Trimmin' the Tree

Since we've been dating, Mike and I have gone to the same spot to purchase our Christmas tree. We go to someone's property (no, we are not trespassing...they have a SIGN), drive up their driveway, interrupt their family meal, give them $10, and then begin our trek through the trees to find the perfect one. Mike then saws it down, does a little trim work right there on the spot, and we load it into his "big rig" --my affectionate name for his man-truck.

Our first couple of Christmas tree adventures involved just Michael and me. Then Timber, our chocolate lab, was added to the mix. And this year, we made our first tree trek with a family of four: Michael, me, Drew and Timber. You can imagine the 25 minute ride to the tree farm. Timber sat in the front seat with us, while Drew relaxed (slept) in the back.

Usually the tree trek takes forever. My loving husband does not make snap decisions, and CERTAINLY not when there is money involved, albeit $10. Plus, he loves the search for the perfect tree. So after 20 minutes or so, I get annoyed with traipsing back and forth, and I wait until my final approval is needed. I watch Timber gallop gleefully all over the place, and I watch my husband make a mental note of the latitude and longitude of all the trees that are "possibilities."


With a baby in the mix, the tree trek changed just a bit. Drew suited up in his brown snow suit, we nick-named him "Ralphie," and Mike plopped him on a sled so we could pull him all around. He absolutely LOVED it, and didn't even cry when he accidentally tipped over into the snow before I could rescue him.

Along with the tree selection each year, comes decorating time. After Mike muscles the tree into our house, it is ALWAYS bigger than it appeared outdoors. The tree owners should post a sign "trees are much bigger than they appear out here." This year we had to cut two feet off the bottom after having scuffed up our (vaulted) ceiling. Oops. Once in the tree stand, it's time to decorate. Now, I appreciate the lovely Christmas trees that are all matchy-match or more grammatically correct: theme-based. I'm a matchy-match type of person as a general rule. But when it comes to decorating our tree, I am not only totally fine with the motley crew of tree ornaments, but I am exceedingly proud of the traditions and memories that they represent. We have sort of a his/hers/ours collection of ornaments. Many of Michael's ornaments represent his passions (outdoors, fishing, hunting), and we both have many ornaments from our childhoods. The "ours" ornaments include just a few--one that represents our first married Christmas together, one of a chocolate lab (to represent Timber, of course), and a couple of Baby's First Christmas ornaments.

My very favorite Christmas ornament is pictured above. This little house has been around as long as I can possibly remember...so it is probably at least 30 years old. EEK. As a child, it fascinated me that in order to make the ornament "work" you have to choose a special spot on the tree limb so you can put the light in the back and light up the house. I know, serious stuff here. Michael always makes sure that I get to hang that one. What a thoughtful husband...seriously.

A new tree-trimming tradition (don't you just love alliteration), that we have created together as a couple is the annual sipping of Blackstar Farms cherry dessert wine which we pick up during our October trip to the Leelanau peninsula. Last year I couldn't really sip due to being pregnant, but this year I was back in action! YUM!