Christmas is in the Air...

...and it's got me in a foul mood.

Today is November 14. Thanksgiving is still two weeks away. Yes, I know retailers have been gearing-up earlier and earlier every year. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

A couple of nights ago, Hubby and I went to the library. About halfway there, as we passed the Willow Oak Flower & Herb Farm, I groaned pretty loudly.

"What!?!" Hubby exclaimed. (I think I startled him.)

"Look, Christmas lights," I said, as I pointed. Groaning again for emphasis.

"I just ignore them," Hubby replied, inferring that my exclamation was unwarranted.

"It's just that they're the first ones I've seen this year..." I tried to explain.

Now he was ignoring me, so I dropped it.

That was November 12.

During my lunch break earlier today, I went to Mordor (aka Wal-Mart; aptly dubbed by one of Amy's blogging friends). The guy out front with the red bucket on a tripod, wearing a Santa hat, ringing a bell should have warned me of bad things to come. But, I went in anyway. I mean, I needed to buy some stuff, which is why I was there.

WARNING
The images you'll see if you keep reading are quite disturbing.

On my way to the Pet department, I had to go past their Christmas section, which I've managed to ignore for at least a month, maybe more. That's when I saw this, which was rather hard to miss...

The tree really is purple. I didn't have my camera with me, so I borrowed these views from Mordor's Web site. I did not Photoshop it.

What about this one?

But wait! There's more...

That tree is NOT really dark green. It's black. BLACK.

This is probably the least-offensive of them all. It's close to the horrid silver ones that have been around for years. Of course, I never understood why anyone would want a silver tree either.

Here's the worst one of all, in my opinion.

It truly is a quite-shocking blue. BLUE! (Although I must admit, it did make me think of Elvis singing "Blue Christmas.")

Who buys these things? They are FOUR FEET tall (1.22 metres, for my ex-US fans).

I just don't get it. Maybe I'm old fashioned. But I think even the more-modern folks in the family would probably agree these are awfully tacky.

Which gives me an idea. A mission, of sorts. To see just how much tacky stuff I can dig up, in person or on the Web, between now and Christmas. You faithful fans can help look for tacky stuff, too.

This could be quite interesting. Or quite boring. Depending on whether or not you have a sense of humor. Happy hunting!