Holiday stuff is mostly packed away, the house is clean, and we’re collecting ourselves and the things we love most for the winter ahead. We’re hunkering down for any future storms coming.
Outside, this Pineapple Sage, named because crushed leaves smell somewhat like pineapple, is still blooming. We’ve had a few frosts, nothing extra hard yet, and still, this pretty perennial is still going. Avid gardener Mom’s already dreaming of where she’d like to transplant it to because where it’s at isn’t ideal. You have no space, Mom. It might have to stay where it’s at. Mom’s scheme is to swap it with something else because that’s how gardeners think in January.
Back inside where it’s much warmer, Tessa insists no one takes her blanket. We’re not sure when, exactly, this became HER blanket but have learned over the years, anything Tessa confidently stretches her paw over, in her mind, becomes hers. Until something better comes along.
Happy New Year. Happy 2025. From everyone here at Colehaus Cats, we thank you for visiting us, for reading our words over the past year, for enjoying our photos, and leaving comments. We hope what we’re doing works for you and that your visit here puts a smile on your face. Suggestions are always welcome despite what Tessa might say.
Many THANK YOUs go to our Friends of Colehaus who thought of us over the past year and have helped us survive and stay together. Your generosity and kindness will never be forgotten, period.
Please join us today for our 2024 Year in Review. In advance, we apologize for the length of this post. If you’d like, you can follow along by checking out our 2024 Archives dropdown over there near the top in the right sidebar. You know, to verify that we aren’t fibbing or anything. Happy reading and remembering!
January 2024 started with a brand new scratcher and more importantly, a new box that began the Year of Boxes for Cats around here. Visitors Mr. G and his brother Mr. Stubbs, who were still living in the neighborhood, helped Mom put away all the outside holiday decor right before a big ice and snow weather event occurred. We loved those two dearly but they weren’t terrible good at rolling up Christmas lights. We celebrated our 13th year of blogging and we might even have had time to admire whiskers, a second breakfast, and cat biscuits. Yums!
Mom continued her wild cleaning and organizing forays in February, after new, sleep-friendly work hours went into affect during a big layoff. Not everyone here was thrilled and someone started leaving “gifts of displeasure.” A big new rule went into affect; some handling that better that others. There were lots of outside visitors. Our email was cut off from the rest of the world thanks to Comcast, Century Link, and Google inter-fighting, and has yet to be fixed. Ant season began early and Pia, whom we thought was a cat but is actually an anteater, switched from canned wet food to kibble and ants. Why? Who knows. Go ask Comcast.
In March, we dove deep into some Colehaus Cats quirks personalities. An ant-free house for a week made Pia just as unhappy as a belly-full of ants did and she swore off canned wet food completely. And held a grunge. Outside, visitors kept visiting and spring weather started warming up. Viola “helped” with housework, an orange yarn fish was victorious over an old flattened nip banana, and we mused over possible hierarchy changes after December’s loss of Olivia.
April came and went without too many struggles with house ants, much to anteater Pia’s dismay. Weather grumpy Tessa proved our theory that she’d be a snowbird living it up in Florida or San Diego if given half a chance. There were outside visitors, a cat tax paid in full, a Viola Niblet flashback, and a very patient Quint.
Neighbor cat Mr. G celebrated May as his official 1-year anniversary of trust and much welcomed gardening advice. We also began a short-lived photographic series of Where’s Mr. G today? The Island Box wars began and continue on and off to this day. Around Colehaus highlighted So. Many. Flowers. and we sadly learned that visiting garden cats Mr. G and his brother Mr. Stubbs, a.k.a. Jacks, were moving back to Idaho in June. May included complaints and faucet slurping and an adorable Quint flashback.
June brought sunshine at last and a continuation of box complaints. For once, that didn’t include Viola who had questions independent of box complaints. Sort of. After a short spell of everything looking like it was going our way, Mom’s worries over this and that began creeping back, and for good reason – an old microwave caught fire, our 25 year old refrigerator died while packed full of newly purchased food, Quint had a vet visit, and two sweet outdoor visitors were possibly moving away. But we also gained a brief opossum visitor so it wasn’t all bad. Hey, Mom was excited.
A rebellious streak started off hot July, a freshly picked kitchen island box arrived for Viola and apparently, for everyone else, and we said our last goodbye to Mr. G and Jacks as they moved back to Idaho. Quint’s vet visit results showed he’s a good boy and his early stage kidney disease has not progressed. He also shows no interest whatsoever in Viola’s island box, unlike grumpy Tessa. And before we knew it, July ended with Pia guarding careless cherries.
August is nap season. What else is hot weather good for, especially if you’re a house cat? What else? Well, we played a silly game, some of us made friends, some lost fur, some thought about thinking, Mom took a week off from blogging to acquaint herself with new appliances, and then, it was goodbye August. Whew!
September seemed a continuation of the hot and dry August. This month’s cat inquiries included the return of floor rugs (no), if the new washer could be any quieter (no), and will Quint ever tire of his blanket fort (Really? What do you think?).
New month, same old behaviors. October rang in with all the glory of cats who dislike each other. Viola and the Niblets far and wide turned 11 and we think our outside visitors were fattening up on seed and kibble for cooler months. That included the ants who had never really left us over the summer. The flowers saved their best for last and at last, Pia got quality time with Dad.
Schedules shifted a bit in early November and after some adjustment, all settled back into what we like to call normal around here. We enjoyed a baby Tessa flashback and then fielded complaints about us wanting to get a jump on Christmas decorating, for reasons. A long-ago visitor found his way back to our feeding station, and looks good, the Colehaus cats kept honing their tattletale ways, and before the madness of real holiday decorating began, we voiced our sincere thanks to angels and friends, our jobs and home, and to readers like you for visiting us. Thank you.
Finally, December arrived with gingery cat Christmas e-cards to share and the last of 2024 flowers showing themselves around Colehaus. The dry weather allowed Mom to string a few Christmas lights while alternating wrapping up last minute gardening chores. Completely unreported, Dad fell outside and broke his nose. As usual, there was mischief to be had inside, a serious discussion or two, some bloopers, and our annual shared Christmas Eve of the Eve story. And before we knew it, the month was done!
From us and the Colehaus Cats family – Tessa, Pia Bean, Quint, and Viola Niblet, we wish you a wonderful day and the hope of good things to come in 2025. Thank you for your holiday wishes of happiness and for continuing to make us feel welcome in this cat blogging world. And thank you for visiting us today. Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas! We wish you a wonderful day filled with love, family, and joy. We’re enjoying a quiet day here (as long as Mom can keep herself from cleaning out some closet or cabinet). We both have a rare day off work together, something we get only two or three times a year at most since we work completely different schedules from one another. A Christmas miracle!
A beautiful card from Dawn, Ferguson, and Angels Lola and Lexy
The cats are enjoying vintage Santa Paws toys that had been squirreled away, marinating in the finest catnip from 2016. Add to that, a couple of soft kitty blankets that were donated a few years ago and you can bet four Colehaus cats will be sweet dreaming the day away.
2024 cards from Dawn, Robyn and Fred with Charlie, and Dottie of Black Cats RULE!
Not one for traditional holiday meals and ever mindful of the expense, we decided to make homemade salsa with all the fresh ingredients we could find. A big, gi-normus glass bowl of salsa that might last a week or more for your average person, but we have cats, therefore, we are anything but average. So, figure on that salsa lasting two days, maybe three but that’s it. The influx of fresh veggies is exactly what we crave this time of year without the worry or cost of a fancier meal.
What? Salsa and chips can’t be a Christmas meal in itself?
We hope you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas. We’ll be back in one week, next Wednesday, on New Year’s Day with our 2024 year in review and a welcome to 2025. From our family to yours, warm wishes for a joyful and beautiful day, and safe travels for New Year’s Eve. Thank you for visiting us!
