Maine Vintage Map Trees

Maine Vintage Map Trees

This entry for WHRL’s Christmas Tree Festival and Auction is a trio of minimalist vintage Maine Map Christmas Trees. A vintage map tree I spotted on Pinterest from Bombus in the UK inspired these designs. Paul cut three triangles of wood culled from his scraps....
A Season’s End

A Season’s End

As has become our tradition as the Christmas season ends, our Charlie Brown tree has another chance to bring a bit more joy.  Hannah helped me bring it outdoors – strategically placed outside one of the living room windows.  I dipped apple slices and pine cones...
Gidget’s First Christmas Tree Hunt

Gidget’s First Christmas Tree Hunt

The first weekend in December is when we pick out and harvest our Christmas tree. Every year Hannah and I engage in a debate over the best tree. She likes fat and full, I like thinner with a bit of space between the branches for ornaments to hang. As fun as it can be...
Christmas Past: Our First Home-Grown Christmas Tree

Christmas Past: Our First Home-Grown Christmas Tree

A few readers have shared with me their experiences with home-grown Christmas trees. Reading one of these messages this morning had me reflecting back on our first home-grown tree. It was December 2004 and our first holiday in Maine. A 27′ camper trailer was our...
With Eyes Too Big For The Living Room

With Eyes Too Big For The Living Room

Our tradition of harvesting our own tree from the property started when the family budget didn’t permit the luxury of visiting the local tree farm. Despite a mostly balanced budget these days, our home grown tree tradition continues. On Sunday, Hannah and I donned...
No Snow, No Spirit

No Snow, No Spirit

December is here and the holiday festivities have begun, but the Christmas Spirit hasn’t quite settled in yet. Maybe it’s my crazy schedule or something else, but I find myself searching for that essence of Joy. We made a concerted effort this weekend to...
Our Free Range, Organic Christmas Tree

Our Free Range, Organic Christmas Tree

For the past few years, we’ve been cutting a tree from the farm for our Christmas tree. These fir trees have not been groomed for the purpose, so they’re “au natural” or as Paul calls them – free range, organic Christmas trees. Started...
A Downeast Thunder Christmas Tree

A Downeast Thunder Christmas Tree

In recent years it’s become our family tradition to cut a Christmas tree from our own property. This usually involves at least an hour of tromping through the woods, studying every fir tree under 20 feet from all angles. It is too skinny? Is it full enough? Is...