With all the Christmas Change talk around here, Andrew and I are saving our pennies for our favorite charity and also for our upcoming adoption. Which means that plunking down 80 bucks for a live evergreen Christmas tree wasn’t happening this year. In ye olden days, Andrew’s family would cut trees off the side of the road by cover of darkness. But since all we can find on the side of the road here is cedar and I’m allergic to cedar, another option had to be found.
I remembered seeing lots of catalogs with pictures of bare hardwoods decorated for Christmas and thought maybe I’d like that. So, with my first deadline looming for a Christmas Change article, I needed a picture of our Christmas Change in action.
Which means we needed to take a hike. I can’t tell you exactly where we got the tree, because then you’d have to report us, but we had a lovely family outing. Except for the part where I fell in a hole with a baby on my back. Or when Ellen got tired and didn’t want to climb down the big hill any more.
And then there was the trudging back through our suburban neighborhood with a 16 foot maple and five kids, trying to remain inconspicuous.
“Stay on the sidewalk, kids. Watch out for Daddy’s branches!”
And then, we saw a very sweet neighbor who is fascinated by our adoption process. And always wants to talk to us about it. And since we’re rather fascinated with adoption, too, we’re always happy to chat. The problem is, this sweet lady weighs about 80 pounds soaking wet and the golden retriever she was “walking” is bigger than that.
Ellen and Adam are petrified of that dog.
The dog got a good look at the kids and hauled his tiny owner in our direction. She swore he wouldn’t hurt anybody, but it was hard to remain calm when the kids took up screaming and it was obvious she was the one being dragged. She peppered her yelling at the dog with questions to us about the adoption process. We tried to stand there and make nice while the kids screamed, the dog pulled, and Andrew wrestled a giant tree.
That dear sweet lady never made mention of that blessed tree.
Probably didn’t want to be part of whatever felony we may or may not have committed.
When we got home, Andrew hauled the tree in the front door and into our tree stand. It was then we realized just how tall our little sapling was.
It’s a good thing we’ve got that ridiculously high ceiling in the living room. The kids danced around excitedly while Andrew and I sat and stared at each other. Well… Now what do we do?…
Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you what we did.
11.22.2009
Because I know you will know what I am talking about, I won’t feel guilty in leaving this ambiguous comment.
You are enjoying this.
Great tree, Charlie!
11.22.2009
hahaha, i can’t wait to see and hear more. wish we were there to take pics of that process=)
11.23.2009
OK, I can’t wait to see how this turns out! I’m having trouble envisioning it. My husband hates real trees and I hate fakes. We used to take turns, but now we pretty much just use the fake tree every year. It’s cheaper like you said and less messy which I can get into!
11.23.2009
way to live life on the edge! love it! great idea! we won’t be home for Christmas so we are trying to figure out ways to save money and still “decorate”. looks like great fun! ((hugs))jen in al
11.23.2009
I’ve never seen a bare tree for Christmas before. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with it. I think the tree looks kinda Seuss-ish
11.23.2009
Love it! I’m so intrigued I may take up the same chant for bare hardwood in our home. Utterly interested!
11.23.2009
Oh this is good. Fascinating. I can’t wait to see what you did!!
11.23.2009
LOVE THIS!
and i KNOW it isn’t funny, but i cracked up at the falling in a hold and ellen getting tired. only because it could totally be us.
11.23.2009
I love it…
It is like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree on steroids!
I can’t wait to see how it looks decorated. Blog stalking will take place daily, so hurry…LOL!
11.23.2009
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12.3.2009
Followed you over from your comment on Sorta Crunchy’s Babes in Toyland post and am so glad I did! I love the thoughtfulness behind choosing this tree and the desire to save money for things that matter most! Beautiful, really…it all it’s barren glory!