Christmas Lights: Second Place = Loser!

I was the first one on my block to put up lights this season . . . they went up the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving. I actually planned to merely lay out the new lights and do some pre-wiring, but the project gained momentum and I went ahead and set up everything. As I mentioned here, I wanted to step things up and try to catch up to my neighbor, who is the clear leader on the "Best Lights on the Block" list.

I admit that I was rather pleased with my lights after firing them up. The modern LED light strings and the sheer number of lights are quite impressive. In fact, I was the block leader for eight days. The next weekend, however, I was put to shame by my neighbor. I think he added a few items to his arsenal from 2012, and my light display is still deep in the minor leagues relative to his big league arrangement.

Oh well, this is only a friendly competition that we both hope will encourage other neighbors to light things up. I wasn't planning on adding anything else this year, although I had been considering how best to improve things for 2014. In fact, I actually went out and bought an extension ladder to measure the roof line and eaves for next year's light strings, and recorded all of the pertinent dimensions last weekend. While taking the measurements, I noticed that my neighbor was adding more stuff to his house. He obviously knows that I'm trying to catch up, and he's intentionally upping his game just to see me sweat! It's really tough to keep pace with the guy.

So, I'm writing this post because I terminated my delayed 2014 light deployment plan this morning. While drinking a tasty cup of Ethiopian coffee, I stumbled upon this website devoted to LED Christmas lights. The website isn't very polished, but it lists some items that I had been considering for next year, and the prices are decent. One thing led to another and my shopping cart was full before my coffee cup was empty.

Impulse Purchase

Today's acquisition will be used to adorn the upper roof line of the house, and to replace some of the old dim lights that I've been using. In my opinion, lights on the upper deck really separate the serious players from the run of the mill amateurs. It's time to join the ranks of the ridiculous. I'll still be in second place by a huge margin, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

I know that pictures would be nice, but I'm not about to take pictures of my neighbor's house and post them. Moreover, my point and shoot camera sucks and doesn't like to take pictures at night. I'll try to take some pictures of my lights after the aforementioned products arrive and get installed.