Building the perfect beast

So we put up the tree yesterday, and it is always kind of a work to try to get it just so.. There were years when we "helped" put the tree up, and over the years it was interesting to do so.. I can honestly say i can't remember the old days with the trees that were in fact real pine trees.. The old pictures of the trees we had that were a fire hazard at best, the pine needles sticking in the feet, but that smell couldn't be beat.. When did we follow the trend to a fake tree??  Our first fake tree was back when I was still in grade school i'm sure and then the newer tree we got some time ago.. The topper we used to put up there was replaced by a lighted tree topper because everyone else had one like that.. Last year I decided to go old school and put the one dad always put on there and this year did the same, the old spire thing.. The lights from last year we had to replace some and I wanted to check to see if we needed another string.. The love of those little twinkly lights has faded over the past few years and been replaced with wanting to have fewer lights.. This year there are only four strings of lights on there and the bubble lights at the bottom and the LED snowflakes (which initially didn't want to work).. Then the garland and bulbs (cat toys) and it was completed.. While putting some of the bulbs on I remembered the old things we put on there, a few from when I was in grade school because one had my name on the bottom and was the one I took to school, way back in the first two years somewhere..   The lights have changed with the majority being the new LED type that burn brighter but cooler at the same time..  I remember back in the very early days of dad decorating the tree that we had those big bulb lights, and I went that route long before he passed away I had gone back to those.. The tower in the front have a crystal white bulb light string on it, and the little tree has a string of LED twinkle lights on it as well as the solar powered twinkle LED lights and the tree topper on the top of the tower.. The gazebo I put a string of twinkly lights around the top and a string of C-9 around the outer deck railing, and an old red string of lights in the bigger pine tree...  So we really went all out this year boy howdy... Bring on the disappointment of the season..

And the weather.. I have checked the weather through Christmas and while it can't be held to it, they are showing a fairly nice holiday although I think right now they are using averages and a guess this far out..  Three weeks can't be a real forecast, they can barely get it right 24 hours out..   But to see the ice rink in the park in town not even be set up yet, and we are in December.. I don't know that they will even bother building it this year.. I don't see that there are any days where the high stays below freezing yet..  How strange not to even have a skating season this year..

Badge Henry