Balance In the Cold

While it wasn't quite as freezing today as it was yesterday, it wasn't anywhere near warm, either. I decided to test the weather with a short walk to the Oaklyn Library for this week's volunteering session and to WaWa for a hot drink. The Library was surprisingly busy for such a cold day, with several people behind computers or reading newspapers. I organized the adult DVDs and went through the kids' and young adult books.

WaWa wasn't as busy as it could have been at quarter after 1. I got my Winter Spice Cappuccino and pretzel with no fuss. However, while the drink kept my fingers from getting frostbitten, even a walk couldn't make my legs any warmer. After I got home, I decided I was done for the day.

I finally finished out the public domain DVD set during a leftovers lunch, and then while making rolls for dinner. In addition to more Fleischer Popeye (he shows off his window washing skills for Olive and rescues her from Bluto the Cowboy), Colonel Bleep (he and Scratch save the little puppet Squeak from mutant termites), and Clutch Cargo (he and Spinner stop a carny from sabotaging a local fair and help a stereotypical Eskimo and a sea captain learn more about the huge "bird monster" that's stealing supplies from them), we had several odd fairy tale shorts from the 30s that were probably intended as educational or industrial cartoons. One was an ad for Chevrolet disguised as a Disney-esque Arabian Knights story called The Princess and the Pauper; another was a car safety short with fairy tale characters driving badly and running into each other, thanks to Pandora unleashing bad habits into the world.

Spent the next few hours trying to work on writing. It was frustrating. First of all, I get so distracted. I'll start working...and I'll end up reading old stories or something else online. It's that focus problem again. Second, when I did start writing, the Helium article I was working on wasn't coming out right, and I wasn't sure how to get around a bit of controversial information. I wasn't sure if it was even relevant to what I was writing or not. I finally just withdrew.

Frustrated, I finally just did one of the DDP Yoga DVDs my best friend Lauren sent me last winter instead. This one concentrated on standing poses and balance. If there's something I need to work on, it's balance. I can't hold up my legs or really stand on one foot. I can manage a tree pose, but not splits or holding my legs out. I totally lack flexibility.

Ran another Faerie Tale Theatre episode during a dinner of meatball sandwiches on a fresh roll and honey-glazed carrots. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is one of the most straightforward adaptations of the entire series. Daydreaming Jack (Dennis Christopher) trades his cow for magic beans, much to the annoyance of his hard-working mother (Katherine Helmond). When the beans sprout into a huge beanstalk, he's determined to climb it...and discovers two giants (Elliot Gould and Jean Stapleton) who have stolen his family's treasures and a fairy in drag at the top.

One of the funnier early stories; Stapleton and Gould are great as the oversized married couple.