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What? It's 2017!

The last four months of 2016 were full of family and friends and fun.  There were trips to the farm to see Mom and my brothers; a meeting of extended family to see Miss A in Minneapolis; a birthday party for Miss M; a family Octoberfest with homemade pretzels and all the other German fixings; the U.S. Thanksgiving and a whole lot of family dinners.  Then there were meals and outings with friends and a few knitting adventures.  I loved it all, so much so that I didn't write about it but instead savored it.  When I returned home there were two kittens who needed to be trained, to be "fixed" and who needed lots and lots of human time.

But now 2017 is here and I am ready to dive back into sharing.  There are new knitting classes in my future, more shawls to knit and a couple of Xmas stockings that simply have to be completed this year.  But before I get into 2017, let me give you a photo retrospective of the months missed in 2016.  I promise there will be details to follow, but for today here's a photo montage.

The many faces of Miss A, but she is mainly all smiles 
Miss M celebrating three as her shirt says ~ Young Wild and Three
Miss A chillin' for a road trip

Miss M at what could have been a historic vote for females but wasn't

Miss M and her requested sprinkle cake

The absolute dearest photo of the year, as Miss M gives her sister a kiss she holds her hand
And then there are Mike and Mara, the kittens.  As a reminder, Mike is the grey, referred to as Blue for his breed of Burmese; Mara is off white or Platinum.  He is now about 5.5 pounds and she is 4.5 at the ripe old age of 5 months.  Two kittens is like having a live circus in the house, when they are awake.  Luckily for me they sleep a lot.  I didn't know how much I missed old Mike until I spent some time with these two.  Photos generally have to be taken as they are falling asleep or as they are sleeping.  When they are awake they are moving a lot.  

This was taken about a month ago; they still look kittenish

One of their pastimes, grooming one another

The great bird hunters, from inside of course

Mara, taken in the dead of night

And today's photo, they are looking less kitten-like and more like cats
I hope your 2016 was good.  I know once I got passed the first quarter of 2016 things really improved.  There is plenty to look forward to in 2017, and tomorrow I will start sharing what is being planned.

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