Late fall 2020

In November we decided to release Reggie from his quarantine in the back bedroom and see what happened. Cats do not easily adjust to new social hierarchies and it became clear early on that Tundra was not going to relinquish his top cat status. Unlike the Siberians, Reggie is a food-motivated prowler. Instead of chillaxing during the day, he likes to roam around, which sets up territorial altercations where King Tun confronts and chases him snarling back to the bedroom. Refereeing the constant battles between Reggie and Tundra was our main November activity. Thanks to tips from Jackson Galaxy's TV show, we learned to set up catification and how to distract them with play to defuse fights over food. None of the catfights were truly vicious and we think that Reggie will be able to integrate, completing our Brady Bunch household with Dave and the 3 boy cats vs Heather and the girls. 

Erin prepped for cross-country Junior Olympics with night practices 3 times a week

but right before the last meet of the season, Rhode Island was added to the Massachusetts restricted travel list and Erin's club cancelled the meet to close the season. Too bad because Erin's 11-12 yr-old team would have qualified for Nationals and we were prepared to travel to Lexington, KY for the meet (and maybe to visit Camp Nelson and Mill Springs, 2 minor Civil War sites that were recently upgraded to full NPS status. Senator Mitch brought home the pork)

The cake tasted great

Tai-Tai's new banana cat bed

For Thanksgiving we tried out this PA-derived recipe

Roasted chicken was an improvement over turkey

Caroline after setting a new PR for our Turkey Trot around the Arlington Reservoir. Erin's new running watch told us that the loop is only 0.95 miles but we'll still call it a mile. Dave claims to still be enjoying his new Rocky Mountain red blood cells and set a PR with 6:54.

This puzzle sat in our closet unopened for 20 years but turned out to be a crowd pleaser 

While Heather was staying with her Dad in FL, we braved the elements to find our Xmas tree

My favorite ornament is this handmade guy received when my parents lived in Pittsburgh

Tundra's favorite activity is licking the gingerbread house the moment after it arrived

Our first snow of the year

froze ice on our packages

With reservations limited to 15 people, it felt like we had the whole ice rink to ourselves

Tessie earned a triple decker cake for her 8th birthday