Penny writes her First Holiday Letter

December 2023

Greetings, to all my friends and family.

I must start this year’s letter with some sad news. Last May 6th, the most senior cat in our household, Ignatz, unexpectedly fell ill. He seemed just fine, and had recently received a clean bill of health from our vet. Late one Friday night, he became ill, and started making noises that frightened us all. Mum and Dad took him to an emergency vet, but there was nothing they could do, and early on Saturday morning, he passed away. Our own vet, in consultation with the emergency vet, suspected that he had had a blood clot that suddenly dislodged, and affected his heart. It was a terrible shock for all of us, and we miss him so much. He was only 13, and we thought he had many more years to live. He had been my best friend since I was a kitten.

As a result, I have now had to step up and assume the responsibilities of writing these letters. Ignatz set a high standard, of course, but I’m sure I’ll be able to cope!

Exactly one month before Ignatz passed, Mum got the sad news that her 90-year-old sister, Marj, had passed away. Marj lived in Florida, and Mum had visited her several times before and during her illness. Her passing was not unexpected, as she had been ill for a long time. Ginger and I are relieved that Mum won’t be traveling to Florida any more.

Other than that, it has been a quiet year around here. There have been no natural disasters (thankfully), and Mum and Dad didn’t even travel out-of-state.

For their 2022 Christmas Dinner, Mum and Dad went again to El Dorado Kitchen, in Sonoma. They said that the meal there was as good as ever, and of course they always bring us a little “kitty bag”!

One major item of good news for California in 2023 was that we had plenty of rain; much more than expected, in fact. I must admit that we cats aren’t thrilled about rain, but the damp sunset view from our house (below) portended well for the New Year!

Mum and Dad are members of the Friends of the Legion of Honor (in San Francisco), so they get invitations to special events at the museum , which is beautifully located at “Land’s End” (shown below). This year, they visited the fascinating “Sargent and Spain” exhibition.

At around the same time, someone decided that I needed a “makeover”. I’ve always been proud of my long fur, but I must admit that it does require continual maintenance, and that causes too many hairballs. Apparently, Mum and our vet thought that I should have a “Lion Cut”, even though nobody consulted me about it! The photo below shows the result. Now that I’ve had time to get used to it, I suppose that it does make me look rather regal!

For Mum’s birthday, in August, they both went to the Hazel Café in Occidental. A helpful waiter took the photo below.

During November, an exciting event took place at  Snoopy’s Home Ice, the skating rink in Santa Rosa created by Charles Schulz.  The “Skate for the Cure” charity show included both local amateur skaters and professional champions. The show was hosted by Scott Hamilton, and Mum’s skating-coach friend Tahlma appeared incognito as a skating snowman! The seating couldn’t have been better, because they sat at tables right on the ice. Mum was concerned that if any of the skaters lost control, they would have plowed straight into her, but fortunately there were no accidents! One of the show’s sponsors was Olympic Champion Brian Boitano, with whom Mum had a long chat after the show. She was flattered that he remembered her from one of her flights, back in 1988, when he was on his way to the Olympics.

For Thanksgiving, they returned once again to the El Dorado Kitchen, Sonoma, for dinner.

Currently, we’re “enjoying” yet another visit from Ziggy, a cat whose hind quarters are completely paralyzed. As a result, he needs much special attention, so his owners are glad that Mum is willing to look after him for the odd weekend.

Dad continues to work from home, in the same leadership/programming/writing role. Mum seems to spend a lot of time taking Ginger, on a leash, for walks around the neighborhood. She is also continuing with her volunteer work at the Sonoma Humane Society, keeping company to the cats there.

We wish you all a joyous New Year, and a healthy 2024!

Love, Penny