Green and Red Trees

OK, so the weather in sunny PA was a balmy 70 degrees which is wonderful for this time of year. I decided to bag work early and come home to finish putting the green lights in the green tree and put red lights in the red tree. I want to get them in before the trees bud and the window of opportunity was closing fast.

Part one of the plan went flawlessly. I got the taller ladder which allowed me to add some lights higher up in the tree. I found an extra set of green lights and added that too. I think I have about 900 lights in the tree now. My neighbor came home and said, "Tell me you're not putting lights in a tree in March"...to which I replied, "you betcha, I'd rather string lights in 70 degree weather rather than 30 degrees"; an idea she agreed with.

Anyway, I'm in full light-stringing mode. I'm ready to start the red tree. I get the lights from their hiding place, open the first box (of 9)and came to a dead stop. When I bought the lights in December I didn't realize that the wires were WHITE! I need green wire; I can't put white wire lights in a brown tree; it would look dumb! What to do? I went online to try to find lights that I could have overnighted, but the only ones I could find were commerical grade at $12 each. No way was I paying $12 for lights that I can get at Wal-Mart for $2.88 (and that's not on sale. I tried eBay but the shipping prices were outrageous, and I wouldn't get them for at least a week which would be too late anyway because the tree was a day or two away from budding.

I reluctantly gave up the idea of getting the red lights up before the Fall, put the red lights w/white wire away to be returned in the Fall away and went on to the next item on the to-do list. Oh, well at least the green tree is done!

Sequencing "Queen of Winter"

I had a few spare minutes so I decided to start sequencing my first song. I've chosen "Queen of Winter" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I completed the LOR (Light-O-Rama) tutorials and am ready to jump in. Since I've decided to use LOR's controllers, I thought it would be a good idea to use LOR's Sequence Software. It's pretty straight forward.

First I copied the songs from the CDs to my PC. Then I opened LOR and created a new musical sequence file based on the chosen song. I already know I'll have 3-16 channel controllers to work with and have done some preliminary assignments. I set all that up and recorded the beat track. Now I'm working on the animation window. That's a separate screen that functions as a test for the light show. Next step is to start adding the effects. Wish me luck!

Frames are Here!

I received the mini-tree frames a few days ago, but the online store was sold out of 4" cable ties. I need those to secure the lights to the frame. After checking with the Facilities Manager where I work, I went on a field trip to Lowe's and found a plethora of cable ties. I purchased 500 ties; hopefully that will be enough. The supplies are safely tucked away. I plan on starting work on the trees the weekend of April 8th. Hubby will be in Myrtle Beach for a much deserved golf vacation, and I will be holding down the fort. Since I, too, am a golf nut, I plan to watch as much of the Masters Tournament as I can while constructing mini-trees. Should be lots of fun! Check back for pictures.

Mini-Tree Time

Okay, so the website and blogsite are up and running. Now it's time to get back to the mini-trees. Mini-trees (for me) are 2 ft trees constructed using some sort of frame and 3-100 lightstrings. The original PlanetChristmas mini-trees were made with floral easels, the lights and lots of cable ties. Others have used tomato cages for frames or even made their own from wire. The Gremler "tomato cage" variety are very nice, but I think would take too much time so I am opting for the tried and true...the original PC(Planet Christmas)version.

It took me a little while to track the suckers down, but I finally found them on Hobby Lobby's website for $2.00 each. There was a floral supply site in CA that sold them for $1.10 each but you had to order at least $50 from them. The added bonus at the Hobby Lobby webstore was that they sold green cable tie wraps which are needed to attach the light strings to the easel.

So the order has been placed and should arrive in a couple of days. Hopefully I can start working on the prototype soon. After the first one is done, I'll post a picture of my handiwork.

The website is up!

Finally got the website up! The color scheme isn't exactly the way I want it, but will do for the moment until I have time to do some more playing. If you're so inclined feel free to check it out at: http://tisthesimpsons.com

I want to add a countdown calendar that counts down to the debut date. I've looked at a couple but haven't found what I want. If anyone has a good one or knows where to find one leave me a comment!

And we're off...

*This is summary of my work to date...
12-15-05
My husband sent me a video that was making the rounds of the internet. It was a house in Ohio that had its christmas lights synchronized to music. I was intrigued. I "googled" the video, found it to be legit and found a link that described how he created the show. It was computerized. I was hooked! I decided that I was going to do something similar next year. After all, this combined three things I really love...christmas lights...christmas music...and computers.

I joined the users at PlanetChristmas to learn from their experience and get ideas. What a fun group. Feel free to check it out at www.planetchristmas.com.

12-20-05
I downloaded the Light-O-Rama sequencing software to start playing. What a hoot! Also started to gather ideas for light layouts. Also put together a shopping list to hit the after-Christmas sales.

12-26-05
Got up early to hit the sales at Wal-Mart and Target. Got lots of stuff...2-36 inch lighted wreaths, 50 sets of 100 light strings, 12 sets of blue icicile lights and 8 sets of white icicle lights.

1-10-06
Laid out the light plan for the house and picked a few of the songs. The big one at the moment is going to be "Queen of Winter" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

1-30-06
Waiting for the Light-O-Rama controllers to go on sale. Word is that that will be in April. We've set a date of the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the official unveiling.

2-10-06
Researching the best way to create the mega-tree. I did find a site that offers a pre-fab 15' tree. The only thing that I would have to add would be the lights. Costs about $100 which seems to me to be a pretty good deal.

3-17-06
Had to spend the last month focusing on a database project at work so haven't had a lot of time to devote to my light show, but now that things are calming down (so to speak) I can get back to my new hobby. I'm trying to find the 2' floral frames to make the mini-trees with. Someone suggested Lowe's, but that was a deadend. I'm going to have to do an internet search. Also I need about 500 black tie wraps. Can't wait to see my Roger's (husband) reaction to this assembly. He already thinks I'm moderately crazy, but he loves me.

The weather is getting warmer which means Spring is coming. I want to get the trees wrapped prior to the leaves budding so that I'm not doing it in the cold this Fall.