What’s on your mind?

[Scepticalscribe]

Finally wrapped up a project I was working on! Now will be moving forward into the new year more smoothly.....

I do wish, though, that people in my neighborhood would realize that, hey, Christmas is long past now, and for that matter, so is New Year's. OK, folks, it's more than time to get rid of the external and internal Christmas lighting and decorations!

To my mind, the Feast of the Epiphany, (the Three Kings), which falls on the 6th of January, is the 'formal' end of Christmas, and I don't have an issue with lights, or decorations, up until then.

The old 'traditional' twelve days of the Christmas feast brought one up to 6th January, and some cultures (such as those of Spain, Orthodox Christians) still celebrate 6th January as a major part of the Christmas festival cycle. Until then, I see no problem; after that, well, Christmas - in the western world, at least - is over.

Now, I do have an issue - a major issue - with such lights and decorations making an (unwelcome) early, indeed, premature, appearance at any time prior to 8th December, but that is a separate matter.

 

[Apple fanboy]

To my mind, the Feast of the Epiphany, (the Three Kings), which falls on the 6th of January, is the 'formal' end of Christmas, and I don't have an issue with lights, or decorations, up until then.

The old 'traditional' twelve days of the Christmas feast brought one up to 6th January, and some cultures (such as those of Spain, Orthodox Christians) still celebrate 6th January as a major part of the Christmas festival cycle. Until then, I see no problem; after that, well, Christmas - in the western world, at least - is over.

Now, I do have an issue - a major issue - with such lights and decorations making an (unwelcome) early, indeed, premature, appearance at any time prior to 8th December, but that is a separate matter.

November really gets on my nerves. About 15 minutes on the 25th should suffice for those that want to!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

November really gets on my nerves.

November, January and February for me.

And, yes, December, too.

About 15 minutes on the 25th should suffice for those that want to!

Five (minutes) would more than amply suffice, in my case.

 

[Apple fanboy]

November, January and February for me.

And, yes, December, too.


Five (minutes) would more than amply suffice, in my case.

Well at least we have no snow. Possibility of some tonight. Hopefully not though.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well at least we have no snow. Possibility of some tonight. Hopefully not though.

There was freezing fog last night, and ice this morning.

Ugh. Brrrr.

 

[Apple fanboy]

There was freezing fog last night, and ice this morning.

Ugh. Brrrr.

You’re welcome to that. Not too bad here given the time of year.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

You’re welcome to that. Not too bad here given the time of year.

This is why electric blankets were invented.

Sheer bliss.

 

[Apple fanboy]

This is why electric blankets were invented.

Sheer bliss.

Indeed. And hot chocolate. And hot puddings with custard.
Oh well 2 out of 3 in this household isn’t bad I suppose!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Indeed. And hot chocolate.

Damn.

Still haven't treated myself to hot chocolate, and this is a perfect time of year for it, at night.

And hot puddings with custard.

Hot puddings with custard?

Yum.

That brings back memories.

My mother used to make those, when we were kids, (on cold, winter's days), primary school days, and my dad loved them, as well.

Haven't had a hot pudding with custard for years. For decades, in fact.

Gosh, just now, I'd kill for a hot pudding with hot custard......

 

[Clix Pix]

To my mind, the Feast of the Epiphany, (the Three Kings), which falls on the 6th of January, is the 'formal' end of Christmas, and I don't have an issue with lights, or decorations, up until then.

The old 'traditional' twelve days of the Christmas feast brought one up to 6th January, and some cultures (such as those of Spain, Orthodox Christians) still celebrate 6th January as a major part of the Christmas festival cycle. Until then, I see no problem; after that, well, Christmas - in the western world, at least - is over.

Now, I do have an issue - a major issue - with such lights and decorations making an (unwelcome) early, indeed, premature, appearance at any time prior to 8th December, but that is a separate matter.

Some people around the lake (especially the lakefront townhouses and condo units) have all-year external lights which can be very attractive, especially reflecting in the water. However, this lights are not colored red and green nor do they look Christmas-y. That's fine with me. There are still a couple of houses which haven't taken down or turned off their Christmas lights, though, and they really need to do so.

Also.....there is someone across the lake who has put up glaringly bright lights that are really bothersome to those of us whose condo buildings face the lake and the townhouses across from us. In thinking about this, I suspect that they violate state or county code as well as the HOA regulations for residential external lighting. What's more troubling is that from one direction those bright lights also face the road that passes by the community, and I wonder if that is an issue for drivers at night? I haven't gotten around to going out to the road to see for myself, but if this is the case, that's a genuine safety hazard.

 

[Clix Pix]

This is why electric blankets were invented.

Sheer bliss.

I am so, so loving my electric foot warmer!!!! Don't really need it during the day, but after darkness falls and it is colder outside, my feet get cold, too, so I am happy to tuck them inside their fuzzy, snuggly warmer. Bliss, indeed! When my feet are warm, I'm warm, too!

 

[VulchR]

...

Also.....there is someone across the lake who has put up glaringly bright lights that are really bothersome to those of us whose condo buildings face the lake and the townhouses across from us. In thinking about this, I suspect that they violate state or county code as well as the HOA regulations for residential external lighting. What's more troubling is that from one direction those bright lights also face the road that passes by the community, and I wonder if that is an issue for drivers at night? I haven't gotten around to going out to the road to see for myself, but if this is the case, that's a genuine safety hazard.

Thankfully in the UK glaring lights from a neighbour's property is a statutory nuisance and you can sue (I star gaze and have no problem with security lights on neighbour's property provided they point down at the ground (full cut-off lights) and not at my garden. I even managed to convince the local council put a strategic place of duct tape on a street light so it did not flood our garden (and bedroom) with light all night.

Still, on water this is very much an issue. I live in a seaside town and a local restaurant on a small cliff above a bay decided it would be great to install thermonuclear mega-lights shining on the water so its patrons can see the waves at night. You can see the lights for miles, regrettably including at a nature reserve across an inlet ... like two eyes of Sauron. All attempts to have them stop the light pollution, by simply aiming the lights downward rather than outward, have failed.

 

[scubachap]

Thankfully in the UK glaring lights from a neighbour's property is a statutory nuisance and you can sue (I star gaze and have no problem with security lights on neighbour's property provided they point down at the ground (full cut-off lights) and not at my garden. I even managed to convince the local council put a strategic place of duct tape on a street light so it did not flood our garden (and bedroom) with light all night.

Don't get me started... my neighbour (who's actually really nice but sort of behaves like a rather annoying surrogate Dad and keeps doing 'helpful' things) was very proud of the fact he installed a security light that not only covers his garden but also for our security (one can never be too careful apparently) covers ours as well.

My star gazing trips out the back now involve going out of the 'wrong' door, hiding behind a corner of the kitchen and then moving really slowly out to a good position in order not to trigger the bloody light. One wrong move and whoosh the whole garden in bathed in light and you're lucky to see a full moon.

And no, I daren't mention it to him as he'll be really upset and then his wife will have a go at him for 'upsetting the neighbours' and... well... to be honest it's all a lot easier just to pretend I'm escaping from Colditz on clear nights... Thinking about it it's all very English really I suppose..

 

[Apple fanboy]

Don't get me started... my neighbour (who's actually really nice but sort of behaves like a rather annoying surrogate Dad and keeps doing 'helpful' things) was very proud of the fact he installed a security light that not only covers his garden but also for our security (one can never be too careful apparently) covers ours as well.

My star gazing trips out the back now involve going out of the 'wrong' door, hiding behind a corner of the kitchen and then moving really slowly out to a good position in order not to trigger the bloody light. One wrong move and whoosh the whole garden in bathed in light and you're lucky to see a full moon.

And no, I daren't mention it to him as he'll be really upset and then his wife will have a go at him for 'upsetting the neighbours' and... well... to be honest it's all a lot easier just to pretend I'm escaping from Colditz on clear nights... Thinking about it it's all very English really I suppose..

I’m laughing reading this. Been there done that. Then we moved. Now we have a lot more space between us and the neighbours house.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Have just salted the drive and the footpath outside the house.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Don't get me started... my neighbour (who's actually really nice but sort of behaves like a rather annoying surrogate Dad and keeps doing 'helpful' things) was very proud of the fact he installed a security light that not only covers his garden but also for our security (one can never be too careful apparently) covers ours as well.

My star gazing trips out the back now involve going out of the 'wrong' door, hiding behind a corner of the kitchen and then moving really slowly out to a good position in order not to trigger the bloody light. One wrong move and whoosh the whole garden in bathed in light and you're lucky to see a full moon.

And no, I daren't mention it to him as he'll be really upset and then his wife will have a go at him for 'upsetting the neighbours' and... well... to be honest it's all a lot easier just to pretend I'm escaping from Colditz on clear nights... Thinking about it it's all very English really I suppose..

Love the Colditz reference, and I'm laughing, reading it.

Yes, I also have a next door neighbour - a lovely guy, an electrician by profession, hence rather proficient in the matter of lights - and whose Christmas lights have just been taken down (on time, on the sixth of January), but whose security lights also (at some strange times, perhaps triggered by one of their nocturnally prowling cats) sometimes bathe not just their garden but also, my back garden, in blinding light.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Have just salted the drive and the footpath outside the house.

Now I must admit as I read this I felt like the sentence was going to conclude with a pork joint!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Now I must admit as I read this I felt like the sentence was going to conclude with a pork joint!

To be candid, such a thing is on my mind, but the sight of this morning's paths - a fleeting glimpse at some godforsaken hour - shocked me, for I hadn't expected it, (nor had I been paying sufficiently close attention).

Now, several years ago, on one such occasion, - freezing temperatures had been forecast - when Mother was still with us, and still just a little mobile, as I had run out of bog standard salt, I will admit to salting the drive with Maldon salt, and some exotic French salt.

I still wince to recall that.....extravagance - but the alternatives (someone suffering a fall, Mother, the carer, or I), would have been far worse.

Pork, now, that is worth thinking about........

 

[Apple fanboy]

To be candid, such a thing is on my mind, but the sight of this morning's paths - a fleeting glimpse at some godforsaken hour - shocked me, for I hadn't expected it, (nor had I been paying sufficiently close attention).

Now, several years ago, on one such occasion, - freezing temperatures had been forecast - when Mother was still with us, and still just a little mobile, as I had run out of bog standard salt, I will admit to salting the drive with Maldon salt, and some exotic French salt.

I still wince to recall that.....extravagance - but the alternatives (someone suffering a fall, Mother, the carer, or I), would have been far worse.

Pork, now, that is worth thinking about........

Maldon salt? I worked in Maldon in my late teens. We have the same here. But I don’t use it for the drive. Rock salt is a little bit more suitable.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Maldon salt? I worked in Maldon in my late teens. We have the same here. But I don’t use it for the drive. Rock salt is a little bit more suitable.

That was once.......several years ago, in a situation where I judged it appropriate.

The cheesemonger winced when I told him (I think I may have bought some of the Maldon salt - which had been intended for use when cooking - from his shop/store).

Anyway, bog standard salt was used this evening.

 

[Chuckeee]

Now, several years ago, on one such occasion, - freezing temperatures had been forecast - when Mother was still with us, and still just a little mobile, as I had run out of bog standard salt, I will admit to salting the drive with Maldon salt, and some exotic French salt.

Maldon salt? I worked in Maldon in my late teens. We have the same here. But I don’t use it for the drive. Rock salt is a little bit more suitable

This discussion of salt reminds me of a very ingenious science fair project I judged at a regional Science Fair a couple of years ago. A middle schooler was studying the prevalence microplastic world wide. She measured the amount of microplastic from worldwide samples of sea salt. While using rock salt as her control groups.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I think that a cup (mug?) of tea may be called for.

 

[Clix Pix]

Thankfully in the UK glaring lights from a neighbour's property is a statutory nuisance and you can sue (I star gaze and have no problem with security lights on neighbour's property provided they point down at the ground (full cut-off lights) and not at my garden. I even managed to convince the local council put a strategic place of duct tape on a street light so it did not flood our garden (and bedroom) with light all night.

Still, on water this is very much an issue. I live in a seaside town and a local restaurant on a small cliff above a bay decided it would be great to install thermonuclear mega-lights shining on the water so its patrons can see the waves at night. You can see the lights for miles, regrettably including at a nature reserve across an inlet ... like two eyes of Sauron. All attempts to have them stop the light pollution, by simply aiming the lights downward rather than outward, have failed.

Although we call it a "lake," our little "lake" is actually just a stormwater retention pond, and altogether about four acres in size. The townhouses across from the condominium buildings are not that far away. The offending lights are definitely not security lights, as they don't light up the property itself at all. Instead, they are mounted on the railing of the resident's deck and shine right out on the water and into the eyes of anyone on this side of the pond. It's very annoying.

I'll have to do some research and find out whether or not this could be a violation of regulations -- state, county or HOA -- and then get in touch with our management company, which works with both my community and the separate townhouse one, as we're all responsible for the maintenance of the lake.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Maldon salt? I worked in Maldon in my late teens. We have the same here. But I don’t use it for the drive. Rock salt is a little bit more suitable.

The equivalent here to Maldon Salt is this.

Soft, flakey salt with a gentle taste and a pale pink color from dissolved minerals.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

To my mind, the Feast of the Epiphany, (the Three Kings), which falls on the 6th of January, is the 'formal' end of Christmas, and I don't have an issue with lights, or decorations, up until then.

The old 'traditional' twelve days of the Christmas feast brought one up to 6th January, and some cultures (such as those of Spain, Orthodox Christians) still celebrate 6th January as a major part of the Christmas festival cycle. Until then, I see no problem; after that, well, Christmas - in the western world, at least - is over.

Now, I do have an issue - a major issue - with such lights and decorations making an (unwelcome) early, indeed, premature, appearance at any time prior to 8th December, but that is a separate matter.

We have a house in my street that still has a "Santa Stop Here" sign out. Maybe he's running late....