The Tree is Up Now ...

After spending all week in a bucket of water, we finally brought the tree inside last night (complete with the icy disk that had frozen at its base!) and got it set up in the stand. Soon after, Fernymoss started working his magic by stringing the 350 new LED lights we have switched over to this year for the tree. We're really liking them: they're bright, take very little electricity and don't heat up at all. And by all accounts, they last much longer than traditional bulbs and rarely burn out ... they're winners on all those accounts. Though they're currently more expensive than traditional ones, we got these back in October when they had a pre-Christmas sale at Big Lots for not a bad price at all compared to other retailers (sorry, Target).

Tonight we finally located the glass bead garland and set out to get it strung in preparation for the great ornament hanging over the next few days, but here's how it looked about an hour or so ago. This was a flash shot (obviously) so it doesn't quite capture the lights, but it does give a clearer, detailed view of the overall tree so far....
This one was taken in ambient light, so for capturing the overall glow effect, this shot works really well, but the focus leaves much to be desired ... still, for pure appreciation of the warm glow the lights give the tree, it's one we ended up liking.

Amazing Color Morphing Tree

Here's a fun little video I took of one of our color morphing trees ... we tried still shots of it last year, but were disappointed in the results, so I got the idea of trying a quick video using the S700. I think it turned out pretty well for a single take ... definitely better than our previous stills. We got two of these fun little knick knacks from Fernymoss' Great Aunt a couple of years ago (she always gives us two of something each Christmas, lol), and we've really enjoyed having them out to brighten up the table in the dining room. By the way, that's Ella Fitzgerald in the background on the XM holiday channel we have playing while we decorate. A happy coincidence I happened to take this while she was on!

We're still unpacking a lot of the ornaments, but we've located almost all of the really nice ones so far, so we're on the way to getting them placed just so.... Ornament blogging will happen as I'm able to post for the next couple of weeks ... I'm completely swamped at work, and with the sad event of this week, so my time and motivation have taken a big hit. I'll do my best though to share our Holiday décor through the rest of season, so keeping stopping by, friends and occasional readers.

On another note, we're going to pick up Pepa's ashes sometime on Sunday, so she'll be coming home to stay one last time....