Friday, November 24, 2017

Home and Back Again

I awoke this morning in Mom's office, hearing the chatter in the kitchen downstairs through the heating vents. By the time I made it there, everyone else was already awake and breakfast had long been on the table. Along with the pies and cookies from last night, there was a bowl of fruit, small boxes of cereal for the kids, and my cranberry and pumpkin breads. For all the trouble I had baking them, both loaves came out very tasty! I'll have to try that cranberry bread recipe again sometime.

Anny and her crew arrived around 9 (except for Skylar, who opted to sleep in). Khai and Collyn immediately ran outside to ride on their scooters, Khai so fast he went in his dinosaur-themed pajamas! Craig and I went outside to watch them. When Lilah came out later, the trio played tag. After Lilah and Khai got too cold and went back in, I watched Collyn and Craig toss a football around. They both had good arms and made some very nice throws!

This time, we actually left a little earlier than planned, around 10:30. Khai had been wired up all morning from the bread and cookies and sugary cereals. He was a bit noisy and worked up going home. We made a quick stop at WaWa so Craig and I could pick up Powerade for Khai, my favorite watermelon Perrier (my throat was dry), hot dogs for Khai and Craig, and soft pretzels for Rose, and another in a diner parking lot so Rose could get Finley changed and calmed down. Finley was fine after that. In fact, she, Khai, and her mother pretty much napped the rest of the way back to Camden County.

Craig dropped me off around quarter after noon. I quickly put everything away, tossed the leftovers Mom gave me this morning into the refrigerator, and headed back out. It was too lovely of a day to be sitting around inside. The sun was out, the wind was gone, and it was much warmer, probably into the lower-mid 50's. Besides, I had DVDs that were due.

My first stop was the Oaklyn Library...but to my surprise, they were closed for the entire weekend. They were open on Black Friday two years ago! Maybe they couldn't find a librarian to work the holiday weekend. I ended up riding over to Westmont instead. Stopped at Rite Aid to find pads first, then Tuesday Morning. The latter didn't have Christmas cookie boxes, which I haven't been able to find anywhere in ages.

Headed over to the Haddon Township Library next to return the DVDs and do some volunteering. They were quiet as could be over there. As one of the patrons said, everyone must be out shopping. I mostly shelved DVDs. Took out three more animation sets, along with a couple of movies. They just got in a second new My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic set, this one revolving around Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Shimmer, and another Lego Scooby Doo movie, Blowout Beach Blast. Grabbed the Christmas special for Sophia the First, Holiday In Enchantria. Returned to the movies of the 60's and 70's, this time the ultra-violent western The Wild Bunch. I've been wanting to see Hidden Figures, about a group of black female scientists who were major influences at NASA during the early 60's, since it came out last year.

I was originally going to stop at WaWa on the White Horse Pike to get money, but they were so busy, I opted to move along. Had a late lunch at Common Grounds Coffee House on West Clinton instead. When I arrived, the store was empty except the barista. I had my decadent hot chocolate and slice of spinach and cheddar quiche in peace.

When I got home, I did the blog entry I wasn't able to write yesterday, then worked on my current story. Leia makes herself vanish via the ring Harold gave her. She finds demons attacking the boys. After turning the demons into flowers, Finn and Snap direct her upstairs...just in time for her to see Ben stab Harold in the side while Poe holds off Hux.

Broke for dinner at 7. Turned some of the leftovers Mom gave me into my version of WaWa's Gobbler hoagie - a gobbler wrap, with mayo, cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, and fresh spinach. Surprisingly, it came out quite tasty! Had a slice of flaky apple pie, which I never got to this morning, for dessert.

Ran How the Grinch Stole Christmas while eating. This is the beloved tale of the grouchy green fellow who wants to take the holiday goodies from the Whos of Whoville. But nothing the Grinch does will stop the Who's bountiful holiday spirit. They finally teach him that "Christmas doesn't come from a store. Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

Ended the night with Scrooge. This is the 1969 musical version of A Christmas Carol, with Albert Finney as the famous miser and Sir Alec Guinness as Jacob Marley. Although it has a few big dance numbers and some fairly elaborate special effects for the time, especially during the future segment, this actually isn't quite as epic as some of the other musical movies made in this era. The music by Leslie Bricusse is the selling point. The catchy "Thank You Very Much" was the sole hit, but I also like "December the 25th" for the Fezziwigs and "Christmas Children" for Bob Cratchit and his brood as they do their holiday shopping.

Oddly, this one adds a rather freaky sojourn in hell to the Future segment that looks morel like the Disney featurette than something that belongs in a family-friendly musical. The Ghost of Christmas Past looks nothing like it's described in the original book, too.

If you're big on A Christmas Carol, or love the music or the cast, the dance numbers and "Thank You Very Much" alone make this worth a look.

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