Quiet Day In the Rain

It was cloudy and humid but not really hot when I finally climbed out of bed around 9:30. I had breakfast an hour later and didn't get going to the Oaklyn Library until nearly noon. I'm glad I did finally get out there. The pre-schoolers were just finishing their session, and the kids' area needed some serious re-organizing. The DVDs looked pretty bad, too. You can tell I wasn't in last week. There were lots of books to shelve after the kids left, and the board books needed to be completely re-arranged.

After I left the Library, I made a quick stop at WaWa. I meant to get milk at work last night, but I left so quickly, I forgot. I grabbed the milk and a pretzel snack, since it was well past lunchtime.

It's a good thing I got home when I did. It had been cloudy, cool, and very humid all morning. The rain started a mere twenty minutes after I made it in the door. It's been raining off and on ever since (though it's off at the moment).

The remainder of the day passed quietly. I dubbed more Perfect Strangers episodes, finishing off another disc and another tape. I put my foot on ice, rolling it back and forth on the frozen water bottle. I baked corn muffins to accompany my dinner of Spicy Chicken Cutlets (chicken cutlets coated with spices and the hint of red pepper), steamed carrots, and sauteed butternut squash with honey. I did more things online.

Watched two lovely Disney direct-to-home-media movies before and during dinner. Bambi II is a "mid-quel" to the Disney classic that is set between the scene where Bambi's dad, the Great Prince of the Forest, tells him that his mother isn't coming back, and the scene where Friend Owl discovers the adult Bambi. The Great Prince may be great at many things...but he's not exactly the ideal father for a frisky, sweet-natured fawn. Bambi tries his best to live up to his father's legacy, while his big buck dad learns a lesson in the wonders of parenting.

I was very impressed with this sweet outing. Not only is it a worthy successor to one of Disney's best movies, but it has a well-done message about the importance of fathers in their children's lives and how much children can teach us if we're willing to listen. And unlike many of Disney's direct-to-home-media movies, which simply rehash their predecessors, Bambi II goes it's own way.

Pooh's Grand Adventure is another Disney made-for-home-media movie I highly recommend, especially since it apparently deals with some of the same themes as the Pooh tale that was released to theaters this past summer. Pooh and the rest of the Hundred Acres Woods crew believe Christopher Robin is being held captive by the fearsome "Skullasaurus" and go on a journey to rescue him. Can they brave the wilds on the outskirts of the Hundred Acre Woods...and will Pooh ever remember the saying that Christopher Robin told him?

A surprisingly bittersweet Pooh story (similar to the Valentine's special), which reminds that even when friends are far away, they're still close in our hearts. This is pretty dark for Pooh (as some parents on Amazon.com pointed out), and probably not the best movie to start the youngest Pooh fans off on. For older kids and adults, it's a touching adventure with some really nice sequences (I love Pooh rescuing Piglet from the butterflies) and a few heartbreaking ones (I dare you not to cry when Pooh sings "Wherever You Are").