Christmas Lights

If the outside lights didn’t go up today, it’s highly likely they wouldn’t have gone up at all before Christmas. Fortunately, the day remained dry and all the other things I wanted to get done today were completed by lunchtime.
First job was to trim the bush that the lights normally go around (I say “normally” because the more observant of you will have noticed a lack of lights on said bush in the photo - read on to find out why!) A bit of a severe pruning this year as there were a lot of dead or rotten branches to remove. Once we had it looking right, it was time to fit the lights. Which is where things went slightly awry. Mrs C had been convinced the lights that normally go around the tree were longer than usual. This is because it turns out she had used the outdoor lights to dress the tree. The only ones left wouldn’t really go round the bush and there was not sufficient extra lead to reach the house. Taking the lights off the tree was not an option, so the compromise was just to run the shorter length of lights down the side of the drive. The white lights (and the stars in the window) cannot be confused with anything else, so they went up in very short order.
I’d like to think we could start to wind down before Xmas now, but the next ten days are looking very busy indeed! A concert tomorrow, a trip to the theatre on Thursday, band and pantomime rehearsals over the weekend, then three days in Chester seeing relatives. Which leaves one day to do all the food shopping before Christmas Eve!
Fortunately, I’ve managed to stay healthy (unlike Mrs C who has a stinking cold) and I intend to keep it that way, so may well head to the gym this evening to ensure I’m fighting fit for the next ten days! Or just chill out slumped in front of the telly - either is good!