It's that time again. The time when driving anywhere at night means being on the lookout for any and every house that has any sort of lights up, from a college dorm with a small strand of twinkle lights scotch taped to a window in an imperfect square to an elaborate, professionally decorated million dollar home draped in live garlands filled with white lights and red velvet ribbons, and trees so full of lights only someone with a bucket lift could have hung them.
My block had about five houses lit up last night when we left for the party, but our lights weren't on. One of the extension cords hadn't gotten a good connection, but we wouldn't know that until today. We dropped off something at our daughter's house on our way out of town, and her block was almost entirely covered in lights. I couldn't stop sighing like a little kid as we drove down the street. I don't know about you, but at this time of year, my head is on a swivel and I don't blink when we drive anywhere. I love all the displays, no matter how much skill went into creating them. It's a mood, not a contest. Participation trophies for everyone who plays! I still don't understand why it was so much less a thing back in South Carolina while we lived there. I would have thought there would be more decorations for this holiday, not less. Fewer people seemed to get into the spirit, and those who did decorate all turned off their lights by the night of Christmas. Humbugs, all of them.
I'm comfortable with the decision we both reached not to get a tree this year. I spent time this afternoon sorting out the strands of lights from previous years, to find which ones still work and which are the half-cannibalized sets of replacement bulbs. I can't tell you how many times Harvey ran through the middle of it, remixing sets that I had separated and tested. This boy can not possibly be trusted with an entire tree full of danglies and sparklies inside the house. Most of the lights I sorted will end up outside, eventually. I would like to put the tiny lights that would have gone on a tree around the picture window up front. I haven't figured out what would be good to hang them with. I don't want to use tape (it wouldn't hold once it gets cold anyway). I thought about getting a bunch of command hooks, so that they support the weight of the strands. I have never used them before, so I hope that they work as advertised and don't leave a sticky residue when removed. I am willing to try something else if anyone has a suggestion.
I don't like to sleep with the curtains open, because the streetlight shines in my window. But I really want to open them so I can stare at the house lights until the timer goes off. It's my December dilemma.
No comments:
Post a Comment