Christmas Letter 2017

Dear Friends,

You may notice that the Christmas letter has a new author this year. As many of you know, Tigger the Cat left us for the great catnip farm (or giant litterbox, depending on what you believe) last January.  I, personally, never met the great man, er, cat, however, Liberty, Morrison, Alice and the Hoomans speak very favorably of him.

Perhaps I should stop here and introduce myself...my name is Obsidian Bartholomew The Cat.  I joined the family in February.  The Boy really missed Tigger and convinced the parents to take him to the Dumb Friends Society to acquire a kitten.  After stops at two locations, they realized there were no true kittens, however, I had recently turned one year old and made a compelling argument that I be adopted, rather than some untrained kitten.  When the Hoomans reached the "check-out" they were alerted to the fact that there was a BOGO event, therefore they received not only my fabulous self, but also Coco Puff (also known as Poco and BOGO) and the rest is history.... (Although the hoomans say that it is important to read the biographies of potential cat adoptees...somehow they missed the note of "cat surrendered because it bites...)

The Parents continue at their jobs--Mrs. Ranch at the same high school she has taught at since August 2002 and Mr. IM at his law firm that he opened in 2005.  Mrs. Ranch realized earlier this week that this is her 25th year of being a teacher...a rather astounding number for a young cat like me.  Business at the law firm is going well.  There is a rumor that they have created a video for their website, stay tuned for viewing!

The Girl is a junior in high school.  In exchange for a new phone, she participated in track last spring.  As she states she doesn't like to run, she became a pole vaulter.  She did very well and might have enjoyed the season.  She still enjoys skiing on weekends and hanging out with her friends.  The college quest has started in earnest, with several contenders.  She has a part-time job and is saving money for a lovely classic pre-owned vehicle.

The Boy moved to public junior high after K-6 Catholic School.  Turns out the local Middle School is really a junior high, grades 7-8 only, so he joined his classmates in that new adventure.  Part of the adventure is riding the school bus to and from school as well as choosing lunch in the lunch line (instead of a month ahead).  He continues competitive snowboarding on the weekends, which gives us all lots of adventures.

The other pets are doing well--Morrison and Liberty enjoy trips to the mountains with the family.  Liberty has recently added an anti-arthritis pharmaceutical routine to her life.  Alice continues her reign, now as the oldest pet, including the pet everyone is most afraid of.

We wish you all a blessed holiday season! 

Love,
Sid the Cat (and the rest of the family, too)