Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and two fairly new episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Does Gymnastics" when he joins Henrietta's tumbling class in the Enchanted Garden. He's scared to try the tricks the other kids are doing, until his mother and Henrietta tell him they'll help out. Dan's the one who helps O out when he goes down "The Big Slide" at the Dinosaur Playground for the first time.
Went straight to work after the cartoon ended. Work was off-and-on busy, not quite as bad as yesterday. The customers largely seemed to be in better moods, too. Maybe it was the weather. It was even nicer out today than yesterday, sunny, breezy, and really too warm for this time of year.
Had a bit of grocery shopping to do after I got off. The Acme generic ground turkey is fairly cheap, and turkey cutlets had a coupon. Found the no-salt canned diced tomatoes and those oatmeal sandwich bars on clearance. All of the big tea companies have their Christmas flavors out now. I grabbed Twinings' Gingerbread Joy black tea. Eggs were on a really good sale with an online coupon. There were a few good ice cream sales, too; went seasonal with Turkey Hill's eggnog. Picked up cards for Keefe and Anny's birthdays and Thanksgiving. Restocked butter, yogurt, milk, bananas, oatmeal, and cream of tartar.
Not real happy with my schedule next week. In good news, I still have a lot of hours. Things is, I only got one day off next week. I asked for Veteran's Day off for my next doctor's appointment, but that's it. Good thing the doctor's appointment was really the only big thing I had planned for next week, besides making my Christmas lists. I'll have to see what I can get done tomorrow.
Went straight into writing after I got home and put everything away. Everyone on The Marauder is excited when cabin boy Gary Burghoff run onboard flashing rings with jewels the size of birds' eggs. Seems the ship Stardom Squares had quite a haul. Gene's ready to celebrate, but then two of the men bring a pretty stowaway from the Squares...
Broke for dinner at 6:30. Pan-fried the turkey cutlets with spices and boiled the cranberries for sauce; had them with a green salad and leftover mashed sweet potatoes. The cutlets came out dry, but everything else was pretty tasty.
Enjoyed them while watching Match Game '74. Gene first had trouble when the turntable that moves the contestants and Super Match board off and on-stage didn't work right, then Jo Ann Pflug drew a mustache on him in the last few minutes. It was a close game in Match Game PM that came down to the very last question. After the lady struck out with her first Audience Match, Brett helped her pick up what she got from the second.
Sale of the Century was almost as exciting. The ladies were pretty close to each other throughout the game. Each bought one Instant Bargain and the one guy did manage to win the final Fame Game, but the champ pulled ahead in the Speed Round. She didn't have quite as much luck in the Bonus Round this time, though.
Ended the night on TCM with the 1948 version of The Three Musketeers. Gene Kelly is D'Artagnan, the hot-blooded youth from Gascony who insists on joining the King's Musketeers and gets involved with intrigue surrounding the Queen (Angela Landsbury), her lover the Duke of Buckingham (John Sutton), the King (Frank Morgain), and a box of diamond studs the Queen is to display for her husband. Vincent Price is Richelieu (a prime minster, rather than cardinal), June Allyson D'Artagan's doomed wife Constance, Van Heflin is Athos, and Lana Turner is the treacherous Lady De Winter.
On one hand, other than changing Richelieu to a prime minister and condensing some characters, I'm impressed with how relatively well this sticks to the book. It's certainly closer to the book than the later Disney version would be. Kelly would call this his favorite non-musical role, and I can't say I blame him. He has a great time leaping down stairs and rescuing fair ladies. Lana Turner makes a perfectly scheming Lady De Winter too, and Vincent Price is appropriately nasty as Richelieu.
Alas, they're the only three who feel remotely historical. Everyone else, from Allyson as sweet Constance to Keenan Wynn as D'Artagan's valet Planchet, seem to have been dropped in from an MGM musical of the time. The story drags on for a lengthy two hours, and the intrigue with the queen and the war gets very boring after a while.
Despite the miscasting, this is still recommended for the sumptuous Technicolor sets and costumes, the genuine enjoyable fight scenes, and the three central performances.
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