Seasons Greetings...

The Humble Bungalow is dressed up with twinkling white lights.

We are ready for the Holidays.

Food has been purchased, presents have been wrapped, the baking is finished.

This year

Our Christmas tree is a faux one.

 (blame the naughty cats who climb the tree, drink the water and munch on it)

The faux tree came with lights and has a handy foot pedal that turns it on.

There are 11 different programs for the lights,

 I prefer to have them on old school style rather than waving on and off or pulsating!

We have been enjoying casual seasonal get togethers and creating some new family memories.

Baking 

Gingerbread Men for the grandchildren to decorate.

We had fun decorating the cookies!

Many of the candied decorations were munched before they made it onto the gingerbread cookies...

This Grammy had such fun...

we will have to arrange to do this again next year.

This week a friend and I met for morning coffee in town.

Later

we went to a book store and this book tree caught my eye.

Many of our neighbours have dressed up their gardens with lights and baubles.

The holiday spirit is very much alive in our neighbourhood.

Walking along our street I noticed that more homes are decorated 

than those that are not.

I love that people take the time to participate in making our street a wee bit brighter.

Colourful lights look so pretty strung up in a tree...

a simple idea that really adds ambiance.

Our holidays in The Humble Bungalow focus on the things money can not buy.

It is not all about gifts, but rather the memories...

those that we create today and those we remember from years gone by...

the people who are no longer with us always have a way of popping up in our minds at this time of year.

We toast to their memory...

stories follow

some are funny, some sad

the stories are not all "happy" 

but 

they are part of our history

our festive season is made brighter by 

 connecting with friends and family...

 if your family is far away

unable to get home

you can give of yourself 

with so many opportunities out there 

it fills ones heart to help the less fortunate

or 

you can invite a group of other friends whose families are unable to get together this year and celebrate with a simple meal

it could be a pot luck event

keep it simple.

Festive food and feasting...

treats, baking, chocolate.

Friends, who now live in France, sent us some chocolates.

We nibbled a few last night and they live up to their tasty reputation.

BETA5 is one of the top 5 chocolate makers in all of North America!

With all these extra treats I will need to be vigilant and keep up with my walking,

perhaps walking longer and farther to compensate for these delicious seasonal indulgences.

Weight Watchers will still be there for me after the holidays!

This post is a bit discombobulated and I am trying to rein it in,

 in a cohesive way,

 but I think it has gotten away from me so I had better close.

I am grateful that you are my audience and that you visit and listen...

Thank you so much for reading The Humble Bungalow blog.

Your comments and emails throughout the year are really appreciated.

Wishing you a Joyous and Festive Holiday. 

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~