Solstice Tree!

It can't be a Christmas tree, when we were carefully deciding what we'd do and not do based on whether we perceived it as Christian or not (thus, no angel tree topper). We got a Fraser Fir at Idylwilde and put it on top of our dining table (not the one we eat at, the one that got bumped from the dining room to the living room when we turned the dining room into a playroom). We got strings of LED lights (half colored and half white) from the hardware store and a really awesome tree stand there, too. After I dug out the limited ornaments we have (some hand-me-downs from mother-in-law, and a scattering of gifts and arts-and-crafts type things, and one each for the kids with their birth year), I decided to Go Shopping. There's a gift shop (Ralph Jordan) right next door to a Paper Store (Hallmark) in town, which is where I went. There, I went slightly nuts, since this is my first Real Tree (I used to decorate a ficus houseplant, which gives you some idea) and R.'s first tree that didn't involve his mother and siblings. Which is _really_ sad, since we've been living together for 7 years, married for 6 and we have a five year old and a two year old. Usually, we're traveling at Xmas (and may this year, but I decided I really wanted a tree this year).

R. got his present early (an iPhone). He bought me my present a couple days ago (a ridiculously oversized TV for the master bedroom), and it's out in the garage, along with the mounting equipment. We've got LED candle lights in many of the windows and a couple of bows at the bottom of the stair. It's starting to look downright festive around here. R. dislikes poinsettias, so I got a couple of pots of evergreen something-or-other from Idylwilde to go on the hearth (gas fireplace, marble or grante or something tile surround).

Hopefully, with LED lights and the tree up on the table, I won't be posting any horror stories over the next week or so involving something overheating, small children and a fire extinguisher. Altho that would be traditional.