Back to the routine: we were up Saturday morning to go to the Farmer's Market. It was cool but not cold, another lovely winter day, and we bought a pot pie, more cookies for Willow, a vegetable/couscous medley for dinner, some grape tomatoes, and James' chicken salad.

After those items were put up, we did some tidying in the bedroom. James had finished a bunch of books that needed to be out of the bedroom and downstairs shelved in the library. Evidently we haven't done this for a while, because the books three-quarter filled one of those new 66-quart storage boxes! I vacuumed the area and then piled new books for him to read. The books are downstairs to be shelved.

James went off to his club meeting and I should have either done more housework or put up the winter park on the china cabinet, but instead I was restless and went off to the Avenue at West Cobb to poke around the Barnes & Noble. Found a book to put away for a gift, two cross-stitch magazines, and also found a book about World War I as portrayed in the media of the time affecting how we perceive it. This is a British book filled with recruiting posters, poetry, newspaper illustrations, etc. and looks fascinating. I was reading a couple of blogs talking about Rilla of Ingleside and wonder if there's any nonfiction around about the homefront in World War I. There are several about the second World War (I have several of them), but I've never seen one about the first. Also stopped at Target to see if they had three-foot extension cords with regular plugs. I can never find anything in Target, and today was no exception. As far as I can tell, they had no extension cords at all. At Walmart they are with the light bulbs and the timers and the electrical fixtures.

Had supper at Giovanni's. Came home. No one on chat. :-( Watched Hoarders—a depressing show at any time—and read my magazines instead.

Sunday we drove up to BJs since they didn't have ScotTissue at Costco on Friday, stopping for breakfast at the IHOP across the street. It was very crowded, but the hostess and the servers were so efficient we did not have to wait long for a seat, nor for our meal. Having waited long times at other IHOPs, I was really impressed by the service. We left a good tip.

Found not only the ScotTissue, but a DVD set of The Flame Trees of Thika for only $10. On the way back we stopped at Barnes & Noble so that James could hunt up something to use his other coupon on. He found something on "the weapons that never were." Finally we had to stop at Kroger to pick up the usuals: milk, yogurt, Those Damn Bananas, etc.

Came home to discover that TCM was running a Danny Kaye film marathon with his daughter Dena commenting on some of the movies between showings. I was quite excited because Me and the Colonel was being aired next. This was a total departure for Kaye, who usually played loveable bumbling characters who sang complicated, tongue-twisting songs (written for him by his wife) in Technicolor brilliance. Colonel was filmed in black and white, the story of S.L. Jacobowsky, a Polish Jew trying to escape Paris as the Nazis approach. His only hope is a anti-Semetic Polish colonel, played over-the-top by Curt Jurgens, and his aide (Akim Tamiroff), who finally agrees to take Jacobowsky in the automobile he commandeers from him (Jacobowsky has the only gasoline), but who then goes behind enemy lines to rescue his French girlfriend. It's a very slow-moving film, but I love it because Kaye's character is so gentle and resourceful rather than manic, and there still is humor, but not the type that is a belly-laugh.

This was followed by The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is more classic Kaye. I'm a fan of the Thurber story and think the movie is a bit stupid (so did Thurber, who begged Samuel Goldwyn not to make it), but it looks nice. And next was Hans Christian Andersen, another classic, especially for the songs, which everyone remembers: "Inchworm," "Thumbelina," "The Ugly Duckling," the title tune, and "No Two People Have Been So in Love." The title card admits freely that it is not a true biography, but "a fairy tale" based on Andersen's life. I'd like it better except for the ballet. I admire ballet dancers, who are true athletes, and ballet scores are lovely, but ballet itself bores me silly. Anyway, Mike and I were discussing this one last week on chat, so I wanted to give it another look. Great color, great Kaye, super songs, snoozy ballet. :-)

Slept in this morning while James went off to work, at least until eight o'clock, then had breakfast and began doing some chores. I was vacuuming when I swore I could hear the garage door, but dismissed the thought. It was the garage door; it was so slow at work because everyone was either off for the holiday or for the inauguration that James was sent home. He modeled most of the afternoon; except for when I went out for gasoline, I was dubbing off Castle and also three episodes of Best Defense. During dinner we watched last week's Hawaii Five-0 until it was time for Jeopardy and Antiques Roadshow. Hope to watch the Sunday episode that aired when AR is over.

I am, meanwhile, happily reading a book called Heidi's Alp, which was discussed on one of my book blogs, the story of a British family who borrowed a camper van and drove through Europe looking for the sites of children's literature: the Holland of Hans Brinker, the Pied Piper of Hamelin...and the landscape of Hans Christian Andersen's Denmark! Felt right at home after last night. Terrific travelogue and discussion of books.

Labels: books, movies, shopping, television

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