Surprise Blizzard

I was watching the MacDonald/Eddy movie I Married An Angel this morning when I first saw it. It was supposed to flurry this morning, but not blizzard! It was really coming down. (Making the fact that it was coming down while Jeanette and Nelson were singing "Spring Is Here" rather ironic.) It was sticking to the porch and grass, too. I was originally going to run out to the grocery store early, but I held off a little while until the snow died down.

The Acme was very busy when I got in. It was 11:30, almost lunch time, and the noon rush hour was just beginning. Thankfully, by that point, the blizzard was long gone - in fact, it was sunny, cold, and very windy! I picked up my paycheck and did my weekly grocery shopping. Jello mix was on sale and I had a coupon. The ground chicken was finally on sale, too. Needed to restock white cake mix, canned soup, mouthwash, frozen juice, whole wheat tortillas, bananas, and apples. Blood oranges are in season; I bought a bag, despite it being expensive, after I loved last year's crop.

When I got in, I put everything away, and made leftovers for lunch while running more Faerie Tale Theatre. Peter MacNicol is "The Boy Who Left Home To Learn About the Shivers", a lesser-known Grimm's Tale. Martin is an innocent young man who has never felt fear in his life. In order to find out what fear is, he spends three nights in an enchanted castle that belongs to a wicked sorcerer (Christopher Lee). The inkeeper's cute daughter (Dana Hill) tries to warn him away, but he's determined to be scared for the first time in his life, no matter how much the ghouls want to go bowling.

Definitely one of the strangest episodes of the entire series. Despite the spooky trappings and genuinely frightening sets, it's mostly played for laughs...especially the sequence where zombie-like creatures come out to frighten Martin and end up partying with him.

Ran some spooky Three Stooges while experimenting with club soda, a box of Cookies n' Cream Pudding Mix, and that box of hot chocolate cake mix I bought a while back. In "If a Body Meets a Body," Curly is the heir to a fortune...but he and his brother and friend may not survive long enough to see their inheritance! "Shivering Sherlocks" brings Shemp in as he, Moe, and Larry rescue Christine MacEntyre from thieves and their strange goon who are living in the house she's supposed to inherit. And in "The Hot Scots," the trio find themselves trying to help the owner of a spooky Scottish castle find out what's happening to his valuables.

The cake was just barely out of the oven when I hurried off to work! The snow that had been such a shock t this morning was completely gone by quarter of 3, melted or blown away in the gale-force winds. No matter. It was still busy tonight, right until about 8:30. It's not only the beginning of the month, but the beginning of the single busiest month of the entire year in Camden County. You have Groundhog Day, then the Super Bowl, then Valentine's Day, then President's Day Weekend...and don't forget the years when the Winter Olympics and Chinese New Year are in February. February is the height of the winter high school varsity sports season, and a big month for birthdays, too. Not to mention, there's the weather to consider.

I wasn't surprised when I picked up a 4-9 shift tomorrow. I was surprised they gave me the Saturday before the Super Bowl off to begin with. Given we're coming up on a very busy season, I'm also not surprised I  have far more hours and, other than a late day on Sunday (I'll have to miss the Super Bowl - darn!), I'm working at least somewhat earlier than I was this week.