At Last! My Invite is Here

Yesterday evening, via Scowl-Face's email, I received my invitation to the Teddy Bear Sleepover on Thursday, May 26, 2011.  Thanks, Wild Thang!

Quite High-Brow, Don't You Think?

I'll be checking-in with the teddies after my Library closes on Thursday evening--I know how to work the security touchpad--and so we're all set for some pretty exciting, nonstop, overnight fun.  We're planning a treasure hunt, with special hidden treats that teddy bears love scattered in every nook and cranny of the Library, which, as you have probably seen for yourselves, afford ample hideaway spaces.  Then there's the dancing bearathon--you'd have to see it to believe it--which we will be holding in the CAR (Children's Activity Room).  I'll be reading scary stories--but not too scary, Broadway Gal--which will make the teddies' hair stand on end during the frightful parts.  But it's all good fun, and we'll enjoy ourselves immensely.

Wild Thang has many great activities planned for the teddy bears as well, but, as M.C. (master of ceremonies), I wanted to bring some special "Cauliness" to the table.

Sleeping, Too, is Scheduled

(My Favorite Acvitity)

"To sleep, perchance to dream--ay, there's the rub."  William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene I.  Willie knew all about sleeping, although Scowl-Face says that he was talking about something else--but Scowlly says a lot of things he doesn't know much about, so you have to take it with a grain of salt, as the saying goes.  Anyway, I know a bunch about sleeping, and it's the cat's pajamas.  The teddies will love snoozing in their home-made. specially designed beds, created by the MPL Decorinator and Wild Thang.  I wish I had a photo of one of them (the beds, not Decorinator or Wild Thang), but maybe in a later posting.  Make it so, Wild Thang!

Well, I'm sure my pals, the Teddy Bears, will have many interesting stories to report to their kiddy caregivers who will be picking them up the next day.  I probably will be gone by then; sorry, kids, but I'm a roving reporter, after all, and news waits for no feline.

Make My Bed Extra Comfy, Wild Thang,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Teddy Bear Sleepover News Beat

P.S.  What more appropriate musical closer could we have than Elvis Presley singing "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" from the movie Loving You (1957).

Pucker Up!

Pucker up and get ready for feline smooches!  I think we should have a kissing booth at the Summer Reading BigBash on May 27.  Who should be the kisser?  Well, now, that should be obvious.

Gimme Some Sugar, Baby

It's a fundraiser, see?  You, the kissee, pay moi, the kisser, and youse gets a nice big sugar on yer cheek. (How'd I go from Bronx accent, to legalese, to French, and then back to Bronx again?  James Whitcomb Riley was right when he told Booth Tarkington to avoid dialect unless he developed a better ear for it.  Of course, Meredith Nicholson, Indiana lawyer-turned-novelist, was proud that he spoke the Hoosier dialect without accent.  Read The House of a Thousand Candles [first published in 1905] sometime; you'll enjoy it.  Lots of people did; it was a huge bestseller in its day.  My Library has a copy, as do several others in Evergreen Indiana.)

But I digress.

If we don't do the kissing booth, then I'll have to think of something else for the Summer Reading BigBash for moi to do.  I'm a huge draw, you see, so we need to take advantage of that, eh, Broadway Gal?

My Smooches Are Scratchy, So You Get a Bath, Too,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Summer Reading News Beat

P.S.  I couldn't find a share-alike video of Patty Larkin singing "Pucker Up" (1993, from her album I'm Fine), so our musical closer will opt today for another fantastic country/rock song, "Passionate Kisses" (1989) by Lucinda Williams, from her self-titled album (1988).  (Well, Larkin is considered folk/blues, but I'm hair-splitting again.  Actually, so is Williams--considered folk/blues, too, as well as rock and country.  I didn't mean she was hair-splitting.  These sentence structures are getting the best of me.  Time for a nap.)

My Authentic Pawtograph, From Moi to You

Thanks to Scowl-Face, my Library now has bookmarks featuring my authentic pawtograph.  All of us celebrity felines have one.  Garfield has his own screen saver pawtograph software.  Now I've joined the pawtographic rank-and-file of famous felines.  Take a look.  (Click images below to bigify.)

 

MPL Bookmark (With Authentic Cauli Le Chat Pawtograph)

Please feel free to download and print this template, if you'd like some classy signed bookmarks from moi.  These are much better than my old one we made last January, but not quite as nice as my royalty bookmark for our kind and helpful volunteers.  They're all free, so it's all good.

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Bookmark News Beat

P.S.  Speaking of pawtographs (or autographs, for you people types), or just signatures generally, here is Stevie Wonder with "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours," from his album Signed, Sealed, and Delivered (1970). 

Not on Your Life, Dunk Tank!

My Library is having its annual Summer Reading Kick-Off Carnival BigBash on Friday, May 27, 2011.  Here's the lowdown:

Cool Poster, Broadway Gal



As you can see (click the poster to bigify, as Tober, the Thorntown [Ind.] Library Cat, says), a good time shall be had by all attending.  So you and your kiddy people should be there.  Make the date and don't be late.

There are activities aplenty, but certain things caught my alert feline eye.

So, Why Not Cats, Too?

(Just Asking)

Free food.  I'm there.  Make no mistake.

N'yum, N'yum, N'yum . . .

Owwie!  Owwie!  Owwie!

Now, about the dunk tank and moi.  Not happening.  Get that thought right out of your head.  I'm a HUGE supporter of my Library, to be sure, but I draw the line when threatened with drenchings in my ol' nemesis, H₂O.

So we won't be going there, sorry.  Minions, take the fall.  That means you, Broadway Gal.  You, too, Queen Settler.  It's for a good cause.

No Way, José.  Not on Your Life

Not Going There, Let Me Tell You

The Bounce House sounds like a lot more fun.  Look for me there.  Unless I'm persona non grata because of my claws.

Typical Bounce House

Loads of Fun, as You Can Clearly See

Hey!  Slobberdog!  Hit the Pavement!

Climbing wall is also quite up my proverbial alley.  Claws give moi a built-in advantage.

Example of a Kid-Climbing Wall



How Grown-Ups Do the Climb Thing

Hey, Lady With the Red Hair!  I know you won't want to miss this feature at the BigBash.

"Where's the Free Food?"

Take advantage of this tremendously funacious good-time joyride.  FREE is good, I hope you know.  Your kiddy people will thank you, parental types.  Thank your parental units, kiddies.  I'll be around reporting all the excitement, so maybe you'll see me there.  But not anywhere near the dunk tank.  I'm serious, now.

More Cool Happening at the S.R. Kick-Off Than You've Had Hot Dinners,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Summer Reading News Beat

P.S.  Since we're speaking about carnivals, festivals, and fairs, our music closer today is the Byrds "Renaissance Fair," from the album Younger Than Yesterday (1967).

P.P.S.  Here's Santana performing "Carnaval/Let the Children Play" live at the Oakland Coliseum (Oakland, California) on July 4, 1977.  The songs appeared on the band's album Festival (1977).

P.P.P.S.  We have had (and will have) several slitherdart programs at my Library.  See here and here for details.

Courtyard Coffee House, Perhaps?

The water volcano at my Library remains extinct (or, perhaps, just inactive??), but there have been new additions to the MPL Courtyard.  Looks like an open-air coffee house in the making, don't you think?

 MPL Courtyard With New Open-Air Tables

(Inactive Water Volcano in Background)

Completed Units Have Stone Benches

Looks a Little Like Stonehenge

". . . An ancient librarian civilization constructed these monoliths for who knows what purposes . . ."  Could be a great documentary for the Discovery Channel.

"Have a Seat, and Your Waiter Will Be Along Presently"

(No, Really . . .  Do You Have a Seat?)

"Waitress, We Need a Table Top Here"

(Plus Seats, If You Please)

We French are mad for open-air coffee houses, restaurants, or pretty much anything outdoorsy.  This will give my Library a Parisian atmosphere, which is high-class to the hilt and bound to attract some top-notch, A-List celebrities and patrons, such as moi.  Obviously, the project is presently incomplete, as some of the tabletops and benches have not yet been installed.  When finished, you can bet your bottom dollar (or top dollar, I'm not particular) that this will make the MPL Courtyard yet another central attraction for library frequenters and aficionados.

So how would I use this new space?  Glad you asked.

Outdoor Sushi Bar

That's MY Kind of Snack!

Whaddya think, Boss Lady?  Très chic, to be sure.  Let me know when it's open for business.  I get an employee discount, of course.

Hoping for Service With a Smile,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Open-Air Décor News Beat

P.S.  Hallelujah (2008), written by Leonard Cohen and covered by Jeff Buckley (1966-1997), is a popular coffee house song.

P.P.S.  Jeff's father, Tim Buckley (1947-1975), was an accomplished folk singer (among other styles) in the mid-1960s.  Micky Dolenz arranged to have Tim perform "Song to the Siren" (1967) on the final episode of The Monkees television show in 1968.