I was so proud of myself back in December when I braved the elements to put up our Christmas lights. I bragged about having the brightest house on the block and took several pictures of my work.
Well, a lot can change in a month or so. The weather had warmed up to 17 degrees for the high (10 degrees with the wind chill). It was a sunny day and Andrew was taking a nap, so I decided to jet outside and finally get those lights down.
I thought, "Taking down lights is definitely easier than putting them up. I'll be out there for about a half hour. No problem." Boy, was I wrong! The snow on the ground was much deeper than when I put up the lights, so maneuvering the ladder was frustrating. Once I got the ladder stable, I climbed up and began taking down the lights. I found that some of the lights had frozen into the gutter. I tried pulling them out, but the cord was so deep, my only choices were to, 1) wait for spring, or 2) start chipping away at the ice. I can't stand to have my Christmas lights up anywhere near Valentine's Day, so waiting for spring was not my preferred choice. I grabbed a screw driver from the garage and began chipping away. Because it was sunny, the ice was beginning to melt, so my hands were getting saturated with the ice cold (and disgusting) gutter water. I had to take a break half way through to switch gloves because I really did think my fingers were going to freeze off. It is really hard to use your fingers to do anything when they feel like big fat sausages.
Anyway, I am a fairly determined person and I was able to get those lights down in less than an hour (but nowhere close to my half hour goal). Now, I just have to wait for the ice to melt off of a few of the strands before I can pack them away.
Will I put those lights up again next year? I just might be that crazy!!
Well, a lot can change in a month or so. The weather had warmed up to 17 degrees for the high (10 degrees with the wind chill). It was a sunny day and Andrew was taking a nap, so I decided to jet outside and finally get those lights down.
I thought, "Taking down lights is definitely easier than putting them up. I'll be out there for about a half hour. No problem." Boy, was I wrong! The snow on the ground was much deeper than when I put up the lights, so maneuvering the ladder was frustrating. Once I got the ladder stable, I climbed up and began taking down the lights. I found that some of the lights had frozen into the gutter. I tried pulling them out, but the cord was so deep, my only choices were to, 1) wait for spring, or 2) start chipping away at the ice. I can't stand to have my Christmas lights up anywhere near Valentine's Day, so waiting for spring was not my preferred choice. I grabbed a screw driver from the garage and began chipping away. Because it was sunny, the ice was beginning to melt, so my hands were getting saturated with the ice cold (and disgusting) gutter water. I had to take a break half way through to switch gloves because I really did think my fingers were going to freeze off. It is really hard to use your fingers to do anything when they feel like big fat sausages.
Anyway, I am a fairly determined person and I was able to get those lights down in less than an hour (but nowhere close to my half hour goal). Now, I just have to wait for the ice to melt off of a few of the strands before I can pack them away.
Will I put those lights up again next year? I just might be that crazy!!
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