A thank you to Santa

Dear Santa,

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!  I LOVE canned cat food and Fancy Feast is my favorite!  Miss R. never buys me canned cat food.  She says it spoils me against regular dried cat food, but nothing could be further from the truth.  I'm always such a sweet and appreciative guy.  Anyway, I love my Fancy Feast soooo much and can't wait for my next meal.

Love,

Oliver

Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas, Everyone and especially to all the boys and girls in Room 203!
Love,
Oliver

Merry Christmas?

Ooooh...just when I thought it was safe...Miss R. dresses me up in this costume and takes pictures! Well, I'm posting one here as evidence of the cruel and unusual treatment I put up with at this time of year!

It's SNOWING!!!!!

When those first few flakes first floated past the windows, I couldn't contain my excitement. I galloped (I use that verb because Miss R. says I sound like a horse when I try to run) to the pet door in my bedroom and squished through the pet door out onto my deck. "Hey Bob!" I screamed to my neighbor. "Bob, get out here! It's snowing! It's SNOWING!!!!"

"Indeed it is," Bob commented in that calm voice of his that never sounds excited.

"Aren't you excited?" I screamed.

"Indeed I am," Bob commented again. Hmmm. If you ask me, he didn't sound very excited. "I've been watching the snow fall and trying to remember a favorite winter poem of mine." That's Bob. He never gets excited. He just quotes poetry.

Pudgie Little Snowman

A pudgie little snowman
had a carrot nose
Along came a bunny
and what do you suppose.
That hungry little bunny
looking for some lunch
Ate the little snowman's nose
Nibble, Nibble, CRUNCH!

"Who wrote that?" I asked. Bob is such a well read cat. He knows so many interesting facts.

"One of my favorite writers," Bob replied. "Anonymous." Oooh, him. He must be a good writer. Bob quotes him often! I settled down on the table on the deck and asked Bob to teach me the poem. Watching the snow fall and listening to Bob recite his poem again, I couldn't help but think how much I love this time of year and how much I love the snow!

A.T.

James and Deborah Howe are the well-known writers of the ever so popular Bunnicula series. The Bunnicula books are some of my favorites and not just because of the adorable, little bunny. (That's right. I said it. I like bunnies!) In my humble opinion, the writers did an extraordinary job bringing life into the character of Chester, the cat. Indeed, I must keep reminding myself that the writers are merely humans themselves so well did they describe the inner thought life of felines. Anyway, I mention all this, because Chester, as many of you know, is a prolific reader of great literature. In fact, most cats, myself included, do love to read. We're not always napping you know. This all brings me to the point of today's post.

Recently, my human, Miss R. brought home a new book she had borrowed from a writer who studies in her class. "Paws off, Mister," Miss R said to me as she entered the apartment. "I'm saving this book for me to enjoy as a reward after I finish writing all these report cards!" Well, I don't have to tell you, but the quickest way to get a cat to do something is tell him he's not allowed. As soon as Miss R. forbade me to read this new book, I was determined to do that very thing. I waited for Miss R. to go to work, then I made myself hot chocolate and curled up in a sunbeam with a book written by one of Miss R.'s favorite writers, A.T. What can I say? I totally get why Miss R. thinks AT is such a phenomenal writer. It's taking all of my discipline not to tell you all about the book here in this post, but if I did that it would spoil the debut of AT's story which is scheduled for release on Young Authors Day.

Stay tuned, though. I'll be adding to this Virtual Book Shelf over time. In the meantime, I'd love to hear from some of you young readers in Room 203. Who are some of your favorite writers? What are some of your favorite books? Why do you like them? Who knows? Maybe I can use my cute kitty face to persuade Miss R. to hand out eagle bucks to the students who post answers to these questions.

Happy Sinterklaas Day!

My American readers might not realize the significance of today, but December 6 is a much anticipated day of celebration for my Dutch friends. In Holland, Belgium and other parts of Europe children honor Sinterklaas (that's Santa Claus to us Americans) with big parades and parties. To recognize these celebrations, Sinterklaas visits various towns on a white horse. His reindeer stay at the North Pole to rest up for their big night. Because the elves are also busy at the North Pole making toys, Sinterklaas brings different helpers called Zwaarte Piet, or Black Petes with him on December 6. (You can see the Zwaarte Piet sitting next to Sinterklaas in the photo.) The Zwaarte Piet get their name from the soot covering their faces from all coal they carry to give to the naughty children. They also carry candy, chocolates, and special cookies called pepernoten that they hand out to all the well-behaved boys and girls.

Today Miss R. took her nieces to a little Dutch town called Lynden to celebrate Sinterklaas Day. The old saint and his special helpers had come straight from the celebrations in Holland to greet the Dutch children in Lynden. He and his special Zwaarte Piet led a procession to the town's community center where children did special "klompen" or wooden shoe dances for him while the Zwaarte Piet handed out their special treats. Sinterklaas wore his special church robes instead of his fur-lined clothes that he usually wears to deliver gifts on Christmas Eve. Miss R.'s nieces got little toys, candy, and bells. I confess, I haven't always been on my very best behavior this past year so I worried I might get a lump of coal, but one of the Zwaarte Piet gave me a can of my favorite tuna. I also got some yummy pepernoten. Mmmmm.

Miss R. tells me that the boys and girls in room 203 are going to be sharing about their family's holiday traditions. I can't wait to learn about everyone's different traditions. I wonder if those traditions include lumps of coal or cans of tuna.

Mini Me

With only 23 shopping days left for Miss R. to find me the perfect gift, I'm pleased to share that the Christmas tree is up and beautifully decorated. Miss R. has a toy McDonaldland train set that she sets up around the trunk of the tree every year. It comes with all the McDonald's characters from the late 1970's. It's special to Miss R. because she got it for Christmas one year when she was still a very little girl. It's special to me because...hey...McDonalds! My favorite ornament is one Miss R.'s two oldest nieces gave me for Christmas a few years ago. It's a strikingly handsome fellow that vaguely reminds me of someone but I just can't put my paw on who. Oh yeah. Me!