[nfbmi-talk] Tree trimming for blind people?

Tue Nov 30 19:40:53 UTC 2010

Thank you for the kind words.  At least  for now I have retired from 
the Christmas Party business, but do miss it some.  I also miss your 
plates of homemade Christmas goodies -- especially the mint fudge or 
whatever it was yum!!!

Dave

At 11:42 AM 11/29/2010, you wrote:
>SURELY THERE IS NO PARTY SO GOOD AS ONE THAT IS HOSTED BY DAVE 
>ANDREWS!  NO MATTER WHAT HE IS COOKING, IT IS BOUND TO BE ABSOLUTELY 
>SCRUMPTIOUSLY DELICIOUS!  YES INDEED, DAVE IS FAMOUS FOR HIS 
>CHRISTMAS PARTIES,  , AND THAT FAME IS RICHLY DESERVED MY FRIENDS!
>
>WARMEST REGARDS AND A HOLLY JOLLY HOLIDAY TO ONE AND ALL!
>CHRISTINE
>
>On Nov 28, 2010, at 11:35 AM, David Andrews wrote:
>
> > The way I got my tree trimmed a couple times was to hold a "tree 
> trimming Christmas Party."  I provided lots of good food and drink, 
> a bare tree in the stand, lights, and encouragement.  I asked 
> everyone to bring an ornament, and everybody did, and put the 
> lights and bulbs and ornaments and garland on.
> >
> > I am known, or at least was known, for my all you can eat chili 
> Christmas party, so I think people were glad to participate.
> >
> > Dave
> >
> > At 04:05 AM 11/28/2010, you wrote:
> >> Well Fred, you could be more lazy and put an evergreen-scented air
> >> freshener next to, or a few inches to the tree--LOL!
> >>
> >> --------------------------------------------------
> >> From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at att.net>
> >> Sent: November 27, 2010 22:56
> >> To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> >> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Tree trimming for blind people?
> >>
> >> Hi Jim,
> >>
> >> Mary and I have a stylized star for the top of ours.  It is pretty old
> >> and
> >> too heavy for some trees.  I sometimes have to trim the point down to
> >> get a
> >> stem strong enough to hold it up.  But, that is tradition for you.
> >> \
> >> Re: angel hair, I do not think we have any of those ornaments, though I
> >> do
> >> like them.  The fiber glass is a little irritating to the skin if it is
> >> handled much.
> >>
> >> We now have an artificial tree.  I basically object to this, but I am
> >> too
> >> lazy to fight about it, since I will have to go out in the weather and
> >> cold
> >> and wet, bring the tree home, let it dry out, mount it in a stand and
> >> have
> >> it tip over a couple times before I get it right, then clean up all the
> >> needles after we take it down.  I love the smell of a real tree.  I like
> >> the
> >> ecological reasons for having a real tree.  Real trees create more jobs
> >> than
> >> artificial and the disposal is more ecologically friendly than a
> >> plastic,
> >> glass and metal tree.  So, convenience and laziness, in me, is turning
> >> me
> >> into an environmental hypocrite.  Just like a liberal like me, huh?
> >> (smile)
> >>
> >> Merry Christmas,
> >>
> >> Fred
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> >> [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> >> On Behalf Of Jim Prather (Jim in Detroit
> >> Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2010 10:43 PM
> >> To: 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'
> >> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Tree trimming for blind people?
> >>
> >> Does anyone use Angel Hair nowadays?  It was big in the 50s.  Do you put
> >> a star or angel on top of the tree?  Because of ordinances, we can't
> >> have REAL trees in this complex.
> >>
> >> --------------------------------------------------
> >> From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at comcast.net>
> >> Sent: November 27, 2010 21:49
> >> To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> >> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Tree trimming for blind people?
> >>
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> I prefer starting at the bottom with the lights.  The lights go on
> >> first.
> >> Then garland if you use it, then ornaments then tinsel if you use it
> >> instead
> >> of garland.  Garland and tinsel are optional.  Most people don't use
> >> both,
> >> though there are no rules. We started using garland because cats are
> >> vulnerable to choking on tinsel.  A more earth friendly alternative is
> >> to
> >> string popcorn with or without cranberries and use it instead of
> >> garland.
> >> This takes a lot of patience and that is why I don't do it.
> >>
> >> One of the most annoying parts of lighting a tree is knowing if the
> >> string
> >> actually lights.  Our color identifier has a light probe on it, so we
> >> can
> >> use it, now, to know if a bulb is lit.  You can also plug them in and
> >> feel
> >> if they get warm.  Most tree lights are wired in parallel and so if 1
> >> goes
> >> out, they all go out.  I find this to be the most annoying part of
> >> decorating.  So, plug in the lights before you string them on the tree
> >> to
> >> make bulb replacement easier.
> >>
> >> Unless there is a window behind the tree, I do not totally encircle the
> >> tree.  I start nearest the electrical outlet then go straight across
> >> proceeding around toward the opposite side near the wall opposite from
> >> where
> >> you start, then go up six inches to a foot, depending on how many lights
> >> you
> >> have and then come back across, keeping the second string as near
> >> parallel
> >> to the first as possible.  Keep repeating until you reach the top  It is
> >> sometimes necessary to adjust if you come up with too few to reach the
> >> top,
> >> or have too many left when you reach the top, though this is not as much
> >> a
> >> problem since you can simply reverse and go back down.  You may end up
> >> with
> >> more lights at the top if you do this, which really isn't a big problem,
> >> depending on how fussy you want to be.  If possible, imagine where most
> >> people will view the tree from and consider that most of the decorations
> >> should be visible from that point of view and look relatively evenly
> >> distributed.  My only rule is "do my best have fun and don't worry."
> >>
> >> With the ornaments, I start with the larger ones and try to distribute
> >> them
> >> evenly from left to right and top to bottom.  I then fill in the blank
> >> areas
> >> with smaller ones.  We have been married for 34 years and have lots of
> >> ornaments collected over the years.  Our first tree was just 2 feet
> >> tall,
> >> sat on a table had maybe a dozen ornaments and 1 string of lights.  I
> >> bought
> >> it for $1 very near Christmas and all the needles fell off within a
> >> couple
> >> hours of bringing it into the house.  We loved the tree, just the same.
> >>
> >> Some people have theme trees and some people have all the same colored
> >> lights and ornaments.  We are very eclectic.  We have ornaments that
> >> remind
> >> us of people and events in our lives and they range from computers to
> >> pets,
> >> sports, food, reindeer to abstract curiosities.  I like eclectic,
> >> myself.
> >>
> >> Hope this is useful.
> >>
> >> Merry Christmas and Warmest Regards
> >>
> >> Fred and Mary
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> >> [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> >> On Behalf Of trising
> >> Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2010 7:19 PM
> >> To: NFBofMichigan List
> >> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Tree trimming for blind people?
> >>
> >> Nick and I want to do our tree without sighted assistance this year.
> >> Last
> >> year, because of the encouragement of our NFB friends, we
> >> put the tree together and put up the ornaments. This year, we even want
> >> to
> >> tackle the lights. Both of us are totally blind from
> >> birth. We have never seen lights, or been asked to help put them on. Can
> >> we
> >> get some instructions from other blind people who have
> >> put on their own Christmas tree lights?
> >> Terri and Nick Wilcox
> >