So, you’d think these two were little angels:  nice without a hint of naughty.  Albeit, Rosalind looks a little worried about which of Santa’s lists she’s on.

Still, look at Natasha as “O Little Cat of Bethlehem” here.

Not so much.  Here, you have the reason for the Great Christmas Blackout of Bethlehem, 2011.

And of course Rosalind isn’t above diving into the fray to tear apart the pile of presents under the tree.

Popping out of a bag of wrapping paper scraps like the  creature in Alien has its appeal for Miss Rosalind as well.

We used to blame Rosie for knocking ornaments off the tree and batting them around, often to be found under the couch, sometime in July.  However, one day I came home to find Natasha sitting on the arm of the loveseat next to the tree, smacking down ornaments to her sister on the floor.  I was never quite sure if  ‘Tasha were doing Rosalind a favor or just setting her up to get blamed for striking down the bauble with which we’d catch her playing. I don’t have any pictures of that, but I do have a couple of Natasha showing me that the mantle piece is not off limits in her book.

Natasha is also quite sly about getting around rules.  One cardinal one is that cats are not allowed to walk, rest, or put even a paw on the dining-room table.  I’ve been fairly successful at ensuring they obey while I’m in the house.  With the clever mind of a lawyer or a student trying to game the syllabus, Tasha found a way to sleep on the table without sleeping on the table.

So, there, Mummy!

But at the end of the day, after gifts have been gnawed, paper has been shredded and disemboweled, turkey and gravy has been consumed, both girls collapse together in a moment of holiday quiescence.

The Best of Holiday Cheer from

Rosalind

and Natasha!