What's up with that tree????

I am going to guesstimate that the year was, oh I'd say 1978 or so... but anyway, what's up with that tree??? It looks like it's about to fly away. I don't know where we got this one from, but those bottom limbs are too much. Oh well, it left plenty of room for presents to go underneath. Somebody did a good job on the tinsel, however. Also, it looks like sports/workout wear was really in that year along with curly perms and feathered hair!

Let's start a new countdown shall we, how about ... Days until Christmas? ......... 26!

ChristmasTree 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!

365 days in the making, waiting for the appointed time, and now the countdown to Christmas Tree 2009 is over. Again this year, it's a masterpiece. We trucked it out to Okatie, SC to our favorite tree farm and tromped the field for about a half hour before finding our tree. From in the house to finished decorating took about 7 hours. To be honest, I got real tired out and left about 1/3 of our ornaments in the boxes. This year's tree is bigger, maybe better than the last two years. The addition of two new boxes of old lead icicles really helped finish it off. Thanks Stan for helping me cut the trunk again when we got home... if anyone needs a gift idea for us... a sharp new saw would be the trick. Enjoy the pics and some more commentary below.

Here is the tree just in the house after the traditional and soul-tyring struggle with the stand. Yeah, it looks a bit wonky now, but I love a tree-challenge, we are much preferring the natural look from the self-chopped tree.

Coming up in this month's blog... some more great pics of Christmases past. Thanks for stopping in. Terry.

7 hours later, and all the finishing touches are in place, except the tree skirt, I notice now. What a great effect the old icicles give the tree.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like shredded lead hanging on pine branches!

Happy Thanksgiving! 11-26-09

Here is a great tree I decorated back in my seminary days... early '90's... Mother posing with the tree with her super long '90's hair. Yes, that is snow outside the window. This was taken in the last week of December, the DC area got a huge amount of snow that year, a few days after Christmas.

The tree was a Fraser Fir, from a nursery in MD. The decorations, mostly glass ornaments from years and years built up in the seminary house's attic... it all made a lovely tree.

It's Thanksgiving Day 2009. Hope everyone has a great day with family and friends and hope and pray that all people today have enough to eat, and that hunger will become a thing of the past, nourish your body, and nourish your spirit on this day that we are all most grateful for.

And... since the turkey day is here, that means that our going to get our tree day is even closer. Days til we get our tree.........2!

Nov. 24,2009

Goose Feathers!? yes, these old trees, the first of the artificial trees around. made of delicate yet rigid pin feathers of geese. The feather trees were the ultimate in displays for hanging the most select ornaments. Though the true feather trees are hard to come by these days, some can be found in antique stores or on web-bid sites like e-"you know". But, if you do find one and want to buy it, be prepared to pay extraordinary prices for them. The picture here from the '30's is unusual in that the tree is rather large. The true feather trees I have seen in person are quite small, table top sizes. There are substitutes out there, same shape and size, but made with pvc tree material like the standard artificial trees today.

Days til we go get our tree.................. 5!

Sunday Nov. 22, 2009

In just a week the house and halls will be decked-out for the Christmas celebration. The tree pictured here came from a site on the Internet. It's a great tree, the kind I like with long wide spaced branches, plenty of room for the handing ornaments and icicles.

I don't think we will find this sort of tree in our area, at our local Christmas tree farm. But, I am confident that we will find the right tree for us. For the past two years we have selected and cut a Virginia pine. The needles are long, about 3", and the foliage is a dark green with a blue tint. If you have ever seen the movie "A Christmas Story"... who hasn't? Our trees look pretty much like that tree that Ralphie and his family choose from the tree lot. That's the kind of look I have been going for in my trees recently. I like the vintage look of the Christmas trees from the late '30's and the '40's. I use the big C7 ceramic lights, some thin tinsel garland, and lots of lead icicles. However, unlike Ralphie's family, we don't wait until Christmas eve to decorate the tree... yep, we are all about getting things started the Sat. or Sunday after Thanksgiving. When a time is so wonderful and happy as Christmas comes just once a year, I say, why not enjoy it as long as possible. Happy Sunday everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving!

The picture here to the left is another great decorated tree from my childhood home. This one is another of the perfectly shaped and fragrant Fraser Firs. Mother uses a pearl bead garland on her trees that really gives it an elegant and traditional look. And, in this pic, it looks like Santa has already made his visit.

Days til we go get our tree ................... 6!

November 20, 2009 In the Pines

So, a pine tree may not be the ideal tree you think of for a Christmas tree. Fir trees are the standard these days... as they are readily available and shipped in from NC and VA. However, before the advent of the massive home store retailers and nursery/greenhouses offering trees for sale, most people had to go out and cut one down, so, it goes to reason that you cut down what was available in your local area. For instance, when Mother was growing up they always had a pine tree, not sure of the variety, but my grandfather went out into the marshy woods along side the swampy Savannah River. From what I hear, he set out with an axe and came back with a Christmas tree, home/locally grown, natural, and free. From this pics, these naturally grown pines can offer some difficult decorating challenges... few branches, long and up swept branches, extremely long needles, and often crocked trunks. All these things might give us pause these days when decorating. But, when having a tree in the house for the holidays, really does it matter if it's not perfectly shaped and grown on a picturesque snowy hillside in Virginia? No, these days, I am for "the homey-er, the better" look in a tree, and accept the decorating challenges. It makes me feel like I am being a part of the past when we go out and cut down our pine tree. It's one of the ways that Christmas has become more of a special time of the year for us. Again, I am going to post the picture from my mother's childhood home in Port Wentworth, back in 1950, one of those pine trees that Granddaddy cut down with his axe from the woods aside the Savannah River.

Days til we go get our tree............. 8!

The Trees Are Here! Nov. 18, 2009

Just can't believe how fast the holidays seem to be coming this year. The fresh cut trees at the lots appeared today in our area. With the warm weather, I hope they last and stay as fresh as possible.

All of the tree-lot trees in our area are the ever-popular Fraser Firs, making the trip down from North Carolina. The pic here is of a Fraser Fir, at Mother's house, I am going to say in the mid to late '80's. We thought we had arrived when you could get the fragrance of a Balsam with the near perfect and full shape of the Fraser Fir all in one tree.

Now my tastes have turned to a more traditional look in a Christmas tree, so I am not preferring theses bushy trees anymore... not enough open space for the ornaments to hang properly, in my opinion.

That popcorn garland on the tree pictured here is real. It takes a lot of popcorn and lots of patience. Note to the brave who will take on this task.... you can't string popcorn that has been popped in oil, it must be dry popped! It's simply impossible to string the oily buttered popcorn. But, once done it adds the most amazing smell when combined with the fresh tree. Try it if you dare.

Days until we go get our tree...10!