Royal Slush

Started a sunny, windy morning with a couple of TV show episodes and cartoons revolving around royal doubles and swashbuckling. (I just finished re-reading one of my favorite books, The Prisoner of Zenda.) Davy Jones' double is a shy prince who is afraid of girls...which is a big problem, as he's supposed to get married within a few days, or lose his throne. The Monkees do their best to help out and avoid the evil Count who wants to keep the young man off the throne in the first season Monkees episode "The Prince and the Paupers."

Maxwell Smart runs into a similar situation when he has to impersonate a king whose evil brother wants to usurp him in the 3rd season Get Smart episode "The King Lives?" The King comes to America in a two-part sequel in the next season, "To Sire, With Love." He stays with the now-married 99 and Max while trying to keep a priceless scepter under wraps. While Max is jealous of 99 being in close quarters with a suave man who looks like him, the King is being followed by the evil Rupert of Rathskeller, who will do anything to eliminate him and his treasure.

Between the cold weather predicted for the rest of the week and my working in the morning after today, I couldn't put off the laundry this time. It was far warmer than it has been, probably in the mid 40s. All of the snow was melting rapidly as I pushed my cart to the laundromat. They were surprisingly quiet for a nice day. It got busier later, but I didn't have a huge load, anyway. By the time The View was three quarters done, I was on my way out.

It was so warm, the snow on the porch was vanishing...leaving piles of icy slush. I didn't want to slip on that when the polar vortex returned. I took out my broom and tried to do what I did on the steps with the mess on the porch. It took longer than I thought it would. By 12:30, the snow was heavy and wet, not dry and fluttery, like it was on Saturday.  I actually broke the handle on my broom getting the snow apart and soaked the bristles. I headed back in for a quick peanut butter and strawberry jam lunch when it was cleared to my satisfaction.

Went right to work after lunch. The roads were almost completely clear now, even the ones that were previously covered in ice, like Manor. The sidewalks on the Black Horse Pike were still such a slushy mess, I had to ride on the turn to Nicholson and go as slow as I could. I just made it on time.

It wasn't that bad when I got in, but it picked up even before rush hour and didn't stop. A lack of help didn't make things better. We had long lines for most of the evening. Thankfully, my relief, one of the few older women who work late, was on time, and I was able to get out with no problems.

When I made it in, I warmed up leftover tuna casserole for dinner and tried a pumpkin muffin recipe while watching one more "royal switch" episode. "April's Fool" is from the first season of the original 80s/90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. April O'Neal is determined to get a story on a European country that has discovered a new precious metal, unaware that the country's feisty, bored princess is her double. When the princess takes off, Shredder and his goons kidnap April, mistaking her for the princess. The Turtles go after April and end up chasing her down in a costume ball.