12/16/05 And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care

So, do you all have all of your Christmas decorations up yet? I spent the first part of Monday morning up on the roof, scooting along a dangerously steep incline on my butt at the refreshing temperature of 31 degrees. Tony stood on the ground below, taking the flashing bulbs out of the lights and offering such reassurances as, "You're going to fall off and die!" and "There aren't even bushes over there to break your fall!" (He had originally planned to get on the roof also, but the awkward angle of the roof and his fear of heights made him reconsider...plus, I told him someone needed to stay on the ground to change out flashy bulbs). He did climb up onto the extension ladder though, just to prove he could. We also bought our "fresh-never frozen" tree at Lowes, and carted it home to put up. I'll give him one thing about his insistence that it's not Christmas without a real tree--they smell WONDERFUL! The whole house has this great pine
scent. And without even mopping the floor! The boys have never really paid attention to the tree before, other than to look at us like we've lost our minds when we drag it in. This year, however, Dixon has been stealing nibbles on the lower branches, which has resulted in little wreaths of cat barf with pine needles all over the hallway floor. (This shortly on the heels of Mason deciding he had a taste for artificial plants, which he barfed up all over the duvet. Don't even ask how much that cost to have it dry cleaned!)

I am so tired of cat barf. We have a spray that is supposed to taste bad enough that when you spray it on the plant/tree/flower arrangement, the cat won't eat it, but I've been holding off because it also has the added side bonus of smelling like burned plastic. I think the time has come though.