Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Afternoon In Cherry Hill

 Began a kind-of sunny morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures.  Mickey's new gang build "Mickey's New Mouse House" together, but Mickey can't remember what happened to the key! He has to retrace his steps and remember how they built the house to find the key. Minnie's excited about holding "Millie and Melody's Sleepover" at her vacation house. Trouble is, the girls can't decide on anything they want to do, and they both want to do different things. Daisy and Minnie teach the girls and their friends about the importance of compromise.

Spent the next two hours writing. While Richard attends to Lee, the others get Patti into the water-filled fountain. Charles reminds Donald he has to kiss Patti to restore her magic. It works...and when Charles sees how well that works and how much Malade hates it and Bobby and Elaine's kissing, he gets an idea. He asks Brett to dredge up enough magic to get a tree to bend down and pick him up, then allow him to climb onto Malade...

Broke for lunch around noon. Caught some of Match Game '75 while eating blueberries and yogurt. Husband and wife Allen Ludden and Betty White appeared in one of the funniest weeks of the year, along with British comedienne Dolly Martin. Betty White rolled Gene's pant legs up, prompting her amused hubby to ask "Is this what goes on when I'm not here?" A later question about how Betty gives Allen treats like her dogs prompted quite a few jokes about their fondness for animals. 

Called Uber around 12:30. Not only were the prices a lot cheaper than they had been over the summer, they got me there faster, too. I quickly pumped my tires for work tomorrow, then jumped in the car. There was no traffic anywhere, and I arrived in less than 10 minutes, with plenty of time left before my appointment.

Was a bit surprised when a slightly grouchy receptionist handed me a paper mask and said I had to wear it. Up until now, no one complained about me wearing the cloth ones. Other than that, there were no problems whatsoever. It was almost exactly the same as my last appointment in August, only this time they took my blood pressure, too. Eating less salt and moving more has paid off. My blood pressure was lower than it was in May, just slightly above normal, and I'd lost ten pounds. I was in the x-ray room after about five minutes, and in the doctor's office after ten.

This time, the verdict was my arm is almost healed. It's still a little stiff, but I really need to start doing more therapy for it. Other than that, I'm doing pretty well. I'll be going back the day after Veteran's Day in November.

It was a lovely day for a walk down Route 70, slightly cloudy and warmer and more humid than yesterday, but not nearly as bad as it has been. Went past Dunkin' Donuts, many car dealerships, and the Garden State Plaza shopping center. I've been wanting to check out a few of the stores at the Market and Towne Place big-box mall ever since I moved, and since I had no other plans for today, I figured this was the perfect time for it. Alas, the traffic did pick up by then. I just barely dodged cars as I crossed over to Lands End.

I was hoping to find jean shorts at Lands End to replace mine, which ripped in the bottom. Nope, no jeans. Lightweight chambray that would never last a whole summer, but no jeans. I did buy a bright yellow t-shirt on sale, though.

Next stop was Bed Bath and Beyond, the main reason I came. I hoped they'd have gray or yellow bath rugs and a smaller rug for the front door. No luck with the bath rugs. The ones they had for the front of the toilet were a lot fluffier than I wanted, not smooth like my bath mats, and they had no yellow ones at all. I did find a jute rug intended for the kitchen that would work as a mud rug at the entrance until I could find something better, as well as a new comb, door hangers for my seasonal wreaths, a new scrub brush for the shower, and deodorant. (I thought I bought a brush too, but I must have dropped it somewhere in the store. It wasn't on my receipt.) 

After a brief but unfulfilling trip to the Gap, I ended up at Barnes and Noble. They didn't have the biography of Gene Rayburn or Game Show FAQ book I was looking for, but they did have the first book in the 100 Dresses series, about an orphaned servant in a magical castle who can become anyone when she tries on one of 100 enchanted gowns. 

Last stop of the day was Wegman's, a high-end grocery store chain. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to hit them at the height of rush hour, but I needed change for the bus home. Found a half-loaf of rosemary sourdough bread that would work with dinner and an almond-chocolate-coconut health bar for a snack. It was so busy, one of the employees directed me and my two items to customer service.

No trouble after that. The bus was right on time. Despite the slight traffic on Cuthbert Road in Westmont, it actually dropped me off on the White Horse Pike a little early. Treated myself to a too-sweet Maple Smoothie at WaWa on the way home.

Went straight into dinner as soon as I got in. Put everything away, then made honey-glazed carrots to go with my bread and leftover Spicy Chicken Cutlets. Watched more Match Game while I ate. Robert Pine, Loni Anderson, and Bob Barker joined in for two episodes from late in 1978. The 1974 episodes got even wilder. Gary Burghoff chased after a girl he matched in the Audience Match, then leaped at her after he won her the Head-to-Head on an unlikely answer. It took his former teacher Charles to hold him back. Mitzi McCall, Richard Deacon, and Nipsey Russell joined in for jokes about what Kojak does to prepare his bald head for a date in the second episode.

Started making a Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake while Sale of the Century was on. Once again, the champ was ahead most of the game. Though the other man caught up a bit towards the end, the champ bought two Instant Bargains and moved ahead in the speed round. This time, he won 3,000.

Did two quick shorts on my Roku public domain channel while the coffee cake was in the oven. Two children in dire poverty imagine they're "Somewhere In Dreamland," a place where they can have pretty clothes and eat to their heart's content. Three local shop keepers may be willing to help make their dreams come true. Spunky the mule is "Snubbed By a Snob" when a sleek thoroughbred colt won't play with him. He's the one who has to help the horse out of a jam when they annoy a bull one too many times and it goes after them. 

Finished the night online after a shower with two third season episodes of MASH on Hulu. Hawkeye (Alan Alda) describes "A Full Rich Day" to his father over recording equipment given to him by Father Mulcahey. They have to deal with a crazed Turkish soldier who won't settle down to let them work on him, an angry gun-toting soldier who insists they operate on his buddy yesterday, and the body of a distinguished general from Luxembourg who somehow went missing. Radar (Gary Burghoff) worries that "Mad Dogs and Servicemen" may have given him rabies, while Hawkseye tries to figure out why a young soldier who is otherwise perfectly well can't move.

No comments: