i've been thinking about christmas trees.

this isn't difficult, since it's the season for sidewalk tree sales! all over town, there are christmas trees cut and leaning against make-shift stands just waiting for a busy manhattanite to take them home.

what can i say, i'm a sucker for christmas trees. maybe it's the smell of pine on the streets. or maybe i just like twinkling lights. or maybe it's that every year since we've been married, mike and i have made our own christmas ornaments and i like to hang those up.

the first christmas we were here, mike bought me a really big tree. i loved it, the cats loved it, and it took up half of the apartment.

then last year, trying to be green, i bought a tiny christmas tree still in its planter. i loved it, the cats loved it and it still fit all of our ornaments (give us a break, we've only been married three years!). but the guy who sold it to me made a crucial mistake (or maybe this was his plan to stay in business year after year) when he told me not to water it too much. "most people drown their tree," he said. so i was careful with the watering. too careful. when we got back from vacation, there were only dry needles left. (for the record, the cats loved those, too)

so this year i'm not sure what to do. the longer i debate the issue, of course, the closer it gets to moot. it just seems like a waste to take up my precious new york apartment storage space for ornaments that i never even use. but if there is a more cheerful way to celebrate the month of december than having a tree and lights and ornaments and christmas cookies, i have yet to discover it.