Night Light

Lava Lamp, with glitter.

Night lights.  Let me tell you about night lights, and beacons, and keeping the dark at bay.  When I was little (well, up until I went to college the first time) I required night lights as well as my little pillow and Lassie dog to sleep.  The pillow and Lassie were for comfort and safety, the night lights because I was afraid of the dark.  Well, not the dark, but the things I saw in the dark (real or imagined?  both, I think- I am a firm believer in spirits, and I know there were some about, and I hadn't yet made my peace with knowing them- crazy as that may sound, but that is a story for another day.)  Anyway- nightlights.  And it wasn't just me- but for practical/sensible reasons like safety, being able to navigate in the half-life of sleep without waking up to a bright light, whatever reason- my parents strongly believed in nightlights as well.  In the bathroom, the kitchen, sometimes the hall ways- bits of a glow to guide you.

After enduring roomates, romances, marriages and children I developed the reverse of needing a nightlight.  I can sleep anywhere, it is true- I am a natural, a champ, would be professional if there was such a thing- but I *do* have my preferences and demands.  No tv/radio/music please (especially tv on in the room I am trying to sleep in- that drives me nuts.), no night lights.  Now, I love sleeping in the sun, or by a night window- I love high hotels where the city lights up the sky- but no night lights.  I love sleeping with a votive candle burning (one of the tall Mexican candles in glass, quite safe, preferably the one to the Virgin of Guadalupe which is pale pink and scented faintly of roses).  But no electric night lights. I like the dark, dark rooms, looking about at the shadows when I wake between dreams.

Not so Mr. Owens.  He loves his night lights. He does respect the sanctity of the bedroom and my need for night, but the rest of the house is happily low-lit, fortunately with beautiful lamps collected from the auction.  In the living room there are two art deco style small bronze and stained glass lamps, and a similar lamp in the studio.  By the back door there is the reproduction turtle amber and bronze lamp for letting the dogs out.  And the plain-old stove light is always on for that part of the kitchen.  A candle in a jar for the bathroom- this one is scented like peppermint and snow. There is a lamp in the rose room, but that one isn't usually on unless we have company or I have been working in there.  But the all-star, must be on every night, doesn't match anything but love it anyway, is the purple glitter lava lamp on the tv.

This lamp, this incredible purple glitter lava lamp was acquired for a dollar/part of a trade during one of our roadshows in the summer.  I intended it to go to Grendel (thinking hip guy pad) but it only made it as far as our TV.  I will admit that it is beautiful and fun to watch at night- the purple, the glitter swirls, the little light stars cast out from the bottom and how they suit the background (which you can't see in the picture- our big blue barnstar is on the wall, and above it is the folk-art airplane- they look like part of the night sky).  During the day the lamp is not-so-pretty, but we love it none the less. It's a bit of magic in the night- bright and warm.