How many people does it take to screw in 15 lightbulbs?

I've been wanting to freshen up the back porch for a long time,

making it more of an outdoor living space and less of a dusty dog playpen.

I still don't have a vision for what the final design will be, 

but I know I want it to be fun and whimsical, 

so I started with a 48-foot string of patio lights...

...and a willing helper.

Maybe if we had paid more attention to what we were doing

instead of taking pictures of each other,

we would have noticed how bad my original stringing scheme looked
before we'd completed the installation and had to start over. 

Things we learned while hanging patio lights:

1. It's all about the drape.

2. A black cord against a white ceiling is not a good look.

3. Screw all the measuring and the math and just hang them until they look right.

Alex: That end needs to go down just a little bit.

I expected the lights to add a fanciful touch to the space,

and they do exactly that.

I feel as if I've moved and have a brand-new back yard.