Swashbuckling President's Day

Began a sunny President's Day with some Colliers' Harvest of Holidays. I did a short biography on Abraham Lincoln and two on George Washington, along with poetry about their life and times. I also went back and did the one Valentine's Day story, The Valentine's Box, and the poetry, since I forgot to do it on Valentine's Day.

Did two episodes of Jack of All Trades while I made Apricot Pancakes and a grapefruit slice for breakfast. Another early American president, Thomas Jefferson, makes a cameo appearance in the series pilot, "The Return of the Dragoon." Jack is less than thrilled when Jefferson reassigns him to a small tropical island to keep an eye on the French. Worse, his contact is a very smart British woman, Emilia, whose steampunk-esque inventions keep their spying under cover. Jack finds a cover of his own when he dresses as "The Daring Dragoon," a local myth, to ward off suspicion from the French Governor Croque.

Benjamin Franklin is "The Floundering Father" when he's taken prisoner by none other than Blackbeard the Pirate. Jack and Emilia are at a loss on how to get to Blackbeard's ship, until Emilia suggests her latest invention, a ship that can float underwater.

Listened to the first few songs from the Broadway musical Hamilton while I got ready for work. I can definitely see why this has become such a smash. Start with a good script and racially diverse casting; end with genuinely good music even people who aren't normally into rap and R&B can enjoy.

Work was pretty much the same as yesterday - on and off busy all day. Except for a few quick rounds of gathering baskets, I did carts the whole day. This time, though, I had less help. The one woman who was with me in the morning took an hour to get outside and was out for 15 minutes when she did finally make it. The other bagger was in the register for most of the early afternoon. When they let her go, the crowds had just begun to slow down. By the time it began to get busy again, we were both done.

I had a little shopping to do on the way home. I was hoping they'd have an ankle brace. My old one is too small. It gave me a huge blister on my heel. They didn't have an ankle brace, but they did have tape bandage. That'll have to do until I can get an ankle brace. I also found these new cheese crackers shaped like actual cheese slices. They remind me of the Nabisco Swiss Cheese crackers my sisters and I ate a ton of in the 80's. (We loved the bacon ones, too.)

Spent the rest of the evening working on my story. Actually, I revised the opening, and will probably revise it further. The refugee thing was too dark. Leia and her aunt and uncle are now merely visiting Mon Mothma to celebrate the coronation of Prime Minister Palpatine as the king of a united Coruscant and Naboo and the country's Diamond Jubilee. I also updated the Crimson Hawk and his band of criminals' costumes to make them closer to the era (1877) and the steampunk aesthetic.

Made a quick meal of spinach, eggs, mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese while watching another Rick Steves episode. We went back to Austria for a trip to Innsbruck and the Austrian and Italian Alps. The lovely towns, lively squares, and elaborate castles are the perfect inspirations for my story.

Finished the night with a much-needed bath. Ahhh. I can't remember the last time I had one. I read You are a Badass while listening to George Winston play music by Vince Guaraldi (including iconic pieces from the Peanuts specials) and just enjoyed the chance to relax and soothe my sore muscles.