... not even a mouse

Christmas Eve. We've made it passed the winter solstice, the days are getting longer. Feel it??

We had our white elephant swap holiday party on Monday at work. We're a relatively small group - 8 staffers in total - and one had already skipped town for the holidays. So 7 of us plus one toddler got together for the rip roaring time. 

We actually gathered in the testing center while it was still open for the last hour and a half. There wasn't much business going on in there at that time on the Monday of Christmas week.

There was plenty of good food (no booze allowed on campus), and the swap was pretty fun, nothing outrageous. I don't get excited for presents, but I'd say I did pretty well with what I ended up with: two cat themed teacups, a cat themed bookmark, a sample of handcrafted soap, and a coupon for a local chocolate shop. Blossom revealed afterward that it was her contribution. 

I like the Japanese style cups, no handles. They hold maybe 4 or 5 ounces and go nicely with my teapot

I suspect that Party Girl was drunk or at least tipsy. She was acting rather weird, talking about stupid stuff and being more touchy-feely than usual. At one point, she got on the ground and tried to crawl into a large gift bag?  I don't hang out with her outside of work, though, so maybe that's just the way she is, but I still suspect some booze was involved. She's not secretive about her daily drinking habit.

So now the break has officially begun. Campus is closed until after New Year's.  Meanwhile, I'm trying to be productive and have something to justify my existence at the end of each day. We're staying here for the holidays this year. I've got my food fixings, so shouldn't have to be anywhere near a grocery store until after Christmas. 

Last night, while I was somewhere between asleep an awake, I sensed the cat doing his typical midnight zoomies. At some point later, I was awakened by what sort of sounded like rain drops or sleet spitting against our window. 

But when I became more awake, I realized it was the cat licking his chops. It was juicier sounding than his typical bathing. So I switched on the reading light to find the mighty hunter at the foot of the bed, digging in to the remains of a mouse. *GAG*

Magnum got up (better him than me), scooped the departed mouse into a bag, and that was the end of Napolion's Christmas feast. Apparently the zoomies I'd heard were not just a training sesh.

So today, I raise my cat teacup in honor of the mighty mouser, Napolion.