unnecessarily large undertaking

It’s December, which means it’s time for a Christmas Tree Saga from yours truly. But honestly, the drama just wasn’t there, this year, even though I chose a) the biggest tree on the lot and certainly b) the tallest of our short lives.

I dressed for the occasion

We rocked up the other day and it was still November because Husband’s travel meant he’d be away the first two weekends in December. Last year the road to perdition was muddy as fuck but being at the beginning of the festive season meant other people would get the muddy end of the stick, er trunk. Anyhoo, it was glorious outside and the kids ran around after critiquing the cider.

Aside from choosing the mobile phone tower, again, I felt like there was less to choose from, this year. In two years it looks like there’ll be a bumper crop, but I cast my eye back to the welcoming scene at the door and Husband inwardly groaned, his back twinged in anticipation.

No, not that one

It was pre-cut and trying to catch our attention from the get-go with that seductive pose. The kids ran off the sling-shot while Husband and I had a war of eye-rolls.

Someone copped an inadvertent apple in the nuts

Everyone came to investigate and agreed that save for the mobile phone tower, it probably was, or had been, the tallest tree on the lot. The potential problem would be baling.

And carrying.

And getting it home.

But not necessarily in that order.

Anyhoo, we made it! The tree is up, no divorce in sight, and I even managed to get a few lights close to the top,

though the star never had a chance.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

Finally organised the eggs, and will have to remember to put them in solution asap, so the crystals actually grow. The rock candies seem not to be growing (only 10lbs of sugar, dammit), though a blog or two about how much of a pain in the neck they are suggests a week of growing, or a week in addition to the supposed 4 day growth period. Never mind.
Husband has checked the weather, and fingers and toes crossed, the afternoon should be warm and clear! So I can worry less about tents and wind, and concern myself with the old mine shaft and glow in the dark rocks. Or better yet, cleaning the house.

I should have figured out out to make a rice crispy volcano before I made the rice crispies, but I got there, I think. I still need to make a bigger section for the bottom of it, but I’m confident in these 2.
Note to self: rice crispy cylinders and other shapes need to be solid.

I have run out of rice crispy makings, so this will have to do. And actually, when they are all stacked, I think it will be at least a foot tall. Add the muffins, choc icing lava, some fleeing snakes, frilled toothpicks and sparklers, it will be (fine) perfect.

So next time I would just try this with sugar, as alum is sort of expensive and the recipe calls for 6tbsp for 1 cup of water. Alum apparently only takes 12-24hrs for awesome results, though. Or I will just never do this again, hmmm.

I baked the fossils for about 4 hours and left them overnight to make them properly fossilize. They look great. I found the dinosaur stamper cookie cutters in a random home store; they’re awesome.

It would seem that I like work, and thrive on stress, because I have left much to the night before the big day. This is contrary to my general lackadaisical attitude to daily chores. Hopefully Husband doesn’t get any ideas about my work ethic.