Living in the mountains, our electricity often disappears during the stormy winter months. It did today for the first time this year. A good alternative for illuminating important activities is the Bogo light, a solar powered flashlight with a bright LED bulb.

BOGO stands for Buy One, Give One. When you buy a flashlight, another one is sent to someone in the world who has no electricity.

Of course I use it only for important tasks like weaving, cooking, reading, and feeding the cat. Here it is suspended on a cord above my loom. I also have found that I can thread my raincoat sash through the loop at the top and hang it around my neck so I have light wherever I go. It has the additional advantage of being flat so it can be set on a surface and pointed in the right direction without rolling around. And an afternoon in the sunlight will charge it for a good six or seven hours worth of light. I love it.

Give Bogo lights as holiday presents. I did two Christmases ago. Here we all are with our Bogo lights.

For openers there was a little brie to go on some crackers, some veggies (including a personal favorite, asparagus) with appropriate dips and some crunchable, munchable corn chips. Wash it down with a little champagne under a canopy of trees with a river nearby on a balmy autumn day–

Chloe, the dog, settled right in while we continued on with perfect barbecued chicken, two salads, and, of course, Dottie’s homemade bread. The table decor was not too shabby either, with light blue table cloth, blue checkered napkins, dark blue plates, and a few white cyclamens And dessert and coffee, a walk along the river, what more can I say. The day was not lost on either man or beast.
To our hostess, a thousand thanks for one day in a million.