Time For Christmas Cookies!

Started this morning relatively early, around 8, and got out at quarter of 10. I had a lot of errands on my to do list today, starting with a trip to Oaklyn's Post Office to send off packages for my little nephew Collyn (whose 3rd birthday was last week), Linda & James Young, and my best friend Lauren. I figured it wouldn't be that busy at quarter of 10...but boy, was I wrong! There was already a line across and outside of the small building. They only had one man doing everything. The man they had borrowed from another post office had to be entered into their system by a supervisor who wasn't there. He couldn't get his scanner to work, either. And of course, the two women before me were sending huge packages all the way to Greece! I'm glad I got boxes at the post office this time, instead of using my own. It made things a lot easier. I was in and out quickly once I finally got up to the counter.

The Oaklyn Library isn't that far from Newton River Park, so I rode across there to the Haddon Township Library. It was very cold this morning, much colder than it has been. Some puddles had a thin layer of ice on them. So did parts of the river! I only saw a lone man on a walk and a flock of ducks going for a swim on the ice-less parts of the river.

Actually, there wasn't much going on at the Haddon Township Library. There was already a volunteer who was shelving DVDs. I ended up organizing the children's DVDs and putting away some picture books. I mostly took out cartoons this week. Picked up another holiday-themed Max & Ruby set (Everybunny Loves Winter), the holiday Rugrats set (Turkey and Mistletoe - in other words, the Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and two Christmas specials), a new Sean the Sheep set, this one themed around aliens and the paranormal, and the Disney Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey from two years ago.

I had quite a bit to do at the Westmont Plaza after I left the library. I was thrilled to discover Super Fresh had that Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cookie Mix I like. It's only out during the holidays, and I haven't seen it at the Acme yet this year. (The cashier said it just came in this week!) I also grabbed grits, brown sugar, and a gift card and card holder for my sister Anny.

There's a Game Stop next-door to the Bagel Shop in the Westmont Plaza. I made it my next stop. It's larger, cleaner, and has a nicer selection than the Audubon Game Stop. Ironically, when I brought the PlayStation Portable game I picked for Keefe up to the counter, the very nice cashier said they weren't that popular of a location. She said Audubon gets a lot more customers...but they have a more loyal clientele of locals.

With the Bagel Shop right next door, it made sense to go there for lunch. I had a warm, spicy pizza bagel, fries, and pickles while listening to The Chew and enjoying the relative quiet. There was one other woman there reading a book. A family with an adorable toddler daughter came in a bit later.

Went right home after lunch. I put everything away, then put on the DVDs I rented today and started the first batches of cookies. I always make these cookies to give away to family members and to bring to the Acme's Holiday Luncheon:

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Peanut Butter
Biscotti
Molasses Roll-Outs
Cherry Coconut Bars

Started with the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip first. I get these from a Prevention Magazine recipe I clipped about two years ago. Everyone always appreciates them. I've never had a batch that didn't turn out well, and these were no exception. They were perfect.

I went for a walk around the neighborhood between batches. It was past 4PM by this point. The sun was starting to go down, shooting rays of crimson gold over the calm waters of the creek. The water at the end of Goff Avenue was perfectly calm, without even a ripple to disturb the glassy waters.

When I came home, I went right back into cookie baking. This time, I did the Peanut Butter (from a recipe from a British cookie and biscuit book) while running A Christmas Carol. I don't recommend this version of the beloved Charles Dickens novella at all. It's done in the same motion-capture animation as Polar Express, but for some reason, we get more of an emphasis on the ghosts being frightening than on redeeming Scrooge. There's a lot of bizarre set pieces, including one where Scrooge is shrunk and another where he blasts over the moon, that have nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas Carol and more to do with showing off technology. Some of the freakier images should have netted this a PG-13. Shame this wastes a nice cast, including Carrey as Scrooge, Colin Firth as Nephew Fred, and Bob Hoskins as Fezziwig, among others. If you want a Christmas Carol for kids, try the Muppets or Mickey (which I watched directly after this); if you want a more traditional recent version, check out the Patrick Stewart TNT movie from 2000 or even the 2004 musical I rented a few weeks ago.

Did Shaun the Sheep while making a quick dinner of leftover chicken soup with Betty Crocker gingerbread bars for dessert. Though a few of the episodes that revolved around alien visitors were on the Season One set, there were a couple that were new to me. My favorite was "Bitzer Puts His Foot In It." Bitzer the dog tries to guard his master's freshly laid cement patch...but it's not easy with Sean and his fellow sheep making mischief! Sean and Bitzer's attempts to cure Shirley the Sheep of her "Hiccups" was cute, too.

Oh, and I got my brother's presents wrapped today and put Anny's gift card in a tin. This completely finishes my holiday non-food shopping. Anyone who shows up unexpectedly will get food or a gift card.