Ten Feet Off the Ground

For once, I got up fairly early, even before I heard Charlie cursing downstairs. This was a very good thing. I had a lot to do today, starting with calling Mom. She called me yesterday. She's fine. She, too, has the next two days off. She'd been working in the yard all morning and was on her way to run errands. I told her about my vacation, my fun Halloween, and all the trouble at work. She's already clearing her schedule to get ready for Thanksgiving.

As soon as I got off with Mom, I made breakfast and put on You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown. The votes are in at Charlie Brown's school. He's not in the running, but Linus might have a chance of winning...at least until he mentions the Great Pumpkin in his campaign speech.

As soon as I finished breakfast, I put everything else I'd had to move around in the back room where it belonged, then dressed the American Girl dolls in clothes appropriate for the late fall. Josefina, Felicity, and Samantha are mostly in their original meet outfits. Samantha's wearing the black tights from Rebecca's School Outfits and the black and white button boots from her Flower-Picking Dress with it. Jessa's wearing her yellow, turquoise, and magenta "meet" sweater and short-sleeved mock turtleneck shirt with the magenta leggings from the 1996 modern meet outfit and the striped socks and turquoise  and white sneakers from the 2003 modern meet outfit. Whitney wears the poodle skirt outfit I bought on eBay for her last year with the white cardigan with the ruffled collar from a Springfield Collection outfit. Molly's in Kit's original meet outfit with the floral skirt and lavender cardigan and the beige shoes from Kit's Yellow Floral Dress.

Next on the to do list was cleaning the bathroom. The bathtub was really grungy. Otherwise, it wasn't that horrible, but it did need to be done. Ran this year's first Christmas DVD, Very Merry Christmas Songs, as I worked. This Disney set throws most of the songs from the original Very Merry Christmas Songs video with songs based around mostly direct-to-home-media material, including "As Long as There's Christmas" from Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

Stopped to talk to Charlie really quick as I headed out. The outlet next to the window overlooking Veteran's Park isn't working. Either the guys accidentally turned around when they were messing with the electricity, or they blew a fuse somewhere. Charlie said the electrical wiring on this house is shot as it is. It may have blown.

My first stop on the errands list was lunch. Treated myself to Aunt Berta's, a soul food restaurant on the White Horse Pike. There were two guys enjoying big spreads when I came in. They were slow taking orders, but that was ok. I went through the notes I have in the notebook I carry in my purse and listened to The Young and the Restless. I waited so long, the waiter gave me an extra salmon cake to make up for it. It was tasty, at any rate. I love their salmon cakes. I also had corn bread, salty collard greens, and mashed sweet potatoes (candied yams). I thought about their sweet potato pie, but that second salmon cake really hit the spot. I was too full for dessert.

Next up was volunteering at the Haddon Township Library. They were busy, but the kids must have just gotten out of school. They had no kids' DVDs to shelve, and most of the adult DVDs didn't fit. There weren't too many audio books and CD's to shelve, either. I did put away some new books.

Made a few quick stops on the way home. My sister Anny's birthday is next week. I picked up a card for her at Dollar Tree, along with a sponge. (They don't have the cellulose sponges I like anymore. I'll have to start getting them from elsewhere.) Grabbed a quart of skim milk and whole wheat flour at Thriftway - they're both cheaper there.

Went straight home next to work on writing. There's a log jam of refugees fleeing the attack of the Flying Fortress at the Brooklania Bridge. Elizabeth uses her magic to fly them over the Fortress and the traffic and across the bridge, but it wears her out so badly, she faints the moment they land. Mackie and Maple opt to head to neutral Port Harbor next while Betty rests. It's Jeff and Hilary's home, and Jeff may know a place where they can stay.

Ran The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band while making spiced chicken legs, honey-glazed carrots, baked acorn squash, and roasted squash seeds for dinner. The title band originally lived in Nebraska in 1888. Grandpa (Walter Brennan) is a devoted Democrat. When the family moves to the very Republican Dakota Territory on advice from oldest daughter Alice's (Leslie Ann Warren) pen pal sweetheart (John Davidson), Grandpa can't help but stir up trouble. He teaches his anti-Republican views to the kids at school and causes a rift between the lovers and the Family Band. When matters come to a head during the town's Election Day party, the band and the town learn a lesson. It doesn't matter whether you're Republican or Democrat. States and bands work best when everyone is working together.

This is one of the more unusual of the "epic" musicals of the late 60's and early 70's. You don't often see a musical comedy that revolves around an infamous contested election. Some terrific music (including the ensemble numbers "Ten Feet Off the Ground" and "West O' the Wide Missouri" and the charming "'Bout Time" for Davidson and Warren) offsets the often too complicated plot and characters who aren't explored as much as I'd like. Look for Goldie Hawn as Davidson's date and dance partner during the "West O' the Wide Missouri" number and Kurt Russell as one of the younger Family Band kids.