in search of spirits past

despite the cold temperatures, the jingle bells in the air, and sale signs everywhere, dabney can't seem to catch the holiday spirit and has been down right pissy about the season so far.



in an effort to get dabney out her bah-humbuggy mood, ann thought she'd force a little christmas spirit down her throat by dragging her to the nearest tree farm.

even though its a farm of trees, it somehow always reminds ann of hunting.



every year as they trudge through the fields, it comes down to the same topic of conversation - whether or not they should go for the perfect tree or a charlie brown, sad, and pathetic tree. their past experiences have shown that perfection runs rampant in tree farms due to the year-round mulching and pruning and, as a result, the latter is much harder to come by. so inevitably, the debate begins out of frustration in looking for the imperfect in a field of beauty.

they found this one which was a little straggly, with the added bonus of being a little crooked at the top.



still, they trudged on, hoping to find something sadder. when they didn't, they returned to the tree to consider it again. and then, they found this in its branches:



and that did it. if a little bird thought this little tree was good enough for its home, then ann and dabney thought that it's certainly good enough for their home.

so, they hacked through its trunk with a saw, ripped it from the only home it has ever known, strapped it down to the roof of their car, and stuck it in some water in their living room, for it to die a slow, browning death until the new year.







but first, but first, they stripped it of its dignity by overloading it with metallic balls, handmade garland made from old bingo paper, pipecleaner snowflakes, and lots and lots of glitter.