Christmas in July

Normally I don't pay attention to the sales circulars in the mail but the other day one caught my eye. Tuesday Morning was announcing the arrival of their Christmas decorations! I was so excited that I had to thumb right through it. Then I tried to figure out how I could arrange it in the bathroom to ensure that Doug saw it.

Now anyone who has ever been to my house knows that it's decorated early American whatever. I think I was born without either the decorating gene or the shopping gene. Combine that with a man who thinks a 4-foot wine storage unit is perfectly acceptable as dining room decor, and the house is a hodge-podge. The perfect present for me would be to have the house queer-eyed.

Except for Christmas. I go all out in decorating for this holiday and the place is all decked out. I think the 100+ International Santa figurines and the Santa shower curtain prove that. While I wouldn't say the house belongs in House & Gardens Christmas, it's not tacky flea market stuff either. But part of the reason for this is that I've been collecting decorations for 10 years. Nothing makes me happier than finding just the right ornament to go on the tree -- whether it's a beer Santa or a surfing Santa we bought in Hawaii. I look year round.

Of course, one of my favorite things when living in Dallas was to go to the Tuesday Morning store near the corporate headquarters and shop for ornaments. If I went early enough in the season, I could find some cute stuff. The hotter it was outside, the better selection there was inside. Admittedly, we have been disappointed in the selection at the Austin-area Tuesday Mornings. Still, the idea of Christmas decorations made me giddy!

Later that night, after I figured out that Doug wasn't going to 'accidently' notice that Tuesday Morning started stocking Christmas stuff, I decided it was time to take matters in my own hand. So I walked into his office.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just thought you might want to see this," I said as I laid down the circular.

"Christmas?" Doug asked. I nodded. He looked at the circular. "Tuesday Morning? Isn't their stuff crap?"

"No!" I said as I grabbed the circular and walked out. I guess that I'll just have to leave shopping for Christmas ornaments in July to those folks who really appreciate it.