Do You Hear the People Sing?

First of all, James, whomever you are, let's make one thing quite clear. I don't like being insulted. If you continue to send nasty messages to this blog, you will be marked as spam and reported to Blogger. I've been tolerating bullies like you since childhood. I am not tolerating them anymore. Not here. Not anywhere.

It makes me so mad when people do things like this. I'm tired of dealing with bullies. Why can't people just be pleasant? I've been bullied my whole life. By parents and teachers who meant well. By kids who didn't know the difference between "unique" and "weird." Why do people think they can hold power over others this way? It doesn't just happen to kids, either. Adults bully each other, too. Do people think that's really the only way to get anyone to do anything? I'm going to write what I want, thank you, not what some bully thinks I should write. If he doesn't like that, he can read someone else's blog.

Beyond that, I had a good day. I started it with this week's volunteering session at the Haddon Township Library. It was gorgeous, upper 50s-lower 60s, sunny, a nice breeze but none of the wind that made earlier this week so chilly. It was so nice, I rode to the Library via Newton River Park.

There were plenty of DVDs to return and organize. I was happily occupied for an hour. After I finished, I found three books and three DVDs to take out. I skipped reading Joanna Fluke's Plum Pudding Murder when it came out last year; I decided to make up for that now. I also took out a kids' crochet book and a book of Thanksgiving recipes, ideas, and stories. Found three DVDs as well - the Angelina Ballerina Christmas special, a set of Max and Ruby fall and winter-themed shorts, and the newest Barbie As special, Barbie In a Fashion Fairy Tale.

Next stop was Super Fresh. They have better prices on real maple syrup than the Acme does. I also found the Laurel and Hardy March of the Toy Soldiers there for $4.99. I've been wanting to replace that since I got rid of the video with it and Christmas In Connecticut after I bought the latter on DVD in 2008.

Headed to the Bagel Shop for lunch. I had a little more than half of a tasty Vegetable Quesedilla for lunch. It filled me up so much, I couldn't close to finish it. Couldn't finish my pickles, either.

Went straight home via Cuthbert Road after lunch. The Wachovia Bank they were building was finished a few weeks ago. It's a pretty simple building, but they did a good job, and at least it's not a fast food place. In fact, they did such a good job, it looks like they want the rest of the mall to match. There were people on a crane painting the half of the mall next to Wachovia in soft shades of white and brown when I was riding by. I actually like it better than the gray and white it was. Looks much warmer and more inviting.

Rode straight home after that. It was after 2 by the time I got in. There was a blinking light on my answering machine. The Acme had tried to call me in. By that point, it was too late and they'd already gotten someone else anyway.

I spent the next few hours raking leaves instead. I thought this week was our week for leaf pick-up. Miss Ellie told me later that it isn't...but I'm glad I got it done anyway. It's supposed to rain tomorrow. Neither she nor I need to be tripping over wet leaves and sticks.

I love raking. It's such good exercise. It gets you outside and into the fresh air. It's just so much fun! Best of all, it's something that gets things done. You get instant results. You rake the leaves, put them in piles, and take them to the curb...and you don't have leaves. It's something you really do. It's real work.

After I finished with the leaves, I swept my porch. It badly needed it. The storms last week brought down piles of leaves. I think there were more leaves on my porch than in the yard! I was wading through piles of leaves literally up to my ankles as I swept them off the sides.

Still feeling vigorous, I went for a quick walk when the porch was clear. I needed to return those Winnie the Pooh Halloween videos anyway. It was still a nice day, windless but a bit colder than earlier.

Spent the rest of the evening at home. I made chicken meatloaf, steamed cauliflower, and roasted Brussels sprouts while watching Fashion Fairytale and Max and Ruby.

Fashion Fairytale pulls Barbie out of her perpetual princess stories and into the here and now. Fired from her latest movie for mouthing off at the director, Barbie decides to head for Paris to visit her Aunt Millicent, who runs a fashion house. When she arrives, she discovers that her aunt has been run out of business by a trashy designer who steals her ideas. Barbie and Alice, a young woman who works for her aunt and secretly wishes to design clothes, find three "flaries" who add glitter to Alice's new gowns...but can they do enough "glitterizing" to save Aunt Millicent's business? And what about Ken, who is having enough trouble with transportation to Paris to fill a second Planes, Trains, and Automobiles?

I thought it was cute...but I think I like it better when Barbie isn't being herself. The "be yourself" lesson was laid on with a trowel the size of the Eiffel Tower. Ken's attempt to join her was actually a lot funnier. (And didn't she break up with him a while back?) The best part may have been the almost Pirandellian "Princess and the Pea" opening, in which we see what looks like a typical Barbie As special (even used the same character seen in a few of the princess stories as a villainous mother-type for the evil queen). It quickly gets surreal when a pack of disco-dancing zombie peas suddenly appear. Even Barbie couldn't handle that one.

The Max and Ruby episodes were a lot of fun. "Max's Christmas Passed," in which Max finds a way to cheer him and Ruby up after the Christmas decorations come down, was very sweet. So was "Max's New Year." Grandma, Max, and Ruby have a three-rabbit New Year's party...and teach Max about patience and about time when he has to wait until midnight to blow his noisemaker and have Grandma's clock-shaped cookies.