How to Pick the Best Christmas Tree Ever

The simple pleasure of choosing a Christmas tree was enough to put the 

laughter back in her eyes.

“This one!” Shane exclaimed, stopping in front of a short-needle pine. 

“It's exactly right.”

“It doesn't look much different from the other five hundred trees we've looked at,” 

Vance grumbled, slicing the point of his shovel into the snow.

“That's because you don't have a connoisseur's eye,” she said condescendingly. 

He scooped up a handful of snow and rubbed it into her face. 

“Be that as it may,” Shane continued with remarkable aplomb, 

“this is the one. Dig,” she instructed, and stepping back, folded her arms.

First Impressions

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By Trevor Webb - Own work, CC BY 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65119685

Confused about how to choose the best Christmas tree for your family? The experts at Better Homes & Gardens can help! With these tips for choosing the optimal real Christmas tree and keeping it looking good for as long as possible, you'll have the best Christmas tree on the block.

Better Homes & Gardens

Replant a festive tree

"I'd say we're ready for the tree. Let's go find one."

You want to drive into town now?.

"Of course not." Pandora was already pulling coats out of the hall closet.

"We'll go right out in the woods and dig one up."

"We?"

"Certainly. I hate it when people cut trees down and then toss them aside after the new year.

The woods are loaded with nice little pines. We'll dig one up, then replant it after the holidays."

A Will and a Way

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By Randi Hausken from Bærum, Norway - The Christmas tree, CC BY-SA 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29876120

By the time you purchase a tree, it has already been cut for weeks, or maybe even months. However, even a freshly cut tree has been separated from its roots and replanting a Christmas tree without roots simply isn’t possible. If you’re determined to plant your Christmas tree, purchase a tree with a healthy root ball that has been securely wrapped in burlap. This is an expensive alternative, but with proper care, the tree will beautify the landscape for many years.

Gardening Know How 

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“You know,” he said a few moments later, “it suddenly occurs to me that you‟re going to expect me to dig a hole

to put this thing in after Christmas.”

Shane sent him a guileless smile. “What a good idea. 

I know just the place too. You‟ll probably need a pick though. 

There are an awful lot of rocks.” 

Ignoring Vance‟s rude rejoinder, she waved over an attendant. 

With the roots carefully wrapped in burlap and the tree itself paid for—

by Shane over Vance‟s objection—they headed home.

First Impressions

How to Grieve during the Holidays, 5 minutes at a Time

It took well over an hour as Shane shared her memories about nearly every ornament she unpacked. As she took out a red felt star, she recalled the year she had made it for her grandmother. It brought both a sting and a warmth. She‟d been dreading Christmas. It hadn't seemed possible to celebrate the holiday in that house without the woman who had always shared it with her. Gran would have reminded her that there was a cycle.

First Impressions

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

File:Closeup_of_mini-light.JPG#/media/File:Closeup_of_mini-light.JPG

We are feeling, and this is allowed.

YAHOO!

Flight Attendant Style

He loitered at the gate, eyeing a pair of flight attendants who

were waiting for a change of crew. 

Now that, he mused, was a profession that drew pretty women. 

It almost made a man feel there'd be some advantage in 

being stuck in a flying tin can for a few hours.

The Fall of Shane MacKade

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By Iberia Airlines - 1962 Uniforme Iberia por Pedro Rodríguez, 

CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35248609

From Pillbox Hats to Go-Go Boots: Flight Attendant Style Through the Years

Just as fashions change throughout our daily lives, so did the style of stewardess uniforms. From the structured military style dress suits of yesteryear to the more casual—and boxier—outfits of the 90's and beyond. It's safe to say cabin couture has come a long way.

MSN

10 tips for adopting a cat

"Shane. Rumor is, you've got kittens."
Shane grinned down at Bryan. "Talked her into it, huh?"
All innocence, Bryan shrugged, but his quick, triumphant grin betrayed him.

 "She needs company when I'm at school."
"That's a good one."

The Pride of Jared MacKade

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Learn 10 tips you should consider when adopting a cat,
courtesy of the American Humane Association.

BOSTON

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"You could take two." Jared stepped into the stall. 

Her face, he thought, was an open book. "It's nice for them to have company."
"Two?" The idea burst like a thousand watts in Bryan's brain.
"Yeah, Mom, we'll take two. One would be lonely!"
"Bry-"
"And it wouldn't be any more trouble. We've got lots of room
now. Cal's going to want somebody to play with, to hang around with."

"And anyway," Bryan went on, because he'd come out of his
own excitement long enough to see the way his mother was
cuddling the orange kitten, "this way we could each pick one.
That's the fair way, right?"

The Pride of Jared MacKade