Our Little Pocahontas

Tonight we put some of the Christmas movies aside to focus on Thanksgiving a little bit.  "Pocahontas" is not a Thanksgiving movie so much, but it does feature the Indians and settlers, and their struggles to get along.

Of interest is that an associate of John Smith, a guy named Thomas Hunt, did go out and capture some Indians, among them the Indian Squanto.  When Squanto returned to North America, he of course became involved in the story of America's first Thanksgiving.  So in a way, there is a connection of sorts.

And no commentary please about how the movie "Pocahontas" isn't entirely true.  My initial response to that has always been, "Oh, so you're saying willow trees don't talk?"  Which is code for:  "Duh?"

Anyway, it's a great movie - or at least the 10th anniversary version is great.  They brought back a song cut at the last minute, "If I Never Knew You," which adds a lot to things, certainly on an emotional level.  That song, and the other one from "Beauty and the Beast," ("Human Again") are add-ons that added a lot for these movies.  We were glad to see the additions, despite the fact that they weren't in the original movie shown in theaters.

Recently, these same movies have come out on Blu-Ray - and both have eliminated these extra scenes and songs completely.  There is no option to see them either.  I have no idea why they aren't even an optional feature anymore - but there's your reason for not purchasing the newer versions.  Stick with the 10th Anniversary version of "Pocahontas."

Madison likes this movie too.  We didn't see it last year, but we made time to do so this year.  Madison made the request last week, so we made sure we put it on the schedule this week - early on.  To honor the occasion, she put on her complete Pocahontas costume - the one she wore for Halloween two years ago.  She even has the blue necklace, and a small Indian purse.  After cooking up some popcorn, she was officially ready!

Today the weather was warm.  Can you believe it?  Warm!  Last week we were around twenty degrees and today the temperature was around 70 degrees, and warm enough that we had the back door open up.  It was such a beautiful day outside, so no complaints here.  Tomorrow it'll dip back down into the weather we're expecting this time of year, but it was nice to get outside and enjoy it some.

Daddy went to the hospital to visit a friend, and did some fall cleaning in the basement - arranging things about, really.  Mommy was busy with laundry and housecleaning as well.  It was a day to reset and catch up a little.  It was also a day to rest - both of us were rather zonked from the weekend.  And the pace is about to pick up a bit too, of course.  So it was good to stay at the house for the most part, and get rested.  Next week is Thanksgiving, and next week we'll be hosting:  all the grandparents are coming, and one great-grandparent is coming, so we'll have a good number with us for the holiday.  It'll be great!

But today was great too.  Tonight before bed, we kept the theme going by reading a few Thanksgiving-related books.  The first one is "Off to Plymouth Rock," which is a fantastic short book for kids.  Another one is "Thanks for Thanksgiving," which focuses more on things to be thankful for.  Both just put you in that frame of mind.
 

Meanwhile, Daddy is reading a book called "Mayflower," which has been very fascinating - it details the Pilgrims so much further, and really puts you there at the scene.  Tonight was an early night - we went to bed a bit earlier this evening, pulling out a good book and reading another few chapters before going off to sleep.