HO HO HO {or in this case, OW OW OW}

What price Christmas Cheer? See the LIGHTS {at right of photo}? See the broken roof tiles {the rest of the photo}? READ ON, gentle readers.

We had quite the fright here this evening. Cara and Kaia were here, with K's friend Maddy, and I was patiently awaiting the GE repair guy {yes, AGAIN} ... just getting homemade turkey soup started ...

Unbeknownst to any of us, my adorable husband was UP ON THE ROOFTOP, well, the middle one, anyway, getting the rest of the Christmas lights hung ... using one of those extension ladders with the grippy feet, made for uneven surfaces and such .... YEAH, right. Somehow I get that they're for uneven surfaces, but I'm guessing they're not meant to be used on concrete roof tiles? Hmmm ... you be the judge.

From all points of the house, a HUGE CRASH was heard, with much clanging, and then the sorts of expletives you don't want your "grand" hearing, let alone her little guest ...

From all said points, we went running, meeting up in the upstairs hall, trying to figure out who did what to whom ... and where. Once all us girls were accounted for, it dawned on us that it had to have been ... MARK.

But where was he? Back up in the attic? OH NO, not the roof.

OH YES, the roof. We all stood in the upstairs hall, peering out the front window, and down onto my then-prone -- feet towards us {bare feet, no less} and head tilting down towards the edge of the roof -- moaning and muttering and trying to control the curse words he SO wanted to blurt. He could talk, he could wince, and so -- when I asked if I should call "911", he pretty much told me I was ridiculous.

Cara helped me find the nearest and biggest window for him to crawl back through - yes, he managed it all on his own - and he went in to survey his damages. Meanwhile, I ran downstairs before the shock could take over, I turned down the stove, and I grabbed my trusty camera.

first stop, outside the front door, where the ladder came to rest {well, with a little "help" from Mark, who was very angry with said ladder for failing him}

I then turned the camera up, where you can see Cara peeking out the window - horrified that her mother is TAKING PICTURES of the carnage ...

Here, the images of the aftermath. Too bad you can't see the enormous roofing nail that sticks up a good three inches above the broken ridge tiles now ... it's a sight to behold. That, and to top off his trick-of-the-day, somehow the accident tripped an electrical breaker, so that in our master bedroom, we have no power on two walls. Including our reading lamps at bedside.

next stop, upstairs, for the view out the window where we first found Mark -- he was lying on his back, to the right of that ridge line, feet at bottom of photo and head at top ... he's lucky it wasn't wet & slippery on that roof ...

Soooooooo, he's upstairs, having taken his Tylenol and with ice pack in hand -- while his turkey soup is brewing down here -- while his loving wife composes a BLOG post complete with photographs of the whole experience.

Oh, the drama ... and the trauma ... let this be a lesson, boys & girls: DO NOT try this at home. Hire a Professional Light Hanger, like Mark's brother Rex does {and make sure you have excellent liability insurance, just in case ...}.

-- D.