Christmas Magic . . . Again!

I was pretty excited about this year's Christmas tree. At first I thought it was just too much work and I may forego putting one up, but tradition took over. I told Steve when they were heading to the hills to find their perfect trees that I'd take whatever tree they brought back for me, that I wasn't fussy because I knew that Christmas Magic would prevail and no matter what you start with, the results would be wonderful. But when I saw the tree, I was just a tiny bit disappointed. It looked pretty skinny with short stickery needles--needles is the perfect name for those pointy little daggers! Everything about the tree was painful! It's trunk had a definite bend about a foot from the bottom. I did have one positive thought . . . "The ornaments will hang nicely in all that empty space!" So one day I got out the saw and hacked off the bottom about 1 1/2 feet, got it into the stand and secured with little wood wedges (just like I've seen Pete and Ryan do). Since it was so skinny I thought I could handle it alone this year. So I hauled it into the living room, got it situated in it's place of Christmas honor, poured in the water . . . and waited. I shampooed the living room carpet and did some deep cleaning and about a week later I found enough energy to start decorating. I soon discovered that I would need gloves and a long sleeved jacket to complete the task. I couldn't find my leather gloves and the cloth ones didn't help a whole lot. My fingers are still sore from all the needle pricks. It was brutal. Only sheer determination to transform the little spruce kept me going. And when I finally finished Saturday evening and turned on the lights, the Magic had happened once again. It is the BEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE WE'VE EVER HAD!!!!! I love it. I decorated the rest of the house between bouts with the spruce, giving my hands a chance to rest from the self-inflicted torture. I am now ready for the holidays and hopefully LOTS OF VISITORS!

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR . . . HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!