What's New This Week?   We had a fantastic Thanksgiving at Marilyn's sister Susie's house in Eatonville, Washington. A large spread of food was enjoyed by all and Susie did a wonderful job on the turkey. The only bad thing about the day was the hour and a half drive home in the dark on a full stomach of triptophan. At least we were listening to Christmas music all the way home!

Now the rush is on to get everything ready for Christmas. Every year it seems like Christmas comes earlier and faster. With Thanksgiving being so close to the end of November it really puts the rush on this year.

On the local weather front Western Washington is back to it's normal wet chilly weather with rain most days and temperatures in the 40's and low 50's. The one benefactor of our recent cold snap are the ski resorts. They have plenty of snow and most were open the day before Thanksgiving. That's quite unusual for these parts. Ski season usually doesn't start until mid December. If you are a skier and looking for a great vacation place to go skiing come to Washington and have a ball.

     We hate to do this to you two weeks in a row but with this weekend being such a big shopping time we wanted to make sure that we had a chance to help you out. Many of our shopping sites sell the same items that you will find in the store with a lot less hassle. Many of the stores have free shipping. If the store is not in your state then you will not be charged tax. Check out the sale items in your news paper flyers and then log onto our sties to see if they have the same prices. It will take a lot of crowd fighting out of your busy schedule and you can do it while you watch a football game or cook some of our great cookies ;-) To take advantage of all the great holiday specials without fighting the crowds check out www.runnerduck.com. We have a lot of holiday specials for you. Order early to make sure the item you want is still in stock and to beat the shipping rush.
Here is a list of our stores.

Find that special tool for the woodworker in the family at Rockler, Hartville Tools or Amazon Woodworking.

Do you have a child on your shopping list? Try Toys R Us or www.runnerduck.com/rdtoys.htm

How about cooking? We have some great buys at Cooking.com, enter Coupon Code C88962 at checkout. and www.runnerduck.com/rdcook.htm

Don't forget that family pet that brings so much joy to your life, www.runnerduck.com/rdpets.htm

Books always make a great gift and we have them all at Amazon Bestsellers and www.runnerduck.com/rdbooks.htm

Gardeners always need new tools and plants. We have a bunch at www.runnerduck.com/rdgarden.htm

Last but not least please remember those great musicians that bring so much joy into your lives. Find exactly what they are looking for at www.runnerduck.com/rdmusic.htm.

We really appreciate you doing your holiday shopping through the RunnerDuck Stores. We hope everyone finds what they are looking for along with peace on earth and good will toward men and women!

We have two great offers for you this week. Free cookware and 20% discounts. Just click on the banners below for more information. Be sure to use your RunnerDuck coupon # C89982.

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Spool Snowmen Ornaments

     It's time to start thinking about trimming the tree and these really cute snowmen are just the ticket. They are a great project to keep those little hands busy while they are home from school for the holidays. Be sure and supervise the smaller kids that help with this project because scissors are sharp!

Here's what you'll need:

3 Wooden Thread Spools. We used the really small ones that you can get at the craft store.
1 Wood Bead the same diameter as the spools.
Black, Red and Green Felt.
Tacky Glue.
Permanent markers, Red and Black.
Ribbon or Gold Cord for hanging.
Black Acrylic Paint
White Acrylic Paint
A scrap of plaid flannel material, 3/4" X 5".

Paint 2 spools and the wooden bead with white acrylic paint.
Paint 1 spool with black acrylic paint.
Cut a circle of black felt about 1/8" larger than the diameter of the spool.
Glue the ends of the two white spools together.
Glue the wooden bead to the white spools with the hole going to the top.
Glue the black felt circle centered on the end of the black spool, this makes the hat brim.
Glue the felt end of the hat to the wooden ball.
Cut holly berries and leaves from the red and green felt and glue them onto the hat.
Paint the face and buttons using black and red permanent markers.
Cut a 10" piece of small ribbon or gold cord. Double it over and tie a knot at the ends making a loop.
Stuff the knot into the hole in the top of the hat and fill the hole with glue.
Tie the plaid flannel material around the snowman's neck and glue in place.

It's now ready to hang on the tree for all to enjoy. Set up a little production line with your kids and make a bunch of them. Most importantly, Have Fun!

     We hope you enjoy Marilyn's Corner and look forward to all the fun things she brings you each week. If you have a fun project that would be suitable for our newsletter we'd love to share it with our readers. Just contact marilyn@runnerduck.com and we'll do the rest.

Remember we have all of our past projects archived on our web site at www.runnerduck.com. Just click on the Projects or Kids Only Eggs.

One of the really exciting things to get for Christmas is a toy that is personalized just for you. We have a large selection of toys that can be personalized for that special little someone this holiday. Check out them and all the great toys that are at fantastically low prices.

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Our friend Jeff F. from Texas sent us this story. We may have posted this once before but still think it's funnier than heck.

Israeli police are looking for a man named Joseph, wanted for looting in the port city of Haifa.

The suspect is described as the son of an ex-nun from Barcelona and a German father. He was a former flutist and worked occasionally as a farmer.

In short, he was a Haifa-lootin', flutin' Teuton, son of a nun from Barcelona, part-time plowboy Joe.

     The Tempos big swing band is available for hire. If you have a special event that could use the wonderful music of a classic sixteen piece big band be sure to contact thetempos@runnerduck.com. We perform all over the Seattle area for all sorts of events.

Album Pick of the Week

"Christmas with the Rat Pack"

As we mentioned last week when Thanksgiving dinner is over we can start playing all that great Christmas music. This week we are suggesting a great flash to the past with the Rat Pack. Do you remember all the great holiday songs that Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. sang? Well if you don't or you just want to hear them all again then this CD needs to be in your holiday collection. Order it today so you can start enjoying it while shopping on line at all the other RunnerDuck stores ;-)

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Remember, we have a link on our web site, www.runnerduck.com, to our ever popular Grammy® Shopper site. If you haven't been there yet just click HERE to see all the 2003 Grammy® winners complete with links to purchase any one of them.

The RunnerDuck web site is hosted by

   THIS WEEK'S FREE RECIPE

Remember, if you have a recipe you'd like to share please send it to marilyn@runnerduck.com.

     Every month we post a new recipe on our web page. Be sure and check out the NEW December recipe next Monday at the RunnerDuck Kitchen Store.
We'd be happy to post your favorite recipe there or in our newsletter and give you credit. Just drop a line to marilyn@runnerduck.com.

Be sure and visit the RunnerDuck Cookbook Store for other great savings on cookbooks and cooking supplies.

Beam Scribe

This week we'll make something a little simpler after that toolbox which was pretty difficult. This Beam Scribe is a great little addition to you tool kit and it also makes a nice gift for that woodworker in your family.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4" Oak dowel 8" long.
Black walnut 1 1/2" X 1 1/2" X 3/4".
5/16" flat washer, thick.
Dome head counter sunk wood screw, 3/4" long.
1/4"-20 X 2" pan head screw.
1/4"-20 wing nut.
1/4" flat washer.

Cut the Walnut 1 1/2" X 1 1/2".
Drill a 3/4" hole in the center.
Cut a 1/16" slot centered on one side of the block into the center hole.
Drill a 1/4" hole 3/16" down on the side from the slot. This will be for the bolt and wing nut that forms the clamp.

Cut the dowel 8" long.
Drill a hole centered in the end of the dowel for the wood screw.
Sand the dowel if required to fit in the hole. It should be tight but able to slide.
Mount the 5/16" flat washer on a 5/16" bolt 2" long with a nut. Tighten the nut against the washer.
Chuck the bolt into a drill press and using a file, form a sharp edge on the washer.
Remove the washer from the bolt. Screw the washer into the end of the dowel. Tighten the screw enough to hold the washer snug but allow it to turn.
Slide the dowel into the clamp and you are ready to go. Measure from the edge of the clamp to the edge of the washer to set your distance. Tighten down the clamp and you are ready to mark some wood for cutting.

We hope this works good for you and you have fun with this little project.

For a great selection of woodworking supplies and tools check out Rockler, Great Prices/Great Selection!

If you have a project that you would like to share please send us an email and we'll help get it published in the RunnerDuck review. We are looking for woodworking, gardening, crafts and kids projects so send us your thoughts at projects@runnerduck.com .

      Do you put chains on your car tires when you are driving in the snow? That's not a bad thing to do if the conditions warrant it but a lot of times a good set of winter driving tires will do just fine. Driving with chains on your tires when they are not necessary is a waist of fuel and it's hard on your tires, car and roads. Put your chains on when you need them but take them off as soon as you don't. It drives me nuts when I see someone driving on bare dry roads with their chains still on.

If you have a conservation tip please send it to conservation@runnerduck.com and we'll post it in our newsletter.

Here's something to ponder from our friend Gordy.

Think about this:
A. The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.
B. Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year are 120,000.
C. Accidental deaths per physician are 0.171.
(US Dept. of Health and Human Services)

Then think about this:
A. The number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000.
B. The number of accidental gun deaths per year is 1,500.
C. The number of accidental deaths per gun owner 0.0000188.
Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat.
We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand.
As a public health measure, I have withheld the statistics on lawyers for fear that the shock could cause people to seek medical attention.

If you have a joke please send it to us at jokes@runnerduck.com, thanks!

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