Charlie Brown has nothing on us

Ah farming. Not quite making ends meet. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Figuring out how to reduce expenses.

We love a live Christmas tree. The smell is wonderful and the natural look appeals to us.

Even here in the country they cost a small fortune. We discussed spending money on something we know we will throw away in a month and just cannot do it.

An early snow storm this year knocked out our power and knocked lots of branches out of our trees. The branches still look fresh and smell wonderful. Homer wandered the farm yesterday and found a few likely candidates to bring into the house and decorate.

Once in place he decided there was not enough tree, so he took the impact drill he got last year while working on the hoophouse with our friends at Keswick Creamery and added some more branches. With 4" screws.

It does look different. It looks creative and out of the ordinary. Truth be told, Homer said "you left me alone with the tree too long".

Charlie Brown and Suzy Ormand would be proud. We did not spend a dime, shopped in our basement and the house is ready for the holidays. Which we celebrate at my stepmothers home not here. Too small a house for that many people.