I love the smell of a Christmas tree

And today I headed out to get one. I bought one of the first I examined, from a row of short cultivated Balsam fir that come from the local area. It even fit in the trunk with the top branch bent a bit so I could close it.

And I got it into the stand by myself, too. Feeling mighty proud of myself. And now the tree is decorated, accomplished while listening to Mark Steyn's terrific Christmas CD.

MAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT (CD)

The living room is a wreck---boxes and Christmas decorations strewn around. I am feeling awfully tired because Michael O'Brien's novel The Father's Tale kept me up past midnight the last two nights in a row. I'm done now and I highly recommend it. I love it when I find it hard to put a book down and Michael really draws you into an amazing fictional world.

He called me "God's war correspondent," in one of his books that he signed for me. Cool.



Update: the tree is decorated and a few presents are wrapped and the living room is coming into view from under the boxes. I also made a centre piece from extra balsalm branches, with a candle in the middle and one for the bathroom.

Except for cleaning, doing up some cards, some more gift wrapping and grocery shopping closer to Christmas, and a little more writing---have to cover Bishop Lahey's sentencing hearing on Monday---I'm nearly done.