Mosaic Monday #110: Holiday Hijinks

Hello all - #1 Daughter and The Boyfriend arrived on December 12, and it has been non-stop fun.  

The festivities began with cutting down the Christmas tree.  A couple of weeks ago, #1 Son had assisted in tramping around our acreage and down-selecting to five potential candidates.  Each one was marked with a blue tag.  The whole family reviewed the five; it was fairly unanimous that Tree #2 was the best - no bare spots, even all the way around, a nice shape, a good height.

Spousal Unit crept under the boughs and commenced sawing.  Within minutes, the tree fell softly onto the snow below.  #1 Son and The Boyfriend were the obvious choices to carry the tree the quarter of a mile back to the house.

The tree filled the entryway overnight, the tarps underneath catching any melting snow.  Monty the Moose performed his own quality check - only the best tree will do!

While the boys wrestled the tree into the house, #1 Daughter and I fed the hungry birds.  She knew that the chickadees (and sometimes the nuthatches) come to my hand for sunflower seeds, and I wanted her to experience it for herself.  Below is a video with the flying hordes.  I had to laugh a few times, when they landed on my hand as it held the camera!!!  

Decorating the tree consumed most of the next day.  It began with getting the tree into the stand, purpose-built a couple of years ago by Spousal Unit.  With the height and weight of the tree, combined with trying to ensure it is straight, it takes a team!  We normally manage it with three people, but having more hands on deck was immensely helpful!

As we stood back to examine our work, #1 Son suddenly reached forward to catch the tree, which had begun to fall.  Oh my!  Disaster averted!  We had placed some wood blocks under the stump in order to avoid cutting off some of the lower branches, and it simply was not a stable foundation.  So out came the blocks, off came the lower limbs - we observed the tree for some moments and it didn't even wiggle - whew.

Next came the lights, which require a 10-foot ladder to access the top.  We were blessed to have several people comfortable with climbing ladders!   

Traditional Christmas music from our vintage stereo filled the airwaves as we carefully placed the ornaments.  We always enjoy reminiscing about the history of certain ornaments, and this was particularly relevant this year with The Boyfriend part of the process for the first time.  #1 Daughter decorated most of the top of the tree; it was beneficial that this specimen was narrower than in years past so that the ladder could stand closer to the tree.  She was even able to place the angel without the aid of the marshmallow skewer!

(We decided to secure the tree with some thin rope connected the light fixtures on the wall.  It has a slight amount of slack in it, so we can tell if the tree is leaning.  So far?  So good.)  Here is the finished product!  We do believe this is our favorite tree of the three that have graced the house thus far.

Our time together has also included euchre (a card game), board games, jigsaw puzzles, walking in the snow, watching football, movies and more.  One night we made sushi.  I think there is something very bonding about group cooking.

My only trace of sadness is that we are already halfway through their visit!

Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating the season!

Mosaic Monday

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