Animal Adventures

It was gray, cloudy, and rather blah when I got up this morning. I brightened the day a little with some post-holiday-themed Max & Ruby. "Ruby's Snowbunny" will be the best ever - if Max can pay attention to building it, rather than sledding. "Ruby's Snowflakes" are snowflake-shaped cookies she wants to decorate to look exactly alike. Max and his toys don't make this easy! Max wants to play "Duck Duck Goose," but Ruby and her pals have to search for birds for a Bunny Scouts project.

Spent the rest of the morning and when I got in from work doing some writing. Leia has told Luke what Han related to her - Palpatine is very nearsighted. Luke sticks a chicken bone out instead of his finger. The old warlock becomes frustrated and insists he'll eat Luke anyway, fat or not. He shoves Leia out to the woodpile. Han is there, chopping wood. He's very handsome, with his coarse cotton peasant shirt half-open, but he's also moving stiffly and not looking her in the eye again. When she demands he talk to her, he grabs his head as if in pain...and when he turns back to her, his eyes are clear and bright. She's hoping he can help her make a plan to rescue Luke and escape Palpatine's clutches.

Returned to Max & Ruby during lunch. "Ruby's Gingerbread House" refuses to stand, no matter how much icing she and Louise slather between the walls. Max wants the girls to consider the merits of his gummy worms. "Max's Christmas Passed" has Ruby taking down their holiday decorations. She's feeling the post-Christmas blues, but her brother may have a way of making her feel better. Grandma and Ruby celebrate "Max's New Year" with funny hats, party games, and dancing. Max just wants Grandma's clock-shaped cookies, but he can't have them until the hands on the clock indicate midnight.

I wasn't originally supposed to work today. I switched with a bagger who wanted extra time off. I badly need the hours. I thought it would be busy, since many people have off today. Surprisingly, it was barely steady. Everyone must be waiting until next weekend, when we're closer to the next holiday and the beginning of the month. I mainly rounded up carts and baskets; brought plastic bags to registers that needed them early-on.

Went back into writing as soon as I got home. Broke for dinner around 6:30. Ate leftovers while watching two of the specials on The Chuck Jones Collection DVD. Jones did three shorts based around tales from The Jungle Books in 1975 and 1976. I saw Rikki Tikki Tavi many times on cable during my childhood, and I've always loved it. Rikki is a mongoose who is found by a British family in India. He acts as a companion to the boy, eventually rescuing him and his family from the scheming snakes Nag and Nagara.

The White Seal was even more impressive. Amazingly enough, I'd never heard of this one before I saw it on this DVD release. The title character is a rare white-furred seal living with his parents in Nova Scotia. He's determined to find a home after a walrus tells him about a sea cow who knows of an island where he and his fellow seals will never be harmed by hunters. The rest of his family thinks he's crazy, but he literally devotes his life to finding that place and leading the seals to an island where they can be safe.