Removing the Vestiges of Winter

As my team gets nearer to shipping (fingers crossed) life at home turns back to normal, which means more time spent working on the house and less time spent on email. This weekend saw two milestones: the restored (stripped, sanded, stained, sealed) trim installed in the TV room and the removal of the Christmas lights from the tree on the parking strip in front of our house.

Installing the trim was easy, but I was working on the tree for about three hours -- pulling down lights and trimming the tree for spring growth. I'd left the lights on the tree for two or three winters and they were starting to cut into the tree's growth, so it was time.