When the Rains Came

Kicked off another sunny morning with the second Peanuts Valentine's Day special, A Charlie Brown Valentine. Charlie Brown wants to give the Little Red Haired Girl a valentine and ask her to the school dance. He's too shy to approach her, and when he calls her, he accidentally ends up asking Peppermint Patty and Marcie out instead. The other kids aren't doing much better. Sally insists on making valentines for her "Sweet Baboo" Linus, who loudly points out that he has no interest in her, while Lucy hangs around Schroder and his piano in the hope of getting Valentine's Day gifts.

Work was a pain in the rear end this morning. Today was my third early day of the week. Despite it being dead, I spent almost half the day in the register, including when I was the only bagger there. One manager would tell me to do one thing, then another would turn around a minute later and tell me to get in a register, there were lines. I was ready to scream by the end of my shift. I barely got outside to do carts, do the returns, and round up baskets and outside trash.

It had been cold this morning, but by the time I got out of work, it was a bit warmer. Not as warm as yesterday, probably in the upper 40's. It was also cloudier and very damp. I'd heard rumblings of rain later in the day. I went straight home this time.

Changed and had a snack when I got in. Watched more Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That while I ate. Nick wants to learn to ride a bike like Sally, but he doesn't seem to have a "Talent for Balance" yet. The Cat takes him to supposedly meet two people who will help him find  his balance...but first, they have to balance various objects to get through the gates on their way to them. (And I definitely know how Nick feels here. It took me several years to develop my "talent for balance" and learn how to ride a bike as well as Rose and some of the other kids in the neighborhood.)

They go on a "Search for String" when the kids need string to pull their cardboard train. The Thing-a-Ma-Doodle breaks down and shrinks them so small, they can fit in Nick and Sally's craft box and see their art supplies from a different point of view...including their string. "Who Can See the Wind?" The Cat and the kids can when they head to the Wind-naysium to learn how to see the wind and get Sally's kite in the air.

Spent the next few hours writing and doing a few things online. My tax return showed up yesterday. I was able to pay the electric and internet bill with no trouble. Also made one splurge on Amazon. One of my favorite shows during my early childhood was Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Rose and I watched it constantly in re-runs throughout the early and mid-80's. Wilma Deerling was one of my earliest heroines. I've heard it's kind of cheesy now, but I like cheesy. Since I'm out of Star Wars live-action movies that are easily available until Episode 9 shows up in December, I thought I'd fill in the gap with some fond memories. I also picked up Carmen Jones and Oliver! for reviews on my Musical Dreams Reviews blog in honor of Black History Month and this year's Oscars respectively.

Got a little writing done. Han, Luke, Leia, and Yoda hear a carriage coming through the woods. Han and Leia compete to see who can land on it first, then stake out the occupants. Turns out it's one of the Sheriff's men attempting a trap. But Han knows how to evade that...

Broke for dinner at 5:30. Ate leftovers while finishing out Cat In the Hat. Nick's favorite airplane (and a stick) are stuck in a tree. The group goes to a low-lying valley between mountains and tall trees to see how a "Gravity Drop" will get the plane on the ground, and why we stay on the ground and don't fly away.

"Nick's Cricket" needs a better home than a glass jar with dollhouse toys. The Cat tries to take them to a model town to teach them about design, but they end up stranded on a deserted island when the Thing-a-Ma-Jigger literally runs out of juice. The kids come up with a little house to give them shade while they're there and learn how to constantly refine their designs. They learn to "Go With the Flow" when the Cat brings them to a huge water slide to show them how water flows and created a puddle on Nick's front walkway.

It's "Design Time" when Sally has trouble making a vase for her mother and the Cat takes them to the land of BluePrintia. Turns out they're in "Duck Amuck" territory as the whole background is just one big blue print for them to draw ideas on. When the robot Nick drew goes haywire and starts knocking over other designs, Sally learns to keep working on her designs until she has what she needs. They get "A Prize Surprise" in our second magnet-themed story. This time, they're at Arcade Island and shrunk inside a crane game that uses a magnet instead of a crane. They have to figure out what the magnet will attract and what it won't in order to get out.

The kids want to move a big rock, but it's hard doing it with even three sets of hands. The Cat shows them how another kind of simple machine, "Clever Levers," can help them. They're "Going, Going, Gong" when the Cat takes them to the land of gongs to figure out the last note Sally needs to finish her song played on glasses.

Switched to cleaning the kitchen while the cartoons ended. It needed to be done badly, especially the stove and counter top. When I ran out of Soft Scrub, I made my own cleaner out of Comet cleaner, vinegar, and dish washing liquid. Worked quite well, actually. I even scrubbed the inside of the stove.

Finished out the night with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Our story opens in Shanghai, about a year before Raiders. Indy (Harrison Ford) ends up outrunning gangsters who wanted an artifact, picking up Willie, a spoiled singer (Kate Capshaw) and his kid buddy Short Round (Key Hu Quan) on the way. They crash-land in India and find themselves in a starving village. The citizens believe that their magic rock and their children were stolen by the evil Thuggee cult. Indy and his two friends head to the mysterious Pankot Palace to find out more about the lost rocks, and maybe gain some "fortune and glory" in the process...if they can avoid their hearts being ripped out by the Kali-worshiping cult members!

While there's a lot that I like about Temple of Doom, it's not my favorite entry. Short Round makes for a fun sidekick, and there's some great set pieces and ideas, including the famous mine cart ride and the scene in the finale on the rope bridge. Willie, however, is annoying and useless as heck, and the entire backstory with the cult seems more than a little racist today.

If you love Indy, see this one too...but I'd start with Raiders or Last Crusade first if you're new to Indy's world.

Oh, and it did finally start raining while I was online. It wasn't hard at first, but it started to pick up around the time I was watching cartoons and has been coming down at a good clip ever since.