Meowy Christmas, peeps and pets! Vivian K. Perry here today, filling in for Jennifer while she finishes getting ready for the holidays.
I got to reminiscing about my sister Maisie this morning, who went over the rainbow bridge in May of 2020. Here we are, together, several Christmases ago:
And here is Maisie, unable to resist our little tree:
Jennifer has many other cats in her extended family. Here is Joey, one of her daughter’s cats:
. . . and here’s Joey with his sister Ginger:
Jennifer’s sister-in-law owns this fluffy kitty who goes by the name Scotty—aka Butterscotch:
Not long ago, Scotty had a brother named Merlin:
This cat’s name is Gerald. He belongs to Jennifer’s niece:
Jennifer’s sister had a cat named Zoe:
. . . and Jennifer’s son had a cat named Miss Mooch:
Jennifer and I are sending out Season’s Greetings to all of our friends, family, pets and bloggers. We look forward to catching up with you again in 2022! ~ Love and purrs, Vivian. ❤
Maisie here, wishing my sister Vivian would make room for me on our big new bed in the living room. Yes, our early Christmas present is actually a dog bed, but it’s oh-so-comfy for us cats too.
Mom thinks she’s clever, making us share it with a beanie baby named “Howlidays.” We realize it’s Christmas and all, but we would’ve preferred a baby of our own species.
Oh well. Let me think… where shall I nap while waiting for my turn on the new bed?
Our twin beds are in the kitchen of course…
… and look what I found here. Just my size.
Ever-curious Vivian has to come along and inspect the situation.
I think you’re too big to fit, sis.
Move along. Nothing more to see here.
Finally!
Thank you, sis. Now, one more thing…
Think, maybe, we can lose the mutt??
Ah… that’s much better!
Thanks, Mom… purr… zzzz…
Happy Holidays to all
and warm, cuddly wishes for the New Year! ♥♥♥ See you in January!
Vivian K. Perry here with my sister Maisie, to tell you my face is ALL BETTER!!!
Just in time for the holidays.
Jennifer also asked me to tell you there’s only one day left to enter her $25 Amazon gift card draw. Click on the card to subscribe to her email list for a chance to win. Subscribers will receive an email tomorrow announcing the winner. Good luck!
Stay safe, and we’ll see you all again in the New Year!
Wendy L. Macdonald, the GreenLightLady, is a fellow Canadian blogger. We have been following each other for nearly two years, and during the entire month of November we were also each other’s writing buddies for National Novel Writing Month.
In her own words:
“I’m a writer, poet, and nature lover. I also enjoy expressing myself through photography. Creation has a lot to say. My prose and poems are a small sampling of nature’s words. I’m a Christian that loves reading the Bible so you’ll find a few Scripture verses woven into this blog.”
In keeping with the festive season, last week she shared a Christmas post that is decidedly “blogger style”. Click on the link below and don’t forget to tell her Jennifer sent you.
As the busy days of December flurry past and we march through our calendars to Christmas, I ponder on the many elements of the season. The dictionary gives us the literal definition:
a. the annual commemoration by Christians of the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec 25 b. observed as a day of secular celebrations when gifts and greetings are exchanged
Reflecting on most of my Christmases, I feel a warm glow around my heart. But does that feeling come from observing the season as defined above, or from somewhere else? What is my common denominator, the origin of these warm, fuzzy, though sometimes bittersweet, emotions?
For me, it is Family. My most precious memories are intertwined with the love of close family through the years, especially the early reminiscences of my mom and dad, bless their souls, who helped create the tinseled childhood magic I hold so synonymous with Christmas.
Then came the low period. For years, more precisely since my mother became ill, I was the Scrooge who just wanted Christmas to go away. Putting up a tree, cooking and baking, the shopping, I only wanted to get it over with. Nothing seemed the same anymore after Mom got sick and passed away. I missed Dad too, of course, but to me, my mother epitomized Christmas, with her Nanaimo bars, her sumptuous turkey dinner, and her selfless but fun-loving spirit. I couldn’t look at a tree without thinking of the time I couldn’t get home, and she kept hers up and decorated for my visit on January 15th. Without my mom, my heart was no longer in it.
Mom – Christmas 1967
But somehow, this year feels different. At last, I can say I’m not going through the motions of the season. There is a sleigh full of love, too, in the shiny new memories I forge these days with my children and their significant others, and with our two beloved grandchildren. There is a renewed love, baked into the Christmas cookies I prepare (and the ones I buy), and in the gifts I wrap for them (yes, that includes gift cards!). There is love and wonder in our hearts seeing our grandson sing in his Grade One Christmas concert. There is laughter again while watching TV shows with the kids, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and silly Mr. Bean’s version of the holiday.
There is revived anticipation of traveling back to see our loved ones in a couple of weeks, a fresh gratitude when we gather round with our extended families, to eat and celebrate together. And when we return, there are the New Year’s festivities with friends here, who always make us feel like family.
Until I am with my grandbabies again, I will hang their pictures of the Grinch they drew for us this past weekend.
“What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store?”
“What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
I will gaze at my grandson’s Kindergarten portrait…
…and remember the conversation we had on Saturday morning. He imagined being so tall his head touched the clouds. We joked about it, and then I said:
“If you’re that tall, people wouldn’t be able to talk to you. Not even your girlfriend could talk to you.”
“I don’t want one,” he said.
“A girlfriend?”
“No,” he said, giving me a hug. “I only want you, Nanny.”
Me: {{{heart melting}}} “Awww!” ❤
What do you love about this time of year? Celebrating with family? Giving to the less fortunate?
The church services? The carols? The decorations?
Or is it all “Bah Humbug”? Has it been overshadowed by loss in your life?
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! Vivian K. Perry here, filling in for Jennifer today because she is in town celebrating the holidays in the bosom of her family.
Maisie and I are hanging out at home with our early Christmas presents, two new cat beds! We are thrilled with how cozy they are, and Jennifer was thrilled because they were only ten bucks a pop from Sears catalogue.
In keeping with the spirit of the season, please have a look at Maisie’s Christmas photo shoot below.
This Friday, my husband and I are going to town to spend a few days caring for our two little grandchildren. Allowing L and J’s hardworking parents to go off on a private weekend and enjoy some time by themselves has become a little tradition for us, a tradition we happily and gratefully accept.
We look forward to taking them on a couple of outings, one of which will be to buy a Christmas present for a needy child and putting it under the Happy Tree at the mall. Some visits with family, a Santa Claus Parade, and the obligatory games and bedtime stories will ensure lots of fun-filled moments for the children and grandparents alike.
This weekend couldn’t come at a better time for me. Spending time with my sweet little ones is just the diversion I need right now, a breath of fresh air that will help me regroup, regain focus, and get back to my normal life. There’s this novel I started writing last month that I had no other choice but to put aside due to my recent loss, but it is back on the agenda this week, I am pleased to say.
Here are just a few photos I selected from fun times we had with L and J, over the past year.
Four more sleeps, kids! Your Nanny and Poppy can’t wait. 🙂
You always hear people say that we shouldn’t love the material things in life, and usually I am inclined to agree. However, in one particular area of my life I must beg to differ. Sometimes we have certain items that are so very precious to us because they keep our memories bright.
My mother is now in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease. She has changed so much in the past few years, from a vibrant, independent and beautiful woman, into a person who needs constant care. She can still smile in recognition at me, but can no longer carry on a conversation of any sort. We are losing her, bit by bit, with every visit and every passing day. This is probably why I hold on so tightly to a few items that came from her.
As I write this, I am wearing a pair of wool slippers that my mother knitted for me. They are teal blue and white with little bows sewn on the top. I found them a couple of months ago when I was sorting out some storage items, and even though they are a little tight, which was the reason I had put them away in the first place, I’ve worn them ever since, stretching them so they would fit. Just knowing that she had made them for me gives me comfort.
While I was looking for Christmas baking inspiration a few weeks ago, I came across a recipe for cherry cake in my collection, that was written in Mom’s elegant handwriting. I remembered her making that recipe many times over the years. My heart ached with loss as I read it, but I knew I had to use it. Now that Christmas is behind us for another year, I still have some of that cake left, and I savour every bite.
And on my right hand, I am wearing my mother’s wedding band. It had been sitting in a little box in my dresser drawer for months, waiting until the day for it to go on her finger for the last time. So for now I am wearing it, because it makes me feel closer to her, and to Dad as well.
So please don’t try to tell me that things aren’t important. Sometimes it’s the little things that we need to hold onto, the touchstones for our priceless memories. Sometimes it is all we have.
Jennifer's Journal 