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| Nothing says Merry Christmas like a burnt carpet. |
For years I struggled flat on my stomach to wrestle with fitting multiple cords under the tree from tiny house to tiny house.
I wanted each of my 10 houses lit up so the scene would look all cozy on the fake snow.
It was worth it to me to struggle and sweat as I snuck the cords under the big piece of sparkly white fabric, past the railroad track, up to the center of the tree stand and over to the outlet.
Over the years I had marked holes in the fabric so the houses loosely sat in places that put the houses in the "residential" district, businesses like the bakery, school and post office near the show house and the candy station on the corner so the train could easily make a stop for the tiny bears to get a treat.
Last year, we noticed a Modern Display outlet in Sandy, much closer for us than the one up on Highland Drive.
We tried to buy a length of cord to use to connect the houses on one cord.
Alas, we bought the wrong one with sockets for bigger lights than we used.
We returned this year determined to get it right, with the right lists in hand.
We were so proud or ourselves and spent only $10 dollars. All we had to do was count our bulbs and cut the right length of cord.
It's been fine.
The little village structures have cast soft lights on the snow and the villagers from under the tree and snow for weeks now.
Yesterday I decided, though, it was time to clear out Christmas.
I packed up all my little houses, including the little church, the nativity, the bridge over the fake ice pond.
That's when I noticed a melted socket and a funny brown spot on the snowy fabric.
On further inspection, I noticed two brown spots, one not as big but still odd. One light had flared. Another had gunky black stringly stuff all melted on it.
I pulled back the fabric.
Gasp! There was a much bigger, deeper, blacker hole in the carpet beneath the "snow." The light was crusted with crispy, black, burned carpet fibers.
The light was covered in a lacy, black web of burnt, crispy rug.
The cord further from the light was black and purple.
Obviously something had been too hot and too close for a dangerously long amount of time.
I'm not sure who is at fault here, probably us for putting too many lights on a cord not designed for combat duty.
I'm going to have a conversation with Modern Display.
And three things need to happen; No more using the new cord with the fried lights, put the couch over the burn hole and thank God that our house didn't burn to the ground!!!
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