Thursday, December 07, 2017

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I was very grateful to see sunshine when I got up this morning, considering the rain we got last night. To celebrate the fact that it was also supposed to be colder today, I watched Frosty the Snowman while I had breakfast. Jimmy Durante narrates the tale of the snowman who comes to life when a magician's hat lands on his head. The local kids are delighted, but it's getting too warm for Frosty to stay. One of the kids and the magician's rabbit hops a train with him to the North Pole. Meanwhile, the magician wants that hat back...yesterday, if possible.

Frosty Returns is an odd cartoon from the 90's that plays like a cross between a Rankin-Bass special and a Peanuts special. This time, Frosty appears in a very modern town, helping two kids show the citizens how much fun winter can be. It does have a nice cast, including John Goodman as Frosty, Brian Doyle Murphy as the executive whose aerosol cans can eliminate snow quickly, Andrea Martin as a crabby teacher, and Johnathan Winters as the tiny narrator.

Headed out around 10:30, intending to go down the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus to the Cherry Hill Mall. Stopped at the ATM at the WaWa first to get money. I accidentally took out 50 dollars when I only meant to take out 10...and then I saw the receipt. I barely had anything left in my account! I didn't realize how badly paying my rent and internet bill had depleted my funds.

I was in tears. There would be no mall trip today. I just did not have the money. I rode home and watched stuff on YouTube for an hour or so to calm down. I finally decided to swap my chores around a bit. I'd do the mall tomorrow and get grocery shopping in on Saturday morning.

Had a quick lunch around 1:30. Ran an episode of the third season of Sailor Moon while I ate. "Let Usagi Help You With Your Love Problems," she insists when her friends Umino and Naru have hit an impasse in their relationship. She sets them up in a contest that judges how much couples love one another. Lovers Haruka and Micheru join the contest too, though Haruka thinks it's silly. It turns out to not be as dumb as she thinks when the heart statue Umino is supposed to light up turns into a monster and tries to purloin his pure heart!

It was a gorgeous day when I finally went back out. Took Newton Lake Park to Westmont. The park was empty at that point, probably due to the cold (it got into the mid-40's, according to the digital sign outside of Oaklyn's City Hall) and it being mid-afternoon. It's definitely looking more like winter now. The few remaining trees that have leaves are all russets and browns, and the grass is yellow and brittle. The only other creatures I saw were one lone walker and several flocks of Canadian geese and ducks looking for a late snack and going for a chilly swim.

The Haddon Township Library wasn't busy, either. There really wasn't much for me to do. I focused on shelving and organizing DVDs. I don't know how TV sets keep getting mixed in with the regular adult titles. There weren't even any audio CDs to shelve.

I enjoyed the live-action Beauty and the Beast so much back on my birthday in April, I thought I'd take another look at it on the small screen. While it's still a tad early for A Very Pooh New Year, it's more than likely that the DVD will probably vanish by the time we get to late December. Continued my exploration in the cinema of the 60's and 70's with The Way We Were and the film version of The Odd Couple. (Dad-Bill had the video of the latter in the 90's, but I don't remember ever watching it with him.)

Made a few quick stops on the way home. I had just used up the last of my sugar on making Cranberry Flummery to go with my lunch. I'd normally wait to get it during my shopping trip, but it was on a really good sale this week. I was hoping they'd have a couple of the Time/Entertainment Weekly Star Wars paperback photo books. I had a coupon for two of them. No luck. They only had the time one. Stopped in CVS for a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha drink and to make change for tomorrow. Took the short way back over the hill and up past the Haddon Township Environmental Center and Museum, dodging rush hour traffic on the White Horse Pike.

Went into writing when I got in. BB happens to see Phasma, Hux, Mitaka, and Ben Solo complain to Luke Weston, Leia Weston-Solo's brother and the co-owner of Skywalker's Department Store, while she's looking for Kaydel's missing stuffed sheep. Ben and Hux push Luke to sell, reminding him of the cash skimmed from their funds. Phasma complains that she's quitting, too. She's getting a better job with First Order Value. A tired Luke just waves them all away.

As they leave, BB overhears them talking. Hux and Ben were the ones who really skimmed that money. They're hoping the chain will sell out to First Order Value and to Snoke, who is promising them all big raises and high-ranking jobs if they force Leia and Luke to unload it.

Stopped for dinner around 6:30. Moved from the regular series to Sailor Moon S: Hearts In Ice while I ate leftovers. An evil snow witch has sent crystals down to freeze the Earth and add it to her "collection." A frail young scientist finds one of the crystals...and it makes him even more ill. He also finds Luna, Usagi's talking cat, who develops quite a crush on him. Usagi and the Guardians have to battle this frosty menace and help Luna with her broken heart.

Ended the night with another holiday tale of girl power. Barbie In A Christmas Carol is the second of three Barbie holiday movies, and Mattel's third adaptation of classic literature (after The Prince and the Pauper and The Three Musketeers). This time, Kelly is upset that her family is going to a huge charity ball on Christmas Eve instead of staying home, like they always do. Barbie cheers up her sister with the story of Eden Starling, an opera singer who is the toast of Victorian London. She's also a spoiled diva who insists that her music hall troupe rehearse on Christmas Day, including her best friend Catherine. A visit from her stage mother aunt and three female ghosts make her rethink her views on charity and giving during the holidays and how she treats her employees.

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