Besides peeling shallots for a long time, I’d also decided to get the oil lamps we use ready. We’d had 2 power outages in the last week, and there were people in town that still didn’t have power from the storm on Wednesday night.
Over the decades I’ve collected a lot of pretty cool oil lamps. These 2 are ones we use regularly in power outages.
To burn correctly, the wicks need to be trimmed properly. I’ve found that trimming the corners and slightly rounding the top gives a nice steady light. This lamp has never been used so its wick is still square cut.
This copper lamp is a beauty, but unfortunately, the seam leaks, so it is merely decorative.
Some of my lamps have a lampshade. We don’t use these much, as the light is much muted by the shade.
I cleaned all the glass chimneys and made sure the outsides of the reservoirs were clean and free of lamp oil. I use paraffin lamp oil usually.
I didn’t do all the lamps, just the ones we would be using. Doing the others is a winter time job.
Saturday I’m hoping to be out mulching garlic with my intern. I really want to finish those 2 gardens’ mulching!