Christmas Cookies

A Feather Dorm Christmas means extra treats for the animals, convenient pieces of crumpled paper everywhere for bird-leavings, and epic photo/video sessions to preserve the funniest moments as our little creatures take part in the festivities in their own ways.

Christmas Eve was the beginning of our fun. We Flock Advisors opened gifts to each other, and some that we had cheekily tagged as being from the animals. The birds started their day by getting their presents from our good friends Maura and Calum: some fresh toys ripe for their destruction. Kenobi also received his gift from them, a wrapped box tagged "Bunny Balls" that we decided he should open himself since he loves to gnaw on paper products. With a little help from Ms. Flock Advisor, he got one end of the box open and a whiff of what was inside. I rolled the video camera as he worked to get at the vanilla wafers inside his fabulous present. Maura and Calum were thoughtful enough to get him the Reduced Fat variety, and he proved to be no snob to low-calorie foods. If Reduced Fat vanilla wafers are the train to a fitter Bunny Balls, then just call him "Conductor." Watching him tug on his box and yank at the bag inside to loose the cookies had Ms. Flock Advisor and I just about rolling on the floor in all-out laughter. He was determined and he finally got one. We let him have two, and then saved the rest for later. Sprite took one from Ms. Flock Advisor and we also broke of little pieces for the other birds. Its Christmas! Even low calorie cookies should be rationed for bunnies and birds, though. Kenobi's present will provide him with many weeks of flavorful entertainment and sugar-coma bliss. The birds have begun work on their toys, but Coconut's may last a long time as he is mostly just singing to his.

For Christmas Eve dinner we picked-up Chinese food and watched A Christmas Story. Ms. Flock Advisor cracked open a fortune cookie for Kenobi. I think it was his idea of the perfect food: crunchy, sweet goodness with a fiber-rich filling. The birds were in bed asleep before the movie was over, so they didn't see the "smiling" duck have its head chopped of at the end. That part would probably give Lennon more nightmares.

Lennon having his Christmas present installed.

The animals were up early with us on Christmas morning so that Ms. Flock Advisor could Skype with her parents before work. Our plan for the day, because she was scheduled for dolphin work, was to spend the day at the aquarium together and have fun with some fish-eating mammals. Lennon took his seat on Ms. Flock Advisor, and Cher hung in my shirt as I sipped the morning's coffee. Sprite shouted his hellos across the room for all (in the room and on Skype) to hear. The day before we had a trial run with the video calling and took Ms. Flock Advisor's family on a Skype-tour of the Dorm. Her mom requested a stop at Coconut's house, he is her favorite. One of the gifts she sent down this year featured a silver Christmas ornament that somewhat resembles a disco ball. It is a Coconut favorite, as is anything with mirrors and shiny spots.

Our day with the otters and dolphins was fun, but it was nice to finally get home to the flock. We warmed up some Christmas leftovers: broccoli casserole and pork-fried rice with cheese pie for desert. We also munched on Christmas candies and Kenobi finished a red and green rice treat that we found for him at Petsmart. Lennon settled into a comfortable place on Ms. Flock Advisor's chest as they both nodded off after dinner. It was another wonderful Christmas at the Feather Dorm, and Sprite's first with us. We cannot wait for the next one!

Merry Christmas from Kenobi and the rest of our flock!