76 trombones in the hit parade...

What is it about that line from that song that always pops into my head at the strangest times? I find myself singing that song or humming that song on an almost daily basis. Why? Maybe there is a study on this subject that I should enter to find out what attracts me to this song. Maybe I am a cylon. It isn't All Along the Watchtower but I can still hear it. (For those who watch Battlestar Galactica). Can anyone else hear it?

So it has been pretty quiet at work for the past two days. I spent yesterday afternoon browsing TasteSpotting and printing out recipes. I found some yummy ideas for weekend dinners, cracker recipes for my mom, and, of course, some dessert recipes that look so good. I love TasteSpotting. My goal is to someday make it through the entire thing. Given how bored I am today, it might happen.

As far as knitting goes, I have put the feather and fan shawl to the side for a faster project. I want to see results and I am not seeing any with the shawl. Right now, when I look at it, even after working on it for days, it looks like it hasn't grown at all. I need some instant gratification.

So on Monday, I cast on for the City Mouse Toy from Lion Brand. I am not yet sure what I am going to do with this. I have an idea rolling around in my head but I just don't know.

See, there was this girl when I was little. Well, when we first met (when we were like 5) we hated each other but then when we got older we became friends. She was there through so many milestones in my life - first drink of alcohol, first "real" boyfriend, etc. She taught me how to inhale when I smoked. She helped me deal with my parents' divorce. I will always remember the summer I went back to Massachusetts after I first moved to Florida. I was staying at my step-father's house with his new wife. I hated it but she came and rescued me and I spent the rest of my time with her.

Unfortunately, we drifted apart. I am not going to say it was all her fault or all my fault because that isn't the case. All I will say is that I miss her very much. There are so many times in my life when I want to pick up the phone and talk to her, really talk to her. Or when I want to see here and just hang out. And when I look at my daughter and think that I always wanted her to see my kids grow up and I always wanted to see her kids. That didn't happen but there is this small part of me that wants to try. I know we can never get our friendship back to the place it once was but I want something.

The mouse toy brought this up because everyone referred to us as the County Mouse (me) and the City Mouse (M). See, I lived in a tiny little town that had more cows than people it seemed and M came from Newton which to me was the city. We were so different from each other in many ways but those differences balanced each other out.

Anyway, my idea is to find a book with the story of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse and to make up two of these little mice and send the whole package to her and her boys. I just don't know if I can handle it if nothing comes of this. I don't want to take these steps just to realize that the damage we did to our friendship all those years ago is just too great and we can't come back from that. For now, I think I will finish up this mouse and cast on for another, in another color, and when they are both done, make the decision.

I had an idea for a decoration for Princess Ivi's room. I got the idea from Kim who I became friends with on Facebook. Kim is my old friend and fellow Sunday school teacher. Well, after checking out her blog, she has done this really cool decoration. She took a cardboard S from the store and decorated it and hung it on her door. Well, I thought I would cut out a D for Princess Ivi (as that is what her name starts with) and let her decorate it. She could do a collage of things she likes, or just draw on it, color it, etc. and then we could hang it on her wall. She could even just paint it with some purple sparkly paint. I think I am going to propose that to her because I think she will really like it. Thanks Kim for the great idea.

I have been busy writing emails to the superintendent of our school district and the school board members. The superintendent has put the idea forward to close Princess Ivi's school. If that happens, she will have to be bused further so she can go to a "C" school. Her school is an "A" school and is the only school in the district that has a surplus of money (revenue v. cost) so it makes no sense to me to propose to close our school. My idea is this...since there are two middle schools in Palatka and two in Crescent City, I would propose combining them so there is only one middle school in each city. Then the district would be paying for four middle schools instead of six. They haven't made a decision yet. I emailed them and told them that they need to show us that closing our school will really save money. If it won't then it is jeopardizing our children's education for nothing.

It may seem selfish but I am hoping they decide to stay open for next school year since Princess Ivi will be in 8th grade and her last year of middle school. Then, when she is done, they can close since she will be going into a different school anyway.

Princess Ivi and I have discussed that if they close her school, we may look into homeschooling for next year (8th grade) but we are all keeping our fingers crossed that they keep it open. I know this is a hard economic time but this doesn't seem to be the answer.

Okay, enough rambling for one day....