Happy Halloween!

Have a Happy Halloween!

Pompey as Pirate Kitty, the fiercest pirate of the seven seas, known for his deadly hairball attack! Arrrgghhhhh!!!!

Pompey had a wonderful Halloween, and hopes you all have a wonderful one, too. He enjoyed going trick-or-treating at our neighbor, friend, and fellow blogger Deb's house! Thanks, Deb, for giving Pompey such a fun Halloween!

Enjoy the holiday!

Oh no! I've been banned!

By the miracles of modern technology, I've discovered that China thinks my beloved little blog is ban worthy!

I have now joined the ranks of J.K. Rowling, Maya Angelou, John Steinbeck, and Judy Blume, just to name a few authors who have been banned.

Learn more about books that have been banned here. Check it out- you might be surprised at just what has been banned over the years!

Thanks to my dear friend Caeseria for discovering this strange little blogging tidbit!

Happy Reading!

The Smile Awards

Oh my! I’ve been given an award! My dear friend and co-worker Deb has awarded me the Smile Award! What a way to start the day! Thank you Deb!

Here are the details of the Smile Award:

Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude.
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.

These are the rules for The Smile Award.
1. The recipient must link back to the award’s creator
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by .
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

Here's is what Deb very kindly wrote about me:

“Witty works with me at the library and obviously loves children from the excitement she gets in programming for them! If there would be a category for loving cats, H would be at the top of the list! Her blog is like eating the best chocolate with all the creamy, tasty, smooth details she gives in her posts about her adventures with her husband and travels. (Even if he likes the group KISS.) And, no matter what the situation, she stays the course and is kind about everybody even behind their backs!”

Thanks so much for the wonderful words! If you haven’t read Deb’s blog, you should click right on over to it- her posts are always wonderfully witty, charming, full of joy and heart- just like Deb! I enjoy reading her blog every day!

Now, I award the Smile Award to my following friends and fellow bloggers!

Andrew! From reading my blog, you know that Andrew is my sweet husband. He is one of the most kind and caring individuals I have ever had the privilege to know. He has a warm and welcoming demeanor, one that invited people in and instantly makes them at ease. He is a friend to everyone who has ever met him. He is also a fellow blogger with two very interesting blogs. His main blog is all about heavy metal music, and it is extremely insightful and intelligent- honestly, those music magazines should keep an eye on him- you may not be a fan of heavy metal, but reading a few of his blog posts might make you check a new CD out! His second blog displays more of the quirky Andrew I know and love. It’s full of his random observations on things going on in life, good books that he has read, movies that he has seen- you never know what will be posted there, but it is sure to be fun reading!

Mom! Ah, my mom! She’s funny, smart, charming, quite clever, warm hearted, caring, and a best friend to me. She always has a wide smile and a kind word for everyone she meets. She’s a true joy to know! She is also the strongest woman I have ever know- her strength of character, her joy in life, all that she has done and conquered has given me a lifetime of inspiration. Her blog is one of the most interesting blogs I’ve read. It is full of the wild and random thoughts that enter her head. One day, it could be a post about a news item she just read, and another day it could be a sweet memory of a friend that she shares. You never know what you are going to find on her blog, but you’ll always enjoy reading it!

Andie! This is a good friend of mine whom I use to work with. Andie is simply a great person to know! She is so smart and fun and funny. She is a super librarian- great with patrons young and old; just excellent with kids; does great programs for children (we once did a “Survivor” type program together- what a blast!); and is simply a wiz at reference work. She’s also extremely funny, charming to be around, and if you need a good book recommendation, you can bet she has one! Her blog has all sorts of wonderful stories about the adventures and musings that go on in her life. I always grin at every new post!

Patricia! Ah, what a wonderful lady to know! Patricia is a good friend of mine at work. She’s wonderfully quirky, smart, and just simply a delight to know. Talking with her is always so interesting- talks can range from how addicting shows like Degrassi are, how wonderful anything Anne of Green Gables is, what wonderful places there are in the world to visit, interest books there are to read, even fun things to make and bake! It is always an adventure talking to Patricia, and her blog is just like her- full of random stories, interesting new articles, fascinating pictures, and other items that catch her eye- it is simply full of delightful adventure!

Caeseria! This is a good friend of mine from back in my college days! She is so wonderful quirky and fun to be with- so much so that we even created an adverb in her honor! Things are either Caeseria-ish or not Caeseria-ish. Caeseria-ish items can usually be described as things that are brightly colored, flashy in a good way, a little off-the-wall, and most delightfully unusual- all traits that describe Caeseria to a T. Her blog is a delightful look into her life as a full time Mom with an adorable son, adventures in planting and canning vegtiables, and learning to live a greener life. It is always so neat to read her blog, seeing what’s going on in her life at that moment. She is most amusing and a joy to read!

Have a smiley day everyone!

Caesar is King...

Because with a laugh like this, why wouldn't Caesar be king?

Pompey Gets Crafty

Pompey wonders if the yellow yarn would provide a nice accent to his golden eyes.

The Antics of Octavian

Octavian considers the tactical advantages of mailing himself to his enemy's doorstep.

Shake your Bon-Bon!

A few weeks ago, Andrew and I had a delightful afternoon enjoying a traditional Japanese Bon Festival at our local Japanese shopping center.

It was liking being swept away to Japan- there were traditional games, yummy festival foods, and even women wearing traditional yukatas (click here to see information on yukatas!) Since I couldn't take all of you wonderful readers to the festival with me, I thought I would bring the festival to you with a photo journey!

Enjoy!

The front of the Japanese Shopping Center

Booths lined the sides of the shopping center, and people milled about, looking at all the delicious offerings. There was takoyaki, yakisoba, cotton candy, iced coffee, and many other treats. Some vendors were selling fun festival masks featuring Hello Kitty, Doraemon, and Pokemon!

In the center of the shopping center's parking lot, a stage had been set up. Traditional dances were being performed, as well as awesome Japanese Drum songs.

Women were wearing lovely, traditional yukatas. It has become my goal to buy one for the festival next year! They are so beautiful and seems so comfortable and elegant.

Andre proved to be an expert at the traditional "scooping" games at Japanese festivals.

In the "scooping" games, you are giving a very small paddle, covered with a thin paper covering that dissolves in water. The object of the game is to scoop objects out of the water without ripping your paper net. Goldfish Scooping is extremely popular at Japanese festivals (yes, you scoop live goldfish!), but Andrew decided to try the Toy Scooping because we couldn't take a goldfish home with us. He wound up winning two bouncing balls and an adorable Hello Kitty figurine!

Also at the festival was a book vendor, selling books and magazines for a fantastic price! Granted, all the books and magazines were in Japanese, but that didn't stop me from buying a few....

More Books!!!

Here's Andrew tries his hand at another game. Your goal was to shot suction arrows at a target. If you landed in the center, you got the grand prize- a Nintendo Wii! Andrew didn't win that, but he did get some awesome snack prizes.

This was one of the ultra yummy treats Andrew won. They were biscuit cookies, filled with a cookie and rice crunch filling, shaped like mushrooms. They didn't last long- Andrew and I devoured them and determined that we would definitely be making these a regular purchase!

Another one of Andrew's prizes- Japanese soda! It's called Ramune, and it is surprisingly sweet and tangy. The bottle also has a surprise for the unwary...

Look closely, very closely. Yes, there is a marble is the bottle! There's no danger of swallowing it, but its presences in the bottle makes a little game out of drinking the soda. You have to hold the bottle in just the right way, otherwise the marble blocks the bottle's opening!

All of our snacking made us very hungry, so we decided to hit the food vendors!

Yum! It's yakisoba!

Andrew enjoyed the extremely tangy taste of the yakisoba- I liked the slight crunch of the noodles!

Well, that's it! Keep an eye out for a Bon festival near you- they are lots and lots of fun!