I finally put my Christmas tree up.

[Are_grits_groceries]

Actually it's always out somewhere. I don't consider it up until I have dusted it off and put it in a cleared space.
I am following an old Southern tradition by not packing it up and unpacking it every year. A lot of small Southern towns leave their decorations up all year. They seem to fade into the background in the sweltering summer heat and spring to life in December.

I always smile when I see them in the middle of July. In addition, some people need to be reminded of the spirit of giving whether they heed it or not.

[1000words]

1. I dig the tree

It's got a whimsical Seuss feel to it.

Happy holidays.

[brer cat]

12. I had the same thought.

Definitely a Seuss tree. I love it!

[House of Roberts]

2. I have a small fir in my front yard that has had lights on it for at least fifteen years.

My ex put them on it, never took them off, and I have left them there all this time. I'd expect the breaker to trip if I plugged them in.

[Shrike47]

3. We put up a formerly live fir tree every year. They smell so good.

Mostly, they remind me of my childhood when Christmas was magical.

We got kittens last year and kind of chickened out - a small tree with non-breakable ornaments on a card table. This year we went for the regular tree, with the stuff we've spent years collecting. So far, so good.

[dipsydoodle]

4. But kittens like trees

[Shrike47]

5. We also chicken-wired the fireplace. No fun, that's us.

Of course, we did carpet a support beam for climbing pleasure, and it sure gets climbed!

[dipsydoodle]

8. chicken-wired the fireplace

About 12 years ago one of my chinchilla persians got spooked by my nephews being in the house and leaped over a lit artificial coal gas fire set in a Victorian fireplace onto a ledge inside. I didn't see this happen and when nephews told me me , in amazement that a cat had done that , I didn't believe them at first. I looked up the chimney and there he was just sitting there looking at me. Its amazing how much oil residue there is in natural gas - had to wash him three times to get his coat back to white/silver clean.

He wasn't at all fazed by the whole exercise.

One of the other's here :

?lvh=1

Merry Christmas !

[MadrasT]

9. What a lovely kitty.

One of my (inside) white cats got outside somehow, and climbed up in the engine of my car. I had to start taking the car apart to get him out. Three baths and three months later, he was finally white again.

Glad to hear your adventurer was OK!

[malaise]

6. ROFL

I was at a friend's home three days ago and one of her granddaughters (four years old) was showing her a gift box full of stuff. The stuff was all the decorations she had taken off the tree - I was cracking up with laughter.

[Niceguy1]

7. that's my kittens plans

And he/she is doing a great job!

[Raine]

10. that cartoon reminds me of my two cats! :-) nt

[CrispyQ]

11. It took all weekend, but I finally got the tree up:

This is not my tree, but I love it. Unfortunately I have cats, so this will never be my tree.

My favorite part of the holidays are the outdoor lights. I'm always kind of sad to see people take them down. We do have a couple of neighbors who leave them up all year.

Your tree is charming.

[OnionPatch]

13. That's awesome!

I live near the San Andreas fault, so probably not a good idea for me, either.