In the interest of harmony

Friday, 12:19 pm

By Kate

Nov

30

2007

I mentioned, a couple of days ago, that my next door neighbor had decided to go for a more traditional look this Christmas season in the house decorating department. Just a few pretty wreaths and non-electrified garlands and ribbons and whatnot for outside prettiness. I jumped on that bandwagon with enthusiasm. Told her that I liked that idea because Christmas lights use too much electricity. I probably should not have said that. She always looks at me a little strangely when I pop out with these sorts of statements. I dearly love the woman and couldn’t ask for a better neighbor, but she is resistant to anything related to conservation. She won’t even do curbside recycling because she ‘doesn’t believe in it’.

So, this morning, I heard a lot of hammering and banging going on out front. When I looked out the window, she was hanging her icicle lights across the front of her side of the house. I poked my head out the door with a questioning look...she said, “It looked too bare without the lights. I didn’t like it.” Well, I thought it looked nice, but there you go.

So, in the interest of harmony, I’ll hang my icicle lights, too. The house will look lopsided if I don’t and that’s just about as irritating to me as hanging the lights. Just because they’re hung doesn’t mean I have to plug them in. Well, I suppose I might for an hour or so in the evening, under protest, but in the interest of harmony. I haven’t plugged the lights into the kill-a-watt meter, so I’m not sure how much juice they gobble. I read somewhere that each individual light consumes 1-2 watts. With a 200-300 light string, we’re talking some serious wattage. If I do plug them in, I’ll have to figure out where to eliminate another 200 watts out of my daily use to compensate. Thinking...maybe the coffee maker. I can use the French Press and boil a kettle of water on the wood stove since it will probably be running most of the month of December.

When I look around my neighborhood, at all the mini lights that have appeared this week, it makes me cringe. There is enough wattage burning out there at night to run a couple of entire households. I’ve noticed that people are really decorating this year. More than usual. Maybe it’s a response to the tone of the news lately. It’s as if people are determined to create their own little oases of good cheer. I can understand it and even feel the same way. Except...without all the lights.