Of Queens and Guardians

Started off the morning with breakfast and Sailor Moon. It's a "Nightmare In Dreamland" during the first season when Luna reports that people have been disappearing from a local amusement park. Usagi's thrilled to go, but Rei thinks there's something more sinister at work here. They learn the importance of working together when they have to defeat the creepy mechanical princess who is taking the guests' energy, including Ami's.

Switched to Match Game '77 after I ate. Suzanne Sommers joined the lunacy for her first and only week on the show. While this week is also, sadly, missing an episode, there's enough left to get the idea that, other than Gene's drooling, she mostly enjoyed herself. The first episode had Gene kissing "the new kid on the block." The second brought in a lady from Alaska to show how they apparently kiss up there.

Spent the next few hours talking to Karen and helping her with applications. She needed information for references. I gave her Lauren, Amanda, and an older friend from nearby. It took me a while to find Amanda's number. 

Let Tattletales run while I worked and made my grocery list. I really like Totie Fields and her husband George Johnson; they're one of the funniest couples on the show. They joined singer Jerry Vale and his wife Rita and Ross Martin and his wife Olavee, with the latter eventually winning.

Headed out around 2. Dropped off a book at the library kiosk down the street, then rode across Newton Lake Park to the Westmont Acme. Grabbed a bag of oatmeal cookies on sale, and a bottle of Propel for the road. I won't be getting to the Collingswood Farm Market this week, so I grabbed strawberries, and more of those jam grapes, too. (And didn't realize the latter weren't still on sale.) I enjoyed that chunk of farm market cheese so much, I bought mini fresh mozzarella balls for a snack this week. They're having a buy-one, get-one sale on their generic shaving lotion, too. They could have been worse. There were at least three lines open, and no lines at the self checkout, which I used. 

By the time I got out, it was nearly three. The kids were out of school and all over the park. I rode on the street there. Headed up to the White Horse Pike to the soft pretzel shop for two pretzels and a can of Diet Pepsi. 

Returned to Sailor Moon when I got home. Usagi is determined to get tickets for a romantic cruise, but Rei is the one who ends up with them. Worse yet, she finds Usagi annoying and asks Ami along instead. Usagi sneaks along anyway. Luna's not happy about that, but it turns out to be a smart move, as "The Luxury Cruise Ship Is a Trap." The evil Jadeite and monstrous water sorceress Titus are stripping couples in love of their energy. The girls reveal that you don't need to be in love to get rid of a water-spouting menace.

Checked my schedule after I got everything put away. In good news, yes, I got my vacation time, at least for next week. Bad news is I work for 8 1/2 hours on Sunday. They couldn't have given me a little time to get ready? I'm going to be exhausted on my first day of Lauren's visit. 

Did some writing after that. Fannie suggests to Richard that he go upstairs to her...establishment...sometime when there's less shooting. He considers taking her up on that option.

(And to be honest...I'm considering dropping the western again after vacation. It's not working. I can't figure this out at all. I'll either do The Wizard of Oz with Joyce Bulifant as Dorothy or the Allen and Betty Beauty and the Beast, both of which I have more ideas for and should be a tad easier.)

Speaking of, switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. These episodes introduce a very funny older British lady who apparently wrote poetry. Her nutty answers and charming accent really livened up the show. We also had an argument to see whether Brett Somers or Debralee Scott had the better Mae West imitation. Patty Duke did the same question in sign language, which she was fluent in after starring in The Miracle Worker twice and doing it on Broadway. 

Finished the night on YouTube with the Universal action tale Sudan. Nailia (Maria Montez) is made queen of an Egyptian kingdom after she goes out among her people to find the rebel leader Herua (Turhan Bey). She's rescued by rebels Merab (Jon Hall) and Nebka (Andy Devine) after she's put on the block. She gradually falls for the handsome rebel while helping to fight off the evil Horadef (George Zucco). 

I really need to find more of the Montez/Hall costume action films. I've loved all the ones I've come across, and this is no exception. None of them are great art, or probably even good art, but they're all great fun. Montez in particular makes a fiery queen of the Nile.