It's Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas

No Christmas tree again this year, because for the third year in a row, we have a new dog in the house. (Actually might be just the second, but three years ago we were moving during Christmas, literally speaking, as in we got to have a moving truck for an extra day because the U-haul place is closed on Christmas Day). I think we could swing doing a tree this year, but Ben is still a bit of a crazy puppy, so easier to just skip and we'll do one next year. I don't want to have to chase ornaments around the house or worry that someone will get a hook through their tongue.

We bought a balsam wreath last weekend and hung it on the front door. That does the trick more nicely than I'd expected. Every time we come in or out the door, we get a breathful of evergreen. We already have a new tradition, which is that every time Diane or I comes through the door, we say "It smells like Christmas!"

We also have one of those little ceramic trees on top of the television set -- the kind with little plastic "bulbs" that light up when you plug in the tree. It came from Diane's mother (I think she made it), but Grandma Jean used to always have one when we were a kid too, so at least it feels like Real Christmas Decoration.

(An example, though I can't imagine that these usually go for this much money:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Ceramic-Christmas-Tree-w-lights-base-Ceramic-Mold_W0QQitemZ290054144632QQihZ019QQcategoryZ3090QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting)