The tree is in the living room in its stand. Which, by the way, is the Krinner Tree Stand – a real find in a now closed store. I couldn’t remember when I purchased it, but I looked on the spotlight function of my computer and found an old email reaching back to  2005:

I have wondered about the hardware store by Scott’s that used to be Coast to Coast and then True Value. Now the clerk says it is independent. I’m curious about why and also noticed they carry some unusual things.
For instance I needed a new Christmas tree stand and researched it on the internet and found the best five.  One was Krinner’s tree stand and I thought neat but they will never have it in Kendallville but I went into this hardware store and wow there it was.
I said to the clerk, “This is so great, you have a Krinner’s tree stand;  you have made my day and he just kind of looked at me. (It might have been the reindeer antlers on my head)

Well, that was quite a tangent – good thing I had a life line on.

In addition to getting the tree up, the shelves are emptied in the fruit cellar and, wait for it, I cleaned The Bunker. Not deep cleaning, mind you, but a darn good start. Soon much of the not-used-everyday stuff in the kitchen will find a new home in the fruit cellar and we will put some of Alison’s extra pantry food down there while she works on her shoppingphillia.

But that makes me think of all the realtors who insist that everything be stored away and out of sight for showing a house – nothing on the counters. So people walk in and go “This is great” and then move in and are standing there with their cooking stuff in hand. And after they put it down on the counters, they thunk their foreheads. Can’t they see this coming? I would ask the realtor, “Okay, show me the super special roomlet or cabinet where I can walk in and find the coffepot, microwave, blender, toaster, etc all lined up ready to be used. You know, come to think of it, were I to design a kitchen I would have a little roomlet attached for all the electronic stuff . . . then I could swoon over empty counters, or maybe sleep on them.

This is where a parallel universe would come in handy. Just go back and forth between the neat one and the one with all the stuff. Of course, there could be a glitch and you’d get stuck in the mind numbing neat one without a thing to read or a blankie to pull up around you.

I’m scaring myself.

Oh, by the way, the Yankee Candle scent for the day was Mistletoe and Fig. Very comforting and Dickensesque.