Oh Christmas Tree

The Gnome has been busy lately with holiday preparations. Last weekend we drove out to Helvetia Vineyards for the traditional Christmas tree hunt. Unfortunately inventory was low for our coveted Noble Fir, so after wine tasting we headed to the neighbor’s farm where plenty of beautiful trees awaited us. We didn’t have to search long before finding our perfect tree, and Stinkz (still working on that name replacement) even picked up his first ornament – a wooden nutcracker with flailing legs and arms. Not to break tradition, we stopped off at the Mad Greek Deli for our annual post tree hunt meal of gyros and spanikopita.

Stinkz also received his first Christmas stocking this week. Since our stocking hangers spell out J-O-Y and we are now a family of four, I didn’t have the heart to kick Madi off the mantel or hang hers to the side, so this year Carson and Madi will be sharing the Y. Although Madi will have no problem graciously accepting any of the Gnome’s toys that may accidentally make their way into her sock, we’ll need to be careful not to drop her bones and Scooby snacks into The Gnome’s. Stinkz is a vegetarian for now.