Well, we spent the morning looking for a Frasier Fir Christmas tree that is over 8 ft but costs less than $200. Apparently such a thing does not exist around here, at least not that we found. Tomorrow we will have to look at the cut-your-own places, but in previous years we have not found great looking trees at these places. I guess I may have to be less finicky and get a Balsam (hate those needles that fall off instantly) or disappoint my daughters and get a 7-8 ft tree (which is what my daughters would call a "small" tree). As the years go by I am starting to understand why people buy fake trees...
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Well, I'm still messing around finishing up the Ritratto scarf and the Lopi Lace Scarf, so in the meantime I will leave you with another scarf I finished a few months ago. Here are the specs:
Pattern: Thandi Scarf from Jo Sharp Gathering (Book 5)
Yarn: Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Kid Mohair in Romany (brown), Millet (tan), Swamp (green), and Velvet (purple) -- about 1.5 balls of each
Needles: US8
Modifications: Did an extra repeat of the pattern in each color band to make the stripes wider.
Comments: I think this would have been nicer if I used the Kid Mohair Infusion called for in the pattern, but I got this yarn on sale at elann.com. At about the halfway point I decided I hated the color combination and was going to desert the project, but my daughter said she really liked it and convinced me to finish it for her. However, after blocking it and having it hanging around for a while, it's really growing on me. In fact, I think I'll borrow it to wear out tonight.
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Christmas Trees. What a topic. Back in the day we would wander to the local cut your own and find just the right tree, usually too tall for that tiny house. When we moved here it was with the intention of having real trees, big suckers. Meg and I were stoked. The Christmastime came and I thought about it, remembered the mess and the pitch and the arguments with Gene and decided to go with my dad's used plastic tree about a week before Christmas. I was in Home Depot two days after Christmas and I saw this 8' pre-lit sucker, not too shabby, for twenty bucks. I shrugged and stuck it in my cart.
True, it does not smell. Neither does it need watering, and only two "needles" have fallen off. If you go online to some of the high end tree purveyors you'll fine some really nice high quality trees, and essential oils to make your house stink like tree without the pitch and mess.
Environmentally the stinking things are really a wash. Real trees are 'natural', but the industry is so unhealthy generally; strip mining of trees that are then trucked months in advance all over the country at huge detriment to the environment in terms of fossil fuel use and emissions, etc. that the petroleum consumed in making a quality fake tree balances out IF, like your car, you keep it for eight to ten years.
We went plastic and I would not go back. I miss the real tree experience a little, but not enough to make me go back!!