The deceptively warm autumn that we have been enjoying has lulled us into a false sense of security about the looming winter. As a life long Iowan, I know that for every lovely November day we get, somewhere, someone is keeping track and we will, when we least expect it and least want to, be forced to pay the piper. Global warming be dammed, what goes around does indeed come around and the hammer will be dropped on us. Take it to the bank, it will happen.

Another problem with the warmer than normal fall, the holidays are sneaking up on us. There are only 44 more shopping days until Christmas, just under a month and a half to get your gifts purchased. Thanksgiving, the old traditional day of rest before Christmas shopping ensued, is two weeks from today.

The warm weather has the smart folks getting their outdoor Christmas lights up and checked to see if they are in working order. I am not among these enlightened folks, having done precious little to prepare for decorating for Christmas. My wife Diane is a black belt master decorator and I have learned in over 25 years of marriage that my role in decorating is to carry the boxes containing the decorations up from our basement. We have an entire walk in closet that is filled to overflowing with everything one would need to make their home and other areas festive.

Before we moved to Le Mars, we owned a story and a half bungalow that was built in the 1930s. The front of the house had a walk in attic over the living room and a large gable. One of the first outdoor decorating experiences I can recall with my wife (before I learned my true role in the process) was decorating this gable. When she was painting the house, my wife discovered a series of open eyehooks going up and down the gable, perfect for stringing up lights. So, armed with a sturdy aluminum ladder (no rotting wooden ladder for ME) and a string of lights, my loving wife and I attempted to decorate our home and spread holiday love and cheer.

The decorating went fairly well and the lights looked lovely. It wasn't until a sleet shower a couple of weeks later that we realized why the hooks hadn't been used. Apparently in the 1960s and 1970s, outdoor Christmas lights were made of thicker cords, ones that fit nicely into open eyehooks. The thinner cables we used needed to be tied in place with garbage bag ties. Trying to re hang lights in a sleet storm is not conducive to marital bliss. That was my last decorating experience with my wife.

Now I bring the boxes up from the basement and get the lights down in the garage. Trust me, it's better this way.

To all of those "decking the halls" I wish you warm weather, patience and a comfortable ladder.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.