This would usually be my archive of misc photos for December and I suppose it sort of still is. I didn’t have very many “misc” photos so I am adding a whole bunch of photos of holiday lights in Forest Grove, Oregon. There are also photos of guitars and gear at work, my outside cat friend getting a heated bed, my house, car wash, trip to Portland to buy a guest bed, new things at work (tv, handgun), and progress on local Walmart.

These are for my mom. Because of her my dining room looks a lot more like Christmas now. Thank you for the boxes of gifts. Look how nice they look. She and my sister are flying here for a week. My brother and dad will also be at my house on Christmas. I can hardly believe it. Thanks to all of you.

Things keep improving for the cat that actually “belongs” to people down the street from me. When I lived on the alley near their house the cat started sleeping on a chair on my tiny porch so I made a bed for it. It still wasn’t protected enough and even got snow on the edge of its bed last winter. This year I moved down the street to a bigger house with a real porch and the cat followed me. It still gets its meals at “home” but spends a whole lot of time on my porch. When it got cold again this year I bought a heated bed for it. Now the cat hardly ever leaves. We are friends. Hi, kitty.

I originally took these photos and a few not here for a guy in Tillamook who was interested in buying the Fender Telecaster. He did not buy it (nobody really bought much of anything from me for Christmas.) but I wanted to show the pictures here anyway. BTW, I will sell the Telecaster Custom for $500.

I couldn’t pass up sharing this. When is the last time you saw one of those B.U.M. Equipment jackets?

Here is my “new” old house. I took these after mowing my lawn for what should be the last time this year.

I took photos of going through a car wash, because I never had, I enjoyed it, I wasn’t busy, and l can do whatever I want on my website. It makes me smile to do things like that, just because.

I needed one more guest bed for my mom and sister who were flying in to stay at my house for Christmas. I found one only a few months old on craigslist and drove to Barbur in Portland to pick it up. It seemed like an easy errand until the traffic mess on the way back. It took me about 20 minutes to get the few blocks from Barbur to the ramp heading to the Vista Ridge Tunnel, and way longer than that to get INto the tunnel, not even to mention 26 itself. Anyway, I was glad to get the bed.

This photo pisses me off. I helped a guy (“customer”) with each one of those items for a very long time. I had to listen to his stories about everything from his erectile dysfunction (I am serious) to his childhood and political leanings. People tell me so much crap. After more than an hour of his BS and me being very polite and businesslike, it was FINALLY time for him to pay. I was glad to finally have a good sale. Then HIS CARD WAS DECLINED! I could not believe it. I had worked so hard with him. He said he was sorry (which was obvious) and just left all that stuff there. I just about closed and went home.

Check out the nice new HDTV upgrade on my back counter. The one I had was good but that new one is way better. I am just using over-the-air HD for now. You can also see me on my webcam program and my nice things including my armored Blackberry Tour, Comcast Business modem with 22Mbit service, crazy customer deterrent (loaded Winchester 12 gauge), and my sweet new Springfield Armory SD-9 Subcompact 9mm. I love the SD-9. I had to sell the Colt I had to pay for it. I like it more than the competing sub-compact Glock.

Now we come to the happy holiday lights section I promised. I spent a couple of different nights driving around my town of Forest Grove, collecting these photos to share. I love lights. What could be more relaxing and peaceful after a stressful day of work than cruising quiet streets looking at beautiful seasonal lights? I hope you enjoy them. Maybe just click the first one and enjoy the slideshow. Anyway, HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS!

I forgot there were some photos left. These are of the construction progress on the Walmart that is being built between my business and my house. I cannot believe they got permission to build in a flood plain like that. Look at the amount of soil they have been bringing in. No small business would ever get approval for that kind of thing.

I will see you in 2010.