Some thoughts about christmas lights
Last night I went out for a long walk through the side streets in my neighbourhood. I do this most years, often several nights, to look at the outdoor lights. Last night was quite nice, with a good layer of fluffy snow all over the greenery and houses.
Some thoughts...
* Icicle lights are really overdone. I remember when they first came out, they were hard to find in the stores and everybody wanted a set. Now they just look common, although I do like the effect when they are hung inside a porch.
* I don't like the deep blue and blue-green stands of halogen lights that are popular now. They don't look warm or cheerful at all and look more like the chromatophores on some phosphorescent deep-sea squid. They might be more suited to Cthulhu-mas decorations.
* I love it when lights shine through the branches of evergreen shrubs or garlands, even more so if snow is on top. I also like to see a strand of lights framing a doorway.
* A house nearby has a mixed set of orange, yellow and white lights on their shrubs. This may sound odd, but the effect looks like silver, gold and bronze sparkling, and is very festive.
* For a few minutes last night I stood at the edge of a nearby park where kids like to toboggan. I was tempted to try slide down the slope myself, since there was no one around. I used to enjoy winter much more when I did things like tobogganing, or even just walking out in the snow and looking at the stars. It's hard to do either as an adult, especially living in the city.
Some thoughts...
* Icicle lights are really overdone. I remember when they first came out, they were hard to find in the stores and everybody wanted a set. Now they just look common, although I do like the effect when they are hung inside a porch.
* I don't like the deep blue and blue-green stands of halogen lights that are popular now. They don't look warm or cheerful at all and look more like the chromatophores on some phosphorescent deep-sea squid. They might be more suited to Cthulhu-mas decorations.
* I love it when lights shine through the branches of evergreen shrubs or garlands, even more so if snow is on top. I also like to see a strand of lights framing a doorway.
* A house nearby has a mixed set of orange, yellow and white lights on their shrubs. This may sound odd, but the effect looks like silver, gold and bronze sparkling, and is very festive.
* For a few minutes last night I stood at the edge of a nearby park where kids like to toboggan. I was tempted to try slide down the slope myself, since there was no one around. I used to enjoy winter much more when I did things like tobogganing, or even just walking out in the snow and looking at the stars. It's hard to do either as an adult, especially living in the city.