Season Of The SAD Lamp: Sunday Musings

~ beetleypete

The clocks went back one hour here last night, so we got an extra hour in bed. The downside of that is that it will be dark by around 4 pm now, and the evenings will feel long and dull. My SAD lamp is already turned on as I write this, and it’s only 9:30 am. The rain is hammering against the window, and the grey skies look to have settled in for the day. Ollie was reluctant to venture out into the garden earlier, and I suspect he just hid in the side alley after I closed the kitchen door.

I don’t blame him.

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Today is Halloween Sunday. At least it is for those who celebrate it. That doesn’t include me of course. There was a party last night that went on until just after midnight. It must have been some distance away, but I could still hear the ‘thump’ of the sound system all evening.

In a quiet village like Beetley, that event was enough to get residents taking to the local Facebook forum by 9pm, (suitably called Beetley Busybodies) to complain about the noise and ask the people hosting the party to turn down the music. I am not on Facebook, my wife told me. But it did occur to me (though obviously not to those complaining) that anyone enjoying a party at their house was unlikely to be checking Facebook to see if anyone was complaining.

If this awful weather continues, I am wondering how many ‘trick or treaters’ will be venturing out later. We don’t put a pumpkin outside on the driveway, which is the signal to knock on doors in Beetley. That means we will hopefully not be bothered by anyone.

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My 35-part serial ‘Outside’ concluded yesterday. I have a new one in notes, and you can have a rest from fiction until I structure it. I will be posting an overview of ‘Outside’ soon.

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Many bloggers have had Christmas Countdowns on their blogs for some time now. A few of them started that in early September, before I had even taken my summer holiday. I don’t want to know how many days it is to Christmas thanks. It will come when it comes, and that always seems to be faster every year I grow older.

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We accepted the quote from the landscape gardener to do the front of the property, and we are just waiting for him to give us a start date. That will hopefully be before the end of December, but will presumably depend on weather conditions. No doubt contractors have to get used to working outside in all conditions. I remember having to do something similar when I was an EMT. Kneeling in pools of rainwater, or tramping through snow in unsuitable uniform, feet freezing, and trousers soaked.

So happy I don’t have to that any longer. Except on the daily dog walks of course. 🙂

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I hope you all have a great Sunday, and better weather where you live. And for those of you living in the in the far east, where it is almost Monday, I hope you have already had a great day.
Best wishes, Pete.

65 thoughts on “Season Of The SAD Lamp: Sunday Musings”

  2. I missed this post but I’m reading it now, better late than never. We turn our clocks back this Sunday and the season’s darkness will set in earlier. The rains have been in full force here for a few weeks, and there’s a crispness to the air. Winter is in its way. Better get me a sad lamp! 😊

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    1. I am still adjusting to the clock change. Feeling hungry for dinner an hour too early, and going to bed at what would have been 10:15pm last week. Fully dark by 4:20 pm yesterday. Might take at least a week to get back in some routine.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. The changing of the clocks back and forth doesn’t make sense to me anymore. We even voted in Washington state a couple years ago to keep the clocks forward year round. But Congress has to approve and getting them to act on anything is a slow go!

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  4. Here Halloween is not celebrated, because we are in the very conservative area of Germany. 😉 Indeed its a fun celebrating it with children. The weather is very sad, also here. Maybe Ollie could be in need of a SAD-lamp too? 😉 Have a nice rest of the evening, Pete! xx Michael

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  6. I’m planning a bonfire so the kids get an idea of what should be happening around this time of the year how else will they learn about Guy Fawkes! I must look up a recipe for toffee apples 🙂
    There was news in Poland of a school that had to cancel its Halloween party following a complaint from a parent ‘not teaching Catholic values’ ‘glorifying the dead’…that kind of thing. So for that reason alone I’m supporting Halloween this year 🙂 If any children from the village manage to make it to our door then I reckon they deserve a treat (although I do think its all a load of baloney myself)
    Up since before 6 this morning, off to do the goats now, so I’ll be happy of the 4pm finishes that are ahead. Although Gosia will soon catch on and start a list of jobs to do inside 🙂

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  8. The sun came bursting out this morning tricking me to thinking it was spring. Hah. We lose an hour next weekend. The only saving grace is that I am always more willing to make stew, soup and baked goods on those dreary days. I do like winter food.

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        1. Bought from a shop. Not many deer hunters around here. They are mostly up in Scotland, as guns are not widely owned here of course. The Venison we buy is quite expensive, but ‘farmed’. Interestingly, most deer farmers shoot the animals with rifles, from close range, so as not to distress the animals by taking them to an abbatoir. Apparently, doing that spoils the meat.
          Best wishes, Pete.

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  9. Hmmm, your weather sounds awful, Pete. Thanks for letting me know the clocks have changed, it impacts a few of my international clocks. I know it is around about now, but never know exactly. I entered a Halloween gingerbread challenge [as you know] for the first time this year. I did enjoy it and had a bit of fun creating witches and vampires. I am now brain storming Christmas ideas. I’ve also got to make my cakes tomorrow.

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  12. (1) Now that beautiful hiking weather is here, the day’s are getting shorter. That’s just not fair!
    (2) At least the trick-or-treaters will have a pleasant evening: Between 5:00 and 10:00, the mercury will drop gently from 26° to 21° C.
    (3) I’m anxious to see how well “Outside” was received given it featured adult situations that included bondage, physical abuse, and sex. (Not that you haven’t gone there in past serials.)
    (4) I don’t bother with Christmas. It’s usually a good day for hiking.
    (5) I’m helping a friend do some xeriscaping. We started last spring, paused during the summer heat, and have now resumed our work.
    (6) I’ll be doing some writing today, but I may step outside for some sunshine this afternoon.

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    1. The sun did come out this afternoon for a while. Just before it got dark again at 4:45. 😦
      12C here, and pitch dark!
      The overview of Outside will be posted tomorrow. I wrote it an hour ago.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  13. Pretty gloomy here too Pete and no pumpkins or inviting lights, though out in the stix we don’t get many visitors. What you said about contractors having to learn to work out in the elements made me chuckle. When I made one of my many moves I misguidedly used a friend’s relative and on the day nobody showed. When I called to find out why I was told “We don’t do moves in the rain.” So I thought, “well what if it rains for a month?” Rain…it was a few drops and I was thoroughly pissed off!

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    1. I know a bricklayer who lives nearby in Beetley. He is not allowed by his company to work in the rain, so when we get days of constant rain, he earns no money at all. Not a great job, in England! Until it stops raining, they have to rely on his wife’s job in a supermarket.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. I’m not so fond of it being dark just after 4 pm, Cheryl. That 8 hours in the dark before bedtime feels so much longer. I prefer a bright summer evening, light until almost 9pm, sitting in a chair in the garden with a large glass of red wine and Ollie by my side. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. I did notice how bad it was up there, with a report on the BBC News. We had bright sunshine most of the time you were getting that rain, then it came south-east and hit us hard from Friday. Sun out again now, just in time to start setting. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Thanks, Cathy. The sun came out when I was walking Ollie, and because I was dressed up in waterproofs and wellington boots, I got uncomfortably hot! 🙂 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  19. When we lived in more populated areas, my husband went all out decorating for Halloween. The children (but more often their accompanying parents) loved the spooky decorations. Having small grandchildren, Halloween is a loved holiday. Sorry the gloomy weather has hit. It is moderate here. We had a slight chance to seeing the aurora borealis last night, but I think we are too far south. Our clocks go back next Sunday. I am not looking forward to winter.

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    1. Thanks, Maggie. I am aware that it is a much-loved tradition in America, and I have no issues with that. The sun came out an hour ago, and now it feels too warm! I can’t win. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  20. Thanks, Pete. Here we have a sunny morning so far, but yesterday it was raining buckets, and you could hardly see inside of the house most of the morning, even though we have a rather large window facing the front. Terrible. It’s supposed to rain again later and tomorrow.
    I don’t do Halloween either, and although it wasn’t very common here when I was younger, now it is becoming popular, especially with kids. Here it is a holiday tomorrow, so there might be fun and games later on, but as we live in a big city with apartment buildings, there isn’t trick or treating as such.
    Good luck with the garden work, and I hope the weather improves.
    Stay well, Pete.

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    1. Somthing like this is fine, and similar to mine. I wouldn’t pay more than 30 euros for the more expensive ones, they all do the same job. This type uses a USB connector, but you can buy an adaptor for using it on the mains electricity. Just type in SAD lamp to an Amazon search, or any search if you do not use Amazon. 🙂

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  22. I’m not a big Halloween fan either, but we have to accept it. Unfortunately, there are so many things that cannot be undone. I bought some candy as a precaution. If nobody rings the doorbell, I’ll have enough to nibble on in the near future. 🙂
    The weather today is quite mild and so far sunny.
    I also hate that it gets dark so early.
    Best wishes, Irene

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  24. I’ve had to switch on a spotlight in my top-floor work room because it is so dark, even at the top of the house; the SAD lamp I’ve ordered from eBay can’t come quickly enough! I’m with you when it comes to Christmas & Halloween, but I’ll respond to the latter on your other post 😀 With regard to the party, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if any younger party-goers would have been checking Facebook more or less constantly: that’s just what they do! Cheers, Jon. Seems a bit rude to me, but I’m old-fashioned 😉 Cheers, Jon.

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