December 2, 2001.
I put up the Christmas lights this weekend. We had record high
temperatures so at least this year I wasn't freezing to death up on the
ladder. Why are these pictures so grainy and blurry?
I added some to last year's design: more white lights to the bushes in
front of the house; new green lights to two small evergreens at the
western edge of our property; a string of white lights along the top of
the stone wall linking these evergreens to the house; patriotic theme
red, white, and blue bush; and two strings of lights along the roof
lines on the east side of the house. I also decorate the house for
Halloween.
Looking towards the south west
The center bush, initially red, became red, white, and blue.
Looking towards the south east.
East side of house showing new lights across the roof lines.
Why I do this! The kids enjoy it, and that makes it all
worthwhile.
I look tired. It's a lot of work moving the ladders around and
climbing up and down a million times. I do it all myself. It's a
labor of love.
There was an outstanding sunset just after I finished.
I have no plastic figures or wire deer on
the lawn. I think they look cheesy. My design is simple and traditional:
the house and windows are outlined in colored lights, and the bushes are
done in single colors, mostly white lights. No flashing lights or
computer control. Well, not entirely true. I use three separate
dedicated 15 amp circuits controlled by X10
controllers, but this is just to turn the lights on at 4:30PM and
off at 11:00PM. Most of the bushes are on one circuit, the windows are
on another, and the house outline and several random bushes on the
third.
Why are these
pictures so grainy and blurry? Because they were taken with the
kid's 0.3MP KB Gear JamCam 3.0. (12/16/2002 update: KB Gear seems
to have gone out of business. The JamCam is no longer being sold.) They
are blurry due to limitations of the cheapo digital camera, but I'll be
kind and share the blame because I didn't use a tripod. The JamCam
obviously doesn't handle darkness well at all (though better than I
expected) but for $50 (1999 price) for a digital camera it is
great fun for the kids (and big kids) to have pictures to look at
immediately. By the time I take nice high quality
slides of my Christmas lights and get them developed, Christmas will
be long over. The JamCam has whetted my appetite for a good
quality digital camera.
I'm already thinking about what to do
with the lights for 2002. Maybe lights around the two small maple trees
at curb side, or the white birch at the left side of the house. Trees
require a lot of lights to look good, and probably another electrical
circuit to be safe. Maybe I should leave well enough alone... but
knowing me, not likely!
