As the evening darkness has begun to recede and I won’t be needing artificial light quite so early, it has occurred to me that I shall miss the beauty of entering a darkened room and turning on a light with a beautiful shade.
I have taken a few of my favorite lamps up to the cabin. Without ambient city light or the long summer sun, the cabin sits in deep black of winter nights. On a moonless night at the cabin, I turned out every light before leaving. Upon stepping onto the porch and locking the door behind me, I realized that I could not see the first of seven steps or even my car twenty feet away. After that, I left a small porch light burning. Arriving in the dark, the singular light welcomed me back. I’m beginning to contemplate my alternatives for inexpensive lighting including long burning candles and LED bulbs.
One of my oldest shades, a paper one with hand painted flowers, got a tear last year. I removed it from the fixture to examine it for repairs and then set it on the floor beside the couch. I later managed to clumsily step-on it leaving a gaping hole in the backside. I am using it again at the cabin but have located a replacement shade, minus the flowers. I’ll have to paint those myself. I hope they will come out being beautiful.