And Then The Tree Fell Over

I'm pretty sure the following text message I sent to a few friends this afternoon says it all ...

"The truck is stuck, Bruce is cursing and I'm covered in mud.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

And if that doesn't say it all to you, the tweet that went up a few hours later will push you over the edge ...

All in all, a ridiculously fun afternoon (even if the truck did get stuck and I picked out a tree that was three feet too big).  Here are some snapshots from my day!

My first attempt at homemade icing was ... messy.  The good news is that I think I can make the confectioner-sugar-handprint-on-my-pants look work.

I think I can also safely cross pastry chef off of the list of potential fall-back plans in case the ministry doesn't work out.  I'm not sure what happened ... The frosting came out in blops.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup for lunch!  I used a can of Condensed Campbell's Tomato Soup, mixed it with a can of water and seasoned with salt, pepper and basil.  Not bad for canned soup!

After lunch Bruce and I headed out to choose our tree!

Fun fact:  Averill Farm is located in Washington Depot, the town that Stars Hollow of Gilmore Girls was based off of.

He's smiling because this is before I picked out a 12-foot tree half a mile from the truck and the truck got stuck in the mud.

Everyone should pick out Christmas trees in the snow.

I think I'm going to name this picture 'Brand Loyalty'.

I wanted this one.  Apparently I think we live in a house with 27-foot ceilings.

We finally found one that we both agreed on ...

... TIMBER!!!!!

His smile faded fast when he realized that the truck was stuck in the mud.  We spent the next 30 minutes or so with me in the driver's seat and Bruce running around throwing sand, redistributing weight in the bed of the truck and trying to lift and push as he screamed, "NOT SO MUCH GAS!"

I'm not sure I was being very helpful.

Eventually we walked back up to the house and asked the owners if they could pull us out with one of their tractors and they happily obliged.

And I happily walked away and took pictures of the gorgeous sunset.

Calm.

Eventually we got ourselves out and were happily on our way.  Until we got home and realized the tree was too big, ha!  The tree is up, but not decorated yet.  It's a work in progress ... so stay tuned!

I made Chicken Pasta Marinara for dinner to refuel us after the tree cutting.  It definitely hit the spot and I am loving cooking in this kitchen!  I'll post my recipe next week.

Alright, I'm falling asleep at my keyboard - goodnight!  Big day tomorrow!