Martha Stewart and Costco - you've gone too far, even for me

I trekked down to the wonderland that is Tweed today to spend some QT with the fam. We did what we sometimes do on a Saturday with no other plans, wild-eyed children who are going stir crazy and raining cats and dogs to boot: we went to Costco in Kingston.

Costco, I've come to realize, is a strange place. On any given day, you can probably account for what, 60% of the products to be routinely in stock while the other 40% seems to be transient stock of whatever wasn't selling in another region or country. It's also the place where you stand, under the glare of flourescent lights, gently (or not so gently) elbowing your way to the nearest person in white clothing with a hair net because god forbid, you need that honey garlic sausage sample at 10:00 am more than the guy with 3 kids who's goin' back for 3rds. It's also the place where you go into a time warp as, like a casino, there are no clocks, no indication of life on the outside and you get caught up in the glamour and awe of the 18 L gar or Preggo spaghetti sauce that will never fit in your fridge but you urgently rationalize to yourself that you can just 'divide and freeze it' in enough tupperware to fill half your freezer, all to save 2 cents per oz. and then be shocked and shaken were a cart of a few simple items somehow costs you half of your paycheck. But they were all such good deals!

It's also the place that, given the fact I was in jeans and a sweatshirt today and it felt like a late fall day rather than the end of August, I found myself admiring not just the amazing mixtures of hallowe'en candy but also...

Christmas decorations.

The odd thing was, it didn't even occur to me that this was out of place. I think it was because of my attire (and everyone else's), the fact that no one in the fam commented, and the fact that again, there's no windows to the outside where not a tree in sight had lost a leaf. It could also be that I think warmly of Xmas year round so the fact that it's 117 days away is unimportant.

But then, after my drive back to O-town on cursed HWY 7, I went into my local convenience store for some doritos and Dr. Pepper. I then walked past this and stopped dead in my tracks to take a pic:

W

T

F?

I was outraged. How dare MS push Halloween before even the start of the school year. Halloween is still 63 days away. Next thing you know, the Xmas decorations will be out.

It was only then that I realized I had in fact come [ ] that close to BUYING Christmas decorations this morning at Costco.

So, while I love Costco's ridiculousness and cheap Baby Bels and that once, in a former domesticated life, strived to recreate the holidays like my pal MS and all her minions, they have, IMHO, gone too far.