Mousecafé

One of Mousie's favorite things is to sit in a café, watching the world go by, nibbling a sugar crystal or a crumb of cheese or some crusty bread - or sometimes indulging his secret love of coffee. Mousie has to be a bit careful with coffee because a caffeinated mouse is a very crazy thing, indeed, and Mousie doesn't want to scare the other guests at the café (who are often very surprised and amused to see Mousie at the café in the first place) and does want to be able to sleep at night! So he gets the smallest coffee he can find, which is invariably espresso and also invariably still much too big! It also has the benefit of coming in a mouse-sized cup that Mousie can hug if the weather turns a little chilly. Mousie likes that coffee is all of the things he is not - it is big and dark and aggressive and abrasive, smoky and hot, a little intimidating, and an acquired taste. It gives him courage to tackle the rest of the day.

Reuben the Sandwich

True to form, Mousie went out one day and found another giant food. In fact, it turned out to be another sandwich. (Mousie has started to wonder whether to be a sandwich one must also be HUGE...) This sandwich's name was Reuben. And Reuben is a truly beautiful sandwich - warm and juicy, crispy where important and delicate and plush where delicious. Reuben's only problem is being simply too big. And wherever Reuben goes, the potato salad, pickle, and cookie follow. Mousie was overwhelmed. And then very very full. And then very happy and very sleepy! Mousie thinks that once a year is about the most often he could ever visit the house of Reuben, despite wishing he could go every week!

Mousie's Wheel

Mousie gets lots of exercise scampering around the neighborhood and the planet so he has no need for a typical "hamster wheel." (Hamsters, unlike Mousie, are generally lazy and need the exercise.) Instead, Mousie likes to use a different kind of wheel when he goes on adventures with Sven the Volvo. Sven is friendly and capacious and comfortable and likes being tickled by Mousie's little paws as Mousie points him in the right direction. And when Mousie gets tired he can curl up and let autopilot take over, safe and comfy in the knowledge that Sven will carry him safely to the stars and back.

Sandy Mouse

Mousie is often skeptical of the supposed pleasures of going to the beach. For so small a mouse it is so far across the hot, rough sand to the water - even on the narrowest beach! And once he gets to the water he usually realizes he doesn't particularly like being wet and even the smallest waves send him soaked and sprawling. And his fuzz gets matted and he has to go take a bath to feel himself again... As if these issues weren't challenging enough, there is the ever-present seagull problem. They think Mousie looks like a tasty mouse - an understandable mistake given their severely limited intelligence and extreme, indiscriminate gluttony!

So right now you're thinking, "Why would Mousie, or I, for that matter, ever go to the beach?!" Your reasoning is your own, but in Mousie's case he indulges his love of basking in the tropical sun by taking full advantage of his own portability and the protective presence of larger benevolent creatures known as humans - strange as they may be. In short, he hitches a ride, comme d'habitude.