I’m sure that @Seanette has filled you all in on how we got adopted by an orange cat. He had been a discarded stray, around our apartment complex, for several years, until around early 2021, when he decided that he’s our cat.
When Morris made his presence known, we took him to the vet. Already had a microchip, registered to the original owner, who had placed him elsewhere. He got dumped near our place, original owner didn’t want him back. He’s not bad, for a cat. Keep trying to impress upon my wife that soft hearts lead to soft heads 
We’re staying at a hotel that has an office cat. Apparently copy machines are nice warm snuggly places to have a nap.
Just leave a door open, one will find you
Look at this gorgeous boy. I sure do love him!
I bet! I kind of love him too.
Smudge when he was quite little:
Awwww. 
I just posted in the comp thread - our sitting room with the log burner (furnace?) aglow, photograph taken yesterday evening. There’s a story behind it…
We had the log burner put in years ago. It’s not just a toy - in spring and fall we use it to hear the house in the evenings. On a cold winter’s night you would need a second (somewhat larger) log burner as well if you were going to heat the whole house that way, so we rely on gas central heating (morning and evening) through the cold of winter - plus on real cold days we’ll run the 'burner during the day, when the central heating is off. And finally… I must have some prepper DNA in me, because I really like the idea of having completely off-grid heating. And…
Yesterday at 4.30 PM, the central heating pump came on. Just the pump - no gas. Ah, shit - we had this through last winter - water gets into the gas main near us and blocks the gas supply*. We must have had the pipes pumped out about a dozen times. It was so bad they installed a pumping point in the sidewalk near us, so lord knows how many times they pumped that without us even knowing about it. Anyway - that prepper DNA doesn’t seem like such a bad thing now, does it? We’re experts at the process now - Mrs T is on the phone, I light the fire, close off rooms that don’t need heat; Mrs T digs out and sets up the electric radiator, I get more logs from the woodshed.
Anyway, it took about five hours for the gas to be reinstated. In the meantime, we had a very cosy sitting room. BTW @Aspenglow - note rustic mantelpiece. 
j
* - But, you might reasonably ask, the gas is under pressure, right? So how does the water…?
I don’t know. It just does. Believe me.
I am exceedingly jealous of your rustic mantelpiece! Beautiful room. 
Thank you - I’ll tell the wife. (It’s all her doing, of course.)
j
I would guess that the water is already in the gas. As in, it’s not 100% dry. So, if there is a cold spot in the pipeline water will tend to condense out, and flow down to the lowest point, which happens to be near to your house, lucky you!
The gas mains were replaced about 18 months ago, so my presumption is that it’s to do with the new pipes. My best guess? In the winter the water table rises until the hydrostatic head over the (buried) pipes is enough to force water into the pipes through faulty seals. But it’s just a guess.
j
ETA: mind you, could be that the new pipes don’t insulate as well as the old ones, producing cold spots and etc etc. Who knows?
It’s possible. The gas is not under much pressure.
I really would have liked to get a picture of my sister, who is pregnant with my future niece or nephew, cuddling with her cats. But alas, I won’t see them until after the submission deadline has passed. So I had to make due with pictures of my own cat.
Some other ones I took:
Here, Nelson is trying to occupy the space between the sound bar and the TV, proving cats are indeed liquid. My favorite pose, but I didn’t think the lighting was that good.
Here Nelson has decided the backpack I left on the table is his new bed.
He’s stunning.
Hi everyone. A quick reminder that tonight is the deadline for this month (9pm UK time as always).
Time got away from me this month. I haven’t got around to shooting anything appropriate - I’ll have a quick skim of the archives if I get a chance, but with my parents arriving for Christmas tomorrow I suspect that I may not. Lots of great photos as always though!
Hi everyone, poll is up. It’s after 11pm on Christmas Eve where I am, so I’ll wish those that celebrate a very happy Christmas and say thanks for a great year of photos!
Thanks for doing this, it’s been really fun! And Merry Christmas to you too.
Agree! This is interesting and I am learning a lot from everyone. Merry Christmas!