Split Second was a little more interesting than yesterday. This time, everyone was a bit closer, though one of the ladies pulled ahead most of the time. She just managed to get the Countdown Round, but had less luck with the bonus round and decided to come back.
Headed out after Split Second ended. I wanted to get my grocery shopping done. Thanks to everyone getting off early on Good Friday, Cuthbert was really busy when I got there. A gorgeous day may have brought people out of the woodwork, too. It was windy, yes, but also sunny and in the mid-50's. It was lovely when you could get out of the wind!
The local high school and middle school kids who'd just gotten off for their Easter break had already invaded Westmont Plaza by the time I arrived. I passed by at least three girls riding bikes on my way and saw a gaggle of boys on bikes chatting and blasting music in Target's parking lot. Good thing kids aren't interested in Sprouts. They don't have a section for toys or a dedicated seasonal aisle. Any seasonal goodies are on displays around the store. Decided to try Minneola Tangelos. Found Cascade Farms vanilla chip granola bars on clearance for $1.98 and Kodiak bars for $4.49.
Blew down Cuthbert to the Westmont Acme next. Unlike Sprouts, they were really busy with adults who got off work early for Easter weekend and were picking up their candy and holiday dinners. Bought chocolate chips and strawberries for the cake I wanted to make for the employee hot dog luncheon. Restocked honeycrisp apples, yogurt, Coke Zero, and Kind granola bars on sale with an online coupon. Bought birthday cards for Rose and Khai next month, since I had an online coupon for cards that ends on Easter Day.
Cut across Cuthbert and down Atlantic to the PNC Bank in Collingswood next. The drive-up ATM machines had long lines, so I went inside. Went in, got money, got out with no trouble.
After I made it home, I got organized and put everything away while letting Super Password run. Saw the tail end of an episode featuring Gloria Loring and David Doyle. Considering Doye isn't always that great at Match Game, he seemed to do really well with Password, helping his contestant get the last puzzle before the episode ended.
After Super Password ended, I gathered my cake ingredients while watching The First Easter Egg! One the Bunny (so named because his mother had so many children, she ran out of names and started giving them numbers) wants to make her a special Easter dinner. He tries gathering apples, but a robin reminds him that they're out of season. His attempt to ask the Three Little Pigs for ham only ends with them becoming even more paranoid than they already were. A kindly chicken gives him her egg. After a weasel tries stealing it, a pink-obsessed flamingo suggests hard-boiling it. His pink dye inspires One to make it look fancy, which so pleases his mother, he decides to make colored eggs for everyone.
Apparently a TV special from 1999, this isn't great, but it has its fun moments. Honestly, I feel sorry for One. Considering some of the obnoxious characters he met while trying to do something nice for his mother, no wonder he got upset half-way through the cartoon. You can understand why the hen felt bad for him, too. The flamingo and his number are too goofy for words, and the paranoid pigs get old fast. And One's mother must have been too busy to teach him about much of anything, considering he didn't know apples grow in fall and mentioning ham to pigs would likely make them very nervous! It works as what it was likely intended to be, cute filler for younger kids before the Easter egg hunt.
Making the strawberry loaf cake went less well. I put all the ingredients together the way it said on the box and used the temperature it required. I had so much batter, I ended up using one large and one small loaf pan. The cakes ended up browning on the edges, and the larger one never cooked in the middle. I don't know what I'm going to do about them. I can't take them to the Acme. They fell apart when I removed them.
Went back upstairs to watch The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town while job searching. I went further into this 1977 Rankin-Bass stop-motion Easter tale at my Musical Dream Movie Reviews blog back in 2019.
Got my schedule at this point. In good news, Easter and Thursday off as requested (the latter using up a vacation day) and far more hours. Thing is, Easter and Thursday are the only days I got off. In fact, the reason I asked for Thursday off was I figured it was the only way I'd get two days off next week! I work early the entire rest of the week, including 8 1/2 hours on Wednesday and Friday. I suspect a lot of people very likely used up their own vacation days for Easter break.
Worked on writing next. Mrs. Rowland reveals that Prince Jordan is already late getting home from university. He's supposed to arrive when the Spring Festival begins and choose a bride, but he hasn't gotten back yet, and his parents are worried. Kathleen has read about the handsome, quiet, and intelligent prince, and she wishes she could meet him.
Broke for dinner and Match Game '90 at 7 PM. No clue why Buzzr skipped ahead a decade, but while I do hope they finish the syndicated run eventually, I'm glad they're giving this version a chance. Betty White and Charles Nelson Reilly join Vicki Lawrence and Joe Alaskey (who was listed as being from Out of This World but may be best-known by kids who grew up when I did as the voice of Plucky Duck from Tiny Toon Adventures) to answer a joke about a certain businessman with a toupee that may hit a little harder now than it would have then. I don't mind the host Ross Shafer, either. He's funny and really cute. Yes, I miss Gene Rayburn, but I was also 11 in 1990. I have fond memories of either seeing or, in the case of Alaskey, hearing these people often on TV.
Put on The Easter Promise next. Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) and her friends are excited when former Broadway star Constance Payne (Jean Simmons) comes home to Clear River for Easter 1947. She boasts that Constance once dated her father James (Jason Robards), but he thinks she's snobby. Addie manages to talk Constance into dinner at her house and judging the school style show, but she overdoes the wine at dinner and turns up at the show drunk. The girls do have a good time learning about acting from Constance, but when they come for their second lesson, she's drunk again. Addie's ready to give up, but her grandmother (Mildred Natwick) reminds her that you should never abandon a friend in need, and spring is the perfect time to start over.
Other than I wish they'd shot on location instead of soundstages, this may be my favorite of the four Addie movies. Seeing Addie and her friends laugh and giggle at a slumber party and prepare to color eggs reminds me so much of all the fun my sisters and I had at Easter when we were 12. (Mr. Mills would probably be happy to know that we used boiled eggs instead of blown ones.) Her relationship with Constance and how she and her family help her out is really sweet, too. Lovely Easter viewing, especially for families with girls Addie's age.
Finished the night at Tubi for two unique and rare Easter specials. The Great Easter Egg Hunt is very charming for something intended to go direct to DVD in 2000. Sweet stuffed bunny Whiskers is the envy of all the toys in Peter's room because he gets to go to school with him. Whiskers doesn't think he's so lucky when a dog runs off with him. After he escapes the dog, a group of real rabbits tell him about the Great Easter Egg, a special and magical egg that can grant the finder one wish. When Peter gets sick, Whiskers and the other toys go off in search of the egg.
Cliched, yes, but also sweet. Whiskers and the toys are fun to watch, and I enjoyed their adventures. The songs seem unnecessary and the animation on the real rabbits seems a bit odd, but otherwise, this is worth checking out for families with younger kids who are looking for something different to watch before the egg hunt this year.
An Easter Story is one of two puppet holiday specials done by Paul Fusco, who would go on to create Alf. The Easter Bunny is worried that he can't meet egg production this year. His magic-obsessed son tries to help, but all he can conjure up is jelly beans. It looks like Easter might be canceled, until two worried boys come up with the perfect solution.
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