Josh has always been opposed to fake Christmas trees, but we've had one for several years because I like putting it up right after Thanksgiving and taking it down just before New Year's, and real trees just don't make it that long, at least not with my not-so-green thumb. I've always sprayed some pine scent around the room and called it good. But this year I indulged Josh, and he and Chloe bought a $5 tree permit and made the journey up the mountain to bring home a hand-picked, hand-hewn tree. Strike that - not a tree exactly... more like a large, flexible branch. Hand-hewn? Not so much... my guess is it snapped pretty easily at the base with just a good, hard tug. But it smelled great, and Chloe was excited about it, so I was a good sport... pulled out all the ornament & light boxes, figured we could fill in a bit of those sparse areas with some fancy ribbons. Unfortunately this little sapling was just not made for ornaments, as we found it lying on the floor the first morning, exhausted from the weight of the glass angels and paper Santas. So we stripped all the ornaments off and enjoyed the simplest tree we've ever had. It definitely had character. Maybe we'll meet in the middle and try one of those Christmas tree farms next year...
