It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The mornings are cold, the cars and rooftops frosty. The outside animals seek shelter inside.

My anti-social Fatty-Maow cat has suddenly fallen in love with me, because I provide her the necessary heat to sleep well. She and all her fatness comes to the living room each winter, puts her front paws on the couch and looks longingly at the space next to me. Is it because I cover myself with a blanket when lounging on the sofa? Apparently, yes. It only takes me lifting the blanket and she jumps right up, scoots under the blanket, gives my arm 2 quick flicks of her tongue, and settles in for a nap. It doesn't take much to keep her happy, does it?

The Christmas tree is lit and decorated. It's full of colorful lights and plenty of ornaments - both from my childhood and from recent years as my SO and I make new memories together. However, due to our cat population, the bottom of the tree is fairly nekkid, as-is the side of the tree that sits along the back of the couch where the kitties like to sit and stare at the tree. So far, they have behaved in that we haven't found any ornaments on the floor. So far...

I found a small rubber ball in the hall closet the other day. A real rubber ball, like the clear kind with swirls in the middle that you use to play jacks. I left it in the dining room for the cats since they play there on the wooden floors. The other night as I'm studying in the living room, I hear this noise, and one of the cats running around. It's Fatty-Maow, and she's batting the ball around. She had it going pretty good until it hit the wall and came back at her. Convinced she was under attack, she ducked her head, arched her back and tail, and took off running at mach 1 down the hallway. Kitties make Christmas time funny.