The Tree is Back in the Box

Mum pulled down the Christmas tree yesterday.  In our house, this is the signal from Mum that Christmas is done.  She is sick of eating left over ham and ready to run head long into the new year.  Mum doesn't do anything without running into it and the first of January is no different.  Now that the joyous season of Christmas is over, it is time to tell you all about the fun we've had.  It is also a perfect opportunity to step back into the writing world.  I've felt a little lost lately and couldn't quite work out how to get back into the ink well.  

Shelly cleaned up this year!  It was her first Christmas with us, after all.  Watching her play with all her new toys was great fun.  It was much like having a child opening gifts on Christmas morning and then yo-yo-ing between them all day.  Of course we had to leave my poor kitty at home for our trip to the Sister's house.  But Shelly forgave us when we came home and the playtime continued.  

I suppose you want to see some photos.  We will start with a few 'pre-Christmas' pics that prove how helpful Shelly is at this time of year.  

On Christmas Eve, I decided to get the festivities rolling by giving Shelly two of her bigger gifts (from me, of course).  I brought a box, with the gifts inside, into the lounge room and called Shelly.  She came trotting over nonchalantly and sniffed.  I whispered, "ooh, what's in the box, Shelly? what's in here?" Her brown eyes fixed on mine and then flicked back to the box.  Curiosity had finally got the better of her - she tiptoed closer to the box and lifted a paw to the lid.  I sat on the floor beside her and lifted the flaps to reveal what was inside.  A fold-able tunnel and a ball track with spring mouse.  You can see below.  "Wow," I exclaimed as I lifted out each item and untied the tunnel allowing it to unfold.  Her wide eyes stared and her head cocked to the side before she took another cautious look at her gifts, now laid out on the floor ready for her to play.  She looked from me to the toys and then her eyes darted to the box her gifts came in.  She stepped slowly towards the three items then jumped up and landed gracefully in the box!  The adults on the couch, laughed and so did I, in spite of myself.  Shelly eventually discovered how much fun it was to hide in the tunnel and run through it.  She dived inside it and jumped from box to tunnel.  The mouse on her track bopped her in the nose and it was on.  

In the morning, Shelly was showered with even more gifts: tiny tennis balls from "Santa" were left in her personalised Christmas Stocking.  Nanny gave Shelly a soft bumble bee toy filled with catnip.  She threw in a bag of Shelly's favourite dental treats, for good measure.  My mum and dad gave Shelly a Cat Tricks and Treats gift box which contained two jingle balls and a string mouse laced with catnip.  There was also a recipe book of human friendly cat foods.  Well, at least the dishes are easily home-made using regular grocery items. Shelly loves the mouse and I love the recipes.  There are a few that I'm looking forward to trying out. You will hear about that when I get to it.  

The grown ups exchanged gifts (Nanny gave us cash!) before packing up and heading to my Sister's house.  Sis and her Hubby have seven kids and there's another one on the way.  They installed a new kitchen, complete with double oven and preparation/ serving island, a few months ago.  It made sense for them to host Christmas.  My cousins came too with their three boys and some family friends as well. The food was great the kids were delightful and my favourite part was the nap.  

That's that then, I suppose.  I hope you had a glorious Christmas with your family and/or friends, I did.  

Love