We cut our Christmas tree at McBurney’s Tree Farm near our house in Nevada City and hung our lights and glass-blown ornaments this afternoon. It’s a privilege to live in the Sierra foothills.
In San Francisco, we bought our tree on the Guardsman lot, where it was cut in late summer up north. Although less romantic than cutting your own, it was for a good cause. Every year since 1947, The Guardsmen organization has sold Christmas trees in San Francisco to benefit at-risk youth in the Bay Area.
Our Christmas tree ornaments represent a lifetime of memories. A few date back to when my grandmother Ella was a girl growing up in Park City, Utah. Others we have collected throughout our marriage. Some represent our travels together, such as a frosted-glass kangaroo from Australia. A glass-blown ornament of John Lennon is a favorite. (Imagine and Peace Train were released 50 years ago. Both songs yearning for a world of peace and oneness).
We miss our son, who’s away at college in the East until the week after next and not here to join us today. I guess we are empty nesters “in training.” We’re listening to Christmas music on my iPhone while we hang the ornaments, not our LP record player. Times change with technology, too.
Tonight we’ll light a fire in the fireplace, hunker down for a big rain storm that is headed our way, and count our blessings.
Here’s to wishing you a happy holidays!
Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report 