Friendly Fill-Ins and the Red Ribbon's Demise

Hello, friends! We're here and ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. I'll be _________ for Christmas.

2. I am eager to see _________ open his/her gift.

3. 'Twas the night before Christmas and I _________.

4. I _________ the day after Christmas.

My answers are below in bold, and are yet again accompanied by plenty of rambling.

1. I'll be happily home for Christmas.
(I love nothing more than being home. And I especially like being home with my family, both furry and human, at times like Christmas.)

2. I am eager to see my sister open her gift.
(I actually have specific gifts for my sister as well as my mom and dad that I'm especially excited to see them open. The same goes for my kitties and pup, as I got them some fun and yummy little things that I can't wait to see them enjoy on Christmas. But, back to my actual answer, one of my sister's gifts includes drawings I scribbled up of our pup Astrid as well as her kitties Toby and Winky, and these drawings include a silly little concept from one of her favorite sitcoms. I turned the drawings into magnets, and since she's often asking me to draw her furbabies, I'm look forward to seeing her open these.)

3. 'Twas the night before Christmas and I was enjoying our family Christmas Eve traditions.

(I'm pretty sure I mention this every year in some way, but when I was a kid, we traveled to go see family every year on Christmas Day. Because of this, my parents, my sister, and myself would all go to church in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, and then we'd open our presents under the Christmas tree on the evening of Christmas Eve. That tradition has stuck to this day, even though my sister and I are now in our 30s, and even though we visit family on other days throughout the season rather than Christmas Day.)

4. I am hoping for no emergencies this year on the day after Christmas.

(Last year, on the day after Christmas, Evan ended up at the emergency vet with a urethral obstruction. He was hospitalized for 3 days, and I missed having it at home with me so much. Thankfully, he came home unblocked, and with the help of lots of meds that he is still on, we have not had a repeat incident. And I hope to keep it that way, on December 26 and every other day of the year. All of the other furbabies also need to remain emergency-free, please and thank you.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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Are you ready for a festive Eddy fix? And by festive, I mean part of the Christmas tree didn't survive this little tabby girl's antics.

I've been trying to get photos or video of Eddy's boxing matches with that red ribbon that tops the Christmas tree. She often sits on her cat tree and just smacks the ribbon senseless, also giving it a few bites here and there. Every time I tried to get photos or video, though, she would stop. Apparently she didn't want evidence on record.

These blurry shots were the closest I got to showing you all how Eddy treats the ribbon.

That all said, though I might not have gotten much evidence of Eddy in the act of abusing the ribbon, I did get a photo of the victim.

That's how I found the ribbon when I got home from work the other day. Eddy did exactly what she set out to do, I guess. And I will say, don't worry, because Eddy never actually eats the ribbon. She's not one for consuming non-food items. She's too picky of an eater for that. But, she was still more than happy to sever the tie, literally. Eddy would be worried about going onto Santa's naughty list, but she knows he's already delivered her gifts, so it's all fair game now.

Have a festive Friday, friends!

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Festive Flashback Doodle of the Day

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Tip of the Day

Over the past couple of days, we've been discussing how to ensure that your furbaby is safe when you leave home or otherwise leave them unattended this holiday season. We've already reminded you to unplug Christmas lights and to remove the ample Christmas snacks from their reach. Now, today, we want to remind you about those gifts under the Christmas tree. To begin, we've mentioned in previous tips the danger posed by items such as ribbon, tape, and even wrapping paper itself. After all, consumption of these items can lead to any number of issues, including intestinal distress, blockage, or other damage.

It's not just the outside of the gifts that can be hazardous, though. First and foremost, if any wrapped gifts contain food, whether it be yummy treats for a human or treats for a furbaby, keep those gifts well out of reach of your furbaby at all times. As you all know, kitties and pups have a darn good sense of smell, and some furbabies might feel compelled to chew or rip their way to any food they smell. This can be bad news not only for the gift itself, but also of course for your furbaby, especially if the food they find includes chocolate or other toxic components. Though it's obviously not toxic, also perhaps refrain from hiding gifts containing catnip beneath the tree. This could lead to a destroyed or stolen gift box, as well as to the potential dangers that result from eating gift wrapping material.

There are plenty of other considerations to make on this topic as well. Are any of the gifts you wrapped small? And is your kitty or pup one to slap around, run off with, or eat small items? Are any of the gifts large? Or are multiple gifts creating a large pile around the Christmas tree? Is your furbaby a jumper or climber or otherwise at risk of knocking over large or piled gifts? Are any of the gifts fragile? Is your furbaby simply a chewer who will eat their way through a wrapped gift just for the sake of it?

The long and short of it is to always be aware of the temptations as well as the dangers that wrapped gifts can pose to a furbaby. You know your furbaby best, and you, or perhaps someone else in your house, knows what is contained within those gifts beneath the tree. Keeping all of that in mind, treat gifts accordingly when leaving your furbaby unattended at home. If that means hiding all gifts rather than leaving them beneath the tree, then find a safe and secure hiding place for them.