Christmas Cactus & Happy Chanukah

This is our Christmas cactus this year. No, folks, I will not bow to the PC police and call it a "Holiday Tree." One, it isn't a tree, and two, it isn't for a generic holiday. If I put out a menorah, I'm sure as shooting not going to call it a "Holiday Candelabra." Click on the picture for the full size version.

Allow me to explain the reason for the featured cactus. Neither one of us felt like dragging a 7' conifer in through the living room sliders to the patio, but I happen to have a nearly 4' tall Euphorbia species which blooms yellow in the Fall, but I've never been able to successfully identify. On a lark, I asked SJ whether he thought it would be funny to decorate that particular cactus instead of buy a tree. Unlike my 3' tall Euphorbia trigona, this whole thing's growth habit is more branches than stems, and it's not ramrod straight upright, so it very much lent itself to being decorated.

A couple of years ago, my water heater in the basement went, and most of my Christmas ornaments were on the floor in paper shopping bags, each wrapped carefully in paper towels, so most of them really didn't survive the flood (mildew damage). I've been a cat owner for well over 20 years, and know better than to have glass ornaments. Thus, what's left of my ornament collection wouldn't do much for a 7' conifer anyway. I had to buy new lights, and was a bit annoyed that I couldn't find a string of plain white ones, but the $2.75 multi-colored mini-lights seem to work okay on the cactus. The camera flash at night pretty much obliterates the mini-lights in the photo, but they look much better than I expected.

As far as I'm concerned, having a decorated conifer in the house this time of year is family tradition, but it's not required. Heck, I don't even have to decorate a cactus--that's not required either. I just thought it'd be a total hoot to do, because it's a bit offbeat and slightly kooky.

Chaunkah started this evening. I don't wish to exclude my Jewish buddies by any means--and you know who you are--so Happy Chanukah!