Quiet Morning at Home

I didn't really have a lot planned for this morning. I looked over Ultimate Star Wars while finishing The Cat In the Hat Knows A Lot About That. Though I had seen some of the ocean-themed episodes already, a few were new to me. "Pretty In Pink" takes the Cat and the kids to Goony Goon Lagoon, where they learn how to dance like flamingos. "Puddle Puzzle" teaches kids about condensation and how the vapor cycle works as Nick, Sally, and the Cat explore a cloud.

Switched to The Backyardigans while I worked on a collage. I make collages once every couple of months to recycle old catalogs, usually from L.L Bean, American Girl, The Vermont Country Store, and Bed Bath and Beyond/Christmas Tree Shops. They're pretty much representative of the current season and whatever strikes me right now.

I actually did rent Cave Party from the Haddon Township Library several years ago, but their DVD copy disappeared shortly after and I hadn't seen it since. In the title episode, cave critters Pablo, Uniqua, and Tyrone have to invent ways to get to Tasha and Austin for the world's first party. "Race Around the World" has Austin, Tyrone, Uniqua, and Pablo running against each other. Austin's worried he'll be too slow, but he ultimately teaches the other kids that it's always best to be prepared. "Eureka!" has miners Tyrone and Pablo and archaeologists Uniqua and Tasha at cross-purposes when they search the desert for very different treasures. Uniqua, Pablo, and Tyrone are "Castaways" who think they're all alone on a deserted island. They're not - a shy Austin is there too, helping them out.

Headed out around 12:30-quarter of 1. First stop was Common Ground Coffee House for lunch. They were unusually busy for mid-afternoon, with a family with a toddler playing and a couple of people working on laptops. I had a slice of sausage, potato, and scallion quiche, that tasty spicy-sweet iced tea, and a blueberry bagel while reading the inspirational quotes on the walls and watching the cars go by on West Clinton.

It was still a beautiful day for a ride through Newton Lake Park. Needless to say, they were fairly busy as I dodged dog-walker, joggers, fellow bikers, and Canadian geese and ducks looking for lunch. The trees remain that brilliant shade of lime-green. Yellow dandelions burst through the grass along the banks of the lake. The whole park looks something like a Technicolor musical of the 1950's. I half-expected someone to dance in the rain.

Haddon Township Library wasn't that busy. I had one children's DVD to shelf, one audio book, and a small pile of CD's. They were taking book inventory today, so I was kind of iffy on shelving any actual books. I spent more time choosing books for myself than volunteering. I ultimately ended up with two volumes of fairy tales (one focused on female-centric stories in folklore and fairy tales) and new releases for Strawberry Shortcake and the current Scooby Doo show, Be Cool, Scooby Doo.

Made a very quick stop at WaWa on the way home for skim milk and an orange-mango sparkling water, then headed back to my place. Spent the rest of the evening working on my story. Maz gives Leia a candle that'll reveal what Han is hiding. What he's hiding is he's basically a slave to Jabba, including a mark that gives the evil ogre power over him. The mark is beyond Leia's power to heal, but she can heal him in other ways...

Finished the night with pasta shells, turkey meatballs, and sautteed escarole and onions. The birthday Amazon.com order I bought with the gift card Mom gave me finally arrived today. I did end up grabbing the second half of the re-dubbed Sailor Moon R (second season), along with the Princess Leia-centric Star Wars novel Razor's Edge and the TV musical Jack and the Beanstalk.

Decided to start with Jack and the Beanstalk. I have fond memories of this 1967 live-action/animated musical showing up from time to time on cable during my childhood. Jack (Tommy Ripa) sells his cow to a roguish peddler (Gene Kelly) in exchange for magic beans. The giant beanstalk that grows from the beans takes them the castle of a nasty giant (Ted Cassidy). who has turned a princess into a golden harp. While the peddler tries to free the princess, Jack befriends the mice in the castle, who help them all escape.

Not bad. The songs aren't particuarly memorable and the animation is typical Hanna-Barbara late 60's style, but Kelly's numbers are cute, and Ripa's pretty decent as well. I wish Warner Archives had dug up a better copy. It looks like a recording someone made of it during one of those cable runs in the 80's, murky and scratchy. It's not the most necessary thing, but if you're a fan of Kelly, musicals, or Hanna-Barbara, it's worth a look.