Looks the same to me

The finished tree, with a paucity of lights:

It looks the same every year.

I'm actually tired of the craft-type ornaments and rustic/country look, but whatever. Maybe next year I'll pick up a few new (unbreakable) ornaments, as well as replace the lights entirely.

It remains to be seen if the boys will leave the tree alone when I'm not around, of course. Yesterday Nicki already was "taste-testing" the light bulbs. They did well last year, though, mostly left the tree alone.

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Managed to get a "monkey off my back" this morning--i.e. finally catch up on my "exciting" fall/winter course data entry. The partial stack of appointment papers was several inches deep, which might not seem like a lot, but sure as heck was. I was back-logged because of other higher priority projects. I won't promise to get them all filed this week, but they'll be filed before we break for Christmas.

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As for the home situation...I'm having a bit (maybe more than a bit) of anxiety today, over that, the boys, Toby, etc. I'm far more familiar with--and comfortable with, I suppose--depression than I am with anxiety, though of course the two often go hand in hand. But I don't normally feel like I want to wring my hands in panic (except when the cats are sick).

When I was in WalMart on Saturday, I saw a wall hanging with a colourful sketch of a cocktail. The saying was that life isn't fair, have a cocktail and get over it (or get over it and have a cocktail). If it had been small enough to fit on my front door, I'd have bought it. LOL. (And of course then would have the psycho neighbour flipping out, coming to tell me she knew why I hung it up!)

Maybe I could rent a big, burly, alpha human male to hang out at the house for a few weeks--I rather think that if I had a strong male partner (not like the putz ex), she wouldn't come and rant at me.

Nicki, alpha male that he is, doesn't quite count in this instance.

Keep calm, peace and Light and all that, blah blah blah.  :-)