Saturday, March 31, 2018

Hopping Down the Country Roads

Started off a sunny, cool day with Here Comes Peter Cottontail as I ate breakfast. Peter (Casey Kasem) is supposed to be the new Chief Easter Bunny, but he oversleeps on Easter morning and loses the job to nasty Irontail (Vincent Price). Egg dye peddler Seymour S. Sassafras (Danny Kaye) gives Peter a time machine driven by Antoine the caterpillar (Kaye) that'll take him back to Easter. Irontail is determined to keep his current gig and sabotages the time machine...leading Peter to travel through a year's worth of holidays to get back to Easter and become the true Easter Bunny.

Though it was fairly quiet when I got into work, it picked up quite a bit around noon and was off and on the rest of the day. I cleaned the bathrooms right after I arrived, swept the onion skins and bits of herbs off the floor in the produce area, and gathered baskets, but once again I mostly bagged. No problems whatsoever.

It was such a nice day by 4 PM, I took the long way home down Nicholson Road. Everyone must have already left for late church or family festivities or the Shore. It wasn't really that busy, even around the mall entrance. Atlantic Avenue was a little busier with people heading home to get ready for the holiday. It's really starting to look like spring now. The trees are laden with reddish or fuzzy silver buds. Bright yellow daffodils, purple crocus, and little bursts of forsythia sunshine can be see in every garden.

There were two packages waiting for me when I got home. My Amazon.com order had arrived! My watch died a few days ago. I decided I couldn't wait to replace it until I can get to a mall. It's a black unisex watch with shiny red trim, made by Amitron. I love it. It's a little bigger than my old Shark watch, with a thicker strap and larger numbers on the face.

The other item I bought were new walking sandals for summer. I picked up a pair of sandals for walking when I visited Lauren last year, but they gave me blisters badly. The bright turquoise pair fit me much better, thanks to the Velcro straps, and they only cost $9.99 on a major clearance.

Got dressed and cleared out a few things next. None of my good shoes close to fit me anymore. I really need a new pair of good shoes for the wedding next month. Pulled a few DVDs, one American Girl outfit I didn't want...and the Disney Princess Toddler dolls. They're cute, but they'd be better off with little girls who would actually play with them, rather than sitting on a doll bed collecting dust. The doll bed went in the back room until I can figure out what to do with it. For now, I stick to collecting Star Wars, American Girl, and maybe a few vintage Effanbee and older dolls.

Worked on writing next. The little elf-like creature can't warn Leia away from Alderaan Manor. He does admit that he knew Obi-Wan, that he knows something about the Force...and that Leia needs to look beyond appearances. After all, she can't tell who is really a monster, and who is a prince. The elf also knows Luke is a unicorn; he refers to him by name after he pokes the creature in the rear with his horn for insulting his sister. He finally turns into a green light that leads Leia and Luke back to the road and the others.

Had leftovers for dinner around quarter of 7, then made Coconut-Lemon Macaroons. Watched Max & Ruby Easter episodes as I baked. Ruby may find all the eggs the Easter Bunny hid, but that doesn't mean she finds "Max's Chocolate Chicken." "Ruby's Beauty Shop" is open for business, with Max as her and Louise's reluctant first customer. "Max Drives Away" to find a better breakfast at Grandma's. Ruby goes after him. "Ruby's Easter Bonnet" is laden with flowers and ribbons...and something extra-special, courtesy of Max's frog buddy. Ruby and Louise love decorating eggs, but Ruby's brother would rather use them for "Max's Easter Parade." The Bunny Scouts think they're finding the same eggs over and over, but "Max the Easter Bunny" keeps hiding the ones they've found.

Did a little bit of Wii Sports around 7:30. After the fitness test, I went right into boxing. I'm getting better. I didn't even need three rounds to KO the guy this time. I barely needed a round and a half. Also worked on Putting on the Green in golf and played some tennis.

Ran Logan Lucky after I got off the Wii. Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) doesn't feel so lucky. His ex-wife Bobbie Jo (Katie Holmes) just moved their daughter further away, and his younger brother Clyde (Adam Driver) lost a hand in the Iraq War and now runs a local dive bar. He's hoping that one big heist will turn everything around. He and Clyde recruite their sister Mellie (Riley Keough) and tough bombs expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) to help them rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway. After they start a riot to break Joe out of prison, they realize they have to move up the plan to the Coca-Cola 600 race on Memorial Day...one of the busiest days of the year. It'll take a lot more than luck for the brothers to get away with the money and avoid the sharp FBI investigator (Hilary Swank) working on the heist case.

This one has a few things in common with Speed Racer, including the racing setting, the emphasis on family and estranged brothers...and the fact that this was a surprise flop late last summer that really should have done better. An awesome cast has a great time with the material - Craig and Driver are particularly fun. It's almost like a down-home version of the Ocean's movies, which Steven Soderbergh also directed.

If you're a fan of the cast, Soderbergh's other work, or heist films, you're going to want to take this country road, too.

And here's some lesser-known springtime tales to enjoy while waiting for the Easter Bunny's arrival tomorrow:

The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise
Buttons and Rusty Meet the Easter Bunny (A Chucklewood Easter)
Thumpkin and the Easter Bunnies
Disney Silly Symphony: Funny Little Bunnies
A Family Circus Easter
PJ Funnybunny's Very Cool Easter
Easter Is
The Fat Albert Easter Special
The Jack Rabbit Story: Easter Fever
Follow That Bunny

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