Still caught in the polar vortex
It's still cold and snowy. First real Ohio winter in a while. We'll be getting a slight break Sunday and Monday, when we could see low 30s. Hopefully I'll be able to clean off my car enough in case I actually need to go anywhere. I tried clearing off my car this morning. After about a half hour, I got about half the snow off my car, so no Friday breakfast again. I had completely underestimated not so much the depth but how icy and heavy the snow would be. Hope I can get my car cleaned off my Monday because Tuesday brings a round of temps in the teens, which will be sticking around. Looks like, in all, the cold and snow will be sticking around a while.
Bummed about missing breakfast again but I'm counting my blessings. There's a whole swath of area in the central south part of the country, east of the Mississippi, that is under either a winter storm watch or warning. A lot of these same areas were nailed by Helene so those residents are getting a double-whammy. You have areas in Alabama that's going to see mid-20s and 30s, plus 4-8 inches of snow. That's practically unheard of down there.
Then there's the situation in the Los Angeles area, particularly in the Palisades. A few days ago, wildfires just exploded in that area. Whole neighborhoods, gone overnight. Can't even imagine the smoke pollution. I think I heard five dead, who knows how many displaced. Dry conditions, high winds and, from what I've heard, piss poor water management and lack of brush maintenance have exacerbated things.
All things considered, I don't have to go anywhere, I'm safe and warm... so I really can't complain too much.
Also have another book update. All of these are from the Grimm Brothers.
6. The Crystal Ball. Kind of an odd tale, with a grab-bag of plot lines knitted together in one short story. The mother of three sons turns the two older boys into animals but the youngest of the three runs away to try to find a mysterious castle. There, a beautiful princess is imprisoned there, awaiting rescue. He must complete a series of tasks before he can free the princess. I can see someone taking this, polishing it up a bit and making a nice, more cohesive adaptation.
7. The Bright Sun Brings it to Light. I'm noticing many Grimm Brothers tales don't always have a straightforward moral lesson, but this one certainly does: don't rob and kill someone, or it will come back to haunt you. Also, if you tell a secret to someone it's no longer a secret. A poor tailer kills a man for what little money the poor man had, goes into town and finds prosperity and a wife. However, the tailor is haunted by the man's final words: "The bright sun brings it to light." Eventually, the tailor tells his wife his deep, dark secret. It's not hard to guess what happens next.
8. The Death of the Little Hen. Uhhh.... what. the. heck? Even for the Brothers Grimm this is a weird one that left me scratching my head. Here, a hen dies after choking on a nut (that she was supposed to share with the cock, by the way). The cock mourns her and plans for a nice funeral for her with the other woodland animals but things don't end well. I do wonder if there's some context I'm missing here but as a standalone story I didn't care for it.
9. The Bremen-Town Musicians. I remember reading this tale (at least a version of it) as a child and enjoying it. Still enjoy it years later. Four animals - a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster - band together after their respective owners decide to kill them. They want to head to Bremen and perform. However, their fortunes change when they find a cabin in the wood on their journey. A fun, zany tale.
10. The Brave Little Tailor. I remember reading variations of this and enjoying Disney's animated short tale. This is a darker variation than I've read or seen before, with several differences. For starters, the tailor here, rather than being the reluctant hero, is all too eager to face danger and is a bit of a braggart. The giants are more side-stories in a bigger story.
11. The Boots of Buffalo-Leather. I really liked this tale! I'm surprised I'd never heard this one before. I could see this being adapted into a fun adventure movie. Here, a soldier who has been put out of work due to the lack of wars goes to beg alms in the neighboring towns. On his journey, he meets a young man who, the soldier notes, has highly polished boots but considers the footwear inferior to his own buffalo-leather boots. Still, the soldier takes the younger man under his wing and becomes an unlikely hero through some hidden talents. However, the young man has his own secrets.
12. The Blue Light. I think I've read this before, or at least a variation of it. A soldier, who has been unceremoniously discharged from the army because of his wounds, seeks shelter with a witch. The witch asks him to retrieve her blue light, which fell into a well. The soldier is lowered into the well; however, suspecting treachery, he refuses to just pass the blue light to the witch, who drops him back into the well in anger. However, by using the blue light to light his pipe, he finds a sort of genie, described as a dwarf who will grant the soldier any number of wishes. The first wish is to leave the well. Then the soldier sets out to become wealthy ... and to seek his revenge against those who wronged him. The story is an interesting one, but what the soldier did to the princess was distasteful and the soldier was a bit of a jerk.