Feeling Most Unpatriotic

Every year I dread the patriotic tree, it is difficult from the get go, the lights are a pain and there are too many garlands to put on not to mention the massive amounts of glittered ornaments that shed. So, it's been sitting there naked staring at me for several days now as if taunting me and saying, "You know you have to decorate me, you can't put it off much longer, the other small ones are almost done, I'm next, nah, nah, nah, nah."

So, it was a rainy, dreary day, a good day for staying indoors and decorating trees. Mom and I had nothing else on the agenda so she came over mid morning and we tackled the space tree first. Easy as pie. Even loved the twinkling, blinking, chasing, fading, almost do anything you want them to new lights to replace the ones that bedecked it in '06 and then were recalled by Hobby Lobby. Everything went on easily, it was fun and it's done. Check that one off the list.

Mom unwrapped all the ornaments, garland, and even contained most of the glitter while I began the fun job of lighting the patriotic tree. It took hours. Literally hours. Five and a half hours to be exact from start to finish. The first strand of lights I pulled out had two burned out ones and Tim arrived home just in the "nick of time" so to speak to change them for me. I couldn't get them to come out of the sockets of course.

So, got that problem solved and I asked him to go ahead and open the attic in case I needed an extra strand as I progressed. I fight with lights forever, we've got blue and white lights, we've got stars....then comes three different garlands, two of each strand. Meanwhile, mom has time to easily decorate my cute little "feather" tree I picked up at Hobby Lobby last week for $7 (50% off) with vintage ornaments. Looks so cute!

I start to put ornaments on FINALLY and that's when all the lights go blink and they are out except for one strand at the bottom and one strand of star lights. Great! Fortunately, Tim is now awake from his nap and gets recruited to solve the problem. He's my light guy. Let's just say that my light guy was stumped and finally we decided to just take that strand off and maybe use another one if I can feed it back in. It was either that or rip the entire tree apart, go buy a new prelit tree and start all over. Except for having to light it.

He mentioned the fuse but then waited to check it until after we'd pulled the strand off the tree. Voila! Changed one fuse and we were back in the light business. Of course, then I had to feed the strand back on the tree through branches, other light cords, stars and some ornaments!

I persevered even though I was definitely not muttering about the joys of Christmas at this point. Mom and Tim are reminding me AGAIN that I could always skip a year. Mom puts finding a new tree, prelit, on sale after Christmas at the top of the list.
Okay, she wins. I'm game.

We get the ornaments on, vaccuum up the glitter and it's done. It's pretty. But what an ordeal to get the finished product. I've vowed not to dare turn the lights on that tree until the day of the open house JUST IN CASE. Did I mention they blinked on me a few times while I was putting the ornaments on? See, that tree just has it in for me.

It's gonna be a few days before I can look to that corner of the library without wincing.

5 hours. The whole afternoon. But, I remind myself, it's done.

Yay.