Lighting the large studio that I use as living room, office and dining room is becoming a problem. Now that the daylight hours are shorter, it's something I have to cope with.

When the light in the ceiling fan was working, it was the first one I turned on in the evening. Then I could add others as needed, and all was well. There was no glare on the TV screen, yet I could sit on the couch and read without squinting.

Of course, it was summer then. I had a much smaller part of the day when I had to deal with such matters. And I was in the honeymoon stage of living here at the Fortress, still making excuses for anything that wasn't quite perfect.

As soon as that overhead light burned out, I knew the honeymoon was over, at least as far as lighting was concerned. There is a set of three track lights over the middle of the TV area, and I have a floor lamp and a table lamp at opposite ends of the couch. That's been how I've lit the room for the last month or so.

Today one of the track lights burned out, and because I didn't have another bulb of that type, I stole one from one of the lights near the back door, since I almost never use them. But this bulb was too bright for the room, and no matter which way I pointed the fixture, the glare was just too much.

So I had to turn off the lights and wait for them to cool so that I could remove the globe from the middle fixture. I'll find a more muted, lower wattage bulb to replace it with, but in the meantime my home is somewhat dimmer, in keeping with the season.

I like a lot of light in the winter. It helps me get through the short, dreary days. But I don't like a lot of glare, so I'm going to have to keep working at it until I get it right.

It seems a silly thing to waste so much time on, because there should be as simple answer. The best solution would be to replace the ceiling fan light, but I'm not about to get up on a ladder that high, even if I had one.

I wonder if light bulb changers are listed in the phone book. This is California, so they probably have to be licensed by a state board.

While I was out today buying light bulbs, I found a three-way globe that seemed perfect for the table lamp I keep at the end of the couch. The package said something about being ideal for reading, because it was both soft and bright.

I couldn't resist the urge to experiment, since I haven't been able to do much reading after dark. I've been thinking it was my eyes, but it could well be the poor lighting. At any rate, I could read more comfortably tonight under that lamp than I've been able to in the past.

I don't know if I have true seasonal affective disorder, or if I just get depressed in the winter. Maybe they're the same thing. By the second or third day in a row with no sunshine, I don't even want to get out of bed. (Not that I'm ever eager to get up in the mornings, but this is different.)

Luckily, it only takes one bright, sunshiny day to bring me out of my funk. So it's probably not an illness as much as self-indulgence. I feel sorry for myself because the day didn't turn out the way I wanted. That's kind of pathetic.

It makes me a little sad just thinking about it. I believe I need a nap.

One of my favorite pastimes is reading by natural light. Now that the days are cooler, I've been climbing the stairs into the loft in the afternoons and reading by the light of the sun. Unfortunately, by the time I get up there, the sun is about to set, and I don't get much time to indulge in this pursuit.

I can't tell you how much I want to get through this winter and spend my first spring here. Once the days start getting longer again and the weather improves, I plan to spend as much time as I can find outside, gardening, reading, or just scanning the sky for birds.

At least these last few days have been sunny and warm. It's almost like having a preview of coming spring attractions. Nature's trailer.