Dinner With the Parents

The glorious fall weather was a good indication that it was time to break out the remaining Halloween specials. I did one of the most popular, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, while eating Apples and Cinnamon Pancakes for breakfast. Linus spends his Halloween waiting in a "sincere" pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin, who will bring all the good little children gifts. A smitten Sally joins him. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown has trouble trick-or-treating, while Snoopy does battle with the Red Baron.

Switched to the Disney special Halloween Hall of Fame while cleaning up from breakfast and getting organized. Johnathan Winters headlines this rare Wonderful World of Disney tale (presumably from the 70's, from some of Winters' jokes in the opening sequence). Winters is a security guard at the Disney Studios who finds a talking jack-o-lantern (also Winters) hiding in the prop room. Seems Jack doesn't think Halloween is that scary anymore. Winters directs him to "Trick or Treat," "Pluto's Judgement Day," and the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" segment of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad to prove otherwise.

Didn't get out to the laundromat until 12:30. They were quite busy, but I didn't have any problems getting a washer and a dryer. Didn't have a really big load, anyway. I ignored news and soap operas and paged through this year's Christmas American Girl catalog, which I got in the mail today.

As soon as I got everything put away, I went back out again. I was still kind of full from the pancakes, so I settled on a small lunch of a sauteed spinach, peppers, and feta cheese quiche and black raspberry Sparkling Ice from Coffee Grounds on West Clinton. It was such a nice day, I sat at one of the metal tables outside and enjoyed the breeze and perfect mid-60's temperatures.

Didn't make it to the Haddon Township Library until past 2:30. I mainly looked for more holds; found all but four out of 30. (The CDs are in poor shape, not well-organized or shelved. I couldn't find one listed, and only found the other because it was right in the front of the shelf.)

Shelved the children's DVDs later. You can tell the kids are back in school. They're overflowing again. I couldn't fit in some F and L titles.

I only took out two DVDs this week, a new animated set for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and a collection of random Scooby Doo episodes (including a recent Halloween-themed show). Had more luck with books. Grabbed a guide to crocheting afghans, a recent collection of Better Homes and Gardens cookie recipes, and one on the power of being yourself.

Went straight home via Newton Lake Park. I took the park both ways in order to avoid the ongoing repairs and traffic snarls on Cuthbert. Fall is finally starting to make its appearance in the park. The leaves are slowly turning colors; the plants along the lake banks are heavy with ripe seeds and berries. The grass looks so much softer and greener than it did at this time last month! Kids chatted on bikes and on foot. Families pushed strollers; singles walked dogs. People ran on the grass and napped on the metal benches in the sun.

When I got home, I went on the computer to continue my story. After the awkward silence surrounding Rey's insistence that Leia is still Hank's wife,  the kids turn the topic to their Halloween party. Poe swears he'll be there - he's the Scarecrow and Baby the corgi is Toto. He finally heads out. He's interviewing old cop Officer San Tekka, who may have known where Luke Waller was last seen.

After Hank shuts down for the day, the other kids head down Canal Street to pick up their friend Kaydel from the doctor's office where she works as a receptionist. Rey says they should check out the Skywalker Manor and decide where to put decorations. Everyone else turns down that idea fast. The Manor is haunted, and it's getting dark. Nonsense, says Ray. They won't be there for long. Just long enough to see the first floor.

I got so into writing, I didn't make it to Dad and Jodie's until 6:30. Jodie called the dish she made Goulash, but it was really more Beef and Noodle Casserole - ground beef, elbow macaroni, chopped onions, and I believe stewed tomatoes. Whatever it was called, it was delicious. She had an apple pie, too, made with very fresh apples Rose picked yesterday.

We settled down together and watched Jeopardy! after we ate. This show will always bring back fond memories of my childhood. My mother was a devoted fan of Channel 6's news show, Action News. She'd watch that before dinner. We'd eat, then would guess the numbers on the Pennsylvania Lottery before Jeopardy! began. Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune were two of the only shows my whole family watched together, even when Dad was home. We all loved trivia and seeing how many answers we could come up with.

It was nice to watch it with parents again. Jodie praised all the answers I came up with, but neither of them were slouches, either. Dad-Bruce the much-traveled man dominated the bridge category. (Especially the one about the 7 Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys!)