All's Well That Ends Well

So I spent the morning alternately cleaning the house and writing a diatribe (on my more political account over at Vocal Media) regarding the school shootings here lately, and I'm looking forward to trimming the tree with the kids in the afternoon. 

This did not go as planned.

Our artificial tree won't light up anymore.

Liz, 14, suggests Google. Google tells me that the average lifespan of pre-lit artificial Christmas trees is seven seasons. Well, this is season 8 of owning this tree - Lizzy picked it out herself when she was six - so there you go.

So after a little internet checking for who might have affordable trees in stock, Lizzy and I head to Target.

Yeah, no.

Most of their trees are either over a hundred dollars - up to $350 - or over seven and a half feet tall.

Or both.

And as our ceilings are fairly low (that same seven and a half feet, in fact), it's a no-go.

All right, on to a local hardware store, buying local is good, right?

Uh, sure. If you're rich.

At this point, in addition to all the swearing I've been doing because I'm super frustrated and last week's vague elbow injury is sore again, I've become aware of a nagging ache in my lower back. Must've tweaked it somehow while getting decorations out of the shed. 

Grand.

Anyway, we hit Home Depot, same issue. All artificial trees are too tall and/or too expensive, especially the lit ones. I wouldn't mind a live tree (not big on the cut trees because they're a fire hazard and a pain in the neck to take care of), but most of the living trees within my price range are about on par with Charlie Brown's tree, and we have an entire solar system of ornaments to put up here. 

Literally.

Including Pluto.

So we end up in my work parking lot, a safe place to use the phone, checking the Walmart website. As much as I loathe Walmart, it usually is cheaper. I get all excited because the website claims to have a 6' tree, prelit in your choice of white or color, for $40, in stock for pickup!

Except that for some reason, Walmart thinks I'm in Los Angeles.

I'm in Seattle, but my time zone - thanks Apple! - is listed as Cupertino, so...

I'm about ready to cry (for the second time that day, although the first was closer to hysterical laugh-crying) but we decide to hit Fred Meyer (the PNW's version of Kroger) on the way home. 

Finally! 

It took some time and some doing - and my helper stayed in the car because she was about peopled out - but I finally found a great tree for our purpose! Six and a half feet tall, pretty skinny, prelit with twinkly white lights, and on sale!

Ugh, but the sale price is still above my budget. And I can't find a box to match the display. So I ask the person running the garden center if there might be another shipment in the back. 

No, they say, but I can sell you the floor model for a discount.

And the cashier can add another $12 off because of the holiday sale going on.

So, we're safely at home, about to eat dinner and then decorate the tree, and cozy-warm. 

And I met my step goal for the day, so...

EDIT: now we can't find the tree ornaments. We have banners, stockings, hats, snow globes, music boxes, even Dreidel Mickey and Christmas Dora, but no ornaments.

I'm going to bed. We'll look again in daylight, maybe run to Grandma's storage unit.