The 2011 Holiday Letter

The 2011 Holiday Letter

As always, we’ll kick things off with the animal count.  The tally columns will show that I’ve had a bit of difficulty curbing my enthusiasm this year - two in the minus and three in the plus.  Even worse, a very small dog was replaced by a substantially larger equine.  

With great heaviness of heart, I’ve had to bury two beloved animals:  our elderly Yorkie, Strawberry and Zina’s wonderful cat, Trouble.  In an effort to heal, I’ve rescued a young filly (Tallulah aka Impulse Buy), adoped a cat (Berklee), and acquired a mini horse (Rowdy).    Final count stands at:  2 ½ horses, 3 dogs, 1 cat, and a bunny.  Worse than other years, better than some J

Equine news:  Zina is keeping her headstrong horse, Curtis, closer to home in Canton, where they engage in fun things that involve great speed and the jumping of obstacles.   Bella, Sofia’s beautiful steed, resides at our farm in Raynham where she enjoys the exalted life of a pleasure horse.  My rotund pony, Charlotte, remains the sweetest horse alive, and I say this after breaking five ribs in November.  (All my fault, of course; she’s a saint.)  Tallulah, the new baby, spent a few months getting healthy, several more running me over and ripping my arms from their sockets, and is now in regular training.  I found a free (hahaha!) mini to use as a companion for an elderly boarded horse and said horse is now departing for greener pastures.  This leaves me with Rowdy -- a round, hairy, opinionated bundle of no mannered knee-high horse.  Any takers?

Personal news:  Zina and Sofia are still dating the same wonderful young men as last year, while their lovely, gracious, mild-tempered, reserved, homebody of a Mother remains (blissfully) unencumbered.  Both girls are gainfully employed, live together in the Boston area, and keep several cats in honor of their animal laden heritage.   My childcare business is excellent, and I’m having a wonderful time snapping photos hither and yon.

In closing, I’ve prepared a little song, so please sing along with me to the tune of  “The Twelve Days of Christmas”:

On the Twelve Months of This Year,
My good fortune sent to me
Twelve mortgage payments,
Eleven months of Winter,
Ten children leaping,
Nine babies crying,
Eight horses pooping,
Seven major crisis,
Six huge Vet bills,
Five broken ribs!!
Four unsightly blemishes,
Three months of mayhem,
Two incontinent dogs,
And a cat having asthma attacks! 

Wishing you all heaps of happiness and good health in the upcoming year!

xoxo   Ruth    xoxo