Milestone Illuminated

Very soon, my eyes will have been in use for four decades. When I was seven, my sight swirled down the pipes in a hurry, and I was fitted with bifocals which I wore until junior high. Then I got "regular" glasses.

As of last year, I'm back in the bifocals…sans the classic, annoying lines bisecting my world, thankyouverymuch. My vision had gotten to the point where I couldn't look from far to near--to read, type, sew, knit, etc.--without feeling like my eyes were trying to adjust by screwing themselves deeper into my head.

Now, have I ever mentioned here how dark my house can be? I'm sure I have. It's a pet peeve of mine and I'm not likely to keep a peeve hidden under a bushel. No.

And surprisingly enough, bifocals don't increase light, no sir, no how. They just make the shadows sharper.  My middle-aged eyes were griping at me to speak some light into the darkness, or else. So like a good, modern consumer, I bought a lamp.



The neck of the lamp has a pretty medallion to make aging appear graceful…



And it slides up and down for height adjustment…





…The mirror in the hall caught me taking pics of the lamp. And here's the whole shebang.



I've installed an incandescent bulb in the lamp for now because I like the warm light. One day, when I'm yet another year or two older and incandescents have gone the way of rotary phones, I'll probably cave into societal realities by buying a CFL bulb. CFLs emit an ugly light, though, and I don't like them. Really, I'd like to, but I don't. Maybe I can save up for an LED bulb instead. According to what I've heard about those, one bulb may last me a couple decades. By then, I'll probably be thinking more about replacements for knees than light bulbs.

In the meantime, I can knit, quilt, and read without a headache stalking me.  Happy birthday to me.