Trimming The Tree--Day One

Does this look like four-to-eight inches of snow? No, it didn't look like that to me, either. Yet even on this morning's local news, the forecasters were still calling for considerable snow on the Homer bluffs.

Oh well. As we frequently say at work: the forecast is only one amendment away from being right.

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I vacuumed the floors last night, so today was the day to put up the tree.

I hauled the big box out of the attic and downstairs, pondering all the while the mystery of how a tree that comes snugly packed in a shipping box never quite fits back in that same box ever again.

I know purists cling to their real trees. They are traditional. But there are a variety of reasons I prefer the artificial tree. The big one is my fear of a house fire. Even a well-watered tree is a fire hazard in our dry winter air. And a real tree is like catnip to our many fine cats, who would love it to death. Finally, there is the green reason. I can't see my way clear to kill a tree just to have it in the house for a few weeks. Our forests have taken a serious hit from spruce bark beetles and we treasure every living tree on our property. Let them live and grow.

I love our pre-lit tree. So convenient and compact. What it lacks in authenticity can be concealed with my decorating philosophy--throw eveything you have on it. If you load it down, no one will notice the slight resemblance to a bottle brush.

Even naked, it don't look too bad...



The first thing I do is put on the beaded garlands. I weave some of the garlands close to the trunk to give some density to the tree and to camoflage the wiring. I fell in love with bead garlands a couple years ago. They are practical for our tree because they add color and glitter without being fragile--so they can stand up to abuse by the cats.



It looks almost ready just as it is now but the next step will be to put on the ornaments.