Oh goody, McT--I'd love to see yours! Yes, Teresa, the tree just barely fits. We have always purchased cut trees till two years ago and the problem had been we could never find a fake tree that looks like what we'd buy "cut"! We'd always get one too tall and cut it back to touch the ceiling. Well, my solution was to buy a fake one two feet taller and cut it back, which we did. I have about two feet worth of unused brances bound together in the box and have to "work out" the placement minus the benefit of the color codes since I like to do "my own thing" in creating hopefully a real look. It seems to work but took me 2 1/2 hours to put it together and that didn't count lights (not prelit) or ornaments etc. Here are a few more of the "house" decorating efforts! Looking from kitchen eating area into dining area: Looking toward front door and entry to family room, from kitchen eating area: Looking back from front entry towards the kitchen: The little "cafe" table and chairs usually sit in an area of my "secret garden" outside amongst the hosta but in the winter serves as a place for two grand-boys to sit, at family feasts, while the "adults" sit at a larger table (not seen) to the left of them in this pic.! Molly, our Lab, has to be in all photos, as per her self-designated "job assignment" or nearly all of them, anyhow! LOL

Thought I had started my above response with today's find, but see I didn't. It must have been on my other board. Today I went to a town about 20 minutes away with my sister. She was looking for a pair of winter boots that she had seen there. We stopped in a Walgreens to look. We don't have a Walgreens, but one is being built a few miles away in our sister city. Anyway today I found two 6 foot lighted trees in urns for $10 each at Walgreens. They were originally $39.99! I was really excited. They had three more and I really wish that I would have bought at least one more. The two I got are for the outside of the house in the front. We will be screening our covered back porch in soon and I should have gotten one for out there and I think that I might like the look of one in my entry. The size would be good for it. Oh well, at least I got the two.

Creative ideas! well, so many lights that i even can't see the tree' leaves! shining, shining...... Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas gift, DIY DVD photo show for Xmas, share Xmas video online

Here you go! Date Pinwheels -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baker's Catalogue editor P.J. Hamel reports that this is her all-time favorite Christmas cookie. She writes: "My own memories include the soft brown dough, the dates bubbling on the stove, the tricky process of rolling the filling inside the dough, and the magical way the refrigerator would make the sticky mass solid and sliceable. And the taste! Waiting till just the right moment, the cookies hot out of the oven but the filling cool enough not to burn, my sister and I would greedily eat date pinwheels till Mom made us stop. No, date pinwheels aren't beautiful; in fact, they're usually kind of plain-looking, the spiral of dates often a bit out of whack. But these homely little gems strike just the right note on my Christmas cookie spread. "Remember to share this recipe with a younger friend; it's up to all of us to pass along this type of old and trusted recipe to the next generation of bakers." Dough 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter 2 cups (15 1/2 ounces) light brown sugar, packed 3 large eggs 4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Filling* 1 3/4 cups (9 1/4 ounces) chopped dates 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups (about 6 ounces) finely diced pecans or walnuts *Though this filling is easy enough to make, if you want to use purchased date (or fig) filling, go ahead. You'll need about 2 cups (24 ounces) of filling. Dough: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Chill the dough till it's firm enough to roll out, at least 1 hour. Filling: While the dough is chilling, make the filling. In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the dates, sugar, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and boil the dates gently for 10 to 15 minutes, or until thickened to about the consistency of very soft jam. Stir in the finely diced nuts, and set aside. Assembly: Divide the dough in half; each half will weigh about 21 ounces. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough into a 9" x 12", 1/4"-thick rectangle. Spread half the filling (about 11 ounces) over the entire surface of the dough; the filling is sticky and stiff, but if you keep wetting your fingers, you can push and spread it around without too much trouble. Roll the dough up, lengthwise, to make a log. It's somewhat delicate, but a baker's bench knife or spatula helps the job along. Wrap each log in waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for several hours, or overnight. If you have a double baguette pan, slip the wrapped dough into the wells to help preserve their round shape. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and if it's flattened out at all roll it till it's round again; the log may lengthen a bit, and that's OK. Cut the log into 1/3" slices, and place the slices 1 1/2" apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Baking: Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes, or until they're a very light brown, reversing the baking sheets (top to bottom, and front to back) midway through the baking time. Remove the cookies from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Yield: about 8 dozen pinwheels. ©2007 The King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.