Hello, Sunday.

Is it Sunday? These long weekends throw time into a warp, moreso than 2020 already seemingly has.

Holiday at our house was actually not much different than it would have been any other year. We were meant to be at home anyway, having gone to Chicago last year and it’s a good thing we did because, well, we got a new addition to our family…maybe?

Last Monday a stray cat wandered into our lives after our dog, Tela, dug her out of a pile of leaves in the little patch of woods about 400 yards from Mom’s house at 9:30 pm. She coaxed her back home where she’s been camped out ever since, showing little desire to venture out into the freezing temps to find her true owner, if she/he had one (the gender is still TBD, despite glances to determine one way or the other). The odd part about it is that it’s seventeen years to the week that our late pet Sneakers, who died in May, came into our lives, so it was a bit of a deja vu for us. We’ll see if it sticks, but we’ve named it Figgy, or Fig, for now.

How did we arrive on Fig? Well, Mom originally though Holly had a nice holiday ring to it, but then Tomato suggested Figaro (as in Pinnochio) after my suggestion of Jiminy (as in Cricket) was shut down. We shortened it to Fig and then realized that it was a bit more akin to Figgy Pudding (it’s a bit rotund) and so the name stuck. It’s made itself quite at home, and has already displaced me and Crawley from Mom’s California King. As if Crawley needed another reason to hate being here.

We’re driving the 45 minutes back home today and trying to get back into a bit of normalcy, Keeping the tree up, though, for just a little bit longer.

Enough about me, how was your holiday? I hope you have a few more days to breathe before 2021 rolls in, so put your feet up and here we go:

As we start to look back on 2020, here are some of the things we missed.

Top 25 news photos of 2020. Whew.

This is me. Posing for a family Christmas card with cats.

France grants accelerated citizenship to frontline workers. What can we do? Will it ever be enough to express our gratitude?

I just love a choreographed dance and this couple NAILS IT. Get ready to smile.

Airlines are offering COVID testing. Is it enough?

We are officially in winter! Here’s how to make it a little less miserable.

Watching now. The new Pixar.

It’s mandarin season!

This looks pretty damn good for dinner.

I actually love spending NY at home, but if it’s a new thing for you, here are some tips on how to make it a little festive.