Christmas at our house

It's finally feeling Christmassy for me these days. We had a terrific snowstorm today, the Christmas shopping and crafting is finally all but done, Mario Lanza is singing his own special brand of fire'n brimstone style Christmas songs, and Byron and I recently put up our Christmas 'tree'.  

As a kid, I'd always gone out with my family to pick a live tree and cut it down and then hang out drinking hot chocolate and not being able to feel our toes.  The tradition continued into adulthood. My sister and her family and I and my dad would go out tree hunting, and after I met Byron he too joined the brotherhood of tree hunters.  It officially stopped being fun when we realized a few years ago that not a single member of my sister's family could take a snowball  well. The highlight of this discovery was my brother in law Ray being a wet blanket about getting one in the back.  Anyway, we opted out of this arbicide last year, and decorated our cd rack instead.  This year we did the same, and it makes me giggle with glee every time I look at it.

I've gotten an  early Christmas present, I must've been good this year :)   Byron installed a light in our bathroom so that we can try to be better houseplant parents.  The plants are definitely responding well, although we seem to have also established a thriving fruitfly community :(

I've been thinking about how people are approaching Christmas this year, and I'm pleased that so many people believe Christmas doesn't need to equal spending lots of cash or giving stuff for the sake of having given stuff.   This Christmas cheer stuff, however is great--random acts of kindness, time spent, company enjoyed,  experiencing the wonders of the season. I'd rather have this all the time and have that be enough than get a bunch of stuff just because it's Christmas.

My plant light is 'stuff', I suppose, but more than that, it's going to allow me to keep gardening thoroughout the winter, and start my garden earlier in the spring, two things that I'm really looking forward to.   Thanks, Santa!