Surprise Street Fair

I awoke to sunshine, blue skies, and this week's American Top 40. Casey jumped forward to 1984 as pop, divas, New Wave, and R&B dominated the air waves. Hits the week before Thanksgiving included "Good to Me" by Tina Turner, "Penny Lover" by Lionel Richie, "I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan, "All Through the Night" by Cyndi Lauper, "Struck" by Sheena Easton, and the title song from the movie Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution. The number one hit that week had America and the UK dancing through the holidays - "Wake Me Up Before I Go-Go" by British duo Wham!

Took the advantage of a quiet morning to change the American Girl and Sailor Moon dolls into their holiday outfits. Samantha wears her deep red Cranberry Christmas Dress. Molly sports her green velvet dress, Felicity her blue Christmas Gown. Jessa wears the scarlet and gold brocade Chinese New Year Outfit that came out in the late 90s. (The human Jessa apparently bought it to use for a school project on Asian holidays around the time it came out.) The Sailor Soldiers all wears vintage Barbie evening gowns from yard sales and thrift shops and cheap ones from dollar stores. (Disney doesn't really make clothes for the Animator's Collection Toddlers. I may end up crocheting them good holiday outfits when my skills improve.)

Spent the rest of the morning watching cartoons and working on my crocheting. The Sailor Moon "movie" Hearts In Ice inspired me to watch snow and winter-themed episodes as we work towards Thanksgiving and Christmas. Max and Ruby spent a cold day inside, made snow angels and chased the Abominable Snow Bunny, and got mixed up when Max wants to continue sledding and switches his hat and mittens with his best friend Morris'. The Backyardigans protect a giant snowball in "The Snow Fort" and follow "The Yeti" across the frozen north. Garfield and Odie are stranded in a cabin without food while Jon tries to get through the snow to them in the Garfield and Friends episode "Cabin Fever."

Finished out the morning with the original 1969 Frosty the Snowman. This is one of the simpler 60s Rankin-Bass specials. A group of kids find a magic hat that makes a snowman come to life. The magician who had thrown away the hat wants it back now that appears to actually be enchanted. One of the girls, Karen, offers to take Frosty up to the North Pole so he won't melt. The magician follows them, but the North Pole's most famous resident comes to their rescue when they're cornered in a greenhouse.

Short, sweet, and fun. Not a bad "first Rankin Bass" to start off young kids with, since Professor Hinkle is one of their least-menacing villains and any damage done is fixed quickly, due to Frosty being made of snow. While the 70s follow-up Frosty's Winter Wonderland and a much later Frosty story, Frosty Returns, are pretty good in their own right, this is the one you really need to see. (It's also one of the few 60s Rankin-Bass specials that isn't an out-and-out musical. The only music heard is the title song.)

Switched to the Bowery Boys while eating lunch and making Peanut Butter Cookies. In Bowery Bombshell, Sach is inadvertently framed for a bank robbery by a photograph taken by a female photographer who is a friend of Slip Mahoney. The boys and the lady dress as gangsters to get the goods on the real robbers and clear Sach.

(Incidentally, the first volume of Bowery Boys movies released by the Warner Archive is now in pre-order and will be released on Tuesday. About time. I have all the copies Lauren sent me and won't be buying them, but for those of you who have wanted them, here's your chance.)

(The cookies came out pretty well, by the way. I tried the Red Hot Peanut Butter Cookies recipe from my sugar free and sugar alternatives baking book. They had no oil, eggs, or dairy, just peanut butter, flour, salt, baking soda, vanilla, and fruit concentrate. I added some honey for flavor and extra sweetness. They were tasty, just rich and sweet enough. I may have to use this recipe at Christmas.)

After the Boys ended, I finally decided that I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to put some money in my regular bank account. I tried to transfer funds from the Disability account on Thursday, but it turns out you have to wait a week for them to approve the account to transfer to. I don't have a week. Since it was a nice day anyway, I decided to test my bad ankle and walk to the bank.

I'm glad I did. It was just gorgeous outside. In fact, it was warmer than I expected it to be, probably in the mid to upper 50s. There was a sweet, lovely breeze. The trees all over the neighborhood are stunning shades of copper, rust, scarlet, brilliant gold, bright green, and burnt sienna. There were lots of people out and about, and I saw several cars heading towards the shopping area of West Clinton Avenue, though I couldn't figure out why at the time.

It took me a few minutes to take money out of my Bank of America account and get it in my PNC account. Apparently, sometime since last summer, they redid some of the questions on their ATM. I finally got it figured all out, moved the money to the right place, and headed back towards Manor.

I had enough money left for a soda at Doria's Deli. I was disappointed when I remembered that they close at 2 on Saturdays...but then I saw something going on a few doors down. Studio LuLu, Oaklyn's arts and music center, was having a small street fair to raise funds for their classes. There were a couple of tables of local craftspeople who worked out of LuLu's selling their wares. Local musicians played small concerts in the studio. There was a bake sale and a table of magnets made with recycled bottlecaps covered in glitter, beads, and paper that were being sold for a dollar. I bought a magnet and a can of Pepsi Next from Phillies Phatties.

While I did enjoy my outing, my ankle ultimately didn't. It was a little sore when I finally made it home around 2:30. I was inside for the rest of the day. I worked on a short story and a flash fiction story for Helium. I did crocheting while watching the Disney animated anthology movie Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas, then put on Barbie and the Magic of the Pegasus during dinner to finish out the winter theme.