Christmas 2003. It's probably just as well that Christmas comes but once a year. I've thoroughly enjoyed my first Christmas, but let me tell you, I'm exhausted from all the excitement. On the day before Christmas, the mailman came with a present. (Cookies from Kyra!) He rang the doorbell and I streaked for the closet. I had barely been coaxed out of hiding when the FedEx man brought more packages and rang it again.

When things settled down a bit after supper, Miss Jerrianne lit a crackly fire in the fireplace and tuned in a concert of Hanukkah music on the radio. Then we listened to Christmas carols. Music interests me very much, but it keeps me awake ... especially when it has sound effects like barking dogs and jingling bells. Of course I wouldn't want to sleep through the midnight marshmallow toasting, though I didn't get to participate.

The snowstorm that went on for most of a week finally ran out of snow and Christmas Day dawned bright and sunny ... a little before noon. There's not much warmth to the sunshine this time of year and the temperature dropped down below zero, but sitting in my chair in the sun room, those sunbeams felt soothingly warm on my ears.

Miss Jerrianne helped me unwrap a present from Santa Claws ... a catnip kit! Now we can grow catnip just for me. I think that's a splendid idea! We got a wonderful new wall calendar, too, with charming pictures of kitties ... one for every day of the year. I checked it out thoroughly and of all those hundreds of beautiful kitties, not a single one looks at all like me. I guess I really am an original. I don't mind that one bit. I like feeling I'm special.

After breakfast, I wore my harness and leash until it was time for me to get into the pouch. In no time, I had wound that leash around a wicker chair and begun chasing the wrist loop on the other end. Around and around the chair I went, but no matter how fast or how slow I ran, or how hard I tried to pounce on the loop, it stayed just a few inches out of reach.

We spent Christmas afternoon with Pretty Kitty and her people ... Miss Jerrianne's sister Miss Kathlyn and her husband, Mr. Argyle. They took me in when I was lost and couldn't find my way home last September and they found me a good home with Miss Jerrianne. I really enjoyed seeing them again. I must say Pretty Kitty wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about spending Christmas Day with our family as I was, but Miss Jerrianne brought some kitty treats along and she politely shared them with me.

Miss Kathlyn and Mr. Argyle gave me a new toy mouse that they had kept in their catnip jar. Mmmm! Good! That really made my day. I chased it all over their house and had a wonderful time, though try as I might, I couldn't coax Pretty Kitty into playing toss the mouse or chase the bouncy balls with me. She really is a pretty kitty, much older and bigger than me, with long white fur, flame red "point" markings and bright blue eyes. She's a pound pussy, too, very territorial. (Just like me!) She is the boss there.

After dinner, Miss Jerrianne and I went to Reiki Circle, with me in the pouch. A big black dog saw me through the windows and wanted to come inside and chase me. They lowered the blinds so the dog couldn't see me and I lived to tell the tale. I discovered that dogs and cats live there, and birds, too. (I would love to explore that further.) I met some nice people, very complimentary. And then we came home. As soon as I'd eaten a few kitty crunchies, I climbed into my bed ... and in no time I was fast asleep.