Tuesday, January 17, 2017

A Rainy Day Tale

Began a gloomy, damp morning with princess-themed Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater episodes while eating breakfast and getting ready for work. Hello Kitty is "Cinderkitty," who would rather be catching forward passes than being a cheerleader or slaving away for her stepmother and stepsister. She gets her chance to impress the quarterback prince (Tuxedo Sam) when a fairy godmother turns her into the most popular kitty at the big game. Hello Kitty discovers why you should never go into a stranger's home when she has a close encounter with woodland creatures in "Kittylocks and the Three Bears." She becomes "Sleeping Kitty" when a cursed TV puts her under a spell. Once again, Sam plays prince and awakens her. "Kitty and the Beast" teaches Hello Kitty and Catnip not to judge by appearances when they find themselves in a castle owned by a fearsome monster. Grinder is a mostly unlikely protector when Queen Catnip becomes jealous of her adorable white-furred ward in "Snow Kitty and the One Dwarf."

(Oh, and I called Mrs. Stahl while the cartoons were on and told her about Dad and Jodie coming to my session. I haven't heard back from her yet, but I doubt she'll have a problem.)

Work was pretty much the same as the last few days, on-and-off steady. Once again, the lines were only long because we were short on cashiers, not because we were that busy. I did briefly do returns, trash, and took boxes to the paper baler. Otherwise, I bagged almost the entire day. Never went outside. We had a lot more help bagging than cashiering, and plenty of people to do carts. By the time rush hour arrived and it did start getting really busy, I was done.

Oh, and I got really lucky today weather-wise. It must have rained earlier this morning. The porch was wet when I got up, but it wasn't raining. I don't think it ever really rained while I was at work, either. It didn't start raining hard until nearly a half-hour after I got in. It's been raining on and off ever since.

Spent the next few hours writing. Jabba has left Han a huge pile of hay to sort into good and spoiled. A bit of magic releases the horses, allowing them to do Han's job for him. Han stops his brothers from accosting an old man and stealing his money as they leave.

The old man turns out to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, King Anakin's court magician. He saw Han sparring with Leia earlier and think they had a real spark going. The Force transforms an old hay cart into a magnificent carriage. Falcon the horse, Chewbacca the dog, six mice from the house, and two lizards from the garden become Han's driver, horses, and servants. Han's own ruined outfit is turned into a gold-trimmed navy suit worthy of the finest prince, complete with crown. Ben gives him the warning about his powers not working past midnight and sends him on his way.

I had leftovers for dinner, then finished out the night making Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies while watching Winter's Tale. Peter Lake (Collin Farrell) is a thief in early 20th century New York who falls in love with the beautiful Beverly (Jessica Brown Findley) while stealing from her father's house. Problem is, she's dying of consumption, and he's being pursued by his evil gangster former boss, who actually raised him (Russell Crowe). He's head-over-heels in love with her, to the point where, even after she dies and he's knocked into the Hudson, he returns a century later to make sure a child who may be her reincarnated survives.

Strange but touching and quite beautiful fantasy tale. I can kind of understand why this didn't do well at the box office in 2014. Lovely though it is, it's hard to follow, and a lot of the fairy tale elements may be lost on non-fantasy fans. If you love fairy tales or early 20th century history like I do, are a fan of the cast, or have a romantic streak, you'll want to give this one a second chance and a second look.

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