What a difference two years makes

On Friday we went to get our Christmas tree and decorated the living room. Last year we were living with Michael's parents and put up a tree there. Two years ago was our first Christmas together as a married couple, and even though we were living upstairs while work had just started downstairs, I still insisted we put up a tree. It's a tradition I wanted to start from the very beginning, no matter what the circumstances. So we went all the way out to the Ashland Berry Farm to pick out a tree and put it up on the third floor, where we were pretty cramped already. We didn't have a fireplace and mantle, but we did have his scary gas heater thing on the wall. So the stockings were hung on the wall with pushpins.

(I didn't realize that Tanga was in this picture until I uploaded it just now - he's that blob there on the bottom right)

This year, our Christmas decorating is a far cry from two years ago, what with the finished living room, and a piano to boot.

And, we have a mantle to decorate:

Yes, we have four stockings, two for Michael and me, two for the kitties. Keep the crazy cat lady comments to a minimum, please.