:) I was reading through the posts and noticing some of the trees in sigs. And (I hope you take this as a compliment), but your tree made me think of Emperor Zurg from Toy Story. ^_^' I love seeing the more different trees because I seem to be stuck in a rut of 'green tree' every year. At least this year I branched out. (pff!hehe!) A Glade tree! ..yeah, adding flowers Really made a difference...

That's nice. :) Your HA is beautiful!

:) I noticed you two were talking about questing and zapping... Myself, I usually do the typical Wizard and Saggi, but also Cynthia and Maleria since they don't give out a bunch of items, just sp. Though, with what you mentioned, I think I should add Shinwa to my go to list.

Lilly - I'd have to think hard on a favorite holiday tradition for rl, but I started a thread in the Luminaire section asking about luminaire memories we've had here. :)

Though, if I had to pick, one of the first rl things to come to mind is my grandparents. Every year we would switch back and forth which set of grandparents we would go to for Thanksgiving and Christmas. (My Mom and Dad's sides of the family, I mean..) But now the memories are a little like the blue-tinted memories in the movie Inside Out. I started my life with three sets of grandparents, now I only have one living grandmother. I've tried to make it a point to spend as much time as I can with her, because I regret not doing so with the others.

This Christmas may be blue, but that's only in the night when daylight comes, the joy with the sun Love is shown with delight :)

[Yay for random poetry to pop in my head..]

Thank you. Sorry for the late response. I'll have to try those too. I'm just so quest lazy. Lol Very sweet about your grandparents. I can imagine a great family gathering. That is a beautiful uplifting poem. You just put a smile on my face. I was feeling sad for what was. I'll go check out the post.

I'm back on my phone again. Computer is charging. I'm killing that thing. Lol

^_^' I'm a bit quest-lazy myself. I just get spurts on inspiration and energy to do questing for a while before I completely forget, then a Token shop restock will come and I'll start all over.

:) Yeah, family, fun and food. There were quiet moments and loud moments. Ooh! Another fun thing we did was sorta separate the ornaments into piles each of us could hang on the tree, mostly comprising our own ornaments (made or gifted over the years). Though...it may have been a slightly forced tradition.. as I was the baby of the family and always had an ideal image of all of us decorating the tree together. It did happen most years. But as we got older, we each still did our own little piles, but not as much on the 'all together' part.

^//^ Aw! I'm glad to make you smile. <3

Perhaps you should use the holidays as an excuse to gift yourself a new one? ;) (computer)

I should get a new puter. Lol Sounds like fun family decoration moments. My mom always decorated the tree. She was one of those people who had to have each ornament perfectly placed on the tree. My families attitude was 'have at it'. Lol We knew better than to get in her way. Lol

, still crossing fingers you find the exact one you want!

Hi Bears!

- thank you :) I treated myself to the frame background cw during the black friday sale....no regrets, it is fun to work with.

- hi there :) Just got home from work and nibbled on some dinner...feels good to be home from the rat race

- I like your poetry! Family traditions...loved loved loved gatherings at grandmas house...loved that and everyone would make their specialty dish and bring it to the house...and the men would play penny poker in the basement and drink...I just loved being at my grandmothers house. I had one aunt that was just plain MEAN and everyone complained about her..I was afraid of her but now look back and realize she was a tiny little grumpy lady...nothing to fear...okay now I'm babbling... :)

- waves hello!!! :)

: Yes, you are more than welcome to come and enjoy a toddy with Weldon, Aya and me, I would enjoy that very much. It will be my last toddy for a while....

It has been quite some time since my last litter, but I am definitely expecting more offspring. Six heartbeats were auscultated via pinard horn this weekend. This confirms what the Red Rreign said when he pronounced his blessing over me during Fireside. I expect to be delivered after the New Year and I am delivering at home (like before), but I have asked the Maker to bring clear skies, no hurricanes or blizzards (like the last two times) and to please let Welly be there (and not off saving the world).

Aya will be in charge of the delivery and she will be assisted by her sisters, Jacqueline and Luna. Her brothers and their mates will be on hand to help Weldon get through the cask of rum the Pirates of Omen sent over when they heard the news of my pregnancy. My youngest offspring will still be on Terra finishing their Journey Level I training and will be away when their younger brothers and sisters are born.

The Islanders have yet to responded to news of my pregnancy, Matlal and his clan have been rather stand-off-ish. They are ware of me from time to time. I was supposed to have been one of their offerings to the Sea-Witch a while back, and while that episode was eventually dealt with in a friendly manner, Matlal is fickle and capricious with his attitude toward me, "the Puny-weasel-female-pig-dog," This attitude comes even though I personally cure him often of his various sicknesses (often due to his own exotic 'cures') Oh, well.

So, with all that going on, Welly and I just had a quiet weekend together cuddled on the sofa under a lap-blanket, a small fire in the fireplace (Yes, Omen is cold this time of year), hot-toddy in paw, and listening to Yule-time music while we gaze upon our pretty decorated tree.

^_^ Haha! Your mom sounds like what my mom has been like in recent years. Instead of just letting us put up any old ornament, she hand picks all of the 'random' looking ones that are more personal. Then picks a color scheme of ball ornaments and garland to make it more 'uniform' (or whatever..). Thankfully, I can put what I like on the tree at my house. ;) Provided it's a fake tree and the ornaments are cat-proofed. Haha! <3

:) Aw! Your gatherings sound like a lot of fun. I'd probably have been sneaking to the basement to watch the poker games (I's a strange child..). Your aunt sounds kinda like one of my grandmothers. I had two 'normal' grandma's, but this third one was more on the formal side. Had fancy china, told us to call her 'grandmother'. Kinda made me a little nervous at her place. I wish I had been able to know her as an adult, I feel I would have been able to understand her better than my rowdy younger self did.

What was your favorite Christmas dish? :3 Your comment got me thinking...and now I'm hungry. I love to try and explore new dishes at the holidays. I feel it makes things a little more festive. <3

, your HA is just beautiful! waves How are you after your long trip? , can I come also?

No worries! And I totally understand about being quest lazy. I was so unmotivated yesterday.

Hi! I was so glad to be home from work as well. :) What do you do for work?

: Yes, you are all invited to come over to my house for Toddys.

I live on the main island in the Omen system. Our compound is north of Port Plunder (lighthouse point). You have to drive past the pier and dry dock and come to the three warehouses. Our house is the first warehouse building.

The front hanger door is always open, enter the building, walk past the small fighter jet, and up the glass staircase. Once on the landing upstairs, it is the front room. Madison or Merril or Aya will greet you and lead you to the den. It's all very homey (well, except for the fighter jet....)

We could play some cards, pop some popcorn, (I'm thinking of starting on decorating my Yuletide sugar cookies) put on It's a Wonderful Life, or just chit-chat. (or do karaoke). If you want to bring a bottle of festive beverage, or cookies, or party-mix, that would be fun too. I could have Weldon whip up a ton of royal icing in a million colors (the cookies were already baked and put in the freezer Friday). I love Yuletide.

, I have my GPS already set and would love some cookies with Weldon's famous royal icing. Talk and watch "It's a Wonderful Life" is hard to decide. Can we manage both?

ZZZZAP BAM! Your pet’s minion was turned into a [item2=Bleeding Bug]

That Marsh Qrykee is all teeth! Derpderp looks like he’s going to munch on his pet friends, lol

How’s your quest for pet minions coming along?

Waves hello to

I may stop by for some of those cookies and chitchat while watching A Wonderful Life. It’s one of my favorites .. “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” :D

- I work in a credit union...I like my job but the commute wears me out. Next year I will go part time so looking forward to less driving!

- thank you! I love how that little gray cat fit right on the pile of books! It was a full week before I was over the jet lag. It lasted longer than any trip ever before and I was wondering if I was sick...then finally it was over. The trip was worth a week of jet lag though :)

- yes I did go watch the poker playing sometimes ...hehe it seemed that was where the fun was really happening. I always loved the good old standard green bean casserole with the canned beans and canned soup...I still love it but a few years ago we discovered a recipe for green bean casserole and never looked back. It is so delicious with fresh green beans, caramelized onions, white sauce, cheese...so good. It is kind of a project to make but well worth the effort. I like Chef John's YouTube videos...and the green bean casserole is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRLaPXLjK4w

- Yay for a nice toddy! I'm coming over too! I want to see the jet...can we go for a ride?

ZZZZAP BAM! Your pet’s minion was transformed into a [item2=Seavian]. Euclid sure likes to zap the minions or, his aim is terrible, lol

I'm so excited! I just got Echo dot with Alexa in the mail. I just set her up. She's playing Christmas music now.

hugs

Congratulations! I've missed so much of what's been going on with you guys. Last time was when you had your first litter and I still have their treasured picture on my profile. Do you have time to catch me up? And how're your friends in CA?

You're a cat lover too! I have 2, Gilbert (21) and Leon (12). He's getting shaved tomorrow. I don't put up trees. Its just me usually.

I usually end up doing them on my phone. Not fun. lol

LOL, that surprised me. Now he's a marsh bug. I have to admit this is fun. Wow your minion got changed.

Thanks Anonymous for the ! Candles glow always gets you in the mood for the holiday.

I hope anyone not in the spirit of the holidays here and in RL, let the glow of holiday lights and candles lift their spirits!

ZZZZAP Your pet transformed into a Glade Dragarth!

Oh, I see Derpderp got transformed into a Graveyard Illumis! I have a pet just like it named “Still Alive.” She was transferred to me by a friend. I love her! She collects all the things I remember from when I was a child on up, lol. It is a lot of fun!