Snowfall

It was snowing lightly when I finally got up this morning around 10. I didn't expect to sleep that long! When I did get up, I ate breakfast while watching Jack Frost. This 1979 Rankin-Bass special has the title sprite falling in love with a human girl. He insists on being transformed into a human, but regrets the wish when the evil Cossack King kidnaps the girl, and then wants to lay waste to her home. He does change back, in time to get help from Father Winter and Pardon-Me-Pete the Groundhog (Buddy Hackett), who predicts the weather.

I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon taking down the Christmas decorations. I started with the tree. It takes a while to put up and take down the tree on my own. Even just taking down the tree alone took almost an hour and a half. The flat, soft paper or fabric ornaments come down first. The beaded and plastic character ornaments go in the large green container. Icicles, clothespin soldiers, and the Disney character ornaments have their own small boxes. The glass and heavier resin and wooden ornaments are wrapped up in tissue paper in larger boxes. The glass balls have their own box; the old-fashioned acorn and accordion-shaped glass ornaments go in an old egg carton. The tinsel garlands were wound on cardboard. The lights, star, and tree skirt just went in the container.

I checked the Camden County Library's website after I put the ornaments in the back. Despite the snow continuing to fall, the libraries seemed to be open. There was snow on the street. I didn't want to chance the bike on the roads. I put the tree away, then had the last of the leftover quiche instead of going out for lunch. Vacuumed really quick where the tree was - it sheds almost as much as real trees do.

Went right into taking down the items in the Santa Bag. These are the things that go up first and get taken down last - the garlands, the nativity, the wreath, linens, small things like the mistletoe, or things that won't fit anywhere else, like the box of New Year's party hats. The garlands are lot easier to take down than they are to hang! I'll have to watch out for tacks for a while, though. I think I lost a few off the thick garland around the big windows in the living room.

It was still snowing after I stowed the Santa Bag in the back, on top of the tree's box. I went right into changing the dolls. The AG dolls are now dressed in heavier, less fancy outfits for winter school and play. Samantha wears her gray "Buster Brown" School Dress with the black boots from Rebecca's School Outfit. Whitney wears Rebecca's School Outfit with the tights and shoes from Samantha's new meet dress. Josefina's in a hand-made blue floral dress with an empire waist from eBay and her rebozo. Felicity's bundled up in her emerald-green Riding Habit and tri-corn hat. Jessa's wearing cargo pants, a navy turtleneck I got off eBay, the vest from the 1995 Mix and Match modern meet outfit turned to the magenta print side, striped socks, and dark blue-violent clogs. Molly went with her After School Outfit paired with her red hula sweater and the brown oxfords from Kit's School Outfit.

The snow finally ended by about 4:30. After I finished the dolls at 5, I went for a walk. It was too late for the library, and I didn't want to chance the bike on the roads. As it turned out, the roads weren't that bad. The end of Manor where I am was bad, probably because it's a dead end street. The rest of Manor and the main roads were mostly fine. I enjoyed my walk. It was chilly, but there was no wind. I loved seeing how the remaining Christmas lights made the snow sparkle, like vast fields of diamonds.

I was going to eat dinner at Aunt Berta's, but they didn't look like they were open. I ended up at Jalapeno's Grill instead, which I figured was appropriate for Three King's Day. It was past 5:30, and they were actually a little busy for a change, with families and couples coming off the road, looking for a hot meal. I ordered the Chicken Burrito. It was hot and tasty, filled with Spanish rice, cheese, and shredded chicken. I was too full for the small cup of black beans, but I did eat the "salad" (shredded lettuce with carrots, radishes, sliced cucumbers, and chopped tomatoes).

I needed milk anyway, so I went across the street to WaWa for a treat. I went with a made-to-order White Chocolate Mint Hot Chocolate. Oh, yum yum! It was sweet, but very minty! It made my hands and my throat feel so nice as I hiked home in the snow. It started flurrying a little as I left the restaurant, but was clear when I got out of WaWa.

When I got in, I put on the first Bowery Boys movie of the year as I got organized, The Boys are Spy Chasers when the king and princess of Louie's homeland ask him to keep a certain coin at his Sweet Shop. It'll be picked up by a courier, who'll tell the king when it's time to return home and start the revolution. Sach nearly derails their plans when the king's scheming adviser and the princess' lady-in-waiting use him to make sure the revolution will fail.

Finished the night by changing the Sailor Soldiers back into their regular uniforms. I found a blue cape with glittery trim for Blondie and a pink skirt that could work as a cape for Queen Serenity, both of whom wear short-sleeved dresses. I put the Cabbage Patch dolls back in their everyday dresses as well. This totally finishes my holidays. I'll start cleaning after work tomorrow.