A Beautiful Easter In the Neighborhood

Kicked off a cloudy morning with Easter and April Fool's Day stories from the early 60's Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology book. The one April Fool's Day story involved two boys who chase a runaway giraffe around their backyard and eventually end up getting it leaves from a tree. The Easter short stories are some of my favorites in the entire book. "Nino's Easter" is a look at spring festivities in rural Italy through the eyes of one excited young boy. "The Country Bunny and the Gold Shoes" has a mother bunny being made an official Easter bunny and getting a very special assignment...and the magical footwear to carry it out.

Watched The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town while making tasty Lemon Confetti Pancakes for breakfast. I go further into this classic Rankin-Bass springtime special at this Musical Dreams Movie Reviews entry from 2019. 

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town

Messed around online for a little while after I cleaned up, then packed up the bread in a bag and the bubbles for the kids in an Easter basket and headed out...and then headed out again when I realized I forgot the cards for Rose's birthday and to thank her for having me over. It was an absolutely glorious day for a walk. Tiny violets and sun-yellow dandelions peek among carpets of emerald green grass. Gardens are awash in ruffled daffodils and spicy-scented hyacinths. At quarter of 1, most people were probably in their backyards, starting lunch or setting up egg hunts for their kids, except the boisterous crowd enjoying the lovely weather at Tonewood Brewery on West Clinton.

Everyone else already arrived by then. Along with Rose, her husband Craig, and their three-year-old daughter Finley and almost eleven-year-old son Khai, Jodie and Craig's mother and father chatted under a small event tent in their backyard. Cider the puppy and Kelsey the elderly mini-pincher chased each other as Finley played with her Bluey dollhouse on a fuzzy tiger blanket. Platters of shrimp, cocktail sauce, and crabmeat and crackers, cheese, sausage, golden raisins, nuts, blackberries, and raspberries sat on the table. Rose said she'd slice up my bread to go with the dessert trays later.

After we all had our fill and the dogs were taken beyond the gate around the main yard and to the area bordering the steps to the back door, Rose declared it time for the egg hunt. I volunteered to hide the eggs. I helped Mom hide eggs for Anny and Keefe in the 80's and 90's. Rose came out to help too, but she said I did such a good job hiding them, there wasn't much for her to do!

When the kids came out with their plastic Easter buckets, they roamed around the yard. They did very well, with Khai mostly helping his sister find her share. Each of them found a gold egg that contained two five dollar bills. Four long, thin eggs were filled with Silly Putty. The others all had candy. The kids traded candy for what they liked while the rest of us finished up the appetizers.

Finley and I played on the blanket in the sun while Craig worked on the ham. Rose brought out Finley's Little People Elsa's castle and her bucket of Little People toys, including a train and a platoon of Disney princesses. Cider, however, just had to see what we were doing and wouldn't leave me alone. I scratched her belly, but she still tried to climb all over me and even use my arm for teething! I had to shove her off at least three times before Rose banished her to beyond the small gate.

For a while, the older adults chatted while I messed with my phone. Mom texted at this point, wishing me a Happy Easter. I did the same. Apparently, she opted to spend a quiet Easter at home alone. 

Dinner came out around 3:30. Rose and Craig opted for ham sliders with snowflake rolls from Shop-Rite and real spiral glazed ham. They had macaroni salad, spinach salad, roasted vegetables, and potato salad to go with it. I opted for a ham sandwich with spinach salad and roasted asparagus and yellow squash. I ate a lot off the appetizer trays and wanted to save room for dessert. 

Jodie left before the dessert trays came out, saying she wanted to visit her son Jesse and his wife Dana for a few hours. That left the rest of us to enjoy the bread, a pineapple and strawberry fruit tray, and a tray of mini-tarts and eclairs from Desserts by Design in Audubon. I had pineapple (I have plenty of strawberries at home), two tarts, and two slices of bread. (By the way, the bread came out perfectly, sweet and moist. I'll do that recipe again for Easter next year if I have the time.)

Strolled home minutes after I finished my treats. It was past 4:30, and I wanted to get some writing in. Went right on the computer when I got home. The other bandits take advantage of the remaining smoke from the explosion to duck out the door, but their leader's hand is bleeding too heavily. Gene arrests him while Bill comforts Patti Deustch the frightened bank teller and Richard and Gary go after the thieves.

Jodie knocked on the door to the main house as I worked. She's going away with her friends again for a few days and once again cleared out her fridge. This time, I got a complete steak dinner, including baked potato, in aluminum containers. 

Broke for a very quick dinner at 7. Watched The First Easter Rabbit while I drank a strawberry-banana smoothie. Stuffy the Bunny was once the favorite toy of a little girl named Glinda, until she came down with scarlet fever. Calliope the fairy rescued him from being burned by making him the Easter Bunny, symbol of spring for all children. With the help of three con-bunnies he meets in the woods, he tries to get back to Glinda and avoid Zero, who wants to make April Valley snowy all year round.

The Peanuts have their own holiday preparations going on in It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. Peppermint Patty tries to teach Marcie how to color eggs, but Marcie can't figure out that you have to boil them first. Charlie Brown takes Sally shopping for spring shoes, while Snoopy looks for a new birdhouse for Woodstock. Lucy just wants to color and find her own eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does all that. Sally's skeptical after the no-show with the Great Pumpkin on Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise to the gang.

Finished out the night watching Easter Parade on TCM. I go into this classic 1948 confection with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland at the 2019 Easter entry for my Musical Dreams blog.

Happy Easter! - Easter Parade

The Town Easter Egg Hunt

Began my day with Yogi the Easter Bear while eating breakfast and getting my laundry together. Yogi's in big trouble after he eats all the candy intended for Jellystone's Easter Jamboree. Hoping to avoid being sent to the Siberian Zoo, he and Boo-Boo search for the real Easter Bunny to replace the candy. Two extremely strange men who are obsessed with plastic are also after the Easter Bunny and the magical Easter Chicken. They want their plastic eggs to be the only ones kids find in their baskets! Yogi and Boo-Boo have to out-run them and get to Jellystone, before the Park Commissioner fires Ranger Smith.

Finally got the laundry done after Yogi ended. At least it wasn't busy when I got in this morning. By the time people started to show up, my load was almost done. Maybe it's just as well I waited. I didn't have a huge load anyway. I was in and out in less than an hour. Mostly spent the time working on story notes and half-listening to fishing shows.

As soon as I finished organizing the clothes, I went right back out again. I wanted to return those movies to the Oaklyn Library and do a little more volunteering. I wasn't going to take anything else out...but they'd just gotten in Justice League and The Shape of Water. Also found Midnight Lace, a thriller from the 60's with Doris Day and Rex Harrison.

I saw a sign for Oaklyn's town Easter egg hunt on my way to and from the laundromat. The local egg hunt takes place at Veteran's Memorial Park next-door. Since I was already there, I joined the crowds. The kids were so funny! Jumping up and down, chasing each other, wrestling with each other. Two little girls stomped in the remaining snow next to Charlie's driveway. Others showed off egg-holders that ranged from plastic buckets to soft character-shaped containers to bright-colored tote bags to wicker baskets trimmed with tulle and ribbons.

In all honesty, the actual hunt didn't take that long. Four areas of hay were roped off in the front end of the park for four groups - toddlers, 6-8, 9-10, 11-12. The kids were so hyped, it took them less than ten minutes - for the older kids, maybe less than five - to find all the eggs. They were so cute, especially the really little guys. I went between hay patches, checking out all the action.

I was feeling a bit hyped up myself after all that. Besides, it was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and a little chilly, once again probably in the upper 40's-lower 50's. It was too nice to spend the whole day inside, as I originally planned. I followed the crowds who weren't jumping into their cars back down to West Clinton Avenue. Had a quick lunch of cheese and mushroom pizza and a can of Pepsi with the retro 80's label outside at the picnic tables. (I had to get that Pepsi. That was the label I remember seeing for most of my childhood.)

Waved "hi" to the kid who is the grandson of my late Uncle Ken's girlfriend. He's getting so big! He has to be a teenager now. He was talking to a couple other young teens at the bench behind me.

Went for a short stroll around the neighborhood to walk off the pizza and soda. More than three-quarters of the snow is gone, especially from areas that get a lot of sun. It doesn't seem to have effected the local plant life. Flowers are still on the verge of blooming; new green grass is popping up even faster now. Trees show tiny brown buds, waiting for the warm weather next week to sprout. Most houses have either decorated for Easter, with pastel wooden or plastic eggs and bunnies and wreaths awash in fabric flowers, or at least put up banners representing spring.

Decided to try something a little different when I got home. There's recipes on the back of the bag of corn meal I bought yesterday for variations on corn bread and muffins. I decided to try the honey corn muffins. Basically, sweeter corn muffins, with more sugar and honey. I can't remember the last time I had corn muffins. Yum. Actually, the next time I do these, I might even cut down on the sugar slightly. The honey may have been sweet enough.

Ran the Max & Ruby Easter episodes as I worked. "Max's Chocolate Chicken" is the prize for gathering the most eggs. Ruby may have found the eggs, but that doesn't mean she gets the chicken. "Ruby's Beauty Shop" has Ruby and Louise using Max as a client in their new "salon." Max prefers their hair dye in wild colors to wigs and makeup. "Max Drives Away" when he wants ice cream for breakfast. Ruby follows him to Grandma's and back.

"Ruby's Easter Bonnet" may be the most creative at the Bunny Scouts Bonnet Competition, but Max's jumping frog gives it that something extra. Ruby and Louise just want Max to put their Easter eggs into a basket, but he'd rather use them for "Max's Easter Parade." "Max and the Easter Bunny" takes him to the Bunny Scouts' own Easter egg hunt. They think they're finding a lot of the same eggs...but it's really just Max hiding them after they find them.

Worked on my story for a few hours after the muffins came out of the oven. The soldiers of Palpatine's army, dressed in white and black armor, find Leia, Saw, and Obi-Wan together and arrest them for conspiracy against the crown and for breaking Han out of the tower. Jyn brings down one of those circular chandeliers on them and helps Leia escape while Obi-Wan gets the cart together and Saw holds them off. Jyn has friends near the wharf who might be able to help them...

Broke for dinner at quarter of 7. Had baked chicken legs with herbs (which I started earlier) with spinach salad and cucumber slices and home-made honey dressing. This came out pretty well, too. You can never go wrong with simple chicken.

Did one more Easter special while I ate. It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown has the gang getting ready for one of the major holidays of the spring. Sally wants new shoes, while Snoopy looks for a bird house for Woodstock. Peppermint Patty attempts to teach Marcie to color eggs, but she does everything you can do to an egg but hard-boil them. Lucy's more interested in finding her own eggs. Don't bother with all that fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle will do that. Sally is skeptical after the Great Pumpkin incident at Halloween, but Snoopy knows how to help prove Linus right, and get a dig in on his sister, too.

Finished the night after a shower with Justice League. Diana "Wonder Woman" Prince (Gail Godot) and Bruce "Batman" Wayne (Ben Affleck) are still fighting crime in and around Gotham and Metropolis. They both get a big shake-up when Diana's mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielson) reveals that the wave of mourning over Superman's (Henry Cavill) death has released Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), an alien soldier, and his bug army once the "Mother Box" is reactivated. There's three such boxes at the Amazon's island, the underwater home of the Atlanteans, and a secret location. While Arthur "Aquaman" Curry (Jason Momoa) joins the fight after Atlantis is attacked, others prove harder sells. Bruce does manage to convince lightning-fast college student Barry "The Flash" Allen (Ezra Miller) to join pretty quickly. Diana has a harder time with former athlete Victor "Cyborg" Stone (Ray Fisher), who is still getting used to his cybernetic body. He finally comes around when his father (Joe Morton) is kidnapped. After rescuing the trapped scientists, Bruce is convinced they need even more power and uses the Mother Box to resurrect Superman. After reuniting with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) restores his memories, he's ready to help the others stop Steppenwolf from destroying all the Earth and rebuilding it in his image.

I'm still wondering what all the fuss was about. I thought this was a lot of fun. Ok, so we don't really get to see that much of Cyborg, and the Flash is mostly used for comic relief. (But he always was in the cartoons.) Steppenwolf could have been a little better developed, too. (He wants to reshape the Earth in his image?) And yeah, the tons and tons of CGI in the action sequences is still a bit much. On the other hand, Godot and Cavill may have been even better here than in their individual films, and Affleck's Batman is an improvement over Batman vs Superman. And I absolutely loved Momoa as the hard-drinking Aquaman, one of my favorite superheroes when I was a kid.

It's too bad this is currently bombing at the box office and DC has already called off a sequel. While not perfect, it's leaps and bounds over DC's previous group movies Batman vs Superman and Suicide Squad. If nothing else, I'm now really looking forward to that Aquaman movie that's supposed to come out around Christmas. If you're a fan of the DC Universe or the characters, you might want to give this one a look.

A Good Birthday on Good Friday

It was still cloudy and a bit chilly when I got up this morning. Began my birthday with two American Girl stories. In Happy Birthday, Felicity, Lissie is excited to celebrate her big day with her grandfather, who is visiting for a few weeks. As much as she loves her dear old granddad, there's some friction in the household. Grandfather remains loyal to the king and governor. Her father and his apprentice are staunch patriots who believe the colonies should rule themselves. Meanwhile, Felicity loses her family's trust when she borrows a priceless heirloom without asking permission and breaks part of it. Her parents won't listen to her when she tells them she overheard the govener's men plotting to steal the colonists' gunpowder stores. She, her father's apprentice, and a drummer boy take it upon themselves to sound the alarm.

Molly McEntyre's birthday is less action-packed but equally frustrating. Happy Birthday, Molly has her trying to organize a genuine English tea with British refugee Emily Bennett. Molly's idea of a typical birthday party, with cake and ice cream and games, clashes with Emily's sedate lemon tart and watercress sandwiches. The girls end up arguing and insulting one another. It takes a surprise from Molly's mom to make the duo realize just how important compromise can be.

Ran a quick Disney short while doing dishes and getting organized. "Mickey's Birthday Party" is one of the last "everyone dances and sings" shorts. Here, the gang celebrates Mickey's big day with a conga and a boogie-woogie number to Mick's new organ. Meanwhile, Goofy tries to make a cake, without success.

I wanted to get an early start today to catch the first showing of Beauty and the Beast at the Cinemark Theater in Somerdale. Ran a quick special during breakfast. The original 1981 World of Strawberry Shortcake was set on the title character's birthday. Strawberry is upset when she thinks everyone's forgotten her special day. The nasty Peculiar Purple Pieman tricks the kids into giving Strawberry a gift that destroys their home. The kids are upset, but they won't go down without a fight.

Headed out around 9 to catch the bus down the White Horse Pike to Somerdale. It's the same bus I use to get to Voorhees Town Center and the Lindenwald Bus and Train Terminal, the one that picks up at the Oaklyn City Hall. No problems traveling. The bus was on time and not really full, and there was no traffic.

Got into Somerdale about 15 or so minutes later. The Cinemark Theater is in a small shopping center set off the road behind a Pizza Hut, a Taco Bell, and a massive Wal Mart. Went straight there first. They've done some remodeling since I saw The Force Awakens there early last year. The biggest addition was very soft and comfortable recliner seats. Lots of legroom, too. The remodeling was so fresh, the floor wasn't sticky yet.

The movie was even more enjoyable. If you've seen the animated Beauty and the Beast, or are familiar with the original French fairy tale, you know what happens here. Belle (Emma Watson) is shunned by the citizens of her tiny village not only for her love of reading, but for teaching little girls to read. Gaston (Luke Evans) may be handsome, but he's also vain, obnoxious, and has the intellect of a block of wood. Despite his boorish behavior, he's beloved by the townspeople, including his buddy LeFou (Josh Gad). One night, Belle's learns that her adored Father Maurice (Kevin Kline) was imprisoned by an hideous Beast (Dan Stevens) for trying to take a rose for Belle. Belle takes her father's place in the Beast's castle. But all is not what it seems. The longer Belle remains at the castle, the more she peels back the Beast's layers to discover he can be charming and intelligent as well as gruff. Now she just has to convince the town that the real Beast isn't the one with the fur, but the one with the selfish heart.

Oooh, Mom was totally right. This was amazing. Special kudos to the wonderful casting. Along with a pitch-perfect Watson and Kline, we have Ewan MacGregor as Lumiere, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Broadway star Audra Ann MacDonald as the wardrobe, and Stanley Tucci as her husband, a court musician-turned-harpsichord.  Lovely costumes and special effects, too. And the numbers were a blast. While the Busby Berkley-inspired "Be Our Guest" was fun, my favorite was the music hall pub romp to "Gaston." Glad to see some elements from the original fairy tale added back in, notably Maurice being imprisoned for trying to pick a rose.

Despite the additions of deeper back stories for Belle and the Beast and some darker elements, there's still no denying that this story's been told before. Also, I really wish they'd retained some of the songs from the stage version. "Home" and "No Matter What" might have been especially welcome. We only hear the music from the original film and a few new songs.

If you've got kids, especially little girls, you've probably already seen it. Even if you don't, I still recommend it, especially if you love musicals or the original Beauty and the Beast film or fairy tale.

I was glad to see that the Pac Man arcade game was still in the lobby at the theater. I played a few rounds of that before heading out to explore the rest of the shopping center. There wasn't really much to see. I browsed through Game Stop and Dollar General. There was also a YoGo Factory, an LA Fitness, and a pet shop. Considered some Lego games at Game Stop but finally decided I'd wait on those until next month when Lauren visits.

Settled down for lunch at the Applebee's next-door to the Cinemark around quarter of 1. The place wasn't too busy, despite it being the tail-end of the lunch hour and a day many people have off. I had the Fire Roasted Chicken Salad Wrap and their tasty French onion soup. The Fire-Roasted Chicken Salad Wrap lived up to the fire part of its name. It was mildly spicy and rather small, but still delicious. I wasn't really looking for a huge lunch, anyway. I ate a whole bag of popcorn at the movie.

Hiked back up the hill to Wal Mart after lunch. If the Wal Mart had nothing else going for it, its location on the side of the hill made for some spectacular views of the mall, theater, and apartment complexes below it. It was getting nicer by the minute too. The clouds that had been present all morning were starting to scuttle away.

My jaw nearly dropped when I stepped inside. The Wal Mart was enormous, the size of at least two or three warehouses, and probably about six times the size of the dinky little store in Audubon. One side of the store was all grocery items and food. This side was well-organized above the Wal Mart normal and fairly well-stocked. I found that Key Lime cake mix that is only seen around Easter, plus dark chocolate chips, cooking spray, and coconut for cheap.

The other side of the store wasn't nearly as well-organized. Everyone must have gone shopping in the morning. They already seemed rather picked-over, especially in the toy aisles. The prices still aren't as great as everyone claims. The lines were ridiculously long, too. I did find a present for my nephew Khai for his birthday on Wednesday, tan fitted sheets to replace the one that got a hole in it last fall, and the most adorable Beanie Baby-style BB-8 for me. (Also, the customers were unusually well-dressed and polite for people shopping in Wal Mart. The man in front of me who had a full cart let me go ahead of him.)

Since I had a little time before the bus arrived, I strolled down a block to the Magnolia Garden Center. I'd seen them on the bus many times, but never had a chance to check them out. In addition to seeds, bulbs, plants, flowers, giant watering cans, and other gardening items, they also sold Yankee Candles and country-style knick-knacks. Cute place and I enjoyed the quick look, but I'd really spent enough. I picked up the bus in front of the very modern Taco Bell, ignoring the squabbling family waiting with me. Other than the bus was a tad more full, I had no trouble getting back.

(At least the weather had gotten gorgeous by this point, sunny, breezy, and in the mid-60's. Perfectly normal for mid-April in Southern New Jersey.)

I originally rode to Dad and Jodie's first for the egg hunt, but I was too early. I just headed home instead. There was a call waiting for me when I got in. Mom had wished me a happy birthday. I called back. She was at work, but I did get to say "hi" to Dad before he headed out to work tomorrow.

Arrived at Dad and Jodie's house just as the kids were about to be let loose on the yard. Jodie, Dad, Rose, Craig, and some of the neighborhood parents had organized an egg hunt in Dad's front yard for their kids. They were so funny to watch as they scrambled around the grass, bushes, and fences around the pool area, searching for eggs. They all wanted to find Golden Eggs, the only ones with paper money in them. Poor Savannah got so upset when she didn't find a Golden Egg (and her brother Ryan did), she had to be briefly taken home to calm down.

The biggest hit among the non-money, non-candy items were tiny Pokemon figures that the kids all traded and the plastic bubbles. I remember these from when I was a kid. You squeeze some colorful liquid from a tube onto a straw, blow on the straw, and...voila! You produce a glue-smelling, pastel-colored bubble that can be played with usually for a few minutes before deflating. The kids loved them, chasing bubbles all over the front steps and porch.

Spent the rest of the evening at home. I had the second breaded tilapia fillet and roasted green beans and tomatoes in olive oil for dinner. The key lime cake mix and bag of coconut became Key Lime Coconut Cake with the addition of lime juice and a hand-made coconut buttercream icing.

Ran specials and cartoons while eating and working on my crocheting project for Lauren. "Pluto's Party" doesn't go as smoothly as Mickey's did. The young guests Mickey invited are unruly and obnoxious, trying to make Pluto pull them in a wagon and eating all his cake. But Mickey has a special surprise for his favorite pup at the end.

Max & Ruby did a three-party story involving Ruby's birthday. "Surprise Ruby" has the girl bunny following her brother, who has her tiara. She just wants to be home in time for her big surprise party. "Ruby's Birthday Party" has Ruby and her buddies enjoying typical party games like Red Light Green Light and Musical Chairs. Max just wants cake. "Ruby's Presents" are heartfelt and much-appreciated. Max has nothing for his sister, but the wrapping paper she's saved may give him an idea.

It's Yogi Bear's birthday in another three-part story, the series finale of The Yogi Bear Show. Ranger Smith has convinced Yogi that he's going to appear in one of the variety specials that were popular in the 50's and 60's. It's really a big birthday bash featuring all of the Hanna Barbara funny animals who had been created up to that point, including Huckleberry Hound and Quick-Draw McGraw.

Went further back in the series to dig up some spring-themed Yogi episodes. Yogi's "A Wooin' Bruin" when a circus bear courts Cindy. They compete to see who can bring her the most outrageous gifts. "Spring Has Hit a Snag" for the dramatic pink lion when a pretty female lion house guest turns out to be more of a demanding pest. "Duck Seasoning" is a more typical tale, pitting Yakky Doodle against a rather strange alligator based on Alfred Hitchcock.

Finished out the night before a shower with more Yogi. Yogi the Easter Bear is in a major jam. He ate all the candy for the big Easter Jamboree Ranger Smith is planning. The ridiculously tough commissioner and his grandchildren are going to be there and are expecting to have a great time. Yogi and Boo Boo set out to find the Easter Bunny, but his house has been ransacked. They end up rescuing him and the Easter Chicken from a pair of very weird plastic-obsessed goons.

And I must toss in a mention here of the best birthday present of all. Disney finally released the first trailer for this year's Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi. I don't care what anyone else thinks. I can't wait for this. It looks awesome.

The Last Jedi 1st Teaser Trailer

Busy Bunny Hop

I awoke to a beautiful, sunny, windy spring Saturday. Listened to this week's American Top 40 re-run as I read Sons of the Wolf by Barbara Michaels and wrote in my journal. We went deep into my childhood to cover late March 1987. I was 7 years old when these songs were on the charts, and I remember many of them well. Hits from the spring of that year included the lovely "Somewhere Out There" by James Ingram and Linda Rondstat (from the animated drama An American Tail), "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" by Genesis, "Mandolin Rain" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range, "Jacob's Ladder" by Huey Lewis and the News, "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel, "Livin' On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi, "When I Think of You" by Janet Jackson, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship (from the romantic fantasy-comedy Mannequin), and the novelty "Respect Yourself" performed by Bruce Willis at the height of his fame on Moonlighting. The song at the top of the charts that week was a fun one, the bouncy remake of "Lean On Me" by Club Nouveau.

I had quite a bit to do today, starting with this week's grocery trip. Thanks to that direct deposit, I no longer have to do my grocery shopping on the day I get my paycheck. I did have to go to the customer service desk, but it was to cash the voucher from the Coinstar machine. I turned in a full container of coins and got 20 dollars towards my very big grocery list. I desperately needed a fruit and vegetable restock, and my baking items - flour, eggs, butter - were getting low, too. Good thing there were sales all over the place. I hit the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter sale especially well. They were $2.49, and I had a dollar coupon for two.

When I got home, I noticed a crowd at Veteran's Park next-door to me. Parents and their kids were gathered around two squares of hay for this year's annual Oaklyn Easter Egg Hunt. I made a Lemon Mousse Pie as the kids searched for plastic eggs to win gift cards to Barnes & Noble.

I headed out to run more errands just as the crowds were leaving. My first stop was the Oaklyn Library. I hadn't been there in a while. It just got too crazy last week! While the DVDs weren't too bad, the kids' books are going to need more than 45 minutes worth of attention to really get them organized. Also made a quick stop for milk at WaWa on my way back.

When I got in, I had leftover chicken legs and honey-glazed carrots for lunch and watched more Three Stooges shorts. "Three Smart Saps" find themselves invading a party in a corrupt prison when the warden, the father of their fiancees, ends up in jail. They're the ones in prison in "In the Sweet Pie and Pie," wrongfully accused and on death row. When three young women marry them to get their inheritance and they're pardoned, they show up and demand their wives. The women try to embarrass them in society to get them to divorce...but the party goers are the ones with cream on their faces during an epic pastry battle! They get "Some More of Samoa" when they head to the island of Rhum Boogie in search of a mate for a lonely tree and find cannibals and a hungry alligator!

Work was very busy tonight, not helped by us being short-handed and short-registered. The first three registers were being painted by baggers, and we had to use the ones in the back. At the very least, the time went fast and people were generally in a decent mood. I was in and out.

When I got in, I decided that since Lauren wasn't supposed to be in until very late anyway (she went to a concert in Albany), I would go online later and make my usual shower a bath. I'm very glad I did. I was only in there an hour, but it was just long enough to really feel nice. I used the exfoliate cream I got years ago as a Christmas present from some friend or the other, too. I feel absolutely marvelous.

Oaklyn's Easter Egg Hunt and Other Rainy-Day Tales

I was enjoying my oatmeal with strawberries, brown sugar, and a little peanut butter when I saw something going on in Veteran's Park next-door. People were bringing bales of hay out of a truck, roping out squares, and hiding colorful plastic eggs. Yup, it was time for Oaklyn's annual Easter Egg Hunt. They hold a hunt for all of the local kids up to age 12 at Veteran's Park every year.

The weather was gloomy, chilly, and blustery, but the rain held off as I headed out the door. I really needed to get to the bank...and I slept in longer than I'd planned, so I was late getting out. Miss Ellie's sister Linda who lives down the street saw me walking and drove me part-way, but I only agreed to it because I was in a hurry. Thank goodness the bank wasn't busy.

Caught the tail end of the Easter Egg Hunt after I got home. Despite the weather, there were quite a few kids at the Hunt this year. The Easter Bunny (a fellow in glasses and a rather silly bunny suit) gave any kid who found a dark green egg a gift card to Barnes and Noble. I thought that was a far more interesting and useful gift than the usual pre-wrapped baskets kids get as grand prizes at the Egg Hunt.

I headed to work less than an hour after the Easter Egg Hunt ended. The weather was still chilly and blustery, but the rain held off.

Even when it did finally start raining sometime in mid-afternoon, it didn't effect the crowds. We were on-and-off busy all day, a lot busier than yesterday. Other than a few mildly annoying customers, there were no major problems, and my relief was on time.

It was still raining, and raining hard, when I got out of work. If I'd been going to work, I would have called for a ride. Since I was going home, I figured I could just dry off there. I rode home and arrived dripping wet. (On the other hand, it actually felt warmer going home in the evening than it did this morning, so it could have been worse.)

Spent the rest of the evening baking chocolate-oatmeal chip cookies and watching Road to Singapore, one of the only Road To... movies I hadn't seen. Bing is the laid-back heir to a fortune who would rather be sailing around the world with his buddy (Hope) than working for his dad. They end up on an island near Singapore, where they rescue a lovely local girl (Dorothy Lamour) from her abusive boss (Anthony Quinn). Crosby's father and jilted fiancee are hot on his trail, though, and so's the authorities after Hope's "miracle cleanser" isn't as much of a miracle as he hoped...

Though this is the first Road To movie, it doesn't feel as polished or as funny as later entries. It wasn't originally intended to be a series at all, but Bob and Bing were added at the last minute, and they and Dorothy Lamour just worked so well together, and the movie was such a huge hit, they ended up making six more between 1941 and 1962.

As for the weather, I got really lucky. Thunderstorms moved in during dinner...and with the thunder came heavier rain. It's been storming heavily on and off for the rest of the night.

Oh, and I finally got Molly's Camp Outfit. Two of them, actually. Her original Camp Outfit in full came yesterday. I won that on eBay (it retired earlier this year). I never thought I'd get the full outfit, though, so I'd also won just the shorts and hat. Molly will get the full outfit; Jessa will get the shorts.

Easter Egg Hunt and Other Spring Tales

The electrician came by this morning while Strawberry Shortcake was on. He was really sweet. He did install an electrical outlet in the bathroom. He tested the outlet next to the air conditioner while I was running errands in the neighborhood. Apparently, it does and can work, so he didn't do anything to it.

Today's Strawberry episode dealt with Angel Cake. She always wants everything to be "positively perfect"...even the games she plays. Trouble is, life doesn't always work like that, even in Strawberryland. When practicing until she becomes weary and throwing a fit doesn't make her a great player, she stomps out. It isn't until she learns a lesson from toddler Apple Dumplin' about having fun with sports that she can rejoin the other kids...and really enjoy the games.

The Care Bears also taught lessons about the importance of work and play...and separating the two. Their two little cloud friends wanted to play, but the Care Bears were busy cleaning. The two mischievous clouds speed up the Care-A-Lot Clock, but it only makes the bears work faster...and make more mistakes. It takes a little messing with time to show the clouds the virtue of work before play.

I saw Oaklyn's Easter Egg Hunt in the park as The Care Bears were finishing up, so I stopped there first. It was a windy, chilly, blustery day, mostly sunny, but with lots of big clouds in the sky. The wind was really whipping something fierce, which wasn't helping anyone with the search for plastic colored eggs. This year, the "Easter Bunny" was joined by a girl in a pink wig, tiara, multi-colored stockings, and tutu. I haven't the faintest idea of what she was supposed to be - some kind of weird spring fairy?

There were a whole bunch of signs on the old electrical post on the White Horse Pike advertising the first yard sales of the year. I headed to one after I did the bank. I bought a large, vintage-style Birthday Bear Care Bear at the one on Clinton Avenue. I wandered around looking for more, but finally went home instead.

I dropped Birthday Bear in my bedroom, grabbed my bag for groceries, and headed to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. Had debated going to Wal Mart to see if they had a splitter for my phone and internet (I broke the old one when I tripped over the phone cord), but Wal Mart is always a madhouse on Saturdays. I opted for a much quieter Staples instead. Stopped at FYE across the parking lot to buy a birthday present for my sister Rose and see if they had a WebKinz groundhog for my best friend Lauren, who can't find one in Pittsfield. No luck with the groundhog, but I did get Rose her birthday present and found a used copy of the original cast of the Broadway musical version of La Cage Aux Follies for me.

The Acme was steady but not really busy, and I was able to buy what I needed fairly quickly. Came home with fruit spread, peanut butter, granola bars, yogurt (plain and flavored), kiwi, bananas, celery, unbleached white flour, and grapefruit.

Though it was still a sunny, bright day when I finally got home around quarter after 2, and most of the clouds were gone by this point, it was also very, very windy. We got fifty-miles-an-hour gusts for most of the day. I briefly debated a long trip, or at least a long walk, but finally decided I'd done enough this week and just spent the rest of the afternoon at home, watching YouTube videos of vintage Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite specials.

The Easter Bunny Came To Town

First of all, Happy Easter to all who celebrate it!

I began a bright, gorgeous Easter morning with two Rankin-Bass stop-motion animation Easter specials as I frosted Rainbow Party Chip cupcakes. Here Comes Peter Cottontail is from 1971. The lie-prone title character travels through a year's worth of holidays (including Easter) to deliver Easter eggs and save April Valley from the vengeance-obsessed Irontail. Some nice, bright animation and the excellent cast - including Casey Kasem as Peter Cottontail, Vincent Price as Irontail, and Danny Kaye as the narrator, the caterpillar captain Antoine, and Colonel G. Bunny - are the saving graces here.

Rankin-Bass got to their second, and far more Easter-y, springtime extravaganza in 1975. While Peter Cottontail has some echoes of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Easter Bunny Is Coming To Town is something of a blatant rehash of 1970's Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Not only is it narrated by Fred Astaire in a repeat of his mailman character, he even briefly refers to the earlier special in the beginning and in the title song.

Getting away from it's origins, it's a fun look at secular Easter customs that aren't as often explored as similar traditions for Christmas. I especially loved the hilarious Hendrews Sisters, a singing chicken trio who provide Sunny the Easter Bunny with his eggs. Though their numbers are largely extraneous, they're some of the best in the show.

The 1975 Peanuts special It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown also refers to an earlier special, in this case It's the Great Pumpkin. Indeed, Sally provides a rare bit of continuity when Linus starts babbling about a magical "Easter Beagle" who brings candy and eggs to all the good little children and she reminds him of how much this resembles his pet Halloween myths.

While not really one of the best Peanuts specials, Easter Beagle is probably my personal favorite, just because I love the running gag with Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and 500 different ways of cooking eggs. ;)

I listened to the Beatles show for about 20 minutes after Easter Beagle, then headed over to Dad and Uncle Ken's, stopping first to deliver three cupcakes to my landlady. There was a large Easter basket for my sister Jessa and a small one for me when I arrived. I chatted with Jessa for a while over a third season episode of Sailor Moon before she, Dad, Jodie, and I drove out to our cousins' house.

Karen and Jim and their 18-year-old daughter Taylere, toddler son C.J, and dog Hobbes live in a development in Washington Township in the middle of what mostly appears to be a farming community. They apparently moved into the huge, brand-new house last year and don't have much there yet besides a big backyard with a lovely view of a lake and some peach trees. (Sadly, the trees will supposedly fall victim to a road and redevelopment plan next year.)

I nibbled on some cheese and cracker trays and chatted with the adults before opting to go with Taylere and Jessa to Taylere's boyfriend's house for an "adult Easter egg hunt." Like Taylere's family, her boyfriend and his family live in a large house with a huge yard in a largely rural town. He and his siblings are all older, in their late teens and early 20s, but their sweet parents still hide eggs for them every year. I listened to the kids goof off in their basement band rehearsal area (Tay's boyfriend is apparently the drummer for a local Christian rock band) while the parents hid the eggs. We then spent the next hour searching all over the yard for plastic eggs filled with coins and Reeces' Peanut Butter Cups. Taylere got the most money ($1.05); her boyfriend got the most eggs overall. I regretted wearing dressy clothes and heels during this; I ultimately looked for eggs in my stocking feet.

After the Egg Hunt, we headed home for dinner. Taylere had to work at her local Applebee's, but the rest of us (including Uncle Ken and Dolores, who arrived while we were at Taylere's boyfriend's house) sat down to a big meal of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, potato salad, stuffing, and corn, with cupcakes and two egg-shaped cakes for dessert. We also got to observe C.J's reason for living - golf. His father is crazy about golf, and so's he. His mother even found him a golf-ball-shaped Easter basket. Hitting balls is the kid's life. Balls and the new Little Tykes Car he got for his birthday. You should have seen Jodie and Dad pushing him around in that thing. It was hysterical.

I watched Easter Parade after I got home. Easter Parade is one of the most famous of the classic MGM Technicolor musicals of the 40s and 50s. A vaudeville dancer (Fred Astaire) loses his partner (Ann Miller) right before New York's Easter Parade in 1912. When his best friend (Peter Lawford) claims there will never be a partner as wonderful as Miller, Astaire claims he can pick any woman out of a chorus line and make her just as wonderful, actually taking a girl out of a bar show (Judy Garland) and asking her to come for rehearsal. What follows is a relatively simple show business story that mostly makes use of Irving Berlin's back song catalog from the time period ("I Love A Piano," "When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam'," the title song) along with six new songs (among them "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "It Only Happens When I Dance With You," the adorable "A Couple Of Swells," and "Better Luck Next Time" for Garland). With Astaire and Ann Miller involved, there's some spectacular dancing, some of the best of any MGM musical - Miller stands out in "Shakin' the Blues Away," and Lawford does well by the sweet "A Fella With An Umbrella."

Oh, and WebKinz fans have probably already noticed this (for once, they admit it on the front page), but the gardens are acting screwy. Yesterday, they'd disappeared all together; today, they're nothing but weeds. Interestingly, other than the garden, I haven't had any problems at all with WebKinz this weekend. I adopted Cadbury the Brown Dog just fine on Wednesday and got everything she was supposed to come with, I got my Easter gifts and card with no problems, the site was only running slightly slow, and all my exclusives are where they should be. I even had some great luck with the Curio Shop, picking up the Hockey Flooring for Quinn the Polar Bear's Hockey Rink Room and Country Cabinets for Duke the Lil'Kinz Pig's Farm Room. (I also decided I liked the mellow tan wood in the Candy Room Bed and Breakfast better than the Purple Pop Star Wardrobe.)

Hoppin' On The Bunny Trail

First of all, I just finished posting this month's story at mine and Lauren's Monkees role play site. If you were disappointed with last month's relatively quiet party story, you'll be happy to know that this month's story ups the action and returns our favorite villains to the fold.

Second, I'm happy I got a lot done today. I hung out a bit this morning, watching The Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake and feeling like a kid again. Not only did I watch modern cartoons based after two of the 80s most popular franchises, but I saw commercials for My Little Ponies and Cabbage Patch Kids! (And, for some reason, a lot of sneakers.) Shame the Strawberry Shortcake Cereal is long-gone.

After Strawberry ended, I headed out for a quick run to the bank. On my way out, I heard some commotion at Veteran's Park next-door to me. Kids ages 2 to 8 and their parents and grandparents were gathered around three areas squared-off with pink tape. The squares were filled with hay and plastic Easter eggs. There was a table with a line of cellophane-covered, goodie-filled Easter baskets in the front of the park. I came just in time to see Oaklyn's Easter Egg Hunt! The three squares were for three age groups. As cute as the pre-schoolers and kindergardeners and first graders were, the second and third graders really took the cake...or the eggs. They almost literally threw themselves into the hunt, grabbing eggs and straw, kicking straw around, and making the funniest faces. The younger kids even got to greet the Easter Bunny, who also gave out prizes. (He was probably a parent in a costume, but it was a nice touch.)

I did finally make it to the bank after the kids finished and went over to the table for their baskets. I also made a quick stop at Family Dollar for Sweet n' Low (they didn't have any), WaWa for a drink, and at Doria's Deli (THEY had Sweet n' Low).

Work was busy and fairly painless, up-to and including a lovely, windless ride.