From Fat Albert, and JIm...to the dwarves cottage

To fully understand the magnitude of the tree debacle, it is necessary to post a shot of last years tree, affectionately known to us as "Fat Albert." We are big tree folk. Actually this final product of FA is a much trimmer version, produced after much pruning and trimming to get him into the corner and to keep the boughs a safe(ish) distance from the dangerously drying flames of the gas log. Anyhoo...as my earlier post stated, we had quite a day procuring this lovely tree, seen below being shortened up a bit, as we had overestimated the height and were about 2 feet too tall for our room. Fiona, the master of the saw, buzzed almost effortlessly through the trunk, cutting 21 inches off. Anyway....after getting him (Jim Murchie) down to a manageable height, Olivia and I hauled him into the house to his place of honor.

While Olivia was single-mindedly fastening the "Best Christmas Tree Stand Ever" to Jim's trunk, the rest of us waited expectantly for Jim to rise to his place of honor....wringing our hands wondering how much additional trimming would need to be done to nestle him into his spot.....

We took a quick break to enjoy a few snacks...we were all tired from the whole ordeal of sawing and stand positioning....and of course the hunger that mounts from all that gleeful anticipation....

.....and then....this! Imagine our surprise...and yes, I will admit, great disappointment when we realized that instead of a behemoth, we had misnamed our poor tree. In fact, our tree would be a perfect little addition to the seven dwarfs cottage. It looks like our tree from last year went to the Bariatric Center and joined the Y! And also had a vertebrae or two taken out....he has been renamed...Matt Roloff! It's so short we even had room on top this year for Santa...(a battle I lost..along with colored lights). The silver lining here is, we can sit in the chair and not get sap on our arms while watching Christmas movies! Joyeux Noel!