Swanson The Christmas Tree

Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for my man, or tree, Swanson. Just to give you some perspective, I am 5'8". Swanson is almost twice my height.

I love Swanson.

This is our feeble attempt at a family portrait. Normally the dogs are very photogenic, but Nemo couldn't seem to stay still.

This is an ornament that Carol from Not Exactly the Brady Bunch gave to me a few years ago. It's a copper piece shaped like the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I love its simplicity, yet it's such an original looking ornament that adds so much to our eclectic collection of ornaments. Thank you, Carol.

When Todd and I moved in together in 1998, we lived in this bitchen apartment in Brighton, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. We didn't go and cut our own tree, we went down to the corner, as we lived in the city. I bought him a set of 4 ship in a bottle ornamentsthese ornaments for his birthday and started the tradition of buying an ornament for each other each Christmas. Which reminds me, I need to do that for this year.

I bought this one for him the year we bought the dive shop.

This was the one that Todd bought for me last year. Yes, he bought me an ornament that resembles a food I hate.

This was the one I bought for him last year. I also broke it this year when I dropped it on the hardwood floor. Todd managed to fix it with a tube of "Future Glue" that we bought at the truck stop. The concept of Future Glue cracks me up. I swear I could see three seconds into the future when Todd applied the glue, and in response I grabbed a fistful of paper towels to clean up the dripping glue.

Here's Swanson, all dolled up.

Here's Swanson, looking artistic. Or it's me taking bad pictures again.

Happy Holidays, Internet.