Yesterday I made the decision that I would not post anything else for the day after Kat Kat's death. Now, over 24 hours later, it seems like I have a whole lot to say. Surprisingly, for myself, who has never been good at any sort of journal keeping, I find that I can't wait to put something new in a post that about 5 people actually keep up on. Funny how life works.

A small story of kindness that unexpectedly happened to me. For those of you that know me, this next statement is going to come as something of a shock: I actually have my bank account balanced to the penny. This is important to know because it will help explain what happened. with the holiday approaching, we (like a lot of people probably do) have a slightly tighter budget than normal. So off I went to Gonsea (local Chinese food; excellent!!). I was armed with my checkbook and a cell phone, ready to brave whatever the holiday masses could throw at me. When I got there and as I was writing the check I learned, to my dismay, they no longer accept checks. SO I told the gal I would be right back, and promptly called home to figure where the Boss wanted me to pull the money. I want to make it clear that I was perfectly capable of paying my way. But the guy behind me must have felt sorry for me. when I returned, Visa in hand, I was told the gentleman ahead of me paid for my meal. A completely unneeded gesture, but was a great topper to a bad day. Very few people seem to be in the habit of simply being nice, it sometimes comes as a shock when they are.

Christmas is just a few days away. There has been so much happening lately that it seems to have snuck up and bit me in the rear with really no warning. Having said that, Delia and I have been making a mad attempt at making sure things are squared away for the up coming holiday festivities. The tree is decorated, there are presents under the tree, and the stockings are hung by the chimney (or in our case, near the wood stove) with care. This will be Ben's first Christmas morning with us, and we want to make sure we do it right. I have the feeling we will be making cookies on Christmas Eve as well. It seems to me that we should take every advantage of the situation as we can.

Part of that involves making sure all the blasted pets are taken care of. I should preface this by saying there are a few pets in our household that are simply the product of Ben being here and me not being able to say no. Hence, the fire bellied newts. allow me to introduce Hop Hop and Bingo (don't blame me for the names, Ben named them). I used to be able to tell the difference between the two, but they have both grown and are nearly identical. They have two small fish that live with them, they don't have names. But they sure deserve names, as they are really hardy and have survived some tough conditions (I am not the most thorough terrarium cleaner).

Also in our care is Kaboobie. This one is Delia's and came with the relationship in sort of a package deal. We love our little box turtle, and have even upgraded her habitat. the picture taken here is the new habitat. Her old one was simply a 20 gallon aquarium with a little fake grass at the bottom. Now we have the deluxe housing, with pool area. I hear no complaints from the little girl.

Also in our care are Bear, Ubu and Tia. They are pretty standard around the house, Tia (aka: Stinky) like to mess up the tree ornaments.

So there is our update, as much as I have one to make. Ben arrives tomorrow, unfortunately I will be at work when that happens. Hopefully, Delia will have some pictures taken, and I can post them to Flickr when after she does.

So until then, happy holidays everyone.