Sunday, December 16, 2012

Fake Or Real-repeat

Sometimes you have to look really close to see if they are fake or real, most people really enjoy real ones but look at how easy it is to get really big fake ones, because everyone likes big ones, and for just a little more money you can get huge ones that look real depending on where you get them.

Myself I have always loved real ones, when I was a young man I could just sit and stare at them for hours, when no one else was looking I just had to reach out and touch one, the feel was amazing and placing my face really close and breathing in slowly gave me a feeling I will always remember.

I never saw fake ones until I was a bit older, and now that I am a bit older the small fake ones work just fine, we always hang ornaments on fake ones now. Yes I said ornaments and this is a family site so Christmas trees is the subject here just in case your mind was wandering.

One memory of a real Christmas tree I had was the first year I took it upon myself to go out and get the family Christmas tree, I was raised in South Carolina so there were plenty of trees around but you don’t just go and cut one without asking.

I drove my Gran Torino Sport all the way up to my Uncle Chester’s house and asked him if he knew where I could get one, he pointed me to an area across the road and said that I could cut any tree I wanted on his land, as long as I stayed in the area he told me, I did exactly what he said and marched myself into the woods and carefully picked the best looking tree I could find.

This tree was beautiful and I didn’t realize how large it was until I began dragging it back to my car, you remember I said car, yes this was a two door Gran Torino Sport and I actually stuffed this tree inside, for the long trip home.

The trunk of the tree was up in the back window and this tree was twisted and turned leaving only room for me to barely fit into the drivers seat.

This actually looked like a car wreck with a tree rolling down the highway, with limbs sticking out of every window, and the top of the tree crammed into my windshield partially blocking my view, heck I think a nest of owls actually flew out while I was sitting at the stop sign.

At home Mom just smiled as I was trying to get it out of the car, she told me it was too large and after trying to get it into the door of the house there was some strategic trimming done, leaving enough limbs to make several more trees and enough lumber to build a small house, I think I actually saw Charlie Brown make off with one of the limbs.

This tree was beautiful and I learned from this experience to choose smaller trees, I also learned that it is easier to tie one to the roof if you don’t have a truck, and that once you transport a real Christmas tree inside your car, the need for a little pine tree air freshener goes out the window forever.

39 comments:

  1. There is nothing like a fresh cut tree!

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  2. My only time that I ever had a real tree was when I lived in a Boston brownstone. Third floor... that tree was the shortest, fattest tree you ever saw. I put it in the front entry way, and no matter where you went in the house, you hit it.

    And then the cats decided it would be a fun place to hide...

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    1. Hi Juli, Isn't it funny how short of a time it takes for the cats to hide out in a good old Christmas tree Ha Ha

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  3. I figured you were talking about trees! We had real ones for years until I started doing the math and realized the fake ones were really more economical and shed less needles. Cute story about your adventure cutting your own many years ago!

    betty

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    1. Thank You Betty, The artificial ones are more cost effective that is for sure, we have used one for many years but a lot of memories are wrapped up in a real tree :)

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  4. We used to go out every year and cut down a tree. (Translation: By "we", I mean my husband cut down the tree, after the kids and I looked at darned near every tree on the lot.) Then, as the kids grew up and went out on their own, we switched to an artificial tree. But NOW... as of three years ago, when adopted two adorable and very mischievous kittens, we have a cardboard tree. Yep, cardboard. My hubby cut the tree shape out of a big packing box, spray painted it green, and decorated it with bubble lights and twinkle lights. It hangs from the valance above the living room window. No muss, no fuss. After Christmas, he takes it down and puts it away in a closet as is, ready to pull out and hang again the next year. We don't have to worry about the cats climbing it, breaking ornaments, or eating tinsel.

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    1. Hey Susan, I have never thought of a cardboard tree, what an excellent idea especially when you own a cat, this would be a no fuss no muss situation.

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  5. That is cool that you recall the experience of chopping down your first tree. I always got real trees until I realized that the reason I got sick every Christmas was bacause I was allergic to them. I miss the smell.

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    1. Hi MC, This is the biggest reason we went to an artificial tree, I always ended up sick after one night with a tree in the house, the smell is nice for sure but it's not worth it in the long run.

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  6. Beats the heck out of the old aluminum trees! What were we thinking???

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    1. Hey Ms. A, I do remember those aluminum trees, never was a fan of those :)

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  7. It's our first year without a real one. Sort of sad, but it was a lot of work. I remember a number of times when my husband had to keep sawing off parts of the tree to get it to fit in our living room.

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    1. Yes Bijoux, The easy part of adjusting a real tree comes with a handsaw :) after this year you just may keep the artificial tree from now on.

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  8. Ah, a real Christmas tree; such vivid memories. Drooping by Christmas Day, pine needles all over the floor (that soon clogged up the vacuum cleaner), and scratches to my forearms when I leaned across it to flick the electric switch!

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    1. Ah Yes Bryan, Seems I do remember that part also, and keeping a pan of water underneath the trunk to keep it from drying out.

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  9. It has been a long, long time since we had a real Christmas tree but there is really no substitute. Artificial ones look sort of ... artificial, and what's more there is no smell of pine and no needles!!

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    1. Hi Valerie, It seems the needles remained in the carpet long after the tree was gone no matter how many times you ran the vacuum Ha Ha I did enjoy the smell of a fresh tree though.

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  10. The one thing I do dearly miss, what with having a fake (but beautiful) tree, is the pine scent. Nothing says Christmas quite like that.

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    1. Amen Jim, The pine scent was always a welcome addition to the Christmas season.

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  11. Why Jimmy..*blush*..oh,I just read the rest of it... guess my mind was wandering there...Growing up my family always had a real tree, but now we do the fake tree thing.

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    1. Hey Rachael, I am glad you came back and read the rest of the story :) like you we always had a real tree when I was younger, except for that one year when the aluminum tree made an appearance.

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    2. Hey there is something I am too young to remember! ;) Aluminum trees, huh? Like in Charlie Brown?

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  12. HA! You had me going there for a few minutes, Jimmy!

    And I agree...there is nothing like a REAL tree. It's the smell!

    Like you, one year I went to a place in Florida called, Christmas, Florida and chopped down my own tree with a group of my friends. Oh boy...was the ever fun. And the best part was that after it was decorated and lit, to stand back and look at it; knowing I had chopped it down myself!

    Great post, buddy! Hope you and Cindy are enjoying this holiday season!

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    1. Hey Ron, It was a lot of fun to go out and find our own tree, like you said standing back and looking at it after the decorating was done was indeed a blessing.

      Thank You Buddy Hope your Christmas Season is a blast so far.

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  13. It doesn't need to be a real tree, it depends on what you do with it. Fake can be just a beautiful as real.

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    1. Wise words Stephen, it all matters on what you do with it, the family, friends, and the holiday itself is what matters.

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  14. You cannot believe how relieved I was to read this. I was telling Stud of the time I volunteered to get the tree for my dad. My boyfriend and I clomped through the woods where extremely tall and rangy trees were the norm. I spotted THE perfect tree and down it came. (poor tree) When we got it home and stood it up in the yard, it was taller than the eaves on the hip roof and practically filled the side yard.

    Poor dad. Poor tree. Poor idiot daughter. I've always wondered how I could have been so delusional. To this day I felt super stupid. Now I see it happened to YOU. THANK YOU!

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    1. Isn't it funny how much those trees grow on the trip home Ha Ha no reason to feel stupid as I feel many families have found they had a much bigger tree right after they chopped it down :)

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  15. we always get a real tree, but it is not as wonderful as it sounds. the kids decorate it with ornaments they made in first grade..now they are getting taller now so the ornaments are getting higher up the tree... everyone forgets to water it so there are pine needles all over with the ornaments that are all over too...

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    1. And once you add the gifts around the base of the tree, adding water just seems to go completely out the window.

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  16. Ha, you're last sentence sums up just what I was thinking. No pine tree freshener needed!
    I applaud your efforts, and your appreciation of real ones - which I knew you meant trees!

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    1. Hi Abby, I didn't need any type of freshener for that car after that, I believe there were still pine needles in the back window when I sold it Ha Ha

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  17. Hahaha...your story sort of reminded me of a scene from "Christmas Vacation."

    We always had a real tree when I was a kid. And real candles, too!

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    1. Yes and real candles too, funny how many fake candles they make now, and even with a flashing light to make it look like a flame, I think it easier to just strike a match, you can't fake the smell of a freshly blown out candle nor a real tree.

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  18. Okay...trees you were talking about ...but Jimmy I did read between the lines...but that aside:)....hubby said he would never want fake ones...but as he got older he didn't care...and it's been fake for awhile now!!

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    1. Same for us, I really like a real tree but a fake one is so much easier to care for :)

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  19. I've got real ones, Jimmy. Oh wait. We were talking about trees? Oh yeah. That's fake and none-too-attractive, but easy--even the lights are already attached. (We are still talking about trees, Jimmy.)

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    1. Hey Betty, If it is non too attractive, easy, and already has lights attached I sure hope we are talking about trees :)

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