MERRY CHRISTMAS        JOYEUX NOËL

Wherever you may be during the holidays, whatever you may have planned (some people will be working during the holidays) may your Christmas be blessed with peace and joy.

Que Noël soit l’occasion de vous retrouver avec ceux que vous aimez.

switch on the lights

invite friends and family for dinner

light the Christmas tree

decorate your trees and windows

a little Christmas in the sunroom

HAPPY HANUKKAH     CHAG CHANUKA SAMEACH   

to all my Jewish friends

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU

from Tina and me

Tina and me.    Best friends forever.

For me Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year.  Why?  Because of the lights.    This year Hanukkah,  the Jewish eight-day festival of lights, begins on the same day as Christmas.  Every evening during Hanukkah, the family gathers to light a candle on the menorah until, 8 days later, all of the candles are burning.

Hanukkah is celebrated with prayers, good food and exchanging gifts.  It is also a time of reflection.     I like to decorate around the house with strings of lights and candles and I think it is very nice to combine both holidays.

Here I put a small Hanukkah book under the Christmas tree

I placed a Hanukkah menorah next to Christmas decorations and I think it looks very nice.  Once all the candles are burning it will look very festive.

Strings of lights everywhere

going to Christmas markets in the evening.  Here the Christmas market in Vieux Terrebonne, Quebec.

                                                                                                                                  source:  LaMetropole.com

bright lights from houses can be seen in the darkness of the night

sitting next to the Christmas tree

Instead of a Christmas tree other plants  or pine branches can be used to hang decorations and to place strings of lights.   Lights around windows or around paintings look also very nice.   I keep my lights all winter long.   I call them my winter lights.

Here I placed a painting next to some branches.  

Winter paintings,  white skates, Christmas tree decorations, stars etc . all make good objects to use as decorations for the season.

A PICTURE OF THE BIG SNOWSTORM TODAY

Tina deep  in the snow

 

 

It is this time of year again  when we start to bring out the lights and the Christmas decorations and looking for trees and we just want to get into a festive mood.  Whether we are celebrating Christmas or some other holidays we all enjoy looking at decorations   and sparkling lights.   It is fun to decorate around the house.  Just a few pine branches or candles or a string of lights will transform the house.

A painting standing next to a little Christmas tree

the picture on a gift bag makes a nice background next to a small pine tree.

I like to put Christmas tree decorations in baskets on a table

Tina sitting in front of a decorated window.

The garden is covered in a white blanket of snow

The bohemian Christmas look

 

Singer: NEEMA      Song:  Elsa’s Lullaby                                             from: youtube

This video is one of my favorites.   The dog “Elsa” looks exactly like Tina and the video was made in Montreal.    It is a song of love and companionship.   Elsa was her best friend.  Unfortunately Elsa is no longer with her but they had a happy long life together.    When I watch this video it makes me cry.   I hope you will like it as much as me.

Last week we had our first snowstorm here in the Montreal area.   We got up in the morning and the whole garden and streets were white and it looked really nice.  In the meantime the snow has already melted again and we have lots of rain.

However, I did take pictures of this day when everything was white and it looked really nice.

my little angel in the garden

another little angel walking towards the house

one of the streets in the neighborhood

Tina looks surprised

looking from the inside out

Time to bring out the Christmas decorations

Tina is pleased to be back inside in a warm house, sitting on her favorite sofa.

Another angel getting ready for Christmas