2 or 3 houses around here have Christmas lights all over them, as well. Maybe their days/nights need to be brightened up, or maybe they're just showing their neighbours how to do it. Who knows? As long as it makes them happy... and doesn't impinge on me, or anyone else, of course.
Just folded piles of washing ready to go away and have put more in the machines to refill the baskets. Not much of a chore, but my legs and back are complaining about it. Ah well. Short rest, maybe another cup of tea, and onwards with the huge list of things to be done. Next one is emptying and moving the position of a couple of bookshelves to get some bigger books in. Not going to enjoy that, but I will enjoy the finished job. While there, I will inspect the furniture and see if there's anything I can dispose of.
One thing I have got rid of is a pile of books - one complete set of hardback Patrick O'Brien novels, sold on ebay, and a couple of boxes of miscellaneous tomes to the one remaining charity shop which will accept books. Seems few people buy 2nd hand books these days. Don't know how else to get rid of them. I hate the thought of just burning them, even though they would be providing some heat if I did. Could be broken up and put into the recycling, I suppose, but I don't like that idea either. The ones I have got rid of have hardly made a dent in the overall number we have here. I've never counted them but there must be more than a couple of thousand. Even Neil, who speed reads, will never get through all those. I did get rid of some cookery books but there's still about 150 of those - none of which I use because I never stick to a recipe, except for baking. So that's a possibility, if I can get the charity shop to take them.
EDIT: Then there's a huge collection of LP's, DVD's, CD's, cassettes and videos which Tom kept. I haven't even looked at those for the last 7 years. My own collection is much smaller and takes up very little space.
The main problem, though, is furniture. How can I get rid of the 150 year old chaise long which sat under Tom's family window for the first 100 years of it's life? Or the Cherrywood box that Tom's great grandfather made? Or the little mahogany table from the same house? Or the cut-down settee that came from some big house in the Highlands and was given to Tom's great aunt as a settee, too big for the little house she and her new husband had. It was old when the chaise was new and is a family character all by itself. It's part of the family's history.
I know, and it has been said on this thread, that when I am gone, nobody will want it and it will, possibly, get thrown out ignominiously, but I can't bear to do it.