Summertime Games

Began the morning with breakfast and the Monchhichis. Wizzar feels every bit of his hundred years on his birthday when he can't get his spells to work right, even for a coconut-opening machine. He forgets where he puts his magic staff, which brings a cookie shaped like him to life. It becomes "Dueling Wizzars" as the other Monchhichis first have to retrieve Wizzar when he thinks he's not needed, then show him that he can do magic with or without his staff.

Switched to Remember WENN while taking my laundry downstairs, making my bed, and going through my clothes. Hilary and Jeff become "Strange Bedfellows" when they both join the race for Pittsburgh's city council. Scott sets up a big debate on the airwaves, which also brings in Luke Langley (David Canary), a laid-back former baseball player running for a smaller group. Meanwhile, Scott has the others taking political polls, Mackie and Maple take an informal one of their own, and Enid can't seem to stay neutral while polling.

"Close Quarters" has the entire cast in quarantine at the station when paranoid Dr. Bickman (Michael Jaye) thinks the sick Mr. Foley has a rare disease. The others enjoy their confinement on the first night, as they share a dance and dinner...but the longer the quarantine continues, the more they get on their nerves, until it starts to show on the air. Good thing Mr. Foley's infectious disease isn't quite what Bickman thinks.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then went out to run errands. My first stop was at the post office to drop paperwork in the box. Dollar General is just around the corner, so I went there next. Finally found the moisture eliminators. Bought two of those and two packs of hair bands. 

Cut across Newton Lake Park next to Shamrock Deli. I thought a picnic might be something fun and different. They weren't that busy at quarter after 2, when I ordered a small roast beef hoagie, a Snapple Diet Peach Tea, and a small bag of Charles Chips. (Hadn't had those in years. Mom had a tin we used for cookies in the 80's.) I had no sooner ordered my sandwich when suddenly people started appearing. By the time I left, there was a long line waiting for sandwiches or Door Dash orders.

Headed back to the park for lunch. I ate at one of the new picnic tables by the playground, the one under a shady tree. It wasn't bad when I went out, but by 2:30, it was sunny, hot, and killer humid. At least there was a nice breeze this time. I enjoyed my quiet lunch by the sparkling green lake (when I wasn't brushing away ants), listening to the breeze rustle the emerald trees. I finished and made my way back to the main path just as two women came with the cutest little girl. Even did a little swinging.

Cut back down to Cuthbert Road and rode all the way up to La Mortense Plus on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike. Needless to say on a hot afternoon, they were busy. I'm just glad there wasn't a line. I had a gelati - in this case, dulce de leche ice cream layered with horchata water ice. Oh, yum! I think there was bits of what I think was the actual candy in there. (Either that or rice.) Either way, it was delicious. I ate while watching three ladies chat and three kids, two in soccer uniforms, enjoy water ice together.

Went straight home after that. Brought the laundry upstairs and folded it, then spent the next two hours listening to records. I picked up the original soundtrack for the Disney Babes In Toyland on eBay last week. I've only found the book and record in this area. Even here, a lot of the songs don't sound like the originals. The kids only sing on "Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep." You don't even hear them on "The Work Song." "Just a Whisper Away" and "Just a Toy" are entirely different. At the very least, I'm sure that's the actual adult cast doing the singing. Ray Bolger is unmistakable on "Castle In Spain." 

The soundtrack for Snow White and the Three Stooges not only includes all of the narration, but it also has a song for the Stooges, "Looking for People, Looking for Fun," that was either cut from the film, or recorded but not used. Most of the songs are for Carol Heiss as Snow White (including the lovely "Place Called Happiness"), Mel Blanc as the voice of ventriloquist's dummy Quatro, or the chorus ("Once In a Million Years"). I think both the soundtrack and the film are underrated in the Stooges filmography. There's a lot about this that's really enjoyable.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is an old favorite of mine. It used to show up frequently on local stations in the 1980's, and we'd rent the movie quite a bit, too. I consider this to be one of the best scores the Sherman Brothers wrote outside of Disney along with Charlotte's Web. Though the catchy title song got the Oscar nomination, I like the charming "Truly Scruptious" for the lady by that name and the kids and two hilarious numbers for Grandpa, "Posh!" and "The Roses of Success." 

Moved to Match Game '76 even before Chitty ended. The entire two hours covered the week Ron Paillio of Welcome Back, Kotter debuted on the show. He always seemed to have a great time, and probably played better than anyone else from that show besides Debralee Scott. Joining him that week were Jo Ann Worley and her trills and Fannie Flagg and her apple t-shirt.

Finished the night after dinner and a shower putting the spotlight on host Jim McKreill. Most people nowadays probably know this native Texan better as a reporter in Gremlins or in movies like Annie Hall and Defending Your Life than as a game show host. He started out hosting the Chuck Barris personality-test-based The Game Game in 1969 before landing what would be his only hit in 1974. Celebrity Sweepstakes is a comedy panel show that's basically a cross between Match Game and Jeopardy. The audience would give odds on whether a panelist could answer a certain question. Contestants made bets based on those odds. Too bad this show is hard to find today. McKreill is charming, the premise is really fun, and the panel is hilarious.

Most of his hosting seemed to have been limited to pilots that weren't picked up for a series. His last hosting gig to date has been the short-lived 1978 revival of Quiz Kids. This is a pretty standard questions-and-answer game with kids under the age of 10 instead of adults. If the kids answer wrong, they lose points. If they answer right, they can get a certain amount of points. Other than a colorful set and it filming in Boston, this wasn't anything enormously special and barely lasted half a season in syndication.

McKrell seems to have done better on other people's shows. He appeared twice on Celebrity Bowling. In the episode shown here, he and character actor Vince Edwards are playing against the comically mismatched team of Peter Bonerz and Pat Moriata. He does much better in 3 for the Money. This is another quiz show, this time with two adults and a celebrity captain. McKrell is joined by Barbara Felton as the team captains. I give him credit. Not only did he and the two women on his team pull off a comeback, but they did really well in the bonus round, too. Too bad this show only lasted two months, and this is one of four episodes known to exist.

Towards the end of his career, McKrell switched to announcing. He took over for Joe Alasky near the end of Couch Potato's short-lived syndicated run. Marc Summers hosts another quiz show, this one taking place in a cartoon living room and revolving entirely around TV trivia. They even frequently had guests to help with the questions, like when Janice Parkington from The Price Is Right turns up on the episode listed here. (Oh, and at press time, McKrell is still living, but has been retired since 2016. Couch Potatoes was his last game show to date as a host or announcer.)

Celebrate this cowboy's career with celebrities out of the gate, quiz kids answering tough questions, and learning about more TV trivia than you can shake a potato chip at in these delightful episodes!

Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974)

3 for the Money (1975)

Celebrity Bowling (1976)

Quiz Kids (1978) Part 1 Part 2

Couch Potatoes (1989)

Night of the Mall Hospital

Began the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. "The Doctor Will See You Now" takes Doc to her mother's office for her own checkup. She and her toys discover that kids aren't playing with the toys in the waiting room because they're covered in a strange, sticky, colorful substance. She has to explain to a Play Doh head that keeps shaking his clay hair about how easy it is to spread germs and messes around. Stuffed owl Professor Hootenburgh challenges Donny's learning toy Lil' Egghead to see who is the smarter toy, but "Lil' Egghead Fees the Heat" and starts giving wrong answers. Doc gets him out of the sun and reminds him that humans and electronics need to stay cool. 

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Alas, the first driver going there canceled. By the time the second one got me to Moorestown, I was 10 minutes late. Getting home from Stacks On 38 was a lot easier. The driver arrived in less than a minute! Thank heavens, no traffic either way, not even on Route 38 in Pennsauken.

Oversleeping and being 10 minutes late was the worst thing that happened all day. They called for me about 5 minutes after I checked in, and the doctor came 5 minutes after the nurse checked my blood pressure. Dr. Gouda originally wanted me to wear a boot for three weeks. I can't do that. I called out of work enough in the winter when my knee was so stiff. We finally compromised on wearing a boot to bed and doing physical therapy. 

And if there's one good thing about all of these new hospitals and health care offices that have been opening everywhere, it's getting state-of-the-art health care. Everything in the hospital was new and modern, from the smooth gray wood floor to the comfortable tan, gray, and red furniture in the huge, spacious lobby. Even the chair in the doctor's room was comfortable and had padding instead of just papers laid on the vinyl.

Cooper University Health Care opens up into the Moorestown Mall. The only store open when I finished my appointment around 10 was Boscov's. I did need something there that I hadn't bought on vacation. My underwire bras were all bent out of shape and uncomfortable and needed to be replaced. The problem is, I don't like the padded ones that are more common now. I come with plenty of my own padding, thank you! I chose two from Vanity Fair that looked comfortable and one from Warners, all for 30 percent off.

After I bought them, I made my way around the Mall and across Route 38 to Stacks On 38 (just barely missing the huge lawn mower cutting the grass on the meridian). Stacks On 38 is a breakfast place situated on the edge of the Homegoods/Marshalls shopping center. They were busy when I arrived, not surprising since it was barely past 11, but I did get a table by the windows. Had three delicious crepes filled with apple compote and topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar. The turkey bacon was limp, but edible. Listened to four Cooper Health doctors and nurses doing work on their laptops at the table in front of me.

When I got home, I colored a picture of Strawberry leaving for Big Apple City in my vintage Strawberry Shortcake coloring book and watched Remember WENN. We open the second season with "Radio Silence." Jeff Singer survived the London bombings and is being sent home. Victor Comstock wasn't that lucky. Devastated that she never got to tell him how she felt about him, Betty goes into seclusion, writing scripts where nothing bad happens and insisting on a minute of silence for Victor every hour. Scott tries to tell the distraught young woman that you can't live your life drowning in grief, but it's Jeff who finally gets through to her when he returns.

Hilary's absolutely delighted that Jeff came home to her...maybe a little too much. They've gone from constantly bickering to reciting baby talk on their morning shows and making everyone at the station and in their audience nauseous. They finally say "I Now Pronounce You Man and Wife Again" when they get remarried in Mexico...and instantly regret it. Meanwhile, Scott convinces organist Eugenia Bremer to take over their new late night show. (Which will take her out of the remaining second season.)

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while I finished coloring. "Daniel Asks Before Touching Someone Else" is one of two brand-new episodes currently on the PBS Kids website. Daniel loves going to the playground with his little sister Margaret, but is baffled when she doesn't want a hug. Mrs. Tiger tells him he has to ask when touching someone, as they might be sensitive about it. Prince Wednesday asks Daniel when he wants a push on the swings. "Jodi Asks Before Touching Someone Else" when she wants to touch Miss Elania's new braids, and she doesn't appreciate that. Likewise, O the Owl isn't big on someone touching his back and asks to be the caboose in their kid train.

Went down for a nap after Daniel ended. I was up way too late last night and had that early appointment this morning. The boot was not the most comfortable thing to sleep in! I know my heel needs to be stretched, but it didn't feel great. Somehow or other, I managed to doze off until 4 PM.

Watched Summer School on Pluto TV after I finished reading a few chapters of Donna Parker: Mystery At Arawak. Physical education teacher Freddie Shoop (Mark Harmon) is not looking forward to teaching remedial English to a disparate group of high school kids, including a whiny geek who is the only underachiever in his family (Richard Horviz), a pregnant girl (Shawnee Smith), a surf-crazy girl who is living with her aunt and uncle (Courtney Thorne-Smith), and two best buddies who are the world's biggest fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Gary Riley and Dean Cameron). 

Shoop has no idea what to do with them. He first takes them on field trips, then promises to do things for them if they study. That ends when one of the horror fans ruins his car, their wild party destroys his couch, and the besotted surfer girl tries to move in. He has the obnoxious vice principal (Robin Thomas) breathing down his neck, even as he pursues the attractive history teacher (Kirstie Alley) who is in the room next to his. When the kids try to get more favors, he understandably blows a gasket. The kids bring him back and convince him that he's the only one who can help them show just how much they've learned.

On one hand, a lot of this is very typical of its era and movies of this type. Most of the kids are relatively bland, and a lot of the shenanigans seen here aren't all that different from other teen movies of this era like One Crazy Summer. There's also a few aspects that haven't dated well, notably Shoop's constant pursuit of Robin when she keeps saying "no" and the surfer girl living with Shoop briefly (even Robin calls him on that one). On the other hand, there's some surprisingly realistic touches. The pregnant girl's story is handled in a fairly realistic and sensitive manner. There's also the results of that final test. None of the kids suddenly turn into geniuses, but they do improve. Honestly, if you're a fan of Harmon or of the slobs vs snobs comedies of the 80's, this has enough pluses to be worth checking out on a hot summer day.

I decided to do something different for dinner after my heavy brunch. I dragged my food processor up from the basement, brought down a can of chickpeas and my peanut butter, added olive oil, salt, and pepper, and made hummus. Sliced celery, added a few Cherry tomatoes and PopCorners, and loaded them onto a plate. Not bad, considering I haven't made this in a long time. It was a quick, healthy dinner, anyway.

Ate dinner while watching Match Game '76. Most of the night finished out the week with Scoey Mitchelll and Susan Howard. By the time Gene was helping a woman who ran an egg-based restaurant with the Audience Match, they'd switched to Orson Bean, Betty White, and character actress Pat Delaney.

Finished the night back at Pluto TV with The Wild Wild West. It's "The Night of the Two-Legged Buffalo" when Jim and Artemis are supposed to protect a spoiled prince (Nick Adams) from a remote tropical island whose father wants to make a treaty with the US. The prince only cares about living the good life at fancy spas and lavish hunting lodges. The prince, however, is walking right into a den of assassins who definitely don't want that treaty to go through. Jim has Artie act as a decoy, at least until they realize who's really behind the assassination attempts. 

Let's Go to the Mall

Got a quick start this morning. I grabbed breakfast, then called Uber. I had a longer trip planned for us today. Fortunately, I had no trouble whatsoever getting a driver. The woman taking us to the Deptford Mall arrived in 10 minutes. The man going home came in 3! There was no traffic either way, not even on the highways. Everyone must be at the Shore. We got to the Round 1 at Deptford within 15 minutes

Wanted to get Round 1 in before we were hauling around a lot of packages. I had even more fun today than in Philly yesterday! I spent almost an hour and a half running from Bust-a-Move to skee ball to Centipede Chaos to giant Pac Man to ring toss. Got Princess Peach on Mario Kart and came in second on the Bowser's Castle course. No luck on the big cranes, but I did get a mini Pooh Tsum Tsum (cylindrical Disney character stuffed animal) from one of the small cranes. I got over 3,500 points, enough for a well-made denim tote bag with a smiling plush strawberry on the front pocket and another Beanie Baby, a fluffy pink cat named Lady. Lauren had more luck with the cranes and managed to get two (one for a co-worker), plus her own mini Tigger Tsum Tsum.

We briefly peeked at FYE on our way across the mall. Lauren didn't get anything this time. I grabbed a used copy of the complete series for the short-lived Bird of Prey TV show from 2002 for $5.99. I figured, I have the first two seasons of the Supergirl show. Why not give Batgirl equal time? 

Red Robin isn't far from FYE, so we had lunch there. They were pretty busy for just after 1 PM when we arrived. I had their new Crispy Fish Sandwich with pickles and cabbage slaw, fries, and a dirty coconut soda. Lauren had a berry lemonade with their new crispy chicken sandwich with hot sauce and broccoli. She said the chicken sandwich was really good, and the hot sauce added just the right zing. My fish sandwich was yummy. The fish was huge, and the cabbage slaw complimented it nicely. The coconut soda was really good, too, and I love their big salty steak fries.

We were in and out of stores for the next two hours. Lauren didn't find anything at Boscov's. I finally got a pair of Clarks' "Cloudsteppers" walking sandals there for $44. The pair I bought last year were falling apart (wearing them in torrential downpours twice last week didn't help). I got the exact same pair in beige, and they're just as comfortable this year. We both looked around Toys R' Us but didn't get anything. Lauren found a Harmony Bear Care Bear with her original triple-heart tummy symbol at Miniso. 

She got shirts at Macy's and used the bathroom at JC Penney. I didn't bother with Macy's (I rarely find anything there) and went to the bathroom at JC Penney's, then picked up a coral t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts to replace the pair that's starting to go in the thighs. Lauren got three shirts and sweaters off BoxLunch's clearance rack, including a Garfield sweater I couldn't find in my size. I did get a cute Strawberry Shortcake/My Melody t-shirt and a Hello Kitty and Friends computer pad (my blue computer pad had drink rings and was curling at the edges) from the clearance rack for buy one, get one half-off, along with a Sailor Jupiter pen. 

After we finished at BoxLunch, we figured it was time to warm up a bit and headed across the street to Barnes and Noble, past Aldi's, the Tractor Supply Company, and the new breakfast restaurant. (They're still working on Nordstrom Rack.) Lauren went to Old Navy, but had no luck. I finally found the new Shady Hollow mystery Mockingbird Court by Juneau Black (I've been waiting for more Shady Hollow mysteries!) and two Disney soundtracks on record, Cars (in a nifty picture disc) and the brand-new live-action Moana. (I also picked up an adult version of Wizard of Oz called West of Wicked, but...um...paging through it later in the evening revealed that it's overly violent and a bit too adult for me. It'll go to Goodwill or one of the kiosks. Considering this is the second time in six months I grabbed what sounded like a romantic adult retelling of a classic story that got too adult, I really need to take a better look at these books before I buy them if I'm not familiar with the author.) 

I met Lauren around quarter of 6, and we went across the street to Red Lobster for dinner. I'm so glad the Red Lobsters in my area are still open! We had an absolutely delicious seafood dinner. I had shrimp scampi, shrimp Alfredo, and broccoli...and there was so much, I didn't finish the Alfredo. Lauren had scampi, Alfredo, fried popcorn shrimp, and fries, and she ate everything but the fries! Even with us having two cheddar biscuits each, we still had three to bring home for later in the week.

Took out the trash when I got home, then went straight in the shower. I finished the night watching American game shows that were adopted in Canada in honor of Family Feud Canada running on Buzzr. To be fair, most Canadian adaptations of American shows are pretty close to the originals. Those who are offended by the Steve Harvey Feud here in the US may prefer the Canadian version hosted by comedian Gary Dee, which has an identical set and somewhat less naughty questions. The 90's Canadian Supermarket Sweep also resembled its American counterpart, with a slightly different set, different-colored sweaters for the teams, and a much cuter host, Tino Monte (who also wore ugly ties). 

For some reason, the English-language Canadian version of Match Game in 2012 used the 1990-91 version, up to and including the Match-Up round (only one per show here) and Star Wheel, as its basis. Otherwise, it's just as funny as its American counterpart later in the decade, and only slightly less raunchy. Darrin Rose was the host. Caroline Rhea, who anchors the panel here, would later turn up in the 2016-2021 ABC show as well.

The Canadians have been adapting our shows since at least the 60's. Their Beat the Clock from 1970 originally featured American Jack Narz as the host, until he got tired of communing. Announcer Gene Wood took over from him, the only time he'd get to host a show. This is also the only version of Beat the Clock to have celebrities helping out with the stunts (rather than playing the game). Narz's little brother Tom Kennedy is the celebrity in the episode I have here. 

They occasionally adapted shows that didn't go over well north of the border. Pay Cards ran on syndication in 1968 and 1969, but it was never wildly popular. Canada tried it twice on their own version of syndication. It went over better in its original version from 1973 to 1975 than as the revamped Super Pay Cards! from 1981, which is what I have here. 

Monty Hall, himself Canadian, struck out with game shows in his native land. His 1980-1981 version of Let's Make a Deal ran into the same problem that the more lavish Pitfall with Alex Trebek did around the same time. The production company went belly up after a year, and he never did get paid. He did slightly better with a revival of Split Second. It too only ran a year, but at least there was no chicanery and everyone got their money and prizes. 

Take a summertime trip to visit our neighbors in the north with these delights from the land of hockey, comedy, and some pretty funny Feuds!

Beat the Clock (1970)

Let's Make a Deal (1981)

Super Pay Cards! (1981)

Split Second (1986)

Supermarket Sweep (1992)

Match Game (2012)

Family Feud Canada (2024)

Cherry Hill Park

I slept in...and actually slept this time. I didn't get to calling Uber until past 12:30. The driver going to the Cherry Hill Library arrived within 8 minutes, not bad for rush hour. We did hit a little traffic in Haddonfield, but still arrived at the Cherry Hill Library in less than 20 minutes.

The Cherry Hill Library is the biggest library in the Camden County area, and it has the largest remaining book sale. They didn't have records this time around, but there were plenty of CDs, children's books, adult books, and tons of DVDs! Lauren bought four classical and instrumental CDs for her father. The children's book section was too noisy and busy for me to find anything there, but I had more luck with the other sections. I got the cozy mystery Stranger In the Looking Glass by Jan Fields, Fletch Lives on DVD, and four CDs:

Hot! Hot! Hot! - Pier 1 Imports collection of tropical-themed songs from 2002

Jimmy Durante - As Time Goes By: The Best of Jimmy Durante

The Rolling Stones - Rewind

20 #1 Hits of the 20's (They had CDs for the 30's, 50's, and 60's too, but I figured this had the rarest songs.)

After we finished, we got soda from the vending machine in the cafe area, then went next-door to Casa Puebla. This Mexican restaurant is so local, it's in a normal residential house. It was surprisingly busy for 1:30 when we arrived with families and local workers looking for tacos and burgers. Lauren had fried pork tacos for lunch. I had an enormous and very tasty chicken burrito with tons of Spanish rice. That huge burrito filled me up so much, I barely had room for a cup of pineapple water ice. Lauren went with a non-alcoholic Pina colada. It came in a hollowed-out pineapple, topped with pineapple rings, whipped topping, a cherry, and one of those little paper Japanese umbrellas. And yes, she drank the whole thing and loved it.

It was cloudy, killer humid, and relatively cool as we made our way down King's Highway, probably in the lower 80's. Big fat drops started splashing down when we were less than a block from Lucky Strike. Thankfully, we made it there just as the shower was getting heavier. 

Lucky Strike (formerly The Big Event) has been Cherry Hill's premiere bowling alley for over 60 years. As you can guess on a day with such nasty weather, it was busy with families, college students, and couples on dates. Lauren and I played three games. To be honest, neither of us are very good. Lauren won all of the games and got the highest score at 73...but I'm the only one who got two strikes in the second and third games. (We also got to see more World Cup games on the monitors, along with golf. Research later revealed that Spain beat Belgium 2 to 1.)

Lucky Strike also has a small arcade in the back. It doesn't have as many games as Round 1 or Dave & Buster's, but it's cheaper and the games use far less points. Lauren and I spent the next 40 minutes or so running from Nerf Arcade to Lane Master bowling to the cranes to the basketball games. I came up with over 2,800 points...but there was no one at the prizes counter. I saw a sign that said you had to go get the lady at the front desk if you wanted something. It was already pretty late. I decided to save my points for another time.

Thankfully, the rain was long gone by the time I called Uber. It was slightly sunnier, if still very humid. The driver arrived in 9 minutes and got us to Ollie's in less than 10. I'm glad he took the longer route down Clements Bridge Road. I got to point out Sussex House, the Playa Del Sol, Jefferson Health, the pizza place, and the dessert bar to Lauren.

People who only shop at the Cherry Hill Mall and don't check out the other stores next to it and in back of it on Church Road are really missing something. The Ollie's is huge, stuffed full of all kinds of books, discontinued food, and other great random junk. Lauren bought bags of candy and trail mix. I got The Peanuts Lunch Box Cookbook, recipes intended for lunches and kid-friendly snacks, based on (and showing the) original comic strips.

Led Lauren a block down to the brand-new Red, White, and Thrift that opened in March. This good-sized store used to be a Big Lots, meaning it had plenty of room for clothes, home goods, toys, and media. I found one paperback mystery, Murder of a Snake In the Grass by Denise Swanson, a pair of Faded Glory jean shorts (haven't seen that brand in years), and one CD, the second American Musical Theater Smithsonian collection. My best find here was a fluffy stuffed Share Bear. She looks like the design from the 2002 run - she has lighter lavender fur, her eyes are more like the originals, and she has her original soda with two straws tummy symbol. Lauren came up with more workout shorts.

IHOP is almost directly across from Ollie's, so we went there for dinner next. The only other people in the place when we came in was a dad and his two lively daughters. I had yummy strawberry banana pancakes, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and hash browns I didn't have the room to finish. (Oh, and I appreciate that IHOP's pancakes aren't the size of the plate. They're a lot easier to eat in one sitting.) Lauren had a massive spinach and mushroom omelet topped with cheddar cheese and salsa and said it was amazing. I had an iced tea. Lauren had a vanilla coffee latte that she said was more like a vanilla milkshake with a little coffee flavor. It was just picking up when we headed out. 

Our final stop of the day was 2A Thrift at the Cherry Hill Plaza next-door to the Cherry Hill Mall. Thank heavens they finally finished remodeling the exterior! We had no problems getting inside. I found the movies Enchantment and Buck Privates on DVD (I've been looking for Buck Privates - I have its sequel, Buck Privates Come Home, but I've never been able to find the original), a sleeveless blouse with a beautiful stained glass-like leaf design, a K-Tel record collection Images, and the CD Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook. Lauren picked up a few tank tops for working out.

With the construction ended, we could call Uber right from 2A Thrift. The driver arrived in 15 minutes just as the sun went down. He had to take an alternate route because of an accident on the turn-off to Cuthbert Road, but we still got home in 15 minutes.

I finished the night after a shower with Beauty and the Beast on YouTube. From what little I can gather online, this Ruby-Spears animated special is from 1983 and was made for something called Kenner Family Classics. I never heard of it, but I wish I had. It honestly follows the Perrault version pretty well. It's one of the few animated retellings of the original story I've seen to include Beauty's brothers (who love her and make a misguided attempt to rescue her from the Beast) as well as her spoiled sisters and where her father doesn't mind her being with the Beast as long as it makes her happy. Considering the prince is turned into a Beast for turning a fairy away, I can't help but wonder if someone at Disney saw this version before they made theirs. 

Oh, and I got my schedule while watching YouTube. To my surprise, I have no schedule. I'm off Saturday along with the rest of my second vacation week. I wasn't expecting that! Either the head bagger came back, or they corralled enough college boys to not need me that day. I'll go to the farm market...then probably spend the rest of the day watching movies or napping. 

Straight from the Hart

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. "Teela's Quest" takes her to the Crystal Mountains in order to speak with an oracle who may know what happened to her real mother. He-Man follows her, and discovers he has good reason to be worried when Mer-Man attempts to use her as a sacrifice for an infamous sea creature. 

Called Uber around quarter of 11, soon as the show ended. Thankfully after the last few days, we had no trouble here whatsoever. The first driver, to my surprise, arrived in 4 minutes. The one going home came in 5. There was no difficulty on the road, no traffic anywhere.

We got off at the Gloucester Premium Outlets. Unlike the outlet mall in Atlantic City, which is spread out across busy streets, the one in Blackwood is entirely food traffic. It's more like the Washington Street Mall in Cape May. Hit pay dirt at our very first stop of the day. Go! Calendars and Toys had selected Beanie Babies and Squishmallows on deep discount. Lauren got a cute turquoise and pink mouse clip to hang on her backpack. I found a darling little ball-like hedgehog Beanie Baby named Hazel for $3 and a smaller orange and yellow striped Squishmallow fish named Lucienne for $5. After that, we both peeked at Famous Footwear and It's All Leggings, but didn't find anything.

Since Friendly's is around the corner from It's All Leggings and it was noon by that point, we had lunch. Friendly's was surprisingly not that busy. It was mainly families and older couples just coming in for lunch. Usually, Friendly's is packed at lunchtime. They're the only sit-down restaurant at the mall. Lauren had a burger, fries, and a Diet Coke. I had a tasty grilled chicken wrap, fries, and a Coconut Cream Soda - basically, a soda with coconut syrup and topped with cream. That was really good. Really tasted like coconut. You can't leave Friendly's without getting ice cream. Lauren had her favorite, black raspberry with peanut butter sauce. I had fluffernutter with Swiss chocolate sauce. They wound up being a perfect combination.

We were in and out of stores for the next two hours. Neither of us found anything at Express, Old Navy, the Gap, or Under Armour. I hit the jackpot at Lane Bryant. They were having a buy 3 items, get them 60 percent off sale. Picked up a pair of drawstring jean shorts and two shirts, one Peanuts, one Care Bears, two soft bras (their underwire bras all have padding, which I don't need), and five pairs of underwear. I got more underwear at Jockey. Lauren got underwear and leggings there.

After we finished at Jockey, we figured we'd done enough shopping. It was time to make our way across the street to Dave & Buster's. This huge arcade is basically the same idea as Round 1, with a sports bar instead of a bowling alley. I spent the next hour running from Centipede to giant Space Invaders to Lane Bowling to ring toss to Monopoly to Pac Man-themed skee ball. Got a sweet vintage red Corvette on Cruisin' Blast and came in second on the Death Valley course. Came in first with Princess Peach on the Princess Castle course in Mario Kart by a wide margin. Good wins on the pirate-themed wheel and the "gone fishing" spinning wheel brought me to over 6,500 points. I got a magnetic chess/checkers/backgammon board game and a fruit-scented stuffed Panda named Purdy.

When we got back in Oaklyn, we put everything away, then went right back out. Lauren loves Mexican food, so we had dinner at Jalapeno's. They were a little busier than usual, especially with South and Latin Americans watching the World Cup game between Columbia and Switzerland. I had my favorite shrimp quesadilla. Lauren had the fish tacos I tried two weeks ago, grilled plantains with raspberry sauce (she loves anything with raspberry), and a mojito in a small, thin glass. For once, I was too full for dessert! (Oh, and to the disappointment of the bar patrons, Switzerland won, 4-3. The Swiss apparently went absolutely bonkers over it. According to Fox, this is the first time they've been to the World Cup quarterfinals since 1954.) 

The other reason we ate at Jalapeno's is it's a block from WaWa. I just got money there, but Lauren bought a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero and several bags of mixed nuts. We wanted to play with the kitties at the Calico Cat Cafe, but they wouldn't be available for an hour. I just got another dirty soda instead. (Oh, and the regular creamer did work better with the Dr. Pepper Zero. I had sprinkles in there this time, too.) 

At least the weather was decent for all the running around we did. It remains humid, but it's also cool, cloudy, and breezy. It was probably in the upper 70's, a little bit warmer than yesterday, but nowhere close to the 100 degree heat from last week!

I went straight into Match Game '75 when I got home while Lauren watched wrestling. I came in just in time for one of the episodes from the infamous week with Joan Collins. I don't think Collins was really all that happy about being there. Scoey Mitchelll would be happier if he could match the contestant a little more often.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart. It's a "Love Game" when Jonathan and Jennifer learn a tennis pro has been romancing wives of businessmen and funneling that information to a duplicitous stockbroker. When they learn he plans on doing the same to Jennifer, she gives him false information. Johnathan has to stall his game with real-life tennis pro Martina Navratilova until the stockbroker finds out that the information they planted is phony...but the stockbroker doesn't take it well and goes after Johnathan. 

On the Right Track

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. "Little Bear's Tooth" is loose! His friends try every method they can think of to get it out, but it turns out the simplest solution is at dinner. Emily's Granny tells Little Bear, Emily, and their friends "Little Red Riding Hood" when they're stuck inside of a rainy day. Emily is Red, Cat is the wolf, Hen is Red's mother, Granny is Red's grandmother, Little Bear and Owl of the huntsmen, and Duck is supposed to be guarding Granny. Little Bear and Emily are upset when their cupcakes bake hard as rocks and hide them from Mother Bear. She reminds "Little Bear and the Cupcakes" that sometimes, even just adding one ingredient can make a difference...and so can telling the truth.

Threw on a bit of Super Password, the week with Marsha Warfield and Tom Poston from 1987, as I went through most of my remaining records to see if I wanted to get rid of any more. I then split everything into two bags and added the Bissell vacuum I no longer needed. I took the vacuum sections apart so I could fit them in the car.

I had no choice about calling Uber, despite the nice day. There was no way I'd fit those two full and heavy bags on my bike. At least the lady who picked me up 10 minutes later was really nice. She had no trouble driving me around the back of the building so I could drop the bags right off at the Goodwill donations pick-up area.

Goodwill was surprisingly busy for a random June Thursday. I didn't have a ton of luck, but I did find a few interesting things. My best find was a new pair of rolled-cuff jean shorts. My old pair is starting to fray at the rolled-up part. I also picked up a CD:

Julie Andrews - The Best of Julie Andrews (the first and only solo album I've seen for her) 

and a children's record:

Raggedy Ann & Andy's Birthday Party

Made a quick stop at Five Below for a drink before heading out again. This time, I strolled into Audubon on foot. It was too nice to call for a ride again. Though it was a bit warmer and more humid, it also remains sunny, and the wind was enough to keep it from feeling too nasty. I had lunch at a busy Legacy Diner. Their broccoli and cheddar omelet was a bit on the watery side, but I did enjoy my fruit cup with melon and pineapple slices and red grapes. I've never seen apple butter at a diner, either. I love apple butter. It may be my favorite type of fruit spread. It and orange marmalade were wonderful on whole-wheat toast.

Backtracked to Market Street for a treat at Desserts By Design. I had a yummy coconut-frosted cupcake while the lady behind the counter helped a kindly older couple decide what they wanted for their son's birthday. When they left, I told her about exploring Cherry Hill and waiting until after Lauren visits in mid-July to do further house-hunting. She pleasantly said I was on the right track. I feel like I'm on the right track. At least I'm actually doing something after spending so much time in the winter and early spring stuck at home due to the weather. 

Started home after I finished my cupcake...but I couldn't resist a stop at the Calico Cat Cafe on the White Horse Pike. This charming little nook has a room that sells cat art, crafts, and hand-knit beds, along with sodas, baked goods, and for some odd reason, ramen. They're also the first place I've seen make "dirty sodas" - that is, soda with cream and flavoring. I had a Dr. Pepper Zero with brown sugar flavoring and French vanilla cream. The brown sugar wasn't bad, but the French vanilla overpowered the Dr. Pepper. Next time, I'll try it with regular cream. I admired several cats sunning themselves in the big picture windows as I walked past them.

Relaxed at home while watching The Nifty Nineties. I go further into the Abbot and Costello vehicle best-known for introducing the extended version of "Who's On First" to movie audiences at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

The Nifty Nineties

Put on an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse after the movie ended. Detective Minnie, Super Spy Daisy, and Captain Clarabelle are "The Go-Getters" who must round up a trio of giant baby chicks and remove the egg shells they hatched from that are blocking a river. Captain Clarabelle is more than happy to rescue Pete from them, too...but it's Pete who ends up being the biggest help when he's the one who finally gets them in the corral.

Switched to Match Game '75 next. Gary Burghoff was terribly embarrassed in the first episode when they had to redo the Super Match because he blurted an answer. Marcia Wallace received a standing ovation in the second show after she finally got her first right answer. After that, they moved to the next week, with Avery Schiriber, Trish Stewart, and a radiantly pregnant Patti Deusch. 

Finished the night with another classic Republic serial at YouTube. This time, I jumped to before the war for Daredevils of the Red Circle from 1939.  This one may have one of the more unique plots in serials. The title Dardevils are acrobats Gene Towley (Charles Quigley), "Tiny" Dawson (Herman Brix), and Bert Knowles (ace stuntman David Sharpe). The trio volunteer as detectives when Gene's younger brother is killed in a fire at an amusement park where they're performing. The fires all target properties belonging to Horace Granville (Miles Mander) because escaped convict Harry Crowe (Charles Middleton) wanted revenge on him for turning him in. He traps the old man in a recreation of his prison cell in his mansion and poses as him. His granddaughter Blanche (Carole Landis) knows something is up, especially when she becomes one of the next targets. The Daredevils protect her and Granville's properties with the help of a mysterious figure known only as "The Red Circle." 

It's a Most Unusual Day

Began the morning with breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. "Sister of the Sword" introduces Ioz' pickpocket sister Solia. She steals gold from her brother and the compass from Ren, figuring she can sell it. She ends up selling Bloth's mate Konk on finding the treasure instead. The crew of the Wraith follow the duo to Arakna Island, the most dangerous island on Mer, to keep her out of trouble.

Switched to Paw Patrol while organizing my clothes and pulling out ones to donate. "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Stop a Big Bad Bot" when Harold finds another piece of meteor and creates an even bigger robot to steal buildings and make his own Haroldville. The Mighty Pups follow him, before he takes off with Mayor Goodway and City Hall! "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Vs. the Dome" brings back Copycat, who creates an energy dome around Adventure Bay to keep the Pups out. It also keeps many of the residents away from their loved ones, including Chickaletta and Wally the Walrus. The Pups find a way to crack the dome and stop Copycat from wrecking more havoc on the town.

Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I arrived at Thomas Sharp School just in time...which was a moot point. We had four pre-schoolers and kindergartners today, and two of those left relatively early. The other kids went home with their parents after the pre-school "step up" graduation ceremony. 

Once the kids ate, we didn't even try to separate the younger ones from their older peers. Everyone went outside on the blacktop together. It was sunny, bright blue, and breezy, but not too hot, the perfect day to run around and play ball games. I spent most of the time on the blacktop refereeing a kickball game. I hadn't laughed so much in ages. I cheered on both teams until the only girl playing (who set up the game in the first place) complained that the boy rolling the ball wouldn't let her do it and dropped out. Most of the boys followed. 

I ended up taking a group over to the playground instead. The older kids were even more eager to swing than their younger counterparts...and thankfully, most of them didn't object to standing in line. I had more trouble keeping them away from in front or back of the swings while kids were going really high. The others tossed a ball around that belonged to one of the boys while dancing to "Ghostbusters," several songs by Taylor Swift, and music from Moana, Trolls, Sing, Shrek 2, and KPop Demon Hunters. By 3:15, we were down to one younger kid and 10 older ones. When another teacher arrived to help with the older kids, they let me go early.

Since I had more time to relax, I came home, took out the trash, and watched Bowery Buckaroos. The last Bowery Boys movie to feature Bobby Jordan takes the goofballs from the Lower East Side out west, where they hope to clear sweet shop owner Louie Dumbrowski's (Bernard Gorcey) name. Louie was accused of killing his partner Pete Briggs to get his share of their gold mine, but the real killer was Blackjack McCoy (Jack Norman). Turns out Louie has the map to the mine tattooed on his back. Whitey (Billy Benedict) draws the map on Sach's (Huntz Hall) back, but it washes off. Meanwhile, the Boys' friend Gabe (Gabriel Dell) was sent to scout ahead...and scouts himself cowgirl Catherine Briggs (Julie Gibson), a tough-shooting lady who knows more about Pete Briggs than the Boys could guess.

Went back out after the movie ended. It was too nice to sit inside all evening. I dropped the bag of clothes in the donation box behind Dollar General, then went across the street to the White Horse Pub for dinner. They were pretty quiet when I arrived. Most of the barflies were watching the Pirates-Athletics game (Pirates won, 6-5) or analysis on the Knicks' big win the other day. I enjoyed a turkey bacon wrap with very yummy, thick, crispy bacon and very crunchy tater tots, along with a pitcher of Diet Coke.

Rode across Oaklyn to the Yummy Palace on West Clinton Avenue next. Treated myself to a cookie butter ice cream milkshake. Oh, yum! Cold and sweet, with plenty of ground Biscoff cookie pieces. I sipped it outside, then rode home.

Took a shower right when I got in, then watched Match Game '74. I came in just to see the last episode of the Jack Carter/Louisa Moritz week. I really like Jack. He was hilarious, and not a bad player. Wish he'd been on the show more often. 

Since I enjoyed Bowery Buckaroos so much, I finished the night with one of the older Boys movies that's currently on Tubi. Bowery Bombshell is the third movie in the series, and the first to establish many of the running gags that would be prevalent in them for the next decade, from them hanging out at Louie's to them owning a dilapidated jalopy to Slip being the leader. Louie needs $300, so the boys try to sell their jalopy Lucy. When that doesn't work, they go to the bank to get a loan. Of course, the bank is robbed just as they try to go in. Cathy (Teala Loring), a local on-the-street photographer who is a friend of theirs, takes Sach's picture...just as he hands money to the real bank robber. While Sach hides from the cops who think he did it, Slip, Cathy, and the others dress as a rival mob to scare the bank robbers into confessing. 

Here Comes the Sun

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Watched the episodes that introduced Daniel's autistic friend Max in honor of Autism Awareness Month. "Daniel Meets a New Friend" and learns there's things he can do to understand him better, like waiting for him to join in or not yelling around him. It's too loud for Max, but Daniel wants him to see his father's new clock. They find a way for "A New Friend at the Clock Factory" to join in. 

Switched to Pac Man while getting organized. Pac-Man becomes "Public Pac-Enemy No. 1" when he's mistaken for the gangster Pretty Boy Pac and sent to prison. Pretty Boy thinks he can take Pac Man's place, until Chomp Chomp and Sour Puss attack him. "The Old Pac-Man and the Sea" ends up sinking with the captain of the barge when the Ghosts attack their garbage barge carrying Power Pellets. They end up fighting the Ghosts in Paclantis for the amusement of the Pac-Queen.

Spent the next few hours getting ready for spring. I took my laundry downstairs, then took down the Easter decorations. Stripped the bed, put on the spring/fall sheets, and brought the winter sheets and blankets downstairs to be washed. When I finally brought my laundry upstairs, I pulled out my warm-weather clothes and put the cold weather ones away. It's supposed to be chilly tomorrow and Wednesday, but it'll get warm again after that. I don't think I'll need the turtlenecks, heavy jeans, or flannel nightgowns until fall returns. I also traded my fall-colored Pikachu and Eevee backpack with the spring-colored white and sage green one. 

Listened to The George Benson Collection while I worked. Pretty much every hit Benson ever had is here, from 80's radio staples "Turn Your Love Around" and "Give Me the Night" to the instrumental smash "Breezin'" to covers of "Here Comes the Sun," "White Rabbit," and "The Greatest Love of All." I remember hearing these on the radio and thinking how wonderfully sophisticated and sexy this sounded, how, well, breezy it was. 

After I finished with the clothes, I called Uber. It was late, past 2:15, but there were a few things I wanted to do in Cherry Hill. Good thing I wasn't in a hurry. It took 15 minutes for the driver to arrive going to Cherry Hill. Thankfully, it only took 7 for the one going home to find me. 

Started at Honeygrow. After a lot of carb-heavy lunches and brunches this weekend, I thought I'd try their salad bowl. I did a make-your-own with baby spinach, spring mix, broccoli, spring peas, feta cheese, toasted chickpeas, shrimp, grape tomatoes, and crunchy onions. Washed it down with their dark cherry punch. Oh yum. A nice mix of flavors, and I really liked those tasty chickpeas! 

The other reason I ate at Honeygrow is it's a block from Lucky Strike, formerly The Big Event. I'll save bowling for when Lauren visits in July, but I did spend 40 minutes running around the arcade area, spinning the pirate wheel and the monster wheels, throwing rubber axes at a target, dropping balls, making basketball shots, dropping ping pong balls in cups, and playing a lot of Nerf Arcade. I made over 1,500. Ended up getting a really cute stuffed animal that's a unicorn on one side and a pink dragon when you reverse it. I gave her the German name Eldelgard, which means "noble guard" in German, Eldie for short.

Another Uber driver took me to Red, White, and Blue Thrift in Cherry Hill, behind the mall and next-door to At Home. It's basically the same thing as Second Avenue Thrift, with all-cash payment instead of cash and card. I didn't get a lot here, as I don't really need a ton of clothes here, but I did find a nice copper cake/casserole pan, along with a book, a CD, and a record: 

The Commitments, Vol. 2 (the CD)

The record is The MGM Treasury of Bedtime Stories, a children's retelling of four fairy-tales

The Train to Impossible Places by P.G Bell (the book)

Made my way across the street to Second Avenue Thrift next. They're still working on the exterior of that shopping center. I had to walk into the store under a plywood entrance. It was normal inside, though. My best finds here were two gorgeous heavy cookie sheets, one in red, one in purple. No interesting records or CDs, but I did also find two books: 

Beauty by Robin McKinley

Paws and Effect by Sofia Kelly

Took out the recycling when I got home, then got dinner and went straight into Match Game '90. I came just in time for Chuck Roast's first episode. The punk puppet was supposed to be Ronn Lucas' temporary replacement for Scorch, who supposedly was trying out for a movie. (He didn't get the part.) Despite Chuck getting on everyone's nerves (including Deborah next to him, who stuffed his arm into his mouth), he would be back several times in 1990. Scorch thankfully was back by the next episode and got to flirt with Brett Somers, doing her first of three weeks on the show next to her old drinking buddy Charlies Nelson Reilly.

Finished the night at YouTube with game shows revolving around drawing and art. Art-themed shows go back further than you might think. Picture This was a CBS summer replacement series in 1963. A celebrity - William Bendix and Alan Young in the one existing episode - chooses an object, and the other celebrity tells the contestant how to draw it. If the contestant can identify the object, they get the point. If not, the other team gets the point. In the bonus round, the celebrity drew up to six objects for the contestant to guess. Interesting idea, and while it wasn't all that exciting, the basic idea would be refined for drawing games to come.

Fast Draw from 1968 was the same idea, but now the contestant would draw a person, place, or object, and the celebrity would have to guess what it is. Basically, it's Picture Password, with drawing instead of descriptions. Anita Gillette wiped the floor with stage star Robert Alda here.

Win, Lose, or Draw and Pictionary were hit board games before they were hit game shows. Win was the creation of Bert Convy, who hosted the syndicated version until 1989, and Burt Reynolds. Reynolds appears in the episode I have here, with Betty White, Annie Potts, and his good friend Dom DeLouise. Basically, one team draws a subject and tries to guess it, then the other team does it. The bonus round had the winning team drawing as many words and phrases as they could in 90 seconds. My siblings and I loved the teen version on The Disney Channel, and I really wish I'd seen more of the adult show, too. What's on YouTube is a lot of fun.

There were four attempts to turn Pictionary into a game show. The first one was a kid's show from 1989 that had heavy Double Dare influences and only lasted a few months. The most famous version was hosted by Alan Thicke in 1997. It's the same idea as Win, Lose, or Draw, only they're just drawing phrases, and each celebrity has to draw the same word. If the contestant playing with them gets the word, they get the money. This is just as fast-paced and fun, and it's a shame that it only lasted a few months. GSN tried reviving it in 2000, but it never got past the pilot stage. It did much better on Fox in 2021 and in syndication from 2022 to 2025. 

Not all art-themed game shows involved contestants making art. What In the World was a Philadelphia panel show filmed at the University of Pennsylvania that had a panel of experts (including Vincent Price in this 1955 episode) guessing and appraising art works from around the world, mainly African statues and masks here. Kind of dry if you're not an art fan yourself, but this ran from 1951 to 1955 and would continue on Philly public television stations until 1965.

Explore the world of art and make some artworks yourself with these hilarious and informative shows!

What In the World (1955)

Picture This (1963)

Fast Draw (1967)

Win, Lose, or Draw (1987)

Pictionary (1997)

Trouble In the Spring

Began the morning with breakfast and the second season of Pac Man. "Here's Super-Pac," and he's...well, he's not the brightest Power Pellet in the forest. He still manages to get the job done with Pac Man's help when Mezmeron creates a huge Ghost Monster robot to attack Pac Land. "Hey Hey, It's PJ," Pac Man's super-cool cousin. This Pac-Fonzie wants drop out of high school and live in Pac Man's garage. Unlike the Cunninghams when Fonzie moved in, Pac Man is able to talk PJ into returning to school (and clears out his groupies). 

It was getting late, but I really did have grocery shopping I couldn't put off. I called Uber. They took 12 minutes to arrive, not bad at noon, and 8 minutes to pick me up at the Acme. No trouble on Cuthbert, thankfully.

I started with lunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop. I didn't know they made such delicious blueberry pancakes! They were the lightest, fluffiest pancakes I'd ever had, with big, juicy blueberries. The bacon was melt-in-your mouth crispy. Unfortunately, I got blueberries on my good Lands End paisley shirt and tried to use all-purpose cleaner in the bathroom to get it out...not realizing it had bleach in it. Of course, I ruined a shirt that cost me a bundle. 

Grocery shopping went slightly better. I didn't really need a ton of Sprouts anyway. I was mainly there for golden raisins from the bulk bins and because their coconut milk is cheaper. I like their cookies better than the Acme's, too, and they have flavors the Acme doesn't, like snickerdoodle. Got two cans of soda on a good sale.

It was cloudy, chilly, and blustery when I hiked down the hill and back up past the Haddon Township Library, McDonald's, and Haddon Township High School to the Westmont Acme. They were even less busy than Sprouts had been. I had no trouble restocking soda on sale, yogurt, cheese, chicken, and granola. Two slices of carrot cake roll were cheap compared to every other treat in the bakery. I had online coupons for granola bars and strawberries. 

I had just enough time to put everything away when I got home before I had to call Uber again. They arrived in 12 minutes. I thought I had enough time, but...of course, they went in the wrong direction because I pushed the wrong button. Again. They were going to the Acme. This time, I caught the mistake, and the guy was able to turn around and get me to the Thomas Sharp School right on time. (And yes, I gave him a big tip for that.)

Things went a little better inside. I only had 6 kids at my table, and they did clean up fast once they found out they had to hit the bathroom first. No trouble in the bathroom, either. Things were wilder in the cafeteria after snack. We only had 20 kids all together, and it still got kind of crazy. One poor miss was upset because she lost the bag with the toothbrush and bubble wand she'd gotten from the "tooth fairy." (If the papers in the bags were any indication, I suspect a dental office in Voorhees talked to them about dental hygiene.) She did find the bubbles, but we never turned up anything else, no matter how much we looked. 

Despite the chillier day, we did manage to get onto the playground. They generally had a wonderful time chasing each other around, dancing to "The Wiggle Dance," "The Jungle Dance," the themes from PJ Masks and Bluey, "I Like to Move It," "Try Everything" from Zootopia, and songs from Moana, Tangled, The Little Mermaid, and Frozen. There was some arguing over swings later, once it thinned out enough that the kids could use them without running into anyone else, but most of them loved it when I gave them "big boosts!"

This time, it was too cold to stay out all day. When we were down to six kids, we went back inside. They built with Duplos and played with the older kids while I sharpened colored pencils. We were down to four younger kids and five older ones when I headed out.

It was still nice enough by 5:30 to walk home. I stopped at Speedy Mart for a treat, then continued down the White Horse Pike. It was chilly, yes, and breezy, but frankly not all that out of the ordinary for late March. The sun tried to break through the clouds, leaving an eerie golden glow on the rippling waters of Peter Creek as I passed near the CVS.

Watched Match Game '90 as I ate dinner when I got home. It started with the last two episodes of that wild week with Marines in the audience and as contestants. Karen Wittier of One Life to Live proved she was no dumb blonde by getting the Head-to-Head right twice in a row. Fiona Hutchinson spent the week flirting with Ronn Lucas and his dragon puppet Scorch. Charles stuck around for the next week, joined by veteran voice actor Joe Alasky and Sally Struthers. (Sally mentioned playing a dog on a cartoon. That would be Tail Spin, where she was the voice of Baloo's boss Rebecca Cunningham.) 

Got my schedule at this point, too. It's...pretty much the same as this week with more and earlier hours next Saturday. This should change once we get to Easter week, when I suspect a lot of people will be on vacation. 

Finished the night with another 80's cartoon, The Secret of Nimh. Widowed farm mouse Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman) is horrified when she learns her little son Timmy (Ian Fried) is sick with pneumonia. They have to move out of the fields soon, as the plow will soon be coming through, but he can't get out of bed. The Great Owl (John Carradine) directs her to the rats who live in the rose bush near the farm house.

Turns out these are no ordinary rodents. They're a highly developed society of extremely intelligent rats and mice who escaped from a government testing facility years before. Mrs. Brisby learns from the head of the group Nichodemus (Derek Jacobi) that her husband had been one of them. He gives her a special amulet and arranges for his rats to move her cinder block home, before they leave the farm to create their own home in a distant valley. Scheming Jenner (Paul Shenear) has no desire to upset the rose bush and causes the moving to fail...but he didn't count on Mrs. Brisby's courage or her strong devotion to her children.

This is one of my favorite animated movies, and possibly the best animated film of the 1980's and Don Bluth's strongest solo effort. The animation is stunning, Jerry Goldsmith's score is gorgeous, and the Paul Williams ballad "Flying Dreams" is one of the loveliest end credit numbers of the decade. Hartman stands out as the touching mother mouse, but the entire all-star cast is solid. Highly recommended for older elementary-school and pre-teen animal lovers who can handle the violence level and the mature themes of death, grief, and animal testing. 

Malls and Games

Began President's Day with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. There's "Fractures" in the Rebellion as they argue over how to use the Heart of Etheria super weapon. Adora and Bow think it's best to let sleeping weapons lie before they destroy the planet, while Glimmer thinks it could be harnessed to defeat the Horde. They're all shocked when Scorpia suddenly turns up to tell them that Entraptra is on Beast Island, but they don't trust her...until they admit that they're all misfits in one way or another, and she wonders if she's found a place where she can finally fit in. Meanwhile, Glimmer tries to get the truth from flippant Double Trouble, while Adora, Bow, and Swift Wing sneak out the rescue Entraptra.

Called Uber after the show ended. To my surprise, I got a driver in 3 minutes at quarter after 11. He came in a snazzy orange Jeep, too. No trouble getting to the Deptford Mall at all. There was no traffic anywhere, not even around the mall or on the highway.

Started off at Round 1 Arcade. There were a lot of games down, including Lane Master and Ring Toss. Thankfully, plenty of others were still going. I spent the next hour going from Tetris to giant Pac Man to giant Space Invaders to Bust a Move to skee ball to a Wizard of Oz wheel to Centipede Chaos. Couldn't get anything out of the cranes, but I did earn enough points for a cute little Beanie Baby French bulldog named Portia. 

After a quick peek at FYE, I headed to Red Robin for lunch. Considering it was 12:30 by the time I got there, I'm surprised they weren't busier. I didn't have to wait at all. I went with one of their big promotions, where you could get certain sandwiches with a side and a drink for a fixed price. I got a Red Robin Double Burger, steak fries, and an unsweetened iced tea for $10.50 (including tax but not tip). The burger wasn't bad, juicy if a bit flat. I always love their steak fries, though, nice and hot and perfectly seasoned.

Unfortunately, I also got a text from Jessa while I was there saying that she had to cancel this week, but we could do next week. Bummer. I look forward to our dinners together. I don't really have too many adults I talk to on a regular basis. Plus, her birthday is this week, and I have a Valentine's card for her, too.

I was in and out of stores after lunch. I looked at t-shirts in the Junior Plus section at Boscov's, but I just ended up getting Jessa a birthday present. Browsed at Toys R' Us, but didn't see anything I needed. Hit the jackpot at Box Lunch. They were having a buy one, get two for free sale on clearance items. I picked up a cute Wicked t-shirt, a Wicked pocket insert for mini backpacks, and Jacken the Squishmallow Sea Slug. (He's cute, but I can understand why he was only $3.99. And the pockets and Jacken were the freebies.) 

Headed across the street around 2:30. On one hand, it was cloudy, gloomy, and breezy. Though it's colder than it has been, probably in the upper 30's-lower 40's, that's still nowhere near the Antarctic temperatures we've been getting lately. It was actually a rather pleasant walk across the street, made even more so by the fact that it looks like they're finally moving something into the former Christmas Tree Shoppes building next to Aldi's. (Later research revealed it'll actually be three buildings, a Nordstrom Rack, a restaurant, and Blinds To Go.) 

Barnes and Noble was even busier than the mall. I didn't see any books I desperately needed, and I still have tons to read at home, but I did find two records for relatively decent prices. Until today, the only Beatles albums I was missing were Please Please Me and Yellow Submarine. I finally found Please Please Me today, along with A Boy Named Charlie Brown. (Later research reveals it's not the actual soundtrack. It's a reprint of an earlier Vince Guaraldi album that was originally titled Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Oh well. I'll put it in with the jazz albums and keep looking for the actual soundtrack.)

Since I got a dollar off tea or coffee coupon with the records, I went to Starbucks for a snack. Had a chai latte and an Oreo brownie. The Oreo brownie was thick and fudgy, filled with crumbly Oreo pieces and vanilla cream. The chai latte was sweet and slightly spicy. 

The Uber going home picked me up at Barnes and Noble in 10 minutes, not bad considering it was past 4 PM by then. There was traffic going over the still-under-repair ramp into Collingswood and Mt. Ephraim, but it moved faster than I thought it would. I was home by almost 5.

Took my laundry downstairs, put everything away, and did a few chores, then put on the first episode of Good Times in honor of Black History Month. I have at least 25 TV DVD sets I haven't gotten around to watching yet, many of them full series. Instead of trying to binge-watch all of them (many of them being very long-running sitcoms), I'm going to rotate seasons with the longer shows. In this case, Good Times kicks off with "Getting Up the Rent." Florida (Esther Rolle) and James (John Amos) Evans are shocked when they get eviction notices. Their children J.J (Jimmie Walker), Thelma (Bern Nadette Stanis), and Michael (Ralph Carter) try to help in their own way. Florida doesn't approve of James playing pool for the cash and goes to get it in her own way.

Switched to Match Game Syndicated next. Fred Travalena figured into two of the weeks, sitting next to Brett during the one with Betty Kennedy and Robert Donner and in the fifth "smart guy" seat next to Fannie Flagg. Fred's many voices prompted several jokes, including Brett wondering how his wife felt about sleeping with so many different voices at night.

Finished the night at YouTube covering the career of Geoff Edwards. Edwards had been a TV and radio host who did several unsold pilots before he finally landed Hollywood's Talking in 1973. Jack Barry's revival of the short-lived Everybody's Talking from 1967 had three contestants trying to guess who or what celebrities seen in short filmed segments were discussing. The segments were cute, but the game play was rough - it wasn't easy to figure out what they were talking about just from the segments. The show ran three months, ultimately being replaced by the far more successful Match Game revival. 

Edwards hadn't gotten along with Jack Barry, but found the wacky Chuck Barris to be more congenital. He hosted The New Treasure Hunt for Barris from 1973 through 1977. Ladies were called onstage to open up colorful boxes. They initially chose a box, then a card with money attached to the box. They could keep the money, or go for the contents of the box. The contents might lead to a big car or prize...or lead to a silly skit and much cheaper prizes called "klunks." Alas, both ladies hit "klunks" in the episode I saw. Edwards finally left when he thought his boss was getting a little too sadistic with the ladies on the "klunks." He'd briefly host a revival in the early 80's.

He also had trouble with Jackpot! in 1974. This Bob Stewart show had a group of people reading riddles for a contestant. If the contestant could guess the riddle, they would remain queen or king of the "hill." If they got it wrong, they'd have to step down, and the person who read the riddle would have their turn. The more the riddles were answered correctly, the higher the Jackpot got. There was also a Super Jackpot...and that was won in the only episode currently existing with audio and video intact. Apparently, the format was changed to a more typical question-and-answer show later in its run. The original NBC show only ran a year and a half. It would do far better on USA and in syndication in the late 80's. Edwards hosted the final, syndicated season of that run.

When the word-based Bob Stewart show Shoot for the Stars didn't fare any better in 1977, Edwards returned to syndication for Play the Percentages. This one had so much format trouble, it ran through three different versions of its format during the show's eight-month run. The format seen in this pilot episode would be slightly tweaked for the actual series. By March, the couples were replaced by solo players, and it would be more of a straight quiz. Nothing worked. Edwards was charming, but the rotating formats were confusing in any version.

Edwards was much happier taking over Starcade from Mark Richards in 1983. Unlike Richards, he was willing to study and learn about video games and those who played them. In fact, he did his homework so well, he became a gamer himself for the rest of his life. Two contestants answer questions about video games, then play a then-popular video arcade console. Whomever has the highest score gets to win prizes on a "guess the video game" mini-game, then plays one of the remaining games and tries to beat the game's average score. No wonder Edwards fell in love with video games after this. This show is really fun to watch even now, especially if you're a vintage video game nut.

Edwards' last non-lottery game show would be The New Chain Reaction. He took over from the blase Blake Emmons after a few weeks in 1986 and would host for the rest of its run. I used to love playing along with the contestants and watching them make word chains and seeing who could get all the letters first. This was Edwards' other Canadian/US cable show along with the Jackpot revival. I fondly remember seeing both on USA as a child and thinking how much fun they looked.

Avoid klunks, make word chains, hit the Starcade, and play the percentages with this jack of all trades charmer!

Hollywood's Talking Premiere (1973)

The New Treasure Hunt (1974)

Jackpot! (1975)

Play the Percentages Pilot (1980)

Starcade (1984)

The New Chain Reaction (1987)

Jackpot! (1989)

Winds of Winter

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups On Ice" rescue Jake and Alex when they're stranded on the side of a cliff after Alex's sled goes out of control. "Pups and the Snow Monster" have to figure out what the strange creature that's scaring off the skiers and that Alex filmed is.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Not only did I have a large, heavy bag of donations I wanted to drop at Goodwill, but despite it being sunny outside, it was also cold and gale-force windy. It was no day for a bike ride, even if I could fit the bag on my bike. They took 12 minutes to arrive, but at least there was no traffic anywhere, not even around the entrance to Wal Mart. I even got the driver to drop me off around back, so I could bring the bag right to the donation center.

Was in and out of stores for the next hour. Goodwill was surprisingly quiet for them. The cold day must have scared people off. I bought The Gourmet Cookie Book, which collected the best cookie recipe from Gourmet Magazine from every year of its publication, and Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook in peace. Got a card and a gift card to Five Below for my niece Lilah, who turns 9 on Monday. Went across the street and picked up new underwear at Lane Bryant. Between good sales and their rewards program, I got six pairs for 30 dollars. 

I hadn't had lunch at Tu Se Bella's in ages. It was almost 2 PM by the time I got there, and there were only a few people enjoying pasta and sandwiches in booths. I had a slice of Hawaiian (Canadian bacon and pineapple) and a slice of broccoli-shrimp pizza with a bottle of Diet Pepsi while half-listening to a talk show on the TV on top of the soda cooler. Walked back to the Acme, where I picked up the Uber to Thomas Sharp School. They only took 5 minutes to arrive and got me there in a little over 5.

I think you can guess that the little kids didn't go outside today. It was just too cold. We tried to separate them into groups when they arrived, but I'm not sure it took. They're used to being able to sit wherever they want and play with whatever they want. We spent most of the time after lunch in the library. I colored with some of the kids. Three girls used stencils to make colorful leaves and animals on paper taped to a table. Others built with magnetic tiles or bristle blocks. Another teacher read to kids at the front table. I sat with the kids who were coloring pictures or drawing their own. They were fascinated when I drew Betty, Hilary, Bear Scott, Eagle Victor, Troll Jeff, and Puppy Enid from Hilary and the Beasts. We'd just moved the remaining kids, including my last diligent artist (who creatively turned a Pokemon picture into a nifty robot) when I finished.

It was still so cold, I took Uber home, too. This time, they took 10 minutes to arrive, not bad at the height of rush hour. There was a little traffic on the White Horse Pike around the corner of the Pike and Collings, but it could have been worse. I was home in five minutes again.

Got organized when I got home, then took a shower, had dinner, and watched The Vagabond King. I go further into the 1956 version of the operetta that would be the last film of soprano Kathryn Grayson at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Vagabond King (1956)

Switched to the soundtrack from the Disney Sleeping Beauty while working on the Vagabond King review. This is the original 1959 release, with the lush orchestrations by George Bruns. Unlike most soundtracks of this time period, we get the full songs as heard in the film, even the fathers' comic "Scrumps." Apparently, it was the first true-stereo soundtrack, and it still sounds good to this day, even on the slightly scratched copy I picked up from Innergroove Records last month. 

Finished the night with Remember WENN. Scott's latest scheme is an all-news day, but his attempt to turn WENN into CNN goes sideways when they can find absolutely nothing earthshaking to report. It turns out to be "Some Good News, Some Bad News" when they first attempt to find news on the street, then Scott makes his own drama. Meanwhile, Eugenia the organist, worn out from her all-night program, is replaced for the rest of the season by bubbly former stripper Maple LaMarsh.

"Don't Act Like That" introduces Giels Aldrych (Roddy McDowell), Hilary's former mentor who now runs an acting school. He first attempts to teach the WENN actors about stage projection, but they discover stage acting and acting on the radio are two entirely different things. When two interns, sweet and wordy teen Enid Farleigh (Melissa Dye) and celebrity imitator Gus Kahana (real-life cartoon voice artist Jeff Bergman), are brought in, the actors go on strike, until they realize how much Enid and Gus have to learn about radio. 

Night of the Beautiful Noise

Got a very quick start with a granola bar and Supermarket Sweep on Buzzr. They were just starting the bonus round when I turned the TV on. I stayed for the first half of the next episode before calling Uber around 11. They arrived in 4 minutes, which I very much appreciated, and got me to the Silver Diner in 20 minutes.

I was originally going to eat at IHOP, but the Silver Diner is closer to the Cherry Hill 24 AMC Theater. I had two huge pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a tiny cup of sliced strawberries and a mint leaf. Disappointing for the Silver Diner. Their pancakes are usually really good, but the plain ones were a bit dry until I drizzled syrup on them. The scrambled eggs were bland, and they didn't make the bacon crispy enough. 

Hurried past the walkway to the Cherry Hill Mall and down to the theater. Since the ticket to Song Sung Blue was on sale, I treated myself to a large popcorn and soda. Uh...they were both way too large, not to mention expensive. I finished about half the popcorn and didn't fill the soda close to all the way.

I'd missed the first few commercials when I finally found the theater. Most of them weren't all that exciting, anyway. I haven't seen the original Devil Wears Prada yet, let alone have any interest in the sequel. Reminders of Him looks like a sweet but typical melodrama. 

As for Song Sung Blue, I go further into this biography of a Neil Diamond tribute duo at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Song Sung Blue

Made my way over the footbridge to the Cherry Hill Mall after the movie ended. At least it was a nice day for a walk! Cold and very windy, but also sunny with only a few clouds out as I crossed the traffic-filled highway to the Cherry Hill Mall parking lot.

Spent an hour or so walking around in the mall. To tell the truth, I don't need a ton of stuff right now. I looked at FYE, Go! Calendars and Books, the Squishables store, and Miniso, but only bought an aqua cable-knit sweater and a green polo shirt (the latter on clearance) at JC Penney to use up a coupon. The aqua sweater is too big, but that's all they had. They were really picked over.

Headed across the street to the green-roofed shopping center around 4:30. It was really a mess over there. They're remodeling the exterior of many stores in preparation for the new Dick's store and sports grounds that'll replace the Cherry Hill One office building. The road in front of Total Wine was blocked off completely. 

Thankfully, 2A Thrift Superstore was just fine. In fact, I did really well here. I found Molly: An American Girl (the only historical-based AG movie I haven't seen yet), the first season of the early 2000's A&E Nero Wolfe, a yellow sweater (that I didn't realize until after I bought it was also too big), and a blue cardigan.

My best find here was the only record I managed to dig up. I've wanted The Vamp of the Roaring 20's, the follow up to the soundtrack for the TV show The Roaring 20's, for years. Ironically, there were even two copies. I grabbed the one with the album in better shape.

It was dark when I got out. I didn't want to walk anywhere else in the dark, so I picked up Uber at the thrift store...which probably wasn't the smartest idea with the construction around and the road for much of the shopping center blocked off. It took the guy 10 minutes to arrive, and he had to turn around after picking me up instead of going straight through.

Went straight into The Wild Wild West on the way home. "The Night of the Colonel's Ghost" has President Ulysses Grant insisting that he must go to Gibsonville to dedicate the statue of the late son of an old friend of his. Turns out, the town has largely been abandoned except for a young woman and her noisy brothers who run the hotel, a slick lawyer, the dedicated sheriff, and a prospector. There's been a rash of "broken neck" murders. The townspeople suspect the ghost of the colonel's son, but Adam West thinks there's a less supernatural explanation to the mysterious deaths.

Put on Match Game '79 while I had my usual granola and yogurt breakfast for dinner. They're on the first week with drunk joke comedian Foster Brooks, which gave us a plethora of cracks about the panel's drinking habits. Sarah Purcell was also seen here.

Finished the night after a shower working on the Song Sung Blue review while listening to the real Neil Diamond. The only Diamond album I currently have on CD is 12 Greatest Hits Vol. II. Though "Forever In Blue Jeans" is the only number from the album that made it to the movie, I have a bigger connection to this one. These are the Diamond songs I remember hearing most often on the radio during my 80's childhood. In fact, one of my favorite Diamond songs, "September Morn," can be found here. Other familiar Diamond hits here include "Beautiful Noise," "America," "Love On the Rocks," "Longfellow Serenade," "If You Know What I Mean," and his heartbreaking duet with Barbara Streisand, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers."

Ghosts of Autumn Past

Began the day with a quick breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's a "Block Long Hong Kong Terror" when a dragon from a Chinese New Year's parade attacks Shaggy and Scooby in Hong Kong. Shaggy's more interested in getting his rubber duck fixed and befriends the daughter of the rubber duck's creator, who would rather be an Acrobat with a troop than a toy maker. The dragon stole an expensive candy ring...and for some reason, seems obsessed with chasing Shaggy and Scobby everywhere.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. No trouble getting to Woodbury. The driver going there picked me up in around 8 minutes. I caught the one going home at Goodwill. Surprisingly, they only took 5 minutes, despite it being the start of rush hour. There was a little traffic going there, but nothing that took too long to get around. All the traffic at 3:30 was going in the opposite direction.

Got off at the Colonial Diner for brunch. This elegant black and white striped building is considered to be one of the better diners in South Jersey, complete with bar and modern wooden floors and walls. I had a delicious vegan strawberry and banana-topped French toast. Yum! The four small, thick rounds of multi-grain bread were just enough to eat in one sitting, and it was topped with a ton of fruit.

Made a quick stop a few doors down at the Town Market for Fresca, then strolled to downtown Woodbury. Woodbury is a gorgeous area. Some of the buildings, especially downtown, go back to the 1700's. I passed by a cemetery during my walk with tombstones showing dates going back to the 1760's. They were pretty busy, too, probably due to the beautiful sunny, windy day and the kids being off this weekend.

Ended up at On the Record next. This small record shop is more expensive than most similar stores in South Jersey, but it does have its virtues, one of which is an extensive collection of (somewhat cheaper) CDs and cassettes along with the vinyl. To my delight, I found two more True Value Happy Holidays records for my collection, Volumes 15 and 21. I also picked up a 2-Disc collection of Fred Astaire songs, some of which didn't come from any movie, and two CDs as Christmas presents for Lauren.

Headed right next door to the thrift shop after I finished with the records. I picked up a better hardback copy of A Christmas Carol with Arthur Rackham illustrations for me. I've had my paperback copy since college, and it's dog-eared and falling apart. Found a book on being a big sister for my little niece Aurora who just became one and two CDs for Lauren's parents.

Dashed across the street next to Woodbury Antiques. This is pretty much the local one-story version of the Barrington Antique Center, with more emphasis on genuine antiques. In fact, my best find there was a lovely old vintage teddy bear, a real brown and gold German girl with a frayed pink ribbon around her neck. Her tag says she's a Hermann bear; research reveals that this company still exists in Germany today and is still making bears. One eye is sunken in, probably pushed by her previous owner. Ursula doesn't see very well, but she's still a lovely old bear. I also got a good copy of a book Mom used to read to us as kids for Mom to read to Aurora and Elijah, a cute vintage refrigerator magnet for Lauren, and the double CD set That's What I Call Christmas 3. 

Continued down Broad Street past the Aldi's and out of town. The Goodwill is a ten-minute walk from the downtown area, amid a sea of car dealerships, fast food restaurants, and a large Acme. They were mobbed when I arrived at 3. In fact, all I ended up getting there was a pair of jeans for work. 

After I got home, I put on Something to Sing About. I go further into this independent 1937 musical with James Cagney as a band leader who becomes a reluctant Hollywood star at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - Something to Sing About

Jessa picked me up to go out to dinner at quarter after 6. I enjoyed my lunch at Mission BBQ last Saturday so much, I recommended it to her for dinner. Apparently, she knew it better than I did. There's a slightly older and smaller Mission BBQ in Deptford. I used that free sandwich coupon to get a tasty pulled chicken sandwich. The macaroni and cheese was perfectly thick and cheesy, but the green beans and bacon was way too spicy for me. We chatted about Rose inviting us for Thanksgiving, my trying to get a place, and what it would take for me to secure a loan.

Finished the night after a shower working on my Sing About review and listening to the Busby Berkeley at Warner Bros CD set I picked up during vacation. These are the full, original numbers, complete with dance breaks, from nine Berkeley musicals (and the semi-musical Fashions of 1934). While it is fascinating to hear all of the music, including for songs like "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" from Fashions and "The Lady In Red" from In Caliente that don't turn up that often anymore, I will add that these numbers definitely lose something without those kaleidoscopic Berkeley visuals. Most of them frankly go on for way too long, and a few, like the simpering "Honeymoon Hotel" from Footlight Parade, haven't dated well. This is mainly for major Berkeley and 30's musical enthusiasts like me. 

Hey Soul Sister

We started out on a beautiful, clear fall morning, this time past Lenox and Lee and onto the Mass Pike. It was the perfect day for a ride. Everything was calm, and there was no traffic anywhere, not even around the entrance to the Mass Pike in Lee. Lauren pulled into the shopping center just outside the Holyoke Mall around 10:30.

Our first stop of the day was the massive Barnes and Noble. It's huge, two stories, with a fully-stocked music and DVD section. It took me a while to find what I wanted. For some reason, the smaller mass-market cozy mysteries aren't in the same place as the larger cozy mysteries. After asking a sweet employee, I found the mysteries, then went downstairs and explored the music section. Lauren told me when I got outside that she found comic books she'd been looking for. I found:

Synchronized Sorcery by Juliet Blackwell

The Greatest Show On Earth, the Oscar-winning circus spectacle with Charleton Heston, Betty Hutton, and James Stewart, on DVD. (It was $4.99. If anyone knows how to do spectacle, it's Cecil B. DeMille.)

After I got out, we went next-door to Red Robin for lunch. They were already bustling, even at 11:30. We both took advantage of a $9.99 burger deal and added smothered mushrooms. She had a salad and a lemonade. I had fries and a Diet Coke. The burgers were a little flat, but the steak fries were yummy, and Lauren said hers was really tasty, too.

Headed across the parking lot next to TJ Maxx. Lauren bought clothes here. I finally found a brush intended for curls...and unlike the one I bought at Marshalls a few years ago, this one has softer bristles that should be a lot easier on my head. When I got out, Lauren was already in the car, texting Rico. Apparently, the poor guy was still so sick, he was sent home from work. Lauren promised to win a stuffed animal at Round 1 in his honor.

And on that note, that was the first place we went after we parked at JC Penney in the main mall, dodging the construction work on the sidewalk outside. Round 1 is pretty much the same deal as Dave & Buster's, with a bowling alley replacing the sports bar and more of an Asian/Japanese theme. I ran from Pac Man to Bust a Move to skee ball and Mario Kart (came in first with Princess Peach) for the next hour. I made over 3,500 points, but opted to save the majority of them for my week off at Christmas. I just got a cute Beanie Baby panda named Baboo. Lauren didn't get anything, but she did win a huge teddy bear wearing a lemon hat out of a crane.

Unlike Crossgates, the only other entertainment option at Holyoke is a trampoline park that's really more for families. We spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of stores. Lauren picked up a Marvel Lego Superhero game for the Wii U at Stateline Games and found superhero figures for Rico and herself at one of the Sports Zones. I bought a really nice, cute mini-backpack like the one I have now with Pikachu and Eevee on it, only in fall colors as my cold weather purse. 

I made my other really awesome finds at FYE. The one at Holyoke seems to be the only one that's still big enough to have a significant DVD and CD collection. I ended up with the original Broadway casts of Young Frankenstein (which I've wanted for ages - I've turned up the London cast, but not Broadway) and the short-lived Nice Work If You Can Get It and another collection of vintage Broadway music, this one from the Smithsonian. We poked around the Spirit Halloween that had temporarily replaced Burlington Coat Factory in the basement (they moved to the shopping center outside the mall), but saw nothing of interest.

Since the food court is also in the basement, we had an early dinner next. Lauren got fries and a cheese steak from Charley's. I went to Terra Nova, a Brazilian booth, and got a chicken sandwich, fries, and a cherry soda. Oh yum! We seriously need this place at one of the malls in my area. The chicken sandwich was bursting with flavor and loaded with mozzarella cheese, ham, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and avocado. The fries were the crispiest I'd ever had. Even the cherry soda tasted like real cherries. 

Since we were going out that way, we finished at JC Penney. I didn't get anything here. I'm trying not to buy more clothes. I don't really need much else, and I'm seriously running out of room. Lauren picked up some utterly adorable soft hoodies, including one that looked like Snoopy and another that resembled a teddy bear. We got turned around finding our way out before we remembered we entered through the upstairs.

The sun was going down when we finally found Lauren's car. Took the same way going home, admiring a soft golden sunset on the way. Once again, no traffic, and no trouble getting in.

Tomorrow will be our last mall visit, this time to the smaller Colonie Center in Albany.