Saturday, November 12, 2016

Seasons of Sunshine

I overslept and had just enough time for a few Max & Ruby shorts before I dashed off to work. "Max's Thanksgiving" has Ruby setting the table for Grandma's big feast. Max would rather sample Grandma's stuffing. "Max's Pretend Friend" isn't pretend at all, but Ruby thinks he is. He tries to point this out while she sets up a "pretend tea party." "Fireman Max" wants to play with his rescue toys while Ruby and Louise are practicing their jump rope. Dodging Max's toys is more helpful for Ruby's jumping than she can imagine!

Work was actually pretty quiet up through noon, when things started to pick up a lot. I wish the new manager had listened to me about the plastic bags. We put out the boxes because our customers tend to go through them. He only wanted four or five stacks per register. We'll be putting them out constantly! He'll have to learn the hard way.

I'm kind of glad I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon outside, rounding up carts. It was too nice to be inside arguing over plastic bags anyway. It was cold, in the upper 40's, probably the coldest it's been since March, and very windy. The air was nice and crisp, though, and had that snap to it that says winter - or at least late fall - isn't far off.

Got my schedule during break. Not too bad. On one hand, a late day next Saturday will allow me to get to the last Collingswood Farm Market of the season, and I'll get to see most of the Eagles game tomorrow, too. On the other hand, I still don't have enough hours.

And I put in a request for December 6th through 12th off. My friend Amanda from Vineland is visiting the 6th anyway. I'd wait for February or March, but I really need the extra money now. It might be nice to have time off in December, anyway. I'll be able to finish what little shopping I had planned, wrap presents, and get the cards done. Besides, a lot of single older employees tend to take their vacations in late February and March.

I did have some grocery shopping to do today. Restocked skim milk, toilet paper, cake mix, bran flakes, canned black beans, whole wheat flour, bananas, and diced tomatoes. Applesauce cups were cheaper than mandarin oranges. They finally had fresh cranberries, too.

When I got in, I put everything away while doing one more episode of Max & Ruby. "Max's Shadow" makes for a fun playmate for him while Valerie and Ruby work on a ballet poster. But it also proves to be quite helpful when the girls can't get the pose on the poster quite right...

Worked on my story for the next couple of hours. Rey's delighted when Uncle Luke Drosselmeyer, her mother Leia's brother, arrives. He's a toy and clock maker who comes bearing wonderful gifts. He performs the story of a cursed prince in his puppet show, then lets his mechanical Spanish soldier, Asian candied ginger doll, and toy soldier dance for them. He's helped by his new apprentice, a handsome young lad named Finn. Rey likes him immediately, but stuffy Snoke, the Stahlbaum household's tutor, reminds her that she's not supposed to be chatting with apprentices.

Broke for dinner around 6. Made Turkey Cheeseburgers, (frozen) green beans, and applesauce while watching Winnie the Pooh; Seasons of Giving. This made-for-home-media movie is really two episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the Thanksgiving special strung together with some new material. The first segment has Rabbit, Tigger, and Pooh dressing Piglet as a groundhog to find out when spring is. The second is the Thanksgiving cartoon. The gang is ready for a feast of honey, haycorns, and hot chocolate ice cream. Rabbit insists that Thanksgiving is all about tradition. When the party doesn't go the way he planned, the others remind him of what the holiday is all about. The final sequence has Rabbit raising a little girl bird named Kessie. She wants to fly south for the winter, but he's afraid to let her go.

Moved to Lego Star Wars next. Finished out "Battle of Coruscant," "Gunship Calvary," "Death Star Attack," "Darth Vader," "Ruin of the Jedi," and "Count Dooku"; got the red brick on "Calvary" and True Jedi on "Darth Vader." The only round I wasn't able to complete today was "Bounty Hunter Pursuit," though I did find most of the pieces and the red brick.

Tried something different tonight. I'm typing this on the couch instead of at the dining area table. I'm tired of dragging the old desk chair out, and the wooden dining area chairs aren't comfortable enough. This isn't really that comfortable, either, but it beats the chair.

Did a couple of episodes of She-Ra as I got comfortable. "The Laughing Dragon" is Sorrowful, who is afraid of just about everything. He learns about true bravery when She-Ra places supposedly magic flowers around his neck that gives him the courage to stand up to the Horde. Sorrowful is captured by the Horde in "The Prisoner of Beast Island." The others go after him.

She-Ra insists on going alone to help a former colleague who wants to defect to the Rebellion in "Friendship." Bow and Kowl follow her anyway. Adora's friend is forced to turn her in. When Kowl returns her sword, she finds out why her friend betrayed her.

"The Peril of Whispering Woods" is a poison that the Horde is using to destroy the Rebellion's magical hiding place. Good thing the son of Horde Pride, the head of the Horde, winds up being captured by the Rebels and takes their side.

"King Miro's Journey" brings He-Man and his grandfather to Etheria so he can meet his granddaughter. The twins get a chance to show their grandfather their teamwork when the Horde tries to trap them in the Whispering Woods.

Finished the night on YouTube. I've been watching a couple of different performances of The Nutcracker for story inspiration. My favorite was this interpretation by the San Francisco Ballet in 2007, set in a residential neighborhood in San Francisco in 1915.

The Nutcracker: San Francisco Ballet 2007

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