(no subject)
First off, it's now past 2:00 a.m. on Monday (December 14). But I want this to be my blog for Sunday, so I've backdated (yes, again). Sorry for any confusion!
Marilyn and I were up late still decorating our Christmas tree for the Portland house. We've had this artificial tree for many years now (I've lost track of exactly how long). We bought it on sale one year. It's really not a bad tree -- the nice thing is having the lights permanently attached so you don't have to string them on and off (which is a pain, I think).
We used to be extremely fond of live trees (well, cut trees) -- which was our tradition for most of our lives. But they turn into a lot of work over time, and artificial trees are just easier. I miss the smell, but oh well! They make a lot less mess, too.
It's interesting that the cats treat them exactly the same as they would a real tree! I can't get over that. They just LOVE the Christmas tree. One or the other is under it constantly -- or both together. And they're close to it when not under it. It's just so sweet.
We did something really DIFFERENT for us this year. We've been using a 'theme' for years and years now. We started that back when we still lived at home with Mom and Dad. I remember originally we did red and white trees -- and we used a ton of those small, shiny red apple decorations. For several years we've had green and gold ornaments -- mixed with crystal and glass. And every once in a while we'd add something colored differently -- but not much. This year we used our green and gold -- BUT we also included a bunch of other colors! We even put on some ornaments we haven't used in many, many years.
We have a few ornaments that have been in the family since before both of us were born! This year they're on the tree again. And our 'spinning' ornaments are on, too. These are just plastic, with a piece in the center made of thin metal that spins around. How they work is you hang them over lights and the rising heat makes them spin. That used to work GREAT back when they were originally made, because lights were so HOT then. But now we have to make sure they're directly over more than one light. We were both surprised when we realized they were actually WORKING (!!!). They don't spin all that fast, but they ARE spinning! Just like when we were little kids...
There are quite a few MORE ornaments to put on -- which will have to wait until tomorrow! We did watch "The House Without a Christmas Tree" again (smile), continuing our tradition. Then we had borrowed "Scrooged" from Steven (it's his wife Michelle's favorite Christmas movie), so we put it on. I don't know about anyone else, but this movie isn't our cup of tea. Nevertheless, it was kind of Steven to loan it to us.
What else did we do today? We went out for a drive, heading to the office. Jeff was going in today, and we'd hoped to hook up with him for a drink or meal or something (but we missed him). Then we went to Costco -- the goal was to buy me a new Christmas cactus. But they didn't have any this year! How disappointing! Still, we had a good time there and got some things we needed (like D batteries, paper plates and so on). It was packed with people, but we really didn't mind...
We're LOVING our new Comcast WiFi! And our new Xfinity cable service, too. We're still getting used to the cable. But it's pretty cool that we can watch the HD channels on every TV -- even TVs that aren't HD. (We have some really OLD TVs -- in Marilyn's bathroom, my bedroom and the kitchen. So it's surprising how good the reception is now!)
Can't think what else to share. We need to head to BED now. Marilyn actually has to go to work for a meeting tomorrow (sigh). And we have some errands to take care of, too. Anyway, good night all!
Marilyn and I were up late still decorating our Christmas tree for the Portland house. We've had this artificial tree for many years now (I've lost track of exactly how long). We bought it on sale one year. It's really not a bad tree -- the nice thing is having the lights permanently attached so you don't have to string them on and off (which is a pain, I think).
We used to be extremely fond of live trees (well, cut trees) -- which was our tradition for most of our lives. But they turn into a lot of work over time, and artificial trees are just easier. I miss the smell, but oh well! They make a lot less mess, too.
It's interesting that the cats treat them exactly the same as they would a real tree! I can't get over that. They just LOVE the Christmas tree. One or the other is under it constantly -- or both together. And they're close to it when not under it. It's just so sweet.
We did something really DIFFERENT for us this year. We've been using a 'theme' for years and years now. We started that back when we still lived at home with Mom and Dad. I remember originally we did red and white trees -- and we used a ton of those small, shiny red apple decorations. For several years we've had green and gold ornaments -- mixed with crystal and glass. And every once in a while we'd add something colored differently -- but not much. This year we used our green and gold -- BUT we also included a bunch of other colors! We even put on some ornaments we haven't used in many, many years.
We have a few ornaments that have been in the family since before both of us were born! This year they're on the tree again. And our 'spinning' ornaments are on, too. These are just plastic, with a piece in the center made of thin metal that spins around. How they work is you hang them over lights and the rising heat makes them spin. That used to work GREAT back when they were originally made, because lights were so HOT then. But now we have to make sure they're directly over more than one light. We were both surprised when we realized they were actually WORKING (!!!). They don't spin all that fast, but they ARE spinning! Just like when we were little kids...
There are quite a few MORE ornaments to put on -- which will have to wait until tomorrow! We did watch "The House Without a Christmas Tree" again (smile), continuing our tradition. Then we had borrowed "Scrooged" from Steven (it's his wife Michelle's favorite Christmas movie), so we put it on. I don't know about anyone else, but this movie isn't our cup of tea. Nevertheless, it was kind of Steven to loan it to us.
What else did we do today? We went out for a drive, heading to the office. Jeff was going in today, and we'd hoped to hook up with him for a drink or meal or something (but we missed him). Then we went to Costco -- the goal was to buy me a new Christmas cactus. But they didn't have any this year! How disappointing! Still, we had a good time there and got some things we needed (like D batteries, paper plates and so on). It was packed with people, but we really didn't mind...
We're LOVING our new Comcast WiFi! And our new Xfinity cable service, too. We're still getting used to the cable. But it's pretty cool that we can watch the HD channels on every TV -- even TVs that aren't HD. (We have some really OLD TVs -- in Marilyn's bathroom, my bedroom and the kitchen. So it's surprising how good the reception is now!)
Can't think what else to share. We need to head to BED now. Marilyn actually has to go to work for a meeting tomorrow (sigh). And we have some errands to take care of, too. Anyway, good night all!