We spent the weekend setting up our stereo (finally), spurred on by our new electronics cabinet / TV stand. It looks great, and we can finally listen to CDs properly again, just in time for Christmas music. Yesterday I finished the wiring of that, minus the surround sound, which we’re short two speakers for (we left our ceiling mounted speakers in the Houston house). Today I figured out the bulk of the built-in speaker wiring, and we now have sound in the kitchen! So when I start baking and cooking for Christmas, I can listen to music.

Also today I did the outdoor Christmas lights. That was quite a production. Over the course of seven Christmases in Houston, I had gotten the lighting down to where I could do the whole house including the peaks, bushes, fence and stars in the hackberry tree, in about an hour and a half. We had just the right number of strings, I knew how to attach everything, and the entire roof was accessible with a short stepladder from the back deck. Having already decided that it was too difficult and dangerous to light the eaves here, I still had to work out the logistics here (the choices were running an extension cord from the back, which is where the only exterior outlet is, or through the mail slot, which is probably a felony). I also had to pound some heavy staples into gaps above the windows, and install some cuphooks on the front porch. And untangle all the lights and extension cords which had been put into boxes and bins by the movers. Anyway, it looks pretty festive now. I even put icicle lights on the garage, which has real gutters that I can just about reach without a ladder.

And now I’m exhausted.