Wet Christmas

Today was my early work day. Actually, up through around 3, it was dead and never more than mildly steady. As with last night, I spent a lot of the late morning and afternoon bored. We were hit hard during rush hour, though. Everyone must have heard the weather reports. The rain is supposed to peter out by tomorrow...but then we may get a little snow and sleet on Sunday that'll turn into rain by Monday. It got so busy by 4, someone had to come in for me, and I still barely made it out on time.

The crowds didn't make my own grocery shopping any easier. I needed a lot of fruit and vegetables for the first time since the end of the Farm Market. I bought a bag of locally-grown apples, bananas, grapefruit, and small containers of pre-cut broccoli and Brussels sprouts that'll be a lot easier for me to handle. I also restocked my brown and white sugar, vanilla (which I've been forgetting to do for weeks now), milk, eggs, and dollar packs of salmon and tilapia fillets. The lines were still long, so I ended up using the self-checkout instead. That was a mistake. The machine did not like me using my own bags, and I'd have to call someone every time it got stuck because I pushed the button that said I had my own bags.

It wasn't really raining when I rode to work this morning. I didn't want to call for a ride because I had to go shopping and had no desire to rush or make someone wait. Of course, it was showering when I got out. I didn't feel like waiting for the rain to end, so I just rode home and got soaked.

I put on a couple of holiday specials while I ate leftovers and the last of the farm market Brussels sprouts and Cranberry Flummery for dinner. Gift of the Night Fury returns us to the Viking town of Berk, as the locals and their dragons prepare for their Winter Solstice holiday, Smoggletog. Everyone is astounded when all of the dragons suddenly disappear. Even Hiccup's beloved Black Fury Toothless takes off after his master gives him a mechanical tail. While his friend Astrid creates traditions to improve their community's flagging holiday spirit, Hiccup tries to figure out where the dragons went to.

The Peanuts gang return for their second of four Christmas specials in It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown. This one is really more a series of skits cobbled from the comic strips, but as such, it's kind of fun. Charlie Brown wants to sell wreaths to buy gloves for the Little Red Haired Girl. Peppermint Patty tries to avoid doing homework on holiday breaks and is furious when Marcie gets the coveted role of Mary in their school pageant, and she just ends up being a sheep. Sally is also in the pageant. She constantly practices her one line...but is embarrassed by what does come out of her mouth onstage.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas tells the famous tale of the nasty green title character, who wants to end the noise from the Whos who live below him on Christmas Day. He thinks he'll end their fun by stealing all of their holiday goodies, but it's the Whos themselves who ultimately show him the real meaning of the season.

I jumped into a short but much-needed bath after dinner. I was originally going to hold it off until tomorrow, but after all the trouble at work and shopping, I figured I needed it now. I was right. It felt soooo goood, just laying back and relaxing while reading Peanuts Christmas comics and How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas. I didn't want to get out, but the water got cold, and I wanted to beat Lauren online.

Oh, and I have a great schedule next week, probably my best in weeks. Nothing earlier than noon or later than 8, with Thursday and next Saturday off. I think I'll take advantage of the one day without rain tomorrow and hit Philly for some shopping and to see the Light Show and Dickens Village. Next Saturday, I may return to the Voorhees Town Center Boscov's and see what that's like at Christmas.