O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

Chris and I successfully purchased, brought home, and put up our first Christmas tree together! It smells so good, I love having a real tree. Callie is particularly fond of the tree as well, so we have only strung lights on it. I'm not sure how it will go with ornaments.

I had extra vacation days to use up before the end of the year, so now I'm on vacation for 2 weeks. I plan to enjoy the holiday season, relax, and spend as much time with Chris as I can because he'll be leaving after the holidays are over :-(

Today I did something really neat: I played Christmas carols at the terminal on base for the troops who were returning from deployments on their layovers to the states. It was a really great experience. Everyone was so pleased and thankful, and I was asked a few times why I was playing for them. I didn't really have a good answer planned. It is just something I want to do, and it's great for me to share music with people who haven't heard performances in a while, welcome them, and start the Christmas spirit. This is what music is about, not endless practicing and rehearsals, but sharing. I have a tentative flight schedule for the month, and I plan to go play several times. I think I'll look for other music too, maybe patriotic, so I can continue to go play after Christmas is over.

I also got a great haircut today, I like my little German hairstylist. I walked into Chris's office and sat down at his desk, and he did a double-take, he didn't even recognize me! How funny.

O Tannenbaum