Merry Christmas from Piney Green!

It's hard to believe it's been well over a year since I last posted. It's also hard to believe that as of last week we have lived here five years! Here are some highlights since my last post.

In November 2015 we held our second annual art event "The Artists on Piney Green". It featured many local artists and was a great evening. We decided to not hold an event for 2016 but plan to hold one in March 2017.

After losing Coco, our beloved Jack Russell Terrier, in January 2015, we had an addition to our Piney Green family in fall 2015 - his name is Luc:

Reid arranged to have scaffolding set up in early 2016 so he could work on cleaning/restoring the chimney and cypress siding.

We also had some major electrical updates done in 2016, including replacing the outdoor breaker box with a new one in the kitchen. Reid also figured out a place to move the washer/dryer inside the house, so we said goodbye to our outdoor laundry and converted half of a bedroom closet to house our laundry inside off of the central hallway.

Converting closet space to house washer/dryer off of the central hallway

Paneling and doors added to blend laundry area with the rest of the house

Outdoor laundry and electrical panel off of kitchen removed

We've still got some painting of the laundry area to do, and the area outside the kitchen is still a work in progress. Aside from the convenience of indoor laundry, this renovation also opened up the view from the second window of our bathroom.

2016 was a difficult year for Orlando, but we were proud that our community came together:

Also while we prepared for the worst from Hurricane Matthew, we were spared any significant damage:

Boarded up living room window

Piney Green spared the brunt of Hurricane Matthew

Also over the past year and a half we made a complete conversion to a turf free yard. Our zoysia was not doing well, and we decided it was time to make a change. We've instead made use of alternative groundcovers and lots of pine straw mulch!

During Halloween the new witch of our "Hansel and Gretel" House was on display, as was her little dog:

For Christmas we decided to simplify our outdoor holiday display this year compared to years past by using a combination of projection lighting instead of traditional string lights, but we think it still makes the house look magical.

As another year at Piney Green comes to a close, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a most happy and prosperous 2017!