Getting the Christmas Tree

Saturday in the midst of everything else we went and purchased a christmas tree.  It was strange getting one, this was the first time for me to get a tree down here.  Last year Chris and Dennis did it alone.  So what struck me was:

• First is the weather.  Never purchased a tree while wearing shorts and a tee shirt before.  It was quite warm here in Wellington last Saturday.
• Second is the scale.  While we did pass three side-of-the-road tree lots they were all small.   I swear the first one we saw had about a dozen trees in the lot.  
• Third were the trees.  Only two species 'kiwi classic' tree and frazer fur.  Kiwi classic being something I had never seen before we got that.  (It didn't hurt that it was less than half the price of the other!)  

So $30 later we had a Kiwi Christmas Tree, another $30 for the stand (a real nice one made in Houston TX) and we were off!

The service was minimal.  No fancy wrapping for the tree to make it transport nicely.   No fresh cut so it stays supple longer.  Nope just grab the tree and run.  So I ties it to the roof of the car and came home where Dennis and I took turns giving it a fresh cut.

Once inside the house Dennis was  bit upset that we were not decorating it right away.  In the US it was our custom to give the tree a day to 'warm up.'  That would literally mean warm up and give the branches a chance to lower as US trees tend to be cram packed and therefore compressed.  The next day the branches had lowered and tree does look fuller.  So that much improved.  The biggest benefit is that we are sure that it would stay upright in the stand.