Ron was not up to helping with the tree, so:

I cut off enough of the double trunk with a hand saw to fit it into the tree stand.

It took a while to get it even moderately secure and unfortunately, I couldn’t fit the trunks, the water dish and the three “feet” in the stand ring. So I left off the water dish; fingers crossed the tree doesn’t dry out too fast.

It’s a small tree but it had room for two sets of lights as well as three wooden garlands. I worked the rest of the afternoon on hanging the ornaments.

Ron did a shop since just about everything will be closed tomorrow.

We bought a tree at a farmstand on Monday, only to find out later that Carr’s and Duke’s had free ones.

MadMacs squared away Ron’s phone, which had inadvertently been set to double clicks during a system upgrade.

We stopped at the North Adams library so I could take photos of the Christmas decorations.

Ron dropped off and picked up a library book for me, The Mare. I’ve not had good luck with book selections recently.

Sent Robert and Bennett their Christmas money yesterday. Leaving James alone until he gets in touch, he’s been “distant” and seems to need a break.

Pizza for supper yesterday; Jett ate the last piece and it didn’t agree with him!

I slept for 12 hours last night.

Made it to the Farmer’s Market at Greylock Works today. Got cheese and gifts for our neighbors.

Stopped in to the Solstice celebration at Wild Soul River complete with roast chestnuts (very good) and a sale of artisan products at Williamstown Coffee Shop.

Laughed until I cried at Ron and Jett’s hijinks.

The touchpad on Ron’s iPhone stopped working after its last system update.

I’ve researched and tried numerous times – too many times – to get it working again.

Meanwhile, I’ve created a 2026 database for MRS and have the calendar working for both the school and the BRC.

Did laundry, changed sheets. Fixed the hasp on Ron’s “little room” door.

After some hunting around, I was able to read the Vanity Fair interview with Susie Wiles Trump’s Chief of Staff. The melodramatic reactions on both sides are overblown in my opinion.

Jett and I went to the library to drop off a book and pick one up. I brought home a kit of electrical engineering projects.

We went to Stop & Shop as well.

Gorgeous sunset.

Rain melted the rest of the snow on the deck. It was 54 or so this morning but plummeting fast.

We got a break from the rain around 3. Ron used the time to exercise Jett. I installed the web of lights on the front bushes and cleaned up Jett’s trumps in the back and side yards. Grateful that we beat the rain/snow mix which is happening now.

Earlier I made a chickpea/potato/kale stew with ras el hanout, garlic and soy sauce. Turned out well. I also made chocolate pudding.

…but I did run off the holiday card address labels. They weren’t perfect but good enough to use. Ron and I got 24 signed and stamped. We actually had enough stamps…

Also got tasks done for MRS. Loaded two more modules on their IIS server.

Yesterday I brought home groceries from the Food Pantry and the Food Project. Made a fine stir fry today from that bounty.

Also brought home two bags of pet-safe ice melt. Ron put them in a barrel; we spread a few handfuls on the deck.

Ron broke a Pyrex container with beautiful cut fruit from Williams College. There was no reason for this nor for his nerve in dictating how I should clean it up!

Good report today from my dermatologist. She doesn’t need to see me for two years.

In addition to being free of skin cancer, I am minus two unwanted skin tags.

We stopped at an art store in Bennington to see if they have material to fix a damaged picture frame but they weren’t able to help.

I’d wanted to give Jett a bath at Tractor Supply but Ron wasn’t up to it. He had plans to do errands when we got back.

We did stop at a couple of places to look at Christmas trees but too expensive.

I cleaned up trumps and played with Jett for a good while this afternoon.

Maybe it was the long sleep last night, but I got outside today. It was cold, 20 degrees. Slight wind in the afternoon made it seem colder.

Played 30 fetches with Jett, twice.

Made stir-fried vegetables with eggs for lunch.

Tried clearing the upstairs bathroom sink, again.

We did laundry.

Glad we have only ten days until Christmas.

The surgery went well and Peter has done a great job organizing for his long recupe.

I did nothing today besides make the bed and fail to print out holiday card labels.

I’ve love a Christmas tree but with Jett curious about everything, it would be nerve-wracking to put one up.

We talked about harvesting our conifers for indoor decorations; retail is so expensive.

Cancelled Jett’s grooming appointment. Turns out I have to go to Bennington that day for my annual with the dermatologist.

No interest in group activities of any kind.

Ron’s missing boots were perched on the toolbox in the kitchen.

His lost hat was hanging with his winter coat in the downstairs bathroom.

I installed a new furnace filter. It’s supposed to be good for three months.

Got more info from Peter about his surgery tomorrow.

We made the trip to Pittsfield for a new hearing aid demo. We were late getting started. We hit flurries on the way down.

Fortunately his audiologist had a cancellation, so she was able to see him.

He’s been wearing Oticons and likes them. It has a pretty nice app which is on my phone (he forgot that he brought his).

On the way back, we stopped for greens and soup at Red Jacket Farm. Their store is very nice, upscale country style, and the soup was superb: squash and red pepper.

I bought cinnamon buns at Great Falls – very expensive, won’t do that again. Also some so-so pastries at Wild Soul River. Won’t do that again, either.