Of course, I’m sure that the HSUS does this Pet of the Week honor to help boost donations to their very worthy cause, so hopefully Ophy will be able to drum up a few dollars for them.  (Which reminds me, it’s time for me to make our yearly donation to the HSUS.)

And just a note on our submission being accepted this time around…I’m feeling fairly clever, because after studying the Pets of the Week emails for a couple of years, I figured out that submissions that have some relevance to the work done by the HSUS are the ones that get accepted.  So, since Ophy and I care about cats being kept indoors, and since I often find myself counseling new cat owners (or cat owners who are less patient than I) about “destructive behaviors” like carpet scratching, I figured that including those two items in Ophy’s profile would help our chances.  Seems that it did, too!

Now I just have to figure out a way to get Pippa featured, since Ophy’s fame is causing a bit of a rift between them.   This could be tougher, since what Pippa cares about is food, especially her twice daily Fancy Feast treat laden with her anti-thyroid meds, and Pippa’s main bad habit is that she can be a bit of a cranky pants (to everyone but me, of course).   I’m not sure those traits are all that appealing, or that any fame and celebrity can be based upon crankiness and fondness of food.  Not in the cat world, at least (unless you’re Morris, and I think that’s been done). 

Meanwhile, let’s raise a glass of catnip to Ophy, star for a week!

My favorite part of the book is that Kelly addresses the relationship between Calpurnia and her somewhat crotchety grandfather with perception and gentleness.  Their relationship truly evolves, as the title suggests, and feels genuine.  No one establishes a strong bond overnight in real life, and I love that Calpurnia and her grandfather take their time getting to know each other.

The kids in the book group liked the scientific aspect of the story, and enjoyed Calpurnia’s intellectual curiosity and drive to know more.  And we also talked about the role of women in Texas in 1899 and 1900 (the time of the story), and how hard it would be to be a girl like Calpurnia: a girl who wants to be a scientist and not a “lady.” 

Towards the end of the group meeting, we talked about the Newbery Honor that this book won.  This particular group has now read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (the 2010 Newbery Medal winner), Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (a 2010 Newbery Honor winner), and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was a 2010 Newbery Honor winner.  I asked the group, given that they had read three of the top-awarded books of the last year, which they would have chosen as the Newbery Medal winner if they had been on the committee.  Their answer?  Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, in a unanimous vote.  Their second choice was Calpurnia Tate, and, while they gave props to When You Reach Me for creativity, they all agreed that they didn’t think it was the best book of the three.  I completely agree with the kids here (and I swear that I didn’t influence their decision AT ALL!!). 

At any rate, if you have not yet read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, you should.  I’m purposefully not describing much of the story in this post because I don’t want to wreak the reading experience for you.  Which means your assignment is to go read this book, now!

Like every other summer I’ve worked at the library, I’ve been working like a dog, often staying late (and yes, I stay late for free – there’s no overtime, no worries) and only finishing dinner at 8:30 or 9:00 at night, especially if Jim is at band practice that night.  At some point, I promise that I will sit down and write a good lengthy post on each of the performers who has come this summer, but so far I’ve only found the time to write about Yo-Yo People and the World Class Frisbee Show.

For today, my plan is to read tomorrow’s 6th Grade Book Group book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly.  I had actually forgotten that I needed to read the book for tomorrow until about ten minutes ago – ooooops!  And then tomorrow starts the beginning of the third-to-last week of summer reading!  Hooray!!!!

My Zappos order arrived last night with the top three shoe contenders (see my original shoe search post here), and we have a clear winner:  the Bella-Vita Wren peep-toe pump in black.  Though I was a little skeptical when I first tried them on last night, I tried them again today, with the dress, and am completely happy.  They’re actually comfortable!  And they look great with the dress!  Hooray!  Admittedly, they cost an awful lot of money  [not so much anymore...turns out Amazon has this same shoe for only $42!], but considering that this is the first pair of dressy shoes that I’ve bought in a decade (I literally haven’t bought any dressy shoes – other than the shoes I wore for my wedding - since Jim’s and my third date, which was over ten years ago), considering that, I think the price is reasonable.

The other two pairs of shoes that I ordered, which, unfortunately, will be winging their way back to Zappo’s, were the David Tate Starlight (in black pleated fabric, because grey was sold out in my size), and the Gabriella Rocha Neve flat in grey suede; both gorgeous shoes, but neither one fit my poor feet.  Thanks to Alyson for those suggestions, especially since my ultimate shoe of choice popped up on the Zappo’s “You Might Also Like” sidebar when I was looking at the David Tate shoe.  And thanks to Lizzie and Jean for their awesome suggestions, too; the book pump from Clark’s is definitely way cool, just not the perfect option for this dress and this occasion.  And, of course, a big thank you to long-suffering Jim, who put up with quite the evening last night as I tried on shoes and complained bitterly about my feet the whole time.

Now all I need to do is to miraculously get back in shape in the next two weeks…hmmmm…time to go dust off those weights.

First Todd did some cool tricks, like rolling a Frisbee along his arms, juggling Frisbees, and catching Frisbees in increasingly difficult ways.  Then he showed off some of his collection of Frisbees, including an original tin pie plate.  And then he loaned Frisbees to everyone in attendance, and taught everyone some tricks.  Once the show was over, he sold different types of Frisbees to the crowd for very reasonable prices, and signed each that he sold.

And along the way, he delivered some really excellent messages to the kids in attendance, including: when it comes to the sport of Frisbee, girls and boys are on equal footing; Frisbee doesn’t require special equipment like some sports; and Frisbee is a great way to have fun with your friends.  Most importantly, in my opinion, Todd personified physical fitness, and it’s clear that his physical fitness comes not from playing a standard competitive sport, but rather from an alternative sport that can be a lifelong passion.

During his show, I kept looking around at the field of 150 attendees and thinking “What better way could there be to spend a warm, sunny summer afternoon than hanging out on a beautiful green field playing Frisbee with your friends?”  Thanks, Todd, for a great show, and for inspiring all of us to stay fit and have fun doing it!

There’s a mole in the bucket, dear Jim, dear Jim,

There’s a mole in the bucket, dear Jim, a mole.

With what shall I get rid of it, dear Abby, dear Abby,

With what shall I get rid of it, dear Abby, with what?

In our basement, there is a hole in the cement floor.  In that hole in the cement floor, there is a deep plastic kitty litter bucket in which the sump pump once lived.  In that deep plastic kitty litter bucket, there are lots of little holes poked through so that water can drain out.  And so we dump the water from our dehumidifier down through the hole, the plastic bucket, and the tiny holes.

Two minutes after Jim left for work this morning, I went merrily down to the basement to empty that very full dehumidifier.  And, whistling a happy little tune to myself, while thinking of whole wheat toast with strawberry jam and a steaming cup of tea, I started pouring the water down into the bucket.

“Hmmmmm,” I thought, “That water in the bottom of the bucket looks pretty murky.  Hmmmmm.”  So I looked a little more carefully.  And screamed, like a girl, then jumped  a couple of feet into the air, as I realized that there was a mole in the bottom of the bucket in severe danger of drowning in the sudden deluge of water.  Luckily for the mole, my girly panic subsided quickly enough that I stopped pouring the water in, and the couple of inches of water that were in there quickly drained out, leaving only a very wet and very scared star-nosed mole.

What does an animal-loving girl do after finding a mole trapped in her basement, just after her big strong husband has left for work?  First she thinks about providing an escape route for the mole – one which does NOT involve human-mole contact - and ultimately decides on the admittedly ridiculous solution of putting a yardstick down into the bucket for this digging, not climbing, animal.  Then she dials 1-800-CALL-DAD and asks the master for advice.  Unfortunately, Dad’s advice was wholly practical (“take the bucket out of the hole and dump the mole outside”) and not easily accomplished by a wimp.  He was right, of course.  But I wasn’t willing to do that – yet. 

So the mole sat in the bucket with the yardstick all day while I was at work, and when I came home it had clearly tried (and failed) to climb that slim slippery piece of wood, since the yardstick had moved significantly.  Time for Plan B: I went to our wood pile and found a log that would be long enough, and carefully inserted this log into the bucket without harming the mole.  Guess what?  Plan B didn’t work, either. 

I went back upstairs and contemplated what to do.  Should I get some worms from the compost pile to sustain the mole until Jim got home at 8:30?  That idea was quickly dismissed as, well, silly and overreactive.  So I took a deep breath and went back down to pull the bucket out of the hole in the floor.  Only the bucket is fully settled and imbedded in that hole, and wasn’t about to budge.

Time to come up with Plan C.  To help my thinking, I called my trusty dad again, and asked if he had any ideas, which he didn’t.  So I ran my crazy idea by him:  what if I took the empty 32 ounce Chobani yogurt container from the recycle bin, lowered that plastic tub into the deep bucket using fireplace tongs, tipped the Chobani tub on its side, waited for the mole to climb in, then gently flipped the tub upright and lifted it out of the sump pump bucket into another waiting bucket, using the tongs again…and then carried the mole-filled bucket outside?  Dad was skeptical, but supportive, and I promised to call him if the plan worked.

And it DID!!!  It was a great feeling carrying that bucket outdoors, and tipping it over so that the frantic, terrified, screaming mole could run out and start digging his way back into the ground.  I’m sure the mole was psyched to be out of his plastic prison, but I kinda think I was a little bit happier than he was.  The wimpy animal lover triumphed!  Hooray!!!

P.S.  Mission accomplished while wearing a really cute skirt and ruby red ballet flats.  How’s that for girl power?

I’ve been lusting after this dress for a while – when it first appeared in the Garnet Hill catalog in the spring I thought, “That’s the dress I need to wear to E—- ‘s wedding.”  E—– being, of course, Jim’s younger sister who will be getting married in a couple of weeks.  But I couldn’t afford the dress at full price, and then it disappeared from the Garnet Hill website altogether, which only made me want it more, of course.  And then, magically, the dress reappeared on the GH website when their big summer sale started – in the color I wanted (the grey crysanthemum) and in my size.  And it looks pretty good on, too.  Yay.

But here’s the dilemma:  I went shopping for shoes to match on Saturday, and realized two things.  1)  I don’t know the first thing about shoes, especially dressy shoes, and 2)  I have the ability to totally frustrate shoe salespeople with my strict limitations (no shoe that shows much of my feet, the shoe has to come in a wide size, no spiky heels, etc. etc. etc.).

So please help!  What shoe would look good with this dress, to wear to my sister-in-law’s wedding?  Important detail to note – the reception is outdoors, in a garden.

And just in case the link to the GH website stops working (if the dress sells out, for instance), here is the photo (click on image to enlarge):

We lucked out with the weather, too, and were able to hold the show outside in front of the original main entrance to the building.  Not too sunny, so no baked audience members, but also no rain (and there are torrents of rain predicted for tonight).   A quick note about the stress and misery that Jennifer and I went through trying to figure out if it was going to rain at 3 PM today or not:  we both studied the online weather forecasts from various sources, and ultimately couldn’t decide what the weather was going to be today, since one of the sources kept telling us there was a 100% chance of rain at 3 PM.  Finally, at 2 PM, that source changed its tune, and said there was only a 10% chance of rain at 3.  Typo, mayhaps?  Annoying, for sure.  But who cares, since it all worked out and we were able to have the show in the best possible spot – outdoors. 

So, obviously, the weather forecast isn’t what’s important here: the show is what matters.  John is extremely professional, and presents his material in a way that makes you feel like he’s just doing it for the first time.  That’s a real skill, in my opinion, and the mark of someone who is a born performer, since the only way to do a great show is to rehearse and practice ad nauseum.  If you can still make the audience believe that your material is fresh and exciting, despite having rehearsed and performed it dozens of times – well, then you’re pretty good at what you do.

Lot of kids (and one adult) from the audience got to participate as volunteers, too.  One second grade girl showed off her impressive hula hoop prowess (I’m not kidding – she was great!).  A fifth grade boy served as unicycle assistant, steadying John as he got on to his unicycle.  A fourth grade boy helped out with a very cool yo yo trick, then treated us all to an awesome dance (I think the music was James Brown).  A brave dad held out a match, which John lit with a flick from a yo yo, then balanced a quarter on his ear, which John knocked off with a yo yo – without hitting the dad.  Wow.

And, of course, there were the yo yo tricks.  Pretty darn cool stuff – things that I never knew you could do with yo yos.  Throw a yo yo in the air and catch it in your pocket?  Awesome.  Make a yo yo and its string look like a bow tie or the Eiffel Tower?  Wicked pissah.  Ride a unicycle while working two yo yos?  Amazing.  At the end of the show, lots and lots of kids were clamboring to learn yo yo tricks from John, who very kindly stuck around to teach them.  What better way to spend a summer day than learning yo yo tricks?

For any of you children’s librarians looking to book a great show, Yo Yo People are tons of fun and an absolute crowd pleaser.  Totally worth it.  And now I’m going to drag Jim in to Faneuil Hall someday to see them perform…

Here are the books I’m either reading or about to read:

The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan ~ I really do enjoy these books; in fact, I think this is the first time I’ve ever wanted to read the eighth book in a series.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar ~ I’m anxious to see if this book lives up to the terrific reviews it has received.  If it’s anything like Holes, I’ll be very very happy.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George ~ It’s a fun bit of fluff, but not as well-written as I had hoped.

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George ~ If I’m going to read one, I might as well read both, right?

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne-Jones ~ Another book that has gotten excellent reviews; I’m looking forward to reading this one, too.

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean ~ Without a doubt, Ms. McCaughrean is one of my favorite living authors, and I can’t wait to read her latest.  (My teen book group members STILL talk about The White Darkness, three years after we read it for our group.  Granted, they claim to think it’s “weird” and they “don’t like it,” but in my opinion the fact that this book has remained foremost in their consciousness all these years speaks volumes about the book’s impact.)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly ~ This is the summer book group book for the 6th graders.  I purposefully chose a book that I didn’t think this group of excellent readers would find on their own.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl ~ The book choice for the summer meeting of the 5th grade book group.  I can’t wait to read it again!

And that’s it.  How many weeks do you think it will take me to get through all of these books?