Simple Pleasures

I just heard on the radio that while no one is buying (even deeply discounted) cashmere sweaters, houses, or cars, they are buying Christmas trees:

Retailers say Christmas tree sales are one bright spot in an otherwise dismal holiday shopping season.

Dale Howard of Howard's House of Trees has tree farms in Marathon and Maine. He says sales will be up this year over last, and that's typical in hard times, when people usually buy more trees.

I get it. The ROI on a Christmas tree is very very high. It's fun to pick it out, schlep it home, unpack and remember where you got your decorations (even the ugly ones), trim the tree, light it up, and then stare at it for hours and hours on end. When you're a kid, that staring exciting and exhilarating. As an adult, it's calming, even soothing.

And then there's that smell.

I'm staring at mine right now and it just looks really pretty, even if it is listing a bit.