There's No Place Like Home

Began a sunny, hazy morning with breakfast and Split Second. The woman champ was way behind when I joined in, but she made a stunning comeback in the Countdown Round, just barely getting ahead of the one man. I guess she figured two comebacks were more than enough; this time, she ended up taking the vacation.

The woman also won on Blockbusters, beating that father-son-in-law duo. Like them, she couldn't begin to figure out the Gold Rush bonus round and only got two answers right. She did better against fraternal twins sisters in their first round.

Called Rose as the show was finishing. At least as of this morning, she was still in the hospital for her throat. She didn't sound too happy about it, either...but she mostly sounded tired. She'll call me when she gets home.

After I got off with her, I took my laundry through Jodie's den and kitchen and down to the basement. I called her yesterday and got her permission to do my laundry here, saving me time and money. She doesn't have Dad's clothes to wash anymore, so it's just her using the washer and dryer. Her washer and dryer are fat and rounded and look more like cute fat stuffed polar bears than washing machines. I didn't have a big load, but I did want to get it done while Jodie wasn't using it. Dropped my clothes in the washer (after I figured out how to turn it on), said hi to Jodie as she watched Friends, and went back to my place.

Grabbed a pen and a notebook and spent the next half-hour or so making a list of everything I need to buy, replace, or upgrade after my move. Made sure the first things on the list were the small, less-expensive items I need now, like a dish pan and dish rack. Placed larger items like a streaming TV to replace the one I got used on Amazon that I've had for 9 years and the older Roku box further down. Some things are too expensive for me to get now; they'll wait for after I make money in the fall or Christmas. There's the Swifter and carpet sweeper, too.

Went back to the washer around quarter after 12...but the washer wasn't ready yet. It takes a while, according to Jodie. It was past 12:30 before I loaded my clothes into the equally cute and round dryer.

Next on the to-do list was sorting through the piles of paperwork and rent agreements leftover from the Manor Avenue apartment. I had a bulging file folder, plus two manila folders full of thick 8-page bibles about rules and regulations. I kept Miss Ellie's one and only rent agreement from 2006 and the most recent one from Willa for historical purposes. Everything else went in the recycling bin.

Broke for lunch around 1. Watched Classic Concentration while eating a peanut butter and jelly wrap, yogurt, and a banana. A young lady from Ethiopia just didn't have much luck. She couldn't get past the champ, who was fast on the draw and faster to figure out a puzzle. Even after he won a car and she was brought back due to a technical mishap, she still couldn't beat another guy.

Finally got all the electronics hooked up after I ate. I tried two weeks ago, but I couldn't figure it out then. I found another wire that allowed me to attach the TV to the splitter I have. Switched the cable box to the splitter. Set up the Wii, the DVD player, and the Roku on it, too. Everything worked just fine once I got them all into the splitter. Even the Roku, which took me forever to get running last December, gave me no trouble.

It took me so long, it was over an hour and a half before I returned to the dryer. Thankfully, unlike at the laundromat, everything was perfectly dry by then. Was able to carry it back to my side and fold it while watching a marathon of Brett Somers' best Match Game episodes on the Roku Channel's Buzzr stream.

Went into unpacking one of the two remaining boxes next. I had no idea where I was going to put the framed photos, until I pulled out the one of Dad-Bruce and Mom standing around me in my baby basket when I was a tiny newborn after he died and leaned it on the wide window ledge in the bedroom. Removed three older photos that were old or faded; replaced the one of me and my brother when he was a kid with the photo of him and his wife he sent me after they got married last winter. I still need to figure out what to do with my plaque from being the secretary for the college TV station for four years, and if my Monkees and Star Wars posters are worth framing.

(The last unpacked box is the one with the Star Wars action figures, which go on a shelf hung on the wall. I'm going to wait on hanging things on the walls until I can find a way to do it and not damage the new paint job.)

Watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood after The Roku Channel's live feed stopped working. "Daniel Gets a Shot," but it makes him feel really scared. (I know how he feels on that one. I hate getting shots, too.) His mother encourages him to think of something happy while he's getting it. Dan and O the Owl are afraid of thunder on "A Stormy Day." Once again, Mrs. Tiger tells them to think of something happy until their fear passes.

Did some writing for a while. Charles is more than a little nervous when Fannie returns them to the ballroom on a cloud she created. She's hoping for the element of surprise, but she may get more than she bargained for when the trolls try throwing things at her...

Broke for dinner at 6. Made ratatouille to go with my leftover chicken cutlets while Match Game ran in the background. Eva Gabor made her debut on the show in these episodes. She always seemed to have a good time, whether she was explaining her answers or laughing as Betty White, Brett Somers, and Charles Nelson Reilly sniped at each other.

Sandy, Jodie's next-door neighbor, arrived armed with curtains and curtain rods as the second Match Game episode was finishing. Her shorter, sheer pale-blue curtains worked nicely in the living room and matched the rug Rose bought almost perfectly. While we did find a nice periwinkle blue print for the bedroom, she didn't have the right curtain rod. She said she'd look for one and come back another day.

Sale of the Century was winding down as she left. Everyone won something, but this time, the one woman managed to just get ahead in the speed round. She totally messed up the bonus round and didn't come close to getting the extra money, though she did seem really thrilled about the vacation to Rio De Janaro she won.

Jodie knocked on the door to her side of the house shortly after Sale started. She's clearing out food that Dad mostly ate. Did I want the microwavable pancake containers or the boxes of Cream of Rice, Farina, and Instant Cream of Wheat? I don't own a microwave, but I do love hot cereal, and Cream of Wheat and Farina are too expensive for me to eat often. I eagerly took all three.

Finished the night online with Sextette. I go further into Mae West's notoriously campy final film at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Sextette

Oh, and we had a big, noisy thunderstorm much later in the night, around 11. Looks like the rain isn't going anywhere. We're supposed to get rain in some form until almost the end of next week.