In our house, it’s that time of year when “Big Red” comes out. Or what we like to call it, “A Big Deal Production.” Big Red is a glorious big, red, soft, and warm blanket that graces our bed with much pomp and circumstance during what we call our “cold spell” in Florida. Flip flops are traded in for shoes and socks, tank tops are replaced with a sweater, and we have to stop grilling outside. This can literally go on for 3 or 4 days in a row and causes much water cooler talk about just how chilly it is.

For the cats, Big Red is a HUGE PRODUCTION and quite an ordeal! Once they see that blanket on the bed, like a catnip magnet, they are on top of it with insatiable curiosity and glee. After a bit of sniffing, kneading, and exploring, all of them settle in for a mid-winters slumber and Big Red is soon “Big Red Covered in Cat Hair.”

All seven kitties - Clockwise: Zoey, Harley, Zee, Rolz, Peanut, Mia, and Jazz

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“What I Did on My Winter Break” by Debbi Barnes (with the “i” in my name dotted with a heart). Remember those essays we had to write in class after winter break? If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would be sitting at home waiting for my phone to ring to interview a Hollywood Cat Behaviorist who had his own TV show, I would have thought you were nuts. Well, here it is, January 2nd, 2012 and I am sitting in front of my computer in my sweats, doing that very thing as I get ready to write about what I did on my winter break… Read more

After the last post I did on my new tradition of decorating my tree in a leopard theme, two points came out that needed elaboration. One, pictures of the actual ornaments I made were requested, and two, more evidence was needed in detail via these pictures to determine fairly, if indeed, I had gone off the deep end as I had suggested. So, here it goes. I will let you be the judge of my sanity and promise my feelings won’t get hurt if you declare me certifiably bonkers.

A snippet of the full layering effect of decorating the tree – shatterproof ornaments with glittery patterns, leopard accents in the form of bows and decoupaged balls, custom painted letter "Z's," and strands of beads.

First of all, in order to properly create my leopard inspired tree, there was a meticulous method to my madness and you will note that the tree has several different aspects to it. I wanted a harmonious and tasteful combination of colors and textures that would evoke both Christmas as well as an exotic leopard feel. I artfully mixed carefully chosen assorted shatterproof holiday ornaments in shades of burgundies, reds, greens, golds, and silvers to compliment my homemade touches. The first one being the leopard decoupaged balls. The process is really quite simple if you have the wherewithal to make a bit of a mess for a while. I decided it was imperiatvie I drop everything else I was doing (such as bookkeeping, laundry, and errands) and took all the various sizes of the shatterproof balls that were completely smooth and devoid of any glitters or ridges as the base for my project. For those of you that have received a copy of  The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey from me, you know that I wrap the book in a sleeve of leopard patterned tissue wrap… so, I just so happen to have lots of tissue paper handy for crafting! With nothing but watered down Elmer’s glue, torn up pieces of tissue paper, a paint brush, and lots of patience, decoupaging the balls is quite easy. I supported them on my dish washing rack that I turned upside down and outside they went to dry! Read more

Editors Note: I realize it is “Wordless Wednesday,” but due to taking a week off of blogging for family visiting and the holidays, I had a lot of pent up words in me!

I am a pretty traditional person when it comes to Christmas – I have a homemade advent calendar that I made for my boys, I have BOXES and BOXES of ornaments, collectibles, and holiday baubles that have been passed on for generations. We have a favorite Christmas CD (Vanessa Williams), “must have” cookies to bake, and a holiday marathon of watching A Christmas Story over and over. When you have seven cats, tradition takes a back seat to common-sense and this year we have started a new tradition – we have embraced the “wild side” of Christmas compliments of my completely obvious obsession with my beloved Zoey who allowed my inner leopard lady to reign supreme!

My wild-child Zoey. She figures if I won't let her climb the tree currently in the house, she'll climb the one outside!

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This is going to be an extra-special Christmas at our house this year so I wanted to wish all of you Happy Holidays early. I will be taking a few days off to celebrate the greatest gift of all – my family. My youngest son, Joe, who has not been home in several years will be here for the Holidays, as well as my oldest son, Chris, and my step-daughter, Crystal.  We don’t have anything spectacular planned – just your usual making cookies, driving around looking at holiday decorations, and playing board games. For me, it doesn’t get any better than that and I can honestly say that is all I want for Christmas!

From all of us at Zee & Zoey’s Chronicle Connection, we wish you the most blessed of holidays and thank you so much for being a part of our lives.

Love from Dan, Deb, Zee, Zoey, Mia, Peanut, Rolz, Harley, and Jazz