Friday, July 10, 2015

Whip-Crack Away!

I was delighted to awaken to a bright, sunny summer morning. It was hot, but breezy, and with no humidity. It was the perfect weather to make Chocolate Cupcakes for the summer party the Acme is having tomorrow. I have a great one-bowl recipe I got out of that Hershey's baking cookbook I found at a yard sale a few years ago. It's absolutely delicious, one of my very favorite cupcake recipes. I threw in the last of the dark chocolate chips for extra flavor.

Ran Calamity Jane as I baked. This musical western takes us to Deadwood in Dakota Territory, where Calamity, a boisterous tomboy (Doris Day), is a sharpshooter and stagecoach driver who has all kinds of crazy stories about fighting Indians. The guys at Deadwood consider her to be one of them...and when she tells them she'll bring the actress from Chicago that they're all crazy about to Deadwood, they know she's as good as her word. Trouble is, Calamity can't tell one bustle-wearin' female from another. She ends up bringing back the actress' maid, Katie Brown (Allyn Ann MacLerie). The men of Deadwood are initially angry when they discover the deception, but Calamity convinces them to give Katie a chance. She even invites Katie to live with her. Calamity's not very happy when both her best guy friend Wild Bill Hickcock (Howard Keel) and the Calvary officer she has her eye on (Phillip Carey) fight over Katie...and it turns out that Katie likes the Calvary officer.

Doris Day's most famous musical is a rousing cross between Oklahoma! and Annie Get Your Gun. What I really like is the surprising twist - this is one time "taming" the tomboy doesn't work. Calamity's just as tough in a fancy gingham dress as she is in dirty buckskins. Indeed, she performs the film's most famous number, the Oscar-winning "Secret Love," in a clean and well-made fringed suit. If you're a fan of Day or musical westerns, I highly recommend this fun tale.

Work was once again mostly dead. It did get a little busy around 2. I guess everyone got out early to head to the Shore. By rush hour, it was dead again. My relief was actually early for a change. Other than a few annoying customers, there were no major problems.

It was too nice to eat anywhere but Sonic for dinner. There were several pairs already enjoying sundaes and sandwiches on the patio when I arrived. I ordered the same thing I had when Lauren visited, a Grilled Chicken Sandwich with tater tots and a cherry limeade. Alas, I spilled half my cherry limeade as I was preparing to head back to the Acme. Most of it ended up on the table, though some splashed on my work pants. Good thing I was going to put those pants in the laundry basket tonight anyway.

I cleaned up the bottom of my pants in the back lounge room at work. I had grocery shopping to do, anyway. I needed to restock sugar - white, brown, and powdered. Meat sales continue. I bought boneless thighs and more of those tasty fish cakes. Picked up heavy cream for the icing I'll make for the cupcakes tomorrow and foil cupcake tins to carry them to work in. Thankfully found boxes of organic Earl Gray and black tea on the clearance shelves, the latter in a very nice tin. (There were no tea sales this week, and I'm just about out.) Grabbed milk and chocolate chips. My Pledge dust cleaner is just about empty, and I needed sponges and bubble bath.

My schedule for next week is almost exactly the same as last week, only I work slightly later on Sunday. Otherwise, it's all late morning and afternoon work, with Monday and Tuesday off again, perfectly normal for this time of year.

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