beautiful biblioteques

When I think of libraries, I imagine tall stacks of leather-bound books, enormous globes of the world, rolling ladders, marble floors, and pinch-faced librarians shushing me. My local public library doesn’t quite fit my mental image, but some of these libraries are enough to take my breath away.

Real Gabinete Portugues De Leitura, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Trinity College Library, aka The Long Room, Dublin, Ireland

Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel, Germany

Melk Monastery Library, Melk, Austria

Library of Congress, Washington DC, US

10 facts about my cat Buddy

1. Buddy harumphs and snorts when he is mad or frustrated.
2. Buddy likes it when I order him onto my chair and I beat him with a slipper. He gets mad if I swat him too lightly.
3. Buddy was abandoned by him mother, and we adopted him at 4 weeks. He has deeply bonded with me and is a mama’s boy through and through.
4. Buddy has a short tail shaped like an upside down U.
5. Buddy likes to lay on his back, prop his back feet on a wall, and chill.
6. Buddy likes to hang out in the window box, but I have to limit his time outside because he gets sunburned on his forehead where the fur is thinner.
7. Even though he is neutered, Buddy likes to “play rape” Dot. She meows loudly and does not seem to enjoy it all, but when I scold Buddy, Dotty looks very guilty.
8. Buddy patrols the hallway outside our apartment. He knows all our third floor neighbors and their friends, and they all know him.
9. In the morning, Buddy crawls onto my chest and naps for a little while before we both get up. All morning long he follows me around, hence his nickname “puppycat.”
10. Buddy loves to eat pistachios. No other nuts will do.