Life Imitating Art

So we had a dilemma. One we were able to avoid last year because we spent the holidays in Utah. The problem: our fake tree does not fit in our old, lower-ceilinged house. Having grown up with a real tree, I already have a few problems with owning an artificial tree, so the thought of buying a second fake tree was an issue. Well, we started a new New York tradition thanks to the suggestion from a friend. We visited a local tree farm and cut our own tree. (There are definite perks to living out in the country.)

Perhaps waiting until the 17th is cutting it a little close, but we wanted to wait until Randal came home from his looooong trip. We picked him up from the airport and headed to the tree farm, hoping to make it there before the sun went down.

We made it. We had a great time. And now we have a beautiful, yet sorta ugly (perfect, tree symmetry is argualbly an advantage with the fakies) living tree.

Fun fact: John, from the tree farm, told us it takes 14 years to grow a tree this tall. They plant 2500 trees every year and sell about 800.

-

The thought occured to me. Our little excursion was, in fact, a case of life imitating art. Last year, Randal's parents gave us this picture for Christmas:

Because the children looked so much like Ethan and Addie they thought it was the perfect gift to commemorate our first Christmas in the New England area. We love it. Now the picture seems even more fitting.

I wonder if the three-year-old girl in the painting screamed and yelled at her older brother to let her pull the heavy tree, "all by myself!" too. Because ours did.

Now we have our dad back and everything is right with the world again. We hope you're having a very, merry Christmas whether it be fake or real.

-

PS--I posted very little while Randal was away. I'm still not sure why that is, but I will soon make amends. Both my mom and my dad came to visit. I have the best parents in the world and have alot to say about the time we spent with them. Stay tuned.

R&R (Rest and Renovation)

As I said, Randal has been gone for quite some time. He did fly home for a whirlwind Thanksgiving weekend. And this was the aftermath:


Yes, that is our first floor ceiling.
Yes, that is Randal's foot.
And no, we were not planning on remodeling that part of the house. It just happened.

Catch-Up

Only one post in all of November. Shameful. Well, I'm back from my self-imposed exile.

There's two reasons for the absence.

First, Randal has been gone for six weeks. And in the meantime the kids and I have been hybernating.

But mostly: I hate Internet Explorer.

Something really wonky is going on with our computer. Firefox isn't working. The computer keeps freezing. And so one month later, I find myself out of the habit.

If I'm honest, there is a third reason. I think the honeymoon phase with my blog is now over. I need to redefine our relationship.