***This was meant to be posted yesterday***

'Tis the season, right?!

December 1st brings up so many things for me; it's hard to believe it's actually here. 

• This officially begins my birthday month
• Today is my dear friend Padraig's birthday
• The year is coming to a close and I have so much yet to do
• Busy season at work is ending
• Christmas is coming!!
• Holiday parties and plans are happening
• The smell of evergreen is filling my house
• Sweatpants are totally appropriate attire to wear outside the house
• The balance of heat and no heat in the house begins
• Most stores and malls are nearly inaccessible
• My email box is filling rapidly with special offer messages from my favorite stores
• The baking of holiday delights begins- Miss Susie's Zucchini bread, sugar cookies, pies, mmmmmmm....

So in order to welcome December in with open arms, Mike and I went out last weekend and chopped down our own Christmas tree!  It was quite an adventure... and it continues to be a daily battle of sorts.

We set out for Jones' Tree Farm in Shelton, CT.  With a Dunkin Donuts box o' joe in hand, we were ready to brave the elements and trek out, deep into the acres and acres of trees to find 'the one' for us.

Upon our arrival, we were thrilled to see that the lot had also reduced the tree cost from last year. Score!  We disembarked the vehicle, gloved up, and headed out with coffee in hand.

Got the saw- check. Note red flag to find car later- check. Bypass large families on the walkway- check.  We wandered to and fro, near and far, up and down marking trees 'under consideration' with random pieces of straw and twine so that we could come back to them for a reassessment.  Somehow I really believe in my heart that if someone else spots our consideration tree and notices that it's 'marked' with this stuff, maybe they'll pass it by understanding that we've got our eye on it.  They probably won't, but it makes me feel better to mark it anyway.

It's tough because you've got your Blue Spruce, Frasier Fir, White Pine, White Fir, Balsam Fir, Douglas Fir, and them some cross-breeds. This is an important decision because you're going to be living with this bad boy for over a month.  Or, if you're like me.. .until February! What?  It's hard for me to throw out the tree I knowingly killed for my pleasure.

Mike is a fan of the Blue Spruce tree, which I think is pretty from afar, but way too prickly to decorate or brush up against.  I am a fan of the Balsam Fir and Frasier Fir. They are super green, have a wonderful smell, and they don't hurt when you decorate them. These are very important things to think about when selecting a tree.

Alas, we narrowed it down to 'the one.'  Covered in sweat (because we dressed for the occasion not the weather forecast), having walked a mile or more back and forth in deliberation, Mike got to work chopping down our tree. A Balsam Fir. 

A'int she a bute?  While still alive, this sweet tree was about 8+ feet tall.  I always feel so bad during the sawing process... I talk to the tree, apologize for hurting it, reassure it that we will love it and decorate it beautifully, and keep it warm. It is kind of a sad and selfish ritual if you think about it.

When she was down, Mike dragged her through the fields, some mud, some sparkly sand, water, and straw before she made it to the wrapping thingy.  The men manhandled her, spun her up in twine, and tossed her aside for us to collect.  We loaded her up in the truck, turned up the Christmas music, and headed for home with our sweet Christmas tree.



Once at home, we realized that we hadn't cut enough of the under branches off to fit into the tree stand.  Mike retrieves the saw from the coat closet (???) and attempts to trim the tree... alas, the saw broke in half with the first swipe.  Next up, Mike's Swiss army pocket knife saw. After that bent and became cemented with hardened sap, we decided to forgo the rest of the under branches.  We jammed the tree into the stand (by 'we', I don't mean 'me') and screwed the bolts into it's thin trunk.  The tree was precariously balancing in the middle of the stand, not touching the bottom, and not held in by all 5 bolts.  I didn't want to discourage Mike, so I kept quiet.

We pulled out our decorations.  Took a trip down memory lane to see all of his Nan's beautiful ornaments dating back to the 40s and 50s, and included some of my own pieces from over the years.  I love decorating for Christmas.  We turned pandora on for the holiday stations and rocked out. 

Our friend Rich came over later and crashed at our place.  The boys stayed up into the early morning watching funny clips and shows on the computer while I was fast asleep.  The last think I remember is Mike asking me to make bacon in the morning.  No problem.

I woke up at 7am, went downstairs to brew coffee and found the tree completely horizontal on the ground.  Ornaments were broken (not the old ones thankfully) and sap, water, and needles were everywhere.  I wish I'd taken pictures, but I was panicked and didn't think of it.  I pushed the tree back up and all the way against the wall to rest there.  Rich woke up and helped me try to adjust the tree and stand. He also reminded me that Menorahs are SO much easier to deal with than Christmas trees, and eventually we got it to stand somewhat upright.

After the crash, one third of one of the six strands of lights began to blink.  Yep, about 50 actual bulbs on the whole tree now blink and won't stop. I. hate. blinking. lights!  So if you notice a dark gap in the front of the tree in the pic below, you'll know that despite six attempts, I couldn't take a picture when the blinking was actually 'on' instead of 'off'.  Oh well.

Here's our final product... slighty crooked, minus a few branches and needles, and half lit:

Happy December to you!

BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN:

20 days

-Whitney