The Stratta and The Tannenbaum

Today was full of Christmas-time memories.

Last night I made ham & cheese stratta for the first time. It sits overnight so I didn't get to bake and taste it until this morning for brunch. I first heard about stratta from my friend JN in VA, who raves about it. I just didn't care for it at all. It was too bread-y. I think I'll stick with frittatas. The last frittata I remember making was at LRL & BBL's house on Christmas morning (two years ago, I believe). We served it with non-alcoholic mimosas. Today we had Airborne-spiked orange juice, which is nearly the same thing because the Airborne makes the OJ fizzy!


I've been struggling this year to get into the Christmas spirit. I just don't feel it in my heart. In fact, D and I debated whether or not to even get out the tree. Traditionally, I put up the tree on my birthday. That comes from way back, the very first year it was just Daddy and me. Understandably, he was depressed and did not want to put up the tree. He told me if I wanted it up then I had to put it up myself. So I did and I decided I would do it on my birthday just because. It became a habit, a routine, just like so many things do.
Now, this is one of my most cherished memories: 1993, I came home on break from Carson-Newman and found that Daddy had put up the tree for me. Actually, he had gotten rid of our original tree, so he had to purchase a tree and decorations in order to have it for me. I cried, it meant so much to me that he had done that.
So today D and I put up our tree, just on the principle of the thing.
I don't think I've ever photographed this tree. We've only had it for two years. I couldn't get it all in the frame. I was actually laying down on the floor trying to capture it all, and it just wasn't working. So I decided to photograph it piecemeal. It's not perfect, but nothing is. Thank goodness for digital cameras. I can take 50 pictures and not feel guilty!
This year's angel came from Tybee Island, GA and it's in the second segment - the one with the shells for wings. Above it and to the left is the (red) angel that SFL gave me last year when she and MRL stayed over at our house. And the purple angel in the last frame is the one I purchased in Sweden. D and I enjoyed remembering where we had purchased each angel. This tree is a couple of feet bigger than our other tree was and there's plenty of room to add more angels! I like to imagine where they're going to come from, all the places I hope to visit in the future.