BTW

In the unlikely event  you were wondering, I finally got the light over the Christmas creche to work.

The ones proper to the Christmas tree . . . not so much.  I found some old Christmas tree lights from years past (being a minor-league hoarder does occasionally come in handy) and strung them about the tree over the built-in ones that don't work.   And there's a final string around the potted ficus in the corner.  So the front room is now properly festive for the season.

And it's only the 5th day in the octave.  Not late at all.