Saturday Update-

Its been snowing. Ski season must be starting any day now.

The carpet is paid for and on order. Earliest delivery date is 12 December and we can't get on the install schedule until it has been delivered. Still 50-50 on wheter its installed before Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas- we did go to the Festival of Trees last night. Ah, it was not a huge hit with either of us. The BSU was expecting big, professionally (and tastefully) decorated real trees on graceful display. In reality, its a largely mormon, family memorial, show-off opportunity in the name of charity. There were NO live trees! And the plastic trees were draped and stuffed with every kind of stuffed bear, stuffed moose, Barbie doll and plastic, toy tool you can imagine. Almost every tree was a memorial to one or more lost loved one by the family that created it. That circumstance caused me to wonder if these families built and displayed a memorial tree every year.

Anyway, it was held in the South Towne Expo Center and it was packed out with trees. My favorite part of the show was actually the table of gingerbread houses. These showed lots of creativity and some of them were just exquisite in their execution. There were Santas and sleighs and reindeer on top of barn roofs, reproductions of the homes of early mormon leaders and beautiful cottages, all produced with edibles of many types. Remarkably, none of the models of little chapels in the woods had crosses on the steeples...

There were tables of Christmas colored table decorations, also principally created by mormon adult sunday school classes in the spirit of one-upmanship. We skipped the fudge counter where it appeared folks were just about arm-wrestling to get to the line front and we found nothing to buy in the gift shop. We did find my friend Kenny and his wife Susie and their neighbors Mike & Sandy, also perusing the show. I asked Kenny if they usually attended this show, he said they hadn't been to see it in years, and he now remembered why!

So today, its schoolwork then more yard decorating and the BSU says we need to do some shopping.