Ignatz writes his Twelfth Holiday Letter

December 2021

We had a very shaky start to the year, as crab season couldn’t get started because the whales were in the way of the fishing boats. We always have Dungeness crab on New Year’s Eve, so we had to resort to take-out sushi, which was a good second choice.

Ten days later Mummy and Daddy celebrated their 30^th wedding anniversary.

Ginger continues to enjoy his walks with Mummy, although a close encounter with three untethered neighborhood dogs frightened him so much that he now refuses to go down that street again. Mummy protected him from physical injury, but he certainly suffers from PTSD.

Mummy has now volunteered at the Humane Society of Sonoma County for 5 years, and she says she loves every minute of it. She trained six new volunteers this summer, so they’re back to pre-Covid staffing levels. Since I’m an alumnus of HSSC, I can’t complain (too much) about the amount of time she spends there.

In March, Mummy was vaccinated for Covid, and Daddy followed in April. Now they’re both boosted. Personally, I’m not fond of getting shots, so I admire their bravery.

Daddy is still working from home, which we appreciate, as we get our dinner on time when Mummy is “working” late, at the shelter.

This Fall, Mummy and Daddy went to see a postponed John Cleese event at the Luther Burbank Center here. They also saw a performance by Wanda Sykes. After not being allowed to attend any indoor public events for so long, they said it was even more enjoyable.

In December cousin Anne joined them for a Christmas concert. She brought our Cat Cousin, Lucee, to stay for a couple nights, which was fun. Well… fun for Ginger, as he enjoyed visiting Lucee, in her private apartment. Penny and I did our best to ignore her.

You might be wondering why our card is signed by an extra cat named “Eddie”. No, no, no, we didn’t adopt him, fortunately. In September, Mummy offered to foster a shy kitten, thinking it might be a week or two. She sequestered him in her studio, with limited visits to the rest of the house. He developed a crush on Ginger, following him everywhere and rubbing his cheeks all over him. Ginger’s visits were short, as he found Eddie irritating, at best. When Penny and I had the pleasure of meeting Eddie, we made it quite clear that we already had more than enough cat friends.

Eddie was still “in residence” here when we had the cards printed, but after 77 days in our studio, a nice woman adopted him, and we hear he’s doing well in his new home. We sure hope so, as we don’t want him coming back here!

We’re thrilled to hear that crab season is in full swing this year, so it looks like our New Year’s Eve will be joyous. My mouth is already watering, just thinking about it.

We wish you all a joyous New Year, and a healthy 2022!

Love, Ignatz, Penny, & Ginger