Estoy Nueces

It's after one and I just got in. The smell and sight of the still undecorated Christmas tree puts me in an automatic good mood. Add to that that I'm listening to KFAN in Fredericksburg on the internet and they are playing Silver Bells by Dwight Yoakum or Flaco Jimenez or Doug Sahm...that Mexican accordian feel to it. I may have to leave it playing while I decorate.

Long day at work. I had a bad night last night and only did what absolutely had to be done and left the rest for today. That certainly put me behind but I felt a lot better today and got a lot done. I'm caught up almost but I need to get ahead so I can easily go to our company Christmas party (the BIG company, the fancy party) Friday night and then I've got to stay ahead with the holidays coming.

I enjoyed buying the Christmas tree today. My sweet husband is finally coming over to my way of tree buying. I prefer to go to the first lot I see, pay any price they ask for the first tree that has any appeal to me at all. D-boy has had a long history of going to every tree lot in town, carefully examining every tree and learning the many varieties and advantages of each, then going BACK to lots he's been to before to see if the tree he thought was good is still as good as he thought, and finally, finally, buying a tree. I love to be at the lots, I love the smell, I love having the tree, but the particular benefits of any tree over the others is lost on me. To me, the tree I pick BECOMES the best tree.

So anyway, we ended up with a short tree this year. I didn't want to spend much money since we've waited so long to get the tree. We've got huge vaulted ceilings that could take a big tree but not enough space horizontally for a big tree to spread out. It will be pretty once it is all lighted and bedecked.

We pulled box after box of decorations out of the attic. We really don't need that many decorations but I continue to add to the collection. I still am scarred by the horrible experience of 1993...

I met D-boy in 1992 and we weren't married that first Christmas together. I had a beautiful tree at my house and decorated it completely. I have had a "thing" for pigs in the past (the ornamental kind, not the true animal necessarily). Over the years I had collected quite a collection of Christmas ornaments and most of them were pigs. I had pig angels, pig Santas, pig choir singers, pigs, pigs, pigs. It was a great tree. We had a wonderful Christmas and I packed everything away after the holiday.

One year later we are now married and living in the same house. D-boy has moved all of his belongings into the house and we've had a garage sale to thin things down. Boxes have been re-ordered and re-packed and organized by my ever-organized hubby. Christmas rolls around and we begin decorating our first tree together. I find the lights and put them on and don't see the ornaments. I find the garlands and other accessories but still no ornaments. I go back to the garage, certain they are packed there somewhere. Over the next few weeks we opened and inspected every box in the house and garage but the ornaments were no where to be found. We haven't a clue what happened to them. Maybe someone walked off with the box at a garage sale, maybe it got in with boxes to be thrown away and was destroyed. Maybe an ornament thief targeted my house and stole my pigs.

Whatever the cause, we didn't have ornaments that year. Oh, we had a few. The parents had giving me a "our first Christmas together" ornament the year before that had been packed separately. We made do with ribbons and cookie cutters and other sparkly things but it was hugely depressing. I can see how violated people feel when they are robbed or burglarized. I don't know what happened to my ornaments and I still feel a void.

Over the years we have certainly replaced and added to the collection. I even have a few pigs back on the tree. We've added lots and lots of Christmas drums to reflect D-boy's passion and that has become the theme, if we have one. It's always fun to open the ornament box and remember the memories that came with each.

My favorite ornament is a regular ball type ornament but it is hand-painted. One year D-boy was touring with Gary P. Nunn and was gone most of the weekends. Christmas Eve he came home late that afternoon and he brought me this ornament. He had it made for me in Comfort, Texas. We spent a night there on our honeymoon and fell in love with that little town. So the ornament has scenes from Comfort with the Ingenhuett-Faust Hotel and it has US standing in front of the hotel. That's the neat part. All around are Santas and reindeers and kids making snowmen and throwing snowballs (not EXACTLY how Comfort looks, but we can dream).

I think I'll go look for that ornament and start the process of decorating so I can get up early and sit and enjoy the lights and smells of the tree.

Yes, I believe I might be getting a little Christmas spirit.