Our Christmas tree makes its home in our dining room, which has a 10-foot ceiling. 10-foot ceilings, in my opinion, cry out for tall Christmas trees. Tall Christmas trees are at least 7 feet tall. Our tree is about 3 feet tall. And that’s on a good day.
Witness the scene:
It’s not that we’re Scrooges, it’s just that we went on a little shopping spree in Jacksonville on the day we had planned to buy our tree and decorate our house, and after said shopping spree, the budget was significantly less … friendly towards a large and costly tree (but I did get some killer shoes and great pants). Those big trees cost big bucks, folks.
This little fella was free. And our budget loves free.
It’s a leftover remnant from my single-and-living-in-an-apartment days, when there was much less square footage to fill and the ceilings were much lower. But, nevertheless, it works. It still says Christmas, albeit in a more subdued (and less fragrant) kind of way.
The varied ornaments that we have collected over the years looked rather skimpy on last year’s gorgeous 8-foot tree but managed to fill every single branch and spare inch of this little tree. And last year we ran out of lights and had to make a Target run mid-light stringing. Not so much this year. Our little tree is lit up like the Fourth of July with just one little strand (wrapped around, oh, about seventy-seven times or so).
But I think it’s kind of festive, especially with the gifts. And yes, I’m a one wrapping paper roll per year kind of gal. The red paper is circa 2008, and the green paper is what remains of 2007’s roll (maybe even 2006’s). I could use a tutorial on how to tie a pretty bow out of real ribbon, but then that would require spending money on ribbon, and I just don’t know if I’m ready to go there yet.
Next year, I’m sure, we’ll bring O Christmas Tree back in all its mighty glory, but until then, Stumpy will have to do.
Eat your heart out, Charlie Brown.
I’m still working on getting all of our pictures from Las Vegas ready for the bog, but in the meantime, I’ve started a brand-new blog! I’m not leaving this one, but I’ve started one just for recipes! I TRY to do my share of cooking, and my pantry and countertops can attest to the number of cookbooks and Southern Living magazines that I accumulate in my attempst to find good recipes. Thus, my recipe blog was born, and I’ve already got a post on it! Granted, I am not the type of person who makes up her own recipes (I am way too type-A for that), but I am great at following other people’s. 
So, head on over to whatkarascookin.blogspot.com (there’s a link in the sidebar, too). I’m always open to new recipes, so please send some my way you’ve got good ones (no recipes for yucky food, please).
