Christmas 2020

November 28, 2020

Hello All, 

It is I, Sid the Cat..typing up another exciting Christmas update.

This year started like most others for us pets. But like many of you humans,

on March 12 things became very interesting. The humans started spending

a lot more time at home--even The Girl, who we didn't even think lived here

anymore! THEN...in March, they announced they were interested in a new puppy...

I mean, really, who really needs another puppy?! We have Morrison!

Kenosha joined us at the end of May--she is named Kenosha, after Kenosha Pass.

For you non-Coloradans, Kenosha Pass is just beyond the town of Morrison...

you have to go through Morrison to get to Kenosha (and vice versa).

The dogs are good friends and in
a turn of events, Morrison now seems very mature.

Alice the Cat and BOGO the cat continue their feud, but in a curious turn of events,

Sid and Alice seem to have struck up a strange friendship.

Pete and Sarah continue at their jobs--

Sarah at the same high school she has taught at since August 2002 and

Peter at his law firm that he opened in 2005.  Pete has been able to go in to
work through the whole pandemic since his office has a small staff.

Sarah's school changed to remote learning at the end of March and finished

the school year that way. This fall we started hybrid learning, meaning that

Sarah went to school every day and saw each student once a
week in person. We were able to stay in person for eleven weeks before

moving back to remote learning. The district plans to return to hybrid in

January, if not before. According to the district tracker, we could go back to

hybrid before finals in December.

Claudia is a sophomore at the University of Northern Colorado.

She finished her freshman year remotely at home. It was fun to have her home.

The people all acted a little like college students when she was home.

They stayed up late, played a lot of games (video and board) and hung out a lot.

Early last summer she took a CNA class.

She has been working weekend nights at a rehab center near campus.

She and her boyfriend, Collin, have been balancing a long-distance relationship

and enjoyed both of them being a little closer for a few months.

Collin is also a sophomore and is studying at the University of Denver.
Lucas is a sophomore at Rock Canyon High School.

He and Pete were at a competition in Crested Butte on March 12.

They went to bed early and when they got up, everything was canceled.

He ended the year 12th in the IFSA standings for snowboarders 14-18,
even with fewer competitions than several people ranked higher.

This year has started slow, but we are hopeful that some competitions

will be held. He is still playing guitar and enjoys playing for fun.

If you want to see pictures of what we are up to can find and follow us on
Facebook and Instagram:

Facebook:

Sarah Sager Lemire 
Lucas Lemire (lucas.lemire.5494)
Claudia Lemire 
Instagram:
sarahsagerlemire
co_ski_atty
darthshredder04
claudialemire1

We wish you all a blessed holiday season! 
Love,
Sid the Cat (and the rest of the family, too)

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)

Coco (Puff?)

So her name, according to The Girl is Poco (because she thought that's what Mr IM was calling this cat) and I think she should be the BOGO cat, because she is...In any case, (not so) little Coco has staked out the master bedroom as her domain. We worried for a couple days that she wouldn't ever come out, but she has even ventured into the bonus room a couple times (only to rush back to safety when a dog is sighted).  Last night she participated briefly in what the Boy called (I believe this is near to his quote) "The triangle of anger"--in which all three cats were in the bonus room, creating a triangle around The Boy, growling at each other, but none so angry or scared that they would leave the group. Unfortunately, I did not catch that event on film. In fact, there are few photos of BOGO, because she is slightly elusive...
 Here is one with glowing eyes, as she hangs out in the "cat hole" in my closet.

 Coming out of the cat hole...yes, I need to clean my closet...


And...that's it.  I'll try to get more later.  You can see in the cat hole picture how big her paws are--she is also very skinny, but is not a little cat.  She is going to be something, once we fatten her up.

In related news, she is considering taking over the Christmas letter, since she is occasionally called "Coco Puff", which is similar to Puff Tiggy (in that the word "Puff" is included).....it makes as much sense as you should expect from a family who let their cat write the Christmas letter....

Welcome, Coco!


Update since I started writing...I was calling our friend, BOGO and the Mister started as well. The Girl thought we were saying POCO, so we now call her a weird combination of all of those (Although I think she knows BOGO is her name and comes running when I call her!)

Puff Tiggy's Christmas Letter

Greetings, Suckers, I mean, Humans!  It is I, Puff Tiggy, the rapping kitty....

Bet you all didn't think I'd write this year!  Ha!  Despite rumors to the contrary, I am alive, and while not well, alive is something.

This year I celebrated my 18th birthday, and by celebrated, I mean I slept and the people brought me food.  For most of the year I lived in self-imposed seclusion in the master bathroom.  I went in one day, it seemed nice, so I stayed.  After a few days, the people felt bad for me (ha!) and moved my food up there.  About a month ago I decided to shake things up and have moved back to the pantry.  The family thinks it is because I missed them...but they will never know my real reasons (cue evil laughter.....).  In a few days I will celebrate 18 years of living with this family by sleeping in my custom made bed and eating kitty treats.

The family has been busy this year, doing things they always do (school, work) and some new adventures as well. (Keep reading)

The Girl played club volleyball last spring and summer and enjoyed it.  She did not play volleyball this fall, but kept busy with Honors 10 English and a fun photography class. The other pets and I got to hear "hold still!" many times.  She is thinking of running track this spring and is, of course, skiing this winter.  She has a nice group of friends who give me ear scratches when they come over.

The Boy continues to snowboard with a team--he won a couple prizes last spring and again went to Snowboarding camp in the summer.  He got to be a volunteer at Vacation Bible School this year and thought he was pretty cool.  He is a 6th grader this year and is enjoying being in the Middle School wing.  He continues to read everything in sight and especially likes graphic novels (comic books) this year.

Mr. IM's business continues to keep him busy.  In his spare time he enjoys working on his car, walking the dogs, and various home projects.  (Enjoy might be too strong a word for some of those activities).  He installed a new patio for the side yard to keep Morrison from digging holes and it is a favorite spot in the morning or evening for all of the people.

My person is still teaching--this is her 15th year at her school.  She keeps saying she never intended to stay in one place this long, but since she has, she might as well stay. She says that she loves her job and the people and kids she works with, but does occasionally fantasize about running away to a deserted area of Montana to raise goats (although I don't think she'd do it...it is cold in Montana and goats smell).

The rest of the pets continue to do what pets do...Alice quietly plots everyone's deaths, Liberty protects us (except for when I scare her by meowing ,and then she hides), Morrison digs holes...

The family's big adventures this year included a trip to Alaska in July.  (We pets stayed home with D and A and their dog, Emma).  The people were able to visit with Mr. IM's sister, brother in law, nephews, and mom and sightsee in Seattle.  The cruise was with my person's parents for their 50th Anniversary. My person's brother, sister in law and nephew went along too. You can read about the start to their adventures here.

The family also has acquired a seasonal rental (whatever that means) so they are gone many weekends (don't bother breaking into the house, I am here to protect it and there isn't anything valuable anyway).  Once in a while the whole family (including the dogs) does go to the apartment, but usually, it is just Mr. IM and The Boy--The Girl has an exciting social life.  My person says she will write a post about the apartment later (but she's been saying that for months, so don't hold your breath...)

That may be all the news from here--best wishes for a blessed 2017!
Happy New Year from Puff Tiggy and the rest of the family!

Tigger's Christmas Letter 2015

Greetings from the (Sub)urban ranch!

I've heard through the grapevine that many people are disappointed that  did not write a Christmas letter last year...let me assure you that I am alive and well...I am, however, no longer able to leap to the top of the desk in a single bound, so my computer time is quite limited these days.

Mr IMs continues to work at his own law practice.  He keeps busy with work but takes some time off occasionally to hang out with the family--today he is skiing with the Girl, while the Boy attends snowboarding team.  He is currently planning how to finish the side yard of the house to keep my new "friend" out of trouble (more on her later).  This summer he got a new engine for his Subaru and a new hood--the auto shop at Mrs. Ranch's school was excited to get the old hood!
.
Mrs. Ranch started how her 14th year at her current high school and her 23rd year of teaching this year.  She keeps busy with blogging and driving the children around...throwing in a few minutes of reading most nights.  This fall she participated in her first yarn crawl and can't wait to do it again this year!

The Girl is a Freshman in High School.  After several high school visits and some debate, she ended up at a school about half way between home and The Boy's school.  She played volleyball on the undefeated Freshman team this year and joined a club team as a practice player.  Last summer she went to Italy with Mr. IM's mom for a pilgrimage and returned with lots of great stories.  She's not playing drums anymore, so the set has been dismantled and the futon returned to the bonus room...giving me a fantastic place to sleep.

The Boy is a 5th grader this year.  He continues guitar lessons this year and even got a new acoustic guitar from  Grandude this year.  He continues to spend every Saturday from Thanksgiving to Easter snowboarding on a team--last summer he went to snowboarding camp and had a lot of fun.  He enjoyed telling the family about all the late night tv he watched in his dorm room.

The people tell me that I'll be 18 in the spring. I still keep busy, making sure the people are up every day at 5.  Some days they shout, "Dude, its the weekend!", but I think they are delusional...I don't know what a weekend is, but I do know I need a glass of water and fresh food every day at 5! Alice the Cat is 7 in the spring. She likes to hide these days and has taken over MJ's pillow on the adult's bed--drooling her way to sleep.   Liberty, is probably 5 this year. She is enjoying being the "older dog", most days welcoming, Morrison, the Saint Huskimo puppy, born on September 11 and joining our family Thanksgiving weekend.  Morrison's favorite activities are eating everything chasing everything and trying to get everyone to play with her.

The people's extended families are all well, Mrs Ranch's parents are busier in retirement than they were before they retired.  Her younger brother and his family keep busy, her nephew will be five in the spring and provides the Ranch with lots of videos and photos to make us laugh.  Mr. Ranch's dad retired this  year and is job hunting in the Denver area.  Mr. Ranch's mom also retired this year and moved into an adult living community where she keeps busy with all kinds of community and church activities.  The infamous Mrs. Pretzel (IM"s sister) welcomed another boy to the family this October, bringing the people's nephew total to 3.

We hope this letter finds you all well and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our (Sub)urban Ranch!

Love,
Tigger (and family)

Guest Post from Tigger the Cat

Greetings from the (Sub)urban ranch!
I've heard through the grapevine that many people are disappointed that  did not write a Christmas letter this year...let me assure you that I am alive and well...just banned from the computer temporarily.  Mrs. Ranch says if I stop yacking up hairballs on her desk chair, she might consider letting me back on the computer. In the meantime she is letting me dictate this letter to her.
Mr Ranch's law practice continues to do well.  He keeps busy with work and as a team captain for the Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  He was able to take some time off last summer to go camping with the rest of the family.  Mr Ranch and the other dads set up a zip line, archery range, shooting range, fishing, hiking, and a bunch of other activities.
Mrs. Ranch started her 11th year at her current high school and her 21st year of teaching this year...meaning she has spent more than half her teaching career in one place--crazy.  She finds herself spending more and more time chauffeuring the children from place to place, but still makes time to read and even cross stitched a Christmas stocking for Liberty to match everyone else's this year.  I guess Liberty complained that her stocking last year was labeled with a sticky note.
The Girl is a 7th grader this year.  The people are starting to feel the pressure to choose a high school.  I don't know what this is all about...The Girl still enjoys drum lessons (most of the time).  She spent two weeks last summer participating in a rock band camp at the local music school.  She had a good time and wants to do it again, but with a gig in a real place, like a coffee shop or bar instead of at the music school.  The Girl was a big help to Mrs Ranch last spring when they helped with a virtual baby shower for Mrs Pretzel (Mr Ranch's sister).  The Girl and the Boy and both looking forward to meeting their new cousin sometime next spring.  The Girl participated in volleyball last spring and cross country this fall--enjoyed both.  She also participates in youth group at church and yearbook at school.  I'm sure I'm forgetting something she does, but I'm an elderly cat...so whatever.
The Boy is a 3rd grader this year.  He loves telling us stories about school, his classmates, and his teacher's kids.  He has allowed Mrs. Ranch topics for several blogs about "Boy-isms".  He still enjoys Cub Scouts, rose to the rank of Wolf this year (I think that is right) and is working to become a Weeblo next year. He states that he no longer enjoys the Pack meetings though, because, "those other kids just run around and stuff".  According to Mrs Ranch this is ironic, because he doesn't really sit much himself, but she's not complaining about having one less activity. The Boy started guitar lessons this year and is well on his way to learning every Beatles song ever written. He celebrated his birthday at home this year with a screening of Despicable Me 2 and some friends.  It was a very calm party...very different from some of his previous parties.
The people tell me that I'll be 16 in the spring, but that I can't get my driver's license because I'm a cat.  I'm ok with that...I pretty much sleep either on the chair in the kitchen or in Mrs. Ranch's closet.  I do like to sing "the song of my people" at 5 am if Mrs. Ranch doesn't get up to give me fresh water.  She threw her pillow at me last weekend...I told her it wasn't very nice by moving a little further away and singing louder.  Alice the Cat is 5 in the spring.  She is not slowing down, but is getting a bit tubby from eating my geriatric cat food.  She still doesn't like the dogs (which is weird, since they are afraid of her) and quite often will hide if the family has overnight house guests, leading people to say things like "she doesn't seem that bad".  Indy Dog will be 14 in February.  She is slowing down a little, has learned to turn on the tv, and gets grumpy if the youngsters want to play and she is sleeping.  However, she is not above chasing Alice or smacking Liberty so they will entertain her.  The youngest family member, Liberty, is probably about 3 this year.  She continues to prove all stereotypes about Saint Bernards wrong, by leaping through the house at a fast rate of speed and running from me, even when I'm sleeping.
The people's extended families are all well, Mrs Ranch's parents are busier in retirement than they were before they retired.  Her younger brother and his family keep busy, her nephew will be four in the spring and provides the Ranch with lots of videos and photos to make us laugh.  Mr. Ranch's dad will spend Christmas at the Ranch before returning home to attend a bowl game.  His traveling companion, Maggie the Dog, is a lot of fun for Indy and Liberty but is way too interested in me for my comfort.  Mr. Ranch's mom will spend Christmas day with his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew in the Seattle area.
We hope this letter finds you all well and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from our (Sub)urban Ranch!

Puff Tiggy, the rapping kitty...

Tigger the Cat not only gets to claim the title of oldest pet at the Ranch, but also the author of the yearly Suburban Christmas letter.  Tigger was a shelter cat.  We actually went to adopt a kitten and ended up with a half grown cat.

As a kitten he was excited to fetch--chasing and retrieving a bouncy ball for hours.
MJ, our resident mommy cat, tried for years to teach Tigger to clean himself and to purr.  The cleaning he has never really mastered, however, in a shocking turn of events, seems to have learned to purr since MJ passed away.
A couple of years ago he gave us a scare...we noticed that one of his eyes always seemed dilated.  After a bunch of tests at the vet, we came to the conclusion that he did not have diabetes, as the vet feared, but rather had apparently fallen off something and detached his retina.   He never has been a terribly coordinated cat...but seriously.
These days he is content to sleep on the chair of death in the kitchen or in the death closet upstairs as he ponders what is worthy of publication in the yearly letter.