Jingle Bells and Welding Rods

We may not be winning any prizes in the neighborhood spirit competition, but our humble light display is just enough to make the house look warm and inviting and to provide the power company with a few extra dollars for their holiday bonus.  Besides, I've always appreciated the understated.  It's amazing what you can do with just a couple strands of holiday lights.  Instant Christmas cheer!  The photos don't do it justice, but I'm including their blurry awesomeness anyway.   



31 Haven Drive at Christmas

Inside the house, the simplicity continues.  A few ribbons here and some gold pine cones there and voila!  It's a subtle winter wonderland.  We haven't ruled out the idea of getting a tree just yet, but have you seen the price tags on some of those parking lot evergreens!?  That tree cost could easily translate into several bottles of a different sort of holiday cheer. 

Speaking of holiday cheer...we joined the Savannah Striders Thursday night for a "jingle jog" through the streets of downtown.  We were a group of 30 plus runners decked out in jingle bells and elf costumes participating in a spontaneous night jog.  The run was great, but the true fun was observing the reactions from the unsuspecting crowds.  Are noisy "flash" run stirred lots of smiles and "merry Christmas"s and even more "what the f#@k!"s. " We ended the run with dinner at the Crystal Beer Parlour and a round of Christmas spirits!

   The holiday runs aren't over just yet! Today we ran the 2nd annual Reindeer Run on Hutchinson Island (that's the island that you see across the river on River Street).   I didn't have any luck finding a Mrs. Claus outfit to put over my running clothes, but I did find some fun sparkly black tights, so at least it looked like I tried.  And the couple of jingle bells I tied to my shoe nearly drove me insane by the end of the 5 miles.  The bells are really cute when you're in a group whose sound mimics Santa's sleigh, but that single jingle on every other foot fall was enough to send even the most focused elf to the edge of the North Pole and over. 

So in lieu of a holiday baking entry (though have no fear I'm cooking something up right now for the next post!) I figured I would indulge in some show and tell from work.  I know my job still remains a bit of a mystery to some of you (and why shouldn't it?...I'm still trying to figure out what it is exactly that I do).  So maybe a picture or two in this blog will help bring some clarity...to you and me both.  

I've been welding up some wheel wells for our gantry crane (the big iron crane we use to move the massive headstones we can't pick up ourselves).  It's not the prettiest work you've ever seen, but I'm kind of proud of the small improvements I've made.  I wish I had a photo of the first fences I welded up...NOT so pretty.  You'll just have to picture spattering of melted steel and compare it with the relatively straight line you'll see below.  It's like night and day!  I don't know if anyone will appreciate the photo below, but Mom, if you're reading this, call Dad in to see my picture.  O:) 

I'm on my way out the door!  It's time to make a run to the grocery store for baking supplies!