December 6, 2009

Only 19 days until Christmas. Most importantly - only 14 more days of work this year. The best way to describe our past week for both of us, is work, work, work, and more work. Jo was in New York all week with days full of meetings and evenings full of dinners and meetings. She was very busy and came home tired and ready for some rest. Unfortunately, she pulled a muscle in her back during her Saturday work out so there hasn't been the rest she was hoping for.

The more fun portion of the week has been decorating the house for Christmas. The weather cooperated yesterday as it was raining or drizzling all day so it made it the perfect day to stay inside, put on some Christmas songs, and trim the tree. So first we had to get the tree. We decided this year to try something new and use a tree on our property. As you might imagine we didn't have a perfectly shaped and sized pine tree, but we figured out we could cut down a bigger tree and only use the top. It is the one in the middle in the top photo. So out came the chain saw and off we went. The first part started out fun with the tree falling the wrong way - despite my planful cuts - and landing up on top of me. No harm, but having a 20 feet tree on top of you isn't the best way to start the day. Naturally, it meant that Jo needed to strain her back some more to help me get out. We then lopped off the top and brought it inside (middle photo). This is where we discovered the advantages of trees raised at a Christmas tree farm. The tend to more compact, denser branches, and perfectly trimmed. After trimming and moving the tree around we managed to get it to fit in the space we had and then it was off to the official tree trimming. Most of the ornament hanging consists of us reminiscing about where we had purchased the various ornaments. A great time to reflect back on family, friends, and trips we had taken. We got to enjoy our first CT snowfall during the evening to make the tree trimming even more special - although no accumulation at all. Needless to say, we both went to bed tired but happy with our homegrown tree.

Sunday dawned bright but cold. After a morning run and yoga we finished the last bit of decorating the tree and made a batch of Christmas cookies. The rest of the day has some naps and reading on tap. Also, need to do a little bit of planning for Christmas gifts.