Battle of the Birds

I was up so late last night, it was nearly 10 before I got moving, and quarter of 11 before I made breakfast! Thankfully, I didn't work until 1, so I did have the time for tasty meal of Coconut and Mini Chocolate Chip Pancakes and a couple of fun holiday-related records.

Though most people are familiar with Mickey's Christmas Carol through its animated version, it was actually a children's LP first. While the basic story is the same (and Alan Young is still Scrooge), there's some cast changes and a lot of different voices. Merlin from The Sword and the Stone is the Ghost of Christmas Past; the hag version of the evil queen from Snow White is the Ghost of Christmas Future. There's also several songs, making this a mini-musical. Most of them are forgettable filler, but "Money," for Scrooge and Mickey/Cratchit in the opening sequence, is quite catchy. I also sort of like Scrooge's "That's the Way That Christmas Ought To Be."

Did the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas next. I can't believe I put that one off for so long. It's a classic, especially if you're either a fan of jazz or the Peanuts. I'm especially fond of the lilting "Skating." Moved onto A Winter Solstice, a collection of New Age and soft jazz pieces, as I prepared to head to work.

While work was busier than yesterday, it still could have been much worse. I think people are just starting to come out of the malls. There was still plenty of food in the back room, too. I had a tuna salad hoagie and chunks of watermelon while watching the Giants-Carolina game. The Giants were down 28-7 when I was back there. They caught up in a hurry. They still lost, but just barely, 38-35. No one's beaten the Panthers yet.

I had a few quick things to pick up after work. I'm hoping this will be my last shopping expedition before Christmas. I'll be on my offline journal's last page tomorrow. I grabbed a composition book on sale to replace it. Picked up red velvet cake mix for the cupcakes for several people and orange juice for the cranberry bread for my neighbors. I'm almost out of deodorant, too. Lady Speed Stick was the only brand on a decent sale.

Went right into baking when I got home. I found a different recipe for Cranberry-Nut Bread in one of my bread cookbooks. It requires shortening, but since I seldom use shortening and this is going to someone else, anyway, I was willing to try it. At the very least, it came out pretty well. It cooked fine and smells amazing.

Ran one of my Great Sounds of Christmas LPs as I worked. My favorite of the entire series is from the early 60's, I believe. Dianh Carroll sings two lovely old hymns, "Lo, How A Rose Er Blooming" and "Some Children See Him." Maurice Chevalier does "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and "Silent Night," the latter partially sung in his native French. Anna Maria Alberghetti performs a sprightly "Caroling, Caroling." Sammy Davis Jr. finishes the album with "It's Christmastime All Over the World."

Went into writing while the bread was in the oven. Mother Gloria Goose is too upset and frustrated to listen to the kids or Scott. Scott is finally taken away by Barnaby, his men, and the police and banished to the Forest of No Return. Meanwhile, a hungry Alan has snitched the lamb sausages that were supposed to be the evidence. Lisa scolds him...but he reveals that the sausages don't taste like lamb. Turns out that they're not. They're pork. Scott is innocent.

While the adults argue over what to do next, the kids get restless and decide to go after Scott themselves. Lisa's afraid of all the stories she's heard about the trolls and other monsters in the Forest of No Return, but Alan convinces her to do it for their new friends.

And I did listen to most of the Eagles-Cardinals game. The Eagles started well, but the started to make some pretty ugly mistakes in the second half. They finally lost 40-17.