Herself wished to take a family portrait on Christmas Eve, and as you know, her every wish is my command.
It took some doing — the specter of blood loss kept rearing its ugly head, personified by Turkish, who loathes the paparazzi — but we finally managed to get one shot in which the primates looked vaguely human, at the expense of the menagerie.
The cooperation, as per usual, was at U.N. Security Council levels. The Turk was wondering whether giving me a quick right cross would be worth the consequences (no lap time come evening); Mia was egging him on (“C’mon, do it, y’big pussy!”); and The Boo turned a blind eye (ho ho ho) to the entire endeavor.
Herself, whose idea this was, remained serene as always. Someone has to be the rock around here, and while I have certain millstone-ish properties, these are rarely helpful in moments of crisis like this.
I did manage to trip the shutter, though. So I got that going for me, which is nice.
Merry Christmas from the family.
Mad Blog Media 
Hahah, love your commentary, and Happy Holidays to you each and all of us!
Merry Christmas to a fine looking clan. And, I hope Turk doesn’t hold a grudge. Pat, Sandy, and Duffy
Here’s to another successful trip around the sun, and to many more
! Let the days get longer!
Plus I notice the very firm grip on Miss Mia. The Turk may look like my teenager (“Whuhtevuhr”), but Miss Mia looks like the one who hasn’t given in yet.
Enjoy your family and have a great Christmas/New years holiday!
Merry Christmas to you and the Mrs. !
Merry Christmas to you and Herself from the Pacific NorthWet! I see she doesn’t age but you, mon ami, ain’t looking all that great! 😊
Boo reminds me of 2/3 of my family come picture time.
Bon Hiver and a righteous Saturnalia to one and all. (Big fan of the general merrymaking.)
what a family, merry wishes to all.
Merry Christmas to all from Down under, as Christmas day winds down into an evening of bad TV & vague feelings of guilt from overindulgence.
Gots to check out the 2014 best of New Yorker cartoon issue. First section is all dogs and cats.
The bone is not the reward. Digging for the bone is the reward.
Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo tutti!
Merry Christmas and a prosperous, healthy New Year to all!!
Feliz Navidad para todos nosotros. So, Patrick, how many Valiums did you have to pour into those cats to get the picture taken?
Great photo! Merry Christmas to all!
A great family portrait! I definitely would not be able to pull that off, trying to hold a cat in each arm. Plus I’d probably break the camera lens.
Happy Xmas to all!
Thanks for all the great posts this year Patrick; looking forward to next year.
Looking good, Patrick! Glad to see you’re doing well.
Very sweet pictures. I’m goign to try again, but Benjamin thugoht looking down at the grass was good. Or as soon as he see’s the camera he zero’s in on it and just stares but won’t do his cute smiles, I definetly need to be the one getting him to smile not snapping the pictures I guess, or soon he will come around I’m sure.