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31things: Favorite Christmas decoration

Inspired by my attempt last December and from my friend Stephanie, I’m going to try blogging each day in December — holiday themes, of course! I’m calling it “31things.” Click here for more details. Read below for today’s post.

 

We have a variety of Christmas ornaments — from Pittsburgh stuff, to children’s show characters, to festive things.

But out of the hundreds of ornaments it seems we have, my favorite are the ornament balls from my grandmother.

She died in the mid-90s, so these ornaments help to keep her memory alive in our hearts.

They’re showing their age — some of the lettering and decorations are coming off. But others look great.

None are too flashy. All are simple, yet festive.

One in particular has a sleigh with deer and simply says “Merry Christmas.”

I don’t reach for these ornaments first. I wait until others are on the tree so that these ornaments find just the right place to hang.

My mom used to put them near the back, but a few years ago I moved them up. They now hang right in the center near the top.

I love these ornaments. If we put no other ornaments up, I’d be fine with that.

31things: Tree trimming

Inspired by my attempt last December and from my friend Stephanie, I’m going to try blogging each day in December — holiday themes, of course! I’m calling it “31things.” Click here for more details. Read below for today’s post.

Tree trimming
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with decorating trees.

I remember walking through the old Kaufmann’s department stores amazed at the elegant looking trees displayed.

When I was younger, my family put up several trees.

Downstairs, was the “family” tree — a 7.5-foot tree filled with multicolor lights, all of the fun and traditional ornaments we had collected throughout the years, and I always constructed a town below, complete with a train.

Upstairs, was our “Kaufmann’s” tree. That tree had white lights, red and gold ornament balls and some ribbons.

I loved both trees equally.

For whatever reason, we stopped putting up the downstairs tree and moved our family celebration upstairs. The Kaufmann’s tree was retired and replaced with multicolor lights and all of the family ornaments.

Underneath the tree are a few pieces of my Lemax and Kohl’s villages — depicting a slowed down approach to Christmas.

The current tree stands at 7.5 feet and has been with us for 10 or 11 holiday seasons. The first several years, I’d spend 12 or more hours lighting it before decorating began.

I hide the wires among the branches. After the first several years, I decided to build my own pre-lit tree, so I decorated six of the eight tree sections with their own set or two of lights. This way, I figured, when it came down, we could store the tree’s sections with the lights still in tact.

It’s been a beautiful process! I still spend anywhere from 4 hours to eight hours replacing lights and making sure the tree looks real.

Then we decorate!

I love spending time decorating the tree and making it look grand. People often ask if I get frustrated or stressed. And to be honest, I don’t.

But I still miss that Kaufmann’s tree. One day I’ll recreate it. And several others, too!

Finally tasted Five Guys

There’s something very high school-ish about the name of popular fast food burger joint, Five Guys.

Any time somebody enters the place, I find tweets exclaiming, “I’ve got Five Guys in my mouth!” or something similar.

There are (to my knowledge) at least three local Five Guys establishments. Rumor has it, at least one more is on the way.

I’d never been to Five Guys until recently.

Based on my experience, the place doesn’t deserve the hype it gets. Take away the fun name and you’re left with a burger and fries that, at least on my first visit, don’t make the list of Top 10 greatest burgers ever eaten.

Was it bad? No.

But there generally was no ‘wow’ factor to the meal.

I also was amazed at how expensive the meal was. For $11 and some change, I got a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a drink. That seemed a bit expensive for a fast food joint, especially if you compare the size and quality of the burger to one at another restaurant.

The restaurant is mostly stark white — as in, emergency room, hospital white. The few wall hangings include good press from newspapers and other media outlets from across the nation.

On the Saturday I visited, I must have hit the lunch rush as there were few empty tables. Though, by the end of my time there, most customers had cleared out, leaving the place mainly empty.

Five Guys didn’t earn a strike on my “Three Strikes” list — it’s what it sounds like, “three strikes and you’re out.” A restaurant has to earn three strikes (each from a different visit) before I decide to never go there again. Only two restaurants have struck out — Applebee’s and Smokey Bones.

I’d certainly visit again. But Five Guys is not a place I’d drive out of my way to visit or even suggest to friends, especially with a multitude of other, much better, options nearby.