Thanks to Alexia for that great take on LEDs. Anything that is not only green, but also allows one to feel like a diva in bed (or, really, anywhere) is okay by me.  

Me, I have not been feeling very diva-like, ever since getting that estimate from the electrician. In fact, I’ve been sitting here looking forlornly at the estimate, trying to screw up the courage to pick up the phone and call him, and tell him okay, come on over, break the bank. I’ll sell the cats, if I have to. Because I keep working backward, thinking, every time I come into the living room, that I really must get a new wall color, and that of course leads me back to the fact that first I have to take care of the dreadfully dull task of the electrical work. 

I don’t think I could get much for the cats, even though they are quite talented and cuddly, and very, very, large. If only cats sold by the pound.

Or their fur! Why is alpaca so damn expensive, but no one is interested in buying cat fur to make a fancy sweater from? 

Okay, back to decorating.  

Meanwhile, remember my friend Seddy’s sister, and how I paid her 150 bucks to come over and advise me about my place? I haven’t heard from her since. No, that’s not entirely accurate. First there was an email to a long list of people saying her email hadn’t been working, and then there was an email saying she was going to Mexico for a couple of weeks. I swear—I know it sounds like the oldest scam in the world, but she really said precisely this:

…we’re going to Mexico for the week.  Great deals to be had in the hurricane season.

Well, yeah. Especially when you’re taking my 150 bucks with you! 

Really, I do still trust this person, maybe mistakenly, maybe just because I love and trust her sister, who really is a very good friend. But now what? I’ve written to her once more, and she said she’d get in touch “early next week” which was like two weeks ago.

Do any of my readers have any advice about how to handle this? I mean, the whole thing was that I didn’t have time to do all the research on finding good ceiling fans and everything on my own. And now in addition to that, I’m working on hounding this woman who does seem like a lovely, if scatterbrained, talented, creative person. And I certainly don’t want to put a smudge on my friendship with Seddy by bitching about this situation with her.

I’ve always envisioned my life as if it were were a Broadway musical. People I greet will break out in song; I’d sing along in perfect harmony. A man worthy of Baryshnikov will take my hand and we’d dance through the streets. Lights will wink at me as if sharing a secret joke and transform into a rainbow of colors depending on my mood. Now it looks like if one of my dreams is coming true. About time!

L.E.D.s or light-emitting diodes are coming soon into your home and my home. They’ve been around for a while – found mostly in retail signs and the odd industrial toy. Sometimes I see them under the kitchen cabinet of a renovated gourmet kitchen. They still seem out of reach to me or just some flashy feature on a gadget.

Their prices have come down and soon colored lights will twinkle and light my path. Just a few years ago, they were $150 a bulb and they didn’t emit even a true white light – now they’re $60 a bulb. Pricey, yes, but it’s dropping fast. What’s all the hoopla about L.E.D.s? They’re energy efficient - they last 50,000 hours(!) and do not emit carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. They’re green, baby! And they’re just what the hyper-environmentally-aware individual wants. On top of all that efficiency, they can be formed into any geometric shape, a sculpture, a panel and embedded behind walls, into fabric, furniture, anything. They also come in a full spectrum of colors. That’s flexibility!

Personally, I want a headboard to my bed that haloed the diva in me in romantic lights. Rose for romance, purple for passion. I also want my hallway to the rest of my home to be sprinkled in LED footprints so as I glided across, they would announce my entrance in technicolor. Finally, an entrance worthy of Broadway!