| Many years ago I gave up buying cut Christmas | | | | one of the bought live trees) filled it half full of |
| trees. It seemed cruel to kill a tree just to bring it | | | | packing peanuts, cut a piece of cardboard, put it |
| into a house and decorate it for a few weeks. | | | | on top of the peanuts, then I filled a old angle |
| Besides I always ended up buying the 2 or 3 | | | | food cake pan (it has the tube up the middle) with |
| Charlie Brown trees, you know the ones, lopsided | | | | dirt. |
| or scraggly the ones no one will buy to take | | | | I filled around the cake pan with more peanuts, |
| home. | | | | then cut more cardboard and put a circle in the |
| For several years I bought live trees with roots | | | | middle over the tube and added another two |
| and big buckets of dirt. I planted these trees in | | | | inches of dirt over the cardboard. I then removed |
| the spring and they grew very well. But... | | | | the stand and slid the Christmas tree into the |
| 1. They are very expensive! At least for the 6 to | | | | tube. |
| 8-foot tall trees. | | | | Stable and alive looking, for only $12.88! |
| 2. They are very heavy. | | | | I was impressed. I decorated it. |
| 3. You still have some needle drop. | | | | A friend stopped by, she admired my tree then |
| 4. You must keep them watered and not too | | | | shook her head. "I thought you said no more live |
| warm. | | | | Christmas trees." |
| Then for several years I compromised and | | | | I kept my mouth shut. I did not lie and say it was |
| bought 3 or 4 live, 2 or 3-foot tall trees. These | | | | real or make an excuse I just did not say |
| trees will grow up to be very large trees and | | | | anything. I shuffled my feet and looked down. |
| while I had a very large yard and it was roomy | | | | You might say I lied by omission and/or by |
| enough for 18 large trees there came a year I | | | | misdirection. |
| planted the 18th tree. | | | | People, who know me, fully expect me to have |
| At that time the best looking artificial trees cost 2 | | | | live trees in my house. I studied the tree again. |
| or 3 hundred dollars and even with careful packing | | | | Packing and unpacking the artificial trees is what |
| and storage they looked terrible by the 7th | | | | destroys them. If I left this tree out all year no |
| Christmas. My second artificial tree, officially, died | | | | one would think it was artificial. Of course I would |
| this year when I unpacked it. | | | | have to remove the ornaments after Christmas |
| I went artificial Christmas tree hunting. | | | | and move it away from direct sunlight. And when |
| Pink, white, gold, tacky and tasteless. There were | | | | it gets dusty I will give it a gentle shower and |
| even Christmas trees already wired with lights. | | | | rinse away the dust. |
| Yuck! | | | | I started wondering about other holidays. With a |
| And then I turned the corner... there was the | | | | little effort on my part I can collect or devise |
| most perfect 3-foot tall, realest, artificial tree I | | | | ornaments for my tree for every holiday. A |
| have ever seen. | | | | week before the holiday decorate the tree and |
| Love at first sight! | | | | the day after the holiday remove the decorations. |
| $12.88!! I bought one and rushed home. | | | | Except Christmas, the whole month of December |
| Out of the box and its perfectly not perfect little | | | | my tree stays decorated. |
| limbs straightened here and there, it is beautiful. | | | | I had some many Christmas tree decorations |
| I studied it, if it was not for that ugly little stand | | | | that I divided them among family, friends, |
| you would have to be standing within 2 feet of | | | | neighbors and my tree. |
| the tree to realize it was not real. | | | | I plan on having a lot of year around fun with my |
| I took a real wide but squat tree planter (from | | | | tree. |