Steve the Other Christmas Elf

Many hands make light work — or make the lights work, perhaps.  Two tall men, their four hands on high  – sometimes with benefit of ladder and sometimes just a long stretch on tiptoes — and, voila!  The upper third of that ten foot tree was lit, decorated, and icicled before you could say Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer.

My part was simple — evaluate, criticize, find the hooks, hand the baubles, suggest the bare spots, and clap and cheer.  Nyel left his kitchen duties periodically to come and admire.  And John and Steve probably would have continued on for the duration except that I declared it the cocktail hour!

John the Other Christmas Elf

We left the tree all aglow with lights and halfway trimmed with the promise that I would finish it up today.  Or tomorrow.  Or soon.  After dinner, Tucker came over to collect his ladder and he ooohed and aaaahed and visited a while.  It was a lovely afternoon and evening.  The tree is looking quite satisfied with progress “so far” but I can here her calling to me so… onward and downward!  The upward part is done!