Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

Got a late start today with breakfast and It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. Linus and Lucy's little brother Rerun makes his debut in the last Peanuts special with music by Vince Guaraldi (who died just hours after he completed the soundtrack). Sally turns the baseball field into a garden and orchard as part of an Arbor Day project. Her older brother is understandably furious, until it looks like the foliage might help them actually win a game.

Headed out after I made the grocery list. I didn't really need that much this week and I left late, so I limited the grocery shopping to just the Westmont Acme this week. I had online coupons for coconut milk, cookies, strawberries, and yogurt. Nature's Valley granola bars were two for $6. Restocked sliced chicken, soda, and apples. Thankfully, the store wasn't busy at all. I was able to get in and out with no trouble. 

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It's really spring in the park now. The grass is mostly green with a few dry patches. The leaves are a bright yellow green. Sunny yellow buttercups and dandelions line the banks of the lake. Canadian geese cropped grass with their adorable brand-new goslings. It was much busier in the park at quarter after 1. I dodged dog walkers, older folks and college kids out for a stroll, and parents pushing strollers before turning on the path over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center. 

Put everything away and had a quick lunch while watching Shirt Tales. The animals think they're "The Game Masters" when they sneak out to play consoles at a local arcade. They think they're getting a bargain when a game claims they can play for free, only to find them trapped in a bumper-car game. Tired of having to clean up the park for Mr. Dinkel, they don't object to being "Shirt Napped" by aliens, until it turns out the aliens just want them to clean up their planet. They finally swipe a flying saucer to get them back to the aliens' ship and get them home.

Called Alyssa at Camden County right before I left. I didn't get her, so I left a message. I hope I can get her on Monday. If she can't help me, I'm going to start looking for loan programs that might be more willing to help. 

Hurried out after the cartoon ended. Got there on time...to find the kids and their Thomas Sharp teachers, but no one from Healthy Kids. One of the heads of the program showed up shortly after I did. Turned out the head teacher had called out, and another couldn't come in. We were severely short-handed. Not a good thing, since we had 26 kids today, 11 at my table. They were crazy in the bathroom, especially the girls. I spent most of the twenty minutes or so after snack time cleaning up a little boy who had had an accident. By the time we got back, they were lining up the kids to go outside.

It was much too nice for them to stay inside. It was sunny and in the lower 70's when we first went out. Even after it clouded over and got windy later, it was still a lovely day. I did have to argue them off the swings, especially after they were all allowed on yesterday. There were too many of them and not enough teachers to keep an eye on them. Most of them were happy to draw with chalk, hug a tree, or dance along with "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "Pink Pony Club," "I Like to Move It," the theme from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and songs from Moana, Moana 2, Trolls, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

I stayed a little later after the head teacher had to go home at 5. We were down to six kids when we moved them with the older kids on the blacktop. The weather remained cloudy and a little chillier but still too decent to take them back inside. Most of the kids kicked balls around, but I did have to argue with two boys to stop throwing around bottles of glitter-filled water they made in class (the bottles were really kind of flimsy), then stop playing around a car that did not belong to them. 

Went straight home after all that and into Match Game '90. This was the wild week where Fred Travalena dressed as Elvis Presley, complete with sequined jump suit. The Star Wheel kept landing on him, too. To give him credit, he got it right two out of three times. Pam Stone was really hilarious this week too, tossing out several British and southern gothic jokes.

Got my schedule at this point, too. In good news, slightly more hours and no long shifts. Unfortunately, I have two double-shift days this time, Thursday and Friday. No idea when I'll get to the grocery store. The head bagger must have taken those days off again. 

Finished the night with three of my newly-acquired records and CDs. The Superman book and record from Peter Pan runs with the continuity in the comic books when it debuted in 1978, which means Clark and Lois works for Galaxy Broadcasting and Jimmy is a full-fledged reporter. "The Mxyzptlk Menace" makes everyone speak without vowels, which means they can't really communicate at all, until Superman finds a way for him to say his name backwards. "Alien Creatures" is a much darker and stranger story. After aliens appear, it suddenly starts raining silver bullets that dissolve anything in their path. Superman has to convince them telepathically that Earth is not a good place for them to make their home.

The Cars were one of the most popular rock groups of the late 70's and early 80's. Their Greatest Hits include "Just What I Needed," "Good Times Roll," "Drive," and "My Best Friend's Girl." Other favorites on this 1985 album include "Since You're Gone," "Touch and Go," "Let's Go," "Shake It Up," and "Magic."

James Taylor's music was an all together quieter version of rock. His Greatest Hits include mellow ballads like "Fire and Rain," "Sweet Baby James," and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight." "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," "Mexico," and "Walking Man" show Taylor in a slightly more uptempo mode.

Laughter In the Rain

Started off a gloomy morning with It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown in honor of Arbor Day today. Sally's writing a report on Arbor Day for school. Lucy suggests getting hands-on experience by turning Charlie Brown's baseball field into a garden and orchard. Chuck's not happy with the idea...until it looks like their plants might help them win a game.

It had rained off and on all morning. Thankfully, the rain was off when I hurried off to work. It continued to rain off and on for the next few hours, scaring off our customers. We were dead for most of the day. I spent the morning and early afternoon doing returns, gathering baskets, and helping one of the head managers round up the few remaining dying Easter flowers. By the time I went outside to do carts and outside trash and recycling around 2:30, the rain had stopped, and the sun was trying to come out. I got called in for the last 15 minutes because they'd gotten a little busy. Good thing it wasn't that busy. I was able to close when someone else came in.

In good news, my schedule for next week is a lot more normal, with three days off (including Tuesday for counseling) and only one early day on Sunday. In bad news, my hours were cut to the lowest they've been in weeks, and I work relatively early next Saturday and will likely have to miss the first Collingswood Farm Market of the year.

I didn't really have much that I needed...but some of it was expensive. I was almost out of whole wheat flour, and thin chicken breasts were the cheapest meat I could find. Grape tomatoes were on a better sale, and I had online and offline coupons for Belvita cookies, Plugra butter, Pantene conditioner, the Acme's premium pint ice cream (the Caramel Apple Chai flavor was on clearance), and a free donut from the Acme's Monopoly game. Picked up taco sauce and tri-color tortilla chips for dinner tomorrow. Found a slightly dented can of Italian wedding soup on the clearance rack. Restocked skim milk, yogurt, pears, strawberries, mandarin oranges, and powdered sugar.

Even as I went up to the front desk to get the extra half-off for the dented can (the teenage girl doing my order probably didn't see the label with the coupon), one of the managers pointed out that a storm was coming. I once again got lucky. Heavy, dark clouds were building up as I rode home, but they waited until a half-hour after I arrived to burst.

I had leftovers for dinner, then made strawberry-banana donuts for a spring luncheon at work tomorrow. Watched The North Avenue Irregulars while I worked. Reverend Michael Hill (Edward Hermann) is the new minister at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church in a small California suburb. His secretary Anne (Susan Clark) is aghast at all the changes he wants to make, from inviting local rock band Strawberry Shortcake to sing with the choir to allowing Mrs. Rose Rafferty (Patsy Kelly) to handle the church's sinking funds. Strawberry Shortcake's upbeat pop works out great with the choir, but letting Rose deal with the money was a mistake. Her husband Delaney (Douglas Fowley) has bet all the money on a horse. Hill tries to get it back, only to be thrown out when the horse loses. His tirade against organized crime on TV doesn't make his boss Dr. Fulton (Herb Voland) happy, and the gangsters manage to move the location before Hill brings the cops in.

Two treasury agents show up, insisting that the need the help of Hill and the men in the church to catch the gangsters. The men don't want anything to do with it...but six of the church's female members, including Rose, are ready to help. Their attempts at going undercover and placing bets don't work out so well, so they settle on car surveillance and watching where they keep the money. They get so good at it, they make the mob nervous enough to bomb the church. Hill's ready to give up, but it's skeptical Susan who reminds him of all the good he's already done for the community.

I have vague memories of catching this when it would occasionally turn up on The Disney Channel in the 80's and early 90's. I'm glad I found it at the yard sale. It's really cute, with a surprisingly diverse cast for a Disney movie of this time. All six ladies, including Kelly (her last film role), Cloris Leachman, and Barbara Harris as a mom who keeps dragging her kids with her on missions, are hilarious. Along with the older Kelly, one of the church ladies is a strong black woman (Virginia Capers) who gets her own moments to shine, including driving the truck in the finale. What's more, it seems to be based after a real-life incident - apparently, a reverend really did have to call on the ladies of the church to help him catch mobsters when their menfolk wouldn't, over the objections of two treasury agents. There's even a rather dark moment when the church is destroyed.

Like Hot Blood, this isn't something I would have bought if it hadn't been a dollar at a yard sale...but I'm very glad I found it. If you love the cast or are looking for a mostly lighthearted crime caper for girl's night in, I highly recommend digging around for this one.

Played a little Lego Star Wars while the donuts cooled. Got through the "Darth Maul" boss round and the first two rounds of Attack of the Clones. I'm finally starting to figure out the driving rounds a bit better. Still didn't get much in the way of pieces in "Bounty Hunter Pursuit" (or "Darth Maul," for that matter), but I got True Jedi on all three and more than half the pieces on "Discovery at Kamino."

Though the rain and thunder were gone by the time I was glazing the donuts, I still finished the night with Clue. It was an old tradition in my family to watch this whenever there was a thunderstorm. Mom called it our "stormy weather movie." It's another crime comedy, this one based after the famous board game. Six strangers meet at an old mansion in 1954 for a dinner party. Turns out they're all being blackmailed by one Mr. Body (Lee Ving), according to the butler Wadsworth (Tim Curry). Things go south quickly when Mr. Body's killed, and everyone has a movie and means. Now, as the bodies start to pile up, the group has to figure out just who did it "in the hall, with the revolver," or they may be the next victims!

As I mentioned, this was an old family favorite. We taped it somewhere around 1987 and watched it for years. The movie starts slow as Wadsworth explains the plot and connections, but once Mr. Body gets it, things take off. Possibly the most famous thing about this movie, besides the all-star cast, is the multiple-endings gimmick. The movie has three different endings. Apparently, the original theatrical one limited it to one random ending. The video and cable prints and most streaming services opt to show the three endings simultaneously. (This is how I usually do it, mostly because that's what I'm used to from that old taping.) The DVD has the option of going with all three, or choosing a random one.

Whichever one you go for, you'll likely have a blast. This is one of those beloved comedies my family had memorized in full; I can still recite most of the dialogue to this day. If you're interested in the cast or the multiple endings gimmick, or you just want to enjoy a good ensemble comedy, this one is highly recommended and is one of the most underrated comedies of the 1980's.

An Orchard of Love

It was still raining and gloomy when I got up this morning. After reading several short stories on Arbor Day in the Harvest of Holidays anthology book, I did It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown during breakfast. Sally's studying Arbor Day in school and talks Linus and the other kids into helping her plant trees and a garden for her project. Trouble is, they pick the worst possible spot to plant in - Charlie Brown's baseball field. Chuck's understandably upset, until it looks like the plants may actually help them win a game...

Worked on writing for the next few hours. Leia awakens in the cottage of Ahsoka Tano, a woman whom most of the City of the Clouds believes to be a witch. She's actually a former Jedi who trained under Anakin and Obi-Wan before she left the order due to an altercation with another member. Lando and Luke found her unconscious on the mountainside and brought her there. Kanan, Hera, and their family have taken refuge there as well. Ahsoka has stopped Leia's hand from bleeding and healed most of her external wounds, and Kanan is making the girl a new hand. Ahsoka knows that Leia needs to heal internally, too...and thinks the best way to do this would be to construct a new sword. Seems the mountain is full of the crystals the Jedi used for their blades. She just needs one that calls to her.

Broke a little early around quarter after noon. I went through things in the back, grabbing clothes to dump in the DARE boxes in back of the Acme and other things to bring to the church thrift shop tomorrow. After I brought those out, I had a quick muffin-and-yogurt lunch.

Ran two wedding-themed episodes of Get Smart as I worked and ate. Max thinks that "Diamonds are a Spy's Best Friend" when he goes shopping for a wedding ring for 99. Turns out the ring is part of a CHAOS plot to smuggle diamonds out of the US via the bald members of a bowling alley.

Max and 99 finally get married in "With Love and Twitches." Max meets up with a former CHAOS scientist who has him drink a formula that makes a map to a uranium mine appear on his chest. He can't sit down or scratch it for 48 hours, or it won't appear. He tries to explain to 99 and the Chief why he can't sit at his own wedding, but they think he's getting cold feet...until CHAOS agents grab Max, and he's almost late for the ceremony.

I headed off to work a little early to print out the payroll stubs I needed for my food stamp renewal application. It took me 20 minutes alone to find someone to help me print them out. In the end, one of the college students who work produce ended up helping me with it on the computer in the back lounge room.

Things didn't get much better from there. I spent almost an hour in the register, right before I went on break. We got insanely busy around rush hour, and we're still short on help. Thankfully, I spent the rest of the time after my break outside gathering carts and doing trash.

Not entirely happy with my schedule next week, either. While I'm back to having three days off (one of them for a dental appointment on Tuesday), I'm also back to an 8 and 1/2 hour day on Wednesday, and I lost hours. I'd rather keep the extra hours and keep them spread out.

Dodged more heavy traffic in the shopping center behind the Acme as I headed to the post office. Of course, it had been closed for an hour. I dumped the application in the mail box in the back of the building and hoped Camden County didn't mind it being a day or two late.

Cheered myself up with dinner at Sonic. It was a little chilly and damp by 6:30, though the rain was long gone at that point. I had a tasty grilled chicken sandwich with tater tots and my favorite cherry-limeade. I was the only one eating outside on a day that was still rather dark and gray.

Headed back to the Acme to get my grocery shopping done. Took advantage of coupons and sales to pick up Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, canned pineapple, buy-one-get-one-free eggs, Pillsbury cake mix, and a card for Dana and Jesse's wedding tomorrow. Restocked bananas, grapefruit, mandarin orange cups, cooking oil, ground turkey, and yogurt. Found a seasoned tilapia fillet and a lobster cake with manager's coupons.

I didn't roll in until almost 8. I never did get to working out tonight, but I did get to watch Father of the Bride. I have the original 1950 version of the tale of doting dad Stanley (Spencer Tracy) who, despite his reservations about the groom Buckley (Don Taylor), gives his daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) the most lavish ceremony and reception he possibly can. Of course, this involves having to remove almost every stick of furniture in his house to make the guests fit, hiring a snooty British wedding organizer (Leo G. Carroll) to see to the details, and even talking the bride back into the wedding when she almost calls it off when she and the groom fight over their honeymoon spot. In the end, Stanley finally realizes that his little girl is now a woman...and that growing up means making your own choices, for better or for worse.

If you're a fan of the cast or the sitcoms of the 50's and 60's, you may find a great deal to enjoy in this domestic charmer. Tracy was Oscar-nominated as the bemused father of the title; Elizabeth Taylor is equally good as the glowing bride. Director Vincent Minnelli keeps everything sparkling and fun. (The Steve Martin remake from the 90's is also really cute if you ever run into it on cable or online.)

Spring Into Summer

Kicked off a beautiful, sunny spring day with the end of Neverwhere (which was weird as heck, but pretty good) and a couple of Arbor Day-themed stories and poems from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. The first involved a little old shoe maker who enjoys admiring a tree in the park across from his shop. When the tree is to be cut down, he goes straight to the mayor. The head of the town doesn't want to listen at first...until he complains that his shoes hurt. The shorter story was simply an old man explaining to a nobleman how important planting trees is.

Ran It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown as I ate breakfast. Mr. Plum and the little old man aren't the only ones who know how important trees are. Sally's been learning about Arbor Day in school and now wants to plant trees of her own. The others agree to help her, but Charlie Brown gets a major shock when it turns out that their garden ended up on the baseball field! He's less upset when it looks like the superfluous flora might actually help them win a game.

Spent the rest of the morning working on writing. Henry watches Luke and Leia practice their fencing. Not only do their styles resemble that of the Jedi (and Sir Kenton and Ahsoka), but they themselves are very much alike. They seem to anticipate each other's every move. Henry won't admit it, but he's a tad bit jealous of how easily Luke gets along with Leia, whom he's starting to fall rather hard for. He invites Leia and her aunt along with them to the Royal Regatta in a few days. She accepts, not only to keep an eye on them, but because she may be starting to have feelings for Henry, too...

Broke around 12:30 for lunch. Did a quick episode of The Backyardigans while I ate and got organized. Uniqua and Tyrone are a pair of galactic police officers in "Cops and Robots" who are after "bad bots" Tasha and Pablo. If they get to the robot factory, they'll turn all the robots in the galaxy bad!

Headed out to run errands as soon as the episode ended. First stop was at the Oaklyn Library. They were relatively busy for such a gorgeous day, with several people reading or on the computer. A family showed up as I was working on the kids' DVDs. Glanced over the adult DVD titles, then shelved books in the kids' area.

It was a glorious afternoon for a ride in Newton Lake Park. The sky was blue, the breeze was cool but not cold, and it was the warmest day yet, into the lower 80's at quarter of 2. I'm actually surprised the park wasn't busier. I mostly saw Canadian geese and ducks, along with a few joggers and fishermen. The park's really beautiful now. The leaves get bigger every time I see them.

The Haddon Township Library wasn't nearly as busy as Oaklyn was when I arrived. I shelved some audio books and non-fiction DVDs and organized the fiction titles, but there wasn't much to do. There weren't even any new releases on the cart.

It took me forever to choose them, but I did take out movies and books this week. I think I might have seen the Fleischer Brothers' Gulliver's Travels as a kid, but it hasn't turned up anywhere but public domain DVDs in years. Kubo and the Two Strings is said to be excellent - it was one of this year's Oscar-nominated animated films. Thought I'd try another film series after having fun with Harry Potter. Star Trek: The Motion Picture isn't highly regarded by fans, but a woman has to start somewhere. Also grabbed the cult 70's sci-fi favorite Westworld. Found an older, non-Amelia Peabody Elizabeth Peters novel I hadn't read, The Love Talker, along with a modern pirate adventure story, We are Pirates. Also grabbed two books on crocheting for beginners and with one skein of yarn.

By the time I finally made it out, it was past 4. I dodged heavy rush-hour traffic on Haddon Avenue and Cuthbert Road to the green field next to what's now Planet Fitness, where Studio LuLoo's CD release party was being held. I hadn't seen on Sarah's busy poster that it was running from 4 to 9. That was too late for me to catch the whole show, but I did see some of the kids sing along with "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Let It Go."

It was nearly 5 when I rolled into Oaklyn. Phillies Yummies finally opened today. I celebrated Arbor Day, their opening, and the nice weather with a Pina Colada Yum Yum (a creamier, grittier water ice). Had a quick slice of bacon and sweet corn quiche and a Deb's Spicy-Sweet Iced Tea from Common Grounds Coffee House for dinner on their metal tables outside. Enjoyed listening to the band playing on the veranda at the Oaklyn Manor Bar while watching locals go by with their frozen treats.

Finished out the night crocheting while watching Gulliver's Travels. This very loose adaptation of the first half of the famous book has Gulliver washing ashore after a storm wrecks his ship. Turns out he's in Lilliputa, a land of tiny people, including annoying Gabby. The king of the land is about to go to war with the king of a neighboring country over which song to play at the prince and princess' wedding. Gulliver does his best to stop the war, while reuniting the prince and princess.

A lot of animation fans have praised this one, especially the rotoscoped Gulliver, lush backgrounds, a couple of nice gags, and some decent tunes. "Faithful Forever," the combined version of the songs that started all the fuss, was nominated for an Oscar. Gulliver's number as he laments being unable to return home is also lovely.

I just wish they'd figured out a way for it to work together in a cohesive whole. The realistic prince, princess, and Gulliver clash with the cartoony Lilliputians. Gabby and his shrill, high-pitched voice are annoying as heck. (Someone at the Fleischers' studio liked him a lot more than I did. He got his own short-lived spin-off series.) A couple of comic spies don't come off much better. The plot is utterly ridiculous, too. Even Gulliver calls them out for it. It's also just barely an adaptation, lacking the savage wit of the original story. (And actually lacking most of the original story - Gulliver went on a lot more travels after this.)

If you're a fan of classic cartoons, animation history, or the Fleischers' work, or you have young children who won't mind the plot problems and may enjoy the gags and music, this is worth seeing at least once.

Dolls On a Cloudy Day

It was still gloomy outside when I got up this morning. I began the day with breakfast and It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. Sally wants to honor Arbor Day by planting a garden and an orchard. Somehow, Lucy decides the kids' baseball field is the perfect place to plant. Charlie Brown's not too happy, until it looks like their conservation project might actually help win them a game.

Moved on to one of the two Sailor Moon episodes remaining on the first disc while doing dishes. When Chibi-Usa gets sick, the Guardians have to go inside her mind and dispel the creature that's giving her nightmares. The Chibi-Usa inside her head doesn't know the Guardians yet, but Sailor Moon assures her that she can trust them, inside or outside of her memories.

Spent the next hour or so changing the dolls into somewhat less fancy spring outfits. Jessa is in a mix of several different pieces - the flower-tie-dyed T-shirt and neon yellow ankle socks from the Hiking Outfit from a few years ago, the lavender cardigan sweater from Kit's original "meet" outfit, a pair of lightweight flared jeans Lauren sent me from a yard sale in her area, and flamingo-print sneakers from an outfit I bought at Collingswood's May Fair a few years ago. Samantha wears her Pink Striped Birthday Dress and Pinafore with the striped ribbon from her current hair accessory set, the pink ballet tights, and the white shoes from (Rebecca's) Lace Dress. Whitney wears a polka-dot dress I bought off eBay about two years ago. The seller listed it as being for Molly, but the wide skirt and puffed sleeves really look more appropriate for the 50's. I added the purple strap shoes and white and purple purse Lauren gave me for Christmas with the lavender bow from Sam's Frilly Frock. Molly is in her own rick-rack-trimmed Birthday Pinafore and white t-strap shoes. Josefina sports her Dress and Vest with her gold fringed Heritage Accessories shawl. I left Felicity in her pink Birthday Dress. I really don't have much to change her into.

Headed out to run errands as soon as I finished with the dolls. I've been wanting to bring a big bag of donations (including the books I cleared out from the last round of the book list) there for ages. I finally remembered to do it today. There were a couple of people on the computer, probably trying to avoid the gloomy weather. I organized DVDs and gave the kids' area a quick look (ignoring CNN fussing about politics in the background).

After I really quick stop at WaWa to use the ATM machines, I dodged the on-and-off showers and made my way to the Westmont Bagel Shop for lunch. Had a nice, simple Bacon, Cheddar, and Apple Sandwich with fries. It was nice and salty and delicious, but very messy! I enjoyed it in surprising quiet. The only other people there was one older woman and a mother and her daughter who opted to sit in the front room.

Next stop was the Haddon Township Library. They were slightly busier than they have been the last few times I've been there. They finally moved the children's DVDs to their newer, more colorful shelves. I organized those, then put away a pile of audio books and new releases. Took out more new titles from the kids' area for Strawberry Shortcake, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Equestria Girls.

Made a quick run to Thriftway after I finished at the Library. I just needed skim milk and toilet paper, both of which are far cheaper there than they are at the Acme. I'll do my main grocery shopping tomorrow. I had absolutely no desire to go anywhere near the Acme today!

Went straight home and on the computer to work on my story. Vader uses his corrupted Khyber crystals to torture Han, stripping away his strength. Leia is thrown into a tower cell with Cecil. She convinces Cecil to climb down her hair and escape to find Chewie and the Falcon just before Han is thrown into the tower with her. Leia wants to use her powers to heal Han, but that may not be possible once her father arrives...

Broke around 6 for dinner. Finished out the Sailor Moon disc first while starting Skillet Ground Turkey and Pasta, made over from the recipe for Sloppy Joes in Julie's Cooking Studio, for dinner. I didn't have tomato sauce, so I used condensed tomato soup. Replaced the green peppers (which I didn't have either) with mushrooms and added small whole-wheat shells.

Though Usagi is happy that Chib-Usa's feeling better, she doesn't like how the little girl clings to Mamoru. Hoping to eat her way into happiness, she ends up at a new bakery that's giving out free samples. The Guardians are there, too...as is Esmeraude, the newest Black Moon Clan member to arrive in the 20th century. The girls learn that too much sugar can be really bad for you when they're attacked by a monster made of cake and candy!

Finished the night with dinner and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Pop Star Minnie is their second musical tale in a row to headline a disc. This time, Minnie is supposed to be having a concert on Melody Mountain. Not only are the gang's musical instruments missing, but she has no idea what genre of music she wants to perform. As they find the instruments, the characters demonstrate what type of musical genre is often associated with that instrument, from Goofy playing a country tune on his banjo to Pete's one-cat accordion polka to a rather nice blues tune done by Donald on his harmonica.