O Holy Night

Last Sunday at the close of the service Rick sang O Holy Night to close our Christmas Season. It was wonderful to share this moment in both services with fellow islanders who have been snowed in unable to attend church services.

Kitty Christmas...

Sentinel Cat... Jenny bought this collar with bells and Midnight loves it! He feels like a Prince when he's all dressed up.
The reindeer hat was a little big, so it has been re-gifted to Peach and Blackberry M-E.
Don't these two remind you of Emy and Lisa??   Missy is on the left and Midnight is on the right. They are pretty inseparable.
Missy (sissy) is the least snuggly kitty, but she does have her moments. Rick just got lucky.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Let's face it. Our tree will not be the same this year, now that Thing 1 and Thing 2 live here!

They think the tree is a special fixture just for them to climb and enjoy. So in order to still feel like it might be Christmas time we have changed just a teensy weensy detail. Our tree is an unbreakable, edible tree! Yes there are colored LED lights that they ignore, but the Christmas balls have never quite been the same.
Yes, we have Lindor Balls on our tree and candy canes. Both are Joe's favorites. The rest of us just mainly like the Lindor Balls. Kitties don't seem to care.
Speaking of Kitties. Missy if feeling festive and pretty. Some days it's fun to dress up even if you don't have anywhere to go!

Goodbye Hollie, Tim and ELLIOTT!

They are leaving us, leaving beautiful Orcas Island for Boston.  Oh Yeah, there's family there.  But what are we?  I think we are Family of Choice.  We have grown to love this little family and to say we will miss them is an understatement.  Elliott, you are just too stinkin' cute.  He was smiling at Ronna and I just got lucky with the camera.  Knitting just won't be the same on Wednesdays....

Show Me the Pig

I have been challenged that for a pig lover there is a suspicious lack of pigs on the blog.  Well far be it for me to back down from a challenge.  There is one pig that stands out this month and that is our Camden pig. What is a Camden pig, you may ask?  Since our mission trip in the spring we have designated this bank to hold loose change and "leftover" bills to send to Urban Promise. We dump it out every so often and send it on to be used where it's most needed.  I was surprised that this time it added up to $42.  You just never know. So Merry Christmas Urban Promise. 

A Normal Evening at Home

As soon as anyone uses the shower the kittens are quick to jump in and watch the water drip.  That is how exciting it is on Orcas Island!
Rick, who is home from work, looks suspiciously like he is still at work?  He never seems to be disconnected. Sorry Barb, no bucket truck needed for this guy.

This season has been busy for Joe with lots of performances. On Thankgiving weekend he played on three different islands one short song.  This Friday evening he plays at a benefit dance with Orcatrazz, the swing band.  On Sat. and Sunday he plays with the Choral Society at their Christmas performance at Orcas Center.  So, seen here is one of the things Joe does with his "spare"  time. PRACTICE. The amazing part is that noone had to tell him to do it.

Kitties, Kitties, and more Kitties

We were over at Barb's getting some details sorted out for the K2tog booth at the fair when the kitties discovered our "display tree".  Dexter and Deisel want a tree like this for Christmas.  Barb's kitties are about 2 weeks younger than ours and they are still so fuzzy cute.
Meriel is pretty taken with Dexter (or is it Diesel?) Momma Bailey is seen watching how her baby is being held. (Bailey is a Beagle, adopted Mom)
Our kitties got their present early... a bed big enough for the two of them.  They love it, and use it thanks to the sprinkling of Catnip to lure them.
This will be forever remembered as the Year of the Kittens.