The Little Ones During Christmas 2008

We had an honest-to-goodness white Christmas this year, my first during the twelve years I’ve lived in Oregon. We got Sam and Emma right before Christmas last year, but they were confined to the guest bedroom for the first couple of weeks so this was their first year to experience the Christmas tree in all its glory.

Best Friends Forever A year earlier Templeton had died and we were trying to decide if it was too soon to add more cats to the household and if Scout would get along with the new cats. We felt Scout would be happier with other cats around, as would we, so we adopted Sam and Emma shortly before Christmas of 2007 and hoped for the best. Fast forward to today and here is Scout with her BFF curled up on the window seat and watching the snowy street out front. We got a light snow for a few days in mid-December, which is unusual for Portland, but nothing compared to the snow that was to come. She and Sam are often curled up together on my legs when I wake up in the morning but this was the first time I’d seen them together on the window seat. Scout is 7 years older than Sam, literally half a lifetime for a cat, so I’m thrilled to see them get along so. Emma willingly bears the brunt of most of Sam’s kitten energy and he’s learned that at this stage of her life Scout usually prefers snuggling to horseplay. Sometimes their little lovefests wake me up in the morning as they rub all over me and each other but there are worse ways to wake up.

Next Year’s Christmas Card? This was a quick exercise in learning how to use Smart Objects in Photoshop, I had been working through some podcasts to teach myself more about the software — I’ve been using it since 1996 but to be honest apart from the RAW converter my knowledge is limited to fairly basic features. Here I wanted to stray a bit from a straight picture for a more painterly look. Not bad for a few minutes of playing but I won’t quit my day job just yet ;)

The first picture is lit by the lights of our tree and a room lamp while the second is lit only by the tree lights. I also stopped down the lens a bit in the first picture to give a greater depth of field. I used my tripod both because of the low light levels and because it allowed me to eliminate two key reflections in the large picture window: me and the camera. To eliminate my reflection, I used a cable release so that I could bend down low and trip the shutter without looking through the viewfinder. To eliminate the camera, I positioned it as high as possible to include the Christmas lights but low enough that Sam’s body would block the reflection. Each picture has a different feel but I like them both, I deliberately left the color warm since I think it works best for this scene and Sam’s orange coat.

Outside Looking In While many dogs may have enjoyed the snow, Sam seemed content to stay cozy on his window seat and watch while I shoveled outside in the cold. He didn't even offer to help. The white at the bottom of the frame is snow that had built up on the window ledge.

Soon enough Emma curled up under the tree as well and rarely left it. We left the ornaments off to see how Emma and Sam would do, they left the tree alone last year but were new to the house so they had plenty of other distractions. After the first few days the tree showed no ill effects so I planned on putting the ornaments up the next weekend.

But then my wife heard an awful cry from Scout and rushed in thinking the cats were fighting, only to find Sam and Emma in the tree and attempting to flee the scene. Scout used to love to sleep in the tree but we finally got her to stop, I suppose our little narc decided that if she couldn’t sleep in the tree, no one could.

At least we think we got her to stop, she’s crafty and learned to cover her tracks pretty closely and sneak up near the center of the tree. The new cats haven’t adopted her Leave No Trace ethic and the tree suffered for it.

Leaning This is our Christmas tree shortly after we first put it up (thankfully before the ornaments went on), you can see a decided tilt to the tree. The eagle-eyed observer may even be able to tell which layer Sam and Emma decided to sleep in.

	Sam Mounts a Defense Sam asks if such an innocent face could have caused such mischief to the Christmas tree? And besides, he requests that the case be thrown out of court since there is no evidence that cats caused the damage to the tree. Furthermore, he requests that the prosecution be barred from making further libelous claims and slanderous insults. New rule for 2009: the cats are no longer allowed to watch Law & Order!
	Emma’s Nest I took this picture thinking Emma was nesting underneath the Christmas tree, as she had dragged both her favorite string and her favorite plush toy under the tree. I found out later that my wife put the sea turtle under there for her, but it doesn’t change the fact that Emma spent most of Christmas break under the tree. There was one heartbroken cat in our household when the tree came down in January.
	What Is It About Cats and Nativity Scenes? My mother-in-law made our nativity set so it has a lot of sentimental value. It was getting a little too much attention from the newcomers so I moved it to higher (and safer) ground on the counter. I’m not sure why little Sam is licking his lips, he’ll eat about anything but I hope he wasn’t planning on eating the baby Jesus. Jesus-eaters don’t make it into kitty heaven little Sam!
	Say Hey There Baby Jesus! Sam introduces himself to the infant king.