Christmas preparation

There are advantages to living in an "urban village."  Yesterday was the last dry day for the foreseeable future, so I dropped by the West Seattle Nursery and picked out a Christmas tree.  It will be delivered free to the front door today. A nice service, although I suppose the fee was already factored into the amazing price of an 8-foot Noble Fir.   There might be times when we miss John's little old truck, like hauling home a tree or carting bags of potting soil.  But I could sure get used to this delivery service idea.  

Each January, when that fresh tree has turned into a dry needle bomb and I've cleaned up all the mess, I swear we'll get an artificial one next year, like all sane people. Then I forget about it.

So Christmas is starting to slowly shape up around here-- it takes the entire month to get ready for just one day. The first step is putting stuff away to make some empty space for the Christmas stuff.  A person can collect a whole bunch of decorations in 40+ years, and all those boxes have to be handed down from the attic this weekend.

I'm also starting to "think" about making cookies, but as John pointed out last night, I'd better do more than just "think" about my annual contribution to his holiday potluck:  A cookie for every Boeing employee.  (Not really, but it feels that way by the time I'm done baking!)

The Christmas dishes are upstairs, ditto the box of Christmas CD's.  Speaking of music, I've been working on learning a few of my favorite Christmas carols on the ukulele, and top on the list is The Holly and the Ivy.  There might be a little plinky-plink Christmas concert if I can just find enough time to practice.