I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and got to take some time off work or school to relax.  I got to go home and see my family even though the weather was determined to get in the way by throwing snow and ice at the midwest.  I got some really cool presents, but of course the most important thing was that I got to see my parents and my sister.

I did get a really cute little mailbox for my cats.  Now they have a mailbox, truck, and a giant cat cottage.  Pretty soon I am going to have more cat furniture than people furniture.

Also, I have the most amazing sister in the history of the world because she got me this:

Now I am off to go eat lots of leftover holiday goodies and enjoy my evening off before I have to return to work tomorrow (for one whole day–the horror!!).

Jen

I don’t know what has gotten into me lately, but I have been reading more and more adult books.  I honestly have read more adult books in the past month than I have in the past couple of years.  And even stranger, I have been reading adult nonfiction which is totally unheard of.  A couple of the books I read were really really fantastic and definitely warrant a blog post.  I was going to do a video blog, but umm, I think I would probably start crying 10 seconds into it (you will find out why soon enough).

The first book is kind of a funny story.  One day many weeks ago I was flipping through the channels on a Sunday and came across somebody I thought I recognized…..goodness me, it was Mr. Brendan Leonard!  He appeared to be traveling around in an RV with his family or something.  What I saw was actually a documentary that his brother and dad created when they went on a trip across the country with Brendan’s grandparents.  I sat there and watched a couple hours of it and it was great.  I laughed, I cried, and felt like I was a member of their family.

Well, The Ride of Our Lives is Mike Leonard’s (Brendan’s dad) account of the trip as well as a history of his parent’s lives and his own.  The book is a fast read that really captures what it feels like to belong to the Leonard family.  It is hilarious, sad, and touching all at the same time.  There is also a DVD in the back of the book that has scenes from the show that I saw.  Let me just say that the stars of the show (and the book) are Brendan’s grandparents.  His grandpa never stops making friends with strangers everyplace they go and his grandma swears like a sailor and drinks like one too.  If you need a break from all the kid lit, definitely pick up this book.

Now, the next book is very, very special to me.  It contains some of my favorite things in the whole world: cats, libraries, and small towns in Iowa.  The book is Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World by Vicki Myron.  Just typing the title makes me want to burst into tears again.  If you haven’t heard the story of Dewey, you must have been living under a rock (well maybe not really, but I am a librarian from Iowa, so I assume everyone has heard of Dewey).  Dewey is a cat who was thrown into the Spencer Library book drop on the coldest night of the year.  When Vicki, the library director found him, he was just a tiny kitten who was frozen to the bone.  Vicki decided that Dewey belonged at the library and he spent the next 19 years charming the socks off everyone who came in the building.

The book tells lots of funny stories about all the mischief that Dewey got up to while he lived at the library, but it also tells the story of Vicki’s life and the relationship she had with the special little guy.  This book was awesome in so many different ways.  It is great to read a book written by a person who truly loves cats.  Well, maybe not all cats, but definitely this cat.  It was very comforting to read about somebody else who talks to their pet and thinks that he answers back (I’m so glad I’m not the only one).

One of my favorite parts of the book was when Vicki talked about all of the “pilgrims” that came to Spencer to visit Dewey.  People from all over the country, and even all over the world came to bring gifts to the library cat.  Then literally in the next paragraph she talks about the guy who came up to the desk and said, “I don’t want to alarm you, but I just saw a cat in the building.”  I don’t know why, but that part just made me laugh out loud hysterically.

Now, I will say that I cried through about 1/3 of this book.  The last 60 pages or so were especially rough.  Unless you have a heart of stone, you will definitely need a giant box of tissues sitting next to you while you read this.

Apparently this book is on the New York Times Bestseller list, which is totally awesome!!!  I hope that people read this book and it gives them a new perspective on libraries and Iowa.  I would recommend this book to anyone, but remember what I said about the tissues, because we all know what happens in the end.

Here is a link to the Spencer Library’s page about Dewey.

Here is a book trailer I found on YouTube that I think is for the British edition of the book (the cover is different and the accent kind of tipped me off).

Jen

Today I went into work on my day off just so I could shop at the library book sale.  As an employee I get the privilege of shopping a day before the screaming masses descend upon the bargains.  It was kind of annoying because since I was in my “street clothes” people kept coming up to me and saying, “I’m sorry, the sale doesn’t start until tomorrow.”

But I did get 16 books and 4 videos for $16.25!!!  Not that I need to add to the massive amount of books I have to pack, but I simply could not pass up a library sale.

I am really pumped about “365 penguins” and the “Scary Stories” books.  I used to read the scary stories books and absolutely terrify myself.  Hopefully, since it is now seventeen years later, I can read them without having to sleep with the lights on.

But the best, best part was that I found four Babysitter’s Club videos!!!!  I used to check those out of the library in Scranton when I was little.  I think we checked out at least one every time we went to the library.  Yippee!!!

It has been a very good day!  And my mom is visiting this weekend and will get here later tonight!

Jen

P.S.  Here are some cute pictures of my cats, just cuz I can.

I think I might have just done the nerdiest thing ever…

I just purchased this for my cats…

I think I feel guilty for leaving them alone for four days while I was visiting my family, so I decided to get them a treat.  I promise to post pictures when we go for our first walk.

Just one more step towards being the crazy neighborhood lady with 58 cats.

Yesterday I had to go to the doctor to get blood drawn and now my arm looks like this:

Also, Hermione got bitten by something above her right eye (you can’t see it very well in this picture, but it is there) and had an allergic reaction that made her throw up 18 times in 12 hours.  It was very traumatic for all of us.

But she feels much better and is almost back to 100%.

And the strap on my favorite purse from London broke for the second time in between the doctor and the vet.

Thank goodness today was much better.

And it’s finally official:

I sent the paperwork in back in November……………glad to know the system works so fast around here.

Jen

I wasn’t too psyched to go into work today because it was my 2nd night shift of the week and I am so tired. But then I got to my desk and saw the most amazing thing in the whole world!!! Here is a slightly exagerated recreation in my apartment:

Yes, there are 11 boxes of Girl Scout cookies there………I only meant to buy 8 but then I found out that one of my co-workers daughters was selling them as well, so I had to buy some more from her…………and they are all mine! Waaahaaahaahaa………contrary to what the picture shows, I will not be sharing them with Addie or Hermione.

Jen

So after I posted things about what I like about myself, I thought it would be fun to write about things I like about Jen and Amber!  So I will start this off by posting what I like about Jen!

1. She is a librarian.  And not just any librarian, but a children’s librarian.  The best part about this is that she doesn’t really like children.  I think this is pretty hilarious.

2. She names her cats after book characters like Hermione.  I believe the other cat’s name is Addy, but I’m not sure which book she got that one from.  And the next cat she gets is going to be named Serafina (last name starts with a P…) from His Dark Materials.

3. She thinks she needs to be drunk to be “Fun Jen” but really she is always “Fun Jen”, she just doesn’t know it.

4.  She introduces me to new authors and books that I’ll probably grow to love just as much as she does.  And like I’ve said – one of the best feelings in the world is getting to read a new book.

5. She doesn’t get embarrassed when Amber and I act crazy and strange in public, and she thinks our antics are cute.

I love more than 5 things about Jen, but of course I have subliminally made this post about 5 things because of the 5 Spice Girls.

<3, lindsayd.

I am really super-duper excited for tomorrow night because “Ace of Cakes” is going to have an episode showing how they made the cake for the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiere party!!! I have only seen 2/3 of an “Ace of Cakes” episode, but I liked what I saw…………cake, Harry Potter…………how can it not be wonderful!!!

Jen

P.S. I am currently listening to “The Subtle Knife” audiobook and have come to the decision that the next cat I get is going to be named Serafina Pekkala because I think it is the most beautiful name I’ve ever heard. Is that too nerdy???