Conference 7.286::home_work

    I don't know.  It depends on your roof.  Mine is plenty strong for
    such a landing.  I just hate cleaning up all the #$$%@%^*&^%^&&**&
    reindeer sh*t.  You would think the FAA would have a regulation
    about reindeer diapers or pooper-scoopers wouldn't you?

    If I've had my in-laws over for Christams Eve and I've slid into
    the sack about 1-1:30 AM and he shows up about 2-3 AM ...
    
    my preparations are a 30 06 with about a dozen rounds of ammo.
    
    Otherwise, everything's OK.  He and his reindeer decide to come
    visit the hard way - through the roof I just put that on my Christmas
    list IMMEDIATELY!!  He declines then I get the 30-06.

Evening checklist:

	o Open fireplace damper all the way.

I have two flues. I put up an arrow pointing to the fireplace flue...
would'nt want 'm going down wrong flue into the furnace or hot water
heater.

    Personally, I'd have a real problem with letting ANY old man into
    my house who wears a funny red suite, says "ho-ho-ho" a lot, plays
    with elves and likes to have little boys and girls sit on his lap
    and whisper in his ear, while he laughs and promises them candy and 
    toys.
    
    Hmmmm.....
    
    And some of trust this man?
    

    Now let me see......hhmmmmnnn as far as a checklist:
    1 - leave Christmas lights on ALL night, can't depend on his sleigh
    tripping the infrared beam aimed at the driveway
    2 - leave carrots for the reindeer, milk for Santa.  That way they're
    much more careful when landing and taking off the roof.  (Sort of
    like leaving a six-pack of beer once a year for the trash-men -
    saves the barrels.)
    3 - clear the path from the fireplace to the tree.  Don't want him
    to trip and then be sued for negligence.
    4 - take off the chimney cap (forgot this one last year and found
    it strewn over the backyard (or maybe that was the raccoons last
    summer...)
    5 - go to sleep early.  Really, REALLY try hard to go to sleep so
    that morning will come early, and, an...heck I might as well work
    on this one now.....ZZZzzzzzzzz                                     

re: 1824.4

Beware!

Last night, on TV, I saw a show that proved that Santa exists!

Don't get him mad at you.

     Now that the holidays are upon us, maybe it's time for an official
holiday decorating note.  Of course, I wouldn't start this topic if I
didn't have questions.  :^)

I have many, no, make that MANY feet of little indoor/outdoor lights to
put up for Christmas.  Most of the sets are 100'.  On the front of the 
house, I want to run these up the side, across the gutter, and down the 
other side.  Also, around the door and around the windows.  Now, for a couple
of questions.

1. What should I use to hang these with on the vinal siding?
2. What should I use to hang these with on the aluminum gutters?  Or, should
   I be hanging them under the gutter on the wood facia(sp)?
3. How come I see houses that have lights that start and end exactly in the
   right spots?  I'm sure there must be some extra at the end.  What do they
   do with it?  Is the answer obvious and I just can't see it?  If I need
   35' to go around my picture window, I know I'm not going to find a set
   of lights 35'!!

Chris D.

If you have wood trim around your window, you can screw in little hooks
to hang the wires on.  Or install small finish nails.  If you paint the
nails/hooks the same color as your window trim, they'll be nearly
invisible.  If I had vinyl coated window trim, I'd probably content myself
with a nail at each corner.

Same for running lights along the eaves -- except that you can probably
make the nails/hooks even more inobtrusive by putting them into the
facia under the eaves.  That assumes that your facia extends vertically
down from your soffit a little bit.  The lights themselves will dangle
down (no matter what you do) and be perfectly visible.

How to make the lights end at the right spot around a window?  Well, the
hard way is to hang the lights so that they are spaced closer together to
come out right.  The easy ways are to cut your string to length or to let
them end where ever they do and unscrew the lights from all the leftover
sockets.  That's assuming you have parallel connected lights (two
conductors run from each light to the next).  If you have series connected
lights, I'd recommend pitching them.  I'd also suggest putting electrical
tape over the empty sockets to keep rain/snow out.

Consider running an extension cord to a bush or tree and hanging lights
in that.  A rather pretty effect, I think, and not so geometrical as
outlining windows and rooflines.

	Enjoy,
	Larry

PS -- My outdoor Christmas light hanging experience was in California, 
I've never actually done it in New England.

>> The easy ways are to cut your string to length
    
    You mean actually "cut" them?  Snip snip??
    
>>  them end where ever they do and unscrew the lights from all the leftover
>>  sockets.  
    
    I have those miniature lights that are wired in series.  Take one out,
    they're all off.
    
>>  I'd recommend pitching them.  

    Pitching them??
    
>>  Consider running an extension cord to a bush or tree and hanging lights
>>  in that.  A rather pretty effect, I think, and not so geometrical as
>>  outlining windows and rooflines.

    I agree completely, except that I have no little trees or bushes yet. 
    The house is new and the land just recently developed.
    
    
    I went to Zylas auction last Sunday and WON one of those ~41" tall
    snowmen with the light in it to stick outside.  So, that will be out
    this year, right next to my old 5' tall Santa.
    
    Chris D.
    
    p.s. BTW, Zylas is open again in Londonderry N.H. and the bargains are
    back.  I got a 14 or 16 piece (I can't remember) wrench set going all
    the way up to 1 1/4" for $10.00.  Great deal, even for non-brandname
    wrenches.
    
	Enjoy,
	Larry

PS -- My outdoor Christmas light hanging experience was in California, 
I've never actually done it in New England.

    I have seen special clips (they are usually in the same sections of
    stores as the light strings) that you attach to the path of the light
    string (they will attach to gutters, eaves, window sills, etc,).  
    You leave the clips in place for the next year after you take the 
    lights down.  Not a bad idea if you are planning to decorate the same
    way for several years.
    
    Jim

    re:.2
    
    It's true that some miniature sets won't light if a bulb is missing,
    but be aware that some of those sets will remain lit if a bulb simply 
    burns out.
    
    You might try replacing the bulbs in the 'excess' sockets with bulbs
    that have failed. It just might work.
    
    Freddie

If you have a parallel (2 wire) light set, yes, you can cut the string
anywhere, provided that you properly insulate the cut ends.  Personally,
I don't ever want to deal with series (1 wire) lights again.  Even if
burned out lights don't darken the whole string, there's still the case
of lights that are loose in their sockets, and hence darken the whole
string.  But regardless, don't try cutting a 1 wire string short.

	Enjoy,
	Larry

>   <<< Note 3996.0 by HYEND::C_DENOPOULOS "Men Are Pigs, And Proud Of It!" >>>
>                         -< Holiday Decorating note. >-
>
>     Now that the holidays are upon us, maybe it's time for an official
>holiday decorating note.  Of course, I wouldn't start this topic if I
>didn't have questions.  :^)
>
>I have many, no, make that MANY feet of little indoor/outdoor lights to
>put up for Christmas.  Most of the sets are 100'.  On the front of the 
    
    Well, you could always do it a la National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
    with those lengths of strings !  :-)
    
    Stuart who probably just added nothing but a smile to this note :-)

    Stuart,  When the season was over last year and the stores were running
    sales on Xmas stuff REAL cheap, I bought 5 sets of 100 lights  I could
    almost do what they did on National Lampoon.  :^)
    
    Chris D.

    Just don't forget to turn on the switch ...
    
    And no drafting!
    
    Stuart

    Rent the Chevy Chase movie, Christmas Vacation, for a great how-to
    video on stringing Xmas lites.
    

If you want to see unbelieveable Christmas lights, there's a house in Windham,
NH that you ought to check out.  It's a big old 3 or 4 story Victorian, part
of an old mill site.  They generate all their own electricity with a generator
set up on the dam.  They need it too - I can't remember exactly how much 
electricity their Christmas lights draw, but it's in the neighborhood of 300
amps.  It's just north of route 111 on route 128.

Paul  

    There's also a house in Lawrence, MA that's famous for it's lights.  If
    I remember correctly, they were up to 70K lights!  These people started
    doing this well over 20 years ago, adding more lights each year.  It
    takes them from Thanksgiving to put them all up.  Their electric bill
    for December is over $400!  Offhand though, I don't know the address,
    but every year, the Lawrence Eagle Tribune features this house, as well
    as others......
    
    John

The Aleci house. It's just off the Marston st exit off Rt 495. 
Across the street from the Victory Chevrolet. 

You can see it from the highway.

daryll

    Yeah, that's the one!
    
    What's funny is a couple of years ago, I took my kids there.  There's
    always a Santa in the yard giving out candy and a "wishing well" for
    donations to some kids' charity....  Anyway, after visiting Santa, we
    leave, walking by the outside fence which is also lit up with lights. 
    My then 4 year old boy with the typical tendancy kids have to touch
    things as they walk by, touched the fence, and just as I said not to
    touch the fence, the lights went out on half the house!  I don't know
    if he caused this or it was just coincidence, but needless to say, we
    just kept going!  We drove by 20 minutes later, and they we're feeding
    the electric company in full force!
    
    Re: Overkill
    
    Yes, it is overkill, but it sure is neat when you don't have to pay for
    it!  And, there's just so many lights that you can almost feel the heat
    generated by them..........
    
    John

Hawk,

They're up year around and they just keep adding to them....

daryll

    a stolen photocopy of the grinch stuck to the refrigerator.

    Must be another house in the Lawrence/Methuen area that I'm thinking
    about that the Tribune wrote how the owners start stringing the lights
    at Thanksgiving.  About a mile or so away from this house (near Victory
    Chevrolet) is a group of houses in a nice, old section of Methuen (I
    think), just over the Lawrence line, near the mall.  They also do quite
    a job with lighting, especially one corner house which also has a live
    Santa for the kiddies.......
    
    My house gets about 300 lights in front, that's it!
    
    John  a.k.a. Hawk

>    Now that the holidays are upon us, maybe it's time for an official
>holiday decorating note.  ...

    What? Was I asleep? Is it December 20th already?

    re. N.L's Christmas Vacation...
    For those of us who don't have the *extra* time to rent movies, what
    does Chevy Chase do with the Christmas light???
    
    Someone_who's_got_to_know_!!!

    
    
    About enoughh bulbs to light up the Bronx and enogh motor driven
    figures to power an Indy car, run through one extension cord into a
    single plug in the garage.
    
    
    
    By the way - - the plug is also switched with the garage overhead
    light!!!!����

    This note is to discuss ways for that guy in the Sleigh to 
    handle different housing styles and what can be done to make
    his life easier one night out of the year.  Any good DIY 
    tips to pass onto the old gent?  He has quite a task ahead
    of him in a very short period of time and needs all the help
    he can get!

    Thanks in advance.

    justme....jacqui

    Tell him to watch out for air shredders.
    
    				Steve

>
>    Tell him to watch out for air shredders.
> 

Steve,

I don't know what the tradition is in your house... but in ours it is
always a MAJOR part of our Christmas Eve activities to remove the air
shredder.

The whole family will gather around the hearth while Dad reaches into the
flue to remove the shredder.  Everyone oohhs, aaahhs, and clapps when
he finally pulls it out.

He always told us it was very dangerous as the build-up of air pressure
might cause the whole house to collapse.  But he figured it would be ok
for one night, as long as he put it back first thing in the morning.

I'm really looking forward to this Christmas Eve.  Dad's getting on in
years.  This year he's going to let me remove it!!!!

Do you really leave yours in????  WHY DON'T YOU JUST LIGHT A BLAZING FIRE
AND FRY HIS BUTT WHILE YOU'RE AT IT!!!!   :-)

						Mark

    
    We like to drive around the neighborhood during the first big storm
    after Christmes, look for waterspouts out the chimneys. Ya got'ta
    remember to put those air shredders back in after the big day.
    
    I'm surprised Home Improvement hasn't worked this into their
    Christmas show.
    

    Well, actually, I'm ashamed to admit it but I don't have an
    air shredder.  I've been making do with a coffee mill (the chopper
    type) rigged up in the fireplace with the button taped down.  I
    figure the guy in the suit can just nudge it away with his toe
    when he comes in.
    
    					Steve

    
    I recommend that he carries some cleaning fluid to remove battery snot.
    That's the sticky gummy white fluid that leaks from old batteries.
    I figure that this stuff must get all over the sleigh by the end of the
    night as most toys have a label that says "batterysnot included".
    
    
    

    Mark,

    Doesn't that make you feel *old*?

    justme....jacqui

    p.s.  Maybe an ADULT then!