Christmas Lights 2010

The Christmas lights are up!


Every year putting up the lights gets harder and harder.  I may just be getting too old to untangle strings of colored, blinking, Christmas lights looking for that one bad light that knocks half the string.


This year I even flirted with the idea of putting one significant Christmas candle in a window as my contribution to the yearly, friendly competition in the neighborhood to see how can have the most spectacular Christmas lighting display.  But then I decided that I didn't want to be the "Bah humbug!" old man of the neighborhood.  I gave in and asked Bill to drag out the Christmas lights from the attic.  I would take them out myself but since I stepped through the ceiling floor last year when I put the lights up there I'm not allowed in the attic anymore.  


The day after Thanksgiving was a mild day so that was the perfect time to put up the lights.  I hate to put up Christmas lights on a windy, cold day.  Best to take advantage of those occasional mild days we have in winter here on the eastern shore of Sussex County, Delmarva peninsula.


I thought one day would do it.  That was wrong.  On Day Two, I thought I could complete the job.  That was also wrong.  So here we are on Day Three and I have completed the task!  And it's not even December yet!  I am proud of myself.  Why I even got all my Christmas cards mailed.  I mailed them the day after Thanksgiving.  The only ones I will mail now are to those folks who send me a card that I somehow overlooked on my mailing list.


So here I am, all in the Christmas Spirit.  Now I just sit back and enjoy the holidays. 


Merry Christmas everyone!

Stupid Move

Well, I did it. This morning started out well enough with the sun making an appearance. The temperature read 45 degrees but there was little or no wind. Yes, today was a good day to go up in the attic and get those Christmas lights.



So I go up in the bonus room closet and open the little trap door that leads to the attic where I have my Christmas decorations stored. I stoop low to get through the door and make a right turn, careful to avoid stepping on the insulation. Below the insulation is the drywall to the ceiling of my kitchen below.

One trip gathering Christmas items went well. The second trip didn’t go so well. In fact it was a disaster because I lost my footing and my leg up to the knee went right through the insulation and drywall of the kitchen ceiling. I couldn’t believe it. I looked below and sure enough, there was insulation in my kitchen sink. My kitchen now had a skylight to the attic.

There was no way of covering this up. The deed was done. Beside, the cover up is always worse that the original crime (as Richard Nixon and Tiger Woods know.) And a “crime” indeed I did because Bill has warned me time and time again “Be careful when you’re up there! If you step on that insulation you’ll go right through the ceiling!”



Well, I thought I was careful. What actually happened I was trying to balance myself on the two by fours wearing my Crocs. My Crocs slipped. There! I’ll blame the Crocs. No, actually I’ll accept the blame. It was a Stupid Move.

The day wasn’t a total loss. I did get the Christmas lights up. Now for the Christmas cards. I wonder if I can do that without destroying anything.

The Rain Returns

This was the day I was going to put up my outside Christmas decorations. That isn’t going to happen today. The rains have returned. Oh my, raining again. How unusual.

Undaunted, Bill and I left for our weekly breakfast outing at Zorba’s Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach. We were Zorba’s first customers this morning. Our regular waitress Erin came over and confirmed our breakfast order. For Bill, a fried egg sandwich for bill on white bread, double mayo. For me one egg over medium, crispy home fries, pork snout mush (aka scrapple) and buttered Rye toast. Bill’s beverage of choice is caffeinated coffee and mine is decaf. Shortly after we were served with our breakfast, the restaurant began to fill up with customers seeking shelter from the cold rain outside.

Earlier in the week I was debating whether of not to buy tickets for the annual Lewes Christmas House tour. I was reluctant because in the spring I had purchased tickets to the annual Lewes Garden Tour only to see the day of the tour almost washed out by a spring time monsoon. The tickets are good rain or shine. Since we only have the sun make an appearance once a week around here lately, I decided not to take the chance. I’m glad I didn’t. I’m glad my house isn’t on the tour. I would hate to have all those wet feet tramping through my house.



Bill just came back from our neighbors’ house. He told me the house next to them, which has been up for sale for a year and a half now, has sold. That’s the good news. The bad news is our other neighbor said the kids don’t speak English. Uh oh.



And the beat goes on.

Movement

Today I made some movement on some outstanding issues that have contributed to my frustration of the past few weeks. One was finally resolving the problem I had with TracFone to have my old phone number transferred from Verizon to TracFone. Since buying my TracFone on November 17th, I have encountered nothing but a scripted response from the TracFone customer service desk in India every time I called about why my phone number wasn't ported to my new TracFone. Of course it didn't help that every time I called I got an Indian who sounded like he was talking in a well and I could only understand every fifth word. Trying to get these guys off the script in front of them was my challenge this morning. Well I can report now that my phone call this morning actually got a person that I could understand. She took care of the problem and I now have a TracFone from which I can make and receive calls.




This will save me about $80 a month. I had a Verizon Wireless Family plan for 700 minutes a month. I rarely used more than 30 minutes a month. Verizon offered me no other options other than this plan. They even had the nerve to offer me an extra 100 minutes a month if I would sign a new two year contract. No thanks Verizon.



My next goal was to end the contract I was obligated to for three years when I built this house. That charge was $31.95 a month for the security system. I don't need a security system where I live. Fortunately I live in a safe neighborhood. But I was obligated for three years because the company wired my house. That obligation is finished and I'm saving another $31.95 a month.



My third goal was to renew my prescription for my prostate medicine with the VA. I made that phone call this morning and I got through! The medicine is on its way.



Then, feeling like I was making progress I jumped right into addressing my Christmas cards. This year I'm sending out photo cards that I got from J.C. Penney last month. Yes, I am sending my visage to a select few friends on my Christmas mailing list. I've been sending photo Christmas cards for years now. I wonder if any of my friends have saved all those cards. It would be interesting to line up those cards from the oldest to the most recent to see the aging process of Ron.

So here I am this morning making progress on my Christmas cards. I had 60 cards. After addressing 40 envelopes I realized that Penney's only supplied me with 40 envelopes. Oh my. Now I have to make another trip to Dover. That's a 39 mile trip one way. Running short of envelopes was another snag in an otherwise smooth running morning. However, I won't let this little snag throw me. I have dental appointment scheduled next week in Dover. I'll kill two Santa Clauses and get my teeth cleaned and pick up the remaining 20 envelopes.



Tomorrow the goal is to put up my Christmas decorations. Progress, it's wonderful. I might even attack that room in my basement that is still full of unpacked boxes from my move three years ago. I’m on a roll.