Nice save! Most people would've just chucked it and bought some ugly LED thing. For the shade, try a tiny bit of ketchup on a soft cloth, weirdly enough. The mild acid cuts through tarnish without being harsh. Just wipe it on, let it sit for a minute, then buff it off. Works on old car parts too sometimes.

My county extension office told me 60 years is long enough for a plant to be considered naturalized in an ecosystem. I stopped fighting with my garden group and just quietly stopped pulling the loosestrife that grows by my pond. The bees need it, and like @jessica681 found, sometimes these plants are holding the ground together. Why start a war over a plant that's already won and is doing more good than harm?

Remember watching my dad try to cut crown with a handsaw and a miter box. He'd get so mad when the joints didn't close up. Makes me appreciate how much easier good tools make it now.

Ever put your phone in the fridge? I did that last week. Now I try to say out loud what I'm doing, like "keys on the hook." Sounds silly but it helps.

Had a group once dissolve over whether a coffee stain in a story was a plot point or just a coffee stain... people get weirdly attached to their metaphors.