Lights...Lights...Lights?
In keeping with the Christmas spirit, as well as the beautiful day we had yesterday, my husband and I put up our outdoor Christmas lights. A light up reindeer, a small tree with white and red lights, plus white lights on our Boxwood tree in our front garden, along with white, red and green ornaments clustered together. I have 2 Shepherd's hooks in my large middle garden, each holding two lanterns. They flank my reindeer. I wrapped boughs of pine, spruce, and cedar garland around them, added red and white berries, and placed a big fluffy bow on the front with two different ribbons. It looked very festive when we were finished.
It was getting dark, so by the time we cleaned up the boxes and storage containers that held my outside decorations for eleven months, it was dark. My husband plugged in the lights for the trees, and I went inside to turn on the switch that runs the reindeer. I couldn't wait to see it all together, in the dark, all lit up. Turns out, I could.
By the time I walked outside, around to the front of the house, I could see the Boxwood partly lit up. My little tree was lit perfectly, but it kept falling over. The Shepherd's hooks, in the dark, resembled Grim Reepers, apparently, they will need some white lights, just so they don't scare people. Our reindeer? Well, only his body was illuminated, so he took on a wild venison sausage look.
All in all, I was very disappointed. My husband immediately began checking lights, to see why only some were working. He said "We will work on this all week, we'll figure it out." I looked at my husband, without saying a word. I walked over to my reindeer, and shook him, why, I don't really know, perhaps to shake the light short out, partly to make myself feel better. It didn't work for either. I stepped back on our lawn, and surveyed our hard work, then I turned around and looked at our neighbours light displays. Bad decision on my part. The neighbour across the street, has coloured lights on her shrubs, each shrub, a different colour, plus a display of large colourful gifts that light up. Hers, is beautiful. The neighbours at the corner, let's just say, he is the Clarke Griswold of our area. His house, is lit like a beacon on an airport landing strip. He has 8 working reindeer, some higher than others, pulling a lit sleigh with Santa inside. It looks like it's taking off in flight. The roof, has about 10,000 lights fastened to it with the words Merry Christmas in the middle. He has snowflakes, penguins, every kind of light display there is, on his front lawn.
I turned back around to my yard, and in comparison, mine looked like a bare 5 watt light bulb in a dark closet. Creepy.
Much like a volcano, before it fully erupts, I began to spout complaints about our lights. I had only bought them last year, they were brand name, LED lights, that were guaranteed for five years. Of all six strands, each one was only half lit. I began to spout louder. I had put them away last year, with care, actually, my husband did, and he wrapped them carefully around cardboard, with each end plugged into itself. My husband suggested I call the manufacturer and tell them. I just wanted them to work. He was right of course, he usually is, I of course was plotting their untimely demise.
We had to leave, so our Christmas luminary disaster, had to be forgotten for a while. As we drove, I continued to plot my revenge on the light manufacturers. The winning idea, involved my reindeer, which now resembled a sausage on the roof of their building, with bright neon lights from a different manufacturer (obviously) telling the world that their lights suck!
All night, I was thinking how to rearrange the lights on the tree, I would need to buy some more lights to wrap around my reindeer's head and antlers, taking it from a protein, back to a charming woodland creature. I didn't want to do either. However, as we drove home and saw beautiful light displays after another, I knew I would.
As we drove, and approached our house, our lights, they were lit, my reindeer was once again an animal and no longer a food group! My Shepherd's hooks, they were still looking creepy. I definitely needed to wrap lights around them, but everything else, looked just as it was supposed to look! I was sure I could hear a choir of angels singing Hallelujah! It was glorious! My husband, was babbling on about LED lights, can sometimes work out their own issues. I didn't care, they were lit!
We walked into the house, and my husband commented about our living room being packed with more boxes of Christmas stuff. That, is today's project. When he returns home tonight, he will think he has walked through the doors of Santa's house. I was smiling, envisioning it, in all its splendor, and then my husband said something that snapped me out of my peppermint dreams. "Hopefully, our Christmas tree doesn't have the same light troubles." I choose to believe!
It was getting dark, so by the time we cleaned up the boxes and storage containers that held my outside decorations for eleven months, it was dark. My husband plugged in the lights for the trees, and I went inside to turn on the switch that runs the reindeer. I couldn't wait to see it all together, in the dark, all lit up. Turns out, I could.
By the time I walked outside, around to the front of the house, I could see the Boxwood partly lit up. My little tree was lit perfectly, but it kept falling over. The Shepherd's hooks, in the dark, resembled Grim Reepers, apparently, they will need some white lights, just so they don't scare people. Our reindeer? Well, only his body was illuminated, so he took on a wild venison sausage look.
All in all, I was very disappointed. My husband immediately began checking lights, to see why only some were working. He said "We will work on this all week, we'll figure it out." I looked at my husband, without saying a word. I walked over to my reindeer, and shook him, why, I don't really know, perhaps to shake the light short out, partly to make myself feel better. It didn't work for either. I stepped back on our lawn, and surveyed our hard work, then I turned around and looked at our neighbours light displays. Bad decision on my part. The neighbour across the street, has coloured lights on her shrubs, each shrub, a different colour, plus a display of large colourful gifts that light up. Hers, is beautiful. The neighbours at the corner, let's just say, he is the Clarke Griswold of our area. His house, is lit like a beacon on an airport landing strip. He has 8 working reindeer, some higher than others, pulling a lit sleigh with Santa inside. It looks like it's taking off in flight. The roof, has about 10,000 lights fastened to it with the words Merry Christmas in the middle. He has snowflakes, penguins, every kind of light display there is, on his front lawn.
I turned back around to my yard, and in comparison, mine looked like a bare 5 watt light bulb in a dark closet. Creepy.
Much like a volcano, before it fully erupts, I began to spout complaints about our lights. I had only bought them last year, they were brand name, LED lights, that were guaranteed for five years. Of all six strands, each one was only half lit. I began to spout louder. I had put them away last year, with care, actually, my husband did, and he wrapped them carefully around cardboard, with each end plugged into itself. My husband suggested I call the manufacturer and tell them. I just wanted them to work. He was right of course, he usually is, I of course was plotting their untimely demise.
We had to leave, so our Christmas luminary disaster, had to be forgotten for a while. As we drove, I continued to plot my revenge on the light manufacturers. The winning idea, involved my reindeer, which now resembled a sausage on the roof of their building, with bright neon lights from a different manufacturer (obviously) telling the world that their lights suck!
All night, I was thinking how to rearrange the lights on the tree, I would need to buy some more lights to wrap around my reindeer's head and antlers, taking it from a protein, back to a charming woodland creature. I didn't want to do either. However, as we drove home and saw beautiful light displays after another, I knew I would.
As we drove, and approached our house, our lights, they were lit, my reindeer was once again an animal and no longer a food group! My Shepherd's hooks, they were still looking creepy. I definitely needed to wrap lights around them, but everything else, looked just as it was supposed to look! I was sure I could hear a choir of angels singing Hallelujah! It was glorious! My husband, was babbling on about LED lights, can sometimes work out their own issues. I didn't care, they were lit!
We walked into the house, and my husband commented about our living room being packed with more boxes of Christmas stuff. That, is today's project. When he returns home tonight, he will think he has walked through the doors of Santa's house. I was smiling, envisioning it, in all its splendor, and then my husband said something that snapped me out of my peppermint dreams. "Hopefully, our Christmas tree doesn't have the same light troubles." I choose to believe!
My reindeer and Shepherd's hooks in my middle garden,
before I put on the big, fluffy bows.
Comments
Post a Comment