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7 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,N ovem ber 22,2018 theifp.ca • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 Wehandleall insurance work. We handle all insurance work. • your window & door professionals • 11 Mountainview Rd., N. Georgetown, ON L7G 4T3 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca • awarded readers choice 28 times • Visit our showroom Furnace Air Conditioning Gaslines Boilers Water Heaters Radiant Heating 905-877-3100 proud local dealer of Canadian made products .ca Now I would never say I'm an extremely "early- Christmas-decoration-put- ter-upper." In fact, I often find my- self dragging the outdoor lights out to put 'em up the week before Christmas, when my hands are freez- ing, and it's downright an- noying to wiggle those lit- tle blown lights to get 'em going. I'm unlike our neigh- bours David and Kathleen, who usually have their Christmas tree up soon af- ter Halloween. And I know it's Kathleen who is the main instigator. I really think she'd have the tree up during Halloween except for the abuse she'd take from David - not to mention me - for having the Christmas tree up so early. However, there was a slight change this year. The Sidekick and I have a pair of imitation Hallow- een pumpkins which have lights inside, and they give off a ghoulish glow when they are plugged in. A day or so before Hal- loween (OK, who am I fool- ing - Halloween night), I pulled the two pumpkins out of the closet and set them outside the front door on the veranda, ready to scare any ghosts or goblins who might drop by. I plugged in the pump- kins, and flipped the switch. Nothing - not a glimmer. OK, they've been around a while, time to check the bulbs. All good. Hmmm. I soon discovered the porch lights on the veranda were also dead. It was getting dark (and cold) so I left them in the dark and they were not fea- tured in the Brown Hallow- een celebrations of 2018. I put the pumpkins away, and figured it must be a wiring problem. That job was added to my procrastination list. I was waiting until we had some slightly warmer weather, with no rain. As I arrived from town last Wednesday, I looked at the outlet, then looked at the exterior temperature on the dash of the truck. It was 6 C, and no rain. For the time of year, I'd call that as close to perfect conditions one could ex- pect in mid-November to repair the exterior recepta- cle and porch lights. I traced the wiring to the panel, and turned off the juice, and opened up the switch that operates the outside lights and recepta- cle. I will say, it was an easy fix, as I found a loose wire in the receptacle box. Checking the wiring back to the panel, I had to move a couple boxes of Christmas decorations - as it happened, it was the two veranda-sized Christmas trees we put out on either side of the front door every year. Since they were already out of storage, and I needed something to test the switched circuit- well it was a no-brainer. I plugged in the little Christmas tree. It did look kinda cheer- ful standing there - except it was lonely. Back down to the base- ment, and I hauled out the other tree, and in minutes, the two trees were standing on the veranda, lights glowing out the Christmas spirit, albeit a few weeks early. Now I don't say I have my "Christmas lights" out - I just have my "autumn lights" out. And in a couple weeks, I expect I'll probably move up to my "early winter lights out" for a few weeks, before we can move for- ward, and finally graduate to "Christmas lights" out on the veranda, all accom- plished without so much as lifting a finger after the ini- tial installation! I'm really looking for- ward to The Sidekick's re- action as she arrives home, to be greeted by the "au- tumn lights." But the best part? I can hardly wait for Kathleen to see my "au- tumn lights," and put mega pressure on her to get her Christmas tree up in the living room. Of course, she'll probably think they're "Christmas lights," because they do look pretty much the same ... Ted Brown is a free- lance journalist for the IFP. He can be reached at tedbit@hotmail.com THEY'RE NOT CHRISTMAS LIGHTS - THEY'RE 'AUTUMN LIGHTS' OPINION BROWN FLIPS THE SWITCH ON A VERANDA PROJECT TED BROWN Column THE WAY WE WERE At one time, Georgetown had two railway options between Toronto and Guelph - the Grand Trunk (Canadian National Railway Line) and the Toronto Suburban Railway. This 1922 photo shows the Radial Station, a familiar landmark at 29 Main St. Due to the depression, the advent of the automobile and the close proximity to the Grand Trunk line, the TSR venture failed in 1931. The site in downtown Georgetown was later home to TD Canada Trust and now is Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza. - Heritage Halton Hills Heritage Halton Hills/photo Don't be a LitterBug! Please keep our community clean.