982 on Nov 8, 2007 0:44:41 GMT -5
^ I agree it was the wrong word. I also just understood what he meant. I think the whole thing I was saying about him being angry is that he wasn't thinking clearly (or the writers weren't ;D) and used the wrong word and probably didn't even realize it.
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mckay
Junior Sitter
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Post by mckay on Nov 8, 2007 4:20:44 GMT -5
I thought it was really insulting to say she was a "guest," because it implies that she does no work and just takes advantage of their hospitality, which isn't true at all.
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Post by aln1982 on Nov 8, 2007 11:28:31 GMT -5
^ I can see how you would feel that way. I guess I'm not more sympathetic to Aunt C because she just always seems so bossy and overbearing that I was glad Daddy finally said something - even if it was inappropriate - to her. I would probably not have her living with me for long.... I liked reading more about Jessi's extended family in this one with her cousins coming. Wish they would have been featured more.
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Post by aln1982 on Dec 21, 2007 0:24:51 GMT -5
Just reread and loved the family interaction as always. Also noticed lots of funny parts this time to balance out the seriousness. I liked the subplot but wish the kids wouldn’t have been mostly random kids who just suddenly seemed to show up in Stoneybrook, though I guess it was explained how they did. I did like the use of two characters – Sara and Omar – from the Kids in Ms Colman’s series. I also read about Sara in Holiday Time so this was a nice connection.
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fluffycakes
Junior Sitter
A silken-haired beauty with a laugh like pealing bells
Posts: 868
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Post by fluffycakes on Dec 21, 2007 13:53:20 GMT -5
^ That's cool, aln, that some of the kids appear in KIMC or whatever the series is called. Nice consistency! I liked this one a lot, too. I learned about Kwanzaa in grade school - not to a great extent, mind you - and it was really cool learning about it in more depth. It sounds like a fun holiday! I love the accident scene. I used to re-read it all the time, since I just love the really dramatic scenes in the books. As for the semi-old topic of stores getting ready for Christmas early: I got hired at the start of November to work as seasonal help in a store. We have one Christmas CD that plays over and over again, and it drives me mental! It's gotten to the point where I know which song is coming up next, even though there's about 20-30 songs on the CD. I've never really minded Christmas carols until now. Whenever I go on break, I put on my iPod almost immediately just to get a break from the Christmas music. Since I work in a mall, leaving the store doesn't make much of a difference - Christmas carols are playing throughout the entire mall as well.
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Post by aln1982 on Dec 21, 2007 16:44:54 GMT -5
^ I also like the accident scene and the more exciting scenes in the book. This one, the car wreck in Troublemaker and getting the Nicholls kids out of the house in Terrible Truth are my favorites from the regular series and there are also several suspenseful moments I like in the mysteries. Aunt C really bothered me in this one, though I did feel for her and how guilty she must have been. Still, I don't think Daddy's whole "talk" with her in this one changed her behavior in the long run....
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