Friday, December 12, 2008

Oh, Christmas Tree

Last Saturday was designated as the the Official Day of Christmas Making. The Bestest Friend came over for cookies, eggnog and so much decorating that she would lose face if she admits she enjoyed it. I've struggled for 6 days now to get a good picture of my tree. There have been many obstacles. Obstacle #1 is the tree itself - I admit, it was a cheapy. In fact, I disliked it so much the very first time I put it together, that the next year I didn't even have a tree. I couldn't bring myself to buy another one, and I didn't want to decorate the one I had. This year, I pulled it out of the attic; it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - maybe it's seasoned? I still lost five tufts off of various fake branches. Obstacle #2: the top of the tree. It's not very sturdy, so anything weighing more than .02 ounces topples the thing over. I forgot about this and tried to put my star on top...and now the top of the tree is permanently crooked. Obstacle #3 : My photography skills. They are not great. I can get the lights to show up freakily bright (especially the blue), but they blind you and hide the rest of the tree. I can get the ornaments and every fake pine needle to show in amazing detail, but then it looks like there are no lights. So, here are a few extreme choices. Merge them together in your brain, take care of the lights (They're LEDs, and very bright and beautiful) and you'll have somewhat of an idea of my tree. Oh, you noticed the lack of an appropriately festive top to my tree? Not to worry. The Bestest Friend made the supreme sacrifice of going to Old Time Party and rectifying the situation for me before the week was out with a finial that is so light it could float away. And yet it STILL does this to my pansy-ass tree: The cats have also decided that they like the tree skirt. I have to admit, it is very thick and soft. And this year, it's captured their attention more than the ornaments. Although Sultan does have one branch he likes to attack on a daily basis. At least they're not chewing on the lights this year. Sultan: Lucius: SO, since we're here and all Christmasy, what else have I got here? We have an entertainment center: We have some bookcases: We have the cookbook bookcase: We have the Precious Moments display on yet another bookcase: We have another bookcase with a couple more nativity scenes: Did you see the craziness in that picture? Somehow, that bookcase has now become the home of The Bestest Friends least favorite of decorations. Separately, she calls them the Alien Reindeer (I remind her every year that they used to be my grandfather's, and were always displayed beneath his tree) and the Demon Doll. At a dinner party this week, Some forty-something males who shall remain nameless found them and put them together. The Professor has taken to moving this Christmas Miracle around the house: But to end this on a somewhat happier scene, this is probably my favorite part of the Christmas decorations. The Mama of all my nativity scenes: Now, I need some eggnog.