Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

It was raining when I woke up early, but by the time I was eating breakfast, the rain was long gone and the sun was coming out. Went right into making the Pumpkin Bread to bring down to Mom and Dad's house tomorrow after I ate. I got the recipe for this one from a fall baking cookbook I picked up at a register in Wildwood almost 15 years ago. It's been my go-to pumpkin bread recipe ever since.

Ran Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving while I ate. This "full length movie" is actually two episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the Thanksgiving special with some new linking material. In the first segment, Rabbit makes Piglet pose as a groundhog to tell them if spring is coming. The citizens of the 100 Acre Woods come together in the second segment to celebrate a feast of haycorns and honey and chocolate ice cream. Rabbit says that simply isn't how things are and sends the others after turkey and cranberries. When that doesn't work out, it's Pooh who reminds him what Thanksgiving is all about. In the third story, Rabbit takes care of a baby bird named Kessie, but has a hard time letting her go when she's ready to fly south for the winter.

Worked on my story for the rest of the evening. Did a little re-writing. I decided Phasma wasn't necessary and replaced her with Mitaka, who was trying to flee. The girls and Leia grab him before he runs. Kaydel convinces him to tell her where Snoke is fighting with Luke.

They come in just as Snoke has knocked Luke across the audience room. Leia and Rey combine their powers to hold the wicked sorcerer back. To their surprise, Kylo Ren and Armitage Hux aren't with him. The old crone is never seen without them. Snoke claims he's sent them to kill Han and the princes. He vanishes before he gives them more details. Leia and Luke finally get Mitaka to spill that Snoke is on his way to Deckard Manor, and that Kylo Ren and Hux have already left. Leia and the girls have begun to figure out what's going on...but they need to get back there fast!

Broke at quarter of 1 to pack and have lunch. Watched episodes of Max & Ruby while I got organized. "Max's Thanksgiving" has Ruby decorating the table for Grandma's big dinner. Max is more interested in the nut stuffing. "Ruby's Leaf Collection" will be the best in school...if her brother ever stops burying it in his ever-growing leaf pile. She's hoping to win "Ruby's Panda Prize" at the local fair, but Max keeps distracting her for jelly balls. That's not the only time Max was after candy while spending time with his sister. "Ruby's Candy Store" actually belongs to Candy, an older woman who runs the local confectionery shop. Ruby helps her out and tries to keep her brother out of the candy stock.

Work was steady when I arrived. I gathered baskets and helped bag for a older woman when I arrived, but once again, I was mostly outside. This wasn't so bad when it was still light out and I had plenty of help. Unfortunately, by rush hour, two of the baggers had gone home, the clouds moved back in, and the still-raging wind and biting chill increased. The bagger who came in was one of the new teenagers. He's a nice boy, but he doesn't understand where all the carts go. He kept disappearing when the corrals were empty...even when there were no carts up front and they were scattered all around the parking lot. It got so bad, I took my break a half-hour late just to have more time to gather them.

I was so happy when I finally got out of there. Headed right across the street to Arby's for dinner after picking up trash bags. My feet were too sore to go any further. To my surprise, the only other person in the dining area was an Asian gentleman who was doing work on his laptop. I had a tasty Smokehouse Chicken sandwich with bacon, barbecue and ranch sauce, and crispy onions, along with the usual Curly Fries and root beer.

Called Rose after I finished dinner. She was attending to her daughter when I caught her, which is why she hadn't called earlier. She says she'll be picking me up to go to Dad and Mom's house in Erma around 10 tomorrow. That's fine. I'll have just enough time to eat and finish packing.

Hit the shower as soon as I got home. When I got out, I ran Molly's Pilgrim while I got organized. This Oscar-winning short subject from 1985 has become a favorite of mine. Molly is a Jewish girl whose family just arrived in the US from Russia. She can't speak English very well and doesn't know much about American customs. Many of the little girls in her class are nasty to her because of her unusual lunch and accent. Molly's teacher assigns the class to make pilgrims and Indians for a Thanksgiving project. Molly's mother makes hers look like a Russian woman. The kids misunderstand at first, until Molly tells them what her mother said, that she and her family are also pilgrims, who came to the US to find religious freedom. In the end, the kids and their teacher decide that one of Molly's classmates is right. It does take all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving.

Did Planes, Trains, and Automobiles as I went online. All marketing executive Neil Page (Steve Martin) wants to do is get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving, but he's bounced from plane to train to bus to car in a series of improbable mishaps and just plain bad luck. Everywhere he goes, he keeps running into Del Griffith (John Candy), a shower curtain salesman who is a very sweet man, but also an overly chatty mass of bad habits. As the two travel along the highways and rails of the frozen Midwestern landscape, Neil eventually discovers why Del is really on the road...and learns a lesson in being thankful for what he has.

Mostly fun holiday comedy takes a left turn into forced sentimentality during the end, but is still a must-see for fans of Candy, Martin, or director John Hughes. It's some of their best work.

Had just enough time for a Three Stooges short after the movie ended. Three Englishmen go "Back to the Woods" when they're sent by the British courts to defend the pilgrims from the Indians. They want to court three comely pilgrim lasses, but they can't do that until they convince the local Indians to let them hunt on their land.

There really aren't that many Thanksgiving specials on DVD. Here's a couple of good vintage Thanksgiving tales I found on YouTube:

The Bernstein Bears Meet Big Paw 
The Mouse on the Mayflower
What-a-Mess: The Thanksgiving Turkey
Gram Bear's Thanksgiving Surprise
Nickelodeon's Thanksgiving Fest 1989
Intergalactic Thanksgiving (Please Don't Eat the Planet)
Saturday Supercade: Q-Bert - Thanksgiving for the Memories

I probably won't be online tomorrow - Dad and Mom don't have very good coverage down in Cape May County. I hope everyone who celebrates it has a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with great food, great football, and all the people you love.