Having a holiday home can mean lots of things. Mainly for us it is extremely satisfying, and brings us and our extended family great joy. Alas, outside of the perks, there are considerations and concerns that must be addressed that visitors to the structure, or those who hear about it will not be aware of. Fortunately, one of our issues was easily addressed with solar lights being purchased and installed.

You see, we do not have any one employed, or enlisted to maintain and check on the house. As it is in another country, this has posed many conundrums. Not least of which has been safety of the belongings held within. While the location of the building is considered to be remote, and there are relatively few break ins reported, you still must take preventative measures.

So we pondered what we could do to make it appear as though there are people either there full time, or at least on a regular basis. Leaving cars parked out front was one way, but clearly not enough. This is especially true since the cars remain in the same positions as we left them. We considered asking someone to go over from time to time, but to be entirely honest, we did not feel close enough with anyone to make such a request. Sure, we could pay them, but this would not ensure they would not use the house, or the cars.

We contemplated getting timers for our outdoor lights, and some indoor lights to go on. Yet, we decided closing the shutters was safest, so no need for indoor lights. As for timed lighting for the outside, it seemed practical enough. But, when we went to purchase the materials in that country we were faced with sky high prices. Dropping into a home improvement shop is not the quick jaunt that it is back home. It involves a lengthy journey, and then the confrontation of tremendous expense for what we are accustomed to being reasonable.
The conclusion, after making the journey to the nearest store was to buy solar lights to line the drive up to the house. This felt right, because the lights will not go on at the exact same time each and every day. And as daylight savings time sets in the lights will not automatically switch on when the sun is still out. Embarrassingly, we had not come to this conclusion without being confronted by prohibitive pricing of alternatives. Still, we got there in the end and are happy with our decision.