So, today is the day after Christmas, or the 2nd day of Christmas, depending on your tradition. Or it’s boxing day. Or it’s the 2nd day of Chanukkah. (My spell check just got mad when I took the 2nd “k” out of Chanukkah, so I put it back in.) And it is also the first day of Kwanzaa. So, today is kind of a big deal in the world of festivals in different cultures and religions. We are now also 5 days past the winter solstice, which is still honored by pagans, but generally a bigger deal for cats than people. Cats are more tuned into the natural universe than people, and so to the extent that we mark time, we do so by natural lunar and solar cycles. But for cats, when you get right down to it, the most important time is always the current moment.
Anyway, this is the first year that we haven’t had a Christmas tree. I think it’s because those men came and stole our carpet and threw the house into an uproar. You can read about this in my most recent post, if you are interested. Michelle suggested that we get a rosemary Christmas tree so Judy did go out and get one, and she put a few lights and cat toys on it. When it first came into the house it was so aromatic that I had to leave the room, but it’s better now, and I’m getting used to it. Judy says that when spring comes she will plant it outside. This certainly isn’t the same as a real tree with all the cat toys hanging from it. A couple of years ago we also had a lot of goings on before Christmas, and kind of at the last minute Mike and Judy went to the Christmas tree lot and discovered that it was virtually picked clean. They still had 4 trees that were at least 10 feet tall. Mike asked the clerk what they would charge him for the top 6 feet of one of those big trees, and he got it for $35. So that worked out great, and the tree was lovely. I have always enjoyed having a tree. Tiger used to be bad about drinking the water at the base of the tree. He would get a little disoriented afterwords from the pine resin in the water, but he kept doing it anyway. I would take a little taste, but I know when to quit.
So, Judy always does a lot of holiday cooking. Specialties include coffee cake on Christmas morning, cranberry Jell-O salad, and a special holiday soup that she makes with chicken and split peas. Mike, Judy, and Michelle exchanged presents yesterday morning. They had a lot of fun, and all of them were pleasantly surprised by some of the presents. Mike’s favorite was a hooded sweatshirt celebrating the Chicago Cubs winning of the World Series this year. (Mike has always said that there were 3 things that he thought would never happen in his lifetime, and 2 of them have already happened. One, of course, was the Cubs winning the World Series. He has been a Cubs fan since he moved to Chicago as a 7 year old in 1950. His older brother was a White Sox fan, so naturally Mike pulled for the Cubbies. Another thing he thought would never happen was getting a hole-in-one, but he did so a few years ago when he was playing with his friends Don and Wally up at Lake Lanier. The hole was 176 yards and he did it with a 7 wood. There is a 3rd thing that he has said will probably never happen in his lifetime, but I can’t remember what it is now. Sorry.) Judy also got him the book, “Blogging for Dummies”. This could prove to be very helpful as Mike assists me with my blog, because quite frankly, he doesn’t really seem to know much about what he is doing right now. Happily, he has started to read it already, so this can only be good for me. You know, this reminds me that recently there has been a big kerfuffle about something that happened last month called a selection. It has generated a lot of emotions and millions of words, but the only real question when all is said and done can only be,” Is it good for the cats?”
