Why can't every day be Buy Nothing Day?

[muckefuck]

Why am I so bad about buying things? monshu and I went to the local nursery today to look at Christmas trees. Since I don't have much in the way of either ornaments to put on it or presents to put under it, I figured a live tabletop tree that we could reuse every year was our best option. What I really wanted was a stone pine, since they are true pines, but they're native to the Mediterranean, so they can cope with being inside all winter. (Most conifers need a period of very cold weather to go dormant; being in a warm room in December totally messes them up.) I was surprised to find that Gethsemane, which stretches three blocks on Clark Street, didn't have any.

What I did find were ranks of dwarf spruce outside the entrance and rows of Norfolk pines in the greenhouse. In addition to the aforementioned issues, these little spruces also have branches too flimsy to support all but the tiniest decorations. The Norfolk pines don't have that issue, and as tropical plants, they love the indoors, but they just don't look very Christmas-tree shaped, know what I mean? One of the employees said we could have a look at the plants in the trees and shrubs area. Here we ran into a very helpful, knowledgeable man who gave us a full rundown of the ads and disads of junipers, hemlocks, arborvitae, mugo pines, and so on, after which we concluded that anything other than a Norfolk was going to be too fragile. So all in all, one hour of deliberation to make one $20 purchase. Go me!

Now I'm trying to do some gift-buying online. It should be the easiest thing known to man--a few clicks from the wish list and you're done--but I find the whole process stressful and draining. I really couldn't explain why. Everything is for someone I love--a kind, understanding person who will continue to love me no matter what I get. So why the anxiety? When does the fun part of tossing out a little disposable income kick in? Maybe I need another trip to Sam's Wines to raise my spirits.

Comments

[cpratt.livejournal.com]

Strictly speaking, Norfolk Island isn't tropical, but yup, those are kick-ass trees. That's why we're headed back to New Caledonia next year, and why we spent time in southern Chile: that's a fascinating family of trees and they're exceptionally cool in the wild. I'd love to make it to Norfolk someday, but that's even harder to get to than Noumea. :)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Do you mean difficult logistically, legally, or both? I was surprised when reading up on the administration of the island to find how complicated the regulations are even where Australian citizens are concerned.

[cpratt.livejournal.com]

Legally it's not a problem, logistically it's tricky to get to as it involves small plane flights from the Australian mainland that aren't covered by any of the usual discount fares, so it gets very expensive very quickly. Plus, once you get there, it sounds like there really isn't that much to see. Yes, one famous tree is from there, but it's not that interesting compared to its Chilean, Australian, or New Caledonian relatives.

[kcatalyst.livejournal.com]

Yay Norfolk pines! The Christmas trees of my childhood (and adulthood, for that matter).