On the First Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
On the First Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
My tree is decorated almost exclusively with handmade cloth or wood toys, with a few glass ornaments of sentimental value, used only at the top of the tree. If I had kittens, I'd leave out the glass ornaments out altogether.
You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas on my About.com Cats Blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Second Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas on my About.com Cats Blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Third Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me
And a Cat Gazing at His New Tree
You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas on my About.com Cats Blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Fourth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Four Cats A-Fencing, Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my daily blog
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Fifth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Three cats Asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Photo Credit: © Franny Syufy
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my Blog
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Sixth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Four cats a-Fencing,
Three cats Asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Seventh Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Five rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-Fencing,
Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Turkish Van cats are sometimes fondly known as "swimming cats," because of their affinity for water. Learn more about the Turkish Van breed.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist.
A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Eighth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats Asleep,
Two cats Turtle-Doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Ninth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Seven Swimming Cats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-Fencing,
Three cats Asleep,
Two Cats Turtle-Doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Eleventh Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Eight senior blessings,
Seven swimming cats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas.
You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Nine kitties dancing,
Eight senior blessings,
Seven swimming sats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats asleep-ing,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas.
You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the First Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Ten safety habits,
Nine kitties dancing,
Eight senior blessings,
Seven swimming cats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Learn more about polydactyl cats from the book, Hemingway's Cats, by Carlene Fredericka Brennen.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist.
A new verse has been added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
And a Very Happy Christmas to All!
On the Second Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated December 22, 2014.
Each year, we try to pick one gift that captures the musical spirit of the season. This time around, however, we're moving beyond traditional carols and recommending My Coma Dream, a stunning and challenging work on DVD by noted American jazz composer Fred Hersch.
Benefiting the Treatment Action Group (another of our Top 20 HIV/AIDS Charities of 2014), the DVD depicts the spiritual journey of Hersch, an HIV-positive musician was put into a medically induced coma after a massive infection, who then experienced a dream world of surreal comedy and almost ineffable beauty.
Described by the New Republic as "a work of dream art as elegant as Stravinsky's 'Petit Concert' and as memorable as 'Yesterday'", My Coma Dream is the perfect gift for lovers of jazz, theater, or anyone who simply wants to embrace a unique and truly affecting piece of musical art.
"My Coma Dream" DVD
$20, order online from TreatmentActionGroup.org.
Stay up to date on the latest HIV/AIDS news and learn more about the prevention, treatment and management of HIV by signing up for our free HIV/AIDS newslettertoday!
On the Third Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated December 22, 2014.
Designer Kenn Gray and actor/activist Chad Allen—best known to audience for his roles in General Hospital and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman—have joined forces to support AIDS Project Los Angeles, another of our Top 20 HIV/AIDS Charities of 2014.
Proceeds of up to $10,000 from the Gray-designed "Chad" Table Lamp (pictured) will go toward matching funds that Allen plans to raise as a runner with the Team to Fight AIDS at the upcoming Blackmores Sydney Marathon.
The stylish, 30" geometric lamp boasts a striking antique brass exterior and gold foil-lined lampshade. So if you're looking for a bright idea this holiday season, you can certainly do no better than this. Eureka!
"Chad" Antique Brass Table Light
$299, order online at Kenn Gray Home
Stay up to date on the latest HIV/AIDS news and learn more about the prevention, treatment and management of HIV by signing up for our free HIV/AIDS newslettertoday!
On the Fourth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated September 22, 2015.
Donated: $209 million (2013)
Headquartered: Seattle, Washington
Key Achievement: The names Bill and Melinda Gates have become synonymous with philanthropic support of HIV/AIDS research and programs worldwide and is today the single, largest private foundation in the world. As a private donor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alone contributed over $6 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and has been a major contributor to the Geneva-based GAVI Alliance (formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization).
On the Fifth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated May 06, 2015.
Yes, the goal of adherence is to become self-reliant and feel completely in charge. But you don't have to start there. If dealing with emotional issues or feeling overwhelmed by the sudden flood of information and "rules," take a deep breath and find someone to help you.
An adherence buddy can call you up, remind you to take your pills, take adherence notations, and even sit with you on your first couple of doctor visits.
This is not meant to be a permanent relationship, but rather one that eases you into the process until you're better able to take the reins yourself.
And you will. A little help from a buddy is sometimes all a person needs.
On the Sixth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
There are many areas of the planet where the Smart ForTwo makes perfect sense, but that big ol' land mass in the northern hemisphere between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ain't one of them. Americans didn't need a car that can fit sideways into a parking spot. They could have certainly used a small car that got 50 MPG, except the Smart didn't get 50 MPG -- it got 36 MPG. And it used premium fuel.
Which made it as expensive to drive as a bigger car that got, say, 32 MPG. As if this wasn't enough, Smart fitted the ForTwo with the world's most annoying automatic transmission, and then set it free on streets full of Hummer H2s and Chevrolet Suburbans. Oops. (Update: Smart has since introduced a much-improved version of the Fortwo.)
Read the About.com review of the 2008 Smart ForTwo
Next: Aston-Martin Cygnet
On the Eighth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
When it was first announced, we thought it was an April Fool's joke. When we saw the photos, we thought someone had gotten creative with Photoshop. But no, it turned out to be true: Aston-Martin, the signature British exotic brand and James Bond's badge of choice, was going to sell a version of the Scion iQ microcar.
Need I even explain why this is such a tragically ridiculous idea? No, probably not, but I will anyway: The iQ (and therefore the Cygnet) was a stubby little city car with a 1.3 liter engine.
It was completely devoid of driver appeal, and even the advantage of Japanese build quality was nullified in the Cygnet, since Aston-Martin built it in the UK. Though cheap for an Aston, it sold for three times as much as the Toyota-branded version. (Aston-Martin didn't try to sell the Cygnet in the US.) This is the Aston that James Bond would drive if he found himself unemployed, destitute, and impotent.
Why would Aston-Martin do something so ridiculous? The idea was to raise their fuel economy profile in keeping with European standards. The flaw in this plan was that it required people to actually buy the car. Aston was hoping for 4,000 sales per year; instead they moved only a hundred and fifty in total, and gave up trying after two years.
Back to the beginning: Subaru 360
Related: Ugliest cars of the last five decades
Ads for the Avantime suggest that it was designed to look like a woman's dress, but I think it looks more like one of those plastic sliding puzzles that hasn't been solved yet. The giant doors (there were only two) had a complicated double-hinge mechanism that supposedly allowed them to be opened in narrow parking spaces, but that didn't solve the problem of poor back seat access in what was supposed to be a family car.
The Avantime was bizarre even by French standards, and after selling just 8,500 units in a little over two years, it was given la hache -- the axe.
Next: 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
A Cat Gazing at his new Tree
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas.My tree is decorated almost exclusively with handmade cloth or wood toys, with a few glass ornaments of sentimental value, used only at the top of the tree. If I had kittens, I'd leave out the glass ornaments out altogether.
You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas on my About.com Cats Blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Second Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Two Cats Turtle-Doving
And a Cat Gazing at His New TreeYou may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas on my About.com Cats Blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Third Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me
Three Cats Asleep
Two Cats Turtle-Doving,And a Cat Gazing at His New Tree
You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas on my About.com Cats Blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Fourth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Four Cats A-Fencing, Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my daily blog
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Fifth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Five rescued kitties
Four cats a-Fencing,Three cats Asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Photo Credit: © Franny Syufy
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my Blog
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Sixth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Six Weeks of Kittens
Five Rescued KittiesFour cats a-Fencing,
Three cats Asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Seventh Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Seven swimming cats
Six Weeks of Kittens,Five rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-Fencing,
Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Turkish Van cats are sometimes fondly known as "swimming cats," because of their affinity for water. Learn more about the Turkish Van breed.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist.
A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Eighth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Eight Senior Blessings
Seven Swimming Cats,Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats Asleep,
Two cats Turtle-Doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Ninth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Nine Kitties Dancing
Eight Senior Blessings,Seven Swimming Cats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-Fencing,
Three cats Asleep,
Two Cats Turtle-Doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Eleventh Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Ten safety habits
Nine kitties dancing,Eight senior blessings,
Seven swimming cats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas.
You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Eleven Pipers piping
Ten safety habits,Nine kitties dancing,
Eight senior blessings,
Seven swimming sats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats asleep-ing,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist. A new verse will be added every day in this countdown toward Christmas.
You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
On the First Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Twelve Toes a-Twinkling
Eleven Pipers piping,Ten safety habits,
Nine kitties dancing,
Eight senior blessings,
Seven swimming cats,
Six Weeks of Kittens,
Five Rescued Kitties,
Four cats a-fencing,
Three cats asleep,
Two cats turtle-doving,
And a cat gazing at his new tree.
Learn more about polydactyl cats from the book, Hemingway's Cats, by Carlene Fredericka Brennen.
Celebrate the Christmas Holiday with me by singing along with this old favorite Christmas carol, with a feline twist.
A new verse has been added every day in this countdown toward Christmas. You may also click here to follow the 12 Days of Christmas for Cats on my blog.
The 12 Days of Home And Garden Holidays.
And a Very Happy Christmas to All!
On the Second Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated December 22, 2014.
Each year, we try to pick one gift that captures the musical spirit of the season. This time around, however, we're moving beyond traditional carols and recommending My Coma Dream, a stunning and challenging work on DVD by noted American jazz composer Fred Hersch.
Benefiting the Treatment Action Group (another of our Top 20 HIV/AIDS Charities of 2014), the DVD depicts the spiritual journey of Hersch, an HIV-positive musician was put into a medically induced coma after a massive infection, who then experienced a dream world of surreal comedy and almost ineffable beauty.
Described by the New Republic as "a work of dream art as elegant as Stravinsky's 'Petit Concert' and as memorable as 'Yesterday'", My Coma Dream is the perfect gift for lovers of jazz, theater, or anyone who simply wants to embrace a unique and truly affecting piece of musical art.
"My Coma Dream" DVD
$20, order online from TreatmentActionGroup.org.
Stay up to date on the latest HIV/AIDS news and learn more about the prevention, treatment and management of HIV by signing up for our free HIV/AIDS newslettertoday!
On the Third Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated December 22, 2014.
Designer Kenn Gray and actor/activist Chad Allen—best known to audience for his roles in General Hospital and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman—have joined forces to support AIDS Project Los Angeles, another of our Top 20 HIV/AIDS Charities of 2014.
Proceeds of up to $10,000 from the Gray-designed "Chad" Table Lamp (pictured) will go toward matching funds that Allen plans to raise as a runner with the Team to Fight AIDS at the upcoming Blackmores Sydney Marathon.
The stylish, 30" geometric lamp boasts a striking antique brass exterior and gold foil-lined lampshade. So if you're looking for a bright idea this holiday season, you can certainly do no better than this. Eureka!
"Chad" Antique Brass Table Light
$299, order online at Kenn Gray Home
Stay up to date on the latest HIV/AIDS news and learn more about the prevention, treatment and management of HIV by signing up for our free HIV/AIDS newslettertoday!
On the Fourth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated September 22, 2015.
Donated: $209 million (2013)
Headquartered: Seattle, Washington
Key Achievement: The names Bill and Melinda Gates have become synonymous with philanthropic support of HIV/AIDS research and programs worldwide and is today the single, largest private foundation in the world. As a private donor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alone contributed over $6 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and has been a major contributor to the Geneva-based GAVI Alliance (formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization).
On the Fifth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
Written or medically reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Policy.
Updated May 06, 2015.
Yes, the goal of adherence is to become self-reliant and feel completely in charge. But you don't have to start there. If dealing with emotional issues or feeling overwhelmed by the sudden flood of information and "rules," take a deep breath and find someone to help you.
An adherence buddy can call you up, remind you to take your pills, take adherence notations, and even sit with you on your first couple of doctor visits.
This is not meant to be a permanent relationship, but rather one that eases you into the process until you're better able to take the reins yourself.
And you will. A little help from a buddy is sometimes all a person needs.
On the Sixth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
There are many areas of the planet where the Smart ForTwo makes perfect sense, but that big ol' land mass in the northern hemisphere between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ain't one of them. Americans didn't need a car that can fit sideways into a parking spot. They could have certainly used a small car that got 50 MPG, except the Smart didn't get 50 MPG -- it got 36 MPG. And it used premium fuel.
Which made it as expensive to drive as a bigger car that got, say, 32 MPG. As if this wasn't enough, Smart fitted the ForTwo with the world's most annoying automatic transmission, and then set it free on streets full of Hummer H2s and Chevrolet Suburbans. Oops. (Update: Smart has since introduced a much-improved version of the Fortwo.)
Read the About.com review of the 2008 Smart ForTwo
Next: Aston-Martin Cygnet
On the Eighth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me
When it was first announced, we thought it was an April Fool's joke. When we saw the photos, we thought someone had gotten creative with Photoshop. But no, it turned out to be true: Aston-Martin, the signature British exotic brand and James Bond's badge of choice, was going to sell a version of the Scion iQ microcar.
Need I even explain why this is such a tragically ridiculous idea? No, probably not, but I will anyway: The iQ (and therefore the Cygnet) was a stubby little city car with a 1.3 liter engine.
It was completely devoid of driver appeal, and even the advantage of Japanese build quality was nullified in the Cygnet, since Aston-Martin built it in the UK. Though cheap for an Aston, it sold for three times as much as the Toyota-branded version. (Aston-Martin didn't try to sell the Cygnet in the US.) This is the Aston that James Bond would drive if he found himself unemployed, destitute, and impotent.
Why would Aston-Martin do something so ridiculous? The idea was to raise their fuel economy profile in keeping with European standards. The flaw in this plan was that it required people to actually buy the car. Aston was hoping for 4,000 sales per year; instead they moved only a hundred and fifty in total, and gave up trying after two years.
Back to the beginning: Subaru 360
Related: Ugliest cars of the last five decades
Ads for the Avantime suggest that it was designed to look like a woman's dress, but I think it looks more like one of those plastic sliding puzzles that hasn't been solved yet. The giant doors (there were only two) had a complicated double-hinge mechanism that supposedly allowed them to be opened in narrow parking spaces, but that didn't solve the problem of poor back seat access in what was supposed to be a family car.
The Avantime was bizarre even by French standards, and after selling just 8,500 units in a little over two years, it was given la hache -- the axe.
Next: 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx