Balance In the Rain

It wasn't raining when I first got out of bed this morning. The porch was wet and the sky was gloomy, but there wasn't anything going on...until a half-hour before I wanted to leave. Since I was ready to go, I just rode to yoga in the rain, anyway. I did get a little wet, but it wasn't raining so hard I was dripping when I arrived.

Not surprisingly, the rain cleared out Yogawood. There were only 9 or 10 people in class today. That gave us plenty of room to work on poses inspired by birds, like pigeon and peacock. Alas, most of these involved pulling back and grabbing legs, or standing on your head. I'm just not that flexible.

I went straight to the Collingswood Library after class. Initially, there were only a few DVDs to put away. When I did them and organized the DVDs, I went upstairs and shelved some adult non-fiction books. I came downstairs...and discovered the kids' Storybook Hour had just finished, and there were now lots of people looking for movies and returning them!

Even with the sudden influx of parents and kids looking for DVDs to watch on a rainy day, I was still out by noon. It was still raining and windy when I rode home. Once again, I got wet, but not soaked. I decided not to push my options and spent the rest of the day inside.

I had a Peanut Butter and Apricot Preserves Sandwich while finishing the second Sean the Sheep disc. Aardman Entertainment sure likes their aliens. Sean and his buddies meet their second extraterrestrial visitors in one of these later stories. This time, they're young'uns who wreck havoc around the barnyard...until their parents arrive to take them home. Another fun one had the entire barnyard trying to figure out how to keep Shirley, the largest and least intelligent sheep, from snoring.

Spent the rest of the afternoon editing Bowery Boys stories and working on Wishcraft exercises. Look for two multi-part Bowery Boys stories and one short one tonight or later this weekend!

When I got tired of Wishcraft, I practiced my crocheting for a while and watched Dial M For Murder. One of Hitchcock's best 50s thrillers, Dial M is a talky but riveting thriller based after a hit stage play. Ray Milland is excellent as the husband who has been blackmailing his wife (Grace Kelly) after discovering she's having an affair with an American mystery novelist. He finally devises the "perfect murder" to get her money...but nothing is perfect, not even murder...

It's obvious that this was based after a play. Most of the movie is set at or around the couple's home, with a few scenes shown outside or at a party, and there's a LOT of talking. Hitchcock's excellent direction generally manages to get around this, but action junkies may want to go elsewhere.

According to the short documentary on with the movie, this was also originally filmed in 3D. I thought some of the shots were oddly framed, including the one of Kelly trying to reach for the scissors that ended up in the poster. Otherwise, though, this is far from your typical attempt to show off the process (including the movies out now).

I switched to Scooby Doo while making flounder, broccoli sauteed in I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and white wine, steamed asparagus, and applesauce for dinner. The ones on this 4-episode set are from the original, classic 1969 show. My favorite was What the Hex Is Going On?. The gang visit a spooky old mansion and discover that a ghost is aging its owners unless they give up the residence's fabled treasure. If nothing else, this one is notable as the episode featuring the scene in the original opening credits with Shaggy on the roller skates and ending up in the bathtub.

And though the rain slowed down a bit while I was working on the Wishcraft exercises, it returned during the movie and has been going ever since.