Had a late but tasty breakfast of New England Cranberry-Corn Pancakes (whole wheat pancake mix with a little corn meal, molasses, spices, and a sprinkling of the cranberry bits I got at the Acme on Friday) while listening to my first Christmas CD of the year. A Broadway Christmas comes from the same Varase Sarabande collection as the Lost In Boston and Unsung Musicals series. Along with well-known holiday tunes like "We Need a Little Christmas" and "Hard Candy Christmas," we have songs cut from Broadway shows (the lovely "Christmas Eve," dropped from She Loves Me), taken from shows that haven't made New York ("Christmas Gifts" from a stage musical version of It's a Wonderful Life), and even one that had just been rediscovered at that point ("The Happy New Year Blues" by Irving Berlin).
Work once again could have been worse. It was on-and-off busy, though when it was on, the lines were really long. While I did gather baskets and briefly shelved loose items, I was mostly outside. Fine by me. Despite the gale-force winds, it was mostly sunny and a lot nicer than I thought it would be, probably into the mid-50's.
Took the long way home down Nicholson Road so the wind would be at my back at least part of the way. The houses and trees took care of the rest of it. I dodged quite a bit of traffic on the right side of Nicholson. (The left is still blocked to repair the bridge.) The flowers and greenery in gardens and on the side of the road have given way to seeds floating in the breeze and dried stalks leaning precariously against the asphalt. The trees have finally gotten gorgeous, lighting up the roads with their gold and orange leaves.
Worked on writing again when I got in. Harold and Leia have finally spent the night together. Leia wakes up in his leathery arms when her brother Luke's manservant, Arthur, rides up to the manor. He has bad news. King Snoke of the First Order Clan has invaded Alderaan and may intend to kill Luke. Leia says she'll leave right away. Harold's heartbroken, but he understands that her country needs her.
Had leftover tacos and broccoli for dinner around 6:30. Listened to Here's Love as I ate and did the dishes. This is a musical version of Miracle On 34th Street from 1961, with Janis Page as Doris Walker and Fred "Herman Munster" Gwynne as Mr. Sheldrake. Meredith Wilson, best known for The Music Man, did the songs. It's ok, not great, but far from horrible. I don't know why they had to make the lawyer into an ex-Marine, other than to give him and his buddies a really dumb number where they make bets on whether Doris will show or not. Otherwise, the songs are mostly fun. I'm especially fond of the charming "My Wish" for Susan and Fred.
Went on to the soundtrack from Scrooge as I went online. Leslie Bricusse did the songs for this 1969 musical version of A Christmas Carol, with Albert Finney as the title miser. "Thank You Very Much" was the hit, but my favorites are the sweet "Christmas Children" for Bob Cratchit and his brood, "December the 25th" at the Fezziwig's party, and "I Like Life" for the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Ended the night with the big Eagles-Cowboys game. No one played well during the first half. The Eagles made a ton of mistakes and were down 9-7 at halftime, not to mention they lost their kicker. Whatever they discussed in the locker room during halftime must have worked. They dominated the game from the early 3rd quarter onward, ultimately going on to win 37-9.
The Giants-Chiefs game I saw part of at work was even worse. While the Giants are terrible (they only had one win this season before today), the Chiefs are one of the best teams in the NFL with the Eagles, Rams, and Patriots. They were tied a paltry 9-9 when I left and going into overtime. The Giants finally pulled off a much-needed win, 12-9.
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