Oh, christmas tree! :-/

Yesterday we put our Christmas tree up. We decided to get a new one this year. At 7'6" it's a foot and a half taller than the one we're used to, plus it's a little bit thinner, so it looks like our tree went on a diet and is now wearing stilletos.

Usually I enjoy putting the tree up. You know the drill... get the fire on, slap on some holiday tunes, sip a wee glass of vino or two and enjoy the festive spirit. This year was not like that.

I have a particularly lousy cold at the moment and I spent the whole day blowing my nose and feeling dreadful. There were issues with the lights - we bought 400 thinking that it would fill the whole tree, only to find that we needed to go and buy another 120 - and then when we got home they weren't even the same shade of white (despite saying on the box that they were). A bigger tree meant more branches to fix in place and as for that "Happy Holidays" garland we purchased from Pottery Barn in Florida last year, *that* was a NIGHTMARE and caused me to curse loudly at least ten times. Seriously, I have never been so stressed and grumpy putting up a Christmas tree in my life.

Still, the end result is indeed rather jolly, I think. And literally the moment we finished it, it started snowing outside, as if to say Christmas had officially begun. All over again.