The Warmth of Springtime

Began a sunny, breezy morning with breakfast and Split Second. Three new contestants graced the stage today after yesterday's champ apparently opted to take a vacation instead of trying for the car. It was another neck-and-neck battle, mostly between the two women. In the end, the lady who won also decided she'd rather go to Miami than try for the car again.

Spent the next few hours trying to sign up for temporary disability money. You'd think the state of New Jersey would have learned to make this easier after all the trouble people have had over the last few months with unemployment. It took me 20 minutes just to find where the application was...and then, after I applied, they told me I had to print out the application and give it to my doctor to approve of! My printer has been acting weird ever since I got it. It never wanted to sync up with my old laptop. Ironically, it synced with my new laptop just fine, but was now almost completely out of ink. I ordered ink from Amazon and decided I'd try again on Saturday (when the ink is supposed to come) or Tuesday.

It was nearly 1:30 when I broke for lunch. Watched two Good Eats: Reloaded episodes while enjoying oranges and banana muffins. Alton originally worked with ground beef in "A Grind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste"...but while I like his idea of frying his burgers instead of baking them, there's still no way I'd do it. His meatloaf is closer to my style, sans some of the hotter peppers. (Incidentally, I only use ground poultry. People complain that ground turkey is too dry, but it and moister ground chicken can be equally tasty as meatloaf, burgers, and in casseroles. Pork gives me indigestion, and beef is bad for you and makes a mess when you cook it.)

As a fellow southerner, "True Grits" is closer to my heart and palate. I love grits and sometimes buy containers at the Acme when they're on sale. I've never tried the Italian cornmeal polenta, though I may have to try it after this episode.

Headed out around 2:30-quarter of 3 to get my laundry done. I really didn't have very much, but I wanted to test a few things. First of all, I did want to clean the last work clothes I'll need for a while. I also wanted to see how doing the laundry one-handed worked out and test the cart I bought years ago for hauling items during walks in the neighborhood.

The walk went very well, even though I ultimately found it to be easier to pull the cart behind me instead of pushing it. Though the laundromat wasn't too busy when I arrived, I still went across the street after the clothes were in the washer to treat myself to a strawberry-banana smoothie from WaWa. It was too nice to be inside the entire time! The sun was out, the sky was a searing blue, and it had risen to the lower 80's despite the gusty winds. WaWa was a little busy with people picking up treats as they went for their daily walks or on their way home from work, but far from overwhelming.

The laundromat was busy when I came back in. I stood outside to finish my smoothie, and it was still busy when I came in. I guess it's gotten too hot for most people to sit in their cars while the laundry is in the washer. I worked on story notes and tried to stay away from people as much as possible.

Did some writing when I got home. Joyce makes Fannie look like a princess in a blue and green ball gown and crystal (not breakable glass) slippers. Richard is enchanted by her and wants to be her escort, but she heads him off. Jo Ann creates an equally lovely purple gown for Elaine.

Tried something different for dinner tonight. I had half of a bag of small sweet red and yellow peppers and a container of leftover chili in the fridge. I was originally going to fill the peppers with cheese and bake them...but why not fill them with chili and cheese? The result was amazing, sweet and savory and slightly spicy all at once. I think I'll do it again tomorrow and get rid of the last of the mini-peppers.

Buck Owens and Gloria DeHaven finished their run on Match Game by helping to break a tie after two episodes. The musician champ continued his run on Sale of the Century. A college student got ahead of him at first, but he jumped ahead by the half-way point and blasted through the speed round. Once again, he opted to return and try for a vacation to the Bahamas.

Finished the night after a shower with The Gang's All Here. I go into the last musical vehicle for Alice Faye, featuring surreal numbers by none other than Busby Berkeley, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Gang's All Here

Red Planet Revolution

I spent the morning doing things around the apartment. First thing on my list was calling Shelly Stahl, the therapist in Haddonfield. Didn't get her. I'll try again later in the week. I also checked my temporary disability. The money I got yesterday will be my last from them. The partial unemployment money still hasn't arrived. I swept out the pantry and cleared a pile of papers from on top of my printer.

When my chores were finished, I ran John Carter and worked on my current crocheting project. Disney had high hopes for John Carter, but it was a huge bomb when it came out in March...and I'm not really sure why. This adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs book A Princess of Mars takes the title character (Taylor Kirsch), a former Civil War captain who has vowed never to fight again, to the planet of Mars. He finds himself caught in another civil war, this between two human races and one lizard-like one. He befriends the lizard group, then falls for the princess (Lynn Collins) of the city of Helium. She's being married off to the head of the more war-like tribe and isn't happy about it one bit. Carter is desperate to return home - he just secured a cache of gold - but the longer her remains on Mars, the more he begins to realize how much he's come to care for the war-torn planet. Using the jumping powers he's gained from Mars' different gravity levels, he finally decides to open his heart...and discovers that a cause is more important than all the gold in the Wild West.

What did the critics not like about this again? I thought it was totally awesome. Ok, so the story is really complicated. You'll probably need to watch this two or three times to catch the names, titles, and even just get some idea of the back stories. Taylor Kirsch was a surprisingly gruff Carter; Lynn Collins was a wonderfully feisty and intelligent princess. And come on, haven't you ever wanted your own dog-lizard-thing who follows you everywhere? The special effects are absolutely amazing, too, especially the war ships.

If you are any kind of a sci-fi or pulp fiction fan, you owe yourself to see this movie. It has "cult favorite" written all over it. The long-running series of novels practically invented many action adventure cliches, influencing everything from Tarzan (Burroughs' other major series) to Superman to Flash Gordon.

After John Carter ended, I went for a walk. I didn't get very far before I saw two packages on front apartment porch. One was the present for my Secret Santa; the other was from Linda Young. The package had one intriguing present with Sailor Moon and "I Love Beatles" pins on it that is to be opened on Christmas Day, one very book-like package for Christmas Eve morning, and one for now. The "now" present turned out to be Tales Told Under the Christmas Tree, a nifty vintage collection of holiday stories, including a whole chapter on Hanukkah tales.

I did finally get to a quick walk after that. While the fog was gone, it was partly cloudy, chilly, and windy. I hiked down to Goff Avenue and back; didn't have the time to go anywhere else. The river had an austere beauty under the gray-blue skies, with the Ben Franklin Bridge clearly in the background despite the weather. I also saw Andrew helping out his mother at her house and gave the rest of the rent to him.

Made a quick Tuna Salad lunch while watching Tom & Jerry Tales shorts before heading to work. Work was very busy today, far more so than it has been. Fortunately,  it slowed down enough by 7PM for me to get off without a relief.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

But before we could have fun, this girl had to check on the status of her unemployment and disability benefits. I was dismayed when I logged onto the State of NJ's Temporary Disability page to discover that it'll take another two weeks for the money to go through! When I called them and asked why, when I'd already sent the papers, they said it was due to the volume of paperwork they receive. Even though I already sent some of the information, they have to process the rest of it. (You know, this would be a lot easier if they'd put it online.)

I then checked the status on my Unemployment funds. While they haven't paid out, either, they have a slightly more plausible reason. Apparently, anyone with Social Security numbers that end in an odd number get paid on Monday. Even numbers get paid on Tuesday. Guess whose SS card ends in an odd number? At least I won't have to wait quite as long for this.

Since I wanted to renew some DVDs anyway, I went over to the Camden County Library System's website to see if they had any job available. As it turned out, yes, they had a job listed, for Senior Library Assistant. Most of the requirements were things I could do or had done at the libraries. It was for 15 hours a week, about the same as I have at the Acme now, but for a somewhat increased salary.

There were two big questions. First of all, there's my travel problem. They say a car may be required in order to take occasional assignments at other branches. Most Camden County Library branches are either near bus routes or train routes. There's also the fact that the job was supposed to be for the new Rutgers-Camden Branch in downtown Camden. While the area around Rutgers itself is said to be fairly safe, Camden itself is not the place for a single woman on her own to be.

By that point, I'd been online for so long, I never got the chance to finish the application. I'll do it tomorrow. I wanted to go to the Haddon Township Library and return the remaining DVDs. It was a gorgeous day for a ride, too, chilly and windier than yesterday, but still sunny. This was reflected in the crowds in the park. It was much busier than usual, especially for late in the afternoon. I found myself dodging joggers, dog-walkers,  elderly couples out for a stroll, and at least two flocks of Canadian geese.

The library was busy, too. I helped a lot of people for the first time in months. One little boy was looking for Pokemon; I directed him to some of the newer series releases. Another said he was a Scooby Doo fan. I pointed out the newest Scooby Doo movie, Big-Top Scooby. I helped a mom look for The Blind Side (we never did find it). I also cleared a lot of foreign titles out of the adult ones. (And I agree with one of the librarians, who went looking for Tangled later for an inter-library loan. They either need to start weeding out some of the older DVDs or ones with multiple copies, or buy a second DVD holder.)

I found a huge pile of items to take out today. The Library finally had all but the first two books in the newest American Girl historical series. Caroline Alcott is a resilient and strong-willed young lady living in Sacketts Harbor in upstate New York during the War of 1812. She wants nothing more than to captain her own ship, but when her father is captured by the British, she finds herself having to help her mother and relatives at the family's shipyard in ways they could never have imagined.

Other book finds today include a book on journal-writing (I've been writing journals since I was 7, but I'm always looking for new ideas and ways to dig deeper), an Idiot's Guide to knitting and crocheting, and a self-help book on overcoming the stories we tell ourselves that hold us back. I found three interesting kids' DVDs (since I never did get to the adult titles last week) - another 2009 Angelina Ballerina title (this one focusing on the relationship between Polly and Angelina), How To Train Your Dragon: Gift of the Night Fury, and the newest Barbie As/In movie, Barbie As The Princess and the Popstar.

My first stop on the way home was Super Fresh. They didn't have the mouse traps I was looking for. I'll just get them at the Acme on Friday. I did get dried lentils to try and more of those yummy Gingerbread Peeps (which were on sale this time for 99 cents). By the time I got out, it was so late, I just ended up at Nick and Joe's Pizzeria around the corner from Dollar Tree. They were having a $4.99 mini hoagie special. I'm glad my Ham and Cheese Hoagie also came with lots of veggies stuffed in and a big pile of fries. I was starved.

When I finally got in, I worked on crocheting and ran Princess and the Popstar. The second Barbie variation on Prince and the Pauper moves the story to the current day. The ladies in question are goofy, rather immature Princess Victoria and harried singing diva Keira. Each imagine that the other has more time to do what they want and have more fun. When they discover that they each possess an item that can instantly change one's hair or clothing, they decide to change places for a few days, just to see what it would be like. While Tori gets to know her kingdom better, Keira discovers that being a princess isn't all its cracked up to be...but Tori's little sisters can be an awful lot of fun. Both girls find themselves having to rescue Tori's kingdom's magical diamond bush from Keira's obnoxious former manager, who thinks it's his ticket back to the big-time.

Very disappointing, especially after the last three or four specials came out so well. Tori is something of a silly brat; Keira and her desire for songwriting time comes off as a bit more realistic. I really wish it had concentrated on the girls, instead of shoehorning the subplot with the magical bush and annoying former manager in. The girls' magical objects were probably enough. Not horrible, but not great, either. I'd recommend seeking out the original Princess and the Pauper Artisan Barbie title for a better version of the same story.

Candle On the Water

It was an absolutely gorgeous day for running errands. The temperatures climbed into the mid-60s, from what the Beneficial Bank sign in Audubon said. The sky was blue, and it was breezy but not windy. Good thing it was such a nice day. The first thing on the queue was a must - getting the Foot and Ankle Center to fill out the other side of that paper. I called them and explained what happened, then rode up to Haddon Heights so they could fill it out. They were even nice enough to fax it to the Department of Labor right away.

I made a quick stop at the big CVS on King's Highway two doors down from the Foot and Ankle Center to look at their mouse traps. When they didn't have what I wanted, I grabbed the bike and headed back to Oaklyn. I stopped at the Library on the way home to do this week's volunteering. As some of the older ladies watched the recent film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Phantom of the Opera, I organized adult and kids' DVDs and took a look at the kids' books.

Ran Good Eats episodes as I had a peanut butter and apricot preserves wrap and an apple for lunch. Alton covers two more frequent pantry favorites that are a bit more expensive but worth having around, cooking oils (including the then-popular nut oils) and molasses. (I swear, I will try that shoofly pie recipe one of these days. Considering we're not that far from Pennsylvania Dutch country, it's practically a requirement.)

After lunch, I went online quickly to check on my Temporary Disability and Partial Unemployment claims. As of 2:30, the Temporary Disability claim still hadn't gone through. Partial Unemployment had, but hadn't paid out yet. (I may have missed the pay date for that one.)

Next on the list was getting the laundry done. There wasn't anything resembling the load I had last week, but I did have my Acme uniform to do. Dad and Jodie were both at his house when I arrived. Dad was putting up his Christmas tree before he went back to another cruise ship job. Jodie was watching Law & Order on USA.

Dad always does an awesome job decorating the house...and now, with fewer people around, he can decorate even more of it. His huge (and real) tree, which used to go in the big picture window in the living room, is now in the den. Every window is surrounded by lights, cotton "snow," ropes of greenery, and Jessa's holiday Beanie Babies.

Went for a walk while the laundry was in the drier. Since it's in the neighborhood, I stopped at the Center for Art and Traditional Therapy while I was out. A few more people were listed as "in," but the majority were still out, including Lisa Perry. I'm tired of waiting for her. I'll call the therapist in Haddonfield tomorrow.

After I left the Center, I strolled around to WaWa and bought a pretzel, then back down the White Horse Pike and around to Newton. It was nearly 4:30, and the lights were just coming on many houses and businesses. I love all the festive, elaborate displays in Oaklyn. Special mention to the Little Bear Day Care Center on the White Horse Pike, who had hanging snowflakes that lit up and played Christmas music as the kids chased each other in the small playground in the side yard.

I did have that chat with Dad and Jodie when I returned. Dad's having problems of his own. He had to stick around for October and most of November to deal with Uncle Ken's funeral and everything that happened afterwards. That cost him several cruise ships job and quite a bit of money. He's not even sure it's worth keeping the house and may sell it eventually.

As for me, they both say I shouldn't have any problem with keeping my apartment as long as I give Andrew the rent sometime this month and don't get too backed up. Dad's known Andrew almost as long as Uncle Ken. They're friends of the family. It's a very different situation from Cape May County, where many rental houses and apartments are owned by people who live anywhere from 40 minutes to three hours away. In Oaklyn, most homes and apartments for rent outside of commercial apartment buildings are owned by locals.

They also agree with Lauren that, while I really need to discuss it with the therapist first, medication probably is not the best route for me. I do have problems with focus and procrastination...but so do a lot of people, including my own father. Social skills aren't that uncommon of a problem, either. I'll learn social skills with practice, not drugs. As for being off in my own world, that's called "zoning out," and it's also not uncommon. Once again, learning to deal with things comes with practice. When I get scared, it's a lot easier for me to cling to a fantasy than to face fears.

When I got home, I put the laundry away, then ran two more Good Eats episodes (on oranges and cranberries, both in season and popular at this time of year) while working on a crocheting project for Amanda.

I switched to Pete's Dragon while making a delicious Tex-Mex Black Bean Dip for dinner. This 1977 live action/animation hybrid is the third of Disney's hybrid musicals that attempted to ape Mary Poppins. The dragon in question is Elliot, the animated guardian of the very real little boy Pete (Sean Marshall). Pete's on the run from the nasty hillbilly family who adopted and abuse him, the Gogans (including Shelly Winters as the mother). He and Elliot end up in a small New England town, Passamaquaddy. Elliot's large size and playful nature does nothing but wreck havoc, and the two flee the town.

Fortunately, they're found by Nora (singer Helen Reddy), the daughter of the drunkard lighthouse keeper Lampy (Mickey Rooney). Nora takes a shine to Elliot, despite thinking his talk of dragons is nonsense. Lampy, however, firmly believes in Elliot...as do two scheming snake oil salesmen (Jim Dale and Red Buttons) who want bits and pieces of Elliot for their phony medicines.

This is an old nostalgic favorite of mine. A revival was one of the first movies my sisters and I saw in theaters as kids. I'm especially fond of the lovely score by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. The ballad "Candle on the Water" was nominated for an Oscar. Also of mention - the sweet duet for Reddy and Marshall, "It's Not Easy," Rooney's big comic production number "I Swear I Saw a Dragon," and Dale's "Money By the Pound." There's a terrific cast of character actors hamming it up all over the place as well. In addition to Buttons, Winters, Dale, and Rooney, we have Jim Backus as the town mayor, Jane Kean as the straight-laced teacher, and Jeff Conaway as one of the hillbillies.

The movie does have its flaws. Aside from Elliot, the special effects are rather obvious and badly done, especially compared to such then-special effects marvels as Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As with many musicals of the 60s and 70s, the plot is overlong and quite meandering. It doesn't really get anywhere until Dale and Buttons show up part-way through.

As much as I love this movie, unless you grew up with it as I did, you may be better off showing it to your kids first. It's a very sweet and old-fashioned family musical, and that's not to everyone's taste.