Started off an absolutely glorious morning with a walk to Rose's house on Kendall Boulevard. The weather was the nicest it's been in months. The sky was a radiant blue, the sun was shining, and the wind was long gone. It had to be at least in the lower-mid 70's, normal for South Jersey in early October. The leaves are just starting to turn colors here. Some houses have already decorated for Halloween; more will probably join them this weekend.
I met Rose and her dogs Toby and Kelsey at the door. I was hoping Rose would have a suitcase I could borrow for the trip. Both of mine are too big to lug around train stations. Alas, Rose didn't really have anything smaller that could roll. Her one rolling case was too small. The other was smaller than mine, but hard-sided and heavy. I did end up borrowing the larger one, but I'm going to try to see if Jodie has anything closer to what Lauren uses to come here tomorrow.
After Rose dropped me and the suitcase off, I went on the computer to write and contact Jodie on Facebook. (She was at work - I figured that was the easiest way to get a hold of her.) Did some writing while I was on. Maple LaMarsh, the curvaceous head of the Buttery Inn, says there's no rooms available for the trio...until Mackie shows her the book he's delivering from Scott. Scott is an old friend of Maple's. She not only finds them rooms, but agrees to help Betty find out what happened to the missing Guardian artifacts as well.
Had leftovers for lunch, then used that box of Golden Vanilla cake mix I bought on Friday to make Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies. Finished out Summer Magic, which I started earlier in the day, while I baked. Haley Mills and Burl Ives headline this sweet 1963 coming-of-age musical. Mills is Nancy Carey, a young lady whose widowed mother (Dorothy MacGuire) just discovered they've lost most of their money in bad investments. Nancy sees this as the perfect opportunity to move out to a nice old house in small-town Maine and start over. Her younger brother is thrilled; her composer older brother, not as much at first. Even as they settle in and meet local general store owner Ossium Poppum (Ives), Julia, a snooty cousin, joins the family and leaves Nancy's plans - and her attempt at winning the handsome new teacher - in an uproar. And then, there's the mysterious owner of the yellow house, who is off somewhere in foreign lands. Poppum claims he's been writing him...but why hasn't he written back?
If this sounds something like "Meet Me In St. Louis in rural Maine," it was written by the same woman, Sally Benson. Though some of the attitudes towards city slickers vs rural folks and how a girl should really win a man are a bit dated, most of the film remains charming. The Sherman Brothers wrote a sweet score for this film. "The Ugly Bug Ball" is probably the best known number, but I'm especially fond of the gentle title song that MacGuire sings with the kids on their first night in Maine.
Went right to work after Summer Magic ended. Work was pretty much the same as yesterday, off-and-on steady. There were no major problems besides a few annoying people. It slowed down enough by 8 PM that I was able to leave with no relief.
2 comments:
I've always loved the "Feminity" song because it shows you that the girls have already discovered the restrictions that are placed upon them and will be placed upon them as women and found ways to circumvent many of them. They have discovered that, however "wise" and "intelligent" men are, they can be turned by a flattering voice, a pretty face, and a well-turned ankle. Who's the weaker sex now?
The book SUMMER MAGIC is based on, MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS, is by Kate Douglas Wiggin, of REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM fame, and the film is remarkably faithful to the book, except one of the Carey girls is missing from the film (Kathleen), there's no big clumsy sheepdog, and a subplot about the Careys helping the two children of a self-absorbed college professor is left out. Julia is even called "the pink of perfection" in the book. An earlier black-and-white version of the story, called MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS, leaves Kathleen in, but omits Julia and tacks a whole different plot on the story, with the Careys taking in boarders. The little boy who plays Peter will practically make you die from diabetes.
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