Wishing Upon A Star

We gossiped for three hours over lunch today. I think the waiter was dying to get us out of there, but we had staked our claim and weren’t about to budge.

Cathy seemed to have gotten over her "the three of us have nothing in common" snit, and tolerated listening to us talk about kids. We actually stayed away from specific kids, for the most part, only mentioning a couple of them who were weighing heavily on our minds.

The rest of the time we were able to talk about former colleagues and friends we have in common. Because Cathy now works for the husband of one of our special education department members, she is up to date on a lot of the goings on. In some ways she knows even more than I do.

It was a very pleasant afternoon.

Martha is a lot of fun, and is always full of stories. Her husband used to teach the computer course I’m now teaching, so she could relate to many of the stories I had to tell. Apparently the class makeup is fairly typical.

We could have stayed for even longer, or gone shopping, but Cathy was worried about getting back home to take care of the dog. So many opportunities are often missed because she has to care for the damn dog.

This is one reason that cats are far superior animals. As long as someone comes in to feed Encore things are fine. He might get mad at me if I’m gone for a number of days, but I’m usually forgiven quite easily.

A little catnip goes a long way.

After we parted I went shopping. Only to the bookstore, but that is never quick or cheap.

And I was in an "impulse shop" kind of mood.

I went in to get "Stamping Arts and Crafts" Magazine, but made the mistake of wandering into the music department. I never get out of there unscathed.

I picked up the new Linda Eder CD (which I’m listening to now). Linda Eder won "Star Search" a few years back, and originated the part of Lucy in the musical version of "Jekyll and Hyde". She has a wonderful voice, with qualities that are very similar to Barbra Streisand. I saw her last summer in the Broadway production of "Jekyll and Hyde" and her voice gave me goosebumps.

I also got a CD by Bobby Cauldwell, a new artist to me, although the liner notes indicate he has several recordings. He reminds me of a cabaret type of singer, someone you’d go to hear in "The Rainbow Room" (if it still existed). He was featured at the listening station, and that’s what led me to buy that recording.

Then there was a sale rack of classical collections. They were only $3.99 each, so they’re probably not very good. I couldn’t resist, though. They were recorded by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and the St. Petersburg Radio and TV orchestra. They’ll be good enough to take into school, though. I got two different "Best of Mozart" one each "Best of Beethoven" and "Best of Vivaldi".

Michael will probably shudder when I tell him. He’s really into good orchestras and conductors and knows his stuff.

Fifty-two dollars later I left the bookstore.

Typical.

I decided to spend the rest of the day and evening doing school work, and attempting to finish the Sunday Times crossword puzzle. I only have about eight random squares left blank, so I feel pretty good.

Of course tomorrow I’ll discover that all my answers are wrong.

I’ve also decided that I’m going to write to Michael this weekend and let him know I’m coming in three weeks. I’ve decided to write a breezy, newsy kind of not and just drop that information somewhere in the middle of it.

I’m still nervous about it, though.

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