Kicked off the morning with breakfast and more Rick Steves' Europe. Moved over the border from France to fairy-tale Germany to explore the Black Forest region. This is probably my favorite of Rick's German episodes. The whole show looks like something from out of Mom's old Grimm's Fairy Tales book, from the towering Gothic cathedral in Cologne to the casino and mineral spa of Baden Baden to the quaint towns and romantic scenery of the Black Forest itself.
Headed out around 10:30-quarter of 11 to get the laundry done. I picked the right time. They were dead when I arrived, and only a few people showed up while I was there. I watched Let's Make a Deal and The Price Is Right (what I could hear of it - the picture kept going in and out) while working on story notes. I had a lot of laundry to do, too, thanks to the extra sheet and socks - it took me over an hour.
When I got home, I put everything away, then had lunch really fast and headed right back out to run errands. First stop was the Oaklyn Library. It was past 1 by this point. Other than the librarian and one woman on the computer, they were quiet as can be. I shelved children's books, organized the DVDs, and dodged gardeners spreading mulch around the flowers and landscaping on the front lawn.
WaWa is a few blocks down the street from the library. I stopped there for a tasty Chocolate Banana Smoothie. This is probably my favorite WaWa frozen drink. They use real bananas instead of flavoring. It tastes so extra sweet and creamy!
Rode down the White Horse Pike to grab a few things at CVS. I needed a bag for Khai's birthday present. (All my wrapping paper bags are for Christmas.) Was almost out of brush picks. Might as well get them while I have the gift card. (For some reason, CVS is the only place I can find brush picks anymore.)
I didn't like the look of the weather. The sun had long vanished, replaced by clouds and chilly wind. I rode home to do some writing for a couple of hours. Leia has her suspicions about Luke and Henry. Luke's fencing style was very familiar. She realizes why when she looks up a couple of books on the Jedi. His fencing style match that of the long-gone Jedi Guards, the protectors of the Naboo Royal Family who were killed after supposedly betraying their rulers. Leia knows Sir Kenton was once a Jedi, and now she thinks Luke...and the Crimson Hawk...may be trying to resurrect the group.
Went right back out to Dad's for Khai's birthday party around ten of 5. The place was already packed with screaming kids and amused parents when I arrived. Khai and a bunch of his buddies were in the living room, batting red, green, and blue balloons around. My nephew has apparently become a fan of the online game Minecraft. The decorations and cake had a nifty Minecraft theme, up to and including the blocky decorations on the cake made from white chocolate lollipops. The cake came from a new bakery on the White Horse Pike I've been meaning to try. The icing had an odd spicy taste, but the three-layer chocolate and vanilla cake was delicious and moist.
The kids had a lot of fun - and I had a lot of fun taking photos! I accidentally pushed the record button on my phone and ended up recording the kids' limbo game (I think Ryan won). I also recorded them playing musical statues (Chloe may have won that one) and blowing out the candles on the cake. Took photos of them playing with sparklers outside (I thought it was adorable when one of the boys said they "looked just like Harry Potter") and playing tag with Dana.
Khai got a lot of really neat stuff for his birthday! Most of what he got were Minecraft Lego sets. (Including one he'd admired while on a trip with Jodie that she'd managed to buy under his nose!) He also got two Nerf guns (one zombie-themed) and suction-cup darts, the Pokemon in a Poke-Ball from me, a pool flotation device, spy goggles from his parents, and lots of money.
I finally took my leave around 7:30. Looked over everything I'd recorded and photographed, then jumped in the bath. Ahh, I needed that after all the noise today and the running around I've done in the past few months. Felt nice to just kick back, relax, and listen to jazz while looking over self-help books on finding your authentic self.
I found a movie on YouTube tonight that I've been wondering about for years. I was at the tail-end of my first Star Wars obsession when the TV movie Earth Angel debuted in 1991. It's 1962, and a peppy prom queen thinks she has it all - hot car, hot jock boyfriend, tons of popularity. She learns about real love when she falls for the nerd who tutors her in history (Mark Hamill). The jock's not thrilled. During an argument in her car while riding to the prom in a storm, the jock spins out, totals the car, and kills her. Her late principal (Roddy McDowell) sends her on a mission to 1991. The sweet nerd is now a strict history teacher who may fail a shy new girl, the daughter of her former best friend (Cindy Williams). Now she has to make sure the kid ends up with the right guy and give her old flame the encouragement to move on, or she'll never get up there with James Dean.
I saw part of this when it came out on cable, but I don't remember having seen the end. Yeah, I mainly caught it for a rare appearance by Hamill, who makes a rather cute nerd, and because I've always been intrigued by both mild ghost stories and mid-20th-century culture. Not the best movie in the world, but if you love ghost stories, the early 60's or early 90's, or any of the cast, it's worth a look at least once.
Earth Angel (1991)
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