Wednesday, December 16, 2009

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Time and money. The two things everyone wishes they had more of this time of year. The lack of time and money causes stress, which can manifest it's self as impatience, indifference, and general Scrooge-like behavior. I am not immune to this phenomenon either. I was driving with my mother yesterday verbally listing all the things which I have not yet accomplished. "I haven't sent out a single Christmas card, wrapped a single present, cleaned the guest rooms, or even finished my shopping!" Whoa is me. Then last night as I was preparing to write Christmas cards (with Christmas music playing on the stereo) I looked over at the tree and thought how beautiful it was. I realized that I needed to slow down and enjoy the moment. I love Christmas. it is my very favorite celebration. I don't want to stress out and miss the loveliness of the season. So I thought about it and put things in their proper perspective. I don't have to meticulously wrap every single present. Some things can get thrown into a gift bag with tissue paper on top. If I can't afford to give everyone all the things I would like to, there is always next year, birthdays, or anniversaries. If I don't have time to make five different kinds of cookies for the cookie jars, two or three will do just as well. Tonight I am going to relax with some hot tea, cozy up to my husband and settle in to watch It's a Wonderful Life. Because it is.

Just a note about the pictures with this post. These are pictures of our Christmas tree. I am still learning about photographing Christmas trees, so these are not some of my best shots. They are not meant for wallpaper. I just wanted to share these with you. I have also included some pictures of our fireplace mantel. Have the merriest of Christmases!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree

There are two types of people in this world: those who put up real Christmas trees and those who put up artificial Christmas trees. I am the type of person who puts up a real Christmas tree. Growing up we always had a real Christmas tree. However, I think that even if I didn't grow up with real Christmas trees that I would still be putting up a real tree every year. The allure of a fresh, vibrant evergreen festooned with Christmas bobbles is hard to resist. Not so with a fake tree. They have no heart, no song. A fake tree never stood beneath the stars, never sheltered birds from a storm, and never danced in the wind. There is no comparison between pulling plastic sticks out of a box and bringing a fragrant, lush tree in the front door. I love Christmas trees. They smell heavenly of sap and wild things and they bring a dramatic note of festivity to a home.

When I tell people how I feel about the real-verses-fake issue, the pro-fakes always note how messy a real tree is. They say that it drops needles all over the place. Yes it does, but that's okay. Life is messy sometimes. The second point made by pro-fakes is that by purchasing a a real tree that I am committing a major environmental sin. They think that by "killing" a tree my carbon footprint gets 2 sizes bigger. The truth is that purchasing a real Christmas tree is actually better for the environment than using a fake one. Christmas trees are a renewable resource. When a tree is cut down on a tree farm, another one is planted to replace it. Also, they don't require as much energy to manufacture, and they are biodegradable.  I know that buying a tree every year is more expensive, but to me it is so worth it.

This weekend Ryan and I are going to go cut down our tree. We go to a local place that has many acres and scour the entire lot trying to find just the right one. It's always freezing, but it's so much fun! When we get home we'll spend the day trimming the tree, eating pumpkin pie and drinking hot chocolate. What could be better?