Candy for the Holidays

Awoke early to a sunny, cold morning. Ran The Monkees while I ate breakfast. Their "Christmas Show" was mid-way through the second season, right as things started to get strange. The groovy rockers are expecting a gig, but find themselves babysitting a super-smart 12-year-old boy a few days before Christmas. The kid continually puts down their attempts at creating Christmas cheer...until Mike Nesmith figures out what it is he really wants.

The last baked item I had to do was the pumpkin bread for Jodie. She can put it out for the brunch on Christmas Day. I put it off until today because it's easy to make (one bowl, not too many ingredients, all gets thrown together) and we won't need it until Monday. It took a little longer to bake than I thought it would, but it came out perfectly when it was finally done, and it smell incredible while baking.

Ran a few remaining cartoons while I worked. Santa Bear's First Christmas was an adaptation of a book about a little polar bear who is separated from his family when he's trapped on an ice floe. He ends up living with a little girl and her grandfather in the woods. On Christmas Eve, just as the grandfather becomes very sick, they run out of firewood. The bear goes out to find some, but there seems to be no dry kindling anywhere. The bear is about to give up...until a jolly old man in red not only helps him, but encourages him to help others as well.

A Very Merry Cricket was the follow-up to A Cricket In Time's Square.  Tucker the Mouse and Harry the Cat lament that everyone in New York is moving so fast, they don't have the time to slow down and enjoy the spirit of the season. They head to Conneticut to pick up their buddy Chester the Cricket to play Christmas music, but have run-ins with local cats and dogs who aren't nearly as pleasant as Harry and Tucker. Even after they get back, no one on Times Square can hear the cricket over all the bustle. It takes a blackout to finally get New Yorkers to slow down and appreciate the beauty of the holidays.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon writing. I revised the story once again. Jack Hux and Jill Phasma show up after having fallen down Mint Chocolate Hill. They claim they saw the sheep being taken into the Forest of No Return. The group takes the train to the edge of the spooky woods to see if the sheep are still there...but BB doesn't think Hux and Phasma are trustworthy...

Broke at 12:30 to get the bread and the few remaining items organized and have lunch. Watched my favorite Rankin-Bass special, The Year Without a Santa Claus, as I ate. Santa wakes up one morning feeling tired and sick. He thinks no one cares about him or Christmas anymore. Mrs. Claus sends two elves and a reindeer down to Earth to find some Christmas spirit. What she didn't count on was them landing in the Deep South...or ending up in the territory of the Miser Brothers, who control the weather and are perpetually bickering.

Work was steady when I got there, busy but not as bad as I thought it would be. Once again, I suspect a lot of people may have gone shopping earlier in the day. I spent the first half of my shift bagging, and the second doing returns and trash in the front of the store.

I'm not entirely thrilled with my schedule. On one hand, far more hours than I have been getting lately, Christmas Day and next Saturday off. However, that means I have no idea when I'm going to squeeze in laundry or return my library DVDs, not to mention writing. And I'm working 8 hours not only tomorrow, but Christmas Eve, too! At least four people went on vacation this week, and others wanted a lot of time off. I'll have to rush from work to Dad and Jodie's house. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

I was started after I finished. Walked over to Chick Fil'A for dinner. By the time I made it over there, it was past 6 PM, the dinner hour, and it was really busy over there. I was probably lucky to grab a booth near the play area. I enjoyed a quick chicken sandwich, frosted lemonade, and waffle fries while admiring their decorations. There was a tree trimmed with mottled black-and-white cow print ribbons and cute little stockings with the employees' names on them hung in a row over the counter.

Did a fairly quick grocery trip when I got back to the Acme. I grabbed one of those big packs that have everything you need to make fudge. I was hoping to give them a second shot after my first attempt never set. Restocked chocolate chips, oranges, apples, eggs, skim milk, canned chicken, yogurt, laundry detergent, and those Nutmeg & Cinnamon Triscuits. Broccoli and Honey Bunches of Oats were on good sales. Bought chips for Dad and Jodie to snack on when they (hopefully) visit next week.

As soon as I got home, I put everything away, then tried making fudge again. The Gingerbread Fudge never set. I tried boiling it yet again, but that did nothing. Finally gave up, loaded it into a container to use for later, and decided to give the mix a try. That did the trick. This time, it came out perfectly, chocolate-y and thick and rich. Moved the mint patties (which are still too soft) into another container, lined with parchment paper, in the hope that would help them.

(And the fudge is the very last thing I have to do for Christmas. I won't be making or baking anything else until after the holiday.)

Ran Very Merry Christmas Songs while I worked. This is a DVD expansion of the original Sing-a-Long Songs video my siblings and I had as kids in the late 80's-early 90's. Most of the additional material revolves around bits from the direct-to-DVD sequels; new songs include the Bing Crosby version of "White Christmas," as well as "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."

(Here's the original VHS version my family owned for years. We used to watch it right after we'd get home on the last day before Christmas break. Dancing along relieved quite a bit of pent-up energy.

The Original Very Merry Christmas Songs VHS)

Finished the night with The House Without a Christmas Tree. I normally watch this Christmas Day, but I'll be watching football that night instead. The year is 1946. All Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) wants for Christmas is for her dad (Jason Robards) to break down and buy them a tree. They've never had one. Christmas trees remind him too much of the wife he lost...as does Addie. When Addie wins the class tree, her dad throws a fit, calling it charity. Grandma (Mildred Natwick) finally reminds Addie that real charity begins at home...and that it's never too late for a heart to start to heal.

Touching, gentle story of a father and a daughter having a hard time connecting, and how they finally manage to get through to one another. I love all the details in Addie's world, from her ongoing feud with the boy she may have a crush on to she and her best friend Carla Mae hanging out at Addie's house together. If you're looking for a low-key movie for Christmas Eve or Christmas  Day, especially for older grade-school girls, this one is worth checking out.