Ups and Downs

Our new outdoor LED sign was up and running earlier this week, but then T. Rex discovered that the controller was bad and needed to be replaced.  So we're awaiting a new device, and the sign is temporarily down again.

Want to see what the sign looks like when it's operating?  Glad you asked.

MPL Promo Trailer

Library's New Outdoor LED Sign

(October 19, 2015)

No offense to our old sign, but this new one is truly the cat's PJs.  When you visit the library during the next week or so, you should see it running again soon.

T. Rex deserves huge kudos for all his tremendous work leading the sign replacement squad. It has been a lot of hard work, but he has handled matters masterfully (try saying that three times fast).  Raise, Boss Lady? Just saying.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

3-2-1 Blastoff!

The Decorinator, BizMeister, and our intern, the Sundance Kid (her human name is Kassidy, so her Cauli-nickname had to be something related, even if Butch Cassidy's surname was spelled differently) have built themselves a rocketship, which is now on display just inside my library's front entrance.  (As always, click the photos to bigify.)

 T-minus twelve minutes and counting

T-minus six minutes and counting

 Rocket's number is actually the

Dewey Decimal Classification Number for Astronautics

 Mooresville is the home of the Indiana State Flag, after all

(see "Paul Hadley" on our website)

 Of course, our rocketship would include the Mooresville Town Banner

Command module landing at our Youth Services Department entrance.

The rocketship and command module are promoting the Link Observatory Lectures held in the MPL Community Room on select Saturdays.  These programs are open to the public--all ages are welcome!  It's a fun family learning event.  There's a new lecture coming tomorrow (Saturday, October 24, 2015) at 8 p.m.

Click image to bigify

Join our crew and explore space in our rocketship!  Or at least visit the library to checkout items about astronautics and space travel (629.4) and come to the Link Observatory Lectures.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

P.S.  "Floating," by the Moody Blues, appeared on the group's album, To Our Children's Children's Children (1969), which was inspired by the American moon landing earlier in 1969.

What Would Your Wish Be?

Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, by Grace Lin, is a delightful children's picture book that tells about a family's nighttime celebration.  I'm down with all things nocturnal.  Our book trailer elaborates.

MPL Book Trailer #228

Near the end of the story, the family sends out wishes for the coming year.  What would your wish be?

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

I Had a Similar Experience Once

A Tale of Two Beasts, by Fiona Roberton, is a delightful children's picture book that looks at a human/wild critter encounter from both perspectives--the little girl's and the critter's.  The little girl thinks she is giving the wild critter a happy home, but the critter thinks otherwise. Eventually, they find common ground based upon mutual affections.  The book is available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog.

I had a similar experience once.  Back in December, 2010, when I was hanging around outside Mooresville Public Library (mostly in the Kinder Garden outdoor program area), it was getting well below zero degrees Fahrenheit at night.  Assuming I was a stray, Kindly Couple, one of whom worked for MPL (the other volunteered here), thought that I might freeze outside, so they hustled moi into their car and took moi to their home.  I stayed for a couple weeks in their son's bedroom, which was nice and toasty warm.  They fed moi some excellent meals, I must say.  I was safe and secure.  But it wasn't my style; I'd been a free-roaming feline for years, and I hankered to return to the travelling ways.  One day, they let moi out the front door for some fresh air, and I was off in a flash!  They didn't catch moi again, but I decided it was nice having a human house to lounge around, so I moved into a neighbor's home just up the hill from Kindly Couple's abode.

Of course, I returned to the Library frequently to resume my then-newly established feline roving reportership.  It wasn't such a long journey, and I was accustomed to walking vast distances everywhere.  So I reported about all things Library-related (or anything else I felt like blogging about) until my retirement in March, 2015.  I'm pretty much an indoor kitty now, only roaming around the yard at my forever home (I decided, after all, that Kindly Couple were fun to hang around.)  As I've gotten older, I don't have wanderlust so much.

Don't get moi wrong:  I truly appreciated Kindly Couple's thoughtfulness back in 2010.  But we freedom felines don't like to be hemmed in; it cramps our exploratory natures.  There's a lesson there, minions.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Ketzel's ComPAWsition

We have a new book trailer featuring a delightful children's picture book.  Be sure to turn-up the volume when you watch our book trailer (below), so you may hear one of my Library's composer's original compositions as the soundtrack.

MPL Book Trailer #227

Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed, by Lesléa Newman

(Illustrated by Amy June Bates)

  

We felines are rather talented.  Based on a true story, Ketzel became a world-famous kitty composer, as did Ketzel's human, Rabbi (Morris) Moshe Cotel (1943-2008).  Ketzel's comPAWsition appears below.

Moshe notated Ketzel's improvisational score

Ketzel with Moshe Cotel

 Moshe Cotel (1981)

Newman and Bates have created a charming children's picture book commemorating both Moshe and Ketzel.  It is an affectionate portrait of two musically-gifted souls that is uplifting and life-affirming.  Plus it's really sweet.

In one of my previous lives, I enjoyed the piano, so I know how wonderful music can be to us kitties.  People seem to like it, too.

I hope you enjoy reading this book to your little peeps.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Testing, 1-2-3

In mid-September (2015), T. Rex and Scowl-Face tested the wireless communications interface from the library to our new outdoor LED sign. The electronic messages looked like this (click images to bigify):

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

We Learned Stuff & Everything

Yesterday the library was closed for staff training.  My minions learned stuff and everything.

 MPL Staff (October 12, 2015)

(With Scott Klinger, CPR Instructor,

First Row, Wearing Hat)

MPL Staff (October 12, 2015)
(Click Images to Bigify)

Great in-service training day, minions.  Now get back to work.  Canned tuna-in-oil doesn't serve itself to moi.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat

Sign Up Here

Why is everybody standing in a line at my library?  Somebody just told moi that they're waiting to sign-up for something.  Oh, I see!  They're confused about the title of this blog post.

Not That Kind of Sign-up, Patrons!

No, I meant that the library's new outdoor LED sign is here.  It's almost finished but isn't running yet.  Here are some photos from August and September (2015) showing construction progress.  As always, click the images to bigify.

 Excavation Begins

 Sign Here Soon

 Sign Stand Ready & Waiting

 T. Rex Supervises Sign Placement

 "Who Put That Tree There?"

 Packing Some Power Into the Sign

 "Red to Black, Power Lack;

Black to Gray, Power Stays"

(Something Like That)

 Make With the Messages Already, Minions!

Building a Strong Foundation

 "That One Brick Goes Sideways"

 "How'd You Know My Name is Mason Bricque?"

Such Nice, Neat Rows

 Just Need Drip Guards and Capping Stone

Pretty Much Done

Compare our new sign with the old one.

Old Outdoor LED Sign (March 2012)

New Sign Looks Much Better, I'll Venture (December 2014)

I'll post some photos of our new sign's test messages later.

Your Roving Reporter On The Go,

Cauli Le Chat