O Tannenbaum

...So last Christmas saw my classic "slow-motion" moment--I had just finished putting up our 9-foot tree when it toppled completely over, bending the trunk. Tree Classics told us in October that they'd send us a new trunk to replace it, but when nothing showed up in the mail by Thanksgiving, I muttered darkly and put up our old 6-footer instead. However, they've restored themselves in my good graces today by providing us with a completely free, pre-lit tree as a replacement--apparently, they no longer make our previous tree. It's a foot shorter, but pre-lit--that saves me, what, an hour or so of untangling lights and dragging my footstool around the tree--works for me!

By the way, twelfth-century tradition or no, I happen to think that upside-down Christmas trees are a really silly idea. I particularly detest the way they're marketed--"Leaves more room on the floor for gifts!" Ugh, talk about blatant commercialism.

Random News: In the "way to stick it to the man" category: $70,000 worth of free flights in Canada.