Posts
When we moved into our house about 15 years ago the yard was bare dirt and monster ant hills with big red ants that could carry small pets and children away. We bought a live Christmas tree that year and planted it. It is now about 30 feet tall and shades the pond. We bought another live tree the following year and planted it on the other side of the yard.
We ran out of pine tree room in the yard so we went with the conventional trees for a few years. Money was tight for a lot of years with a lot of kids at home. I've never been a big "Christmas begins on Black Friday" kind of person, and I usually wait until Christmas Eve to do my shopping. I used to tell the kids, "That's why Circle K is open on Christmas Day." One year I wrapped all their gifts in Circle K napkins.
We'd also wait until Christmas Eve to get our tree. About 6PM the Christmas tree lot down the street from our house tosses all of its left over trees on the sidewalk for the taking. So we'd take one.
One year we decided we wanted a tangerine tree for the back yard, so instead of a live Christmas tree we bought a 5 gallon tangerine and decorated it then planted it after Theophany. This year we will probably get 50-60 tangerines.
With my construction business dropping over 50% this year and having no work the last couple weeks, the Wifey and I went down to the Christmas Tree Lot this morning and picked up our free tree (after she went to the Electric Company and put a few dollars on our "pay as you go meter" so we could cook Christmas dinner...we got home last night from Midnight Liturgy and had $5.00 worth of electricity left)
Fortunately she is of the same mind as I am...Christmas begins on Christmas Day. There was a very nice selection of trees left in the parking lot.
There was a beautiful 9 foot Noble Fir but it was too tall and even if I cut it down, the trunk was too big to fit in our stand so we opted for a nice 6 foot Something.
The dogs are probably thinking we're like the coolest people on earth for buying them their own personal indoor tree now.
The wifey makes an Arizona centerpiece for the table....
And the finished tree with a happy dog, happy wife, and the Twelve Days of Christmas begin. All of our kids and the grandson will be here in a few days for a trip to Northern Arizona to spend a Christmas day with my parents. Life is good.
7 comments:
Aren't Christmas trees cheery things? I've had some years when I thought I just didn't want to deal with them, but I was always sorry afterward. Glad you guys made a love connection.
Merry Christmas!
I love the thought of a tangerine tree ! Problem is, I would have to sell my house to pay for the heating costs of a greenhouse to grow it in, considering it is -2 C here today, LOL.
Lovely. Glad you had a few $$ to get more electricity; one of my friends told me last month how when she and her now husband were still dating, at one point they had 35.00 total between them. God is merciful. They now have a small house, kids and have enough to get by.
Beautiful tree. I love our tree at home - it is a artifical 10 foot tall one (!) that my Dad was given last year by someone who was moving away to Chicago who my Dad used to paint for over the years (my Dad paints houses etc).
My warm Christmas wishes to you and your family!
Your tree does look cosy, I kind of regret not having one now. Mind, you, I also regret not living somewhere I can grow tangerines!
The artificial prelit tree we've been using the last few years has bit the dust. About half the lights wouldn't come on this year, so hubby had to head to the store to buy lights. For the prelit tree.
I was giving serious consideration to switching back to the real deal for next year (and getting some garage space back), until hubby mentioned the price tag of a real tree.
So your post comes at a good time. I'm thinking we'll ditch the plastic tree that got decorated a mere 5 days before Christmas, and begin Christmas next year on Christmas day. With a reasonably-priced tree.
Many thanks.
What an odd tradition we have! Think about it: go out, find a perfectly good tree, cut it down, bring it inside your house, decorate it with lights (formerly candles) and shiny bits. Think how absurd this entry would seem in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Highly improbable.
Yes, life is good, and may all the days of your Christmas be good as well.
Post a Comment