Life is One Beautiful Trip
Our family tradition has always been to put up a live tree. Over the years, we've bought trees on street corners or cut them down ourselves. Going to get the tree is a pilgrimage and brings back some of the happiest memories of my life.
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| Precious memories of Darryl, Strathmeyer Farms, York, Pennysylvania. |
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| He brought me along for the muscle. |
When I was 14, it was so bitter cold in December, that my parents gave me my Christmas present early. A pair of Acme Dingo boots to keep my feet warm while we were hunting for our Christmas tree. We weren't traipsing through the woods, looking for the perfect tree to cut down. We lived in Baltimore City, so "hunting" meant driving around town, slowing down to see what the parking lot entrepreneurs had to offer. We found the perfect tree at the busy intersection of Joppa Road and Satyr Hill – a cedar tree. We bought it from a fella from North Carolina, who had stuffed as many trees as he could fit into the back of his pick up, and driven north to Maryland. I still have those boots.
This year, I must be feeling a little sentimental, because I've decorated the house with 7 trees, starting with the live blue spruce in the living room.
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| My parents' and grandparents' ornaments adorn this tree and date back to 1927. |
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This year, the Carolinas were hard hit with hurricanes and the tree farmers are having a tough time of it, so it was particularly important to me to support them. No big box store tree for me. Driving into town last week I saw just the sign I was looking for. A family farm, selling trees in the parking lot of the barbecue joint.
It was an atypical cold day here in Charleston (I had to wear actual shoes instead of flip flops), so it made the Christmas tree hunting feel appropriately seasonal. There were some storm-stunted, Charlie Brown trees on that lot for sure. I felt almost like I should rescue them. Then I spotted this short, chubby little beauty. A blue spruce. My mother loved blue spruce. And the price was embarrassingly low. Should I tell the farmer she really needs to charge more?
She looks lovely in the picture above, doesn't she? She's a needle dropper though, and positively the ouchiest tree I have ever decorated in my life. By the time I finished decorating her, I felt like I'd stuck my arm in a crate full of feral cats. Now I know why she was such a bargain.
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It always makes me sad to take down the Christmas tree, so 4 years ago,
I bought this skinny fella to keep up after Christmas. |
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It's not a Christmas tree, but a winter tree with
an outdoor-theme, including birds & pheasant feathers. |
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| Might as well have a tree in the kitchen, too, |
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| decorated with antique canape cutters. |
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| Santa Gnome is seated in a vintage box. |
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| The hall tree is decorated with sea shells and rests in an old, copper bucket. |
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| Isle of Palms treasures |
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| Mementos from Rosemary Beach |
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| This vintage aluminum tree belonged to Darryl's mother. Now it sparkles in my bedroom. |
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This primitive tree sits out on the back porch
and reminds me of a sweet day in Lancaster County with Darryl. |
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| Our tiniest tree sprouts from an antique bobbin. |
It's two weeks until Christmas.
Will I make it without putting up another tree?
Merry Christmas y'all!
