He's an All-Star
Today was laundry day. It was also the day Dad said he'd take me to meet my new nephew. I brought my laundry over around quarter of 10, and after I put it in the dryer, we were on our way. It was a lovely day for it, too. The sun shown in a blue sky and perfect, mid-60s temperatures as we headed down the highway to Cooper River Hospital in Camden.
Cooper River Hospital is a huge complex with many buildings, but the maternity ward was in the main one. Dad said he and Jodie had trouble finding Rose's building when they visited them yesterday. We had less problems today. He only had to ask one man behind the desk, and he knew right where we were going. We did take the wrong elevator, but it didn't take too long to get turned around and get on the right one.
Rose and Craig were there when we arrived, but Khai wasn't. He was getting circumcised, poor guy. The nurses and doctor wheeled Khai in about ten minutes later. They gave Rose and Craig directions on how to take care of his wound, and then we got to meet the newcomer for the first time.
He was sooo tiny! He makes the cutest faces. His eyes aren't quite open yet. He makes little squeaky noises when he sleeps; Craig jokes that he's snoring, like Rose (and most of our family) does. I got to hold him twice. The first time, he got a little noisy, but I think that was because he'd just gotten through the circumcision and was feeling sore. I held him again after Rose fed him while we waited in the family rooms. This time, he went right to sleep.
Rose said that she's feeling fine and the operation went well. Craig's looking fine, too. He was a big help. He knew just how to hold the baby. They're both utterly thrilled and looking great. I'm so happy for them. Khai's adorable.
After we got home, I went straight back to my place and had a peanut butter and berry jam wrap for lunch. After that, I rode over to Westmont. I stopped at Super Fresh first. They always have good salad dressing sales, and I'm almost out. I bought two of Ken's delicious Healthy Options dressings, Italian with Romano and Red Pepper and Balsamic. I also bought Oat Bran, which Acme no longer carries.
Headed for the Haddon Township Library next for this week's volunteering session. They're in the midst of some kind of survey that doesn't allow you to shelve books, so there wasn't a lot I could do. I did take some things out, though. I found two cartoon DVDs I was interested in, the newest Backyardigans episodes and a childhood favorite, Scooby Doo's All-Star Laugh-a-Lympics. I also took out two more mysteries, the first Beatrix Potter mystery The Tale of Hill Top Farm and an American Girl mystery story, Secrets In the Hills.
I took the long way home across Newton River Park, partially to avoid traffic on Cuthbert Road, since it was about 4:30 then. It was a gorgeous day for it. There couldn't have been a more perfect spring day. There were lots of people out, too, walking their dogs and riding bikes. I made a brief stop at CVS but didn't get anything.
When I got home, I fed my cake craving with gingerbread while watching the cartoon DVDs. The Backyardigans episodes in this go-around were pretty strange. The first one, with rear-end-kicking princesses Tasha and Uniqua breaking out of their tower prison to the sound of girl-group music, was by far the best. The one with Tasha, Tyrone, and Pablo as a marachi band who ends up in space and encounters aliens who want to cover Earth with goo was at least creative. The one about Tasha's pencil jamming up the gears in a sock-making machine was also pretty odd, but very cute - loved all the catchphrases in that one. ("In all my years..." "For the love of socks!")
Scooby Doo's All-Star Laugh-A-Lympics ran on the USA Network's Cartoon Express block in the late 80s and early 90s, and it was one of my favorite shows. It's basically Hanna Barbara's version of Disney's House of Mouse...only instead of just hanging at a club, most of the popular Hanna Barbara characters of the 60s and 70s square off in a massive sports competition set in different countries.
I always rooted for the Yogi Yahooies, the team made up of all the HB funny animals, including the bear himself. The Scooby Doobies consisted of the 70s mystery teams and their various pets - Scooby and Shaggy, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, Speed Buggy and his humans, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. The Really Rottens were, as you've probably guessed from the name, villains. They were lead by the most famous HB bad guys, Dastardly and Muttley. Snagglepuss and Mildew Wolf were the commentators, and other HB characters would show up as "guest star judges" from time to time.
Unlike most of the HB shows of the 60s and 70s, I enjoyed it as much now as I did when I would plop on the couch for the entire three-hour USA Cartoon Express. These characters can be formulatic and sometimes a bit dull on their own...but toss them all together, with, say, Grape Ape sumo-wrestling Shaggy or the Rottens somehow managing to miss the finish line in a bobsled race, and you have some comic gold.
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
And Now, the Rest of the Story
The rest of today was comparatively quiet. I ran some errands after I got dressed and had breakfast. Stopped at the post office to deliver bills, then went a block down to the bank to deposit my paycheck. Went down to Dunkin' Donuts next to treat myself to an Orange Coolatta. I don't often go to Dunkin' Donuts. I'm not fond of their primary wares - donuts and coffee - but I thought a new aunt deserved a special treat.
I spent the rest of the morning announcing my new nephew's arrival to everyone on Facebook and on this blog, then browsed a site about American Girl doll collecting I discovered last month, AGPlaythings. I was looking up information on when Jess got her dolls (since she doesn't really remember) and what's available for them. I'm going to say Jess got them between 1997 and 1999, from the yellow, turquoise, and pink "meet" outfit Little Jess has, the two "dress up" outfits (the fairy princess turned out to be the Sugar Plum Fairy), and Felicity's orange floral "meet" gown.
Work was, once again, pretty quiet. It got busier during the 4-6 rush hour, but otherwise there were no problems beyond some annoying old ladies who give 600 different orders on how to bag but refuse to lift a finger to help themselves. Ladies, I know what I'm doing. Let me do my job, please.
Oh, and Dad called me before I left for work...or tried to. I was in the midst of my peanut-butter-and-berry-jam sandwich and apple lunch, and I tried to open a cell phone and eat an apple at the same time. Nope, it doesn't work. When I finally got through to him, he said he'd be willing to take me to see Khai and Rose at Cooper River Memorial Hospital in Camden tomorrow.
The rest of today was comparatively quiet. I ran some errands after I got dressed and had breakfast. Stopped at the post office to deliver bills, then went a block down to the bank to deposit my paycheck. Went down to Dunkin' Donuts next to treat myself to an Orange Coolatta. I don't often go to Dunkin' Donuts. I'm not fond of their primary wares - donuts and coffee - but I thought a new aunt deserved a special treat.
I spent the rest of the morning announcing my new nephew's arrival to everyone on Facebook and on this blog, then browsed a site about American Girl doll collecting I discovered last month, AGPlaythings. I was looking up information on when Jess got her dolls (since she doesn't really remember) and what's available for them. I'm going to say Jess got them between 1997 and 1999, from the yellow, turquoise, and pink "meet" outfit Little Jess has, the two "dress up" outfits (the fairy princess turned out to be the Sugar Plum Fairy), and Felicity's orange floral "meet" gown.
Work was, once again, pretty quiet. It got busier during the 4-6 rush hour, but otherwise there were no problems beyond some annoying old ladies who give 600 different orders on how to bag but refuse to lift a finger to help themselves. Ladies, I know what I'm doing. Let me do my job, please.
Oh, and Dad called me before I left for work...or tried to. I was in the midst of my peanut-butter-and-berry-jam sandwich and apple lunch, and I tried to open a cell phone and eat an apple at the same time. Nope, it doesn't work. When I finally got through to him, he said he'd be willing to take me to see Khai and Rose at Cooper River Memorial Hospital in Camden tomorrow.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Not a New Arrival...But a New Story
No, I haven't heard about my sister yet. But I did post this month's Monkees role-play story! Enjoy this comic tale about food, fiends, and wacky parties!
A Catered Affair
No, I haven't heard about my sister yet. But I did post this month's Monkees role-play story! Enjoy this comic tale about food, fiends, and wacky parties!
A Catered Affair
Awaiting the New Arrival
Most of today was a pretty typical spring Sunday. I made Whole Wheat-Oatmeal Pancakes spread with berry jam this morning for breakfast while listening to Beatles records. (The Beatles show was covering 1964 - I prefer their later music.) I tried calling Mom about a half-hour before work, but I didn't get her. Left a message, and headed out. It was still cool, windy, and partly cloudy, and my ride was still a bit choppy.
Work was fairly quiet for a Sunday. Between a big Phillies game (they eventually lost to the Marlins, though the Flyers beat the New Jersey Devils in their playoff game) and people taking advantage of the decent weather (we were supposed to have rain all weekend), I guess people decided they'd rather be elsewhere. Fine by me. There were no major problems, we had tons of help, and I was getting off at the same time as another cashier, had no relief, and still had no trouble leaving. I grabbed honey, fruit spread, good natural peanut butter (Acme's Wild Harvest organic brand is tasty), and soy sauce (on sale for a $1), and headed home.
I tried calling Mom again when I got in. I got not only her, but the entire Cape May County side of the family. Dad picked up, and I heard Keefe, my sister Anny, and her son Skylar in the background. Apparently, my sister Rose - the one I went shopping with yesterday who bought my comforter for my birthday - went into labor at 5AM this morning. Her boyfriend Craig got her to Cooper River Hospital in Camden, one of the best hospitals in an area filled with excellent ones, shortly after. She called Anny even as I talked to Mom on the family's line. I let Mom go to talk to Rose a few minutes later.
(And yes, at press time, Rose is fine and has not had her child yet. More on that as it develops.)
I called Dad right after to tell him about Rose and that I intend to do my laundry on Tuesday morning. Yes, he knew - he and Jodie found out from Craig on Facebook this morning.
After that excitement, I didn't really feel like doing much else. I baked brownies, crocheted, and listened to my two new cast albums. Ironically, both were well-done musical biographies. Gypsy is about 30s burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, though the real main character is her pushy mother Rose, played in the original cast by Ethel Merman in her defining role. George M! is 1968 take on the life of George M. Cohan, including more of his real life (such as his marriages and his involvement in the 1919 Actor's Equity strike on the side of the producer) than the 1942 version could or would. Joel Gray still isn't quite right for Cohan, but he and Bernadette Peters (as his younger sister) have a great deal of fun with the classic material.
The Dress Circle was a bit quieter. They did their second show revolving around Disney songs performed by jazz, cabaret, and Broadway singers. In addition to obvious choices like Barbara Cook's lovely "The Second Star to the Right" and the classic Peggy Lee "He's a Tramp" from Lady and the Tramp, they dug up a few oddities. A lot of my friends who get a kick out of the Looney Tunes-esque humor of The Emperor's New Groove would appreciate the inclusion of Eartha Kitt's "Snuff Out the Light." I liked the surprisingly good country versions of two favorites, Faith Hill's "Part of Your World" and Josh Grayson's adorable "When I See An Elephant Fly" (which I actually enjoyed much better with the twang!).
Most of today was a pretty typical spring Sunday. I made Whole Wheat-Oatmeal Pancakes spread with berry jam this morning for breakfast while listening to Beatles records. (The Beatles show was covering 1964 - I prefer their later music.) I tried calling Mom about a half-hour before work, but I didn't get her. Left a message, and headed out. It was still cool, windy, and partly cloudy, and my ride was still a bit choppy.
Work was fairly quiet for a Sunday. Between a big Phillies game (they eventually lost to the Marlins, though the Flyers beat the New Jersey Devils in their playoff game) and people taking advantage of the decent weather (we were supposed to have rain all weekend), I guess people decided they'd rather be elsewhere. Fine by me. There were no major problems, we had tons of help, and I was getting off at the same time as another cashier, had no relief, and still had no trouble leaving. I grabbed honey, fruit spread, good natural peanut butter (Acme's Wild Harvest organic brand is tasty), and soy sauce (on sale for a $1), and headed home.
I tried calling Mom again when I got in. I got not only her, but the entire Cape May County side of the family. Dad picked up, and I heard Keefe, my sister Anny, and her son Skylar in the background. Apparently, my sister Rose - the one I went shopping with yesterday who bought my comforter for my birthday - went into labor at 5AM this morning. Her boyfriend Craig got her to Cooper River Hospital in Camden, one of the best hospitals in an area filled with excellent ones, shortly after. She called Anny even as I talked to Mom on the family's line. I let Mom go to talk to Rose a few minutes later.
(And yes, at press time, Rose is fine and has not had her child yet. More on that as it develops.)
I called Dad right after to tell him about Rose and that I intend to do my laundry on Tuesday morning. Yes, he knew - he and Jodie found out from Craig on Facebook this morning.
After that excitement, I didn't really feel like doing much else. I baked brownies, crocheted, and listened to my two new cast albums. Ironically, both were well-done musical biographies. Gypsy is about 30s burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, though the real main character is her pushy mother Rose, played in the original cast by Ethel Merman in her defining role. George M! is 1968 take on the life of George M. Cohan, including more of his real life (such as his marriages and his involvement in the 1919 Actor's Equity strike on the side of the producer) than the 1942 version could or would. Joel Gray still isn't quite right for Cohan, but he and Bernadette Peters (as his younger sister) have a great deal of fun with the classic material.
The Dress Circle was a bit quieter. They did their second show revolving around Disney songs performed by jazz, cabaret, and Broadway singers. In addition to obvious choices like Barbara Cook's lovely "The Second Star to the Right" and the classic Peggy Lee "He's a Tramp" from Lady and the Tramp, they dug up a few oddities. A lot of my friends who get a kick out of the Looney Tunes-esque humor of The Emperor's New Groove would appreciate the inclusion of Eartha Kitt's "Snuff Out the Light." I liked the surprisingly good country versions of two favorites, Faith Hill's "Part of Your World" and Josh Grayson's adorable "When I See An Elephant Fly" (which I actually enjoyed much better with the twang!).
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Winds of Change
Slept in, so I really didn't get much done before work this morning. Work was steady when I came in and when I left...but busy in between! We even had help. It was just busy. The sun was in and out all day, and it was blustery and chilly compared to what it has been, probably lower 60s. The wind made for a difficult ride to and from work.
Rose asked me to call her when I got home, so we could go shopping together and pick the comforter I wanted for my birthday. She responded right away and said "15 minutes." I changed, grabbed my purse and jacket, and waited for her.
For once, she was on time. Her best friend Colleen Reilly joined us as well. Colleen is a lawyer who lives in Harrisburg, but she's visiting Rose for the weekend. We headed for the same Bed Bath and Beyond in Cherry Hill where I bought my new saucepan back in late January.
It took me a long time to choose a comforter. Most of them were expensive, or too bright, or the print was too big, or they weren't a twin size, or they came with more than I needed. I finally broke down and said that frankly, I could use a new sheet set, too. The sheets, blankets, and comforters I have all came from different sources, and none match.
I chose a blue and tan set with striped print on the bottom and top and floral print in the middle. It's very pretty, and much thicker than my poor, worn green plaid blanket. Rose grabbed a pitcher for herself. We had to wait 10 minutes while they tracked down the price for that pitcher, but on the upside, Rose (who is pregnant and due in a month) got some advice from the nice lady behind the counter, and we got 20% off for having to wait so long.
Our next stop was the big Wegman's grocery store. Rose needed to do her shopping. It was really, really busy. We had a very hard time finding a parking spot, so hard that Rose had to wait. When we did finally get a spot, a guy got upset because he was waiting, too! Rose was right, though. She had been there first. He ranted at us, and we told him that we had the right of way, and he took off. What a jerk.
It was just as busy inside the store. Rose had forgotten her grocery list and kept remembering things and going back and forth as we made our way from one side of the massive building to the other. She says Wegman's isn't her usual store, either, and she doesn't know the layout that well. It took us a while to get out of there.
When I finally arrived at home, I immediately pulled out the new bedding. It's very pretty. It even came with decorative pillows. Since I now had some new sheets, I went through my old ones. I ended up getting rid of most of them. Both of the navy fitted sheets were worn in the middle, and the navy-and-white print fitted sheet was stretched beyond use. I may cut useful fabric from them to make other things, but for now, they're going to go. The green plaid comforter is just going to get tossed. I don't think I could even recycle it.
Slept in, so I really didn't get much done before work this morning. Work was steady when I came in and when I left...but busy in between! We even had help. It was just busy. The sun was in and out all day, and it was blustery and chilly compared to what it has been, probably lower 60s. The wind made for a difficult ride to and from work.
Rose asked me to call her when I got home, so we could go shopping together and pick the comforter I wanted for my birthday. She responded right away and said "15 minutes." I changed, grabbed my purse and jacket, and waited for her.
For once, she was on time. Her best friend Colleen Reilly joined us as well. Colleen is a lawyer who lives in Harrisburg, but she's visiting Rose for the weekend. We headed for the same Bed Bath and Beyond in Cherry Hill where I bought my new saucepan back in late January.
It took me a long time to choose a comforter. Most of them were expensive, or too bright, or the print was too big, or they weren't a twin size, or they came with more than I needed. I finally broke down and said that frankly, I could use a new sheet set, too. The sheets, blankets, and comforters I have all came from different sources, and none match.
I chose a blue and tan set with striped print on the bottom and top and floral print in the middle. It's very pretty, and much thicker than my poor, worn green plaid blanket. Rose grabbed a pitcher for herself. We had to wait 10 minutes while they tracked down the price for that pitcher, but on the upside, Rose (who is pregnant and due in a month) got some advice from the nice lady behind the counter, and we got 20% off for having to wait so long.
Our next stop was the big Wegman's grocery store. Rose needed to do her shopping. It was really, really busy. We had a very hard time finding a parking spot, so hard that Rose had to wait. When we did finally get a spot, a guy got upset because he was waiting, too! Rose was right, though. She had been there first. He ranted at us, and we told him that we had the right of way, and he took off. What a jerk.
It was just as busy inside the store. Rose had forgotten her grocery list and kept remembering things and going back and forth as we made our way from one side of the massive building to the other. She says Wegman's isn't her usual store, either, and she doesn't know the layout that well. It took us a while to get out of there.
When I finally arrived at home, I immediately pulled out the new bedding. It's very pretty. It even came with decorative pillows. Since I now had some new sheets, I went through my old ones. I ended up getting rid of most of them. Both of the navy fitted sheets were worn in the middle, and the navy-and-white print fitted sheet was stretched beyond use. I may cut useful fabric from them to make other things, but for now, they're going to go. The green plaid comforter is just going to get tossed. I don't think I could even recycle it.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Rain on the Horizon
It was sunny when I finally rolled out of bed around quarter of 9. I didn't really get a chance to do much today. Mostly just made breakfast, read my new Sitcoms book, and watched cartoons.
Work was steady when I arrived and steady when I left, but not overwhelmingly so. Once again, there were no really huge problems. The worst was one of those people who buy a full cart-load, then realize oops, they didn't bring enough money, we have to return three-fourths of it. I really, really wish they'd learn to count. $60 in food stamps does not add up to $90 worth of food.
There were dark clouds on the still-sunny horizon when I finally got to doing my grocery shopping. I needed a lot, too. Had to restock my apples (Macintosh were on sale), bananas, grapefruit, escarole (the cheapest and most versatile leafy green I can get right now), celery, yogurt, and butter. Needed dried cranberries, on-sale ground turkey, whole-wheat pasta, and Weight Watchers Ice Cream Sundaes, too.
About an hour after I got home, it finally started showering lightly. It's been on and off ever since, and it's supposed to continue through the weekend.
Oh, and my schedule's not bad next week. Later hours, including one 2-8 day, but I also have two days off. I should be able to get more done, including more re-organizing, dusting, and a counseling day.
It was sunny when I finally rolled out of bed around quarter of 9. I didn't really get a chance to do much today. Mostly just made breakfast, read my new Sitcoms book, and watched cartoons.
Work was steady when I arrived and steady when I left, but not overwhelmingly so. Once again, there were no really huge problems. The worst was one of those people who buy a full cart-load, then realize oops, they didn't bring enough money, we have to return three-fourths of it. I really, really wish they'd learn to count. $60 in food stamps does not add up to $90 worth of food.
There were dark clouds on the still-sunny horizon when I finally got to doing my grocery shopping. I needed a lot, too. Had to restock my apples (Macintosh were on sale), bananas, grapefruit, escarole (the cheapest and most versatile leafy green I can get right now), celery, yogurt, and butter. Needed dried cranberries, on-sale ground turkey, whole-wheat pasta, and Weight Watchers Ice Cream Sundaes, too.
About an hour after I got home, it finally started showering lightly. It's been on and off ever since, and it's supposed to continue through the weekend.
Oh, and my schedule's not bad next week. Later hours, including one 2-8 day, but I also have two days off. I should be able to get more done, including more re-organizing, dusting, and a counseling day.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Game's Afoot!
I slept in this morning after my long day yesterday. After I finally had breakfast, I watched most of The Great Mouse Detective while reorganizing the videos and the DVDs. I realized that I now have more DVDs than videos, so the DVDs were moved to the video rack and vice versa.
The Great Mouse Detective was made in 1986, at a time when Disney was just beginning to recover from the cutbacks and limited animation of the 70s. It's not their best film ever, but it's fun and very different. It's based after a popular series of kids' books (which I have read). Basil of Baker Street is the title character, a mouse Sherlock Holmes living in Victorian England, right under Baker Street. When kindly Dr. Dawson brings little lost Olivia Flaversham into his home, she reveals a case that leads right to his adversary Professor Rattigan...and a fiendish plot to take over England!
I have a soft spot for Mouse Detective. It's one of two Disney movies released in the 80s that I saw in the theaters as a child. (The other was the movie that came out before this one, the much-maligned The Black Cauldron.) Vincent Price said that his voice role as Professor Rattigan was one of his favorites, and it shows. He sounds like he's having the time of his life. There's some nice animation, too, notably some of the first use of CGI in a 2-D cartoon during the finale in Big Ben.
Work wasn't nearly as exciting. It was on and off all day, with no major problems other than some mildly demanding old ladies. I had no relief, but the rush hour crowd had slowed somewhat by 5, which allowed me to get off on-time.
It was a really nice day, sunny and warm. I changed into shorts when I got home, then rearranged the cassettes and CDs. I cleared enough cassettes out of the cassette shelves to make room for the Christmas and kids' cassettes. The Christmas CDs now share their crate with the last of the soundtrack CDs until I can get a second crate for them.
Watched the new Sherlock Holmes during dinner. I absolutely adored it. Picture a far more historically accurate and interesting League of Extrordinary Gentlemen, Indiana Jones gone steampunk, or Young Sherlock Holmes with adult characters, and you get the idea. This time, a very human Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) finds himself contending with his best friend Dr. Watson (Jude Law) getting married and moving out and the return of former girlfriend Irene Adler...just as the dead man from his last case, who had been killing young ladies via a cult, suddenly reappears...
Other than I wasn't that crazy about the occult plot, I had a LOT of fun with this one. Law and Downey were hysterical. No wonder Holmes doesn't want his buddy leaving the roost - they already fight like old marrieds. The open-ended finale was pretty intriguing, too...
I slept in this morning after my long day yesterday. After I finally had breakfast, I watched most of The Great Mouse Detective while reorganizing the videos and the DVDs. I realized that I now have more DVDs than videos, so the DVDs were moved to the video rack and vice versa.
The Great Mouse Detective was made in 1986, at a time when Disney was just beginning to recover from the cutbacks and limited animation of the 70s. It's not their best film ever, but it's fun and very different. It's based after a popular series of kids' books (which I have read). Basil of Baker Street is the title character, a mouse Sherlock Holmes living in Victorian England, right under Baker Street. When kindly Dr. Dawson brings little lost Olivia Flaversham into his home, she reveals a case that leads right to his adversary Professor Rattigan...and a fiendish plot to take over England!
I have a soft spot for Mouse Detective. It's one of two Disney movies released in the 80s that I saw in the theaters as a child. (The other was the movie that came out before this one, the much-maligned The Black Cauldron.) Vincent Price said that his voice role as Professor Rattigan was one of his favorites, and it shows. He sounds like he's having the time of his life. There's some nice animation, too, notably some of the first use of CGI in a 2-D cartoon during the finale in Big Ben.
Work wasn't nearly as exciting. It was on and off all day, with no major problems other than some mildly demanding old ladies. I had no relief, but the rush hour crowd had slowed somewhat by 5, which allowed me to get off on-time.
It was a really nice day, sunny and warm. I changed into shorts when I got home, then rearranged the cassettes and CDs. I cleared enough cassettes out of the cassette shelves to make room for the Christmas and kids' cassettes. The Christmas CDs now share their crate with the last of the soundtrack CDs until I can get a second crate for them.
Watched the new Sherlock Holmes during dinner. I absolutely adored it. Picture a far more historically accurate and interesting League of Extrordinary Gentlemen, Indiana Jones gone steampunk, or Young Sherlock Holmes with adult characters, and you get the idea. This time, a very human Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) finds himself contending with his best friend Dr. Watson (Jude Law) getting married and moving out and the return of former girlfriend Irene Adler...just as the dead man from his last case, who had been killing young ladies via a cult, suddenly reappears...
Other than I wasn't that crazy about the occult plot, I had a LOT of fun with this one. Law and Downey were hysterical. No wonder Holmes doesn't want his buddy leaving the roost - they already fight like old marrieds. The open-ended finale was pretty intriguing, too...
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Birthday Balance
Thank goodness after last year, when it poured the entire day on my birthday, I awoke to sunshine, fresh breeze, and mid-60s temperatures. I started the day with yoga class. Erik (who also does handyman work for Yogawood) taught today. He's the limber fellow who can do amazing things with his arms and legs, including handstands I could only dream of. Not surprisingly, he concentrated on standing and balance poses. He was far faster-paced than Karin or Micki, too. I and the other 8 students were hard-pressed to keep up with him!
My next stop was the Collingswood Library for this week's volunteer session there. I returned non-fiction, which wasn't a huge stack. I was in and out in less than an hour. Made a quick stop at the thrift shop after that, but I didn't see anything I wanted and Erica wasn't in.
I had no idea what to do with the rest of my birthday. Since I was already in Collingswood, I hopped the PATCO and headed into Philadelphia. I got off at 10th and Locust, down the block from one of my favorite stores in the known universe, Russakcff's Used Books and Records. A tiny shop in Washington Square, it's filled to the brim with books, imported CDs and videos, old posters, and crates of records. I ended up with three records, the original cast albums for the 1968 Joel Gray vehicle George M! and the 1986 smash hit Les Miserables (I had the cassette for the latter since high school, but it's missing a lot of music), and the rare soundtracks for the Jeanette MacDonald/Maurice Chevalier movies The Love Parade and The Merry Widow.
By this point, it was 1:30, and I was starving. Time to head to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch. Even at 1:30, it was as bustling as ever. I eventually ended up at a Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern lunch counter. I ordered some kind of pita wrap with chicken and a yogurt-dill sauce. I have no idea how to spell or pronounce what it was, but it was delicious.
Spent the rest of the afternoon browsing around my other two favorite Philly stores, the FYE and Borders on the Avenue of the Arts section of Broad Street. (After having to take a detour around City Hall because workers were blocking the Broad Street South exit.) FYE was having a gigantic 20-50% off all merchandise sale. When I asked if they were shutting down, a stock lady just said "Nope, we're overstocked and need to get rid of stuff." I'll take that.
Between the sales and my membership card, I did really, really well there. Got the $19.99 copy of the just-re-released Great Mouse Detective DVD for $12.80, and I grabbed a used copy of the oddball 80s action comedy Big Trouble In Little China for $3.36, marked down from $6. My best find was the 2-disc set for one of my all-time favorite musicals, the 1953 Fred Astaire MGM film The Band Wagon. Originally $27, FYE had already marked it down to $7.97. With the sales and card, it ended up being $5.11. Sweet.
I made my only real splurge of the day across the street at Borders. I've looked for the book Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time since my online guy-friend Matt mentioned getting it for Christmas in 2007 at his X-Entertainment blog. His favorite Get A Life isn't there...but a lot of MY favorites are, including All In the Family, Get Smart, The Monkees, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Jeffersons, Perfect Strangers, The Honeymooners, and Laverne & Shirley.
(Fans of Matt's will be happy to note that he's finally updating again after having been busy since late December.)
It was quarter of 5 at that point. I headed through rush-hour traffic to the 16th and Locust PATCO station. I was early enough that the train going home was only partially full, rather than stuffed. It was such a nice day when I got in, I took the long way home across Newton River Park.
There was even more waiting for me when I arrived at the apartment. Lauren asked me last week what I wanted for my birthday. She sent me CD copies of the original cast albums for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (my old cassette copy of the 1992 revival got caught in the tape player) and Gypsy (one of the few classic Broadway musicals I didn't have in any form), and the DVD for the other movie that came out in December that I was dying to see, the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes. (Which, interestingly, makes for my second Holmes-themed DVD of the day after Great Mouse Detective.)
I didn't have the time to peruse anything. I changed into good pants and sandals and met Dad and Jodie at Uncle Ken's house. They took me out to dinner at the Oaklyn Manor Bar down the street. We had a lovely time, chatting about Rose's pregnancy (and how eager Jodie is to take care of a newborn), my pride in my independence, Lauren's trip here next month, and the baby shower a few weeks ago.
When we got back to Dad's house, Dad brought out a cute little cake from Super Fresh, and he, Jodie, Uncle Ken, and Dolores all sang "Happy Birthday" to me. We had cake together, and they gave me cards. Dad's card was home-made, with a picture of me from childhood against a Snow White background. (Ironically, I got the Disney Snow White for Christmas.) I got $125 from the four of them all told.
I also got calls from Rose, Mom, and Erica, many birthday greetings from friends on Facebook, and a lovely e-card from Mike Waters in Oklahoma. Thanks to everyone who gave me birthday wishes!
Thank goodness after last year, when it poured the entire day on my birthday, I awoke to sunshine, fresh breeze, and mid-60s temperatures. I started the day with yoga class. Erik (who also does handyman work for Yogawood) taught today. He's the limber fellow who can do amazing things with his arms and legs, including handstands I could only dream of. Not surprisingly, he concentrated on standing and balance poses. He was far faster-paced than Karin or Micki, too. I and the other 8 students were hard-pressed to keep up with him!
My next stop was the Collingswood Library for this week's volunteer session there. I returned non-fiction, which wasn't a huge stack. I was in and out in less than an hour. Made a quick stop at the thrift shop after that, but I didn't see anything I wanted and Erica wasn't in.
I had no idea what to do with the rest of my birthday. Since I was already in Collingswood, I hopped the PATCO and headed into Philadelphia. I got off at 10th and Locust, down the block from one of my favorite stores in the known universe, Russakcff's Used Books and Records. A tiny shop in Washington Square, it's filled to the brim with books, imported CDs and videos, old posters, and crates of records. I ended up with three records, the original cast albums for the 1968 Joel Gray vehicle George M! and the 1986 smash hit Les Miserables (I had the cassette for the latter since high school, but it's missing a lot of music), and the rare soundtracks for the Jeanette MacDonald/Maurice Chevalier movies The Love Parade and The Merry Widow.
By this point, it was 1:30, and I was starving. Time to head to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch. Even at 1:30, it was as bustling as ever. I eventually ended up at a Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern lunch counter. I ordered some kind of pita wrap with chicken and a yogurt-dill sauce. I have no idea how to spell or pronounce what it was, but it was delicious.
Spent the rest of the afternoon browsing around my other two favorite Philly stores, the FYE and Borders on the Avenue of the Arts section of Broad Street. (After having to take a detour around City Hall because workers were blocking the Broad Street South exit.) FYE was having a gigantic 20-50% off all merchandise sale. When I asked if they were shutting down, a stock lady just said "Nope, we're overstocked and need to get rid of stuff." I'll take that.
Between the sales and my membership card, I did really, really well there. Got the $19.99 copy of the just-re-released Great Mouse Detective DVD for $12.80, and I grabbed a used copy of the oddball 80s action comedy Big Trouble In Little China for $3.36, marked down from $6. My best find was the 2-disc set for one of my all-time favorite musicals, the 1953 Fred Astaire MGM film The Band Wagon. Originally $27, FYE had already marked it down to $7.97. With the sales and card, it ended up being $5.11. Sweet.
I made my only real splurge of the day across the street at Borders. I've looked for the book Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest TV Comedies of All Time since my online guy-friend Matt mentioned getting it for Christmas in 2007 at his X-Entertainment blog. His favorite Get A Life isn't there...but a lot of MY favorites are, including All In the Family, Get Smart, The Monkees, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Jeffersons, Perfect Strangers, The Honeymooners, and Laverne & Shirley.
(Fans of Matt's will be happy to note that he's finally updating again after having been busy since late December.)
It was quarter of 5 at that point. I headed through rush-hour traffic to the 16th and Locust PATCO station. I was early enough that the train going home was only partially full, rather than stuffed. It was such a nice day when I got in, I took the long way home across Newton River Park.
There was even more waiting for me when I arrived at the apartment. Lauren asked me last week what I wanted for my birthday. She sent me CD copies of the original cast albums for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (my old cassette copy of the 1992 revival got caught in the tape player) and Gypsy (one of the few classic Broadway musicals I didn't have in any form), and the DVD for the other movie that came out in December that I was dying to see, the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes. (Which, interestingly, makes for my second Holmes-themed DVD of the day after Great Mouse Detective.)
I didn't have the time to peruse anything. I changed into good pants and sandals and met Dad and Jodie at Uncle Ken's house. They took me out to dinner at the Oaklyn Manor Bar down the street. We had a lovely time, chatting about Rose's pregnancy (and how eager Jodie is to take care of a newborn), my pride in my independence, Lauren's trip here next month, and the baby shower a few weeks ago.
When we got back to Dad's house, Dad brought out a cute little cake from Super Fresh, and he, Jodie, Uncle Ken, and Dolores all sang "Happy Birthday" to me. We had cake together, and they gave me cards. Dad's card was home-made, with a picture of me from childhood against a Snow White background. (Ironically, I got the Disney Snow White for Christmas.) I got $125 from the four of them all told.
I also got calls from Rose, Mom, and Erica, many birthday greetings from friends on Facebook, and a lovely e-card from Mike Waters in Oklahoma. Thanks to everyone who gave me birthday wishes!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Rainy Daze
Slept in this morning; it was probably just as well. Today has been gloomy, gray, and chilly. I made my bed and crocheted while watching Sailor Moon first season episodes to combat the dark day.
Despite the gloom, the ride to work wasn't too bad. It was raining lightly, but not so much that I was soaked when I arrived. The wind surprisingly wasn't bad, either, nor was there any flooding.
I was almost late, but it turned out to not matter that much. The Acme was mildly steady when I arrived and mildly steady when I left...but dead as a doornail in between. April's not a really big month for us, especially when Easter's early. (Not to mention, most people who didn't get them done back in February like I did have taxes due this week.) My relief was on time, and I grabbed a whole wheat roll for the meatball sandwich I planned on having for dinner and headed home.
The rest of my night at home was pretty quiet, too. I continued spring cleaning. Vacuumed the apartment and washed the windows. After I was done there, I spent an hour crocheting before making the meatball sandwich, salad, and honey-glazed carrots for dinner, with lime-coconut ice for dessert.
Slept in this morning; it was probably just as well. Today has been gloomy, gray, and chilly. I made my bed and crocheted while watching Sailor Moon first season episodes to combat the dark day.
Despite the gloom, the ride to work wasn't too bad. It was raining lightly, but not so much that I was soaked when I arrived. The wind surprisingly wasn't bad, either, nor was there any flooding.
I was almost late, but it turned out to not matter that much. The Acme was mildly steady when I arrived and mildly steady when I left...but dead as a doornail in between. April's not a really big month for us, especially when Easter's early. (Not to mention, most people who didn't get them done back in February like I did have taxes due this week.) My relief was on time, and I grabbed a whole wheat roll for the meatball sandwich I planned on having for dinner and headed home.
The rest of my night at home was pretty quiet, too. I continued spring cleaning. Vacuumed the apartment and washed the windows. After I was done there, I spent an hour crocheting before making the meatball sandwich, salad, and honey-glazed carrots for dinner, with lime-coconut ice for dessert.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Just Frustrating
There are just some days when I can't seem to do anything right. Like today, for instance, one of my two days off. I slept longer than I'd planned, and I thought it would be easier to do the laundry after breakfast than run to the library. I forgot to call Dad and find out if anyone was using the washer...and he was, of course. I had to wait. Went to the Oaklyn Library while I was waiting to do my volunteering there. I didn't get lunch until after 2!
Dad's laundry was still in the dryer at 3:30, so I went to the Haddon Township Library for my volunteering session there. Did a lot of DVD returns today. I only found two DVDs of interest, another ballroom dancing disk and the last Barbie As special that interests me, Barbie As the 12 Dancing Princesses. I also took out another book on crocheting, this time with visual instructions, two books on nutrition for women (I still haven't been losing weight), and two fiction books. The fiction books were the most recent Holmes on the Range tale, The Crack in the Lens, and the Susan Wittig Albert "Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter" series, The Tale of Briar Bank.
In order to avoid the rush hour traffic on Cuthbert Road and enjoy the gorgeous, 65-and-sunny weather, I rode through Newton River Park instead of on the White Horse Pike and the back roads. I'm very glad I did. That was the best part of the day. Everyone was out and about. Kids rode bikes with their parents and chased each other in the playgrounds. Old people napped in the sun. People fished off the piers, jogged, and walked with friends.
It was well after 6 when I got back to Dad's. He'd already put my laundry in the dryer. I thanked him and went home to return the books. I looked them over a bit before going back to Dad's house for my laundry. He and Jodie said they're going to make me dinner on Wednesday evening for my birthday, probably something Italian. Cool!
I had tilapia in poached in white wine and olive oil and steamed asparagus for dinner while watching Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses. Unlike most of the Barbie As adaptations, this is at least somewhat close to the source material. The 12 princesses of the title are spirited lasses who enjoy a variety of sporting, musical, and academic activities...none of which their father or many more stuffy types see as fit for royal ladies. He asks his cousin Rowena to teach the girls "proper" manners...but Rowena has more sinister plans for the girls and their father.
I rented this one because The Twelve Dancing Princesses is one of my favorite lesser-known Grimm Fairy Tales. This is, in fact, only the second time I've seen it adapted on-screen after the Fairy Tale Theater version. From what I've gathered online, this was the first of the Barbie As titles released by Universal, but it still has the less-fluid, waxy Artisan/Lionsgate CGI animation. Other than that, this was fun, especially if you're a dance aficionado, with a better male lead (who has more to do and even gets his own animal buddy) than most.
There are just some days when I can't seem to do anything right. Like today, for instance, one of my two days off. I slept longer than I'd planned, and I thought it would be easier to do the laundry after breakfast than run to the library. I forgot to call Dad and find out if anyone was using the washer...and he was, of course. I had to wait. Went to the Oaklyn Library while I was waiting to do my volunteering there. I didn't get lunch until after 2!
Dad's laundry was still in the dryer at 3:30, so I went to the Haddon Township Library for my volunteering session there. Did a lot of DVD returns today. I only found two DVDs of interest, another ballroom dancing disk and the last Barbie As special that interests me, Barbie As the 12 Dancing Princesses. I also took out another book on crocheting, this time with visual instructions, two books on nutrition for women (I still haven't been losing weight), and two fiction books. The fiction books were the most recent Holmes on the Range tale, The Crack in the Lens, and the Susan Wittig Albert "Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter" series, The Tale of Briar Bank.
In order to avoid the rush hour traffic on Cuthbert Road and enjoy the gorgeous, 65-and-sunny weather, I rode through Newton River Park instead of on the White Horse Pike and the back roads. I'm very glad I did. That was the best part of the day. Everyone was out and about. Kids rode bikes with their parents and chased each other in the playgrounds. Old people napped in the sun. People fished off the piers, jogged, and walked with friends.
It was well after 6 when I got back to Dad's. He'd already put my laundry in the dryer. I thanked him and went home to return the books. I looked them over a bit before going back to Dad's house for my laundry. He and Jodie said they're going to make me dinner on Wednesday evening for my birthday, probably something Italian. Cool!
I had tilapia in poached in white wine and olive oil and steamed asparagus for dinner while watching Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses. Unlike most of the Barbie As adaptations, this is at least somewhat close to the source material. The 12 princesses of the title are spirited lasses who enjoy a variety of sporting, musical, and academic activities...none of which their father or many more stuffy types see as fit for royal ladies. He asks his cousin Rowena to teach the girls "proper" manners...but Rowena has more sinister plans for the girls and their father.
I rented this one because The Twelve Dancing Princesses is one of my favorite lesser-known Grimm Fairy Tales. This is, in fact, only the second time I've seen it adapted on-screen after the Fairy Tale Theater version. From what I've gathered online, this was the first of the Barbie As titles released by Universal, but it still has the less-fluid, waxy Artisan/Lionsgate CGI animation. Other than that, this was fun, especially if you're a dance aficionado, with a better male lead (who has more to do and even gets his own animal buddy) than most.
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