The Scarpelli's

We've talked about it every Christmas since we moved to Nashville. Now we did it. We bought a fake tree.

The decision wasn't purely economic (although buying real trees in the South can set you back a few $$) but rather sentimental. We always enjoyed tromping through the snow for what seemed like hours to find that 'perfect' tree that everyone could agree on. Then we'd cut it down, drag it back to the van, pay, and tie it to the roof. Maybe we'd have a little hot chocolate or cider too. When we got home we'd cut some branches from the bottom, set it in the stand, take it out of the stand, cut some more off the bottom, set it in the stand again, and repeat until it was straight and just the right height. And the aroma ... just wonderful!

OK, so maybe this sounds a little like a Norman Rockwell painting. I also seem to recall crying kids, runny noses, squabbles over whether it's straight or not, etc., not to mention the punctures from spruce needles that seem to penetrate even the thickest gloves. The point is ... you just can't get that kind of experience around here. I'm glad that we could share that experience with the kids while we could.

Everyone made a big deal out of how poor the fall colors would be this year, due to the hot, dry summer, freezes in the spring, etc. Take a look at the peculiar colors on the sweetgum tree in our backyard. Fantastic!



I hope all of you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. Ours was very relaxing. Here's a photo of Kelly's newest turkey recipe just coming out of the oven. Not to worry, the bird came out great.