"There's a light...."

 ... not Over at the Frankenstein Place, but at the Thanksgiving Table in Sarasota.

I went to a cousin's house for Thanksgiving this year, much like we always try to do. It was low key enough that it was a dinner for 6 instead of 16. All because there's still the pandemic going on.  

Yes, the city / state /government said to be careful traveling this holiday season because that's when things could potentially spike even more, but the house I went to, we've all been careful as it is. My mother and I don't go running around and visiting a lot of places or people (we don't go out and act like everything is normal, pre-2020 by going to the movies or loads of restaurants), the people we visited do the same thing (much to the disagreement of one of the person's sibling), and the other couple were brave enough to come over and eat (they stay in as well). 

Among the plethora of plated stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, poultry and desserts, there was a very interesting light on each table. We had sat outside on the back patio, so we all could social distance enough but still be together. 3 card tables separated by some sober feet, we ate til our bellies felt like they were going to need bigger pants. As the sun went down, the lanterns got brighter. 

These little lanterns are pretty neat - they are self contained in such a way, that they look science fiction. Gone are the days when a full scale model light is enshrouded by hard plastic. The plastic brightness is a little less than a foot in height and when you pull the bulb out (by the attached hanging handles), it's a little over a foot. The overall width is roughly the size of a can coozy. It's comfortable to grip to be able to pull the bulb up, but where it has 2 hooks on it, you don't have to worry about holding it all night - you can hang it on a pole or just have it sit on a table. 

I have to say, that when you're using them as the center piece on a card table, it can get pretty bright, as the LEDs over power the place the canister is sitting at. There was a point when I needed to push the bulb back into the holder because it was starting to bother me - I was having a little trouble focusing on the conversations at hand, as the light was too bright and the people were too spread out. You'll be able to see in the photos how bright the thing gets, and I had turned it on before the company came and while it was still light out. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of what the brightness looks like in full dark. 

Overall, I think these would be good for emergencies, camping or a party (put them in a corner and light up the area), but I wouldn't suggest using them to replace any light fixtures you already have. 

Stay safe, stay lit. 

Cheers;