Plan B Forum

I thought this might be fun. I'll show you mine now you show me yours.






(I'll post a night shot later on.)

Sorry no tree up this year. No cards sent either. Very humbug this year.

No tree this year; traveling for the holiday, then the kids come back to spend 10 days with their mom, so no point really.

It kinda bums me out, though. This is my second year in a row without a tree - first time ever! I'll have to do it up BIG next year to make up . . .

Nice tree, Timster!

Heres ours



Complete with Cardiff Blues teddy, the Welsh Dragon family, WRU Santa and of course topped with the Xmas Hippo (family traditional tree topper)

Our Xmas bush, assembled from "acquired" pine branches.

Here's mine!

here's mine;





...no, I kid



Celebrate peace, joy and human sacrifice.

No really, here's mine;



My Xmas Bike!


Close-up of handlebars;


Close-up of handlebars



Lights are all battery operated; the giant Jingle Bell really jingles. I make my presence known by shimmying the front fork and ringing the bell. Ring-Ting-A-Ting-a-Ling!!!



...But Wait! There's more! Pls Stand By....

The bike has been a big hit, folks love it and I get to call out Merry Christmas to perfect strangers. And it's Green: it's elf-propelled!



The coup de grâce was an art project, I've been wanting to do for years.... well, not really. What I've wanted for years was one of those large lit-up sculptures to put on the roof because I've never had roof art before. Of course, what holds me back is the expense: pre-Christmas stuff is outrageously expensive and I can't justify spending that kind of money on something that's going to spend most of it's days in the storage shed. Post-Christmas and I'm flat broke.

This year, I was bringing out all the stored decorations, when I came across my handmade wreath. It's re-usable because it's made out of a whole box of clear plastic sandwich bags. (Trust me, it comes out looking like sparkly snow and not used plastic.) So, I'm putting up my wreath and pining for an electric reindeer, a blow-up Santa; anything to put on the roof- when it dawns on me... Why don't I make something myself?

Shouldering the extravagant burden of buying eight boxes of sandwich bags, and making creative use of a retired tomato cage turned upside down; me and the geekkids that I recruited as unpaid bag-tying labor, fashioned this into being...


The Bag-Lady Angel!



She took over 1,000 sandwich bags, I sh!t you not!


And now...

~sniff~ I have Roof Art

*Hallelujah*

the Xmas bike worked better than I thought...


I was downtown tonight, treating myself to Holiday Sushi; when while waiting for a 'walk' signal at the crosswalk, a stranger exclaimed to me, "There you are! I was wondering where you went!?"

Then what to my wondering eyes did appear? But a jolly fat man, with tiny coffee held dear...

I knew him not by face nor by name,

but towards me and my bike, with joy he came,

'I haven't seen you' he said, 'At the library, a clatter'

'I wondered, for a while, just what was the matter?'

I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

I told him true, 'I've home access, Sir Elf'.

No need for the public courses that flew,

The internet Comcast service, I knew.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

soon gave me to know he dug what I said.

He understood skimping and saving and such,

We talked of such techniques of getting by much.

Then laying his finger aside of nose,

and giving a nod, up from the park bench he rose,

I sprang to my bike, and thumbed the lights

this to the street-elf, gave such delights,

I heard him exclaim, as I rode out of sight,


"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"