Oh Christmas Tree

First you all must see what Stacey has done. She is so talented. She works with the animal shelter and makes these wonderful sock dogs. A percentage of the sale of these little guys goes to help the shelter animals. She models them after real dogs and it's amazing how they resemble the real animals. And look, she did a Portuguese Water Dog. Guess who thinks she probably needs one of these.

Every year at Christmas I would get sick. I'd have a fever and sore throat that usually turned into strept. I always felt terrible and when I was little my Mom assumed it was too much excitement. As I got older I just figured that I was run down or had been exposed to something at school, work or at parties.

The first year Rob and I were married we put up the artificial tree that he had and for the first time ever I didn't get sick at Christmas. Still it didn't dawn on me what was happening. The next year we spent Christmas with my family and sure enough I got sick. Rob put it together. I am allergic to pine oil and the live cut tree was making me sick. Soon after that allergy tests confirmed it.

Since then I steer clear of real Christmas trees for health reasons.

When we moved to this house I was so happy that we had twelve foot ceilings. One of the first things I planned was getting a huge Christmas tree. We found one that's ten feet tall and it is gorgeous, but I should have given this matter a bit more thought.

I am only a little over five feet tall, which means that I can't reach half the tree. We have to use a ladder to trim and un-trim that sucker. Even with a ladder we have to reach way out to put the ornaments on, so it becomes a bit treacherous. The top half never is as full as the bottom. I still like my huge tree. We usually put it in the living room and trim it with ornaments we've collected on our travels and things we've collected over the years.

We have a pretty big entrance hall, so I decided we needed a tree there, too. We have a straggly five and a half foot tree that I decorate with cookies and candies. Now, do you really think with eleven dogs that I use real cookies and candies? No I use resin treats. It's a happy looking little tree that greets anyone that walks in the front door.


Here's a shot from the hall that shows two trees.


I couldn't stop there. In the basement where we have the fireplace we needed a tree, too. We have a seven foot tree that we had when we moved here. It fits nicely and I decorate that one in silver and blue and with doggy ornaments that people have given us.


Last year I decided we needed a tree in the bedroom. Now with the furniture and all the dog beds and Fudge's house there isn't a lot of room for a tree, so I bought a little two foot contemporary gold tree and trim it with tiny little balls and penguins.

Next year I hope that the library is finished and I'm sure we'll need a tree in there. I'll have to think about what kind of tree is appropriate.

Over the years we've had a few interesting events with our trees. I remember the year my sister's parrot flew into the tree a couple days before Christmas and refused to come out. She spent a week in that tree snapping at anyone who tried to reach for her. I don't know who finally got her out or how they did it. I hope they wore thick gloves.

When Bentley was a little pup he barked at the tree every time I turned the lights on. Then he noticed the glass balls hanging on the branches. When we were out one evening Boo decided to take the glass balls upstairs to his window seat where he kept all the shiny things he collected. When we returned home there was a trail of broken colored glass going up the stairs. He was very sad about the two broken balls, but he had safely carried six upstairs to his place and was very proud of his shiny new stash. I hated to disappoint him, but I took them back to the tree and hung only unbreakable ornaments on the lower branches.


When Tsar and Samba were puppies they were fascinated by the tree. I was constantly telling them to leave it alone. Two days before Christmas Rob and I went out for a nice holiday lunch at a fancy restaurant. When we got home, no dogs ran to greet us. You know something is wrong when that happens. When I walked up the stairs the hall tree was lying on the floor, ornaments scattered everywhere. I called the dogs to me and when Tsar and Samba appeared they both had garland stuck in their furry faces. I knew what had happened. They grabbed the garland and spun the tree around until it fell over. What fun !!

Life is never dull when you share your home with animals.