It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas in Hollywood
Tuesday afternoon I got out my Christmas boxes,* unwrapped my ornaments, and tested my lights.** It was annoying to find out they didn't light up, and they were my only string of twinkling lights so I would need to replace them.
*Yes, there are boxes - perhaps more than makes sense for such a small apartment, but I've been accumulating them for years and I expect that at some point I'll be living someplace with a little more room.**Well, one string anyway - my tree comes with the lights already strung and it's only three feet tall so there's not much need for too many additional lights.
For those who don't know, twinkling lights look like a regular string of Christmas lights, but instead of keeping a steady glow, various lights will flicker (or "twinkle") at different intervals. They look spontaneous and when seen from a distance they make it look like there's movement .*** I saw them for the first time when I was in high school and I've put them on my Christmas trees ever since.
***Movement like a slight breeze - not like the tree's alive... unless the tree really is alive but not like it's going to get up and walk away.
Anyway, I figured replacing this string would be a quick job. I had to stop at KMart anyway, so I planned to pick them up there. No go. They had steady and blinking lights in various colors and sizes, but no twinklers. Okay, Michael's was across the street. No go again. I had the same result when I went to Home Depot next door.
After wasting half of my afternoon, I returned home to get some work done and consider my options. I'd seen billboards around town for a place called Christmas Palace (yes, it's real name) so when dinner was over I looked up their web site to find out where they're located. The site didn't tell me where to find them, but it did tell me they closed at 7:00pm... which was in about 45 minutes. It was a quick drive, but they had my lights!
Here's what the tree looks like - it's not a picture of the ornament I wanted to focus on, but it's the best picture I was able to take... maybe there will be another later.
How do people get such beautiful pictures? -- I've tried, it doesn't work for me. Guess you have to be an artist, huh?
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