We Take Down Our Christmas Tree

Our 2025 Christmas tree Monday, January 12

On Monday, January 12, 2025 we took down our Christmas tree. It was dried out and ready to be gone. 

Reflection in an ornament caught my eye as we were taking
down the Christmas tree.

Dried out Christmas tree on our front porch.

Pine needles litter the floor where the Christmas tree was.

Our 2025 Christmas Tree

Our 2025 Christmas Tree, before and after

 Monday, December 8, 2025 we got our Christmas tree. It was a sunny, cold day. The low temp overnight was 0 degrees, the high was 19.  We took a drive to Garden and Grove (formerly Hemlock Haven) in Sandy Creek to see what they had for trees. We immediately found one with a nice shape and size. Price was $65.00.  On way home we stopped for lunch at Nu Pier Restaurant on RT 3, Sackets Harbor. It has been there for a long time but we had never been there before. The establishment is somewhat small, food was good and looked to have a small but pleasant bar room off the dining room. The BH had a turkey club sandwich and french fries. I had an Italian sausage sandwich with macaroni salad and a Sierra Nevada IPA beer. We got home and set the tree up in the stand and waited until the next day to decorate it.

Interior view of Garden and Grove, Sandy Creek, NY

Exterior view of Garden and Grove, Sandy Creek, NY

Dining room of Nu Pier restaurant, Sackets Harbor, NY

Snow, Wind, and Power Outage today in Chaumont, NY

 

Snowy scene in Chaumont, NY today. View of my neighbors place from our backyard. 

Awoke to very high winds today, strong gusts at times. Blowing snow and new lake effect snow carried by the winds. Thought we might have a tree or two blow down, but that didn't happen. However about 8:15 this morning our electric power service went out. It came back on around 10:30. This afternoon we decorated our Christmas tree. 

Our Christmas tree, decorated this afternoon, Thursday December 12, 2024

Morning Moon Photo, Christmas Tree Down, & Notes

 

Moon at 7:30am, Chaumont, NY, sonny a6600 camera, Minolta 200mm f2.8 auto focus lens.

We took our Christmas tree down today. I should say I took it down. The Better Half watched me as she has limited mobility with her broken leg. 

Photo of the moon at 7:30 this morning, Sunday January 8, 2023, as seen from our backyard, Chaumont, NY. Temperature this morning was 14 degrees. The coldest night & morning we have had in more than 2 weeks. Most days we have had temps in the 30's and low 40's. The wood stove has been doing a great job, limiting how much heating oil we have been using. Price of home heating oil has been above $5.00 a gallon, and I have heard as high as $6.75 a gallon. That is insane. It was $2.00 a gallon in 2020 when President Joe Biden took office.

etter Half gets better every day as she heals from the broken femur. She as her low points of despair and frustration each day, but that's to be expected. 

Siblings a A & S dropped n this evening for about an hour. They arrived from Arizona after a 4 day road trip. S has new job in Utica, NY, starting in a few days.

Breakfast this morning was Italian sausage, fried eggs & toast.

This evening we had a variety cheeses & crackers, variety of stuffed olives, Croghan Bologna, sliced carrots. 

The Bishops Wife starring Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta Young

I just finished watching the 1947 film The Bishops Wife. It starred Cary Grant, (one of my all time favorite actors), Loretta Young and David Niven. It is a Christmas movie and so good that it brought tears to my eyes. Not that it's a sad movie, but it touched me on a spiritual level. The basic plot: Cary Grant plays an Angel who visits a Bishop (David Niven), who has become a bit misguided and neglectful of his marriage because of his desire to build a new cathedral. It is an overall good movie. I am inclined to give it a 4 stars. It probably is more widely regarded as 3 stars, a solid three stars. The movie is based on the 1928 book by Robert Nathan. I see that it's available through Amazon.Com 

Our 2012 Christmas Tree at our home in Chaumont, NY. 

I am so pissed off!!! I spent an hour writing more for this blog entry and it vanished. I clicked save, I clicked update, I clicked publish. Where the hell is my work?? nd this, just before bedtime. I was talking about this Christmas season being the bets one I've had in years. I finally am not afraid to spend some money. I talked about some of my co-workers who facing a job loss in January. I talked about how savvy I am with paying down my debts with 0% credit card offers. About how it snowed the past two days. I simply cannot re-write it. I have had so much to share on this blog and day after day goes by and I cannot seem to get to it. When I finally do, wham! Good night.

Day 279: Christmas Tree Art

It was 18 degrees F at my home in Chaumont, NY this morning when I arose at 7:00. Would much rather have gotten upo at 6:00. But I manged close to two hours on the guitar. Just befor the better Half left for work I went out to sweep thye snow off her car. I also swept away the snow on the lawn leading to her car. (Well, it's a minivan). Anyhow, as I tuned to go back into the house I noticed the pattern in the snow created by nthe strokes of the broom. It remined me of a Christmas tree. So, I take the broom and sweep out some snow in the front yard to create an image of a Christmas Tree. The green grass beneath the snow adds to the overall effect. Today's lesson: Inspiration strikes at unlikely moments. Be ready to take advantage of it.




Now I am off to Syracuse to work for the Post-Standard newspaper. I woinder what is in store for me there?