We got out our Christmas stuff during the Thanksgiving weekend. I [Michael] worked on the inside lights. I was a little surprised to discover over a half dozen light strings that no longer worked, including three that were known to work when I put them away last winter. So I punted and used different lights this year. One of the differences from last year is the string of big incandescent lights: last year they were all blue, but this year we bought bulbs of different colors (it was cheaper than buying new light strings). And as for energy conservation, all the bulbs inside the house provide exactly as much heat per watt as any other electrical device in the house, and since our heaters are all electric we might just as well use the lights and save a little wear on the heaters.
Sheryl spent two weekends in the yard with the lights, a bunch of the new LED ones that draw a fraction of the power of the incandescents (it was Sheryl's early Christmas present). This is the first year we've done outside lights, and given all the property we have to cover it took a little doing (hence two weekends of effort on Sheryl's part).
The picture on the bottom shows a little of what Sheryl did, and the yard really does get pretty bright at night with all the lights on (though not quite as bright as this enhanced photo shows). The top picture shows some of the living room lighting: note the time on the clock (early sunsets here), and the outdoor strings that also appear in the bottom picture.
And the new ceiling insulation must be doing a good job: I've noted a distinct reduction in how often and long our front room heaters have been running compared to last winter (when the fire is out in the wood stove).
