Our first Christmas

I get giddy around Thanksgiving.

Not only do I get to pig out on all my favorite foods, but it means I am officially able to shop and decorate for the holidays.

I put up our pre-lit tree on Thursday morning before we headed down to visit family in Huntersville and Charlotte. I knocked out all but two family members on my gift list during Black Friday.

We returned to a disaster area.

The cats apparently tried to climb the tree while we were gone. It was pitifully draped over the bookshelf in our living room, a trail of fake pine needles running from the crime scene around the corner in the kitchen and into the laundry room. Obviously they were spooked by the falling tree and high-tailed it to their easiest hiding place.

We think they were both in on it, too. They both wanted to greet us after our day away, but meekly ducked under tables and chairs until they were sure we weren't going to yell at them.

So for Rocky and Smalls I have the most appropriate Christmas gift of all: lumps of coal in their stockings.

Sidewalks?

I went running around my neighborhood and noticed a few peculiarities.

Sidewalks are on one side of the road. Sometimes there are patches of no sidewalk at all. It goes from one side to the other.

It's really strange. Almost as if the neighborhood were built in pieces that didn't quite connect.

I was excited when I found out there was no homeowners' association. Now I'm starting to wonder. Is it better to have an association that will generally get on your nerves and enact silly rules like matching mailboxes, or is it better to live really close to your neighbors without a way to keep stragglers in tow?

I'm still undecided about it. This is my first experience in the suburbs, and this country girl has a lot to get used to.