it was your ancestors, the germans

You would think that a person who just got a spiffy new camera for Christmas would have more pictures to post, but (a) I'm still getting the hang if it, (b) I have been whirling around dervish-like with the snafu-filled start of the new university semester, and (c) what passes for daylight around here lately has been particularly grim.

I promise to strut my new camera's stuff soon, but in the meantime, I present: Theatre of the Overheard From the Backseat... only not exactly, because this was more of a direct question:

"Who came up with this Christmas tree concept, anyway?"

The lights may be down, the ornaments packed away, and the presents more or less integrated into the everydayness of it all, but yes, Virginia, we are still unpacking the pagan/Christmas rituals around here.