Christmas MMXXIV
This one is late, but in my defense I wanted to get our family picture taken two days before it happened, but it takes everyone's cooperation to make these things happen. Anyway....
We come once again to Christmas, giving us a hopeful reminder of things to come at the end of a most serious year.
Our guinea pig Tribble beamed out to the undiscovered country before the Kobayashi Maru scenario we earthlings call Election Day saw its conclusion. May our little friend live long and prosper in her eternal world.
We inherited Missy from Ginny’s mom. No one else in the family was willing to take in a three-legged brain-damaged cat with continence problems, but that’s what we do here.
Our other new acquisition of the year is Sydney, whom we had fostered once before, but who returned to our possession after his previous owner’s death. His renewed time with us has revealed a new interest, in woodworking.
Our goofball cat, Loki, has proven adept at seizing any opportunity he sees-whether it’s a baby gate to open, a lap, a soft bed, or soft food. We suggested carpe diem as his motto, but he told us he’s not too fond of carp, or any other fish.
The main pursuit for Ysera this year has been studying the various actors who have played Batman, as he attempts to duplicate the Dark Knight’s voice for entertainment purposes.
The sweaters Llyr knitted for the county fair this year were a moderate success, but his cunning hats made it all the way to the state level.
Our new induction stove has been most exciting for Thor. He’s been putting more effort into his culinary talents than ever before. (He still struggles with adapting recipes for our higher elevation.)
Eir has made significant progress in her graduate program, and would appreciate if we would not distract her as she continues the research for her dissertation.
Not only is Naomi still obsessed with dragons, but also with creating dragon habitats, and dragons to fit their habitats, and dragon stories rife with plot twists.
Academics took a dive for Posey this year as she became obsessed with all things political. We hope she might get back to normal now that campaigning is giving way to governing, but we’re not unaware of how often hopes can end in disappointment.
The challenge for Saffron has been finding a way to patent his silencing collar. The noise-activated spray device didn’t work well on the bad dog, so he’s back to the drawing board. Wish him luck.
The summer events Bea attended were very motivating to her, followed by the start of high school and a most discouraging music teacher. But the new year will see a new semester, so said teacher is now in the past. She also fell through a manhole cover.
It’s senior year for Enoch, and high school can’t end too soon for him. He got his first job this summer, enjoys the hands-on projects he’s been doing with vocational classes, and is looking forward to the real world.
While a couple of new appliances have been exciting for us, Klio still maintains that her favorites are the old microwave we once had, and the smoke detector, since they made her favorite sounds.
While others had things to celebrate this year, those things all pale in comparison to Ginny losing her mother this August, after several months of rapidly deteriorating health. Ginny’s mom wasn’t part of our household, but she was an important part of our family and will be missed.
For Eric this year saw some small accomplishments, like observing his 20th anniversary at his place of employment (though no one else noticed), recording an interview on a Latter-day Saint YouTube channel, and reading all the Narnia books to his children.
Although we have reasons to mourn during the holidays that shape the end of the year, Christmas gives us reasons for hope beyond mourning. We also have every confidence that this new year will be happier for us than the one now approaching its end. May all of you see happier times in 2025 as well!
We come once again to Christmas, giving us a hopeful reminder of things to come at the end of a most serious year.
Our guinea pig Tribble beamed out to the undiscovered country before the Kobayashi Maru scenario we earthlings call Election Day saw its conclusion. May our little friend live long and prosper in her eternal world.
We inherited Missy from Ginny’s mom. No one else in the family was willing to take in a three-legged brain-damaged cat with continence problems, but that’s what we do here.
Our other new acquisition of the year is Sydney, whom we had fostered once before, but who returned to our possession after his previous owner’s death. His renewed time with us has revealed a new interest, in woodworking.
Our goofball cat, Loki, has proven adept at seizing any opportunity he sees-whether it’s a baby gate to open, a lap, a soft bed, or soft food. We suggested carpe diem as his motto, but he told us he’s not too fond of carp, or any other fish.
The main pursuit for Ysera this year has been studying the various actors who have played Batman, as he attempts to duplicate the Dark Knight’s voice for entertainment purposes.
The sweaters Llyr knitted for the county fair this year were a moderate success, but his cunning hats made it all the way to the state level.
Our new induction stove has been most exciting for Thor. He’s been putting more effort into his culinary talents than ever before. (He still struggles with adapting recipes for our higher elevation.)
Eir has made significant progress in her graduate program, and would appreciate if we would not distract her as she continues the research for her dissertation.
Not only is Naomi still obsessed with dragons, but also with creating dragon habitats, and dragons to fit their habitats, and dragon stories rife with plot twists.
Academics took a dive for Posey this year as she became obsessed with all things political. We hope she might get back to normal now that campaigning is giving way to governing, but we’re not unaware of how often hopes can end in disappointment.
The challenge for Saffron has been finding a way to patent his silencing collar. The noise-activated spray device didn’t work well on the bad dog, so he’s back to the drawing board. Wish him luck.
The summer events Bea attended were very motivating to her, followed by the start of high school and a most discouraging music teacher. But the new year will see a new semester, so said teacher is now in the past. She also fell through a manhole cover.
It’s senior year for Enoch, and high school can’t end too soon for him. He got his first job this summer, enjoys the hands-on projects he’s been doing with vocational classes, and is looking forward to the real world.
While a couple of new appliances have been exciting for us, Klio still maintains that her favorites are the old microwave we once had, and the smoke detector, since they made her favorite sounds.
While others had things to celebrate this year, those things all pale in comparison to Ginny losing her mother this August, after several months of rapidly deteriorating health. Ginny’s mom wasn’t part of our household, but she was an important part of our family and will be missed.
For Eric this year saw some small accomplishments, like observing his 20th anniversary at his place of employment (though no one else noticed), recording an interview on a Latter-day Saint YouTube channel, and reading all the Narnia books to his children.
Although we have reasons to mourn during the holidays that shape the end of the year, Christmas gives us reasons for hope beyond mourning. We also have every confidence that this new year will be happier for us than the one now approaching its end. May all of you see happier times in 2025 as well!