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Christmas Lights

We put up Christmas lights yesterday, and they're LED. We also put hooks into the perforated soffit to hang the lights, and it'll make them easier to hang in the future. Part of the front of the house didn't have soffit, just wood, but we put the hooks in anyways.

Replaced Fan

We swapped the ugly old fan above the dining room table with a new fixture from Home Depot, which makes the area look much more modern. I also ripped up all the baseboards in the hallway to get it ready for paint and new baseboards. There are a bunch of angles in that area, so it should be fun.

Before

After

With table centered

Outdoor Lights

Alex installed an outdoor security light at the front of the house with a motion sensor, and we saved about $20 by building it from parts instead of buying a pre-made one. We also wired an outlet in that circuit so that we can string Christmas lights at the roof level without an extension cord. We also changed a rusted side light to be a motion based light. Of course, these are all daylight LEDs, I don't know how people live without them.

I also did some small upgrades, like fixing a shelf in my dresser and replacing the aerator on my sink. I even put up the first Christmas tree I've ever owned. Productive day!

The side light before

Alex posing

Front security light parts

Spot for the front security light

You can see the side light down the exterior wall

Christmas tree from Mom

Fixed Pool Timer

My pool pump wasn't running on its timer, and I narrowed the problem down to the timer not functioning. It was a $20 part, and took about 30 minutes to swap. Just turn off the breaker, remove the old timer and install the new one in the same way, and flip the breaker back on. That simple!

Replacing Light Switches and Outlets

I've slowly been changing out the light switches and outlets in the living room to a more modern, Decora style switch. This is a simple change, but takes some patience since you have to switch power on and off a few times to verify and keep yourself safe.

Hurricane Damage - Car Sold

Hurricane Matthew luckily didn't hit Brevard as bad as it could have. 

Roommates and friends boarded up the house while I was out of the country. Luckily, we only lost some pool screens and the banana tree. Most of the outdoor furniture was thrown in the pool, since they're safe in there and not flying around breaking stuff. I've messaged my insurance company to see if it's even worth filing a claim over, or to just fix it myself. 

I also sold my Corvette. This is one of the last pictures of it. I bought a 1999 Boxster as the replacement. 

Quarter Round

I added in quarter round in the living room last weekend. Next steps are to fill the holes from the finish nails, caulk up the creases, then do a quick touch up on paint. The rest of the room needs a bit of paint touch up as well, and I also have to hang the blinds back. I'll finish changing the outlets and light switches(Decora!) and then the room will be 100% done!

Everything I needed, once again, could fit in my Corvette. Bonus, I bought a Porsche Boxster this week! Corvette is for sale, someone buy it.

Vegetable Garden

Alex, Truck John and I put in a vegetable garden today. The spot we were working with is on the North side of the house, and used to be home to an ugly bush and some weeds. To start, I dug the bush and weeds up, sprayed weed killer, and laid down weed fabric. Then we thought about how it should be done. The spot we were putting the garden in is right next to the pool pump, so I wanted to segment off the pool pump itself and put rocks on that part. This way there isn't a garden overflowing into the pool pump. We decided to do a two tier structure, and it backs up to a outside porch area. I bought 50 pavers from Home Depot, along with tons of soil, manure, and some seeds. I'm growing some tomatoes and peppers inside until they're ready, and I planted a eggplant today.

There was also a house emergency earlier, when the lights in the guest side of the house went out. The outlets in the bathroom still worked, just the lights in the bathroom and hallway were out. We tried all the breakers, reset all the GFCI, but still no luck. I was worried that it was going to be a cut wire from when we were digging in the garden. The lights went out while I was digging outside, so I was worried I hit a wire. I found an earth ground wire in the garden outside, which ended up not being the culprit. Truck John thought it might be an outlet, so we plugged in a lamp to the outlet outside the guest bathroom, and sure enough, all the lights came back on. We swapped the outlet with a new one and it works now.

Then Truck John fixed the lights on the fan in the living room, which had been unplugged for a few months.

We also moved three banana trees from a side of the house with 0 sunlight to the North side of the house, which is very sunny. I need to get some more pavers to finish the decorative barrier, but I'm excited to grow some bananas soon. I think the banana tree will be successful there.

Then Truck John and Alex routed some new pipe at the end of the downspouts for the gutters so that it flows away from the house and down into the creek. It was a very productive day!

Plan, didn't really follow it

He's called Truck John for a reason

Break time

Banana tree

Rocks by the pool pump