I haven't been seeing much in new Christmas decorations this year, at least any that really stand out. Mostly, it is just the same old things. Sure, there is the giant Nutcracker head inflatable, and I've seen one or two Blueys, but no Bingos. As for me, I am so seldom at my place, which is very near the street without a fence, that it isn't too practical to leave any decorations in the very little yard space I have. I don't have anything indoors either. Again, lack of space. I've just have too much other stuff to move out of the way to decorate. Also, I rent, so I don't want a ton of needles left on the floor. I don't like the look of artificial trees. So, I don't have any. I do decorate my store. I have a very small artificial tree there, as a real one could be a fire hazard. I use the same decorations every year, but I usually place some of the things differently. Sometimes, we get something new to add. This year, we have dozens of boxes of chocolate-covered cherries, in three varieties: regular, Crown Royal, and Bourbon. There is another, unusual reason why I don't have a real Christmas tree, though, and it is quite a convoluted story. Back in 1990, it was my first year at community college. I didn't have a car, yet, so I was forced to ride with my mother to work, meaning I had to leave when she did, even though my first class wouldn't start for over an hour. At least I was able to schedule it so that I only had to go two days per week, and alternate Fridays. This meant I had at least two days at home to unwind. During that time, I was really into trying new food products and recipes. One Tuesday, near the end of the semester, I was trying a guava and/or papaya flavored beverage. It used real fruit juice. I didn't really like it, but I thought "no harm, no foul." The following morning, I was kind of itchy, over much of my body. That actually isn't too strange for me, as I have sensitive skin and a history of rashes. However, this one felt a little different. During the break between two of my classes, I went to one of the men's restrooms, the one with a large, full-size mirror, and looked myself over while there was no one there. I had a rash, in discrete patches all over the parts of my body that I could see without totally stripping down. This was scary. Fortunately, I was wearing long sleeves so that no one could see the rashes, but I was very concerned. I had a break during the middle of the day, so I went straight to the library, as I typically did, and looked up skin conditions. Big mistake. There were so many pictures of downright gross conditions that I almost got sick. My latent hypochondria was increasing. Even though I decided that it was most likely hives from an allergic reaction, I still wasn't satisfied. I went to my last two classes, still itchy and still going to the restroom to see how bad the hives were spreading. I had to wait about one-and-a-half hours after my last class before I was picked up to go home by my mother. However, we had shopping to do that night, including looking for a Christmas tree, at Winn-Dixie. Yes, it was still around then. In fact, I may have gotten my juice beverage from there the previous week. Anyway, I couldn't, and didn't, tell my mom about my rash until we got home. My mother immediately called my dermatologist for assistance, and then some relatives to see if they had the Benadryl I needed to tame my condition. I was fine, sleepy but fine, after that. However, after that day, my mother was different. I only found out a year or so ago that she thought that the Christmas trees triggered the hives, even though I told her many times that they started way before that night. Admittedly, I had had itchy eyes and some redness from looking for trees in the past, but that was either just one type or it was due to mold or being outside, probably. Anyway, from that point on, she never allowed me to help her look for trees. She wouldn't even let me help her drag the tree out of the house after Christmas, even though I was finally old enough, and big enough, do help out. (I wouldn't start weight-lifting for a few more years, so I might not have been 'strong' enough to help out much, but who can say.). She thought the reaction was from the trees, yet it wasn't, at least not that time. How else to explain being in a room with a Christmas tree for two to three weeks almost all day and me not having another reaction? It's weird. I've not had hives since, or anything with guava or papaya. I've had a few reactions around my mouth from eating new things, like bok choy or water chestnuts, not sure which, but nothing as bad as that original reaction. Still try new things, just more cautious.
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