Happy New Year! After fortifying ourselves with a little more coffee than usual (was New Year’s Eve really only three days ago?), we at Hammock gathered today at our weekly meeting to reveal some of the gifts we received and fun stuff we did over the holiday break.

rosiePuppy love was the theme of Christmas for many. Emily, while admittedly not a dog person, enjoyed image1snuggling with her family’s bichon puppy all week. Megan (see left) was thrilled to find out she’ll get to bring home a Maltipoo puppy in February. Natalie‘s new German shorthair pointer puppy proved to be the family favorite despite chewing the household’s shoes. John found out his beloved Portuguese water dog is not actually a Portuguese water dog—it’s a poodle, discovered thanks to a friend’s insistence on—and gift of—a DNA test (see right).

We laughed until our sides hurt when Julia told us about accompanying a friend to see a Nashville cat show sponsored by The Cat Fancier’s Association. Because of her, we’ll all dream of bejeweled cat palaces full of fluffy and temperamental Maine Coons.catfancy

Kerri spent the break seeing Oscar-buzz movies like Jackie, Moonlight and Nocturnal Animals. Jamieimg_2767 traveled to see family in Los Angeles and toured Griffith Park (see right) and other locations from the movie musical La La Land. Taylor, a New Orleans native, enjoyed a Christmas lunch with friends at Antonie’s, a famous Big Easy landmark.

Some of us were more active than others: Lena braved the Polar Bear Plunge, Steve took advantage of the warmer-than-normal weather to plant trees and bushes around his house, and Rex skiied the slopes of Vermont. (We’re happy to say the boss came home with all limbs intact.)

However you spent your holidays, we hope you had a blast and have returned refreshed and ready to take on your corner of the world!