Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A Tree? In the House?

Years ago, when Cranky and I were celebrating one of our first Christmases together, we were too poor to buy a tree.
But we bought one anyway, because there is nothing like a nostalgic whiff of fir scent to bring a little cheer to the gloom of deep winter. I mean, it was necessary. It was therapy.
Then, we were too poor to buy lights or ornaments. So we improvised.
We hung a key chain from one branch, I recall, and various other trinkets on the others. Dabs of jewelry, bits of fabric, whatever was around the house. Not very holy, but neither am I.
This year, trees are a lot more expensive. But we still had to have one, so we picked out a dinky specimen, full of vigor, and placed it on top of a box for the height effect.
We have a stash of old ornaments in the garage, and I think I might actually hang one or two baubles here and there.
But for now, the boughs are decorated with shiny, beautiful and meaningful items: kitchen gadgets.
There's a tea infuser ball, and a tea infuser spoon. A wooden lemon reamer. Measuring spoons.
Lots of cookie cutters.
The "star" atop the tree is the wired-on bowl of a silver serving spoon, and it glitters just right.
It's really quite beautiful, just the way it is.

27 comments:

Dagny said...

Love that star cookie cutter. I've thought of getting a tree -- one of those cute little rosemary ones -- in the past but Natasha would just eat it. Really.

Monkey Wrangler said...

Yes, yes, yes! Finally, someone went out and got themselves a real genuine north american pinus kitchenus. Congratulations! How far'd you have to go for that beauty?

ChrisB said...

What a novel way to decorate your tree~ brilliant idea.

Anita (Married... with dinner) said...

Yippee! What a swell idea. Our never-living tree is made of ornaments and lights. It's not nearly as cool as Sean and dPaul's, though:

http://hedonia.seantimberlake.com/hedonia/2006/12/gayest_christma.html

Or Matt and Adam's
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewa/2105987249/

...but we're handicapped by our heterosexuality, after all.

peter said...

All you need now is strings of cranberries and popcorn. When I was a kid, my Mom and I would make shrunken apple heads as well.

tammy said...

Awww. That's the spirit.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Love other peoples' trees, saves me actually having to go out and do one of my own. We used to have a live xmas tree, in a pot, at which we'd fling a bit it glitter, if it wasn't raining but Sydney's summer killed it.

cookiecrumb said...

Dagny: Rosemary tree? Oh, I have to see that. So cute. But that damn Natasha. Silly girl. Burp.

Monkey Wrangler: I wish I could say I grew the tree myself in my garden. But sadly, no. I had to drive a couple of miles. Damn my carbon footprint.

Chris: Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Anita: I must see your tree. I can't see Sean and dPaul's, or Matt and Adam's, because your links broke. It's OK. I still like you.

Peter: Aha! The total foodie tree. You are right.

Tammy: But who knew it would be so pretty? Yay.

Morgan: We should do blog links of our trees, so you'll get an eyeful. Well. I don't want to see your dead one, so no thanks. :D

Stacie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stacie said...

such a great post... I love it! It's funny that is can be so simple, even though the forces that be try to make it so over-blown... we string popcorn and hang goofy looking stuff the kiddos make on our tree... Happy holidays, Ms Crumb.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

i wanna see it all
love the foodie tree
classic

Linda said...

What a great tree for someone who loves to cook. I bought one this year and would you believe it has no scent? I'm so disappointed.

Liz said...

Absolutely perfect!

Our trees are such lightweights, they can't handle much ornamentation, but we have a collection of knitted and crocheted ornaments from James' grandma that don't weigh it down. It's very Charlie Brown, but just right all the same. :)

Anonymous said...

Once I returned from a weekend to find that a huge wind storm had broken off the top of one of my redwoods. I brought it into the house to use as my Christmas tree, with no ornaments except its own little cones and srings of round white lights. It may have been my favorite tree of all time.

I love the thought of your cookery tree.

Kevin said...

CC,
I love that idea. And you could add a string of over-counter halogen lights for illumination.{g}

cookiecrumb said...

Stacie: Well, kids are an ornament-making factory, right? So yeah, you gotta use your fun, funky, loveable stuff. Happy holidays to youse, too.

CEF: Unfortunately, I have not yet mastered the long-distance shot with my camera. It should be very simple; just go change lenses and stand back... But for now I'm into close-up photos. (The tree is cute, trust me.)

Linda: Our tree is surprisingly light on pine smell, too. Global warming, probably. I blame Bush. :D

Liz: Knitted and crocheted heirlooms. I'd die for that. How terribly perfect! Happy Charlie Brown Christmas!

Kudzu: What a gift from nature! Of course you'll always remember that one.

Kevin: Nah, we're just gonna go around from branch to branch with the creme brulee torch and set little fires.

Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic said...

I love this story! When Mathra and I first got married, we decorated our Charlie Brown Christmas tree with the holiday cards people sent us and the bows from presents. If the cats knocked those things off, they didn't break!

We've been slowly building up our ornament collection since and this year's addition is a green glass pickle.

Greg said...

I remember the poor days. It all seemed so much simpler. Or maybe my memory fails. We use a fake tree but get a great wreath at the farmers market to scent the house.

Michelle said...

Sounds beautiful, Cookie, and perfectly memorable. I can only hope that LB and I will be remembering our first Christmas together so fondly - you've given me hope!!

Zoomie said...

Great idea! MB and I have some similar ornaments - his dog tags from his Air Force days, for example, but they are all stored this year as we'll be away for the holiday. Have a lovely one!

cookiecrumb said...

Stephanie: Well, see, you have friends and relatives sending you cards and ribbons... (weep, weep) What a great solution for your first tree.
And. That pickle ornament? Foodie, baby! I bet you have cheese ornaments too.

Greg: Those wreaths at the farmers market are da bomb! Really, really beautiful, and not killer expensive. Happy holidays, kiddo.

Michelle: You and your lucky bastard will most definitely remember. Why don't you do something silly for your first married Christmas? Make it extra memorable. And happy holidays.

Zoomie: Happy travel to you and your MB. We wish you a peaceful Christmas.

Anna Haight said...

My live little tree on my deck (allergic to real ones inside) keeps getting knocked over by these ferocious winds! This reminds me of when I was just starting out, we made furniture out of newspapers rolled up and covered with blankets. And we pasted cut out photos on the wall of other furniture items we would eventually place there... and we had some borrowed deck furniture too. All was fun. Love your decorating ideas!

Zoomie said...

Right back at ya! Happy Holidays to you and Cranky and, of course, to the ever-adorable Bean Sprout!

Anonymous said...

I love the sound of your tree. This is one of the first Christmas's my boyfriend Jim and I have spent living together and sadly we're too poor (and have too little of an apartment) to have a tree, though I think I am going to break down and buy a wreath tonight--I really miss that smell!

cookiecrumb said...

Anna: I've never heard of rolled-up newspaper furniture. How resourceful of you.
It's nice to be a grown-up now, isn't it?
Merry Christmas.

Zoomie: xxxx!

Clumsy: I am wishing for the very best Christmas for you and Jim. Get the wreath! Get the wreath!

Katie Zeller said...

Love your tree! My girls just noticed ours last night (It's only been there 3 weeks). All of a sudden they were sniffing and nosing..
Uh-oh, just thought...
maybe there's a mouse in it.
That could be interesting. At least cookie cutters don't break when the tree gets pulled over...

cookiecrumb said...

Katie: A mouse in your tree! That's so, uh... country! Really cute.
Merry Christmas.