In yesterday’s post, I shared that Mr. Karen had put up Christmas lights both outside and inside. Since then, he put up more lights inside, and today we put up our tree and some of our holiday display items, so we’re all merry and bright around here.

The tree needed more attention than usual this year in the lighting department. Last time we used it, one of the prelit strings would not light, so we took it off, which was tedious since they really twisted those wires in among the branches but not too bad since it was the second section from the top so not very wide. This year, two more of the strings gave up, second and third from the bottom, so we took those off which was again tedious. In the interest of getting the tree decorated this year, we elected to leave the other strings on for now. There were a number of individual bulbs out on those, so I spent time hunting them down and replacing them. This too, was tedious. Any spare bulbs that came with the tree are long since gone (I’m not sure we even got them when my mom gave us the tree not too long after we bought our condo). The bulbs are hard to get out because they have a fiddly clip that keeps them secure, and none of our spares have those same bases. The first dead bulb I came to, I replaced it with one from the strings we’d just taken off, but that “new” bulb was also dead, so I decided it would be easier to just take the dead bulbs out and replace them in the same bases with some of our stash of spare bulbs. (And why not add a bit of color while I was at it.) This worked fine, just meant I had to thread those skinny wires through little holes and bend the ends about three dozen times. When I finally thought I was done, I did a few extra because I knew we’d find more as we put ornaments on.

 

We filled the now unlit spots with new LED bulbs we got at last year’s clearance sales. They said they were warm white, but they were not quite as warm as the non-LED ones already on the tree. It’s hardly noticeable in room light, but as you can see below, my phone camera really shows the difference. Striped trees might be all the rage now, who knows?

 
The star is new this year, another last year’s clearance find. It’s LED bulbs as well, and unlike the old one, doesn’t plug into the light strings but instead has a separate battery pack. We’ll see how long that lasts. This one changes colors, which the old one did not do (though it could blink the bulbs on and off if we put in a special bulb.)

 
We finished our decorating after dark, so I expect we’ll want to move a few ornaments around when we see it in daylight tomorrow. For now, I’m just enjoying the added light and color in the living room.

*****
On this date in 2022: Cotton Candy Sky
2021: Finally Hopping
2020: Happy to Color
2019: Now This Is More Like It
2018: Yertle is Judging You
2017: Throwback Thursday: 1951
2016: Doing What One Does in the Keys
2015: Well Here’s a Twist
2014: Instagram Gathering and Gimme Some Sugar
2013: No entry
2012: A Date Which Will Live in Infamy
2011: Hope Springs Eternal
2010: Pupil-riffic
2009: Introduction to Holidailies
2008: Mush!
2007: No entry
2006: Red Scarf Two
2005: Winter Count—February
2004: Holiday Guilt—A Different Kind
2003: Scarred & Soccer Baby Quilt II
2002: No entry.