Thunder on Christmas frightened my kitties

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Claire Lovell

Christmas Eve service at church was a comfort as usual all the familiar carols to sing and the traditional bible stories to hear, plus two beautiful solos: O Holy Night by Randy Brainerd and Ave Maria by Lisa Fergus. The weather was cold but starless and windy.

How did you guys like the thunder afterward? The first clap was not so bad. It was during my dinner and made me wonder what was coming next. But then we had the granddaddy of them all at bedtime. My cats raised up off the sofa as though theyd been shot from cannons. It wasnt a very Christmasy demonstration. But Im glad I wasnt putting on mascara or lighting a candle. Maybe someone is just tired of hearing Happy Holidays!

Christmas day was a lot like Thanksgiving except for the morning snow flurries which stuck for a while and then decided enough was enough. Morey and I were invited to Judys for another great dinner as a part of her extended family. We were in good company among her and her husband, Jim, daughter, Janine, husband Skip and children, Jake and Maddie; son John and his children, Jessica and Tyler and his friend, who is also John.

Jake told us he got a motorcycle for Christmas, always scary. Madison received a doll who does all sorts of things as Baby Alive. When she eats, you can hear her suck on that bottle clear across the room. Even her mouth moves and will clamp down on your finger. She gets rid of her food, too talks, giggles and blinks her eyes and misbehaves regularly. If I got a doll who said Mama when you tipped her over. I was ecstatic. Now they all but run errands for you. Will they one day rule the world? I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to better times next year. Were all going down this new road together.

Recently I read one of my old books A childrens volume entitled Adventures of a Brownie by Miss Mulock no first name given. Its a small book, four and-a-half inches by six and-a-half inches, beautifully bound with many illustrations and even a picture on the cover. At the time, I dont believe there were copyright laws. No date inside only a dedication on the first page, written in pencil: To Janet Smith, Merry Christmas 1902, from Olivia. There were many other familiar titles listed on the back and the books were priced at $.40 or $.50. I like to imagine how the little girl received her gift under the tree. I was always thrilled myself to get a book of any kind. I have another little book as well, Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne with a Christmas dedication for 1900. So much history. Some of the other titles are Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Through the Looking Glass, Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Adventures of Robin Hood, Pilgrims Progress, Swiss Family Robinson, Gullivers Travels, The Little Lame Prince, Little Women, Black Beauty, Heroes of the U.S. Navy, Uncle Toms Cabin, Rip Van Winkle, Andersens and Grimms Fairy Tales, and Many histories of England, France, and the U.S. by Jack Abbot, although there were many