I've only ever had real trees for Christmas, both at my Mom's house, and when I've bought one for myself. I know they make some pretty great fake trees these days, and I'm happy they do, but they don't tempt me at all. I guess getting & dealing with a real tree just feels like part of our tradition.

{{hugs}}

Or any other day. There's nothing any more special about 1 Dec and 31 Jan than there is about 1 Jan, or any other day of the year. I made up the idea for fun, but honestly I've always liked the idea, so it stuck with me longer than some of my other made-up holidays. :)

If you realize on Dec 1 that you'd wanted to start something this year and haven't yet, go ahead and start in December (or stop something, or change, or whatever). If you realize on 31 Jan that you haven't yet started something you meant to start on 1 Jan, you can start doing that thing on 31 Jan.

Yeah, seriously. But I like having teeth, so I guess I'll keep doing all of it...

I also had a dental cleaning today, and I count it a win that I escaped without them recommending I add any more steps to my dental routine (I already brush & use mouthwash twice a day, and floss once a day (and I wear a retainer at night that needs to be brushed each day, too)).

My Mom has three Rose of Sharon bushes - one white, one pink, one purple. Unfortunately, Japanese Beetles will destroy the plant, so for part of the summer, she goes out and picks beetles off the plants every day to keep them from getting eaten.