Oh, Anniversary Tree . . . .

My parents called me at work this morning to advise that they had purchased a tree for us for our anniversary and for Parnell's birthday. He has been wanting a "colorful" tree for some time, and I would say that this one fits the bill. It is an "Autumn Fantasy" silver/red maple cross and apparently has all of the tree bells and whistles (drought- and diseased-resistant, seedless, upright grower, maintains its own shape and displays tons of fall color). I have named it Tim Horton (a red-leafed maple should have a Canuck name, and IMHO Tim Horton makes the best hamburger in North America and deserves to have a tree named after him).

Delivery had been scheduled for Saturday morning, but Parnell pushed it back, as we have fifteen or so kids invading the house for a pre-Halloween party. (I, on the other hand, suggested incorporating the tree into the party - we could requisition shovels and put them all to work? Call it a treasure hunt?)

Normal people buy sweaters and Best Buy cards as gifts. I am not descended from normal people, as perhaps is evidenced by the fact that I am considering constructing a small tree fort and ladder out of popsicle sticks (Connor keeps begging us for a treehouse, but he never specified his desired dimensions . . . .).