Bah! Humbug! (;>)

More on Christmas.

So, the weeks have really been flying by I’ve been trying to keep up with the crush of things that have to happen at the end of every year. There’s cards, shopping, all these odds and ends.

I’ve been out twice now (shopping that is) and I’ve found myself pretty lucky. I imagine it’s because of when I’ve been going but, I haven’t suffered through the horrid crush I dread in the stores each year.

Yesterday, I made a trek out to the local mega mall.

It was downright easy!

I couldn’t believe it. I even took the plunge and got a Christmas tree (not so much for me as for the 80 year old child). I had to stop off at Home Depot (which was eerily empty) when they made an announcement there was a sale on trees.

So, I went out to the garden center and walked among the specimens.

Like I said, Home Depot was strangely empty - even though it was only 5pm, it seemed as if it were very late at night as there weren’t any clerks around and the store didn’t have too many customers either.

So, I’m out in the chilly air in the garden center and there’s another person or two looking around at the trees also. Everyone has this bewildered look because there aren’t any clerks around to help them.

Were all eyeing the trees trying to figure out which ones are still worthy candidates (of which there seemed to be quite a few). It’s dark and the area is brightly lit but still deserted and fenced in from the parking lot. There’s still evidence of the last couple of snowstorms and you have to watch your footing.

So, it doesn’t look like anyone is going to come out soon.

I find a tree I like. Now, comes the hard part of getting the thing tied up and ready to get it crammed into my car (which really isn’t built for these kinds of things).

My choice has a knobby trunk, far too long to be of use. I can take it home like this but, really it’ll just be work having to get a jigsaw out of the garage and cut the thing down – never mind the mess. I’m lifting the thing over my head and as I bring it towards the shopping cart I’ve laden down with bags of rock salt (in preparation for our next blizzard), I spy a table with tools on it.

Yes, by god! There’s actually a working electric chainsaw, plugged in resting atop this table (there are times I’m happy I don’t have kids or have anyone else’s kids to keep an eye on). So, I lay my tree on the table and make short work of the offending trunk with the convenient saw.

I’ve always been slightly intimidated by these things (chainsaws) but, the saw moves through the tree like a hot knife through warm butter. After I finish the cut, I push the tree through the cylinder with the mesh plastic netting and I’ve got this nice bundled up tree ready for my car trunk.

There’s a customer or two that comes out into the garden center and can’t figure out if I work there or not and is too intimidated to ask (I guess it’s the chainsaw).

The whole thing was a bit odd though. I never expected to find a self serve chainsaw at a Home Depot.