Merry Christmas

Dave and I enjoyed spending the Holidays with his family this year. We spent five days with his family, enjoying our traditional Raclette meal for Christmas Eve. We all agreed to cut back on gift spending this year, but I think that this resulted in very thoughtful Christmas gifts that both Dave and I have been enjoying.

Dave's dad set up his LGB train around the Christmas tree. This turned out to be a very important Dog Deterrent System to keep Caly out of the wrapped presents. She didn't quite know what to make of the loud train. We made sure to get Caly a few presents for her stocking so that she was worn out by the time we opened our gifts and didn't have the energy to make a nuisance of herself.

The biggest Christmas present that Dave and I got this year was yet another addition to what is quickly becoming a small menagerie. I fell in love with a kitten at one of Petsmart's Rescue societies, and just couldn't resist (she's the white one giving her brother a bath): We adopted her two weeks before Christmas, but had to wait until the day after Christmas to bring her home (she had to be spayed first). Here we are the day we picked her up:Our little Pashmina (Mina for short) came home with us and is a wonderful little cuddle bug that loves to purr. We named her Pashmina because she's silky soft and likes to curl up or sit on our shoulders like a wrap. She let's us walk around with her on our shoulder like a parrot. I do think we now have more than enough animals - I am officially cutting myself off. However, it didn't take much to convince Dave that another kitten was just what we needed. Here's a photo I took with my camera phone the night we adopted her (two weeks ago). Mina clearly already had him wrapped around her little paw.

Mina and the dog are actually tolerating each other fairly well - Caly likes to lick the kitten, and Mina purrs in response. Although the kitten didn't fuss, Dave and I were slightly alarmed when Caly decided to grab her by the ear and drag her away from us. Because of this, they require constant supervision, but I think they will really like each other once Mina is a bit bigger and able to counter Caly's rough housing. Gidget is disgusted with the entire situation. She spent two days hissing at me any time I got near her, but she came up for a cuddle last night when I went to bed, so I think I'm on the road to forgiveness.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!