Celebrated the beginning of the last month of the year with breakfast and A Charlie Brown Christmas. While the rest of the Peanuts gang is gearing up for the holidays, Chuck is feeling a little blue. Lucy suggests him directing their Christmas pageant, but the kids are more interested in turning it into a jazz concert than the story of the Nativity. Chuck and Linus buy a tree, but they opt for a tiny live one, rather than the glittery metal monstrosities that were in style in the mid-60's. The others don't appreciate their choice...until Linus makes a speech onstage that reminds them of what Christmas is really all about.
Did some more cleaning next. I hadn't washed the windows in a while, and vacuuming revealed a ton of dust and cobwebs around the baseboards and on the ceiling. Fortunately, the ceiling in my apartment is low enough for me to just run over it with my duster and not need a step stool.
Continued with the Peanuts holiday specials as I worked. It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown ditches the linear story for a series of skits about the season. It's not as meaningful, but it is really funny. Peppermint Patty and Marcie have the best bits as the former avoids homework and they both end up in their own school pageant. Sally also has a memorable bit trying to learn her one line for the play.
I finally had enough of a stack of catalogs to do a collage. I managed to make it a Christmas/winter one, thanks to the American Girl Gift Catalog and a couple of Bed, Bath, and Beyond flyers. Most of the catalogs went back as far as the summer; I improvised as best I could with what I had.
Ran Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer while I cut and glued. The first and probably still the most famous of the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials tells the tale of the title character, an adorable reindeer with a glowing red nose. Pretty doe Clarice doesn't mind his bright nostrils, but Santa and the other reindeer are offended by something so strange and ostracize him. He meets up with Hermie, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and boisterous prospector Yukon Cornelius after fleeing the North Pole. They promise to help the unusual playthings of the Land of Misfit Toys find homes...if they can avoid the Bumble Snow Monster and help Santa through the storm.
Didn't head out to the Acme until around quarter of 1. Considering how long I was there, I didn't really need much in the way of groceries. I've getting a lot of other people's leftovers lately! Restocked skim milk, cranberries, yogurt, peanut butter (the Acme had a buy two Skippy, get them for 99 cents sale, plus there was an online coupon), tea (found a vanilla black fancy pyramid tea on the clearance racks), sponges (also from the clearance racks), those yummy Gingerbread Spice granola bars, and a toothbrush. Grabbed crab cakes that were reduced in price and bananas instead of more expensive apples.
Picked up my schedule while I was there. I only work on Sunday from 1 to 5, likely due to the late Eagles game. After that, I'm off Monday, and then...vacation! I'll be taking my final vacation week from Tuesday through next Monday. My good friend Amanda is visiting on Tuesday, and I'm hoping to hit the malls and get the Christmas shopping done on Thursday. Otherwise, I'll be spending the week cleaning, decorating, wrapping, writing, and hitting the libraries.
As soon as I got home, I quickly put everything away again while listening to a Christmas jazz and vocalist collection and had yogurt and Cranberry Flummery for lunch, then went right back out again. I had to get to the Haddon Township Library. It was certainly a lovely day for a ride across Newton River Park. Though most of the trees are bare now, the leaves that remain are a bright shade of scarlet. The sunlight glimmered on the ripples over the lakeside. It was quiet for around 2:30. Most people were probably just getting off school or work. I dodged two folks out for a stroll and a pack of Canadian geese and saw a family with toddlers swinging at the playground.
The Haddon Township Library was even less busy. I mainly just shelved the few DVDs that were there. I did take out a few movies and some holiday cartoons. Found the Christmas set for Sean the Sheep and the first one for Max & Ruby that I didn't have. Feature-length movies this week are the original Poseidon Adventure, Arthur Christmas, and the 30's Joan Crawford romantic comedy The Bride Wore Red.
Stopped at Dollar Tree next. By that point, it was 3:30, and the place was packed with rush hour shoppers. I was inspired by Matt at Dinosaur Dracula to check out their holiday decor. They did have the spindly 18-inch tree that has the same type of stand as my big tree. Bought that, along with tote bags for Christmas cookies, water for the way home, and candy canes for the tree next week.
Went straight home after that, dodging traffic on the White Horse Pike and Cuthbert Road. When I finally got in, I went straight on the computer to work on my story. Leia finally sends Ben out to talk to Hux and Mitaka. BB tries to beg Leia not to sell the store. It's her favorite store in all of Philadelphia! Leia says they may not have a choice. They're either going to have to sell the store, or cut a few departments...and the toy department is one of the ones on the chopping block. Poe insists on taking his sister down to see it before it's gone.
Threw together a casserole made of ground turkey, leftover vegetables, the last of the cheddar cheese, minced garlic, soy sauce, white cooking wine, and chicken stock for dinner. Watched the Sean the Sheep Christmas episodes as I ate. "We Wish Ewe a Merry Christmas" has the sheep making a nice holiday for the farmer when they realize he's alone on Christmas Eve. They're all "Snowed In" after a massive blizzard. The sheep have fun with a snowball fight, while the farmer just wants to get outside. Bitzer is the "Fireside Favorite" after he gets sick, which doesn't make Pidsley the Cat happy. He tries his best to get rid of him. "An Ill Wind" has the farmer setting up a turbine to create electricity. The sheep think it's their own private ferris wheel, until huge Shirley tries to ride. Speaking of Shirley, her size also causes trouble in "Shirley Whirley." Sean gets the big sheep on a remote control cart, but the farmer's TV interferes with the signal.
Finished the night with Italian cookies, then online while watching The Bride Wore Red. Joan Crawford plays Anni, a down-on-her luck singer who gets an unexpected boost from an Italian count (George Zucco) who wants to use her for an experiment. He's determined to prove to his aristocratic friend Rudi (Robert Young) that anyone can behave like an aristocrat. The count gives Anni money and a new name and sends her to a fashionable resort in the Italian Alps for two weeks. Her friend Maria (Mary Philips), who is working as a maid there, is happy to see her, but the real aristocrats don't know what to make of her. She's more comfortable with laid-back postal employee Guilio (Franchot Tone, Crawford's real-life husband at the time) in his mountain home. Trouble is, though she's come to love the fresh beauty of the Alps and gentle Guilio, she's also fallen for Rudi and his lavish lifestyle. She now has to choose between two very different men...and two different directions she wants for her life.
Dorothy Arzner, one of the few female directors in Hollywood during the Golden Age, gives some surprisingly dramatic touches to this Cinderella comedy. The end in particular has Anni realistically torn between a lavish lifestyle with a man she only likes, and a life in poverty but beauty with a man she really loves. Maria gets upset with her over her choices, too, giving a rather effective speech on what she's become in that two weeks towards the end.
If you're a fan of Crawford or her 30's "shopgirl makes good" comedies, this is worth looking around for at the Warner Archives.
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