That time of year

 It's that time of year...

That time of year when all the knitting photos are in black and white.  

I am officially done with the Smitten mitten ordeal.  I was starting to think bad thoughts and wish the receivers ill will so I decided one Advent garland a year would suffice.  The extra little mittens I'd managed to knit will become ornaments and/or package toppers and the rest of people who were supposed to be getting Advent garlands are going to get something store bought.  I decided store bought is better than giving them ill will vibes.  Even if I have no earthly idea what to buy them because I am THE worst at gift shopping.

To add a little color to this post,

I have a new friend.  His name is Fred and he sings and dances.  He sings and dances about as well as I do, which is not saying much!  I can't wait for Hayden to meet him, although he may terrify her.  He looks like he's going to break a hip when he dances and his singing isn't much better.  But I think he's adorable anyway.  I can't quite decide what he is though.  I think he's supposed to be a lama but his face looks more like a camel to me and his body/fur looks like a sheep.  Whatever he is, I love him!

And then there's our tree.  Our Griswald/Rockefeller tree.  

I don't know what happened this year.  First, my husband usually buys Christmas bushes, not trees.  Second, he normally waits until just a few days before Christmas to buy it - which might explain why he always ends up with a bush sized tree instead of something decent.  But this year, the morning after Thanksgiving, he went out and bought this monstrosity.  

Don't get me wrong.  The tree is Gorgeous!  It's perfectly shaped and definitely Not a bush.  But good Lord!  There aren't enough lights in Walmart to light the thing up.  We put 1,000+ lights on it and it only barely lit half the tree.  We bought another 1,000 lights and now it's fairly well lit, except for the top three feet.  We can't reach the top three feet with a five foot stepladder.  We're going to need a real ladder.

I really can't get over the size of the tree.  It's either going to be The most gorgeous tree in the history of trees or it is going to be the most ridiculous looking tree in the history of trees because it won't be decorated or lit at the top.  Only time and my nagging my husband to bring a ladder home will tell.