And the kicks just keep on coming.

Dustin received a letter from EDD in the mail yesterday informing us that due to Code Section 1256 (which states that - an individual is disqualified if the department finds that he voluntarily quit his most recent work without good cause or was discharged for misconduct from his most recent work) his unemployment claim has been denied. Dustin is going to appeal, but seriously? Without just cause?? I want to know who's in charge so I know which bureaucrat needs me to shove Dustin's Army orders in his or her face. Or maybe his signed military contract, the one he couldn't have backed out of, but the same one they did back out of, will do it?

We've sat here and taken one shot after another. Bill collectors are knocking down the door. Christmas is right behind them. I feel it has come time for me to write a letter and send it to anyone and everyone who might actually read it and care about how good citizens in this country are being treated. I haven't written a letter before now because I'm not sure what it'll do, if anything. I can be outspoken but usually only when I am certain I have all my facts straight and know my audience is somewhat receptive. Injustice is everywhere and not too many people seem to care. I don't want my letter to come across as a whine session, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and take another kick from our government while we're down. Enough is enough.

Our bank has accepted the short sale offer, but wants to close at the end of December, not mid-January as we had stipulated. We have been looking for a rental somewhere in this area around the $1000 price range. It's going to be near impossible to come up with a security deposit and first month's rent by the end of this month. If we can rent from a private party who will understand our situation and give us some time to come up with the deposit we will be better off. There are a ton of empty houses around here, if only we knew the owners. Dustin's work is still spotty. He has applications in at various places, but nothing solid has come through. I have my interview for the library position at the elementary schools tomorrow. I'm hoping we're onto a forward roll and are done with this backward spiral.

In the midst of all our life's chaos we still have the holiday chaos to contend with. I don't usually get all worked up around the holidays, I enjoy them for what they are. But there is one thing I am very particular about. I want the perfect Christmas tree and this year it was quite the adventure getting what I wanted!

Two years ago we bought a $10 permit and went up into the mountains to find our Christmas tree. Dustin topped a 40 foot tree. That was the first strike the poor tree had against it. I guess it wasn't really the tree's fault that when it came down off the top of the tree, it wasn't nearly as pretty as I was assured it would be. That tree looked a whole lot more beautiful in the woods, in it's home, than it looked in my home. I complained about the wimpy branches that failed to hold up some of my dearest ornaments all season. You could fit a small child in some of the gaps between branches. I swore I would not go to the woods to get a tree again. Last year we bought a beautiful Nobel Fir for $90 straight out of a tree lot. I didn't complain about the tree, but the price had me a bit sick.

Our finances being what they are this year, a $90 tree lot Christmas Fir, was out of the question. And so I found myself having to go back up into the woods so that we might have a tree for Santa to place gifts under. I almost had myself convinced that it was actually as expensive, if not more, to go up into the woods. The permit may only be $10 but gas is still $3 a gallon. The way I figured it, after buying snacks and fueling up and purchasing a permit, we weren't any better off than going to the tree lot. I was told we went to the woods for the experience. But the tree lot trees were so pretty, I argued. No one listened.

Our friends in all weather, Jaemi, Isaac and girls, joined us. At the ranger station we ran into the Jensen family and so we all headed up in search of the 3 most perfect Christmas trees the woods had to offer. Isaac led us up a different mountain than the one from 2 years ago. It wasn't quite as far out. We made one stop about midway to the top and I turned my nose up at the Indian Long-Needle Pines. Pine is fine to burn for warmth. It is not fine as a Christmas tree. We continued on up the mountain, the Jensens pulling off somewhere along the way, and made it to the top where the ranger's look-out station sits sentinel over the surrounding valleys. The view of our county far down below was incredible! Our massive lake looked like a pool of mercury spilled across the land. The farming community's fields and orchards made geometric patterns out of the sprawl of Earth all around. Dustin and the boys decided to climb up the stairs on the look-out only to be turned around because of the freezing wind and swirling snow.

Snow flurries had started to fall on our way up the mountain and now that we were at the top they were sticking to the frozen ground. We jumped back in our vehicles and headed to a side road where we were sure we'd have access to trees worthy of holding Christmas ornaments. We stopped again before the side road because Jaemi saw someone she knew from high school. In this small town, you can't go anywhere without running into someone you know. Not even to the top of a mountain! Her old friend had my idea of a wonderful tree strapped to the top of his truck.

We got out and looked down the side of the mountain. It was dappled with pines and fir trees. Even the pines at that elevation were beautiful. We saw our tree from where we stood and Dustin, Adam and I climbed down to make further inspection. The view from that side of the mountain was nothing short of glorious. It was snowing, the steel gray clouds left shadows on the mountains the stood across from us. All you could see was nature as God intended it. No buildings, no crops, no farms, nothing that had been put there or that had been visibly touched by man. I knew places like that existed, I just didn't realize they were so close to home.

Jaemi's old high school buddy came in handy as Dustin carried our tree up the steep incline. He helped us get it back up over the side onto the access road. Isaac came up a short while later, Avery in tow, with the Nunn tree. Apparently, Avery thought he had a better chance of helping to cut down a tree with Isaac. Adam had the tree-cutting-help covered for our tree.

Our trees were so big they would not both fit into the back of Dustin's dad's truck. Isaac managed to tie their tree to the top of their vehicle and we headed back down the mountain. By the time we were all buckled up and the trees were secured (or so we thought) the ground was speckled with a painting of snow. We made it down the mountain without incident. We parted ways with the Nunns in Upper Lake, them going to Jaemi's mom's house, us going home. Somewhere along the highway, Dustin did that thing I hate. The thing where he says, "Oh shit! Oh Shit!! OH SHIT!!!" and I have no clue what he's "Oh shitting" about. As he pulled over to the side of the highway I looked in the side mirror and saw our perfect Christmas tree bouncing down the highway behind us.

We both jumped out to rescue the tree, thankfully no one was coming down the highway after us. Once again, we secured the tree, this time with rope, and resumed our drive home. By some miracle, only one branch broke in the tree's highway escapade, and even that was at the bottom where it needed to be cut to fit into our stand anyway. Later that night when I spoke with Jaemi, she informed me that their tree had tried to make an escape from the top of their vehicle too, twice.

My house smells like the woods. My ornaments hang off of sturdy branches on a $10 tree, $20 if you count the gas. Santa has somewhere to place gifts. We all got to pretend to be lumberjacks and cut down our trees on a freezing fall day up in the mountains with snow falling. And the Nunns and the Madrids have one heck of a funny story to tell about going up into the mountains, scaling a steep incline and coming down with flying Christmas trees!