Everywhere we go at this time of year, we are all surrounded by the excesses of Christmas – whether it’s things you could buy as gifts for everyone you know,  luxury food items you may or may not eat, and electrical goods you only just found out you couldn’t live without!   Christmas as it used to be has been largely hi-jacked by consumerism of the worst kind.  People are encouraged to spend more and more money on gifts each year, whilst others are still paying off debt accumulated from last Christmas.  But, tell me this – can you even remember all the gifts you gave last year, let alone recall the ones you received?  I know I can’t.

Given the hectic nature of our lives, it’s easy to overlook the little things that make it all worthwhile.   With this in mind, for December’s CBBH Photo Challenge I have decided to focus my attention on SIMPLE PLEASURES  – or,  put another way, finding delight in everyday things.

So, what does it for you?

• A beautiful rainbow?

• Toast with peanut butter or jam?

• The smell of newly-cut grass? (Click and SNIFF here for that wonderful aroma of a newly-cut lawn).

• Skimming stones across a lake?   (Improve your own stone skimming technique by reading this, watch some great stone skimming here or, if you´re good enough, enter the World Stone Skimming Championships for yourself!).

• Squishing mud between your toes?  (If you´re feeling the pinch right now, this is the ideal discount spa treatment – but make sure it’s mud you are walking in!)

• Hearing a baby’s laughter?  (I guarantee you can´t watch this without smiling or laughing.  OH, go on, you know you want to!)

Raindrops pooling on the leaf of a lime tree after a long dry, hot summer.

The bleating of a goat on a nearby hillside, as she waits for milking time.

Walking along a beautiful,  almost deserted beach and dipping your toes in the water.

This month´s CBBH Featured Blogs:

** EllaDee at elladee_words allows us a sneak peak into her everyday life in Sydney, Australia  where she aims to escape from her “proper” desk and computer-centred day job in the city, and live more simply at her house in a tiny country village, 6 hours drive up the coast.

I was fascinated by Ella’s  recent post  All’s Well that Ends Well – Matthias and Eupham where she talks about what many Australian’s consider family history gold – convicts.  Her writing style makes for easy reading – yet once she’s got you – you’re hooked!  Why not HOP over there and say G’Day to EllaDee right away?

** My second choice for this month is a very friendly blog with great photos  – The Sophomore Slump.    Rommel loves to share his adventures around the globe and his photographs are what really make his posts come alive.  What I particularly like is that he regularly features links to blogs he enjoys himself – and we all love to share a little Blog Love, don’t we?

Rommel recently posted about his trip to Las Vagas with friends, which I’m sure you would enjoy.  He is always quick to leave an encouraging, relevant comment, so why not pop over and leave a message for him?

So that´s the CBBH Photo Challenge for December, folks!

Remember, all you have to do is post your entry by the end of the month,  link back to this blog and, most importantly,  don´t forget to add links to any two blogs that you´ve commented on during the past month, so that we can all HOP OVER and have a look.  Make sure you FOLLOW THIS BLOG so you don´t miss next month´s exciting challenge!

For more information on how the CBBH Photo Challenge works click here.

I hope everyone taking part enjoys the exposure the CBBH Photo Challenge offers to featured blogs and, who knows, you may end up finding a new favourite!  I´m looking forward to seeing what you consider to be your SIMPLE PLEASURES.

[CBBH logo Image credit: (cc) Mostly Dans]