Advent Calendar Blog Hop

Welcome! It's that time of year for Jo's blog hop, and today is my turn. I don't have any cross stitch to show off yet, although I've picked out a few designs; a challenging fall meant I'm way behind all things stitchy. 

But I do have a tree! Which is Jo's theme this year! 

This wooden tree was originally part of a hand-carved Christmas card holder my late uncle made for me years and years ago. At some point someone (I never found out who) knocked it over, breaking it; the only salvageable part was one of the trees. I painted it green with a little silver mixed in, giving it a nice sheen, and wrapped it with a bit of wire and some clear crystals. You can't tell from this photo, but it has a nice sparkle, and I'm quite pleased with it. 

Jo asked us to talk about Christmas trees. I grew up on what used to be a farm in western Massachusetts, and for many years we just trekked to the far part of our property to chop our own pine down. It was lots of fun, but because it wasn't a tree farm we ended up with some wonky trees. One tree was gorgeous on one side, but almost bare on the other, so that was the side we put against the wall. Another tree had a distinctive curve in its trunk. A third had two tops, so that year we put on two stars. 

Now I live in New York, so we get our tree from one of the temporary vendors who set up shop all over the city (real trees might be more work, but the smell is divine). I can't show you our tree, because we haven't bought it yet -- we generally wait until the middle of the month to get one. Once it's set up and the branches settle, we decorate it with lights and ornaments: old and new, handmade and purchased. Then we sit back and admire our work.

Whether you have a real or fake tree, or no tree at all, I hope you all have a lovely and peaceful Christmas!