I didn't totally realize Kato leaned so far away from hugs until I took the picture, and then it just made me laugh and laugh.

OTOH, he will come over and sit with his back to us, which means "It ain't gonna pet itself," and if we don't pet him, he'll scootch closer and closer, incrementally, until he's sitting on our feet and leaning his full weight against our legs. "Pet me or you will never regain circulation in your feet, human!"

And occasionally he'll walk over to us, fart, and walk away. ISTG, that's what he does. How did he learn that???

And occasionally he'll walk over to us, fart, and walk away. ISTG, that's what he does. How did he learn that???

When you're out of the house, he's watching The World According to Jim marathons.

I've mentioned before how Spare Cat has a "hand over the cuddles and no one gets hurt" attitude, right? She will nip at you -- not too softly -- if you're not properly attentive.

Percy the Emo Cat will pat my arm or leg softly when he wants attention. If I don't respond, the pats become more insistent until finally the claws come out. He's got me trained.

I've got a cat that uses his head, he butts me with it constantly. If I don't give him sufficient scritches, it's more head-butts for me until he's satisfied.

So since both the Rose Bowl Parade and the Winter Classic were pushed to today I'm going to go with my current belief that today is actually the first and do my wrap-up.

It was a very difficult year for me. There was adultery and sex abuse at my church. About six of my closest friends and coworkers moved away, including my band leader, so I quit my band. A wildfire consumed much of my state. My husband was sick and had a root canal. My dog had allergies, dental work, and a torn muscle in his leg. We had financial and work problems. Family health continues to decline.

We had great shows, lots of fun hobby stuff like the telescope, social justice stuff, lots of good kid stuff for work.

I lost my Auntie Mikie, my mentor Mike Girton, my friend Gary Rowe. I attended the one year memorial of my student's death.

And mostly I was consumed by the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsuanmi and nuclear disaster. I want to thank Buffistas who saw me through that time, and particularly Cass, who kept me sane while it was happening. I am really grateful.

I lost a good bit of the year to the resulting situational depression. But reflection reveals that there was lots of situation. Despite a terrible start, I believe this last part of the furlough has hit the reset button. So regardless, I am looking forward to the new year. Hope it's a good one for all of you.

Every year, I always feel like *This* will be the one!" and it never really is.Even though it is nice having one of my stories in a book.I'd like to get more excited by life in 2012, although I feel fortunate that I was just a witness to most of the struggle, including my brother developing an auto-immune disorder I still can't spell...his treatment is going fairly well,although there are ups and downs.

I didn't want to recap my year until it was done...but really not much changed for me in 2011! Same house, same job. New projects at the job mean I'm traveling to different places, and it's been a bit of a road to get the new project going. New roommate, which is working out quite well. Worked out a bunch for six months, felt little different at the end of it, stopped doing it, shouldn't have.

But I'm hoping 2012 brings a new job, or magically better things at this one (taking away six days of vacation is NOT a great start!), some better moods, a return to the working out, and PLEASE a girl?! Or a root? :)

So 2011 was primarily marked by the death of my mother-in-law after a long slog with breast cancer. For most of her illness, she remained stubbornly the same as she had always been, but the last two years were very hard for her, and for us. She is still very much missed, especially around Christmas as it was her very favorite time of year.

But really, our lives are good. Jobs are good, kids are great, and the house hasn't collapsed on us yet, despite things like trees falling on it (thanks, oh Windstorm of 2011!). My cat is still here and happy, although she is getting older and frailer. My kids remain my most bestest creation. In them, I am truly blessed.

2011 was our first full year in New Orleans. We celebrated Mardi Gras and mourned the tragic death of eight young people in a fire here, one of whom was the daughter of a friend of ours. Seeing that kind of raw grief was and is a constant reminder of that pain and loss. I also lost my grandmother, which was expected but still very difficult. She and my grandfather had such a huge part in raising us, and she was a wonderful teacher. I loved her very much and still miss her greatly. Tom's mother also died this year, which was an extraordinarily complex situation with his relationships with her and the rest of his family, and the fact that in many ways we lost her a few years previously, when the nature of her neurological degeneration made it impossible for her to live without 24 hour care. It's been a four year mourning period for Tom and I hope that he can find some peace with it all in 2012.

Professionally, I have found my place in the world as a director at a local non-profit (promotion is as of 2012) where I think I am doing a small bit of good in this corner of the world. I have also gotten involved in organizing fundraisers for victims of violent crimes here in New Orleans.

My parents are not in great shape- my father's knee replacement surgery done in May 2010 was never quite right and in August of this year, his orthopedic surgeon found a deep infection that he is still trying to recover from. His treatment has suffered many setbacks and it's a possibility that he may lose his leg altogether. This has been devastatingly difficult for my mother to manage, and she is still grieving the loss of my grandma as well, who could be considered my mother's closest friend. We hope that in 2012 my mother will be able to get the house in CT ready to sell and that she and my father can move down to Ohio near my sister.

We had some kitty drama, which was stressful and expensive but ended up giving our sweet boy Taz a new lease on life, for which we are very grateful.

All in all, I think Tom and I made the right choice to come to New Orleans, even though our condo continues to suck money right down the drain.

Smonster moving here is definitely a highlight of 2011. Buffista power is totally magic!

Buh-bye, 2011!