Finally!

Hello humans,

Well, I am finally sending you greetings again. I have been asleep at the wheel lately, haven't I? Did you all have a nice Christmas? We did here at Missy Linda's house. It was a low key holiday, which was fine for all of us this time. I didn't do much to participate: mostly, I just observed.

Missy Linda slept a lot Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I think she was hitting the antihistamines because she has had a cold or something lately. I guess I should have taken advantage of that opportunity to get some things done which she might not like, huh? I can't believe that I missed my chance!

Tomorrow is Missy Maitlyn's eighth birthday. Sometime this week she is having her first sleep-over birthday party. I guess she is just about grown up now. She is the oldest of the five little granddaughters so everyone around here thinks that she is getting too old too fast. You know how you humans are!

Safe and Happy

Season's Greetings humans,

I just want to say to PseudoUncle to have a safe and pleasant trip to Dallas. PseudoUncle is going to visit Missy Leslie and Mr. Kirk in Dallas for their annual holiday open house. He will also be seeing Missy Sharon's mother and sister and brothers and their families. Juana wants you to know that she will be thinking about you, PseudoUncle.

Missy Barb has Missy Joanie and Mr. Brad and Missy Ashley and Missy Ally at her house for this whole week. We know that she is having a great time. Tonight Missy Carol and Mr. Fred and Missy Linda and Mr. Kane and Juana Tortilla will go to her house for Christmas Eve dinner. (Did you see that I said Juana Tortilla will be there?)

Well, I just hope all of you humans have a peaceful and meaningful holiday.

Not Much Progress

Hello humans,

Well, there has not been very much progress in the Christmas department here. I was hoping that Missy Linda would get more done yesterday. I think that she should just snap out of it and get crackin'! She just kind of goes in slow motion these days. I hope this family has a better year next year than they have had for the last couple of years.

One thing that Missy Linda is happy about is that she has become good friends with Missy Barb and Missy Carol. They all keep each other going sometimes. Now they are getting to be good friends with PseudoUncle. It's not that they didn't know each other before: they just weren't close friends. Now they are all getting to depend on each other. And when she doesn't forget me, I get to attend their parties! That has to be good, right?

Getting Busy

Greetings humans,

I think that Missy Linda is finally starting to get busy with the Christmas stuff. She has been dragging out boxes and stuff today. I hope these are the real decorations that she is going to put up today and not just some wrapping and stuff. I think that she has had some trouble this year getting started. She doesn't dislike the holidays; she is just not in the mood to do her own decor.

She is still missing Mr. Andrew, I know. This morning, she saved some of her scrambled eggs for him before she remembered that he wasn't here to eat them. I think it will be hard to change the routines involved with Mr. Andrew after eighteen years. That's a long time to be a part of someone's life. Mushu is doing his best to snuggle up at night, but he is definitely a different kind of cat---beginning with his size! He is a fairly nice cat except that he does scratch at the girls when they are trying to play with him. He definitely does not have the wisdom that Mr. Andrew had. Maybe he will learn some day. Do you think he ever will?

A Very Fond Farewell

Hello humans,

Well, as you can probably tell from the pictures and the title, our Andrew has passed away. As you all were informed, he had been sick for awhile. We have just been happy that we got to have the time with him that we did. A lot of family members got to see him at Thanksgiving, and Missy Linda thinks that the vet was surprised he was still here that long. Andrew was a very loving cat. If someone sat down, he was known to hop into his or her lap just to visit.

Missy Linda says that she believes that Andrew thought he was the head of the house after the Mister left. He was also the head of the house when the Mister was out of town before he left for good. Andrew made sure that the whole area knew that he was the top cat around here when he first moved to this neighborhood. He did not just protect his own yard, he protected a couple of blocks from other cats---even though they lived there! He looked a little raggedy by the time he was fourteen or fifteen years old. He had a definite limp, and he had pieces missing from his ears. He was never a very large cat, but he had a huge personality.

He always welcomed other cats who came to visit into the house. He was best friends with Missy Elise's cat Gus, even though Gus was known to have a less than pleasant personality. He even watched over any new kittens who came to live here while he was the reigning monarch---and believe me, there were a lot. None of them ever lived a long life like Andrew did. He was truly one of the all time great cats. We are very sad here.

Better Start

Hello humans,

Well, at least Missy Linda is up and getting started a little before seven today. I hope that is a good sign. Lately she has been sleeping until at least seven, and if Button and Mushu will let her, until seven thirty. At least the day is not half over already today. Sometimes, though, I notice that if she gets up too early, she just kind of drags around. I don't know what to do to get her in gear. As Roseanne Roseanna Danna said, "It just goes to show you. It's always something. If it's not one thing, it's another."

If you don't know who Roseanne Roseanna Danna is, you are probably younger than Missy Linda. I don't know who it is, but Missy Linda says that all the time. Apparently, it was some funny lady a long, long time ago. You know, when the fish first started crawling up out of the water and oil was plankton.

I had better quit making jokes about Missy Linda. She might find out what I said, and I don't really mean anything by it. (!) Besides, she always says, if she is going to dish it out, she had better be able to take it. I think that is true, don't you?

Where Did It Go?

Hello humans,

I can't believe that I did not even realize that I missed writing yesterday. Missy Linda was all in a dither, and I could have had the computer to myself for awhile. She is just getting nowhere fast these days. I, personally, cannot tell one thing that she has accomplished lately. Since her finals, she has just basically been a slug, as far as I can see. I would personally suggest to her that she stop having on those stupid holiday movies in the background all day. Those are enough to make anyone droopy.

She had better get crackin' as far as I'm concerned because I think that she "needs a little Christmas." Maybe she will feel more in the mood when the high temperature for the day is 28 degrees, like it is supposed to be next week. We'll see how perky she is then, right?

Grades

Good morning humans,

What is it with grades that keep you guys so obsessed? Well, I guess it is only the students who are driven crazy about grades, but, in turn, Missy Linda is driving me bonkers as well. She thinks she has to keep checking several times a day on the web site to see if her grades have been posted. She is becoming quite the computer hog! She points out to me that she paid her parking ticket so she would be able to get her grades in a timely manner. Balderdash! She would pay that ticket anyway because she is just one of those annoying goody-two-shoes who would never let it stay on her record. (Actually, she is afraid that they will arrest her or something, and she will be sent to the school prison or wherever they send students who don't pay parking tickets---death row, maybe?) She is very weird! She says that guilt and fear have always worked for her.

Well, if that is the case, then I know what my job is going to be from this day forward. I am pretty good at laying on the guilt and fear. She doesn't stand a chance! I will definitely let you all know how well my plan is working. Maybe you will want to try it on someone close to you, right?

Lights

Hello humans,

Do you guys drive around to see the Christmas lights on other people's houses or go to those big displays in other towns that would knock your eyes out? Some day I hope to get to do that. It sounds like it would be so spectacular! I saw a picture of a town not far from here that looked like it has a beautiful bridge that is all lighted. If they would let me walk across, I would pretend that I am at the Oscars or something. I would wave to all my fans, and I would love every minute of it.

Have you all got your decorations put up? As usual, Missy Linda is running behind. She hasn't got anything out yet. There is no tree or anything. I am beginning to get impatient with her. I think she is still having allergy problems, but if she is not, she had better get up off her keester and get busy. Sometimes she kind of gets stuck in low gear, I think. I am going to try to think of something motivational for her by tomorrow---you know, like a good swift kick in the pants! That should work, right?

Sleepy and Cranky

Hello humans,

I can tell you that I am going to have a terrible day. Missy Linda was going to sleep late today, but she woke up really early, and now she is tired and cranky---not that she has done any work or anything. She is finished with her finals, and she says she is ready to relax for a day. If she would go back to bed, I could shop online some more! There are always new things popping up on the internet!

Missy Linda says she has to get out her Christmas tree and her village to decorate for Christmas. Maybe she will start on that this afternoon or tomorrow. Everyone else in the neighborhood has had their stuff up for awhile. She is way behind. She had better get busy, right?