Merry Christmas & Feliz Navidad

I hope you received our Christmas Cards. All I had to do with the process was to order the stamps on-line: Fast, easy, cheap and fun! I wanted to go the minimalist way and suggested to Sally to just send some basic, white cards. The uniqueness of our Christmas Cards would have been in just the stamps if you happened to notice them. But she could not resist and took some pictures of the kids and made them into our Christmas Cards. I guess everyone likes receiving Christmas Cards with pictures of kids. I know I do!

I am not sure everyone enjoys getting the ubiquitous Christmas Letters.  I started thinking about it because I listened to one of our local radio shock-jocks rant about the subject on my way to work. He thinks that Christmas Letters and the people that write them are “evil.” That may be a little too strong but he was certainly very funny describing why he loathed the Christmas Letters. Obviously, the content of a Christmas Letter has to do a lot with the writer who always seems to be the lady of the household. I think it has become one of those “must-do” things that women take upon themselves so that they can add a little more “seasonal stress” to the Holidays. The way I see it, someone took the time to write a letter and send it to me, even if it is mass produced. It has my name on the envelope so I am going to read it. I always end up enjoying the Christmas Letters even though I already know most of their contents. I like to stay “plugged-in” to family and friends.

I started wondering how I would go about writing a Christmas Letter. It would be a tough job to give a summary of the year not just for me but for Sally, Xavier and Sasha, all in one page. Things would be more difficult because I would feel compelled to write about “…the good, the bad and the ugly...“  How do the pros do it? Here is a good resource!   The Steps are easy, the Tips are good but the Warnings are golden: “…Steer clear of writing from the point of view of your pets…It's annoying and overdone...”

Cacique and Freebie (Our cockatiels):

• Saturday 01/01/05: Xavier forgot to take our cage out to the patio again. Not to worry, the nice lady or the brute will do it later.
• Sunday 01/02/05: Xavier forgot to do the weekly cage clean-up again. He went Surfing and forgot all about us! The nice lady will have remind him several times but nothing will happen until the brute gets involved.
• Monday 01/03/05: Are you laying an egg this week or is it my turn?
• Tuesday 01/04/05:  Xavier forgot to take our cage out to the patio again. Not to worry, the nice lady or the brute will do it later.
• Wednesday 01/05/05: Xavier forgot to take our cage out to the patio again. Not to worry, the nice lady or the brute will do it later.
• Thursday 01/06/05: Xavier forgot to take our cage out to the patio again. Not to worry, the nice lady or the brute will do it later.
• Friday 01/07/05: Xavier forgot to take our cage out to the patio again. Not to worry, the nice lady or the brute will do it later.
• …Idem for the next 51 weeks...

Rusty (Our dog):

• Saturday 01/01/05: Sasha forgot to take me out for a walk again. Not to worry, the nice lady always takes me out in the afternoon.
• Sunday 01/02/05: Sasha forgot to take me out for a walk again. She smells different. She’s been walking other dogs for free at the Rescue Center. Not to worry, the nice lady always takes me out in the afternoon.
• Monday 01/03/05: Oh no! The brute is on a fitness kick and is going to take me running with him. He runs slowly but he goes way too long. When I want to go fast he cannot keep up. I need to hide!
• Tuesday 01/04/05: I wonder which cushions are the softest in the house.
• Wednesday 01/05/05: Sasha forgot to take me out for a walk again. Not to worry, the nice lady always takes me out in the afternoon.
• Thursday 01/06/05: Sasha forgot to take me out for a walk again. Not to worry, the nice lady always takes me out in the afternoon.
Friday 01/07/05: Sasha forgot to take me out for a walk again. Not to worry, the nice lady always takes me out in the afternoon.
• …Idem for the next 51 weeks...