Our street is shaping up to become a festive consumer of watts this holiday season. But the weather is anything but Christmas-like! It's like summer! My one neighbor in the big house took advantage of some balmy weather and got his lights put up last weekend. That spurred others to get their act together and start to decorate their homes.
Another neighbor and I use a lighting service to put the lights up on our eaves. For me, it is the only way I'd get them up there because #1, I don't own a ladder long enough and #2, I'm not about to climb a ladder myself and #3, I know my kids are busy with their own decorating, so, I have this lighting service do it.
The deal is with them, they want you to pay up front for the service, and way in advance. They promise if you pay by September, you can have a 10% discount AND they will put them up by Thanksgiving.
Well, Wednesday, Nov. 25 came and no lights were up! So I called them, got the answering machine, but left a message--"HEY, YOU SAID MY LIGHTS WOULD BE UP BY THANKSGIVING!" My neighbor down the street pursued her request further than I did by getting the phone number of the owner and calling him, and demanding that they get it done before Thanksgiving!
So about 7 p.m. on Wednesday night, I heard the trip trap of reindeer hooves on my roof, and there they were, putting up my lights. She got hers put on by about 9:30 that night. They made their deadline of getting them up by Thanksgiving. Good for them, because we are at the end of a 3 year contract with them, and if they didn't come through, we'd be shopping for a new company next year.
This weekend, it has been LA weather here in St. Louis. Clear blue skies, and temps in the 60, and today in the 70's. Balmy! Not your "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" kind of weather that I usually find myself in while putting up Christmas decorations. In the past, I wouldn't have known how to put things up if there wasn't a minus 2 windchill going on! It was just amazingly warm today. I was in short sleeves, and worked up a sweat! I just about put the top down in the red convertible sleigh today while doing my errands!
I got my moving, grazing doe and buck put together, installed their forest of pine trees behind them, got my two little spiral pines decorated with lights, and put together the makings of a creche for Baby Jesus when he makes his appearance. Thanks to some electrical work by a neighbor a couple of weeks ago, the wires are all run to the proper place and it looks good! I just need to install the star for BJ, but that can wait till closer to the time for him to make his appearance!
My neighbor next door and the neighbor across the street also got up on the eaves and put up their lights. Across the street neighbor has two prepubescent boys who love to climb on the roof, so he just had to watch and make sure they did it right. Next door, he needed to climb himself!
Now there are 5 out of 15 houses that are decorated and have the electric meters spinning. I'm sure more will follow, and some will not decorate. One family just moved in Nov. 1, doubt that they will, and one just had a baby on Thanksgiving day, they are probably going to be rather busy doing other things. Some are older folks who just can't negotiate decorating, at least not extensively. So, we'll see how many more watt busters start their Christmas displays and when.
This weekend was the prime time for decorating, because who knows how many more lovely weekends we'll get here in the midwest. Old man winter is just around the corner, and even though we're feeling like Christmas in LA, I know it isn't going to last!
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