All through 2024 we have cherished Piney Green just a little bit more as it turned 90. We started off the year with a special neighborhood "H2" event to celebrate.
I also caught a few special moments throughout the year, including a sunburst captured by one of the door knobs of the guest bathroom:
And a nice sunny shot of the front of the house with perennial peanut in bloom:
And a little Christmas at our back yard "art studio":
We celebrated music more than ever, with many happy hours around the piano in the living room, including a special gathering where Bill Bean, Piney Green's previous owner, tickled the ivories:
Our major renovation this year was about comfort not appearance - we replaced the heat pump system, which was roughly 20+ years old. The new one is more efficient and effective, yielding cooler summers and lower power bills. Although I re-insulated the attic many years ago, we dare not try to replace Piney Green's windows with modern ones or try to add more insulation to its plaster walls. Regardless, our new system is keeping up nicely whether it's hot or cold outside. (And a bonus feature of Piney Green is its rare-for-Florida solid concrete basement, which houses the air handler and hot water heater so they do not take up living space... and despite lots of intense rain over the years, it has never flooded due to rain.)
As December has once again brought in cooler weather, we have been wrapping ourselves in the coziness of Piney Green.
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| Back yard fire pit is one of our favorite winter activities. |
And while we still have to get a permanent "Y" for the front gate, Reid fashioned another temporary one so passers-by can know the home's true name:
