Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Hugh and his fan mail



Yesterday I received Easter mail, thanks to slow holiday post. In it was some pre-school artwork from my nieces and nephew, who wrote some notes cleverly disguised as Easter greetings, but were essentially Hugh fan mail.

I put the artwork out on the front porch, where I was supervising Hugh as he went out to sniff some bushes. (He's de-clawed in the front, so I have to chaperone his outings.) I tried to get him to sit by the drawings, but have you ever tried to make a cat do anything? It's futile. There was a bit of a breeze, so the papers got shuffled. By the time I fetched some remote controls to weigh down the artwork, Hugh had found a new corner of the porch to investigate. I even gave him more food and used his bowl as a paperweight, but he saw right through this charade and went inside to mock me from the living room.

The photo of the artwork on the right has notes on every drawing in Macromedia Flash (click on the photos to view), but I've transcribed the notes for those who don't have Flash (David's mom uses WebTV, which can only translate HTML).

(Drawings, left to right)

Dear Auntie Gail,
This is a river. This is a red fish and a yellow fish. I made it for you. I love you.
Love, Maddy (3)

Auntie Gail and David,
Your cat is great and fat. This is your cat.
Michael (4)

Dear Auntie Gail,
I miss you. I love you. This Hugh your cat. The wind is blowing outside. Madeleine is playing. We have a new house. I want to invite you at our new house sometime and we can't forget Uncle David. We will invite him too. I think the view from up in the airplane is beautiful. Nice in fact.
Luv, Melissa (5)


(Easter cards, left to right)

Dear Auntie Gail,
Love you. Cat. Yeah. Funny, fat.
Love, Madeleine

Dear Auntie Gail,
We are singing for the Easter program. We are getting presents. I miss you and I like the big cat that's fat.
Love, Michael

(handwritten by Melissa)
Dir Ate Gil I mis yoo
Luv Melissa


Awwww *sniff*

Today my father, step-mother, brother, and nephew fly to the Philippines for two weeks to visit relatives and attend a family reunion. I was supposed to be with them, but extenuating circumstances have prevented me from making this trip. I'm disappointed, but hopefully I can go next year with David and stay for a month as I'd planned. Anyway, I hope Michael gets to see this picture of Hugh before they catch their plane. I made a video of Hugh, too, but it will take a while to edit down the three-minute long file (32MBs or so) to something manageable for download and viewing.