Happy Tuesday, What's on your menu, everyone?

I am 80% sure I will, the only reason I wouldn't is if I was really off in my research in budgeting. I just want to do the front and possibly my deck area so that gives me some wiggle room on the cost too.

The one thing I would look at closely is if there is a UV rating on the lights. To leave them up year-round, they need to last. And the insulation on cheaper lights deteriorates really fast under all that UV.

Yes, I did look at that -- UV and dry brittle cold, I know take a toll on anything we leave outside here.

This company gets good marks for both, much better than the more well known national brand.

Oh, and this one, you can replace a single bulb if needed as opposed to having to replace a whole section...unlike the others (or Christmas lights in general, lol)

Is the quality if available smoking components just different here versus Italy? I'm curious why you only smoke there. Though it does seem like quality is generally lacking for most US products versus just about anywhere.

Smoking is just socially acceptable in Europe. My little Italian mother-in-law had a pack of cigarettes hidden under the dishtowels in the kitchen drawer. When none of the other family was around she would have me to the store and get her Coca Cola and Hostess cupcakes. She would smoke and enjoy the sugary foods that her doctor told her not to eat.

Sounds like she got in all her banned pleasures at once!

Nothing to do with quality and everything to do with social acceptance. Especially here in CA they look at you like a second class citizen if they see you smoking. When I had a couple of Italian friends visiting, we had to sneak around and they were joking that they felt like they were treated like drug addicts who shoot up.

That makes sense. I remember being shocked at the amount of smokers in Stockholm. And Florence was literally just hard to breathe in with the narrow roads and smog/smoke. Guess that's one thing the US is ahead of the curve on, so to speak. I'm sorry you felt ostracized.

China and Japan are like that, too. Mostly the men - but some women, too.