We had a bit of a downer in the first week in January. I didn't bother to share, as who needs downer posts.
But, this week I tackled our damaged and vandalized Christmas decorations, mostly the 'feature' blowups out by the street.
My husband had worked so hard on our decorations and we found out after the damage how much it means to our little subdivision.
Neighbors had tried to intervene, when the two cars of 'adult' vandals then disappeared, leaving a stream of our lights all the way across the street. Hubby posted the info on the community web-site and we had over forty comments and oodles of sad faces as everyone so enjoyed our yard---since they were kids our crazy displays.
Several area Mom's and Gramma's would bring strollers in the daytime for the baby and toddlers to look at. We didn't realize how much of a tradition our home had become over the years.
One woman commented, "That is terrible! Every time I would drive by I would roll my window down to hear the music and enjoy the display."
Another: "We love your house! My little guy calls it the Christmas house!"
We move the decorations around each year and the display always ends up looking quite different. We have music selections which are connected to different colored lights which we play throughout the season. Luckily that system is very hidden within the trees and not an easy target.
All the community support really helped my Hubby, though he was disgusted and took everything down very early. We usually leave things up until the second week in January.He dumped the 'destroyed' blow-ups in a bin, and I pleaded with him not to throw them away.He was finally gone last week for bowling which had been cancelled because of the snow and ice storms we had been having, so I pulled the two blowups out of the bins to survey the damage. I honestly didn't have the heart to photo the damage. But I did take this photo on the sewing last seam of our Gnomes Roasting Marshmallows...my personal favorite.
Repair Day.
The Gnomes only had three slashes in them, and they were pretty easy to fix. I chose to switch thread colors to fix each tear. I sewed from the inside wherever possible. Some of the slashes were two feet long, pretty hard when they are only 3-4 foot high to begin with.
But, the results was great...and they look like new ( they are only three years old to begin with. )
The big damaged project was the 12 foot high Santa in the Balloon. This had thirteen slashes from 1 foot to 3 feet long. Honestly---that is a lot of hate to take out on an Inanimate Smiling Blow Up.
I sewed, sewed, and sewed, 3 hours later, I had to test it, so, I took it outside and blew it up on the front deck.
Hubby was still not home, so I hurried and got it tied down to a chair and put it right in front of the stairs. I had just finished when I heard the truck pull into the driveway. Yes, the sewing really holds the seams shut.
I grabbed my phone and caught him coming up the walk. A smile, a BIG SMILE...worth every stitch.
Here's Santa with his slashed face and now creased beard...waving at him. Most of the damage was in the upper balloon thankfully, as it was easier to work inside such big slashes. If you look close you can see a few ripples and puckers.
BUT, Hubby's grin says it all...and the Holiday Spirit has been restored, and everything is safely packed away until next year. Our security cameras were out of range of the area under the trees, but I guess we will be upgrading our security system next year.
We can't always rely on our neighbor running out in his underwear to save our displays.
Special Thanks, Rob!
If you enjoyed this post please follow this blog by blogger or
FOLLOW IT which you will find in the upper right hand corner of this page.
Thanks always for visiting.
I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.
I will be sharing at these fine Parties!
The photos in thisblog are my own or have permission to using them from family.
I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog
without my permission.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Sandi
