Winter Woods and Sunny Days

I had a lot planned for my only day off this week, starting with a run to the laundromat. Dad and Jodie are out of town visiting friends, and I had a huge pile of clothes to do, including towels. The laundromat wasn't bad when I came in; the TV wasn't even on. Someone put on Let's Make a Deal and The Price Is Right later. Thankfully, it was quiet enough that I had no problem getting a washer or a drier.

When I got home, I put everything away, then went right back out. This time, I started on Cuthbert Road. Had lunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop. I arrived at 12:30, just in time for the lunch crowd coming from the nearby offices and hospitals. I did find a seat and ordered a BLT on a sesame bagel and cole slaw while watching Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The BLT was very tasty, and HUGE, loaded with a big stack of bacon.

Next on the schedule was this week's Haddon Township Library volunteering session. Everyone must have taken DVDs out to watch during the so-called "winter storm" this weekend. There were two long rows of them, and plenty of kids' DVDs to put away, too. Pulled quite a few foreign titles, too.

I did end up taking out DVDs this week. I've wanted to see The Hunger Games for a while. I haven't read the books, but I do love the idea of a teen girl heroine who does something besides pine for vampires. After much delay, Disney finally put out the next Tinker Bell movie, The Secret of the Wings, which I've also wanted to see. And I enjoyed the live-action Avengers so much, I thought I'd take a look at Disney's animated TV show version of more-or-less the same story.

It was a gorgeous day for a ride to Haddonfield. The clouds and fog that obscured my vision on yesterday and during my last counseling appointment had been chased away by bright sunshine and relatively warm upper 40-degree temperatures. It was very windy again, which coupled with traffic, caused my trip to take a little longer than it did last time. I still arrived at Shelly Stahl's on-time.

We mainly discussed my difficult childhood and how it's still impacting me today, including getting a decent job. Shelly says I'm far from the only person who has complained to her about hating grocery store work. It doesn't at all match my personality, either. I want to help people, not be their slave. I want to write for them and make them happy, not listen to them carp and complain about how much they hate shopping. It's hard to stay positive when I'm forever hearing people fussing and giving orders and being general pains.

The trouble is, first of all, it is very hard for me to stay positive. I give up very easily. Second, I'm still overcoming a difficult childhood, specifically the period of about 1988 to 1991, when my whole world seemed to collapse on me - I entered puberty at age 9, my parents' marital problems and my problems with the kids at school came to a head, we moved to yet another house in 1990. I preferred to cling to food, Star Wars, and reading rather than deal with my crumbling reality.

I initially believed that my early puberty was caused by the stress from all my problems. While stress may have been a factor, I now suspect it was the result of hormones added to milk and other foods during this time period. I don't know why chemists can't leave well enough alone. If a food wasn't meant to sit on a shelf, it wasn't meant to sit on a shelf, and that's that. Some things aren't supposed to last forever.

Considering how busy February is in general, Mrs. Stahl and I both came to the conclusion that it would be too difficult for us to try to get together again this month. I'll be going back to her in the first week of March. Until then, she wants me to make a list of all the negative things that come up when I get angry at myself, and positive things I can counteract them with.

I made a quick stop at the tiny candy store for more of those wonderful chocolate Smarties, then went a block down to the CVS on the shopping district. I was going to stop at the Dollar Tree on the way home and buy toothbrushes and sponges. I bought them at CVS instead - the sponges were on sale. I decided to get milk, since I was there and it was a good price, and I've been meaning to buy allergy medicine anyway.

I got lost in the twisting back roads of Haddon Township riding home. When I finally made it into Westmont, I avoided the worst of Cuthbert Road at rush hour and rode home across a bustling Newton River Park. It was getting chillier and windier at that point, but I still saw lots of people out and about, strolling or walking dogs or jogging.

When I finally got home, I finished out the Popeye shorts first. The majority of the cartoons on the second disc had a wartime edge, even homefront-themed stories like "Ration for the Duration" (a wartime "Jack and the Beanstalk," with a giant hoarding things people needed to collect for their fighting men) and "A Jolly Good Furlough" (which turns out to be anything but when Olive and Popeye's nephews run him ragged). "The Hungry Goat" was just about the strangest Popeye short I'd ever seen. First of all, it featured a Warner-style wise-guy anthropomorphic goat in a series that usually shunned such characters. Second, it used self-referential humor to an even greater degree than Warners; the head of Popeye's ship discovers that the goat is eating his battle cruiser by watching the very cartoon he's appearing in!

My favorite cartoon on the second disc also made use of metaphysical humor. Popeye himself takes a shot at making a short in "Cartoons Ain't Human." Popeye's stick-figure melodrama is a hilarious spoof of the usual "Popeye rescues Olive" stories. The gags and the story here are so funny, maybe Popeye should have kept writing his own shorts.

Switched to Secret of the Wings, and more recent animation, while making Sloppy Joes and defrosted green beans and almonds for dinner. Tinker Bell is in inexplicably drawn to the Winter Woods, which is off-limits for spring fairies. Anyone who has seen the previous fairy movies knows that Tink is naturally curious. When she steps into the Winter Woods, she discovers a world very different, but very beautiful...and an equally curious frost fairy named Perriwinkle who has a lot in common with her. Can these two ever bring their two seasons...and the two sets of fairies...together?

I enjoyed the first three films in this series, and this one was worth the wait. It's fun to see Tink and Perrie frolic and play in the dazzling winter landscapes, and learn a small lesson in working together and how over-protectiveness can cause harm, even when people mean to keep others safe. If you or your daughter like the other Tinker Bell movies or the Disney Fairies book series, you'll probably want to see this one, too.