Our tree is up, although I have
my doubts as too how long it
will stay standing, since the
Boo is fascinated by the
scents and smells coming
from it.
He decided to give it a sniff
and then tried to climb into
the top of the tree from
the couch. Good thing he
was sleepy and gave up
quickly.
It’s our first tree, in our first house, and although it’s not a huge tree, it’s ginormous in our hearts.
No more sneaking in the cut tree through the ground floor patio door, in the dark and the rain. When we lived in the condo we were only allowed to have artificial trees, [fake baby, fake], and as much as I am not a rule breaker, I needed a real Christmas tree in my life.
So we would shut the sheers and hope that no one walking by noticed the aroma of fresh cut greens coming from our hallway door.
After the holidays out came the tarps, and the pruning saws, as we chopped branches into little pieces and stuffed them into black plastic bags.
You have not celebrated Christmas until you stuff your normally 6 foot tree into a 10 black plastic bags and haul it out bit by bit to the dumpster. Crossing your fingers so that no dumpster diver decides to see what that lumpy black bag might hold and break it open.
That’s if there was room in the dumpster, there were years we had to portion out the bags over a few weeks because the dumpster was too full. I would know that we had hit the mother lode of a empty dumpster when my husband ran into the condo, whooping with joy, “get the bags” he would say….
Oh Christmas tree, we love you even more now because we can take you to the curb.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
A DAY OF BLOGGING SILENCE:
On Tuesday December 18th please consider posting only the graphic provided through this link in silence and support for Sandy Hook, bloggers all over the world will be silent that day, please spread the word among your blogging friends so they can participate also if they wish.
If you would like to donate to the The Newtown Family Youth and Family Services, you can follow this link to their site, all money donated will go directly to those affected by the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.
What a great post. Enjoy your first Christmas tree in your first home. Cherish all of your memories past and ones daily made.
ReplyDeleteLove ~ FlowerLady Lorraine
I love your tree/ornaments. How very special to be able to thoroughly enjoy it in your dream home. Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas, Jen.
ReplyDeleteJen your newly made ornaments look so lovely on your tree. I love the pictures of the snowfall along your roads in the previous posting. So lovely to look at.
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, you rebel you! I never ever would have thought you would do this and yet I know there is a quirky little bit of rebel in there all along! I LOVE IT! We are not allowed real trees , and hints as to how I can sneak one up nine flights of stairs or the elevator, greatly appreciated, you made my day! You truly have!
ReplyDeleteChuckling at your story of how you disposed of your tree in the condo. Now you are in your house you can just drag it outside and prop it up somewhere so the birds have someplace to hide.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep your tips so if in the future I need to sneak a tree OUT~! lol..
ReplyDeleteyou have the best sense of humor.
I hope its ok to use your Silence post on my blog..
you stated it so well..
I can smell the sweet pine already. Sadly I went to a fake tree years ago because the real trees dried out so quickly and became a fire hazard and very messy, but I always tell myself that at any time I can up a real tree, and I just might some day.
ReplyDeleteI have been so busy with school work that I have not been keeping up with my posting, but I did want to comment on your candle post. We had a fire in our house when my daughter went to sleep with candles burning in her basement bedroom. One melted down and caught the top of her dresser on fire. Had she not been awakened seriously by divine intervention, we all would have died. Our bedroom was was on the 3rd floor. She came and woke us up telling us that there was a fire in her room. My husband was able to extinguish the fire which only damaged the dresser, but the house had smoke damage through out. Ironically, one the volunteer firemen who came to put out our fire, had his house nearly destroyed a month later by a candle while he fought another fire a few blocks from his own home. I like your electronic candles. They look real and are so much safer.
Ooh, love it... that is, I mean the rebel rider in you! Love your black bag story and seriously love your homemade decorations on your legal tree! Lovely pics. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteReally fine, Jen. First year, first Christmas, first guilt free tree all with your loving creativity shining through . . . you have definitely captured the magic. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteWe put our tree up early this year and the poor thing is already drying out. *sigh* I hope it hangs in there for at least another week.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly enough, neither our cat, nor our dog, are all that interested in the tree. Luna, our cat, will sit under it. I think she likes the smell.
Congratulations on your first real tree in your new home. How wonderful. Loved the story of sneaking the tree in AND out! xo Diana
ReplyDeleteutterly mystified!! Why would 'they' say you can't have an actual tree?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was on the farm as a kid we always had a real tree for Christmas Then when I moved to town it was fake for some time then we moved here in the country valley village and as of next year we will be having a real tree again as Papa will be making ornaments for the tree in his work shop come the new year ! Your tree looks lovely ! Yes a horrible tragedy my heart and prayers go out for all !
ReplyDeleteOh Jen, you are right, there is nothing like a real tree. We don't have one this year and it's just like something is missing. I loved your story about your "illegal" tree, too funny, and kind of puzzling as to why you couldn't have one. What a rebel!
ReplyDeleteIn respect to the silent Tuesday in blogland, I think this is a wonderful expression of solidarity and respect for all who lost their lives or lost a precious loved one at Sandy Hook. Thank you for sharing the information.
Ann
Great post! I can just see you sneaking the tree in and out of the condo! So funny! I love your tree. Tell Boo that I said to behave. As one of my dogs spilled a whole box of cereal down the basement stairs today. :( Brat. But we have to love them...don't we.
ReplyDeleteLove real trees, too. Our first Christmas I insisted we have a real tree. Well, neither one of us had bought a tree before and bought one way to big for our stand. We lived in an apartment. The tree kept falling over, soooooooo we lined the stand feet with the cracks in the wood floor and nailed the stand to the floor. Problem solved. I would never do something like that now. How dumb we were. But we loved that tree.
ReplyDeleteYour is beautiful.
I love the smell of real Christmas trees though have opted for the fake one for many many years. That way I can put up my tree real early! ;)
ReplyDeletexo Catherine
And your tree looks beautiful by the way! :)
ReplyDeleteJen, that is too funny! At least this year you can really enjoy your large live tree as long as you want and Boo doesn't climb it! Thanks for the tip for Tuesday. Blessings, Pamela
ReplyDeleteHa! Love the description of how to get rid of a real tree. So funny.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad you have a real tree this year. There's nothing like it for the scent and atmosphere.
We have artificial tree, a small one. Though I have not put it up for a couple of years. Great shots!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun story about your Christmas trees of the past. And I can see why you would be thrilled about your new freedoms this year! Thank you for sharing the notice about the day of silence. I wasn't aware of it, but will certainly honor it.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like something I would do. I went to an artificial tree years ago when I became a single mom and have had one since. I do miss having a live tree, so maybe next year, since I am starting over I will get one again.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Laura
That's a lovely tree - and your decorations are superb!
ReplyDeleteI can see why you appreciate this year's tree so much! Even if Boo ends up as the "angel" on top, you'll still love it.
ReplyDeleteYour ornaments look so pretty..glad you can have a real tree! I hope you will decorate it with cranberries and popcorn for the birds after Christmas:)
ReplyDeleteJen I love your closeups of the tree and your story of having this lovely tree every year despite the hurdles...I really want to thank you for bringing the day of silence to my attention. As an educator my heart has been broken with the shooting...it helped a lot and I was able to join in. :)
ReplyDelete