The little lights aren't twinkling.

Hubs was headed to Wal-mart on Saturday to pick up some things when he asked if I needed anything. 

I said, "Yes, a new rake."

"A rake?" he said.

"Yep.  Daughter and I are going to rake the front yard today and we only have one rake.  So, get me another one. Get a big one, not a skimpy one," I said.

We have a maple tree out front that has officially shed all of its leaves and I was past due on raking them all up. With some of the things we've had going on, I just did not have the chance to do it. Daughter said she would help me so we set out to do some yard work.

"Anything else?" Hubs asked.

"Yes, " I said, "Get some Windex outdoor cleaner so I can hose off the house and porch."

Now the reason Hubs was going to Wal-mart was to get clips to hang lights on our house.  Saturday was the only day he could hang lights (yes, the calendar is that full around here) and be able to enjoy the lights in time for Christmas. 

Since Hubs was hanging lights on the house, I wanted to be sure the front porch was hosed off. We keep our porch light on at night and all the bugs in Florida are attracted to it.  The little, green tree frogs love it, but it sure is an eyesore when the bugs decide to choose the porch as their final resting place. 

When Hubs told me he needed to buy clips, I was pretty certain we already had some.  He said he couldn't find them, and with all the moving we do, I wondered if they were lost.

He left for Wal-mart and I cleaned house.  I still wondered if I could find the clips in the Christmas boxes, so I searched through all the plastic containers in the garage. There they were in a sandwich bag amongst the ceramic Christmas houses, which made PERFECT sense.  (Wonder who packed that? Ahem. Me.)

So I texted Hubs to tell him I found the clips, but he decided to get extra anyway.

He is very thorough and prepared.  He used to be a boy scout.

Our roof line is very steep and apparently our ladder doesn't reach to the gutters over the garage.  So Hubs had to repel down the roof in a makeshift harness in order to hang the lights.  I reminded Daughter that this was how much her Daddy loves her while praying to the Good Lord above that he wouldn't fall off the house. 

Meanwhile Daughter and I raked the front yard. Thankfully there is only one maple tree and a small magnolia, so it didn't take all afternoon. By the time we were finished Hubs had hung the lights on the house, but I still had not hosed off the porch.

I asked him if it was safe to still clean the porch after he had put all the lights on and he reassured me it was.  When I was finished I plugged in the house lights to see the results.

Nothing.  Nada.

I jiggled wires and plugs and tried again.

Still nothing.

I stuck my head inside the house and said,"The little lights aren't twinkling."

There was a chuckle from inside.

"No, seriously, the little lights aren't twinkling."

Hubs got up from the sofa to check everything and said it was probably because the wires were all wet. He flipped circuit breakers and switches.  Still nothing.

Hubs had tested the lights when he was done, but now that I had hosed the porch, they didn't work.
I felt terrible, but he assured me that I had not ruined the Christmas lights that he had so diligently and dangerously hung on the house.  He said everything just had to dry out.

I am happy to report that the Christmas lights are now functioning. We did, however, discover that the outdoor outlet is not.  That may require a call to the electrician and possibly a repair. I am fine with that and just relieved I didn't ruin the Christmas lights.

I'm pretty sure Hubs has retired the homemade harness and doesn't plan to repel down the roof any time soon.

Except for when he has to take the lights all down...