It's a Lovely Day For a Walk

I slept in this morning after staying up late chatting with Lauren. Began another glorious spring day with Confetti Pancakes (pancake mix made with butter and colored Easter pastel wafers) and the Hansel and Gretel/Thumbelina/Blinky Peter Pan LP. Hansel and Gretel and Thumbelina are pretty much straight-forward short renditions of those fairy tales. Blinky is the tale of a lonely little lighthouse ship who just wants a boat friend. The bigger boats ignore him...until there's a storm, and he (and his light) are the most important things in the harbor.

Switched to Alice In Wonderland while cleaning up from breakfast. This is another Peter Pan title, one I've had for a while. Along with some really cute songs, the most notable thing about this set is the distinct artwork in the book. It looks like "Alice as drawn by Marvel Comics in the early 70's." The artwork has a very comic-book style that makes it look even more surreal than the original story.

Headed out for a nice, long walk around quarter of 1. I like taking long walks on Sundays when I'm off and there's no football on. After a stop at CVS for a lemon-lime sparkling water and Honey Nut M&Ms (which tasted a lot more like honey than the coffee-nut flavor tasted like coffee), I strolled across the street to Newton Lake Park.

The park was absolutely perfect today. There had never been a more glorious day in mid-April. The trees are soft shades of pale lime green. The apple blossoms are in bloom; tulips and pansies brighten gardens. Children chased each other and their parents in the playground. I said "hi" to one of the neighbors' kids, who had gone out fishing in a kayak and was paddling back to his house on the lake. (He claims he caught a three-pound fish today, too.) Buttercups, starflowers, and dandelions were tiny bursts of yellow and snow white between the fresh green sprouts on the banks of the lake. The barest hint of a cool breeze ruffled the deep, glassy water. I took in the view first at the patio where I saw the kid, then at a small dock further along, near the stone pedestrian bridge.

I climbed up the hill at the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Center and found myself wandering amid a row of new trees in cardboard and burlap bags ready to be planted. Strolled down the street and across the White Horse Pike to WaWa, where I treated myself to a turkey hoagie with spinach, cucumbers, and spicy mustard and a heavenly Chocolate Banana Smoothie. Enjoyed my lunch at the picnic tables on West Clinton Avenue as I watched the kids and families and couples pass by.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at home, working on my story. Leia tells Han that there's poachers in the woods, Imperial soldiers who were sent to capture the Wookie herds and lure Han and Leia into a trap. The soldiers think the Woods are haunted (though several of them deny this). Han thinks they might be able to use this...

Made a "Snickerdoodle Cake" (cinnamon in yellow cake mix - actually supposed to be white, but I didn't have any) and had leftovers for dinner while listening to more records. I should have checked the labels on the records more closely yesterday. The cover for the Dancer K-Tel collection actually held a Peter Pan Looney Tunes set. That was even better. I really don't have that many kids' albums. As far as I could tell, one story had Bugs as a plumber for Porky and Petunia and one had a space theme.

Stuck with the kids stuff and ran Strawberry Shortcake and the Winter That Would Not End as I cleaned up from dinner. I thought it was kind of appropriate after the snow last weekend. Strawberry and the kids are worried when winter doesn't seem to want to stop. Elderberry Owl brings news that the King of Snow's crystal has been stolen by a mole. He wants it to always be winter so he can remain in his nice, dark burrow forever. The kids have to convince him that spring isn't so bad.

Did Babes In Toyland as I put things away. This is a studio album of the Disney version. It's kind of odd. I think I hear Ed Wynn in his version, and the opening number is virtually unchanged...but everything else is different. On the other hand, it's worth it just to hear Thurl Ravenscroft sing "And We Won't Be Happy 'Til We Get It."