whiskers on kittens

I don't think it's a mystery that I love working at the library, and moreover, that I love the children's section. And by "love" I mean it's an abnormal day to leave the library without at least one picture book tucked neatly under my arm.

Usually there are three or four.

This morning I got to participate in one of the aspects of the library I adore the most. Storytime! Lest ye be deterred, storytime is not just some miserly old woman sitting in front of a group of disgruntled toddlers reading them archaic stories. No! This is nearly an hour jam packed with books, fingerplays, songs, physical activities, and merriment, all orchestrated to help develop early literacy skills.

I was guest this week and worked with one of the usuals on the theme du jour. Guess what it was! No, really, guess!

Okay, fine, I'll tell you. It has to do with animals and going out and finding them..

That's right! SAFARI!

I came dressed up in my "safari explorer" gear, equipped with a safari hat and felt very Crocodile Dundee. We started off with the book Starry Safari, which I loved, but the monstrous group of five year-olds was far too active to sit through much more reading. So we went on a safari.

It. Was. Awesome!

The kids and I held our hands up to our eyes and yelled "Come with me! What animals will we see?" Then my lovely assistant would pop out of the coat closet carrying (and sometimes animating) a stuffed animal. The kids would all shout out what the animal was, we'd make an animal noise or movement that went along with it and then bring our hands up to our eyes again. I had to get inventive with some of the animals, but they were the most fun. For example...

the ostrich.

Does anyone know what an ostrich sounds like? I don't. All I know is that they're tall and have silly feathers. So what did we do? We raised both of our hands hiiiiiiiiigh in the air and wiggled.

It was an instant classic.

The fun only got better when we had a staff meeting immediately following storytime in which everyone was curious about the safari extravaganza. If you think a group of preschoolers raising their hands high in the air and wiggling is a hoot, wait until you see about ten middle-aged librarians.

Also an instant classic.

"Come with me! What animals will we see?"

library delights

"Excuse me, do you have any books about animals?" The question came from a pair of sisters, neither of whom was taller than my waist.

"What kind of animals?"

"Any animals."

"Do you want picture books or are you wanting to learn about animals?"

"We want to learn about animals." le sigh.

"Follow me! I've got just the thing."

The sisters then followed me through the library until we sat on the floor together flipping through a book about dangerous animals. They were engrossed. I was positive a safari was never ever making it onto my to-do list.

"Guess what?" This came from the youngest, who had the most adorable buck teeth. Who knew buck teeth could be so cute?

"What?!" I really was excited to know what she had to tell me, and secretly hoping she wanted me to adopt her.

"There's a baby elephant at the zoo and it's birthday is tomorrow and it turns one."

And then they both told me about their experiences at the zoo, their cousin's pet snake, vicious cats, and I just sat there listening to the girls. I really did want to adopt them. Or at least play with them for the next couple of days. Dangerous animal books can be dangerously fun in the right hands.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Have you ever seen those Windex commercials, where the window ends up so mysteriously clean that ignorant animals-and sometimes humans-end up running headlong into the crystalline glass?  Well, I am by no means the best housekeeper in the world, but a few weeks ago, I did undergo the painstaking process of washing the sliding window coming off of our dining room.   The results were nothing near the Windex commercial, thanks to unknown years of built up dirt.  But I was more than satisfied with the ample amounts of sunlight that were freely flowing into my little home.

Then yesterday happened.  During a sudden spurt of home improvement genius, my roommates and I have taken it upon ourselves to paint the main floor of our townhouse.  While taping off cabinets after work, my roommate asked if I had seen the crazy bird that kept flying into the window.  I had not.  But I looked the windows I had scrubbed meticulously, only to find bird goo splattered everywhere.  I am still wondering what was up with this bird that it left so much residue on my window.  Never mind, I don't want to know.

Later in the evening, I returned home to an empty house.  I walked toward the bird splattered window to gaze out at a lovely desert sunset over the valley only to discover a rather peculiar looking bird sitting on the balcony railing staring back at me.  Less than a minute later, the bird was attacking the window!  Unlike the hilarious Windex commercials, where the animals hit the glass and fall backwards in a moronic stupor, this bird just kept trying to fly through the window.  He scaled up and down trying to get to the table of misplaced artwork on the other side.

All I can figure is this; the bird is nuts.  Certifiably nuts.  He was the village idiot, got kicked out, and is now wreaking havoc on my at-one-time-clean window. That or he is aware of the mockery my housekeeping skills really are and is mocking me.  Personally, I think it's more of the former than anything else.  That or he has the Swine Flu.