Blustery Christmas

I awoke to chimes in the distance and clouds on the horizon. Cheered up the gloomy morning with classic animated shorts revolving around Christmas and winter. "Snow Foolin'" and "Winter Comin' On" are part of the Paramount Famous Studios Screen Song "follow the bouncing ball" series from the late 40's and early 50's. "Snow Foolin'" has animals playing in the snow before we sing "Jingle Bells." "Winter" is a bit less festive. Birds prepare to fly south, to the tune of "Alabamy Bound."

"The Snow Man" is an oddity from I believe the 30's, from the rubber-hose, pie-eyed designs. An Inuit and his Arctic animal friends build a snow man, but their frosty buddy somehow transforms into a nasty Yeti! They have to figure out how to dodge this angry snow creature.

Popeye the Sailor's only Christmas short was "Season's Greetinks." He takes Olive skating, but Bluto's attempt to show off may leave her on thin ice. "I Ski-Love Ski-You Ski" is similar, only this time, Bluto interferes when Popeye takes Olive mountain climbing.

"Mickey's Orphans" was the first Disney Christmas sound short, and the first Mickey Mouse short to get an Oscar nomination. A basket of kittens is left at Mickey and Minnie's home. They want to give them a nice Christmas, but the kids may be more energetic than they - and their house - can handle.

Headed out shortly after "Mickey's Orphans" ended. I really needed to do my grocery shopping after all the baking and cooking I've done this week! Candied fruit was on sale, and I had an online coupon. I also grabbed pecans and decided I'd try making fruitcake muffins. Found another fish fillet, this one almond-crusted flounder, and a small container of shrimp for dinner later next week. Restocked brown and powdered sugar, tea, butter, skim milk, honey, whole wheat and unbleached flour, eggs, diced tomatoes, cream of mushroom soup, apples (they had that bag of galas on sale for $1.49 again), bananas, and pads. The quiche I made for Easter came out so well, I thought I'd try making one for Christmas. Bought bacon and a small salad bar container of broccoli florets for it. (If I end up eating out for Christmas Day, I'll do it the day after.)

Ran a few more shorts as I put everything away and had a really quick yogurt-and-banana lunch. "Chip n' Dale" was the first cartoon to name the chipmunks who drive Donald and Pluto crazy. Here, they're trying to get their log home and nut supply back from Donald, who's using them for firewood. "Toy Tinkers" gets a bit more violent as Donald defends his Christmas nuts from the two hungry rodents.

Sylvester the cat thinks Tweety is "Gift Wrapped" just for him. Actually, he's Granny's Christmas present. The feisty old lady spends  her holiday keeping Tweety out of Sylvester's mouth and Sylvester away from a big, hungry bulldog.

Went back out again to do this week's laundry. I had a lot to do there, too. Had to wash a pair of jeans along with the towel and cloth I use for making cookies. They were a little busy, but not nearly as much as they have been the past couple of times I've done the laundry on Saturday. I worked on story notes and half-listened to a British soccer game on NBC.

As soon as I got all the clothes folded and put away, I went right into making peppermint patties. There's a simple recipe for uncooked fondant in The Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book that works well for peppermint patties. I just needed to replace the almond extract with peppermint and melt dark chocolate chips and milk to dip them in. I think I'll let them firm up before I coat them with chocolate next time. While they did set better than the fondant I made during the summer, the chocolate made the patties hard to handle, and I couldn't get them to cover all the way. They don't look pretty, but boy, are they minty! I think I might dial down the mint a bit next year.

Watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while I made the candy. Clark Grizwauld (Chevy Chase) is looking forward to a perfect Christmas, with all his family gathered round a table laden with food while a Christmas tree twinkles nearby. As usual, what Clark imagines and what actually happens are two entirely different matters. The two sets of grandparents he invites bicker constantly. His miserly boss (Brian Doyle Murphy) won't give out Christmas bonuses. His tree is bigger than his house, never mind his living room. The spoiled yuppie couple who live next door think he's off his rocker. His house is covered with so many lights, they short out the neighborhood power grid. Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family show up about mid-way through the season and cause even more chaos. In the end, as the SWAT team is coming through the windows, Clark finally learns that we can't make Christmas perfect...but we can make it memorable.

Along with A Christmas Story, this is my favorite holiday comedy of the last 30 years. The occasionally violent slapstick makes it more appropriate for young teens who just started their own Christmas vacations and adults who have probably been through a lot of what happens to Clark here.

Went right into making pumpkin bread as soon as I finished the peppermint patties. This is the last thing I need to make for Christmas. I'll be giving it to Jodie for her Christmas Day brunch. It took forever to cook, but when it finally came out, it smelled amazing and tasted even better.

Worked on my fanfic as soon as the bread went in the oven. Luke and Leia convince Han to come out and have fun in the snow with them. Actually, it's Chewie who convinces Han to join them. He'd rather get some shut-eye before dealing with the queen. Meanwhile, on a hill above the manor house, three trolls reveal a magic mirror that can turn any human who is speared by its pieces into something cold and unfeeling. They shatter the mirror and send the shards flying towards the manor on the wind...

Broke for dinner at quarter after 6. Threw the Parmesan-crusted tilapia on a cookie sheet with Brussels sprouts and let them all bake. Did one of the two Christmas episodes of The Backyardigans as I ate. In "The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve" from the fourth and final season, Tasha, Uniqua, and Pablo are super-powered elves assigned to get Santa's magic sack back from the Abominable Brothers (Tyrone and Austin), who think it's a bag for their snowballs. They use their own magic tiny hammers to transform snow and wood into the vehicles they need to catch up with them.

After I ate, I got the rest of my Christmas food gifts organized. Jodie's bread went in one of the bags I picked up at Dollar Tree last week. Found an older tin that would work for the peppermint patties, once I lined it with parchment paper.

(And incidentally...that's it. That's the last stuff I have to do for Christmas. The fruitcake muffins are intended to be an experiment to take to work this week, not something to give away.)

Ran Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas while I worked. I go into more detail about this direct-to-home-media Disney extravaganza at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

Switched to A Disney Channel Christmas next. I've watched this every holiday season since my family first recorded it around December 1988. It's a fusion of two classic Disney holiday TV specials, Jiminy Cricket's Christmas from the 50's and the 60's, and A Disney Christmas Gift from the 70's. Jiminy Cricket hosts a collection of shorts and segments from beloved Disney movies, including a preview of Mickey's Christmas Carol. (It was so new when this debuted, Jiminy says it's "now playing in theaters.") Along with the lovely theme songs "From All of Us to All of You" and "On Christmas Morning," we have classic shorts like "Donald's Snow Fight," "The Art of Sking," "Pluto's Christmas Tree," and "Mickey's Good Deed," along with the two Santa Silly Symphonies and mildly gift or winter-themed segments from movies like Peter Pan, Snow White, and Fantasia.

My favorite part is the finale. I still get a lump in my throat when Jiminy sings "When You Wish Upon a Star" with all the Disney gang gathered around him.

Finished the night with more Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny's Christmas Tales is an anthology of three all-original holiday Tunes shorts. The first is a spoof of A Christmas Carol, with Yosemite Sam as Scrooge, Porky as Bob Cratchit, and Bugs as Nephew Fred. Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner take their usual antics to the snowy mountains in the second short. The third has Bugs trying to figure out how the Tazmanian Devil ended up in a Santa Claus suit.

And...yeah, the wind has been going like crazy all day. I can hear it blasting across the back yard right now. Miss Willa's chimes are almost drowning out Scrooged downstairs. It's supposed to calm down by the end of the weekend and be perfectly normal by Christmas Day. We'll see what happens.

Libraries and Chocolate

Began the day with breakfast and one of the few Halloween specials I own that I hadn't yet gotten to. Halloween Is Grinch Night is one of the odder Dr. Seuss specials. A sour-sweet wind sends the Grinch on the prowl with his cart filled with his wild, surreal scares. Young Eukariah Who gets lost in the mountains, and after encountering the Grinch, takes it upon himself to make sure he and that freaky cart never make it to Whoville.

Didn't get to the laundromat until past noon. Though every washer was full when I came in, it soon calmed down. I spent most of the time working on story notes and ignoring soap operas. One woman complained that one of the larger, round-door washers was leaking. I have no idea. I use the smaller, cheaper ones.

As soon as I got home and put everything away, I went right back out again. My first stop was Phillies Phatties for lunch. It was about the only lunch I could afford. I had a slice of cheese pizza, a slice of mushroom pizza, and a can of Mountain Dew Baja Blast. It was such a lovely, warm day, I ate it outside, on the wooden picnic tables on West Clinton.

Studio LuLoo was open for the first time in weeks. The woman who runs it says she's been in California and isn't around much anymore. She's talking to the city of Oaklyn to find someone to take over the spot and continue to run it as a rec center/after school and weekend spot for kids. She had a treat for me - a huge box of sugar-free dark chocolate-sour cherry bars! There were tons of them. They're giving them away for Halloween, she said. Well, sure! I love dark chocolate and cherries, and the no-sugar wouldn't scare me off.

I tried one on the way down West Clinton. Oh, yuumm! I didn't taste the Splenda at all. I tasted dark chocolate and bits of dried cherry and chocolate chips and Krackle pieces. There wasn't even a weird aftertaste. This box was too good (and too big) not to be shared.

Cut across Newton Lake Park on my way to Westmont. It was a glorious day for a ride, breezy, sunny, and maybe a bit too warm for mid-October, probably in the lower 80's. Not surprisingly, they were fairly busy with people going for strolls, walking their dogs, tossing Frisbees, and sunning themselves on the black metal benches.

The Haddon Township Library was busier than I'd ever seen it! Besides the fact that it was almost 3 PM by then and many kids were getting out of school, they were doing a kids' craft class that had them making their own paper for books. It was apparently also Take Photos In the Library Day (or something like that). The head librarian took my picture holding an "I heart Library" laminated sign as I worked on finding items for holds. Shelved the few kids' DVDs, too. This time, they all fit except one J title and two L titles.

Took out a few things. I've been looking for more ideas for my fairy tales, both fanfiction and originals. Found a collection called Around the World In 80 Stories in the kids' area. I've always loved reading fairy tales and folk lore from many different parts of the globe.

The library continues to get more new animated sets in. Jake and the Never Land Pirates was reincarnated earlier this year as Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Found the first set I've seen from that today. They also had another Cat In the Hat Knows A Lot About That disc, this one weather-themed.

It was so late by the time I headed out, I just decided to put up with the road repairs on Cuthbert and take the short way home. Wanted to check out something one of the librarians told me as well. It would seem the Thriftway across the street from the Library closed suddenly about two weeks ago. It was empty when I went by there.

I'm disappointed, but not surprised. They were never terribly busy, even during holidays and rush hour. They were originally located in a much smaller building down the street on Crystal Lake Road. I suspect they probably should have stayed there. I don't think they ever really adjusted to the larger building. I did buy a few things there, notably toilet paper, eggs, and whole wheat flour, but neither their prices nor their selection were all that great. There's tons of competition in the area, too, including three Acmes, two Shop Rites, Price Rite and Aldi in Camden, and Wegman's in Cherry Hill.

When I got home, I made scrambled eggs with scallions, mushrooms, green peppers, and cheddar cheese for dinner. Watched a few episodes of Cat In the Hat as I ate. The kids want to know the order of the colors in the rainbow so they can paint rainbows for their moms. The Cat introduces them to a king who wants a rainbow of his own in "Chasing Rainbows." Faced with a "Puddle Puzzle" when the puddle they were playing in vanishes, the Cat takes the kids and the Fish into a cloud to see what happens to water when it vaporizes. Nick and Sally say it's too hot to play, but the Cat has a friend who knows a little about "Fun In the Sun." Helga the Hippo teaches the trio how she cools off in the steamy jungle.

Finished the night with writing. Went back and added a scene with the mysterious, gray-bearded figure Rey saw in the haunted house. He orders his golden robot assistant to not tell his sister he's hoping to reopen the house as a school. He doesn't want anyone to burn this one down.

Poe has more trouble talking to Detective Lor San Tekka. He gives him a clue as to where Luke Waller is hiding...but the First Order Gang attacks them. Poe sends the message along with his dog Baby before he's captured by Kylo Ren.

Summer Holiday Weekend

Began a steamy hot and humid day with breakfast and Spectre. James Bond (Daniel Craig) is suspended by the new M (Ralph Fiennes) after going on a rogue mission in Mexico City. That doesn't stop him from investigating a video message from the late previous M (Dame Judi Dench) that leads him on a trail to an all-encompassing organization that all of the head villains from the other (Craig-era) films belonged to. With the help of a lovely psychiatrist (Lea Seydoux) and his co-workers Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), he tracks down the head of the group known as Spectre. Things get a lot more complicated when it turns out the the leader (Christoph Waltz) has a personal vendetta against Bond...and connections to C (Andrew Scott) and his new computer system that can track any information in the world.

I've mostly been a fan of the Daniel Craig Bond, and this one is no exception. I really enjoyed some nice action set pieces (especially in the first half of the film) and the return of some elements from earlier movies that had been missing in the Bond films of the 90's and 2000's (Spectre as the bad guys, Blofeld, wacky villain hideouts). I also love that the rest of Bond's coworkers (including the adorable Whishaw, who is just as charismatic as the previous Qs) get in on the action.

On the other hand, a lot of people have been kind of rough on this, partially because it is a comedown from the well-received (if slightly depressing) Skyfall. The Bond girls barely rate as anything besides dolls to be saved; Seydoux has no chemistry with Craig whatsoever. The plot, especially in the second half, really reaches to tie the previous films together and comes off as bizarre, even by Bond standards. The movie goes on for far too long and has at least two climaxes too many.

I'm going to say, if you loved the previous Craig Bond movies, check this one out, too...but start with the 2006 Casino Royale to get to know Craig's version better if you're new to his darker Bond or the Bond series in general. (Incidentally, the credits do say "James Bond Will Return." Given MGM's current financial problems, we'll see how long that takes.)

I headed out around quarter of noon, right after Spectre ended. Started this week's errands at the Oaklyn Library. Though there was a family with kids there when I arrived and a few other folks came and went, the librarian said it had otherwise been really quiet. She didn't even have the TV on. I organized the DVDs and the kids' books in silence.

Made a quick stop at WaWa for money after I left the library, then went across the White Horse Pike to Jalapeno's Grill for lunch. They either finally hired more help or replaced the other waitress. There was a different girl today who was much, much faster. My tasty chicken quesadillas came in record time and were nice and hot, with lots of shredded chicken and melted cheese. I was less fond of the mushy, box-mix Spanish rice and the refried beans, but at least it was filling. I was in and out in record time.

Dodged the tail end of the lunch-hour traffic on my way to the Haddon Township Library for this week's volunteering session there. There was actually less to do than at Oaklyn. I shelved a few DVDs, CDs, and audio books and organized the kids' DVDs. I took out a few movies. They finally had last fall's The Peanuts Movie in, as well as the original Jurassic Park. I've only seen bits and pieces of that - I figured I'd better check out the rest of the series before giving Jurassic World a shot. Air Force One is one of the last of Harrison Ford's big 80's/90's thrillers I have any interest in.

The sun had been in and out of clouds as early as my arrival at the Oaklyn Library. That didn't make things any cooler or less humid. I was sweating bullets by the time I finally pulled in at the Acme to get my schedule and do this week's shopping.

Mixed feelings on next week's schedule. I work at 9 AM all week, including on the 4th of July. Friday and Saturday off again. On one hand, this means I'll have plenty of time to write and check out the barbecues and fireworks on the 4th, not to mention avoid the 90 degree heat we're supposed to get late next week. On the other hand, working all this week was a literal pain, I have no idea when I'm going to get to the laundry, and I'll have to miss the 4th of July parade in Oaklyn for the second year in a row.

Grocery shopping went a little better. I didn't need much, anyway. I found ground turkey on a decent sale and chicken sausages with manager's coupons. Restocked milk, eggs, cereal (Quaker was on sale - went with Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares), crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges, canned chicken, cake mix, brown and white sugar, and white flour. Found more rolls of the older generic Acme brand tape on clearance. The Acme has these adorable Finding Dory bags on the registers right now. I'm not the biggest fan of Finding Nemo, but I couldn't resist the one that had all of the characters done in a cute, flat cut-out style, showing off Dory's big smile.

It was too hot to linger outside, and the clouds were getting thicker and thicker. Thankfully, it waited until I had been at home for at least a half-hour to start pouring. We did get a nice, heavy shower, but it didn't last long. It was sunny again well before I finished my writing.

Leia catches this universe's version of the Han/Greedo incident. She's appalled that he would kill someone. He points out that he was defending himself, and in his business, it's kill or be killed. She asks Maz, the crusty old lady who owns the pilot bar, why he did that and is he trustworthy? She more-or-less says he's doing his job and yes, he's trustworthy. She then goes on to say Leia seems familiar. She's seen eyes like her's before...perhaps during the Great War era...

I had chicken sausages cooked in a lemon-wine sauce and steamed broccoli for dinner. Tried something different for dessert. I'm craving chocolate, but it's too hot to bake. I tried a variation on the "Frozen Hot Chocolate" recipe in the Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts cookbook I picked up a few months ago. It's just milk, cocoa, and sugar made into a paste, then cooked until the right temperature and thickness. Instead of freezing it all the way and breaking up the pieces for a smoothie-style drink, I let it freeze half-way and made my own version of Edy's long-gone Chocolate Sorbet. Wow, was this chocolate-y. It's so sweet and rich and decadent, you'd never believe it's made with skim milk. I think it came out even better than Edy's.

Watched Summer Holiday as I enjoyed my meal. This cute musical from 1948 depicts a typical family in Connecticut in the early 1900's. The dad, a newspaper owner (Walter Huston) is fed up with his middle son Richard's (Mickey Rooney) increasingly outlandish ideas about the rights of the common man. Richard just wishes his girl Muriel (Gloria DeHaven) would be less scared of falling in love. When his attempts to enlighten her get them both into trouble, he tries to prove he's grown-up enough for the real world when he courts a floozy (Marilyn Maxwell)...and discovers that maybe he's not quite ready for adulthood just yet. Meanwhile, Uncle Sid (Frank Morgan) wants to court Lily (Agnes Moorehead), but she disapproves of his drinking and inability to hold down a job.

One of director Rouben Mamoulien's last major projects, this does have some nice touches, including the use of his signature flowing dialogue-into-song in the opening. Though Rooney and DeHaven are way too old for their roles, the supporting cast comes off better, especially Huston as Rooney's (mostly) supportive father.

Around the Outlets In 6 Hours

We spent most of the day at the Lee Premium Outlets. It rained around 9, while we were still getting out of bed. By the time we were on the road around 10:30, the rain had taken a temporary leave of absence. There were still heavy clouds, but they were breaking apart.

After a quick stop at the bathroom and Customer Service to get a coupon booklet, we criss-crossed the entire Outlets, starting with second stops at the Gap, IZOD, and Van Heussen. We caught IZOD at the right time - today was their last day. I didn't get anything here, but Lauren picked up shirts for herself and sweaters for her and her mom.

Harry & David mostly specializes in fruit baskets and large containers of fancy snack food, like their caramel and chocolate-covered popcorn. We enjoyed looking, but we've bought enough snack food as it is. We ultimately just moved on.

Lunch was once again at the food court. We ducked around people giving sales spiels about a new LED light bulb (we'd already heard it earlier when we were at Customer Service) and went to make our choices. This time, I hit the grill and had a chicken gyro. Lauren returned to That's a Wrap for a barbecue chicken sandwich. My gyro wasn't too bad. The chicken was tough, but I've had worse. Lauren said her barbecue sandwich was really good. She sure seemed to enjoy it. She actually ate it pretty fast for her.

We dodged a short storm as we made our way to the other side of the complex. Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, and Chico's were beyond our budget. Pac Sun, Aeropostale, and American Eagle Outfitters skewered younger than we were interested in. (And Aeropostale had some very thin t-shirts that were practically see-through.) I considered pajamas at Jockey, but ultimately passed. We didn't see anything at Maidenform or Hanes, either. The sales at Ann Taylor weren't that great.

We couldn't resist the call of chocolates. I'd never seen a Lindt's Chocolate store before. We even got to try a sample of the milk chocolate truffles in the red wrapper. They mostly had huge bags of truffles, along with the same bars you could find in many grocery stores. I passed. I'd bought plenty of junk food this week, and those bags and most of the chocolate bars were too big for one person. Lauren found her dad's favorite orange truffles, along with raspberry for her and her mom.

I just ended up buying a black and white plaid flannel shirt at G.H Bass & Co. It wasn't as cheap as I'd hoped, but it was a nice, thick weight and worth the money. Lauren bought a couple of sweaters and a tote bag that was an extra if you gave 10 dollars to cancer research at Polo Ralph Lauren. (They were way beyond my budget.) We looked at Nautica, Banana Republic, and Naturalizer, but finally decided we'd had enough shopping for one day. Lauren bought one last shirt for work at Banana Republic, and we finally headed out for dinner after that.

We once again timed our departures right. The clouds had been building even as we left the Outlets. It poured briefly while we were on the road, and again at Juice and Java in downtown Pittsfield, where we picked up dinner. Thankfully, by the time it rained again, we were long at home, eating our sandwiches (I had turkey, Swiss, and roasted red peppers; Lauren had southwestern turkey) while watching more of Roddy Piper's stint as a host on Prime Time Wrestling during August 1989.

Lauren pre-ordered Yoshi's Wooly World for the Wii U on Amazon. It arrived today. This is a variation on Kirby's Epic Yarn - classic Nintendo characters cavort in a world made entirely of knits, crochets, weavings, and textured fabrics. This time, Yoshi has to gather skeins of yarn to put his friends back together and battle versions of famous Nintendo villains - including an adorable, huggable Bowser Jr. - made of knitted yarn. It's harder than it looks. Lauren and I missed a couple of skeins of yarn and some of the flower beads that give you extra items.

We finished World 1, then switched to Mario Party 10. This time, we did a quick round on the Mario Amiibo Board. I won - I got by far the most stars. Lauren came in second.

We're online now, once again chatting as a fire keeps us warm. We were going to take a scenic train ride in Adams to the north of here tomorrow, but it seems the train isn't running. We'll take in their museum and some local shops and yard sales instead.

Downtown In the Berkshires

Started a cloudy morning with a trip to downtown Lee, about 20 minutes or so from Pittsfield. Lauren lives just outside of Pittsfield proper in a recently-built house (she says it dates to 2000) on a country lane. It's so out in the country, there's a horse farm on the other end of the lane! We were greeted by horses grazing as Lauren asked a man working on a house near the road to move his construction equipment.

Lee is one of the many lovely old small towns in the Berkshire area. The main street mainly held cafes, antique and collectible shops, local clothing stores, and a very small Goodwill. We checked out the Goodwill first. They had a decent selection for a store that wasn't even as big as my bedroom at home. We didn't end up leaving with anything, though.

Our other stop in Lee was a lovely collectibles shop. We didn't buy anything there, either, but I did enjoy browsing. Their selection was similar to the Barrington Antique Center, in a far smaller and better-organized store. For some reason, they had a lot of large Mickey Mouse items. I saw two vintage Mickey phones, one that looked like it was more recent, and a Mickey gumball holder.

Since they were near-by, we next headed to the Lee Premium Outlets. Like the ones in Atlantic City, they're outlet stores for both fancy names like Banana Republic and Calvin Klein, and mid-priced stores like the Gap and Stride Rite. The outlets are situated on a hill near Lee...and they're huge! There's tons of stores, and even a food court. Also, unlike the outlet malls at Atlantic City and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, they're all in the same area, only separated by narrow roads. The other two outlet malls are spread out across busy highways and main streets that make it a pain to get from store to store.

We explored a couple of stores today. Our first stop was Bath and Body Works. I liked their new fall soaps, but not the sales that required you to buy five items or more. Lauren bought perfume sprays for her mom. I left empty-handed.

Didn't get anything at Dress Barn, either. I need sweaters, casual pants, dress pants, and a good winter dress or skirt. While they did have plus sizes, the sweaters were mostly huge, chunky knits, not a good idea with my weight. I couldn't find any dresses or pants in my sizes, and I just didn't see any skirts I liked. Lauren bought a new pair of dress pants for work.

I did better at Eddie Bauer. This store did have plus sizes, just mixed in with the regular sizes. After some digging around, Lauren and I both bought nice light-weight knit cardigans. She got leaf green. I got teal. I like sweaters for layering on errand runs in the spring and fall, when it'll often be in the 50's and 60's when I head out...and sometimes get into the 70's by the time I make it home.

We had lunch at That's a Wrap, a sandwich shop in the food court. We got there just as the lunch hour was beginning, and they weren't too busy. Lauren had The Berkshire (turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and apples) on a grilled pannini. I had the Thanksgiving Preview - cranberry dressing, turkey, stuffing, and lettuce on a whole wheat wrap. Yum. Tasty but very messy. We both got tiny cups of pasta salad with slices of olives hiding at the bottom.

After hitting the bathroom, we headed out. The heavy, dark clouds were slowly gathering, even as we made our way to historic Lenox. They were a lot busier than the Outlets or Lee were. There was apparently an art show going on in town.

We weren't interested in art. Our main reason for visiting Lenox was The Bookstore, a small shop on a side street surrounded by art galleries and boutiques. They mostly specialized in classic literature from local authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne. They did have a fairly decent children's selection. I was finally able to find Emily's Quest, the last story in Lucy Maud Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series, which I'd been looking for all over the place in Camden County.

We mostly just walked around Lenox after that, taking in the beautiful architecture. Most of the downtown seemed to have been built between about the 1770's and the early 1900's. The library in particular was a beautiful old building, I'm guessing dating to the town's founding in the 1700's. We strolled past residential homes and a cute little park with a small playground and baseball field. We took in a little toy store, The Gifted Child, on our way back. They had a nice selection of mostly games and educational items, but I also saw Calico Critters and a few Barbies.

We timed our walk perfectly. It had just started showering lightly as we made it back to the public parking lot where Lauren had her car. As we jumped in the car and Lauren was pulling out, the shower picked up considerably. It was coming down pretty well as we headed down the road to the Chocolate Springs Cafe. This unique coffee shop mostly sold fancy chocolates in every flavor imaginable, from sea salt to pumpkin spice. Alas, the chocolate was also very expensive, and quite out of our budget.

We just dodged more heavy showers and school buses as we headed back to Pittsfield, stopping at a row of mail boxes so Lauren could get hers and her parents' mail. Lauren's parents were slicing rutabagas for dinner later in the week when we arrived. They smelled surprisingly good as they cooked.

We spent the rest of the evening playing Mario Party 8 (the computer-controlled Boo beat both of us at Captain Goomba's Boardwalk board) and Kirby's Return to Dream Land (we got through the first two worlds - I especially enjoyed playing the huge, mallet-wielding King Dedede). We watched vintage 80's wrestling featuring one of Lauren's favorites, the late "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, while eating chicken noodle soup, cottage cheese, and slices of turkey deli meat for dinner. After that, I hit the shower while Lauren listened to online big band and 20's jazz radio stations.

Right now, we've still got the station on, making pleasant background music while we chat online. Tomorrow, we'll take in a farm market at her local mall and drive into Vermont to explore the Vermont Country Store.

Rockin' Christmas

This morning was Brunch With the Beatles' annual Christmas Show. Every year, they play John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (The War Is Over)," Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime," George Harrison's "Ring Out the Old," and songs from Ringo Starr's 1999 album I Wanna Be Santa Claus, including the title cut and "The Christmas Dance." We also heard songs culled from a studio album that were supposed to be traditional Christmas carols re-written as Beatles songs, and regular Beatles music that came out during the holiday season (like "We Can Work It Out," "Something," and "Hello Goodbye"). We even get the Beatles' Christmas greetings to their fan club from 1963 and 1964.

I was still feeling a little full from the party at work yesterday and wasn't up to heavy pancakes. I opted to use the Italian bread I bought last week for French toast instead. I topped it with the last of the Peppermint Whipped Cream Frosting. It was absolutely divine. Tried to call Mom after I finished, but I never did hear from her. She's probably busy getting ready for tomorrow.

Normally, I do my laundry on Monday or Tuesday. Those days are going to be very busy this week. I opted to do it today instead. Besides, I had a huge load, and I figured I might as well get it done sooner than later. I wheeled it over to Dad's in Miss Ellie's old cart. It was a lovely day for a walk. Yesterday's clouds, wind, and chill had been replaced by a nice breeze, a bright, cloudless blue sky, and perfectly normal mid-to-upper 40s temperatures.

Dad and Jodie were both at home when I arrived. Dad got in Wednesday evening. He and Jodie were preparing for a party for friends and neighbors they're having tomorrow night. I'm invited, too. Fine by me. I'll save dinner at Applebee's for later this week, or another time. I came in around 12:30. The Fox pre-game show was more fun than usual. They had Brian Setzer and his orchestra playing "Boogie-Woogie Santa Claus" and "Rockin' to the Christmas," which was totally awesome. I have two Brian Setzer CDs and his earlier 80s "Stray Cat Strut" album.

I had a pleasant afternoon. I talked to my stepsister Jessa when she finally came downstairs; she'd spent most of the morning napping. We had such a good time shopping together after Christmas last year, we decided to get together and do it again this year. Since Lauren gave me a Macy's card, I though we might take a trip into downtown Philadelphia, instead of trying to squeeze into a busy mall. I took Jess and a girlfriend of hers into Philly on New Year's Eve about five years ago, and it went really well. 

Rose arrived with Khai during half-time. Apparently, she'd been called into work, and Jodie and Dad had agreed to watch him for the rest of the day. That made me happy, too. Khai was so much fun to play with. Trains are his big thing right now. He told Jodie and me that he wants a "green choo-choo" for Christmas (his exact words). His speech is getting better, too. He can say "Santa Claus" clear as day. I hated to leave him when my laundry was done. We were just getting his several different brand of toddler train tracks sorted out.

The Eagles game wasn't going as well. They started out with a touchdown in the first few minutes, but it was mostly downhill from there. A comeback in the second half wasn't enough to offset several really big mistakes, including a huge fumble in the second quarter that lost the ball to the Redskins. The 'Skins eventually won, 27-20.

I saw Linda, my landlord Andrew's wife, outside as I pushed the cart home. She gave me a hug and thanked me for the cupcakes. I explained about everything that had happened the last few months. She just waved it off; things happen. In fact, she gave me a huge box of fancy Lindt Chocolates for Christmas. Ironically, I'd just been thinking about how I hadn't had one in ages when I saw a commercial for them during the game.

I put my laundry away and worked on a little crocheting at home before packing dinner and heading out to work. The dinner turned out to be not necessary. There were plenty of leftovers from yesterday's extravaganza still in the back room.

Work was busy all night, right up until closing time! We close at 10 on Sundays. I didn't get out until 10 after 10. Everyone must have either been coming from football games or the malls.

Sometimes, You Just Need Chocolate

It was absolutely gorgeous this morning. Windy, sunny, and still hot but a bit less steamy than yesterday. I went for an absolutely lovely walk around the neighborhood. The trees are now sporting their full, green coats. Rose bushes still look colorful and smell sweet. Gardens sport flowers growing in profusion, from azaleas to the last of the irises. There were quite a few people out this morning, trimming hedges and mowing lawns.

When I came back in, I had lunch and went to work. Work was a nut house. It was very busy all day long, and this time, we DID have help. It's a holiday weekend. Many people were probably shopping to stock their summer houses for the first time this year. Others were preparing for barbecues or family get-togethers. It did mean everyone was in a really nice mood, though, and there were no major problems. It slowed enough by 6 for me to leave quickly.

Good thing, too. I needed to get to America's Best pick up my contacts. They also needed to refund ten dollars onto my credit card; something about ordering the wrong contacts the first time. I've been trying to get there all week, but I kept having to stay late or would be too tired. After that, I went to Tu Se Bella's and bought a slice of mushroom pizza, a slice of pineapple-Canadian bacon pizza, and a bottle of water for dinner.

Next on the list was a return to the Acme for a quick grocery shopping trip. I don't usually do a lot of actual grocery store shopping in the summer, since I don't cook or bake as often. As with yesterday, it was mostly restocking - ground chicken, chocolate morsels (while they're still on the clearance rack), peanut butter, eggs. Also bought Mocha Chocolate Mousse mix, a chocolate graham cracker pie crust, and Chocolate Cool Whip (the last-named on sale) to make a mousse pie for dessert.

I made the pie right when I got home. Just finished a piece - boy, did it come out nice, rich and chocolate-y. I love those Nestle Chocolate Morsels Toppers. They may not be right for toppings, but they make the perfect mini-chips for pies.

Oh, and my schedule for next week isn't bad. I do work Memorial Day, but only four hours. The only questionable day is Wednesday, when I work 8 1/2 hours. Great...but I'm dead tired as it is now. Maybe a lot of people took that day off?

Chocolate and Pepsi

Started off a late morning with cereal, grapefruit, and bananas. After I ate, I washed my bikes. Unlike the porch furniture, I did have to wash these off under the porch. It's much easier to use the hose to get rid of the soap. At any rate, they're now clean, and that finishes both this month's cleaning and this year's spring cleaning.

The day was pretty much a repeat of yesterday, a bit warmer but still sunny and gorgeous. It was still cool enough to bake. Those delicious chocolate chip cookies had vanished quickly, so I refiled the jar with another low-fat cookie recipe from the Light Desserts cook book. I made Chocolate Spice Cookies with added Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips to cure the chocolate cravings I've been having lately. After I finished the cookies, I posted this month's Monkee's role-play to our site. It's a short Memorial Day-related comedy. (It's also a tad macabre...and very goofy. We'll have darker stuff next month.)

Work was, as on Monday, steady-to-busy and not much of a problem other than we're still out of the Lays bags for the darn 5 for $5 Lays/Pepsi sale.

Chocolate Cures All Ills

Basically, my day today was something of a repeat of yesterday. I still can't get the record player that came with my Victrola to work - it always goes too slow or too fast, no matter how much I try to "balance" it. Many of my customers were still obnoxious - the complaints of the past few days still apply. And it was windy as heck tonight, too. It took me twice as long to ride home on the bike, which is a pain no matter how many calories I'm losing.

One good thing happened this evening that made up for a lot, though. I got a free 1-pound box of chocolate.

Let's flashback a little (screen gets wavy) back to Valentine's week to explain. The Acme had a huge sale on 1-pound boxes of Russell Stover's chocolates, $6.99 for a $9.99 box for Valentine's Day. We were also having a contest - the cashier who sold the most boxes won a $25 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret.

I don't know who won the gift certificate (it sure as heck wasn't me), but thanks to that massive ice storm we had, we didn't really sell much in the way of chocolate or anything else that week besides rock salt. We didn't even sell much during the usual post-holiday half-price sales. Big red heart-shaped boxes of chocolates have sat in the back for weeks.

Patrice, who is one of the head stock people, decided it was finally time to unload the last of those boxes of chocolates. She gave a bunch of flats of heart-shaped boxes to the cashiers and told us to give them away to whomever wanted them.

She didn't say this excluded employees. ; 0 )

Anyone want a chocolate? ; 0 )