Christmas lights

This is Merrillee wishing everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Every year at Christmas, I have a fun time decorating my house, and that includes putting up the outside lights. Net lights are a wonderful invention, and I put them on all the bushes that are along the sides and front of my house. I wrap a couple of trees with lights, string the smaller trees out front with lights and hang several lighted wreaths. I also put icicle lights around the screened porch that encloses our pool. So when I finish, I light up our little corner of the neighborhood. But it seems that a few days after I get everything done, one or more strings of lights decide to burn out. Then I have to scramble to find replacement lights or have a dark space right in the middle of the bushes or on the wrapped tree. Why is it that the middle lights are always the ones to burn out? How do people with large displays such as these keep their lights from burning out?

I enjoy putting out lights myself, and I love to drive around and look at other people's Christmas lights. Do you? Do you string lights for Christmas, and what do you do if lights burn out. Do you replace them or let them go?

New Home at Christmas

Merry Christmas from Merrillee. I just noticed that my name is kind of merry. I'm not going to talk about my name, but I had to make that observation. I'm visiting with my daughter and her husband because they have just moved from Chicago to Tucson. I'm here to help them move in and be here for my granddaughter's first birthday.

Moving into a new house at Christmas can be a challenge. We did it once when our kids were in high school. We bought a tree on Christmas eve for very little because they were trying to get rid of them. Organizing a house after a move is a job in itself, but adding the Christmas decorating along with that can make the job even more difficult. We could have skipped the decorating, but what would Christmas be without a tree and at least a few decorations. So today I went shopping with my son-in-law. We bought a tree. It looked like the perfect tree, but when we got it home, I decided that it wasn't as wonderful as it looked at the store. However, once we get it decorated, it will be wonderful. We bought garland for the bannister on their stairway, and we put up some of the decorations that they already owned. We are hanging pictures and finding places for all of their belongings. When I return home in a few days, hopefully, they will be somewhat settled.

I would have included some photos, but they still don't have internet access. That will be installed on Friday--too late for this post. I'm having to use a borrowed computer. I went to the public library to use the computer the other day. I'm so used to having internet access that I'm having to get used to living without it.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.