In Search of the Perfect Tree.

Have you ever traveled out to the distant hills and forests, hiked miles into the wintery hinterland, with a song in your heart, a saw in your hand and whiskey in your flask to search for that perfect Christmas tree? Well us neither, but we did drive up into the low hills of Whitney's home town of Forest Grove to Parry's U Cut Tree Farm this year to find our perfect little tree. We hiked walked miles yards up into the tree farm past Douglas Firs, Fraser Firs, Blue Spruce and others to the depths of the Noble Fir trees. There it was, all 4'7" of it. Almost as tall as Whitney. (Kidding. She is taller than that. Kinda.) The tree glistened in the light mist that swirled through the forested hills, raindrops falling silently on her boughs. A woodsy forest green with silver highlights, she was perfect. With the smell of sawdust and sap infiltrating our nostrils as the moss covered earth settled silently beneath our footsteps, we kept our eye on our little tree as we looked further. Just in case some silly wide-eyed kid with family in tow tried to claim it as his own, we were ready to pounce back and fight them off. Satisfied with our choice, I took the saw in my hand and in two swift motions, sliced through the thick trunk and hoisted the beast over my head. Triumph. Victory. Christmas.   

Holiday Gumdrop Wreath.

What you'll need:

• a 12" styrofoam wreath
• wire for hanging
• ribbon
• toothpicks
• gumdrops

Helpful suggestions: this wreath is heavy, so thicker gauged wire works best. (I was a few gumdrops shy of using five 1 lb., 2 oz. bags). I was concerned the wire would tear through the styrofoam, so I wrapped some masking tape around a bit of the wreath before I attached the wire. Also, get a second box of toothpicks, as if you really cram the gumdrops close together like I did, you'll run out. I hope you have as much making this wreath as I did and here's hoping your family doesn't keep sneaking gumdrops out of the bowl like someone did at my house. Ahem, Dave.