Only three weeks to Christmas, and although I've done absolutely no holiday shopping so far Andrew and I did go pick out and decorate our tree yesterday. After a half-hour drive to the empty area between Manassas, Centreville, and Chantilly, we arrived at the Ticonderoga Christmas tree farm. If we'd been after a ceiling-high tree we'd have been out of luck; it seemed like half the DC area had gotten there first and ravaged the field of all but the littlest trees and a few lumpy, lop-sided giants. Fortunately, a little tree is exactly what we wanted, one that only required a single string of lights and no more than the twelve ornaments I stole from my parents or made myself. Armed with a handsaw, bamboo measuring stick, hot cider, and Andrew's Sunkist (nectar of the gods), the two intrepid explorers set out across the field to find the perfect tree.
We ended up finding two perfect trees, a scotch pine and a Virginia fir. Both were the perfect size, both had a lovely compact cone shape, and both lacked gaping holes or bare spots. Talk about first-world problems - which perfect, adorable Christmas tree should we take home? It took us about fifteen minutes and three trips back and forth to look at each tree "one more time," but we decided on the scotch pine. We took turns chopping it down with the handsaw (Andrew did most of the work), and then we loaded it into the back seat of the car.
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| Holding the tree aloft like Link showing off a new item | |
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After a quick trip to Walmart for a tree stand and a few other odds and ends, we brought the tree home for Domino's inspection.
She approved, so we started the very quick process of lighting and ornamenting a four-foot tree.
Love Actually is the perfect background movie for tree-trimming. I could feel Karl in the room with me as we put on the ornaments.
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| Merry Christmas! |
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And behold! Our beautiful tiny Christmas tree. Stay tuned for another post on homemade ornaments and decorations!
