Stormy Weather

Began a sunny, hazy morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. The teacher finally met her match in that brother pair. They beat her in the regular round, but only managed two questions in the Gold Rush bonus round. They'd just started playing a young woman when the show ended.

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I cleaned up from breakfast. Everyone in class tells O "You are Special" when he tries to imitate what the other kids can do. Daniel Sr. reminds his son that "Daniel Is Special" while they're on a walk together.

Went online after the cartoon ended. Now that my arm is almost healed and I'm as settled into my new apartment as I'm going to be for the moment, I need to start looking for online gigs again. More to the point, I need to find the courage and figure out how to write proposals and get online writing gigs. I'm just so nervous! I can write fiction and essay, but when it comes to really talking about myself, I can't do it.

Broke for lunch at 1:30. Went to the Roku Channel for the original My Little Pony while I ate. It's snowing all over Ponyland in the middle of summer! The ponies enjoy it, but they start saying "Baby, It's Cold Outside" when they realize that the cold isn't just fun to play in - it's freezing over the Sea Ponies' home and is damaging plants. They travel through a twisty maze to a remote ice kingdom whose penguin ruler uses his magic to make the planet fit for only those who live in the snow.

Went out for a walk around 2. While the sun was shining and the heat wasn't anywhere near the levels it hit a few weeks ago, it remained killer humid. Between that and my current lack of funds, I limited my trip to a stop at Dollar General. They got more of the 2-dollar sugar, and their eggs are a dollar. Grabbed them both, and treated myself to my favorite pecan roll.

Went into Muppet Babies at the Disney Now app while putting everything away. "Animal Gets the Sneezies," but refuses to see a doctor. The other kids try to prove that doctors aren't so scary. Kermit's little nephew Robin plays "Library Leapfrog" with the girls when they accidentally take his video game. He and the boys follow them through several library books to get it back...and show Robin how much fun reading can be.

Spent the next hour or so after that working on a project. I had extra pieces of yarn leftover from my (uneven) pillow case, so I used them to crochet tie back chains for the windows on the back wall. They looked so nice, I decided to make more for all the curtains in the apartment.

For the second day in a row, "dyn-o-mite" Jimmie Walker and his lady Samantha were the big winners on Tattletales. The contestants on Press Your Luck weren't quiet as ear-challenging as yesterday's bunch! A young man badly wanted a trip to Australia; a woman wanted to see Hawaii. In the end, she got her vacation and the win.

Worked on writing for a while. Charles finds Betty's frog friend leaping over trolls and letting them fall into each other. He's all for finding Betty and getting control of the mess in the ballroom. Charles agrees. He's getting cold, and he still can't find Brett...

Checked my schedule while I was online. In good news, afternoon-early evening work straight through (except for Saturday morning) and good hours. In bad news...they put me on cashiering again. I know they likely did it to spare my arm, but I HATE cashiering! I don't care how nice people say I am or how well-balanced my till is. I've told them a million times I am absolutely no good at dealing with people! They make me nervous. I don't know what to say to them or how to handle them.

Clouds began gathering as I hurried home from Dollar General. By 6:30, it was pouring pitchforks, darker than midnight, and thundering louder than the Press Your Luck winners. It was cool enough for me to julienne eggplant, zucchini, and a carrot, sprinkle it with vegetable grilled seasoning and Parmesan cheese, and have Parmesan veggie fries with my leftover poached chicken leg.

The rain made a spooky background to Match Game on Buzzr. Richard showed off the blue carnation on his lapel a few people in the audience gave him while the demolitions expert finished his game. (Brett later got a very pretty orange carnation.) There was a new champion on Sale of the Century. She bought no instant bargains, was ahead the whole game, blew everyone away at the speed round, and won the bonus round money with 2 seconds to spare.

Did some reorganizing before I took my shower. Moved my work clothes to the shelf in the bathroom. If it's going to be there, I might as well do something with it. The brown curtain from the other house and the old tablecloth were switched to the top shelf of the bathroom closet. The yarn bags were moved to the shelf my work clothes were on, and the smallest and lightest bin of American Girl clothing went on the top shelf of my bedroom closet.

Finished the night after my shower at the library site Kanopy with Blancanieves. This unique Spanish film is a silent, black-and-white retelling of Snow White. Snow White is the neglected daughter of a former bullfighter in 1920's Spain. The wicked stepmother is a vain and spoiled flapper who only cares about herself, her affairs, and her rich lifestyle, and the seven dwarfs are six little bullfighters and their mother who take Carmen in. Carmen's father taught her bullfighting, and she becomes one of the greatest bullfighters in Spain. Her stepmother, however, is still determined to get rid of her...even if she has to use a poisoned apple to do it...

Bizarre yet breathtaking, this is one of the most unusual versions of a fairy tale I've ever seen. I kind of wish it didn't spend so much time on Snow White's childhood before she becomes a bullfighter, and the end is really a little too bizarre, but it's worth checking out if you love silent cinema, unusual fairy-tale retellings, or Spanish films.