The Christmas Gift Tree!

Occasionally..ok, quite often, I get one of those harebrained ideas stuck in my head and there it stays until I at least attempt or convince someone else to attempt to make it come to fruition.  This particular thought occurred to me long ago..way back years ago right after Hurricane Katrina.  Anyone who saw our place could fully attest to the mountains of debris that washed in with the flood waters.  By mountains, I mean in some areas, it was every bit of ten feet deep!  It was like the master of all treasure hunts once we started cleaning.  I was amazed at all of the stuff that had come from who knows where.  Of particular intrigue was the amount of furniture or parts of furniture.  This all seemed far too much of a waste just to toss on the burn pile so a goodly amount was set aside with good intentions.  Yes, I did refinish and restore a ton of it but there still remains a lot that is just parts of tables, dressers and beds.  My harebrained idea involved some of these pieces..mainly the beautifully hand-carved pieces that were once drawer fronts of antique dressers.  How in the world could I throw these pieces on the trash pile?  I did not.

This week, Son asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  I know he hates to shop about as much as I do which accounts for my usual "Christmas Pizza"!  Michael would always just tell me that he would treat me to a pizza when we were taking down the decorations after Christmas had passed.  This was greatly appreciated after all of the work of the holidays and after all of the sweetness of great quantities of cookies.  But this year, I was ready for him to ask his question!  "Hey, Mom, what do you want for Christmas?" he queried.  "I know just what I want!" my answer took him aback!  Then I dove into explaining just what he could do for me!  I told him that I wanted a Christmas Tree!   He questioned this as we had just put up and decorated two very large trees..one in the dining room and another in the living room.  "No, no, no...I want one for the hallway!" I exclaimed!  He stared at me and then at the hallway.  I suppose he thought I was as batty as a loon at about this point.  Our hallway is a mere three feet wide and putting a Christmas Tree in there would be slap nuts!  I persisted by explaining what I wanted. My description of the tree left him more confused than ever until I gathered together the pieces.  Then he began to understand.  My tree was to be made from all of the ornate carved pieces that I had saved from Hurricane Katrina. And so, he set to work.

I am now the proud owner of a very unique tree!  He made it exactly how I requested and it is perfect!  After a rubbing of green paint and some wood stain, the tree is ready to be installed in the hallway.  Tomorrow, he will cut a "tree stand" to be mounted beneath the tree itself and with two small nails, my tree will stand in all its glory!  The hallway will be decorated. I will have a Christmas gift that will last a lifetime and the beautiful handiwork of artisans that hand carved the wood will not have been wasted!  This is a win/win situation for all of us!  I love my tree and I love Son for not thinking his mom is too crazy!