First Snow & Hanging Up The Lights

The first snows came, and by last years standards it wasn't too much. I think we got about 4 inches of it, not even enough for me to even bother shoveling the driveway. I can't wait until the thick heavy stuff comes so I can get out there at like midnight and shovel the snow and be in the element. Yeah, I'm crazy!

Thankfully I was just able to get the outdoor Christmas lights up. I had planned on doing this on Saturday, but Meva wasn't feeling good and the day just got away. Usually I don't have any problems hanging up the lights or at least nothing that gets to me (And I fell off my roof last year and landed right on my head trying to put up lights with a broken hand, two pins sticking out of it, and a cast). This year though I was ready to go nuclear!

All I wanted to do was set up four strands of net lights on my evergreen bushes. I had brand new lights that I hand purchased last year after the season, but they all tested well when I checked them inside. Somehow from the trip in the house to the bushes out front, two of the strands stopped working' one completely and the other just in the middle. I brought them back in and checked all the bulbs and the wires. One strand had a defective wire, so there was nothing I could do there, and the other one was beyond me. So I headed to the hardware store and bought a different (read cheaper) set. I even bought extra boxes just in case.

I got them home and on Sunday, when the snow started coming down fast and heavy, I went back out to finish. Each one of those cheap ass strands of lights either wouldn't light, or literally fell apart as I tried to gently lay them over the bushes.

Even Meva knew I was fuming. Money is tight, but with everything happening with my mother dying, my kids just now old enough to enjoy the pretty lights, and this being the first Christmas since my step-dad Lou passed away, I was going to have lights on those bushes if I had to set them on fire! Meva could sense of close I was to losing it and didn't say a word when I told her I didn't know where I was going, but somewhere I would find working lights and I didn't care where I had to go. I don't know what she was thinking, but she knew how important it was to me and just let me go. I guess we could call that reason number 37653876087502 why she is such a fantastic wife and that I love her so much.

Anyways, I got lights that work and finished the bushes. The snow was coming down at it's heaviest and I still had to put the lights on the roof. We have a low roof, so it wasn't a problem, other than the cold, and those lights went off without a hitch. The only thing I didn't get out this year were my plastic candy canes to go along the walk, but that's my fault for not getting them prepped and with working bulbs, so I wisely skipped them. I don't have as many lights as I'd like, but it's enough for this year. Next year I will build on this.

The other interesting thing to note is that the lights I have for the roof and my other bushes are new LED lights and they didn't give me any problems. The net lights for the evergreens are regular lights, so if we can swing the cost I may have to go LED there as well. The energy savings alone should offset that cost. Anyways, I'll try and get a picture here of the house soon if the snow will hold (or more will come).

With the economy the way it is and money tight for all, I'm going to be giving out cookies this year to all my friends. I love to bake Christmas cookies, so it will give me something to keep me focused on good thoughts and it will also help me stay in the holiday spirit. Hopefully I can narrow down the kinds I want to make and get started on them so I can begin getting them out to everyone.

That's it for now. I have a house to clean and possibly a small nap to take because I did not sleep soundly last night.