Geeky Cat Miusings

I was watching the news this morning and they were talking about making New Year’s resolutions and what you need to do to actually stick to your resolutions. I wasn’t really paying attention because I was trying to remember what if any New Year’s resolution I made last year. I have a feeling that I made some sort of resolution but I can’t remember it at all. The show suggesting writing down your resolutions to make them concrete and that makes sense to me. But if you are like me, that scrap piece of paper is going to get lost in a pile somewhere, never to be found until you do a major cleanup. But I don’t make my resolutions in the standard way — waiting until New Year’s and then starting my good intentions until I fall off the band wagon and then wait until the next New Year to make the resolution again. I prefer to just get started with my resolution the minute I decide that I want to do it. The best time to start is the present. If you get off the band wagon, just get right back on… don’t wait until the damage piles up that you have triple the work to get back to where you started.

I am having a hard deciding on a good resolution to make. I know I would like to have more free time to do the things I like and time to spend with friends but I don’t have a concrete plan yet. I will have to think about it.

The end of the year is a good time to reflect on the year. What was good about it and want wasn’t so hot.

Here is a list of my top five moments in 2007:

1. Laughing and gagging while eating Berts Bots Jelly Beans while watching The Miracle on 34th Street Musical. The box of jelly beans looked very cool… it had a combination of very tasty cherry and strawberry flavoured jelly beans interspersed with utterly revolting earthworm, earwax, soap, and vomit flavoured beans. I bought this for a friend thinking it would be a delicious mix of jelly beans…and that they just called certain ones such vile names as a joke. Nope. It is real. But it was deliriously funny and I’m still chuckling about it.
2. My trip to Picton. Good times. Good times.
3. Listening to Royal Wood coming back from Picton. Now, whenever I listen to the CD it evokes a certain mood that I relish.
4. Getting a job without applying for it. I didn’t even use mind power. It was that easy.
5. Joining a social group. It was easier than I thought and a great way to meet people you would not normally get to meet.

2007 was a great year. Actually, I think it was my best year ever. Thanks to everyone who helped make it such a very good year. And a very big thanks to you who made me laugh, and laugh, and laugh. And you who shared your music and your stories.

Happy New Year to all!!!

We played the non-typical Christmas game of Price is Right, a game that is most skillfully played by those who shop frequently
and/or watch the show on television regularly. Since my mother watches the show almost daily and enjoys shopping, she won the game and was delighted with her virtual cars, trip, and knife set. Yes, I am very glad the knife set was virtual because a) they can be a dangerous tool in mom’s hands when I misbehave and b) I will only be required to cook virtually, and even this geek can handle that.

Sadly there was no Christmas caroling, so I could not show off my “pretending to sing” skills that I have been practicing all year.

Yet another year passed without me being kissed under the mistletoe. But I was introduced to a very charming fish.

Christmas dinner included the non-traditional Christmas menu of lentil loaf, eggplant lasagna, cannelloni, grilled zucchinis, tossed salad, and low-fat carrot cake compensated with high-fat cream cheese frosting.

Christmas gifts included kitty coasters, books, chocolates, and honey fresh from Cuba. I was admiring my nieces’ gifts which included a very slick iPod that plays video, a pillow with speakers to hook up the iPod to, laser hair removal, a trip to New York city, and jewelery to replace ones that have been lost (I think Santa messed up on his delivery — I think those items were meant for me).

One of the books I received is an inspirational book full of quotes on the topic of cats. Cats have inspired poetry, art, music, and spirituality through the ages and I would love to share a few quotes with you:

• I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through. Jules Verne.
• I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior. Hippolyte Taine.
• After dark all cats are leopards. Native American Proverb.
• With the qualitites of cleanliness, affection, patience, dignity, and courage that cats have, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of becoming cats? Fernand Méry.

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope you get to share your day with the people and pets you love. May it be filled with laughter and joy. From Tammy, Pumpkin and Me xoxoxoxo!

The above photo is of Pumpkin and Tammy after their little catnip treat.

As we prepare our Christmas dinner tonight I am giving thanks that we don’t adhere to some of the traditions of the past; for while they were suitably for their time, they don’t go over well with many of the celebrants of today. The people of Upper Canada in 1793 were eating boiled black squirrel, porcupine, roasted passenger pigeon and raccoon for Christmas. The people of that time would eat whatever was in abundance locally. At times the skies were black with ducks and so they would naturally have duck dinner. They ate locally grown foods out of necessity (while we may need to think about eating locally grown foods for the environment’s sake - I would graciously pass on the porcupine).

We have the largest Christmas stocking in the world here in Toronto.The stocking’s final length was measured at 27.46 metres and it is made entirely out of traditional stocking materials. I wouldn’t mind hanging that stocking on my fireplace — Santa could fill it with a lot of clothes, books, music, and I think there would be room for a car too. Oh Boy!

Talking about stockings, did you know that we got the custom of hanging stockings by the fireplace from the Dutch? They started this custom by leaving wooden shoes by the fireplace, not left empty to be filled with gifts by St. Nick but were filled by the household members with fruits for the donkey St. Nicholas used to carry his gifts for the children.

Have you heard the Gene Autry classic “Here Comes Santa Claus” and wondered if the is a real Santa Claus Lane? Yes, Virginia there is a real Santa Claus Lane but it exists just once a year. Every year since the 1930’s, Hollywood Boulevard has been re-named Santa Claus Lane during Hollywood’s annual Christmas parade. Here are some old photos of Santa Claus Lane.

I had many hopes for improving my life at the beginning of this year and I am so happy how much has gone right for me. I have a great new job that provides me with new challenges and new people to get to know — so far everyone has been very nice. And of course there are lots of chocolates and cookies in the office at this time of year — fortunately I’m not worried about my weight. I have new friends to chat and have fun with. And Santa gave me money to buy the things I wanted. He decided that it would be better for me to decide which specifications I wanted for my computer because he wasn’t sure. That’s cool Santa. Santa has changed a lot since my childhood. We need to accept him as he is, because he needs to go through his personal growth process just like the rest of us. He is going with the flow and embracing the celebrity culture of our times, making videos such as this:

There is a 19^th century house in Toronto that really does have a subway in its basement. The house, which sounds like it might be in a science fiction story rather than on a busy Toronto street, is an entrance to the Spadina subway station. The only clue that it is a subway entrance is the TTC pole outside. Otherwise, it just looks like a quaint house.

• I am really excited about starting my new job this week.
• I broke my 3rd toe last Monday. It seems to be healing very quickly but I am stuck wearing flat boots until my toe is feeling better.
• Thanks to Lisa for letting me use her UGG boots (does anyone know if ugg is short for ugly?)
• Ivana makes the best biscotti in the whole world and she brought me a bunch, which I am trying to eat slowly so that they are not gone by tomorrow
• Thanks to Julian I am now officially on Santa’s Nice List…I’m sure that means Santa will be good to me!
• Some of Santa’s elves are apparently writing lewd letters to some people in Ottawa. Happily I am not the recipient of one of these letters.. probably because Santa wrote to me personally.
• I’m somewhat distraught by the discussion to declare Kyrgyzstan as Santa’s homeland. After a Swedish consulting firm made a number of calculations, taking into account where most children on the planet live and the Earth’s rotation, they determined that the Kyrgyz Republic is the ideal spot from which Santa should begin his round-the-world odyssey. I don’t like the idea of making Santa move from his comfortable abode in the North Pole in the name of efficiency because Santa and his crew shouldn’t be treated like a corporation, but if it is more environmentally friendly well then we may have to consider this. And while we Canadians would love to declare Santa Claus as one of us, we must accept the fact that he really is a citizen of the world and as such can live anywhere he wishes.
• It is a very blustery day with lots of snow falling so I had to miss a Christmas concert this afternoon. It was the only Christmas concert I was planning to attend this year but I am in the mood to see if there is something else playing this week that I can attend. In the meantime I’ll play my Holiday CDs.

December is one big long celebration. Lots of parties and, if there is going to be a party, there is going to be the taking of photographs. Geeky doesn’t like to be in photos so she tries to get out of them as best she can without being missed. When the pictures involves family, she is usually the one taking the photos so it is easy for her to avoid being in the photograph. But have a look at this photograph taken with friends…she managed to get half out lol….

I was so excited this morning when I checked my e-mail and found a letter from Santa Claus! He is very busy in his workshop at the North Pole managing the elves and helpers who are making toys, games and other fun things for kids from all over the planet. He did not mention if he makes computers or cell phones….is that too technically advanced for his workshop? Has Santa not upgraded yet? Maybe he needs help from some of the tech folks out there. We want our computers to look pretty so I think we should get the folks at Apple to get together with the little folks up North and collaborate to make highly desirable, good quality gifts.

Some of you folks are writing witty letters because Santa said he gets a good belly laugh from some of the notes he receives. I think Santa has also become very health conscious because he said the he picked some beautiful candy cane-striped tomatoes and green beans that taste like sugar cookies from his lovely garden. I think I am going to write another letter to Santa requesting clippings or seeds from these yummy plants. I want candy-striped tomatoes too because it would be so pretty to snack on!

Good ol’Santa asked me to write again next year and sends his love.
I love you too Santa ♥ ♥ ♥

This morning I realized that it is just two weeks to Christmas and I have not written to Santa yet. The list of stuff that I want and need is quite long that I really cannot afford to miss out on Santa’s benevolence. So I went to the Canada Post web site and I entered my name and email address. I then proceeded to write my request. I pointed out to Santa that if he found some item too expensive he could combine it with my birthday gift. But then I thought maybe I’m getting by facts mixed up. Maybe Santa doesn’t do birthday gifts. Okay, we’ll just leave it as a Christmas gift then. I promised Santa that I have been very good this year (and I have) and that I promise to leave him a bunch of cookies. Home made too, if he prefers. I didn’t know what else to say to Santa. I felt bad just writing a list of things that I would like to have. Do people write gift requests for other people in their letters to Santa? Do they keep Santa updated with their life?

With these questions in my mind I started to write my letter:

Dear Santa,

Warmest Wishes,
Geeky Cat

Or if you are not a believer in Santa but you do believe in The Secret, do you believe that by writing out your wish list you will unleash a powerful force that will attract those things into your own life?

I would love to hear you own stories and thoughts about writing to Santa Clause.