I was talking about putting up a few posts ago. The weather on Saturday was awesome and made it a pleasant job, instead of a hand numbing job. Most years my hands and face are frozen during the process of putting up the Christmas lights. It took me a few hours to do and surprisingly I didn't run into to many problems.
Last year I had a few strands that were cut by some IDIOT who must hold it against us for celebrating Christmas. I noticed that most of my lights were out and upon closer inspection, found them to be cut in several different spots. It was so irritating to me. What a ignorant and destructive thing to do.. but it is the season for forgiveness, so I forgave and move past it. I made the repairs and was able to salvage a few strands.
Every year I start near the Garage and work my way toward the other side of the house. When we built the home, we had the electrician install outlets in the soffit that operate off a switch by the front door. It makes it very easy to just turn them on and off. No running outdoors in the freezing cold to unplug them.
I keep the whole process as simple as possible and don't go to extremes. I am not afraid of heights, but don't trust myself to climb on the roof to hang them up high. Maybe when I was younger and didn't fear broken bones as much, I would have scaled the roof line. I think they will look just fine where I can reach to place them.
You can see my tote full of lights in the foreground. Several years ago, I traded in the old incandescent lights for led ones. They use a lot less electricity and look just as pretty.
I always wrap the columns in garland then wrap lights around them too. I've noticed that the garland is showing its age this year. I had to sweep up a lot of needles that are now falling off of it. We may only get a few more years out of them, before needing new pieces. It's sad because these were once my wife's grandmom's pieces of garland. I remember wrapping the columns outside of her condo with them every year. They lasted a long time for us.
On occasion, I have to think outside of the box and figure out how to attach the lights to parts of the house, in a temporary manner. It this particular case, I used a wire tie. I left the cut end a little long and slid it in between the aluminum wrapping and the vinyl siding. Works like a charm!
I bought this telescopic folding ladder a few years ago and absolutely love it! Easy up and easy down. It extends about 13 feet (they make smaller and taller ones) and gets me just high enough to get the job done. I wish I had a really tall ladder, but storing it would be a pain. And YES.. That's a beer sitting there. It was my reward for making it down the other side of the column without one bout of stress or mumbling to myself.
This is from a somewhat local (Pennsylvania) brewery called Evil Genius.. Purple Monkey Dishwasher - a Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter with an ABV of 6.7%. It was the perfect mid-task treat.
Now that my beer break is over and the clouds are beginning to roll in, it's time to wrap the lights around these 18 foot tall Arborvitae. I can not reach the tops of them with the ladders I own, so I resort to a pole I rigged up with a little extension. The extension has a hook at the end of it that keeps the wire at the tip until I get the lights where I want them. It may not look pretty, but it has really worked quite well for me.
The lights are all up and I am ready to flick the switch to see how they look. It's not quite dark enough yet, so I take a quick walk around the house to admire the sun setting over the lake. I hear the geese squawking back and forth between the duck quacks. Other than that, things are pretty quiet. It wasn't a spectacular sunset, but pretty nonetheless.
It's about that time!!! A flick of the switch and their lit. Not to bad.. not too bad at all. I wish I could get them up to the peaks, but am satisfied with what I could do. Maybe one of these years I'll rent a tall ladder or pay someone with a lift to put them up high.
We also put the wreath up. I felt sort of weird turning on the lights so early, but driving through the neighborhoods, I notice I am not alone. I was talking about it with my wife and she said that people are probably needing a little joy, a little sooner than normal this year. I believe her. I do think we are starting the celebration early to help pull ourselves out of Covidepression. (don't steal the term I came up with haha)
I also put up a small tree, to the right of the front door, covered in the same lights.
One last picture that is more artistic than the others. I wanted to take one for my cover shot. I always did like taking artistic shots, and this one is the perfect one to finish out my post. We'll enjoy these lights for a few weeks past Christmas, then they will come down. Hopefully we get a warm day in January, so I can do that and not freeze my butt off while doing it.
― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
My art work incorporates a wide variety of subject matter, including landscape, seascape, cityscape, and still life images. My works are the product of a continuing process of exploration through which I seek to portray personal and visionary interpretations of my surroundings. My paintings are impressions of places and events from everyday life, an interpretation of my imagination, and personal responses to what I see and feel on a daily basis. More recently I have invested generous amounts of time into my landscape painting. I am surrounded by natural and man made beauty, which inherently presents itself in the tri-state area, and almost demands that I paint it.
Not everything is art. Art is not everything, but it comes close. Art is everywhere and all the time. Art makes you experience the beauty of the world, the people in it, and the places we call home. Art itself is so influential that it can tell stories, show feelings, and express passion or fury. Art exists in addition to language; expression of sensations and thoughts, revealing a way of thinking too subtle and delicate for words.
For me art requires love, honesty and perseverance. In return, it reveals some personal, non-analyzable, and creative untamed passion. For the public, art with its magnificent beauty, improves mood and health and builds better human beings and communities. It engages the intellect, softens the heart, strengthens the soul and frees the spirit.
Or
If you don't see the piece in either shop, It may still be drying. Let me know and I can upload it as soon as possible to be available. Or you can always make me an offer (in HBD, Hive or any other crypto) in the comments section of this post. If we agree on a price, I will then ship the painting to you. (shipping costs will be determined by your location).
@qurator, 
@ocd, 
@steemitbloggers, 
@curangle, 
@steemflagrewards, 
@innerblocks, 
@appreciator, 
@pimapple and 
@theluvbug, - Kudos to them and many others for supporting great content and making the blockchain a happier and healthier place to spend time :-D