A Giant Lantern and A Seditious Afternoon

As the holidays fade into a distant memory, now it's finally starting to look like Christmas in my backyard! A mild winter is a lot easier to deal with but makes me worry even more about climate change. It had been snowing all around us for weeks before we ended up with any. Now it's very foggy.






We're still having the occasional card or gift show up so the patio decorations may stay up for awhile longer, plus I have a whole lot of indoor ones to put away first. It's not like anyone cares and when the weather is this nice, 28°F with an occasional ray of sunshine, we wanted to spend some time out there. 

Several years ago, I ordered this ridiculous, lantern-shaped heater online. To be honest, it was an impulse purchase and didn't look THAT big in the catalog. This design was probably meant for a much larger home than our 1929 bungalow and that may be why it's  been in the basement since it arrived.

What may have drawn me to thinking it was a good choice for a patio heater was it's similarity to some Luminara lanterns I already had. They've worked great for years in all kinds of weather. 

Even though this "nice" weather won't last long, it seemed worth hauling it out to be able to spend more time outside. What exactly we were going to do out there wasn't clear but it still works! Don't worry, it was only on the table long enough to see if it was still working and to get familiar with the manual switches. Over the years the remote went missing. 

So now we're all set! Maybe we'll invite a couple of friends over for a socially distanced drink.

Now, it's up to Mother Nature to keep the backyard looking pretty.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

Stay warm and don't forget to wear a mask!

Last Wednesday, while trying to finish up this silly post on staying warm outside, I took a break to see if the ceremonial electoral count was over. Then, like many of us, spent the rest of the afternoon watching in disbelief as Trump's mob easily overran the capital for hours before anyone came to stop them. According to the Washington Post, the FBI received information beforehand that the organizers were online and calling for violence, so they knew there was the potential for them to become dangerous but failed to prepare for it. This is probably not the last we hear from Trump but he should be held accountable for instigating that murderous assault. As should his Republican enablers. In about a week he will be powerless and I'm thankful for that, but how much more damage will he cause between now and then?