image shows a portion of our audiobook collection at the library

This week’s library school tip: Don’t read books cover-to-cover

As a librarian, I am often expected to have read all the books. The problem is, I’m one of those pesky people who believes the refrain “If you read a book for entertainment, it should be entertaining” should apply to me and not just the students at my middle school library. But as a librarian, it’s important for me to know my collection so that I can guide readers to the books they may or may not realize they are looking for. How do I do that, if not by reading as many books cover-to-cover as I possibly can?

photo shows an orange tabby enraged at having to wear a santa hat.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

The calendar has kept flipping and it is somehow that time again. I know not everyone who reads this blog celebrates Christmas, but I persist in being grateful for each one of you, and hope that you will accept my using today’s holiday as an excuse to thank you for reading Caterpickles.

Funny Things My Mom Says, As Recorded by The 13-Year-Old

Longtime readers will remember that in the early days of this blog I used to devote Saturday mornings to funny things my daughter said. As she got older, she asked me to stop doing that. However, given the heaviness of our current news environment, the 13-Year-Old has given me permission to post a special illustrated edition of “Funny Things My Mom Says as Recorded by The 13-Year-Old.”

A long green tube with a bulb on the end used to slowly dispense water for potted plants lies in the middle of my back deck.

Wordless Wednesday: The curious incident of the squirrel in the night-time

The squirrels appear to have had a good night.

Wordless Wednesday: Behold the fierce predator

My cat’s (planned and much needed) weight loss has stalled, so this week I tried adding morning exercise into the mix. It did not go well.

Wordless Wednesday: The best part of remote learning is getting to have lunch with your cat

School is underway here at Caterpickles Central. On the first day back to school, Canelo joined The Thirteen-Year-Old for lunch to hear all about it.

Wordless Wednesday: Mood this week

Are we there yet?

Wordless Wednesday: Canelo

If you’re on the Internet, you must be looking for pictures of cats.

“Can we take our cat to the vet while we're under a shelter-in-place order?”

We are on Day Seven of The Howells All Being Home At Once, and Day Three of Santa Clara County Residents All Huddled Up Together in Their Separate Spaces. Today’s installment includes what I’ve learned about accessing veterinary care for our cat, our current pandemic project, and other notes from our attempt to shelter in place.

Ginger tabby wrapped in a festively striped scarf.

Waiting in place

We are on Day Six of The Howells All Being Home At Once, and Day Two of Santa Clara County Residents All Huddled Up Together in Their Separate Spaces. Today’s installment includes our revised education plan, Tuesday’s pandemic project, and other tidbits from our attempt to shelter in place.