Welcome to the Kitty House at Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (they were strung between chairs so that they would trip us if we weren't careful)

On the second day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (some of the shredded bows showed up in places you don't want to read about, lets just say kittens find bows to be delicious and leave it at that)

On the third day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (specifically, at the top of the staircase, so we would have a fun trip down)

On the fourth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (the stockings had kitten fur inside of them now, too, instead of just being covered on the outside with fur like everything else in the house)

On the fifth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (you do not want to know what it feels like to roll over and get a pine needle up your, uh, assets)

On the sixth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (they, of course, only used the most expensive paper, not the cheap stuff i got on sale last year -- only the best for their redecorating efforts)

On the seventh day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (it took hours to find all of the pieces, i kept stumbling across bits under the table or chairs, and even found one piece in the kitchen sink)

On the eighth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (the candles were sticking out of the openings in the cat tree nooks and crannies like little weird antennae -- i thought maybe they were hiding aliens in there until i got a good look)

On the ninth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     ( and all of the animals in the scene are still missing, i'm not so sure what to make of that; jealous of other critters getting the attention, maybe?)

On the tenth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, Christmas cards now chewed up, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (the cards had been addressed and stamped, but not mailed; since i didn't have any more cards, i sent them out anyway, even with the teeth marks, as my friends know i'm a crazy cat lady and i don't care what the post office thinks of me as long as they get the mail here before dark)

On the eleventh day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, a favorite snow globe leaking, Christmas cards now chewed up, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (and that's why i don't allow any snow globes that aren't filled with just water, because the knuckle-heads were drinking it, right next to their full water bowl; i guess it tasted better)

On the twelfth day of Christmas, foster kittens gave to me, themselves in the tree, purring, a favorite snow globe leaking, Christmas cards now chewed up, a Nativity scene knocked over, window candles in their cat tree, my wall wreath in several pieces, a wrapping paper carpet, pine needles in my bed, stockings pulled off the mantle, ornaments on the staircase, bags of shredded bows, and garlands pulled off the Christmas tree.
     (and the only reason they didn't knock the whole tree over with the weight of them playing up in there was because i had tied it to a ceiling hook with high test fishing line)

And this, my friends, is why i don't decorate much for Christmas!


Today is:

Bonza Bottler Day™

Constitution Day -- Russia (constitution approved in nationwide referendum 1993)

Feast of Masa'il (Questions/Mystery) -- Baha'i

Gingerbread House Day -- because today is as good a day to start making one as any

Hovercraft Day -- the first prototype of a hovercraft was patented this day in 1955 by British engineer Christopher Cockerell

Independence Day -- Kenya (Jamhuri)(1953)

Miracle of the Roses / Our Lady of Guadalupe -- Catholic Christian; related celebrations
     Fiesta del Virgin de Guadalupe -- Mexico
     Las Mananitas -- Puerto Rico

National Ambrosia Day

National Cocoa Day

National Ding-A-Ling Day -- an unofficial day on which to honor all the ding-a-lings you know, and even act like one yourself if you wish

Neutrality Day/National Day and Student Youth Day -- Turkmenistan

Poinsettia Day -- death anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett

St. Finnian of Clonard's Day (Father of Irish Monasticism; going to bed without supper tonight means you risk being carried away by the fairies)

St. Lucy's Eve -- Austria (night of the shining that some use to predict the future)

Thomasville's Victorian Christmas -- Thomasville, GA, US (relive Christmas past all through the downtown area; through tomorrow)

Unmentionable Thoughts Festival -- Fairy Calendar (Imps, Goblins, and naughty Fairies)

Yuletide Lads begin arriving -- Iceland (Jolasveinar trolls, children of Gryla and Leppaludi, who come one each day to bring gifts and mischief from now until Christmas)
     Yuletide Lad of the Day, Stekkjarstaur -- Sheepfold Stick, who will try to drink the milk from the farmers' ewes


Anniversaries Today:

Jerry Lee Lewis weds his cousin Myra Gale Brown, 1957
Pennsylvania becomes the 2nd US State, 1787


Birthdays Today:

Mayim Bialik, 1975
Rey Mysterio, Jr., 1974
Madchen Amick, 1970
Jennifer Connelly, 1970
Tracy Austin, 1962
Sheila E. 1957
Cathy Rigby, 1952
Robert Lindsay, 1949
Tom Wilkinson, 1948
Emerson Fittipaldi, 1946
Dionne Warwick, 1941
Connie Francis, 1938
Robert Lee "Bob" Pettit, Jr., 1932
Edward Irwin Koch, 1924
Bob Barker, 1923
Bob Dorough, 1923
Joe Williams, 1918
Frank Sinatra, 1915
Edward G. Robinson, 1893
Edvard Munch, 1863
Gustave Flaubert, 1821
William Lloyd Garrison, 1805
John Jay, 1745 (Old Style date)
Erasmus Darwin, 1731



Today in History:

The Battle at Ninevah: Byzantine emperor Heraclius defeats Perzen, 627
The Order of the Dragon is created by Sigismund, King of Hungary, and his wife Queen Barbara of Celje, following the battle for possession of Bosnia, 1408
Isabella crowns herself Queen of Castile and Aragon, 1474
Jews are expelled from Schlettstadt Alsace by Emperor Frederick III, 1479
In Vienna, Ludwig von Beethoven receives his first lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn, 1792
Mexico is officially recognized as an independent nation by the US, 1822
The first Canadian coins are circulated (1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent and 20 cent), 1858
Rudolph Dirks' first Katzenjammer cartoon strip appears in the NY Journal, 1897
Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is founded, 1897
George F Bryant of Boston patents the wooden golf tee, 1899
Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland, 1901
Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India, 1911
Oscar Straus becomes US Secretary of Commerce, the first Jew to be a US Cabinet member, 1906
The first all metal aircraft, the Junkers J-1, is test flown in Dessau, Germany, 1915
In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys, 1917
The first prototype of a hovercraft is patented by British engineer Christopher Cockerell, 1955
Guinea joins the United Nations, 1958
The Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR, 1991
An asteroid named 4179 Toutatis, over 3 miles wide, passes within 4.3 million miles, or 18 lunar distances from Earth, 2012