To light or not to light.....

......that is the question. Whether tis nobler at this house on Bernadette Avenue to skip decorating the outside of the house for the holidays this year altogether, or to go ahead and trim the house and yard as in years past.

Yesterday we put away all the patio and deck furniture-10 chairs, several tables, all hauled down to the basement for the winter. It's a yearly ritual that is a lot more fun to do in the spring than it is in the fall,  when the anticipation of sitting and dining outside lies ahead of us. 

It's a lot of work maintaining our home year round. Yard work, tending the gardens, spring and fall maintenance...it takes a toll on both time and the body. Don't get me wrong, we love our house and are probably here for the long haul. Neither of us is ready to move into the senior housing complex, if ever. And buying a smaller, easier place to maintain would cost just as much as what we pay here.

There is certain amount of work that just has to be done...mowing the yard with its steep hills in the back, snow blowing the driveway when we get the inevitable mid west snow events. I suppose we could bring out a few less patio tables and chairs (you might be asking why we have 10 chairs when only 2 people live here) and  I suppose I could cut back the plants and grasses in the yard and gardens so that there is less work there too. Forget planting the tulips, the heck with digging up the canna bulbs, so what if things get a little overgrown.

You might be thinking......hey, hire it done! Sorry, not in the budget. Why just yesterday Georgette excitedly ordered a new vacuum cleaner in anticipation of resuming the heavier cleaning that she says she will be doing after she retires in December. The maid service doesn't know it yet, but they are about to get cancelled.

Our house from Christmas past.

Which brings us to the holiday lighting dilemma. It's been my job to decorate the outside of the house for the holiday each year. And in the 11 years we've lived in this house, the amount of decorating grew a bit each year as I tried to match my neighbor Jim. Jim puts his house lights up in October every year and fills the front yard with a bunch of those clear light figures such as deer, sleigh, a snowman and carolers. Very tasteful,  except for the life-size singing Santa Claus he got from Wal-Mart one year that sings carols non-stop from dusk to dawn.

With his yard and house adorned with clear lights and my yard and house similarly decorated, it was fun to set the timers for Thanksgiving evening and watch the two yards come to life with holiday wonderment.

Our neighbor Jim's holiday display.

But I say "was fun" because something is amiss at Jim's house. By now, Jim would have been up on his ladders hanging the clear strands of C-9's on his roof line and gutters. He always got it done early, usually late October when the weather was good. Jim, who is in his late 70's with a history of heart problem, hasn't been seen outside much lately. And someone, one of his grand kids, was mowing his lawn this summer. For the first time since we moved here 11 years ago, we're wondering if the house next door, usually a sea of white lights and holiday displays, will be dark this year. I'll admit to being motivated to do the work when I knew that our yards would compliment each other.

We also no longer spend our Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house as we've been spending those holidays out of town with family. That means no guests to ooh and aah at my yard decorating efforts which I'll admit was also part of my motivation. Thus, the decorations are really just for the two of us, the neighbors and the cars that drive up and down the street.

Part of my problem is that I'm just not into anything Christmas yet. I'm feeling a bit like Charlie Brown in the Peanuts comic TV special from the 60's. I know, I know, it's way too early, in spite of the local FM station that has been blaring non-stop Christmas music since day after Halloween. But today would have been a good day to string some lights-it's 59 degrees out with almost no wind. Instead, we went to a movie.

So I'm weighing the decision to decorate the front yard and if so, how much. Like bringing out the patio furniture in the spring, it's always more fun to put up the decorations than take them down in January when there is more cold and snow on the ground.

I suppose I could put out a few of those net lights on the shrubs and wrap the garland and lights on the two tall pillars that grace the front entryway. Oh, and of course the wreath that hangs in the large window above the front doors that you can see from inside the house, it's easy to put up and take down.

It wouldn't hurt to put out a couple of those nice white light Christmas trees too. And what about the blow mold Santa and the 2 toy soldiers-those wouldn't take too much work.

The deck with the C-9's strung along the railing.

And maybe I'll go ahead and decorate the deck railing in back of the house with red and white C-9's like I have every Christmas since we've lived here. They are pretty cool to see through the living room windows that are on either side of our fireplace and look out onto the deck. When there is fresh snow and a fire in the fireplace, we dim the lights inside and are treated to a holiday delight.

The deck at night.

I suppose I have some time yet to figure this out.  It's supposed to get real cold this week, maybe that will get me into the yard decorating spirit. Or when the "no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving" moratorium is lifted maybe I'll get the urge to string lights in the front yard.

Until then, there's holiday music blaring over on 102.3 FM if I get desperate.