Trimming the tree

Went out to the tree farm and cut down the tree we picked out last week. Got out there, they handed us a saw and a long pole to measure the tree with, and off we went to our tree.

Here’s the tree temporarily lashed to the roof of the car so we can get it back up to the front of the tree farm. Up front, they shake all the loose needles and other crap off the tree, and then bundle it up in some netting.

The guys at the tree farm were very helpful and tied the tree to the top of the car for us so it wouldn’t blow away as we drove home. We made it home with the tree intact.

Getting the tree home was the easy part. Getting it all set up was another matter entirely. After a little bit of effort, we managed to get it propped up and reasonably stable in the tree stand we got from the wife’s parents. Half-way into cutting away the netting to unwrap the tree, the wife noticed the floor was starting to get wet. Uh oh. Water definitely wasn’t something we wanted to see on our new hardwood floor. So down came the tree to figure out what was going on. Discovered a big long crack in the side of the tree stand. So much for that. Off we went to Lowe’s, where they were out of tree stands. With company coming for the wife’s party, we decided to drop me off back home so I could finish off the cooking, while she went to Target in search of another tree stand. An hour and a half and much traffic later, she came back with one from Home Depot. Up went the tree again in a nice new tree stand.
And here’s the tree all unwrapped. Looks pretty doesn’t it.

With much help from the wife’s friends who came by, the tree got all nice and decorated.

It’s not done yet. The wife took pictures of all the people who came and had them make and decorate their own ornaments with their picture on it. Those will probably go up later. Should be a nice personal touch. More full size pictures to come in the gallery once I get around to uploading them.