I started a sunny, windy day with cartoons. Now that it finally feels like winter, I figured I could watch some winter-themed specials I'd put off when it was too warm. The Rankin-Bass Jack Frost is an odd cross between The Little Mermaid and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Jack Frost (Robert Morse) falls in love with a human girl from a poor town. He convinces Father Winter to send him and two friends down to her home for the winter. He has to get her to marry him by spring, or he'll turn back into a spirit. Trouble is, the evil Cossack Kubla Krouse first kidnaps her, then threatens the town with his "k-knights." Jack may have to give up his humanity - and call on his groundhog buddy Pardon Me Pete (Buddy Hackett) - to save the girl and the town.
Switched to Frosty Returns after breakfast. This isn't a follow-up to either of the Rankin-Bass Frosty specials. John Goodman voices Frosty, who has traveled to a small suburb that's holding a big Winter Carnival. Or at least, they normally do, but there may not be much snow to hold it in. A corporation is selling an aerosol can of chemicals that can get rid of snow fast...too fast for Frosty's taste! He befriends two lonely kids who help him show the town just how much fun winter can be.
Moved to Scooby Doo episodes next. "A Scary Night With a Snow Beast Fright" is from the mid-70's show. The Mystery Inc crew find themselves at the North Pole, searching for a professor who has gone missing from an Inuit village. A dinosaur-like snow beast has been scaring away the visitors, but Velma doesn't think it's real..and it may be connected to the totem poles that have suddenly appeared in the area...
"Alaskan King Coward" is a short from the later Shaggy/Scooby/Scrappy show. The trio are gold-hunting in Alaska when they accidentally defrost a scaly monster. While Shaggy and Scooby just try to avoid him, Scrappy wants to trap this toothy claim-jumper!
I spent the morning taking down the Christmas display items. I had a couple of new holiday-themed bags to put items in. All of the stuffed toys (and Winter Cinderella) went in the Disney Christmas bag. Another bag held living room items. (Good thing - I used one of the boxes I'd been holding decorations in to send Lauren and her parents cookies.)
I finally got out around 12:30. Stopped at Capitol Pizza for lunch. I had my usual slice of cheese and slice of mushroom with a can of Diet Pepsi. Listened to the cast of The Chew have a contest to see if people could guess which foods that seemed healthy actually were and watched a couple of guys enjoy their pizza.
Brrr! It was so cold and windy when I made my way across Newton Lake Park to Haddon Township. It was probably only in the lower 30's, the coldest it's been since March. It was kind of refreshing after the crazy-warm temperatures we had during Christmas week. I guess people here just aren't used to it. There were only a few other folks out for a stroll on what was otherwise not a bad day. Even the Canadian geese and the ducks seemed to prefer the river to being in the wind.
The Haddon Township Library wasn't really busy. There actually wasn't much for me to do. I shelved audio books and organized the non-fiction DVDs. Read a few books of fairy tales, too. I didn't end up taking anything out. I still have a couple of movies I bought last week that I haven't watched yet.
Stopped quickly at Thriftway on the way home. There were a few things I forgot on Friday, notably mushrooms, cooking spray, and cheese. I didn't desperately need eggs, but their 18 pack was $1.99 - I couldn't resist the sale.
It was so cold, I spent the rest of the day at home. (I'll do the laundry tomorrow.) Did some writing for a little while. Barnaby tells Betty why he really wants to marry her - she's to inherit part of the toy factory. He's going to force her to marry him - after he takes over Christmas from Santa! But then, the toy soldiers appear...
I had a quick leftovers-and-vegetables dinner, then took down more of the Christmas decorations. I did the bears first. Once again, I had another new bag to use for that, freeing up a plastic bag for the big Build-a-Bear Clarice. I just barely managed to squeeze all the holiday stuffed animals and their clothes into one container!
Since it didn't take long to do the bears, I went right into getting the tree down. That didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, either, only about an hour and a half. Didn't take anything resembling as long as it did to set it up, and that included taking down the lights, garland, and the tree itself. The only things I have left to do are the miscellaneous items that go in the Santa Bag, like the mistletoe and the wreath and the garlands. Vacuumed after I finished - fake trees shed almost as much as real ones do! (The tinsel garland gives off its fair share, too.)
Ran Willow all evening as I ate and organized. The title character is a kind-hearted farmer (Warwick Davis) who is a part of a race of Hobbit-like small humans. He loves his family and his home, but what he really wants to do is become a great magician. His children discover a human ("dykini") baby floating on the river. He and his family initially take the girl in, but it turns out an evil witch is seeking the child, who will become queen instead of her. With the help of renegade knight Mad Mortigan (Val Kilmer), an enchanted sorceress, and a couple of really goofy brownies, Willow fights monsters and armies to bring the baby home...and discovers that real magic starts inside him.
This was another one of those movies my family taped during the late 80's that we all fell in love with, to the point where we can still quote the dialogue. Kilmer's roguish Mad Mortigan is my favorite character. He and Davis are hilarious together, especially when they first meet. The brownies are a riot, too, as are Willow's continued (and mostly botched) attempts to return the sorceress to her human form. If you're a big fan of fantasy tales, this is a worthy addition to the genre.
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