a little bit

It is not looking 'a lot' like Christmas, but we are slowly getting into the holiday spirit. Trees have been set up, living-room re-arranged so we can see the tree (and more importantly I suspect, the presents under the tree).

According to our family tradition, each year we would each buy an ornament plus one that we all picked together (on sale, after the holiday) for the family tree. My love would write name and year on the ornament and we can all see our likes and tastes progress - or regress- over the years. Fun! Also according to tradition, I would have speculaas ready and put holiday music on during the tree decorating event. Of course now that T is at college, things are and feel a little different.

the kids spotted this one at a neighbor's garage sale and it was much loved for some years

to provide a little cultural balance

 Some of the ornaments are gifts, some home-made. Now we have a tree full of memories.

let's see if the gifter remembers this 

Of course we are having a bit of a difficult time convincing the cats that the trees are not  for their enjoyment. This is the third year in a row that we have new feline additions during the season. After our beloved Tribble died, we went to the humane society and brought Homer and Mila home with us.

Last year, Lucy joined us, and this year after Ginny's death we welcomed two little ones, Gus and Charlie. Of course this prompted my love to say "You can't have a new kitten every fall!". I guess not. But I am looking forward to having all of my kids and cats home for the holidays!