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Monday, December 12, 2016

O (Kinda Large) Tannenbaum

If there is one very good reason for owning a long mini-van, it is this:  
You can fold down the seats, and 
slide your fresh Christmas tree right in; 
  no roof-tying insanity.  
Me, wandering through a
tree farm, looking adorable.
Nowadays, we buy a fresh tree from a garden center around the corner from That Old House.  No more venturing into the vast Jersey wilderness to hack down our own specimen, followed by a hair-raising trip home on Route 80, with me convinced we'd cause a multi-car pileup when our tree went flying off the roof.  The year the tree farm guy tied a giant tree on with dental floss was the last straw.  

Our tree, hogtied in the back of the
minivan, Sunday afternoon.
No, now... we don heavy gloves (why is it always so cold on a tree lot?) and hunt the local lot.  Here's this year's victim lucky candidate, fresh out of the van and wrestled into the stand.
Late Sunday afternoon,
blue light time.
Which means ... all of our trees are UP, faux and fresh.  Some are partly finished, others awaiting their balls and bling.  The house is a tip, with still-to-be-deployed decorations and wreaths and garlands and ribbons running amuck, everywhere, but ... there's time.  And as always, what gets done, gets done ... and what doesn't, doesn't.
Fuzzy phone picture, Sunday evening.
Howard decides to do the lights another time.
I would attempt to put the lights on the sunroom tree, but I don't want to get scratched shoving strands of lights into the tree's innards; I hate pain.
Howard is a boy, so he gets to do the hard ouchy stuff.  :-)
Happy Monday morning, Tree!
(The picture is crooked, not the tree.  That's my story.)

My Dad believed that the more painful, scratchy, and fierce a tree's needles, the better it would last for the whole season.
Howard has adopted this belief, and has the scars to prove it.

Today, the tree looks happy, relaxed,
and ready for its bling.  
Last year's sunroom tree.

How do you choose a tree?
Do you cut one down, or find it on a lot?
Or take it out of a box?

Just a dozen days till Christmas Eve!
And remember:
Ho Ho Ho!  -- Cass

Visit The Graphics Fairy for a mind-boggling collection of vintage art.  Thank you, Karen!

7 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're back, Cass. You always make me laugh. Me...real and cut from my grandmother's land. It sits proudly on a table as it's all of 4 ft. tall. lol:)

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  2. Your tree looks super!
    I am allergic to real trees so we have one that comes out
    of a box each year. Unfortunately it is still in the box
    due to being sick and having too much going on this month.
    Hopefully soon...

    M : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't tell you enough how happy I am that you're blogging again! Don't leave us! I really enjoy your postings so much. I grew up in Northern NJ (River Vale) and come back from Virginia at least twice a year. My mother now lives in Skillman. I just love reading about your beautiful home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How come you seem to feature the new parts of the house rather than the original parts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The only newer part is the sunroom, and sometimes it's just because tht is where we spend the most time. And it has good light! The sunroom dates to 1999. The next newest part was added in the 1880s, 50 years after the original portion. I'll dust the old rooms and see what l can do. :-)

      Delete
  5. Glad to see you blogging again, Cass. Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merry very late Christmas to you, too, my friend! I hope your holidays were lovely.

      Delete

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