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!

New Year's at the Ranch

I don't think that New Year's has ever been a major holiday for me.  When I was a kid my folks always hosted a party for several other families...I remember lots of Chex mix and giggling (we were girls), running from the boys (our brothers and their friends), and watching "The Sound of Music".  One year in middle school or high school I had strep throat and mom asked the doctor if we should cancel the party.  His reaction was "as long as she doesn't kiss anyone".  I thought, "I don't think this will be a problem".  The Chex mix was a bit hard to swallow that year though.

When I was a junior in high school I wanted to go to a friend's house for New Years...my dad went out and bought our first color tv and a VCR (and a couple movies) so all my friends could come to our house instead.  In college I spent New Years at my friend P's a couple times--we played Euchure, watched movies, exciting stuff.

Once we lived in Denver we hosted a couple New Year's parties and went to a few at good friends house--usually lots of snacks and a few movies.  The year The Girl was a baby (and maybe a couple other years around that time) we spent New Year's at some friends "up north"--I think The Girl and I went to bed in the guest room about 10pm while the rest of the house was a madhouse.

When the kids were little we started celebrating "New Year's France time"....once it was dark we passed out the hats and noise makers, let them do their thing...including a glass of sprite or sparking apple juice and then put them to bed by 7.  We were very proud of our sneakiness...then they learned to tell time...D'oh...


So this picture is from 2010..might be the first year we let them "stay up"...looks like we are deep in our new tradition--a movie marathon!  This might be the year we let them watch all the Star Wars movies (skipping #3, perhaps...).

And this one, from last year looks like Star Wars again...or something.  Hmm.









So you might ask, what are our plans for this year?  Mr Ranch and The Girl are skiing today--The Boy is staying home, watching a Muppet show marathon. When they get home, I think we will have some "Unrolled Egg rolls" (isn't there a New Year's Tradition about eating cabbage being good luck?)  The family (surprisingly?) likes this recipe.  Then a movie marathon...not Star Wars...Lord of the Rings has been suggested, as has Despicable Me....and then bed at 12:01.  Happy New Year everyone!

Unrolled Egg Rolls recipe
1 1/2 to 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey

1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small cabbage, chopped

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until ground beef is no longer pink and onion is tender.

Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.

Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8