Santa's little helper

Hi Everybody! (Audience) Hi Dr. Nick!

Okay, I don't why that was in my head. Though it's been years since I've been a regular viewer, I suppose The Simpsons will be forever ingrained in my consciousness...

Moving on! I have an adorable companion this week! Can you spot her?

Well, let me give you a closer look at this adorable little kitty who is clawing her way into my heart! Actually, she doesn't claw so much as nuzzle, which is far better anyway.

Ella with her favorite toy

Hanging out in the bathtub, one of her favorite spots!

Luckily, she likes it dry.

As I mentioned last week, my friend Elza has entrusted me with Ella (AKA Lump) for 5 days while she travels to France. It's been great to have a little bundle of love to cuddle with, especially since I'm a bit sick! I never had a pet growing up (other than fish. Do fish count?), so I jump at the chance to pet-sit. My parents did not pass on their many allergies, and I'm very grateful for that! Perhaps a pet is in our future someday... Chad and I like both cats and dogs, but we were discussing how you never know what you're going to get with cats... Luckily, little Ella is very social and sweet, and seems to even like being picked up and cuddled! She's helping the time go by while I wait for Chad to get here in five days! Yes, just five days! What a fantastic Christmas present that will be!

On Saturday I had my last Tales of Hoffmann performance, and a friend of mine from Juilliard named Laura Poe came to see it. Laura is now working as a pianist with the opera house in Düsseldorf, just about an hour and a half by train. She spent the night, and the day after the show we went to the Christmas market -- of course! She had never had raclette (a tasty melted cheese that can be put on many things), so I brought her to the raclette hut, as well as many other delicious spots... We went on the big carousel after our treats, and sat on something similar to the spinning teacups at Disney. An interesting choice, as we had just eaten... We needed a few moments after getting off to make the world stop spinning. Worth it!

I'm pretty sure we were the oldest people

on the carousel without children...

Another addition (one that the kitty seems fascinated with) to our apartment this week is our Christmas tree! I just couldn't wait for Chad to get here, so our friend Florian helped me pick out the tree, and more importantly, carry it home!!

He looks a bit like a lumberjack, doesn't he?

Our friends Paula and Eamonn came over and helped decorate the tree later that night, and it really started to feel like Christmas! This year's tree is bigger than last year's, so I think we might need more ornaments! I'll wait until Chad gets here though so we can do SOME of the Christmas decorating together!

Ella's second favorite toy. ;-)

At least she hasn't tried climbing it yet!

Well, next week at this time Chad will be on this side of the ocean, as well as being totally DONE with his first semester of law school! He took his second exam yesterday, and felt pretty good about it! Just one more on Friday, and then it's time to celebrate! I, for one, am certainly looking forward to helping him celebrate. I hope you're all staying festive as the holidays get closer and closer!