Another Year Has Come and Gone…

And that means its time to welcome in the
holiday season at

Lois, Sue & Chris’

35th Annual Holiday Open House!

3634 NE 17th Avenue
Portland, Oregon  97212
503.287.8747

Saturday, December 5, 2009
2pm until we are tired

Today’s home heating oil is:

Larsen Oil is fantastic. They are emailing me the prices daily, so I can post them.  Also, they carry lids for oil fill pipes.  We went and got a new one Thursday for a friend.   When we needed one,  I told them when I ordered fuel and the delivery man brought it and installed it when he delivered our oil.

Larsen Oil 503 281 0003 200g 2.39 400g 2.36      UP    6 cents today
Pulliam Oil 503 564 4068 200g 2.31 400g 2.28     No Change Today.

11/02/09 close 78.12      CRUDE               11/03/09 close    79.42   up 1.30
11/02/09 close 2.0441    HEATING OIL    11/03/09 close   2.0667  up .0226

Back on 10/28, the last time the heating oil price was 2.39 and 2.36  oil closed at 79.39.   That is 1.27 cents per gallon more than yesterdays close of 78.12, and the price per gallon to the consumer is exactly the same.  Does not seem right, does it?  It will be interesting to see what happens in the summer when the demand is much less.

To be finished by 11/8/09

• Wash windows
• Window lights and garland (including front hall stairs)
• Order garland for fence and porch
• Outside lights (only if weather cooperates. Will probably replace one of the above) UPDATED 11/7/09: peak lights and Grinch done. Lower bushes are done too!
• Brew Oatmeal Stout & Windfall Apple

To be completed by 11/15/09

• Order garland for fence and porch
• Outside lights (if not finished earlier)
  • Peak, porch roof and Grinch
  • Camellia Bush
  • Rhododendron and raised bed
    
  • Porch window and railing
  • Deer and lighted trees
  • Garlands and lights on fence
  • Garlands and lights on porch
    
• Village
  • Whiteboards and lights
  • Sky, stars and moon
  • Village boards, elevations, and trees
    
  • Lights
  • Route power adapters
  • Lay down snow
  • Set village houses & plug in lighted accessories
  • Village people and doo-dahs
    
• Front hall garlands
• Bears on stairs
• Kitchen shelves (dust and reset)
• Downstairs Den/bathroom
• Upstairs bathroom
• Loie’s room (garland, village)
• Gingerbread village
• Order garland for fence and porch
• Livingroom decorations (windmill, wash angels, punch bowl/tree bows)

To be finished by 11/22/09

• Clean, tidy Sue’s room (Moved down)
  
• Clean, tidy Loie’s room
• Clean, tidy Chris’ room
• Clean carpets (moved down)
  
• Hang Christmas plates (moved down)

To be finished by 11/29/09

• Christmas Trees
  • Main Tree
    • Lights
    • Decorations
  • Front Hall
    • Lights
    • Decorations
  • Kitchen
    • Lights
    • Decorations
  • Loie’s Room
    • Lights
    • Decorations
  • Chris’ Room
    • Lights
    • Decorations
  • Village Trees (if necessary)
• Keg Beer
  

To be Completed by 12/3/09

• AC’s to basement
• Empty boxes to attic/basement
• Clean up front porch / setup heaters
• Get Chris’ tuxedo cleaned
• Sweep/clean/wax floors in kitchen and dining room
• Baking
• Clean, tidy Sue’s room
• Clean carpets
• Hang Christmas plates

In addition to decorating, it is also recommend that you seek plumbing services to help winterize your plumbing system and avoid pipe damages.

In the immortal words of Charlie Brown: “Well Linus, another Halloween has come and gone.”

In many ways I feel like this was one of our best years, even though we did suffer several malfunctions and breakdowns in the first couple hours of the evening.  (These really ticked me off, as I tested the crap out of everything this year to ensure that this wouldn’t happen.)

Mike and I dressed up in our usual garb and tried to blend in amongst the reapers in the front yard to scare the kiddies.  Karl wasn’t able to come this year because he was on a hunting trip, unfortunately.  And Mike actually carried most of the weight for the first couple hours as there kept being little mishaps I had to tend to and fix.  He stayed until probably eight O’clock, but then Mairi decided she had had enough of this whole loud, spooky Halloween business, thank you very much, and it was time to go home.  I clearly need to have a talk with that kid and get her head in the game.  No niece of mine is going to be anti-Halloween!

Shannon and Justin and Elisha all helped as well, leading groups of kids through the tunnel and back to the candy, often having to convince them that nothing was going to eat them along the way.  As always, a good number of the kids – even some from the neighborhood who have come down every day to help me put the display together – simply refused to go back, so we had a bowl of treats up front for them.  We’d always try to convince them to go back first, but if they refused or lost their nerve before the end, they still got their candy.

(continue reading…)