Winter Finally Arrives

It took it long enough, but it actually felt like winter today. I awoke to a wonderfully cold morning, just at freezing temperatures. Most people hate the cold. It doesn't bother me. It's easier to ride a bike in cold weather than it is in warm...and it beats heat and humidity! I had a nice, warm bowl of grits and a grapefruit before heading out for the laundromat (stopping quickly at Miss Ellie's side of the house to deliver my rent).

I couldn't believe how busy the laundromat was this morning! When I got there at 11, there were at least two large families and two older people doing their clothes and linen. Kids ran all over the place and yelled at each other. Their mother screamed curses across a not-large room at them. It was highly unpleasant, and I'm really glad I didn't have all that much laundry to do.

When I got home, I put the laundry away, then ran my Backyardigans DVD with the winter-themed episodes "The Snow Fort" and "The Yeti" as I ate tangerines and the last of the Pop Shop Gingerbread Pancakes for lunch. As soon as I finished lunch, I bundled up again, grabbed the DVDs I needed to return to the Haddon Township Library, and jumped back on the bike.

Stopped at the Rite Aid across from the Westmont Plaza. I needed contact solution. I was dismayed to discover that they're previously-best-in-the-area prices had gone up...so I just went with the larger size that was really a better value anyway. I also found a buy-one, get-one sale on several brands of nuts (chose the 8 oz Blue Diamond Sea Salt containers), a new 6-pocket folder for some of my stories and essays, and a small snowman-shaped cake pan for $1.99 on their after-Christmas sale.

Cuthbert Road was so busy, I went through the park and around the back way to the Haddon Township Library. They were busy when I arrived, too, with lots of people asking questions about the computers. It was so busy, I had plenty of DVDs to put away and organize for the first time in weeks. I ended up taking out a book on changing careers, and DVDs for Sean the Sheep (their new Christmas-themed collection), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure, and the last of the four Scooby Doo random episode collections, Scooby Doo and the Robots.

The sun was setting when I headed home across Newton River Park, passing a few brave dog-walkers bundled against the fierce wind. When I made it home, I spent the rest of the evening taking down my Christmas tree and watching cartoons and more Busby Berkley. Space Adventure takes Mickey and the gang on a wild trip into the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy to teach kids about various planets, meet Moon Dwellers Chip and Dale, Martian Mickey, and Pluto from Pluto (naturally). Professor Ludwig Von Drake gave them a map to follow to a super-secret space treasure! Space Pirate Pete, however, is determined to get to the treasure first. Meanwhile, for the first time ever, Toodles, the Mickey-like computer thing that brings the objects of the day, has a really major roll in a story. He falls for Pete's computer Cootles (a Minnie version of Tootles), and everyone finally comes together when they have to rescue the two electronic devices!

I switched to more Busby Berkley as I heated up leftovers for dinner. Dames is the last of the four major 1933-1934 Berkley extravaganzas, and the only one where the accent was squarely on the by-now major stars Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. They're lovers from a snooty family who frowns on such things as Broadway shows. Blondell is the one who gets the show going when she blackmails Keeler's uptight father Herbert (Guy Kibbee) into backing the show. Herbert's afraid that his rich, snobby cousin will cut him off without a cent if he finds out he's done something so scandalous as be involved with the theater! Keeler's not happy either when she sees Powell writing a number for Blondell, but Powell only has eyes for Keeler...all of her.

Best known for introducing the standard title number and "I Only Have Eyes For You," this is probably the least well known and regarded of the early 30s Busby Berkley extravaganzas. The most famous number is "Only Have Eyes For You," where Powell keeps seeing chorines with Keeler masks when he's searching high and low for the real thing.