Kids, Books, and Fall

Sorry I forgot to post last night. I did get my dusting and vacuuming finished. I'll put up my general fall decorations tomorrow and sweep the porch sometime later this week, and that should finish the cleaning for this month.

Last night was my 4PM-midnight shift. Busy until around 8:30...after which, everyone cleared out for the Eagles game, and we only had a few customers until closing (and only one was really a problem).

I didn't see the Eagles game, but I heard unkind stories. They lost. Again. Badly. I hope they can get their act together, because the fans are about to mutiny.

Today was my day off, and it was laundry day. I did pilates and watched a double-length Backyardigans episode and a normal Go Diego Go! installment.

The Backyardigans' spoof of the day was James Bond/spy films. Appropriately, the musical genre of the day was slinky 60s Henry Mancini-style jazz. Pablo was the Bond-esque secret agent who likes his apple juice "shaken" (he's a little young for stirred), his clothes snappy, and his cars red, sporty, and filled with gadgets. Tasha was his M; Austin was a fellow agent and master of disguise. Uniqua was the "Lady In Pink," the notorious bad...uh, critter, and Tyrone was her rather befuddled henchmoose. All five were after three containers (really, beverage shakers) with mysterious contents that could, of course, help rule the world! Or at least, the back yard.

While they could have gone for something more imaginative to spoof (come on, everyone and their grandmother's done Bond), the jazzy music and candy-colored 60s-esque visuals more than made up for it. There was a complicated dance sequence towards the end in a jungle temple that was nicely done, too. Cyndi Lauper contributed Uniqua's big number.

Go Diego Go! was somewhat more conventional, although it was once again Alicia and not an animal being rescued. Lina the Llama helped Diego bring a load of books to a library Alicia was setting up over a mountain. Along the way, they encountered several other animals who want to borrow books (including the mischievous monkeys the Bobo Brothers, Diego's versions of Swiper the Fox) and taught the viewers more about llamas. I wish Dora would play with format changes more often - she could really use it after more than seven years on the air.

TCM wasn't as exciting today. They ran two Greta Garbo melodramas while I was there, Anna Karenia and Susan Lennox: Her Rise and Fall. I've heard they're good movies, but I wanted something lighter, so I went with Green Acres on TV Land instead. Not my favorite sitcom, but Eva Gabor beats talk shows and soap operas.

After a quick return to put my laundry away and do dishes (I had lunch at Uncle Ken's), I headed to the library for this week's volunteer session there. I finished organizing the mystery shelves and even found three more I want to read - the new Daisy Daryrumple book, the second Maisie Dobbs story (I just loved Maisie but had trouble finding more of the series in Cape May County), and the 60s-set mystery Blue Moon. It's about time I tried some new authors and tracked down a few older ones I haven't read in a while.

(Oh, and I finished The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers last night and returned it. While not as disappointing as Lillian Jackson Braun's last efforts, it wasn't quite right, either. She could have thought of a less sensational way to make changes in Qwill's life, and none of the arson was ever adequately explained.)

I also took out more Backyardigans and Samantha: An American Girl on DVD. "Cops and Robots" (space cops Tyrone and Uniqua chase bad 'bots Tasha and Pablo to the tune of jug band music) was my favorite, though "Movers of Arabia" (movers Uniqua and Pablo try to transport Sultan Tyrone's magical stuff without heavy reliance on Genie Austin's three wishes and groove to surf music) wins points for originality.

I checked out a few stores on the way home. Didn't buy anything at the overpriced costume store (though Matt of X-Entertainment would have drooled over some of the huge skulls and grim reapers and massive displays of slasher mannequins), but I picked up a cute, folksy fall-themed hanging felt pillow embroidered with the words "sharing" from AC Moore and a fake white pumpkin, a small figurine of Maleficent of the Disney Sleeping Beauty, and a fall-themed broom door hanging from Dollar Tree. I also tried a little bit of a Chocolate Mocha Kit-Kat bar. It was really good, with just the right hint of coffee. Dollar Tree always has great "limited edition" candy bar flavors you won't see in stores.

The rest of the week should be much quieter. I'm still deciding whether or not to go into Philadelphia after thrift shop volunteering on Thursday. I need to remind Barnes and Noble and Borders of my presence, but I've had a long and rough couple of weeks and it's been a while since I've had even half-a-day to just lounge around.