Carolyn Holm

Dear Puffin,
You are back to your old enthusiasm for the evening game! And racking up high scores lately! Usually you get 6 or 8 points, but last night you got 22 points! Good job!
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
Madame is too kind. 
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
You love it when I shout “Good job” when you make a point.
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
And the WooHoo.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
You really like the WooHoo shout. But that’s just for when you take the prey to the rug for the extra point.
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
Madame is very supportive. 
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
I notice you like a lot of running commentary and compliments, to I try to keep that coming. I feel like a cheerleader. And you keep a loud running commentary on it yourself. We make quite a racket!
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
We are shouting together. As it should be.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
Well, we invented the game together. I have a friend who told me she assumed I trained you to play the game.
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
This petit cat is not trained.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
No, not at all. I wouldn’t dream of trying to train you. In fact, you came up with most of the details* of the game yourself. 
Love, Carolyn

Cber Madame,
Madame learned to play along with good spirit. And Madame came up with the scoring.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
Scoring is a very human instinct. But for a while you seemed to lose interest in playing the game.
Love, Carolyn

Cber Madame,
Monsieur started handing out the treats at game time.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
That was a bit of a distraction.
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
What is a petit cat to do? My two favorite things to do in the evening – treats from Monsieur, and the game with Madame. And both at the same time.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
That’s why Monsieur discontinued that. But last night you found a creative way to combine the two.
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
Madame seemed quite surprised.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
I was!  You sailed right past the two-point spot, meowing loudly all the while, and kept carrying the prey on down the hall to where Monsieur was sitting at his desk,.
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
Monsieur was astonished to get that visit.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
He was indeed. He thought we’d both lost our marbles.
Love, Carolyn

Cher Madame,
This petit cat does not do the marble losing.
Regards, M. Le Poufin

Dear Puffin,
It wasn’t crazy. You added an astonishing twist to The Game.
Love, Carolyn

*NOTE: Here by popular demand is the Game description, with rules and playing field details:

PUFFIN’S GAME

Playing Field Layout:

Rules and Point System:
The point of the Game is to capture the Prey, found flying around The Scratching Post in the Area of Play behind the sofa, and then walk it to the Scoring Spot, on the rug at the end of the sofa. Each time the Prey is dropped at the Scoring Spot it earns one point. Vocalizing while carrying the Prey to the Scoring Spot is encouraged. If it is walked a bit further, and dropped on the rug at the Extra Point Spot, an extra point is added. The game is over when the Player flops over on his side. Chewing and shredding the Prey are not allowed.

The Prey:

This game was invented by M. Le Poufin, and Sponsored by Carolyn.

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A note to our readers…

Puffin, Poppy, and Winston are looking forward to sharing their weekly correspondence with you! Each week one of them is featured here, and yes, you can get the week’s post conveniently in your email every Friday by subscribing in the subscriber box at the top of this page. (If you are reading this in an email, go to blog.carolynholm.com to subscribe.) If you have already subscribed, multiple paws are raised to salute you!