My dearest friends,

It’s been a while since there were leaves on the trees, and the view out the door has alternated between snow and ice and a colorless landscape. I keep hearing people complaining about the cold (what’s a Polar Vortex, anyway?), but you won’t hear me complain. This, my friends, is prime snuggle weather.

You know me – sleep, eat, sleep, sleep, and eat. That’s about the gist of my average daily agenda. Please note that my plans still lack any designs to demolish my lobbymates. I’m beginning to wonder if my new, more generous approach to my neighbors might have become a habit. I suppose there could be worse things…like if they start to suspect I’ve gone soft. Then I might have to go on a serious butt-kicking campaign to preserve my reputation.

It’s been quiet here, though; so quiet, in fact, that I decided to shake things up a little and lose some weight. Just a half pound – enough to check and see if the vet staff is on their toes, but not enough that I lose much brawn (or have to undergo tests of any kind. My regular ultrasounds are plenty, thank you very much). Well, the vet staff did notice, and they didn’t run any extra tests. “Nothing worrisome”, they say, so all is well. Maybe I’ll gain the weight back and see if they notice that.

Mostly, though, I’m sticking with my regular routine, and testing out new ways to try this “nice” thing out. The other day, I was snuggling on a person’s lap when dinner arrived. We were having a good snuggle, so I didn’t bail as soon as there was food; instead, the person selected a food dish for me and then held it so I could eat and do a lap sit all at the same time. I really dug that, and I thanked her by leaving her bits of my food on her sleeves and pants. I know she appreciated that I would share my dinner with her – I don’t do that for just anyone.

I might be willing to do that for you, though, since you are one of my favorite people. If you let me know what day you’ll be by to visit, I can put in an order that we could share. I mean, I’ll eat most of it, but I’ll drop little bits for you to nibble on, too. What shall it be – Salmon Supreme? Turkey Shreds in Gravy? Just let me know and I’ll put a word in with the staff. It would be a delight to sit on your lap for a while.

I hope the new year is off to a wonderful start, my friends, and even if we get gobbled up by another Polar Whatsit, remember what the season’s all about – snuggling!

Much love,
Boots