Other Adventures

Dec. 2012

♫ Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring ting tingling toooo...." ♪

It was lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with DH and DD tonight, and even though I wished for colder weather, it was still cold enough to require quilts and chapeaux of the highest style.  Tonight we went on our second annual Christmas Horse and Carriage ride to see the lights of one of the best-lit neighborhoods in all of Dallas.  The neighborhood is Deerfield in Plano, Texas, and the homeowners compete with each other to have the best decorated front lawn. The homeowners then vote on the top three, plus Children's Choice.  There is an actual story about how this all got started which you can read here, but suffice it to say, this is an annual tradition without which Christmas just wouldn't be the same.  We used to drive it, but the traffic has gotten so bad that it just makes more sense to let someone else (in tonight's case, Allison) take the reins.  Literally.

Note: Apologies are in order for the less-than-stellar quality of the photos.  I guess I was too excited and raced out of the house and forgot my camera and was forced to use my cell phone instead.  At least I remembered the quilts!  Unfortunately, none of the photos of the carriage itself came out well enough to print.  *sigh*  NEXT YEAR!

Our horse, who's name is "Surprise," was a somewhat bad-tempered little thing who barely, and I do mean barely, tolerated us petting her.  I'm a stubborn sort, so I kept it up, clicking my tongue at her until she stopped flattening her ears.  They don't let us give the horses treats so that the streets aren't, er, littered during the main part of the evening.

SO sorry for the blurriness, the cell phone just isn't as good as a camera, and we were in a moving vehicle, though I walk faster than we were rolling.  Still, you can get an idea of how seriously these homeowners take this contest.

This is one of my favorite homes and draws a huge crowd every year.  It is said that there are a million lights, and they flash in rhythm with the songs on a certain radio station which is played on a loudspeaker.  It is exhilarating to see the lights flash in different patterns to the different rhythms of the songs.  Our driver told us the story that the homeowner, whose mother decorated the front yard every year, inherited the house from her when she passed and that he puts on this display every year so she can see them from heaven.  Makes it even more special, I think.

Thanks for joining me today!