The Holiday Season Begins

Maybe running out to the Haddon Township Library this morning wasn't a great idea. It had rained on and off all morning, and continued to do so into the afternoon. It was gray, wet, and dismal as I made my way across Newton River Park. The only creatures who weren't bothered by the rain were the flocks of Canadian geese who grazed in great numbers around the path. (The flock was so big, I just walked my bike to the street instead of trying to go around them.)

Surprisingly, the library wasn't that busy when I came in. There were no DVDs for me to shelve, so I organized the kids' DVDs and put away picture books instead. I eventually rented four DVDs - the new Barbie As special, Barbie: Princess Charm School, Max and Ruby's Christmas, and two movies, the version of The Green Hornet from earlier this year and Nowhere Boy, a biography of the teen days of John Lennon.

Made a quick stop at Super Fresh after I left the library. They're having a sale on oatmeal, which I forgot to pick up on Friday. I also found good sales on Whole Wheat Flour and the Dr. Oteker mousse mixes I like. I decided to stock up for the holidays.

On my way home, I stopped at WaWa. I was going to buy a salad, but their salads are huge and not that cheap. I opted for a Santa Fe Chicken Wrap instead. The rain had stopped by this point, but would start again not long after I got home.

I ran Princess Charm School as I put everything away and made my bed. Barbie's tales of royal girls are thrust into the here and now as Blair, a hard-working young girl from a poor foster family, finds herself with a scholarship to a boarding school that prepares princesses for the royal life and commoners to work alongside them as "Lady Royals." Flustered Blair is sure she doesn't fit in, but her new princess friends and the school's head mistress believe in her. The head teacher wants her own daughter to be crowned Princess of the land where the school is, and when she sees that Blair might be royalty, she becomes determined to stop her from making it to the graduation/coronation.

I really wish this has been available in September. It would have been an awful lot of fun for back-to-school. I didn't think I would like it after seeing the trailer earlier in the year. I learned a lesson today about not judging a movie from its advertisement. The trailer emphasized Blair's slapstick falling over her four-inch heels, but the special only has a little of that, and mostly in the beginning. Though it has a lot in common with earlier princess tales (Barbie on a quest; Barbie meets lots of buddies; Barbie is helped by small creatures; well-meaning but nasty mother pushes her daughter over Barbie), the modern setting and Blair's down-to-Earth personality gives it a refreshing twist. The animation looks better, too, if still a tad bit waxy. Still, it's a  vast improvement over the last two fairy-themed stories.

I went for a short walk after Princess Charm School ended. It was still gloomy and damp and dripping, but the rain was holding off. I hiked down to the end of Goff Avenue. The water was steel-colored and sharp, like it could prick your finger if you touched it. The trees, now stripped of most of their leaves, looked bare and dismal. I moved along down back to Kendall Boulevard, passing a few of the last kids going home from school on my way.

It started raining shortly after I got back home. This time, I took the hint. I spent the rest of the evening inside. There's a reason I only dust under the toys and books every couple of months...and that reason is it takes forever to do! Of course, it would take even less time if I didn't get distracted by every other book in the apartment. It wasn't until quarter of 7 that I finally got it all done.

Though it was late, I still pulled out the Santa Bag before I had dinner. The big red felt Santa Bag has all of the Christmas items that are too big or awkwardly shaped to fit in containers (like the wreath for the front door and the Ferro Rocher bell) or that I just want to put up first (the poinsettia-print placemats, the holiday-colored coasters that used to be pot holders, the mistletoe).

I ran Max and Ruby while I had leftovers and roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner. I did rent this one last year, but there's some really cute episodes here. The title one, with Max waiting impatiently for Santa (despite his sister trying to shoo him to bed), is adorable. I also like "Max Is It." Ruby and her buddies Louise and Valerie want Max to play Freeze Tag with them. He agrees...but only so he can chase Ruby and get the candy she has in her backpack.