Work was pretty quiet for most of the day. I spent the majority of it sweeping or outside gathering carts. Other than having to clean up a broken jar of cherry peppers, there were no problems whatsoever. By the time it began to get busier, I was on the way out.
Took the long way home down Nicholson. That may not have been smart. It was pretty busy there today. I guess everyone wanted to get started on their Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping. I didn't dodge the traffic until I got to Oaklyn. At least the weather remains nice. It's a little cloudier, but is also still breezy and in the mid-50's.
Put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as I ate lunch. Minnie is concerned that there won't be enough fruit and vegetables in her scraggly garden to make salads for "Mickey's Thanks-A-Bunch Day." Professor Ludwig Von Drake's formula does improve the garden, but it also makes the produce grow to giant size! The gang has to figure out how to gather the massive food items, and what to do with all those leftovers.
Switched to Garfield's Thanksgiving next. Garfield is horrified when Liz the veterinarian puts him on a diet the day before Thanksgiving. Worse yet, Jon invites her over for Thanksgiving dinner when he can barely cook lasagna. Good thing Grandma from the Christmas special knows how to make things right.
Made my Christmas lists while the cartoon ran. No, it's not what I'm getting. It's what I'm giving. I made lists of what I'm giving people for Christmas, who's getting food and who's getting presents sent in the mail, and who gets Christmas cards or gift cards. I already made my list of what cookies and fudge I'm giving a while back, but I did remember to print out the recipe for my favorite Cherry Coconut Bars that I love to make for Christmas.
Went down for a nap after I finished. Once again, I was up too late last night and too early this morning. I was really worn out. I hit my bed at 3:30 and didn't get up until quarter after 5.
Did some writing after I finally rolled out of bed. Cora tries to figure out who the man in the portrait is, but no one in the castle seems to recognize him. When she goes back to check it out again, she finds someone took it down. That night, she dreams herself into the garden, where the handsome man awaits her. But he seems so sad...
Broke for dinner and Match Game '79 at 7 PM. For some reason, they skipped past Carolyn's episodes entirely to the second-to-last week of shows. In the first episode, the others tease Gene about his rather loud tie; Fannie Flagg tries to give him horse racing bets. There's also their answers to "__ Giants" that wouldn't seem so strange nowadays. I'm surprised some fairly offensive answers to what the mice have in an authentic Japanese house got past the censors on Buzzr on the second episode. Meanwhile, Bill Daily gives an answer that's so bad, Brett and Brianne Leary beat up on him.
Finished the night online with various versions of The Nutcracker Ballet. I began with a relatively straightforward version from the Australian Ballet at Kanopy. Godfather Drosselmyer is far younger than he usually is in these shows; one of the three dancing toys he introduces in the beginning is likely supposed to be a robot. Clara is slightly older and dances with young men at the party in addition to being thrilled with her nutcracker. Mother Ginger and her children are replaced by young ladies in red-striped tutus and canes who are likely supposed to be dancing candy canes. Clara is so fascinated by all the candy characters, she joins their dances.
Switched to YouTube for two more creative Nutcrackers. Mickey's Nutcracker was a stage show at the Disney parks in the early 90's that was recorded for TV and video. We open with Minnie's rollicking party at her house. She tries to bring together a young lady who loves to eat and a lonely young man with little success. Godfather Drosselmeyer is replaced by a narrator, who is the one who gives her the Mickey nutcracker. In addition to Mickey, the Rat King is also a prince under a curse, and there's the eternally hungry female toy soldier and the cheerful Snow Queen who belts out romantic ballads.
Er, yeah. Definitely a strange one, even for Disney in 1991. There's a few things that work; I love the cowboy routine that replaces the Russian trepak dancers and the Snow Queen's romantic Ethel Merman-style ballad in the Enchanted Forest. The silly costumes and annoying voices of the Rat King and female toy soldier make this one primarily for younger children who won't mind the goofiness.
Hello Kitty plays Clara in her version of "The Nutcracker" from Hello Kitty Animation Theater. This one is based on the original story "The Hard Nut," complete with the Mouse Queen turning the princess into a monster and the princess rejecting the Nutcracker after he bears the brunt of the curse. Here, though, it's an amulet that allows her to destroy the evil mice, rather than her shoe. Cute little hamster Corocorokurinin is persuaded to try the luxuries of city living by a friend of his in "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse." He learns the hard way that city living isn't what it's cracked up to be when a dog chases them and they have to dodge the humans who actually own the place.
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