Before the Storms

I got up early to get the laundry done and still have time to write. It was just gloomy and cool when I made it to the laundromat. Despite the relatively early hour, they were fairly busy. Thankfully, I didn't have much to do. I worked on story ideas and listened to Rachel Ray while watching toddlers run around.

As soon as I put everything away, I went on my laptop to work on my story. (I'd continue it later in the evening, after dinner.) Lando has gotten Leia away from the Imperial troops, but after what happened with Han, she's not ready to trust him. Turns out she has to - he's the only one who knows where Boba Fett has taken Han's crystal coffin. Cecil the butler (Threepio) and Arthur the blacksmith (Artoo) appear with the Falcon and the two horses, just in time to try to catch up with Boba Fett's carriage. No luck - Fett manages to escape with his precious cargo, to Leia and Lando's bitter disappointment.

Leia has more luck rescuing Luke. She can sense that he's in trouble...and as they discover when they return to the tower, she's right. They arrive just in time to see two figures dueling on the roof...and to witness the transformation of Vader into his terrifying demon form. Luke is no match for a demon. He walks off the roof, eventually falling into the Falcon. With the help of Arthur and his tools, Leia manages to get the Falcon through the main gates. But the winged Vader is on their trail...

Ran My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic during breakfast and while having crab cakes and sauteed spinach and mushrooms for lunch. Competition, games, and athletics are (primarily) the focus of these episodes, kicking off with "Fall Weather Friends." Applejack and Rainbow Dash have been competing against each other for days to see who is the better athlete. Their fighting comes to a head during the annual Autumn Leaf Run. The ponies are supposed to be running to see who can knock the most leaves down, but Apple and Rainbow are too bogged down in winning to pay attention. Twilight Sparkle finally reminds them that slow and steady wins the race...and brings down the leaves.

"Games Ponies Play" don't turn out to be much fun when the Mane Five are supposed to meet the inspector who will decide if the Crystal Empire will host the Equestria Games. They accidentally meet, wine, and dine an ordinary tourist instead, which doesn't exactly please the real inspector.

Spike and the Mane Five become "Power Ponies" after they're magically dragged into the world of Spike's comic book. The ponies are all superheroes who have to figure out their powers while fighting Mane-iac, a hair-based insane villain. Spike is supposed to be the comic relief. He thinks he's useless, until the ponies remind him that he always comes through for them.

Work wasn't a whole lot more fun than fighting a hair-raising super villain. We were super busy all day. It's the beginning of the month, the weather was lousy, and there's a lot going on, including Cinco Del Mayo on Thursday and Mother's Day on Sunday. Plus tomorrow is the end of the Monopoly game-piece-collecting contest. (Though it's more than likely it'll be extended for a few days, depending on how many pieces we have leftover.)  I was cashiering tonight, which meant dealing with a lot of annoying grouchy beginning of the month people and heavy crowds. Thankfully, I managed to get out without too many problems, and my relief was on time.

Finished out Friendship Is Magic while experimenting more with cake mix, this time creating Orange-Lemon White Bundt Cake with the addition of lemon juice, orange gelatin mix, and vanilla pudding mix. Spike gets to take part in the "Equestria Games" when he's given the honor of lighting the torch in the main stadium on fire. By the time he gets to the torch, he's too out of breath to light it, and Twilight does it for him. When she tells him, he tries to find other ways to help out.

"Appaloosa's Most Wanted" has been sabotaging rodeos all across Equestria. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, forbidden from entering the local rodeo with Applejack, is determined to find this outlaw...only to discover he's not really as bad as he seems.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash make for an odd couple on a mission to find "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone." Twilight Sparkle claims Griffonstone is a friendly, beautiful place. Pinkie and Rainbow arrive to discover that it's been allowed to fall into disrepair, and the griffins who live there are grouchy, anti-social creatures, thanks to the loss of their golden idol. Rainbow thinks the idol holds the key to restoring the town, but Pinkie believes it to be something simpler...like offering to improve a friend of Rainbow's scone recipe...

And wow! It's slowing down a bit now, but for a while there, we had a huge storm, thunder, lightning, and all. I'm so glad it opted to wait until I was online and long home to pour. It looks like we're supposed to get rain in some form or another for the rest of the week...which is fine by me. Most of what I had planned for this week are indoor chores and writing.