Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Sunny Day Magic

Began another lovely, sunny morning with breakfast and Split Second. It was a tight race between the one man and one of the women. In the end, it was the man who got through the Countdown Round questions the fastest. He didn't chose the board with the car this time, ending up with more money and another chance to return.

Had on Blockbusters while I checked my finances online. Another mother-daughter pair breezed through their first challenger today and gave the second a fair run for their money. They didn't do quite as well at the Gold Rush, though, missing too many hexagons to get it.

Switched to Broadway Melody of 1936 after breakfast. I go further into Eleanor Powell's first backstage extravaganza at MGM in my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Broadway Melody of 1936

Worked on a treat while the movie ran. I want to get rid of my cake mixes. They're full of salt and other things that aren't good for you. I think I'd rather stick to making real cakes and cookies from now on unless a a recipe with a mix is requested. I only put one stick of butter in my Berry-Oatmeal Bars, but maybe one was enough. They're still very sticky! The original recipe called for blueberries. I didn't have enough blueberries to cover the pan, so I added the remaining strawberries. Yum! Very salty-sweet and chewy.

Went out the door as soon as the bars were done. Wanted to get my grocery shopping in today, since I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow. At least the weather is still appropriate for long walks. The sun is out, the sky is a deep blue, and a cool, stiff breeze ruffled my hair. Lots of people out walking their dogs, riding bikes, and working in their gardens, too.

My first stop were the clothes donation bins behind the Acme. To my dismay, they were covered in tape. I had clothes I needed to get rid of. I just dropped the bags behind the bins and figured that if anyone wanted them, they could have them.

Despite it being past 1:30 at this point, I dodged a ton of traffic on my way to Sonic. I didn't know Chick Fil'A was so popular so far after lunch. Sonic was surprisingly busy as well, with more than half the spaces in their lot filled. Maybe everyone's treating themselves now that more of New Jersey is opening. Only saw one other person taking advantage of their outdoor seating, though. I had a grilled chicken, a cherry limeade, and tater tots. Almost lost my straw and a couple of napkins to that strong, cool wind! The cherry limeade and tater tots were as tasty as always. The grilled chicken was greasy and messy and didn't want to stay in the bun. I ended up eating it with my fingers.

The Acme was as quiet as the restaurants had been busy. Everyone must have come over the weekend. A lot of sales were missing, including the generic ice cream quarts I'd been hoping to buy. At least Dannon yogurt is 69 cents. Found cheap breaded flounder fillets, too. Restocked strawberries, blueberries, bananas, milk, butter, brown sugar, black tea, and a new grocery bag after the handle on my previous one broke.

Watched Tattletales as I unpacked, then Press Your Luck while crocheting. There were a trio of genuinely interesting couples on Tattletales today. I came in as tough guy actor Glenn Ford answered a question. He was joined by his wife Cynthia, early TV pioneer Milton Berle and his lovely wife Ruth, two favorites of mine from Match Game, comedy writer Donald Ross and his kooky wife Patti Deustch. They all knew each other so well, all the couples won.

That wasn't the case with Press Your Luck. Everyone got hit rather badly with Whammies on the second half after barely getting any spins in the first round. The winner finally avoided them long enough to get a trip to Maui and a motor scooter.

Did some writing for a while after the show ended. Gene fights off guards with his magic when Queen Betty turns up with her new frog friend. He and Maid Lee insist that they know how to get into the dungeon and past the guards. Gene tells them he'll take them there, then makes them all disappear.

Had a salad and banana-chocolate chip bread for dinner while watching Match Game. Richard Dawson got to do another impression of his character Corporal Newkirk from Hogan's Heroes, this time in response to a question about what they'd have to watch for punishment on that show. Sale of the Century focused on another tight game, with the champ and the one woman going back and forth. In the end, the champ just killed everyone on the speed round, then said he'd come back and try for better prizes later.

Finished the night on YouTube with something a little different. Der Froschkong, or The Frog Prince, is a 1991 German/Czechoslovakian retelling of the Grimms' fairy tale. The youngest princess of the kingdom is an avowed tomboy who would rather wear pants, go out riding, and shoot water balloons with her guy friends than wear a dress or learn to dance for her sister's upcoming wedding. She falls for the cocky, troublemaking prince who once broke her sister's heart, then gets her heart broken when he kisses another girl. To teach him a lesson, a witch turns him into a frog. The spell can only be broken by a girl who remains loyal to him despite danger. There's plenty of danger when the peasants, believing the frog to be the monster from a prophecy, try to raid the caste during the elder princesses' wedding dinner. It's up to the younger princess to keep her promise to this odd frog and keep both of them out of the hands of the angry populace.

The special effects are kind of awkward today - the frog looks awful - and like the Cannon Movie Tales, the story is way too drawn-out. We don't even see the Frog Prince until more than halfway in. The princess herself is charming and funny, especially with her more feminine best friend and lady-in-waiting Rose or throwing quips out at the obnoxious prince. It's not dubbed or subtitled, so I'm going to say on this side of the world, this is mainly for fairy-tale lovers who can use captions, speak German, or like me, don't mind that they can't fully understand the dialogue.

Der Froschkong/The Frog Prince

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