Draping some mardi gras beads over a ficus tree . . . that was our Christmas decor last year. This year I'm determined not to be such a grinchy slacker. The floggings will continue until the boat is decorated!

I picked up Moomin from dance practice and we went to pick out a live tree in a pot from the cheap plant nursery, MMM Plants. For 40 bucks we got a three foot high fir tree. Not bad! Our neighbor carried it into the boat and I set it up on deck on a table. Moomin and I draped it with sparkly red fabric that I got free somewhere earlier in the year and had stashed away.

When I went to plug in the xmas lights in my bedroom and run the cord out the window, the power went out! The extension cord I was using had fallen into the water, and I guess its innards rusted. The three electrical outlets in my cabin still don't work, so I'm running my bedroom heater (and the tree) off our neighbor Roy's extension cord hooked up to an outlet in the main cabin.

Anyway, after some messing about with flashlights and the boat's control panel. which you have to see! It's so complicated looking! Our neighbor came to look at it and had no more clue than we did. He had clearly been splicing the mainbrace a bit hard that evening. We flipped a lot of switches!

Read more at http://badgermama.com/houseboat-christmas/