Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for December 06, 2020

If Lupin saved Christmas, does he still have to worry about his reputation with Santa? Meanwhile, someone indict Pucky’s construction-kitty hat on charges of murder, because I am DEAD OF CUTE.

(Also, relatable. ALL of my mom’s outdoor Christmas lights died just as the weather turned cold, and she had to go out and buy new ones to wrap up her fruit trees warm.)

I love Pucky’s hard hat with ears!

“Nobody move!” Yeah, good luck with that.

Three seconds later, they all go out again. Been there, done that! (Recently, even.)

Just had some nog, and some below average temps here in TX. Loving it!

The brightest Christmas tree EVER!!!

Goldie seems to be a daddy’s girl.

Elvis certainly does not look like he wants to be San-Tea Cozy for the holidays….. It always amazes me how the Christmas lights always manage to get tangled despite how well you store them! They are worse than the cables connecting my computer, mouse, modem, splitter, monitor, speakers, printer, surge protector etc….

I just finished my decorating yesterday. It’s a little difficult, actually. Some of the things I have out now were inherited earlier this year. Hanging up “my” ornament on my own tree instead of the one at my grandparents’ house was tough and I did not expect that.

I like Goldie’s bemused expression today. I spy Lupin rear toe beans! And cats do indeed love to help and to supervise. Good job, Lupin!

Annnnnnnd this is why modern/good light strings still work when individual bulbs die.

Sanity Tip – when putting all the lights away. First off… either have the string of lights on a simple piece of cardboard… or bundle them in an orderly fashion. Best thing is to bundle them with a velcro tie… the same kind you would use to organize all the electrical lines of your computer. Next… before you put the individual bundles in a box for next year – make sure they work. Bulbs are at a lower price after the season! And if for some reason you discover the string does not work – get rid of it! Why have the massive amount of frustration as you are working on setting up the tree? Best to have it done when you are taking everything down and getting it all organized. Next year… when you are unpacking and working on the tree… you will breath easier knowing all of it was done!

BTW – I know this because I have three boxes of strings of lights. About ten strings per box. And some give off so much heat (very old style bulbs) that I can not pry the cats away from them! Had to make a wire cone tree for the cats to bask in the warmth and lights!!

Lupin helps by hinderance. And Elvis isn’t happy with the state of affairs.

Now why is The Woman holding an aggrieved-looking Elvis while asking about San Tea Cozy’s head. Could there be connection?

SUNDAY FUNDAY TIME!

Puck so cute with his hat and check list.

Look how the Man,

Does what he can,

Then has to say,

Throw strings away

But Christmas is grand,

Bring out more strands,

To such glee, of

Puck and Goldie

Wires so dang long

Much can go wrong, but

With joyful play

A cat saves the day

One seems to hear

Praise for Lupin dear

From everywhere

Filling the air

Oh how lights glow,

What a great show,

O’er the pine tree,

Twinklin’ so pretty

Gaily they shine

While there appear

Smiles of good cheer,

Christmas is here

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas,

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas

On on they send,

On without end,

Their joyful light

Into the night

(Mykola Leontovych / Paul Mark Oakenfold / William King Ross – Carol of the Bells)

Man, some advice from Martha Stewart: get your lights in strings of 50 bulbs. The small strings are easier to maneuver around the tree.

I absolutely love that beat panel at the end there.

Cats are just so helpful! However would we get through life without them to supervise and lend a paw when necessary?

I love the expression on Goldie’s face in panel three.

Ho ho ho! Jokes apart, you gotta be careful with that thing and not let your cats or kids near it like this. If there’s a little leakage in the wires it can give you a dangerous electric shock. Dunno if the wires of LED lights these days are converted to DC from AC. But the old ones with teeny incandescent light bulbs inside them, their cables were dangerous if there was a cut or a break that exposed the metallic wire inside. I wonder why LEDs weren’t used much earlier for this purpose. They were around since a long time and they were already being used for colourful indicators. Maybe they were more expensive to manufacture than the bulbs? Oh well. I’ll stop my Sunday musings now.

About 35 years ago I went to the house of someone I knew from a BBS (that’s what we had before Facebook, kiddies). A whole bunch of online-only people were there in person, and I brought a videotape that everyone could watch or ignore as they saw fit, but the picture was choppy and grainy.

The guy’s pet turtle was turned loose in the living room, where we were all sitting on the floor, and after sneaking up behind each person and nipping them in the butt, he made his way across the room to the TV cart. Suddenly I noticed that the picture had cleared up!

Seems this turtle was an amateur TV repairman and had jiggled a cable or two in just the right way to fix the video.

Remember the days back before cable TV when we had antennas on TVs and had to move them sometimes to improve the picture quality? And sometimes the “bunny ears” wouldn’t stay in place and we’d (only half jokingly) tell the person moving them – “stay there!” – for the rest of the show so we could watch it without the static.

That’s Lupin for Christmas this year.

Illustrated Pucky chart! With pointer! Dang!!

OT. Yen

Pucky’s hard hat is to die for! Cuteness overload this morning.

Puck’s hard hat- lost it- LOL!

Panel nine – “Let there be light!” And let it begin with Lupin.

Well of course Puck has a clipboard to go with his cat eared hard hat.

Yay Lupin! The Daring Cat Of Adventure that SAVES Christmas!

Perhaps Georgia will have a new Christmas book out soon! 8-D

Goldie looks perplexed at all the lights.

I know someone who just stores the whole decorated tree in the basement. Simple enough

haha santea cozy

Lupin saved Christmas awwww

“Lupin just saved Christmas” – words I never thought we would hear … but words that will surely put him on Santa’s NICE List!

Lupin saves the day!

Well, I suppose it was going to happen someday.

Love Pucky’s hard hat. I just want to smooch his little face!

I actually have a few strands of wired in sequence (one goes out, they all go out) C5 lights, but didn’t put any up this year.

im glad to see other people setting up their christmas decorations, im getting my christmas tree today too

A truth universally acknowledged is that cats love to help.

LUPIN saves Christmas!!! I LOVE it!!!

O.T. We had “freezing fog” here this morning. Very pretty, everything covered with rime ice until the sun melts it. Hopefully it will warm up in the afternoon so we can put up a new mailbox post and a larger mailbox (this is a rural route). The old metal post finally gave up the ghost when the (female) mail carrier forced an Amazon box into the old, small mailbox. Not to mention that my weak arthritic hands had a really hard time removing the tightly wedged package. It’ll be fun trying to get the remainder of the old post out of that very hardly packed red clay, and trying to pound in the support for the new “no digging required” post. As Roseanne Rosannadanna used to say, it’s always something. But we’ll try to have some fun in the process. And I’ll enjoy having a shiny new mailbox. Might even put some Christmas decorations on it. Hope everyone in the Orbiverse has a great Sunday and a wonderful week ahead!♥️

To avoid tangling, wrap the light cords around foot-long pieces of cardboard when putting them away for next year. C’mon, everybody has cardboard around the house these days.

Meanwhile, Back on the Nile

Serfig-Aro: Has anyone seen my herald trumpet? I had it put away and now it seems missing.

Elvis-Anum: Do we really have trumpets in Egypt?

Serfig-Aro: Indeed we do. Mine was made of gold, with a gold mouthpiece. It had a few dings, so I haven’t played it for awhile.

Puckmosis: A few other things have gone missing. Has anyone seen Lupinium lately?

Elvis-Anum: Last I saw he was out riding with Avenger. He should be back soon.

A Day Later

Serfig-Aro (Trumpet fanfare): Good morning Royal Court!! Please join the queen for a royal breakfast!

Beatrixia: Serfig, is that you on the trumpet?

Serfig-Aro: Yes. It’s all shiny and like new!

Beatrixia: And you just found it this morning?

Serfig-Aro: Yes, and it plays better than ever. Wonder who fixed it?

Lupinium (Enigmatic smile): I guess we’ll never know! (Sotto voce) Iron Glove did a great job on that.

The Man deals with the second pain of Christmas.

Hoping to get the tree up today. Lights should be no problem. I carefully wrap them up every year… But first I have to clean part of the rug since the Big Gray Kitty left me horkage this morning.

Today Is:

Adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution: 1865, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime.

Mitten Tree Day: Mittens grow on trees? Who knew? Do new trees sprout from lost mittens? Or are there secret mitten plantations? Are only the mittens lost by kittens fertile? Does one mitten carry the genetic code for all colors of mittens, or does each mitten result in a tree of only one color mitten? Are multi-colored mittens hybrids? Stay tuned for a special investigative report at 11!

National Microwave Day: “Fire phasers, Mr. Sulu!” Most know that microwaves are used for more than heating or cooking food, though they are a tremendous boon to tea and coffee drinkers, and office popcorn eaters. The “popcorn” button on most modern microwaves has pride of first place on many, if not most, modern microwaves. I think this is a mistake. We never make popcorn in the microwave, preferring healthier air-popped. Microwave popcorn is so popular it is almost impossible to find a good air popper. IT’S A CONSPIRACY!

National Gazpacho Day: Otherwise known as “Salsa as Soup Day.” Cold soup in December?! Get real! Move this day to the middle of July!

Saint Nicholas Day: Actually a real Catholic Saint, Nicholas of Myra, and the far distant “ancestor” of Santa Claus. It is appropriate that his day not be on Christmas. So in a sense, this is Santa Claus’ birthday. So whether you are Christian or not, perhaps a little recognition for ’Ol St. Nick is appropriate.

… I wonder, are Santa’s gifts to others on Christmas “repurposed” gifts he received, today? The Elves aren’t talking, and the reindeer mooned me …

OMC, Puck in his hard hat coordinating everything. So cute! and can he come to my place and help me sort out my house?

Magnificent chart Puck. I now fully understand.

Last year, had half a string go out on the tree on Christmas Day! Replaced all of them this year!

Ok! Here is my fool proof, but slightly labor intensive method for storing tree lights.

Leave lights on tree. Start at one end of a strand and gather around 6 light bulbs together and wrap with a twist tie at the bottom of the bulbs. Gather the next 6 bulbs and wrap. Keep going around the tree to the end of the strand. Repeat for the next strand. I then stored them in large Zip Lok bags.

Then next year test each strand. Take twist tie off off of first bunch of bulbs and put on tree. Repeat to end of strand. You can drape the strand over your shoulder while you work around the tree. It goes real quickly as the strand doesn’t get tangled or in your way.

My lights lasted years this way.

pucky’s helmet! also, is this a new arc at the end?

I love that Goldie sticks to the man like glue.

Is that Lupin beside Goldie in the ninth panel? Or is it just the way the lights are hanging. My inferior keyboard is too small to see for certain.

Thank goodness Christmas is saved. Great job, Lupin!

Lupin you are a hero!!!

Lupin saves Chrstmas, terrifying thought.

This takes me back…Mom and Brother assembling the tree (artificial tree looked great, once you got the branches on right. and that could get tricky!) while Dad and I untangled the lights that we had been so careful putting away the previous year. All the tricks never seemed to work. And, of course, the cats insisting on helping.

That hard hat, tho (:

Hey look! In the background of the final panel, YOU CAN SEE LUPIN AND GOLDIE BEING FRIENDLY HOORAY!

Georgia: decorating on the sixth of December My family: decorating the day after thanksgiving

Lupin just saved christmas!