The Festive Mouse Party Starts Here

It's the time of year to get festive. And there's no place more festive than the little gift shop at the Palmer Museum on campus. Or at least these little mice think so!

I went onto campus for three personal errands at lunchtime on this day: to run by the HUB to see if and when the Ten Thousand Villages might have their usual pre-Christmas display and shop, to visit the Palmer Museum gift shop on campus, and to stop at the Creamery to check for peppermint stick ice cream, a favorite flavor that is usually available only around the holidays.

Success on all counts! I walked into the HUB and there was the Ten Thousand Villages shop, right inside the front doors. I picked up a few Christmas gifts and nabbed a few new critters for myself - no doubt you will meet them soon!

And this was the sight I encountered at the Palmer Museum gift shop: a festive display of felted Christmas mice, made by a local artist. No, I did not bring any along home with me on this day. But some of you may remember that I discovered these mice for the first time last year, and I did buy several at that time.

The one mouse, Percy, was a gift for a friend whose name I had drawn in a gift exchange. On the morning of the party, before he went to his forever home with my friend, Percy went on quite an adventure all around the Arboretum!

I also bought two mice for myself last year: Fidelis and Esperanza (yes, Faith and Hope). Not to be outdone, they insisted on going on THEIR own little Arboretum adventure, ending up skating (sort of) on the frozen lily pond.

They revisited the site in summertime, as you may recall, accompanied by a pair of Dancing Girls riding llamas. No, you just can't make this stuff up. Or, actually, maybe I can!  ;-)

But back to the present day. . . . . Last but not least, I stopped by the Berkey Creamery, and BINGO! - there were half-gallons of peppermint stick ice cream in the freezer. So I bought myself one, and I put it in the freezer of a refrigerator where I work. Now any time I want, I can have ice cream for breakfast, lunch, or snack! Hooray!

The soundtrack for this day has to be something festive, a song for a party. So here is Pink, with Get the Party Started, filmed live at Wembley Stadium.