I began a beautiful, sunny morning with a couple of football-related cartoons in honor of the Super Bowl tomorrow. It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown has Peppermint Patty leading the football team in the big homecoming game. Lucy makes sure that Chuck will miss every kick...but his mind is really on escorting the Little Red Haired Girl to the dance later.
Move onto shorts next. The Fleischer Brothers put Popeye into two football shorts in about three years. The first, "You Gotta Be a Football Hero," has Popeye taking over for the quarterback on the team opposing Bluto to impress Olive. "The Football Toucher-Downer" is Popeye's attempt to get Swee'Pea to eat his spinach. He tells the baby about a football game during his childhood that he won using spinach. (Mini Olive is so cute in that short, with her little braids!) Mickey Mouse becomes the world's least-likely Tom Brady in the black-and-white Disney short "Touchdown Mickey." Goofy's an even less-likely Al Michaels!
Headed out to run some errands after Mickey ended. Brrrr! It was cold today, probably not much more than the mid-20s. Blustery wind made it feel much worse. Good thing my first stop wasn't far away. I hadn't seen Dad and Jodie for a while, so I rode up to their place to say "hi," see how they were doing, and ask them if they were having a Super Bowl party. I was a bit surprised to see that they were still in their pajamas and robes! They were babysitting Khai - according to him, his mother had a doctor's appointment. Dana came in later with Helio - Khai got to chase him around. And no, they're not having a Super Bowl party. Dad's not feeling well, and the weather is supposed to be lousy tomorrow night.
The Oaklyn Library was dead as a doornail when I arrived. The cold weather must have scared everyone off. It was just me, the librarian, and CNN the whole time. I organized DVDs for kids and adults and gave the kids' series books a once-over.
Despite the deep freeze, I decided to dodge the traffic and took the back way into Audubon Crossings via Market Street. The back road that goes past a baseball field takes you right to Golden Corral and the America's Best/Pep Boys building. I kept putting off picking up my contacts. They've been available since Wednesday, but either the weather wouldn't be right, or I just wouldn't feel like fighting the traffic back there.
Though I was off of work today, I promised I'd bring in cookies weeks ago. I donated my Brown Sugar Bacon Cookies and helped myself to a free lunch. While not as overwhelming as the Thanksgiving and Christmas luncheons, there was still plenty of food. I had a shredded pork sandwich with a broccoli salad topped with bacon, a really yummy tomato-fresh mozzarella salad, bacon mac & cheese, and deviled eggs. I also saw meatballs in sauce, sausage, roast beef, and meat and fixings for tacos. Had a slice of carrot cake and a slice of chocolate cake and two peanut-butter-cup cookies for dessert. Neither cake was all that great - the carrot cake wasn't sweet enough, and the chocolate cake wasn't all that chocolaty. Since I was there, I bought things I forgot yesterday - toilet paper, D batteries, and cooking spray.
My original plan for today was a long bike ride, but it was too cold to be lingering outdoors. I went straight home after lunch and didn't go anywhere else. Spent the next few hours dusting and washing the windows. I can't believe how bad the dust gets, even after just a few weeks. After that, I put up the Valentine's Day decorations. I have two heart tinsel garlands (one red, one white and red), a pink teddy bear tin, and lots of paper hearts and cardboard and Mylar hearts to hang on doors and tape to walls. Tons of old Valentine's Day cards, too.
Finished out the football programming while I worked. Tiny Toons Adventures gives us "The Acme Bowl." The Toons really want to win against rivals Perfecto Prep, but Plucky's defection to the opposing side may set them up for a fumble. Hello Kitty is "Cinderkitty" in Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater. This little kitty would rather be catching forward passes than prancing in ball gowns. She may get the chance to show what she can do when a little magic allows her to be the heroine of the cheerleading squad and the big game.
The Three Stooges twice found themselves stuck on a playing field without a paddle. "Three Little Pigskins" are thrilled when three lovely mobsters' girls (including a very blond Lucile Ball) show an interest in them. They really think they're college football players who can be persuaded to go pro for the big game. They have "No Census, No Feeling" when they search high and low for people to add to their census lists...even on a football field!
Moved onto making Carrot Muffins and eating leftovers for dinner while watching The Road to El Dorado. Tulio (Kevin Kline) and Miguel (Kenneth Brannagh) are Spanish con artists who find themselves on a boat to the New World after stealing a treasure map to untold riches. The treasure map leads them to the title city, where the natives declare them to be gods. The high priest (Tony Jay) isn't happy to see his position usurped by people who may or may not be divine. They're eventually joined by Chel (Rosie Perez), a sassy native handmaiden who wants out of El Dorado. She may want to leave, but Miguel is beginning to have his doubts. He's come to love El Dorado and its people. He, Chel, and Tulio have to decide if the gold is more important than their new friendships...and their long-standing friendship with each other...when the Spanish conquistadors arrive on the island hoping to find gold.
This is a hilarious gem with a wonderful Elton John song score. (My favorite Elton John song, "Someday Out of the Blue," comes from this movie.) Though Dreamworks tried to aggressively market it to little kids when it debuted in 2000, it's really for older grade school on up - there's some violence, suggestive behavior, and references to human sacrifice. Mom rented this for my brother Keefe when it came out on video, and they both loved it. Keefe went around saying "You da God!" from the ball game for weeks. A highly recommended and very underrated treat.
Finished out the night as I began, with the Peanuts. Chuck sees a girl on TV at a football game for a few seconds in Someday You'll Find Her, Charlie Brown, and instantly falls in love with her. He and Linus literally scour their area from the stadium all the way out in the country to figure out what happened to her.
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