Reusable bag review #1 - Chico and Walker bags

So, follow-through. Here are my thoughts on two of the reusable bags that I've got running around (three kinds, if you count two types of Chico bags).

First up, Walker bags. I've got one of these, in green; it was one of the first reusable bags I bought. It's a fine-gauge mesh, so it's definitely squashable. With a little practice, you could probably fit it into a plastic Easter egg. Very washable, and dries super-fast. Size: 16x13x4 (per ReusableBags.com), rated up to 35 pounds. Has nice long straps, probably long enough to carry over a shoulder. However, the mesh is hard on book corners if that's what you're carrying, and the mesh straps are also very hard on your hands if you're carrying anything heavy. The straps tend to roll instead of laying flat, so the pressure is concentrated. Basically, it doesn't get used a lot. It's good for bulky, light-weight stuff, but not for anything heavy.

Next, Chico bags. I've got two of the original Chicos, and just got a Chico Vita.

Chico originals: I like these, but they don't hold up well for me. My first one started to loosen up at the bottom seam, even though it's rated for 20+ pounds and had never carried anything heaver than a gallon of milk (approx 8 pounds). I had it replaced under the company's guarantee, but the second one is having the same issue. Also, the handles are too short for my taste. However, I like the colors and the attached bag to stuff it into. I also think the material is a little flimsy; both of mine have developed dimples from corners of books and boxes, and at least one has a hole in it.

Chico Vita: Just got it. It's larger, and they changed the construction so that it doesn't have a seam at the bottom. It's got longer handles, which is also a plus for me, and the handles are on the sides of the bag rather than the ends (as the Chico originals are). However, the material feels even flimsier/cheaper than the original style of Chico. It crinkles almost like plastic, and the contrasting border feels and looks like the cheap plastic edging you'd find on a crappy makeup case from the dollar store or something. I may use it a couple times to make sure, but I think it's up for resale, return, or re-gifting.

Coming this week

This week (or month), I think I'll do a series of little reviews of all the reusable shopping bags we have running around. I've gotten quite a stash now - Chico, Chico Vita, Baggu, Acme Workhorse, Ecobags, and a couple others. Some are better than others.

Another discovery

I signed up for the JCPenney Rewards program a while back, after getting a lot of emails from them about it. Basically, you earn points for what you spend there, and get a $10 gift certificate after you spend $250. I don't buy a lot there, but we do get shoes there, and some toys at Christmas (they carry Breyer exclusives). I thought over time, I'd eventually earn $10 or so.

Turns out I didn't read all the fine print. I got my monthly email statement today and noticed I didn't have any points. As it happens, they don't roll points over from month to month, so unless you spend $250 in one month (*), you won't earn anything. Guess I won't be getting any Rewards anytime soon.

(*) If you purchase something - anything - at JCP one month, you apparently get double points the next month. So I may accidentally earn a Reward someday.

Worst Instruction Manual Ever

I've found my nomination for the worst instruction-manual writing in the world. Seriously, this thing should win a medal. (Or a good thwap to the head, because there's no reason to encourage this crap.)

It's the instruction "manual" - actually just a 4-sheet fold-out thing that desperately needed to be sliced and stapled - for our new programmable thermostat. It's amazingly, irritatingly bad, especially since it seems to be well-written at first glance. No clues that it was translated from English to French to Swahili to Klingon and back to English before it was printed. But it took two adults, both with Master's degrees and good reading comprehension, over an hour to figure out how to program the bloody thermostat last night. And I'm still not certain that we got it right.

Here's the first and most frustrating example. I got the manual last night and found the sheet with the "Programming the Thermostat" section. Start with setting the time, which is less than 1/8 of a page. Easy peasy, I thought. Yeah, right. Step 1: Press "Menu" then "Time" button once. Hmmm. Menu, check. Time. Time, time, where's the time button? There is no time button. Six buttons, none marked "Time" anywhere. (Actually, the buttons aren't marked at all on the thermostat, just on the LCD screen and on the diagram in the manual.)

After some muttering, half an hour, and DH's involvement, we figured out the problem. To get to the point where one of the buttons functions as a "Time" button, you have to go through the insane mess on page 4, where you use the Menu button to choose one of 14 (yes, Fourteen) Menu Configurations. All with cryptic descriptions, and I still can't read the list and tell you which one to use when you need to set the time. So that Step 1 is more like Step 5 (or 6, if you add "Threaten to yank the thing off the wall and hook the old programmable thermostat up again" in there).

Then there's the whole craziness of the "hold" option that you can use to override the program. The screen has "Hold" in two places, both of which seem to indicate that the program is, indeed, on hold, if you read what passes for a manual. But, in practice, one "Hold" means it's on hold. The other "Hold" just means that the button kinda-sorta next to the "Hold" icon is the button you push to put it on hold.

I think, anyway. I was fighting with that part at 1:30 a.m., when I accidentally hit the Hold button and couldn't figure out how to un-Hold the stupid thermostat. We didn't freeze or roast in the night, though, so I think DH's interpretation is right.

Anyway, the results are:

1. I'm very glad we kept the old thermostat
2. I won't go out of my way to take the new one with us when we leave.
3. I know what company to never buy a thermostat from.
4. I may write a short note to our HVAC company and tell them to consider using a different company's product.
   
5. I'd better write a few notes on the "manual" because we'll forget half of this by the time the batteries run down and the settings get wiped.
   

Lousy Customer Service

Okay, I've got to rant about this somewhere. I just had one of the lousiest customer service experiences ever.

We've got both a smoke alarm and a smoke/carbon monoxide alarm. The smoke/CO alarm is from First Alert. It's kind of interesting - it doesn't just beep, it talks to you. Including telling you that the battery is low (and where the alarm is located), so you don't have to search the house for an invisible cricket that won't shut up. You get to hear "Warning! Smoke has been detected! Evacuate! Evacuate!" (It sounds a bit like a Dalek.)

We re-installed the combo alarm last month, after the new furnace was installed. We hadn't been using it for a while, but I forget what beyond-annoying thing it was doing. I made a special trip to the store last month for fresh batteries, since we weren't sure how stale the batteries around the house were. Last night, at some unholy hour, we heard "Battery is low in the hallway." Stupid thing never talks during the day, it's always when we're sound asleep.

All right. Those batteries are less than a month old, and I was a little cranky about the wake-up call, so I went Googling this morning. First Alert had a recall on some of their models for a similar problem, but ours wasn't one of them. They don't believe in email or contact forms, so I called them today in spite of the non-recall. I figured it couldn't hurt, and someone might at least say "Sorry about that." or something.

Yeah, right. I was told, after waiting on hold for 7 minutes, that they recommend only Energizer batteries, and if I was using anything else, they can't predict how long the batteries will last. Otherwise, tough toenails. Not even a "thanks for calling" or anything.

All right. It's not mentioned on the back of the alarm (contrary to what the CSR said) and I can't find the manual right now, but it is mentioned in tiny, camouflaged white-on-white raised type inside the battery compartment. But still. I bought Duracells, not some $1-a-dozen generic crap that's been sitting in a warehouse for a decade. Duracells with a freshness date of March 2015. Duracells that still send the battery-tester arm waaaay over to the upper side of "Good" after only 3 weeks. I'll put some fresh-ish Energizers in the stupid thing, but if this happens again, I'm returning the alarm and finding another company.

Makes me even happier that the smoke alarm is hardwired and we don't have to mess with this kind of insanity so often.

Books and such

After the library run, we have 17 items checked out, and 9 on hold. I didn't keep track, but I do know that I returned 3 DVDs, a CD, and about 4 books, and we came home with 3 DVDs and 3 books, I think.

Returned:

• Reckless Part 2
• Reckless Part 3
• a trucks & tractors DVD (better than the There Goes A series, because the Daves are just annoying)
• Green, Greener, Greenest - Interesting stuff, and I like the way it was laid out.
  
• In the Presence of Horses - Very weird, a high body-count (mostly equine), and kinda depressing. Seriously, don't waste your time. Wish I hadn't, and I just skimmed it over lunch.
• Other book I can't remember.
• Farm picture book for El Burrito
  

Then we spent $4 at the book sale. El Burrito got a Frog & Toad book.

And then we came home. Yep, I didn't stop to vote on the way back. Too darn hot, and I haven't been reading up on the candidates. Besides which, Missouri makes you choose which party's ballot you want, so you can't vote for a few Dems and a few Reps. Takes all the fun out of it, since most people are running unopposed and the "big" races are on different ballots.

I also haven't been keeping track of which candidates irritate me the most with things like automated phone calls and stupid-to-the-point-of-insulting TV ads. And the so-called "attack ads" - tell me why to vote for you, twit, not why to not vote for the other guy. I answered the phone once last week and it was a recorded message. I hung up, then picked up the phone, and the message was still going. Had to hang up twice more to get rid of the parasite. We've also got a local guy who claims to be the only Congressperson with both a medical and a legal degree. That's a lot of student loans for a guy who doesn't seem to be practicing either profession. He always makes sure to put the "Dr." in front of his name, though.

And on top of it all, I've got a killer sore throat this week. Doesn't seem to be DH's summer cold, since I don't have the stuffy head, etc., just a sore throat.

Book notes

Finished a couple of books recently.

• Remains to be Scene - The first in an apparent series, the "Polly Pepper Mysteries." Polly Pepper is an actress "of a certain age" who manages to get involved in a murder. This one was a nice fluffy Hollywood mystery. Lots of name-dropping (both celebrities and brand names), but lots of typos that should have been caught by an editor somewhere along the way. I can see "blanked" getting by instead of "blanket" but seriously, any computer spell-check worth the name should have flagged "Vicoden" and "Prince Ranier."
  
• The Battle of the Labyrinth - The fourth book in the Percy Jackson series. I'm going to have to buy the rest of these. The stories are good, and I like the cover design, too. Pages 312 through 317 (hardcover edition) were almost enough to make me go teary-eyed.
  

Books and more books

Somehow, the library numbers didn't go down much, in spite of returning 11 books this week. Probably didn't help that we came home with 2 DVDs and 7 books (only 2 of those are mine).

Today: 37 items out, 5 on hold. Someone's been busy, because I'm up to #8 on the wait-list for Battle of the Labyrinth.

Returned:

• Tractor Day (almost caused a mutiny - El Burrito is still working on the idea of borrowed books)
• Remember Me?, the new Sophie Kinsella novel - Pretty good, but a bit similar to her other non-Shopaholic books. Heroine has issues with old lifestyle, crisis, and finds a new better lifestyle and/or boyfriend. But, they're fun to read and not too eye-roll inducing, so it's all good.
  
• Me, Myspace and I - Kind of interesting, but I'm sure by the time El Burrito is online, there'll be a new "in" thing to replace Myspace
• Party Princess
• Valentine Princess
• Ancient Egyptian Cross Stitch - Beautiful stuff, but I don't have time right now.
• More Crocheted Aran Sweaters by Jane Snedden Peever - Ditto.
• Heartfelt Gifts to Knit & Crochet (Lion Brand & Vanna White) - Has a Log Cabin afghan that would use up a bunch of random yarn.
• The Home Organizing Idea Book - Wasn't helpful, but if I was building a house, there are a few ideas.
• 24-Hour Crochet
• Hooked Scarves: 20 Easy Projects

Then we spent $7.50 at the book sale, and saw El Burrito's buddy, who had another book to give him. It was the first sale of the month, so the theme was cooking and handicrafts. We found a couple of interesting cookbooks, which I don't usually buy - I prefer to get them from the library to see if they've got anything interesting first - and El Burrito found a couple of goodies.

• Richard Scarry's Busiest Fire Fighters Ever! (I remember these, and I love the illustrations)
• One Year of Healthy, Hearty & Simple One-dish Meals
• Frugal Gourmet cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China, Greece, Rome
• The Well-Filled Tortilla
• The Sesame Street Story Book
• Peekaboo Bunny: Friends in the Snow (El Burrito's gift from his buddy)

Most of the books we checked out were for El Burrito; I had two on hold waiting, but that was it. And luckily we found the Easter Beagle DVD to check out. The kid's on a big "watch Charlie Brown!" kick right now, and as hard as it is to believe, I may have gotten close to my limit for the Charlie Brown Christmas. (Frightening, because I loooooove that one. And I'd hate to burn out on it.)

Reasonable Facsimiles

It's hard to be a fan of "international" food sometimes, if you can't find the food in question, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, when you get back home.

I fell in love with Jaffa Cakes in Ireland, after we bought a box at a gas station. We brought two boxes home with us, and I managed to hoard the last one for almost a year, but then we hit the hard part. They apparently aren't imported to the U.S. a lot (unless you want to pay through the nose for them). Amazon sells them for $5.15 a box, plus $7.15 shipping. For a box of 12, that we spent maybe $3 on in Ireland. Oy.

Jaffa Cakes are these scrumptious cookies/biscuits/cakes with a layer of sponge (?) cake, orange jelly-like filling, and dark chocolate on top. Lovely things, although after a few months, they're a bit dry. We've found a reasonable substitute from LU Pims, but they're also imported (from France, it seems), and not always stocked at the local store.

Sweet Candy in Utah makes chocolate sticks with orange or other fillings, which are yummy. It's kind of like a Jaffa without the Cake.

In Canada, I found mint Aero bars, which are a candy bar type thing. The filling is this fluffy mint-flavored stuff, sort of looks like honeycomb or foam, not mushy but just a bit crisp. And covered in chocolate. Haven't found anything like an Aero in the States. Next time my sister goes into Canada, I'll have to beg her to buy some Aeros for me. She claims you can find them in Detroit/Dearborn, too. I can apparently buy them online for 59p from the UK, but I hate to think what shipping would be. :) Oh, my - there's a caramel version too. Yummmmm.

And then we bought a tin of gingersnaps at Ikea when we went to Atlanta last year. El Burrito loves them, but Sis says Ikea only carries them at the holidays. We bought a bag of gingersnaps (organic) last week, but they're not the same. Thicker, very hard to bite, and they've got a zing to them. This week, I found a box of Anna's Ginger Thins (Canadian) in the teeny "international" section at HyVee, and they're very very close to the Ikea ginger snaps. Plus, not too pricey, at $1.99 for 150g. Not cheap, but we'll have to use some self control and not eat the whole box at once, unless HyVee starts to carry the 3-pound box.

One of these days, I need to take a trip to the international-foods store on the south end of town. I'd probably come home with all sorts of food I've heard people talk about (the downside of being on international chatlists - hearing about Hob Nobs and Tim Tams and Jaffas and other diet-dangerous goodies).

Tuesday again

My allergies are acting up again, so I'm basically writing this one with one eye open. Gotta call the optometrist tomorrow and see if I can get in for an appointment. If it is allergies and not something else, I'm prepared to beg for more of those eyedrops I got a few years ago. I'm not proud. :) Those things were pricey, but they worked. You know it's going to be expensive when the doctor gives you a prescription and a form for a $25 rebate. It was worth the hassle of waiting 15 minutes between the eyedrops and putting my contacts in.

Anyway, on to the book post.

Library stats for the day: 35 items checked out, 4 on hold. Returned 3, checked out 4. And we spent $18.50 at the book sale, more than usual because it was a First Tuesday sale and I came home with some coffee-table type books with Western art (Frederic Russell, Charles Remington, etc.)

I returned:

• Deluge (Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough) - The last book in the Petaybee Twins trilogy (which is a sequal to the Petaybee trilogy). This one is more of a young adult novel, so the main characters (hero & heroine) are teenagers, with special powers. I enjoy most of Anne McCaffrey's work, but the young-adult books - at least the Acorna and Petaybee Twins books - aren't really my thing. So, I get them from the library instead of buying them. On the other hand, the Pern books are automatic buys for me, even the younger-skewed Harper Hall books. However, the more recent books seem to be s horter, and I'm starting to reconsider my habit of buying them in hardcover. (And there are few books that I buy in hardback automatically - the Pern books, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, and Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series are about it. I've been buying Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series as they come out, but after the last one I'm waffling. )
  
• Getting Started with Seed Beads by Wedekind - Because I really don't need another hobby, but I've done a bit with seed beads, and have some odds and ends laying around. Someday I need to finish using them, and the round peyote beading looks interesting.
  
• And I read Time Bandit: Two Brothers, The Bering Sea, and one of the World's Deadliest Jobs - written by the Hillstrand brothers and someone named Malcolm MacPherson. I admit it, I'm a faithful watcher of Dirty Jobs and Deadliest Catch. And if I had a fast connection, I would be tracking down those Youtube videos of Mike Rowe's QVC jobs, because they sound hilarious. Anyway. This was an interesting book, although more about the Hillstrands' childhood and less about the crab fishing, and Johnathan got more time than Andy did. It was interesting, though, and a fairly quick read. My only complaint is that the writing seemed a bit formal, somehow. Even in the dialogue, there were practically no contractions - I've for I have, or I'll for I will. It seemed a little stiff, and not the way the Hillstrands have talked on the show. Other than that, it was worth the time (although I'm glad I got it from the library instead of buying it).

Random Stuff

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Sears, telling me that my rebate had been processed. I was confused, because I couldn't - and still can't - remember what rebate they're talking about. But a week or so ago, there was a $5 Sears card in the mail because of that rebate. It's bizarre, but I'm not turning down a gift card. And I did check via the Sears website, it's legit and not a weird scam.

I finally found cases for my MP3 players, at Circuit City. Only $5 each, too. One is silicon (from DLO), one is something else, possibly neoprene-related (from Verge). I prefer the clearish silicon, in spite of the lack of protection for the screen. The Verge came with an armband and a little pocket for earbuds, but it doesn't have access ports for the power/volume buttons or the microphone. The DLO is a snug fit, though - it sort of slides on like a sock, and the opening is on the small end of the player, not the large end.

And now I'm off to watch Slings & Arrows while I dig through some paper-clutter. I've gotten the Yahoo inbox below 4,000, so it's time to step away from the computer for a few hours.

Updates

So, it's Thursday.

El Burrito spent a full 90 minutes in his crib before he finally fell asleep. That 90 minutes included about four trips in to give him two toy cars, his "grumpy book" (Winnie the Pooh), another book, and the truck he dropped. Sigh. He's on a tear this week, wanting to be read to almost half the total time he's awake. Not that I'm going to stop reading to him, but jeez, it makes it hard to get anything accomplished.

I just finished the earflap hat for my sister in Cold Detroit. I'm weaving in the ends right now, then I've just got to braid the cords and make the pompom.

I was watching some more of my Due South DVDs, and I'm just going to have to buy another copy of Season 1. I haven't gotten any reply from the studio, and it's been five years since I bought the set, so it was a long shot anyway. I was watching disc 2 today, and the last two episodes on both sides (*) are unwatchable. No visible damage to the disc, so I guess it was a burn error. That makes two discs with errors out of three in the set, so I may as well just buy a whole new set. Gah. I'm almost sure I checked these when I got them, but I guess I missed some episodes.

* I may have said it before, but I'll say it again. I absolutely HATE double-sided DVDs. They're touchy and finicky, you can't put them down anywhere for a second without chancing a scratch, and I can never remember which side is which, even when they're labeled. I was this close to really getting it once. Then I got the first season of Northern Exposure, with a production error that labeled the A & B sides of the first disc backwards, and that just fried whatever cell in my brain was keeping track of which side goes up.

I finally remembered to note what time I filled up the new humidifier. The big difference between warm-mist and cold-mist machines seems to be noise and speed. Our Holmes warm-mist could put out over two gallons per day - we had to fill it up daily, and a fill-up wouldn't last 24 hours. It was also quiet, since it worked on a heating element. However, the drawback was the filter - it got gunked up and had to be cleaned almost daily, with a new filter every two weeks or so (at $5 each).

The ReliOn is a cool-mist, so it's powered by a fan instead of a heating element. It only puts out about half a gallon per day on low - it's a 1-gallon model, I filled it up at 6:00 Tuesday night and had to refill it at 5:00 today. It might go faster on the "high" setting, but the fan on "high" is kind of noisy. Great if you need white noise, not so great otherwise. On the other hand, the filter only has to be changed once per season unless it gets lots of build-up, and ours still looking pretty good. Plus, we got some filters at Walmart last month, $2 for a 2-pack on clearance; not the same model, but with a bit of trimming they'll be the same size.

Pros and cons. I wish we could get more moisture in the air, but the filter costs on the other machine were a little steep and I'm not sure there's any way around the water build-up, other than buying filtered water for the silly thing.

Another Tuesday book post

Today's library stats: 33 checked out, 15 on hold, returned 7 or so, checked out 6. And First Crochet should be waiting for me next time we're there. Finally, the bath mat pattern.

Returned to the library today:

• Spiderwick Chronicles #1 - pretty good, although obviously an intro to a series. I can see why they didn't go the one-book-per-movie route, because this first one was kind of skimpy. At least compared to Harry Potter, so maybe not "skimpy" if you're a member of the intended audience. :)
• Darwin's Blade - interesting, and I wonder if it's part of a series
  
• a V.I. Warshawski book whose title I forgot already (read it because it was a bit of Walmart parody)
• I am Legend - didn't want to see the movie without reading the story first, and now I think I'll skip the movie.
  
• Learning about Numbers (a Sesame Street video that had two run-ins with our VCR)
• How do Dinosaurs count to Ten, Spanish version.
  

At the book sale, we spent $11 for

• The Romance of Tall Ships - Jonathan Eastland
• Route 66: the Mother Road - Michael Wallis
• Successful Prize Contests - Kaufman & Cone (c. 1950 - bought because I really liked the Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio and this is sort of background for that)
• Daily Life in Ancient Rome, 2nd ed - Jerome Carcopino
• Quest for a Maid - Frances Mary Hendry
• Howliday Inn - James Howe
• On the Farm (kiddy book)
• Tribal People of the Northwest (VHS)
  

Read over the weekend: The Coalwood Way, by Homer Hickam - sequel to Rocket Boys aka October Sky. This is a good trilogy, and I keep suggesting Rocket Boys for the local OneRead program. DH & I saw the author speak on campus a few years back, and he's an interesting person.

The little review of Learning about Numbers:
This was a pretty good video, focusing on the Count and Big Bird, with appearances by Ernie and Kermit. It includes little skits for each number, like the "King of Eight" and another one with six soccer socks. Only 30 minutes long, but still entertaining.

DVD Review - Happy Healthy Monsters

El Burrito and I watched the Sesame Street DVD Happy Healthy Monsters this morning. It was better than I expected, given the cover photo (Elmo, Zoe, and Grover). I was worried that it would be Elmo-centered, with Grover & the other Muppets getting a few seconds of screen time.

(You have to understand that my personal preference is for the older Muppets. I really dislike the emphasis on Elmo that seems to have taken over the Sesame merchandising department. Just try to find non-Elmo videos or toys. Elmo-centered merchandise outnumbers the rest by at least a 2:1 ratio, and that's grouping all the other Muppets together. Pampers diapers have Sesame Street Muppets on them, and while I haven't counted, the Elmo diapers are at least twice the quantity of the others combined (the others being Ernie, Cookie Monster, and very rarely Bert). So, what I'm trying to say is, I prefer to spend my money and time on things that aren't Elmo-Elmo-Elmo.)

So, on to the review. The main portion of Happy Healthy Monsters is about 50 minutes long. There are also some bonus features - 3 clips from Sesame Street, some coloring pages (if you have DVD-ROM access, a "Chef Cookie" game, and previews of about 20 other Sesame Street videos, running about 1 minute per preview. The "plot" is that Elmo, Zoe, and 4 non-Muppet characters are watching an exercise program on TV. The exercise program, called "Fuzzy, Blue, and Healthy Too" stars Grover and two other Muppets (Sissy, a purple girl, and Bobby, a tan "surfer dude" type guy). Cookie Monster and a Jumping Cow also appear.

Cute parts: Grover bouncing across the screen on an out-of-control yoga ball. A thirsty Cookie Monster chasing a talking glass of milk, telling it "Resistance is futile!" Grover in general.

Not-so-cute parts: Okay, my main beef, and maybe I'm seeing things, is that Grover is made to look a little dumb. Grover & friends start jumping, and Grover says (paraphrased) that jumping makes you taller for just a minute. Then Elmo says No, that isn't right, etc. I may just be a bit anti-Elmo, but that seems to be making Elmo (supposedly age 3) smarter than Grover (Global Grover, SuperGrover, my favorite Muppet). Or not.

This DVD gave me my Cookie Monster Quotes of the Day:

• "Resistance is futile!"
• Me an enigma, wrapped up in a riddle, covered in chocolate sprinkles.

Overall, I really liked it. Elmo and Zoe weren't being shoved in my face, and Grover & Cookie got a lot of screen time. That alone is enough to make me like it. Sure, the exercise part was mostly jumping and stretching, but for the age they're probably aiming for, that's probably all right. The previews were pretty helpful, I thought, because I can use the 1-minute clip to at least know if there are any Muppets other than Elmo in a video.

Video & book reviews

For anyone who cares, and to help me remember later:

We've been watching Sesame Street videos from the library, and I'm keeping notes about which ones we may want to buy later. (Basically, I'm going for things that aren't Elmo-centric. Because that song is worse than Achy Breaky Heart as an earworm.) This week, we saw Sing Yourself Sillier at the Movies and the 25th Anniversary Musical Celebration.

Sing Yourself Sillier . . . isn't bad, just not what I was hoping for. Lots of songs for the kiddies to sing along with, but not much of the Muppet characters, other than Telly & Oscar doing their Siskel & Ebert routine. We may buy it later if El Burrito gets a fascination with singing or something.

The Anniversary special, though, may get put on the birthday list or something. It's got a lot of the classic Sesame Street songs (27 total, I think), but Elmo isn't front and center like he is on some of the more recent stuff. (It's strange to think that this video was made 15 years ago.) It is a "musical celebration" - most of the hour is songs, with just a little bit of non-musical setup to string things together.

Bookwise, I read Hounded to Death by Laurien Berenson and Monica Ferris' Knitting Bones, two more mystery-series novels. Quick reads, both of them, and probably not something I'll re-read (although the Needlecraft series is a possible), so I got them from the library.