And, the Holiday Season Starts...

[kristensk]

Well, it was a quiet but good Thanksgiving weekend. Food was eaten, leftovers are still being eaten, and I signed up to participate in both fandom_stocking and the fmagiftexchange. Hopefully, that wasn't a bad idea.

Also, Seeker helped me pick up a Christmas tree. It's a Douglas fir this year, the first one we've ever had. Not as pretty as a scotch pine, but it smells nice. With shipping prices sky-rocketing, there will be no ordering a lovely, fresh-cut scotch pine from Michigan this year. But, it's all good so long as the tree doesn't dry out too quickly. No one wants a repeat of the exploding Christmas tree. Pine needles everywhere. Plus a cat stampede. ...You had to be there.

Comments

[jordannamorgan]

My parents and I always favored white pines, with their long, fine needles. They became a lot harder to find and more expensive over the years, though. (And the last few years, what with... everything... my mother and I have done no Christmas decorating at all.)

Good luck with the holiday fic exchanges. With fandom_stocking and insmallpackages, I'm going to need the same myself. ;Þ

[kristensk]

--My parents and I always favored white pines, with their long, fine needles.--

That's what my family had for years and years. But, the last few we bought had been cut so early they became droopy before Christmas, and it was hard to hang ornaments on them. So, when we saw the much stiffer scotch pine on the lot one year, we tried it. It stayed bright green and stiff for the entire season. Unfortunately, it was also cut early and, while it didn't droop, it became brittle. To get it out of the house, my brother and I had to handle it with gloves so it wouldn't cut our hands to pieces. And, as we started out the door with it, there was a horrible cracking, snapping sound... Because it was a very round tree that had bent nicely coming in. But, going out? Going out it became the exploding Christmas tree. You couldn't see the floor for the pine needles. We found bits of that tree crammed into the baseboards, hiding in the carpet, and clinging to the drapes for months afterward.

That's when we started ordering trees from farms in Michigan where they cut the trees to order and ship them. Some of the last few were trimmed rather sloppily, but they were definitely fresh.

And, thanks for the well wishes! I hope your efforts go well too.

[jordannamorgan]

Oh, yes, I remember having a tree like that one year when we just couldn't find white pines at all. I'll bet that was a scotch pine, too.

You wouldn't think it in Florida, but we actually have Christmas tree farms down here. Sometimes you can see them alongside the interstates in rural areas. Many of them even let people come out and choose their own tree, with accompanying holiday attractions for the kids. I'm not sure what types they grow, though. *curious, looks it up* Huh. On closer view, ours look a bit more... scrubby than the traditional northern varieties.

[kristensk]

Ooooo! I like your Florida trees! They're much prettier than the fraser firs that have taken over here. (Another reason for resorting to out of state ordering.)

[jordannamorgan]

I've never been fond of fraser firs. I always think of them as Charlie Brown Christmas trees. :Þ