Christmas Newsletter

Merry Christmas, everyone!! As there are still only two humans in our family, I hope my friends with children won’t think it presumptuous of me to update all of my Christmas newsletter readers on the status of my pets. Just to be clear, I don’t think that my pets are my children. Neither do other people, which is evident to me by the fact that some people that come over to our house tell us they don’t care for our animals. That would be considered rude to say about someone’s child, I think.

Ruben (aka Rubers, Rube, Rubes, Rubey-Dube, Bube, Buben, Bubes, Redneck Ruben, Master Ruben), our Siamese cat, had an eventful year filled with sleeping, snuggling, and regurgitating. In December, he went to the dentist (read: vet) and had two teeth pulled because he has been very bad about brushing and flossing and had horrible teeth to show for it. The tooth pulling didn’t slow him down one bit.

Master Ruben

Honestly, there isn’t a lot to say about our dogs. Lola knows plenty of tricks and hasn’t killed any chickens yet. Lucy is living out the life that fate and genetics have dictated for Bassets – she is as lazy and cute as ever. Lola and Lucy continue to prove their usefulness by cleaning up food that falls between the slats of our picnic-dinner table and alerting us to squirrels in the front yard. They are both good running partners, and Lola’s need to expend energy is motivation to get outside even when it is bitterly cold.

The yearly dog shower.

Spoiled

Our watchdog

Our household has more than doubled in size over the past year if you count our three rabbits and five chickens. The rabbits are Champagne d’Argent breeding animals (and supposedly they breed like rabbits, although we haven’t seen it yet) and the chickens are a few varieties of bantam that produce bantam-sized eggs. They are a fun addition to our home except for the occasional dog-chicken run-in and the having to go outside in below freezing temperatures to do the “farm” chores. At least the distance between my back door and the animals now is a whole lot closer than it ever was in Idaho. There are bonuses to having a small yard.

Illiana

All five hens. Elvis (on right) is lucky to be alive after a Lola run-in.

Quote from my husband, a graduate chemistry student: “I have to tell you something a little embarrassing about myself. Up until a week ago, I thought nitrous oxide was NO₂, not N₂O.” He told me that just now as I was typing this up.  I asked him how he could live with himself. He said “I don’t know. I live with you.” I’m not sure how to take that...

So that brings us to Alex, who is currently in his sixth (and final!) year of PhD work. Don’t get TOO excited folks, we still have 3+ years in Urbana, our fair city. Alex will be completing the final three years of medical school after this year. In his “spare” “time”, he has transformed our home into a palace and had an amazing garden this past year. I never cease to be amazed by the wide skill set with which my husband came equipped.

Hard at work

That brings us to me, president. (Alex is supreme dictator). I am in my fourth and final year of the veterinary school curriculum. Assuming all goes according to plan and that I passed the little quiz I had last week (boards), I will graduate in May. I will then be doctor missus president and will be able to work as a veterinarian and fix broken dogs and cats. I also plan on finishing a Master’s of Public Health online through the University of Illinois – Chicago. As far as a job goes, after May I will be either a) gainfully employed or b) happily unemployed. That is for the job market and kismet to decide. I am not sure which I would prefer yet.

On a large animal rotation

I thought I was done but supreme dictator told me I needed to tell people what we actually do with our lives instead of just about our animals.

In our “spare” “time”, we sleep. I decided I need to take up a new hobby. Does anyone have any suggestions? My current hobby, baking, is plenty fun but encourages gluttony. I have considered jewelry making but I don’t wear much jewelry and wood working but it seems that the start-up costs are a little steep. Maybe I could get into family history or upholstery or pottery or stain glass or pest control. If you have any ideas, send them my way.

We like dark chocolate, wish we could spend the winter in Florida, and have become much more attractive in the past year (supreme dictator told me to say that).  We have a blog, which we update when we have something useless to say (7weaverplace.blogspot.com – go there for real pictures). Someday I want to have milk goats and maybe a dairy cow. I would get a Jersey. I would need strong strapping children to do the milking.

(This is Alex’s space to talk about himself.)

(Guess he didn’t want to say anything.)

I think you know enough about us now. Thanks for reading. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Love,

Katie, Alex, Ruben, Lucy, Lola, Zdzisław, Illiana, Juno, Henrietta, Elvis, Wasabi, Cluck and Clack