I'll admit it. I have a fake Christmas tree.
I actually have several fake Christmas trees.
My mom (whom I love dearly) lived through a house fire when I was 4 years old. She lost everything except her family in that fire. It was an electrical fire, so her fears may seem unreasonable, but to her a real Christmas tree and the threat of fire was just too much. We always had an artificial tree while I was living at home with my parents.
My thoughts on live Christmas trees is: I don't want to cut a tree down just to have a live one in my house for a month. I would rather buy one that can be planted. I know I sound like a "tree hugger". I probably am more than most of my peers, but I just don't see the point in killing a tree for a few weeks of having a live tree smell. I can burn a candle or something for that.
That being said, my youngest has requested a live tree for next year.....
That has nothing whatsoever to do with my Christmas tradition that almost burnt down our house!!!
Ha!!!
So, when I start decorating our home for Christmas, I usually go all out. I think I may have mentioned that in an earlier post... I love lots of twinkling lights and decorations. But one of my favorite things is to make a fresh potpourri...
I use orange peels (that hopefully came from an orange I've eaten....just being real here. My fruit intake is way lower than it should be!!). I put them in a small pot of water and add cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. You can use allspice, but I am currently out... I never measure anything so it is a little different each time!!
I like living adventurous.....
Oh, and add water as needed throughout the day! Yes, this is important!!
Last Saturday, we (my whole family, including Army Man who had just returned from a 2 week training) had planned on spending some time in town (Woo Hoo!!!). We did a few things around the house first. You know, like laundry and stuff. I had turned on my little Potpourri pot thinking I love it to smell good (and Christmasy) while we are trudging through mountains of laundry...
When it was time to leave for town (and lunch at Cheddar's and ShOpPiNg) (!!!) we hurried out the door because we are all starving by now!!
We spent a few hours waiting on our oil to be changed, (so annoying...and really starving now!) did a bit of shopping, ate a late (ok, really late) lunch, and went to see my mom-in-law for a bit. We had a great family day together and came home all relaxed and ready to spend our evening watching a Christmas movie!
We entered out house and a smell of burnt crispness greeted us!!!! It was awful!!!! We had to open every door and window in our living area to help air out the smell. It was 40-something degrees outside!!! My little pot may never recover and had we stayed any longer I think our house (or at least the stove and kitchen) would have caught on fire!!!!
I haven't been able to bring myself to make my fresh potpourri since then. It is now Tuesday, and my little stainless steel pot is still not completely clean. I really did a number on that thing. Army Man has scrubbed that thing Every. Day. since then.....it is discouraging. As much as I love the smell of that stuff, I am wondering if I should be trusted...
I may need to invest in a little crock-pot with a timer or auto shut off...
Blessings!!!!
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