Clodfobble wrote:
We went to buy a Christmas tree today, and it was a shock. Everywhere was sold out, or nearly so. The major vendor we always buy from (and always around this same time in December) had only small trees, so we went to a different tree lot farther out, and they had nothing but a half a dozen 13-foot monstrosities. We thought maybe some weather anomaly led to a bad crop this year, or maybe they were short on harvesting staff due to COVID, but the guy selling them said no, they had the normal amount at the start of December, everybody just bought early this year. It's only the 11th, for Pete's sake...
yes, we learned very quickly when we moved here to buy our tree on txg weekend or we were risking disappointment. (And they are a big Michigan crop). So we do, and then set it in water outside until we're ready to decorate, several weeks later. (This year's is still out there, decoration is Wednesday.....) We learned that all pre-cut trees are cut at pretty much the same time, so buying nearer the day doesn't make it any fresher and you probably have a better chance of keeping it fresh for longer if you buy early and water yourself. A local news article said that a lot of people are getting a real tree for the first time this year instead of their usual fake one, I guess that's an extension of the craftin/homebodying uptick due to covid. So I can imagine it's pretty desperate already
This year, the two older children both have significant others who are apparently very excited at the prospect of being part of a real tree thing (poor deprived children), and are desperate to see it and -if possible, please...-join in the decoration. So we went as early as the boys could wake up on the Saturday and beamed Pologirl and her SO in by the magic of facetime/zoom/msgr video thing... and I splashed out and bought the biggest, tallest, fullest motherfucker we could find (10' 4" by my measurement) -yes we have a cathedral ceiling. Pologirl's SO -poor lamb- had apparently never even seen a christmas tree lot before, so I had to do a walking tour of Home Despot's back yard for him. 
Pologirl and um... Floridaborn (:D) arrive Tues, Bajaboi and Bajagrl have their last final early Wed and then she needs to leave for her hometown in MI asap-ish, so Weds is installation & decoration afternoon/evening.
Plan is we beestmonsters all sit back and chill with Die Hard on in the background, and let the fresh blood do the hard work We reckon if Bajagrl sits on Floridaborn's shoulders, they might manage to reach the top. They've never met, but can't imagine how that would be awkward....
