Oh Tannenbaum!

Our house up north was built pre-WWII, as a summer cottage.

Because it was built as a summer cottage they left out one important item……insulation.

Not so important if you’re only there in warmer months, but a rather vital item for year round living.

Especially since the lot it sat on was subject to the wailing winter winds that blew off the Great South Bay.

We didn’t know all this when we bought the house.

We just fell in love with it and nothing else mattered.

We found out the first winter.

With our Christmas tree.

We placed the tree in the corner of the living room.

In those days I was a purist and I hung icicles on the tree.

After I had finished decorating I stood back to admire my work and……..

The tree looked crooked.

I thought we had leveled it in its stand before I started decorating.

But it still looked…..odd.

But the ornaments were straight; it was just the icicles that were ‘leaning’.

What…..?

Wait, they’re not leaning……they’re BLOWING in the wind that is coming through the cracks between the paneling!

And I swear to God they were at a 45 degree angle to the tree!  

(That spring we insulated!)