Headed out after that, first to run errands at Sprouts. I mainly needed coconut milk and apples. They were having a sale on Pink Lady apples there. Grabbed dried orange-flavored cranberries, which were on sale, too. Got a box of granola bars, more because they were on sale than anything else. Those Nixie sodas still had coupons attached.
Hurried to the Haddon Township Library for my session with Dawn. I did apply for a job early-on, but we mostly had no luck. Not only is it hard to find jobs during the holidays, I'm just too darn picky. I'm not interested in doing medical work, working for the post office sounds too close to retail, and I really have no desire to be a stewardess. I wish I had more skills! I need to find free or cheap offline computer classes. Having a teacher there will help keep me on track and make me focus.
Stopped at Genova Pizza for lunch on the way home. Decided to do something different and had a vegetable Stromboli. It was a little browned on the top and bottom, but edible, especially dipped in marinara sauce...and unlike the Stromboli at Phillies Phatties, it wasn't too much to eat in one sitting. They were largely quiet at 2 PM except for one random older guy sitting in the corner whom I suspect was more there for warmth than food.
After I got home, I settled down and watched The Young Girls of Rochefort. I go further into this charming Jacques Demy musical from France with dazzling dances by Gene Kelly at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Began the Seasonal Album inventory next. This will include all seasonal and holiday music, including everything I have for Christmas. Started it off with my four winter titles, Jazz at the (Winter) Olympics, Winter Memories, December by George Winston, and Holiday Symphony. The last-named is a selection of instrumental numbers meant to revolve around patriotic holidays. I have it listed for President's Day, but it also has songs for the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Decoration Day (what's now known as Memorial Day) too. December goes back the furthest here. I picked it up from a yard sale in 2012. I found the others at record stores and Goodwill within the last five years.
Watched Match Game Syndicated while I worked and had a really quick dinner. In the first episode, Gene teased big George Kennedy about carrying a purse onstage. The second had Gene rambling on to Dick Martin about the cosmos for so long, the rest of the panel walked off the stage and the lights went out!
Bundled up and headed out around quarter of 7. Tonight was Oaklyn's Christmas Parade and tree-lighting. It was bitterly cold out when I made my way down the block, and gale-force windy, too. The only people there when I got there were those giving out treats. I went for a walk around the block...and when I got back, the fire station parking lot was hopping. I'm glad I was able to get creamy hot chocolate and M&M, white chocolate-macadamia nut, and perfectly moist double chocolate cookies topped with powdered sugar from the Civic Association. Grabbed bags of foam for craft project for a friend and her daughter, too.
Thankfully, the parade started right on time for once. It wasn't long after 7 when the first lights-covered fire truck was seen gliding down West Clinton. There were a lot of trucks this year, more than I figured there would be with the windy weather. One truck had a shivering snowman huddled on the steps entering the vehicle. Another was topped with a wooden sleigh pulled by dalmatians. There was also the one that sprayed fake "snow" into the air, to the delight of the kids. They all shrieked with delight when Santa came by, including the gaggle of pre-teen boys next to me who likely did it as a joke.
After Santa finally joined us, some of the kids from the Oaklyn Elementary School performed "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and one other song. It might have been "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," but their voices were drowned out so badly by the crowd, it was hard to tell.
Most of them ran over to the very tall town tree after they finished. Some of the littlest kids literally put their arms around it and gave it a hug. They were so noisy, I never did hear who the Volunteer of the Year was. Nothing happened for a minute after they counted down...before the tree finally blazed forth in glowing shades of red, yellow, and blue. The moment the tree was lit, I walked home.
Finished the night after a shower with more Christmas CDs while I worked on the review. My most recent Happy Holidays acquisition from eBay is Vol. 26 from 1991. By far the most unique track here is Willard Scott's opening spoken version of "The Night Before Christmas." Other songs are a bit more traditional, including Bing Crosby's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and the Nat King Cole rendition of "The Christmas Song."
A Christmas Carol: The Musical is the show from Madison Square Garden that would be filmed by NBC in 2004. I didn't like the music much better on the cast album than I did in my review of the film back in 2018. "Abundance and Charity" is still a bit too brassy, and the Ghost of Christmas Past still sounds like she's a bit too naughty in her number. And I still don't understand why they used Charles Dickens' past for Scrooge instead of the one from the book.
I'm so glad I found Radio City Music Hall Presents Songs of Christmas! Stockton's Media Center had it when I was in college. I used to listen to it every year on my last day of work before Stockton let out for Christmas break, and I've missed it ever since I graduated. The "Christmas In New York" medley is especially charming.
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