Does This Mean I Have To Clean?

Oh dear.
One end of the Sunroom is looking mighty bare.

Back in mid-December

a big Canaan Fir moved in to spend Christmas with us.
Meaning the round oak table and the chandelier had to move out!

The tree took on lights and ornaments.

And stayed with us throughout the 12 days of Christmas,

and the beginning of the season of Epiphany.

All good things must come to an end.

Sigh ....

Does everyone hate to take down The Christmas Tree?

Well, luckily at That Old House,

there are a few others to take its place!

In our Dining Room ... 

a small artificial tree decorated with demitasse cups & saucers.

(An idea I stole borrowed from Mary at Little Red House.)

I aim toward dismantling the fresh Sunroom tree

shortly after January 6th, Epiphany.

But our artificial trees?  I like to let them linger a bit.
One year, they lingered till Groundhog Day, but we won't go that far this year.  Probably.

(Mrs. Gilda-the-Red likes to make napping nests

in the tree skirts.  Who am I to spoil her fun?)

Two more faux trees glam up the Parlor.

A few years ago, our artist daughter Anne decreed they be
decorated in white, silver, gold ... a wintry monochrome scheme.

Anne lives in Washington DC now,

but we've kept her pale and pretty color scheme.

And speaking of kids ... both Anne and Alida have

collections of ornaments from their childhood,

and they are hung on a tree in the study/family room.

One of these years, "the girls" will take their ornaments to their

own homes, but in the meantime ... they bling up our holiday.

Howard and I didn't quite finish putting the Sunroom 

back to rights after taking the tree down this weekend.

We'll get there.  We'll be back to normal soon.

(My gosh, that empty sunroom looks awful, and awfully cold!)

Happy 2015, my friends.

May this shiny new year bring you joy and blessings galore!

-- Cass

O Tannenbaum(s) . . . .

So... this is the "alternative" tree in our Parlor; it's the 4th Christmas we've had a not-cut-from-the-forest tree and I never will love it, but I do admit that it does a bang-up job of holding those heavy ornaments that fall right off a fresh tree.

However, in this house, this year, we have a second tree... a "fresh" one, in our Sunroom. Yay! Can't beat the smell of the Frasier Fir needles, and the suspense of wondering, "Will anyone notice that big bald spot on the side?"


And now it is two days past Epiphany, and our house is still sporting its Christmas bling. Both the Sunroom and Parlor trees are up and decorated; in a way I hate denuding the "fresh" one in the sunroom, as it is still valiantly hanging on to nearly all of its needles.


See? A closeup, and still plenty of spiny green things.

We put a tree, of sorts, in every room on our first floor this year, and also in the front hall. My husband had his doubts about the little one in the powder room, but even he admits it adds to the holiday cheer.

A blessed 2009 to all!

(Next year: More trees. Shh.. don't tell my family.)