Red, White, and Matches

Began a gloomy Memorial Day with material from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Since Memorial Day began as Decoration Day honoring the soldiers who fought and died during the Civil War, all of the material revolves around that conflict. The most touching is the lone prose piece, "Light Bread and Apple Butter." A starving Union soldier and his dog wins the trust of a mother and her brood with his good manners and his volunteering to chop wood for them in exchange for the title meal. The poems were "Barbara Friechie," "The Sword of Robert E. Lee," and "Sherman's Ride."

Switched to Disney war-related shorts while I ate breakfast. Though Mickey Mouse didn't really figure into the World War II shorts, he did do one short based around World War I in 1929. "The Barnyard Battle" pits scrappy Mickey against huge Hun cats. Mickey uses his wits - and a convenient piano - to take those big cats down.

Goofy and Donald Duck were far more popular by the time the US entered the war in 1941. Goofy managed to get into two war shorts. "How to Be a Sailor" starts off as one of his typical how-to spoofs, with Goofy learning semaphore and trying to tie knots, but it ends with war footage and him being shot at the enemy. "Victory Vehicles" gives us a variety of conveyances, from Pogo sticks to literal golf carts, designed to get Goofys to where they're going without using rationed metal or gasoline. (By the way, I agree with Leonard Maltin in the intro to this cartoon. The song "Hop On Your Pogo Stick" is rather catchy.)

Donald was by far the biggest and most beloved character in Disney shorts by the 1940's, and he had the lion's share of war-related material. "Donald Gets Drafted" when he's swayed by the glamour offered on the recruitment posters. He wants to be a flyer, but Sergeant Pete would rather have him stand attention on an ant hill. He does finally get to fly after a disastrous check-up in "The Sky Trooper," but not in the way he planned. He finally gets the best of Pete in "The Vanishing Private," where he's doused with an invisibility paint while camouflaging a cannon. Pete follows "The Little Man You Can't See" on a Merry chase around the base. 

"Der Furher's Face" won an Oscar in 1943 for its surreal imagery depicting Donald dreaming he's a worker in a Nazi munitions factory. "Fall Out-Fall In" has Donald first trying to set up his tent, then attempting to sleep as the snores of his fellow soldiers keep him awake. "Commando Duck" is sent into the heart of Japan to contact their men. In the end, he's able to wipe...no, wash...out the enemy with the help of a rubber raft and a lot of water.

The Pink Panther was one of the few major animated characters to join the Vietnam War in "G.I Pink." Unlike Donald, he was swayed by the power, but doesn't have an easier time than Disney's irascible duck did 25 years before. Cranky drill sergeants, angry mascots, and land mine-ridden obstacle courses make him wish he'd just stayed at home. 

Headed out after "G.I Pink" ended. I just caught one of the new NJ Transit buses up the White Horse Pike. The lack of stairs is probably intended to make the bus more wheelchair-accessible, but while they're cleaner and smell better, the seats are harder and a lot less comfortable. I had no idea how you asked the driver to get off. There were no buttons, like on the old buses. I originally said Barrington, but Lawnside was closer to where I wanted to start anyway. (I later discovered that you pull on a yellow rope to get off, rather than a button.)

Another Red, White, and Blue Thrift Shop just replaced the long-empty K-Mart in the Lawnside Shopping Center a few days ago. Between the cloudy, warm weather, the new store, and this being one of the few things open on a major holiday, you can guess that they were mobbed. I did manage to dig up a few interesting items. I had no idea Major League had a soundtrack, let alone one on LP! I had even more luck with CDs: 

Journey - Raised On Radio

Diana Ross - Anthology (2-Disc set)

Soundtrack from Prince of Egypt

The Great Ladies of Rock & Roll: The 60's

And one interesting-looking young adult book: 

The League of Secret Heroes: Cape - Book One, by Kate Hannigan

Hiked down to Barrington after I left Red, White, and Blue. Thank heavens the weather held. It hadn't rained since this morning...and to my knowledge, it hasn't rained again since. It was just gloomy, cloudy, humid, and warm as I headed across Clements Bridge Road to the Old Rail Tavern. I had a tasty Italian Chicken Cutlet with provolone cheese and sauteed broccoli rabe and crunchy sweet potato fries with cinnamon cream cheese dip on their covered patio area while listening to a large family chatter on the other side of the room and half-looking at the college men's lacrosse game on TV. (Princeton killed Notre Dame, by the way, 16-9.)

The Barrington Antique Center is two doors down. This rabbit warren of tiny rooms filled with every possible vintage item, from Victorian glassware to relatively recent DVDs and Barbies, is open all week and on most holidays. My best find here was a stuffed version of Rick Raccoon from Shirt Tales. I had no idea there even were stuffed Shirt Tales. Rather appropriate, given I've been watching the show. (I'll have to look around for stuffed versions of Digger and Pammy, too.) Grabbed a bag of buttery sour cherry thumbprint cookies that were really yummy. I also picked up two children's records, The Care Bears' Birthday Party and readings of two original Winnie the Pooh stories. 

I originally wanted to get a drink at Berri Caffeinated, but they were closed by quarter after 3. I just walked down to the White Horse Pike to wait for the bus instead. Once again, it was on time, and there were no problems. I pulled the rope just in time. They let me off at the perfect spot to get home quickly.

Went straight into another Match Game Memorial Day marathon when I got home. In addition to many of the same episodes seen on Saturday, this one expanded to feature soldiers who appeared on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour and Match Game '90 as well. The Match Game '90 episodes were the hilarious Veteran's Day week shows with Marines as contestants and in the audience. The Marines really adored soap stars Karen Wittier and Fiona Hutchinson, cheering everything they said or did. In the case of Karen, their affections were warranted. She proved to be more than a pretty face when she twice won big money for the contestants. Fiona spent most of the week flirting with Ronn Lucas and Scorch.

Match Game Holiday Extra - Memorial Day Celebration 2026

Finished the night with two more wartime shorts, this time from Universal. "21 Day, Once a Month" debuted just weeks before the US joined the war, making it perhaps more timely than Universal planned. Woody Woodpecker has a cameo in this parody of the peacetime draft featuring toy soldiers. He also figured into one of the few wartime shorts Universal did. Like Donald, he wants to be an "Ace In the Hole," but his sergeant has him shaving horses. The Big bulldog definitely regrets it when Woody finally does get into the air!

Very Good Friday

Began the morning with breakfast and Peter and the Magic Egg on YouTube. I went further into this charming and unique 1983 special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2024.

Spring Short Subject Special - Peter and the Magic Egg

Did a few things online, then headed out to run errands in Westmont. My first stop was the Great Clips at the Westmont Plaza...but the wait there was over 75 minutes! I wasn't hanging around there. I left my name with the young lady and headed back out.

By default, I ended up getting brunch at the Westmont first instead. This time, I had a waffle, a small cup of cantaloupe and fresh pineapple chunks, Pepsi Zero, and bacon. Oh, yum! The waffle was a huge brick, the approximate size of a life raft, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside. It was topped with spicy honey butter and real syrup. The bacon was melt in your mouth crispy. It was even tastier than last time, even if that enormous waffle was too big to finish.

I got the 15-minute warning text for Great Clips just as I was heading back up the hill to the Westmont Plaza. This time, it only took 10 minutes to get a stylist. I just needed it cut a bit shorter. My hair gets so frizzy when it's too long! Considering the young woman who helped me had her own considerable curls, she knew how to handle them. I now have blunt-cut, very cute chin-length curls framing my face. They're still a little frizzy and dry, but nothing to the degree that they were.

The other reason I was in Westmont was to go grocery shopping. I didn't really need a ton of food at any rate. I got coconut milk, white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies, dried raspberry lemon mango slices from the bulk bins, and two cans of sparkling water at Sprouts. The cookies and Hint sparkling water were on clearance. The coconut milk is just cheaper at Sprouts. 

Rode past the Haddon Township Library, the Burger King and McDonald's, and the high school to the Westmont Acme next. They were surprisingly not that busy. Sprouts was actually a bit busier. Everyone must have come earlier - the carts were empty. I restocked blood oranges, apples, soda, yogurt, granola, and granola bars. Picked up lemon cake mix and white chocolate chips to make cookies later.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It was cloudy at this point, but not too chilly, probably in the mid-60's. It certainly looks like spring in the park now. Buds and new bright green leaves swell on the trees. Thick green grass and sunny buttercups carpet the shore of the lake. I pushed my bike on the path that goes over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center, and it was thickly padded with green undergrowth and dusky pink and white flowers on the trees.

Made the Lemon White Chocolate Yum Yums when I got home. This is based on that Chocolate Yum Yums recipe from Christmas Is Coming 1987, with lemon cake mix replacing the devil's food mix, white chocolate chips replacing the nuts, and no sprinkles or chocolate bar topping. Yum! I tried one that fell apart, and they came out perfectly, light, sweet, and zesty. I'm going to give them to Jessa, Rose and her kids, and friends for Easter.

Checked my schedule when I got upstairs. In good news, I have Easter off, along with Monday and Tuesday. I took Tuesday off for a dental appointment. I work straight through the rest of the week from Wednesday onwards, including an 8 1/2 hour day on Saturday. I have no idea why the 8 1/2 hour day. I know the head bagger probably went on vacation this week, but couldn't they have gotten one of the college students or high schoolers who are on vacation this week to take at least part of the time? 

Watched Match Game '90 after I finished the cookies. Most of the episodes finished the run with Fred Travelena and Brett Somers. It's always good to see Brett again. She was technically retired by this point, but Charles had talked her into being on the show, and his instincts were solid. They were just as funny as they were in the 70's. Edie McClurg makes her debut on the show in the next week, joined by game show host Jonathan Prince, Ronn Lucas and Scorch, and Khrystyne Haje from Head of the Class. 

Finished the night with The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town. I went further into my favorite Rankin-Bass Easter special at the first Easter review for my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2019. 

The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town

Spring Into Winter

Began a gorgeous morning with breakfast and Muppets Musicians of Bremen. I go further into this charming Muppet adaptation of "The Musicians of Bremen" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Family Fun Saturday - Muppets Musicians of Bremen

(And reminder that this is the last Saturday review. Starting next week, I'll be doing one Musical Dreams Movie Review on Thursdays. It might be a live-action film, an animated film, an old movie, a new one, a special, or a streaming movie. You never know what you might see, so keep an eye out!) 

Called Uber after Muppet Musicians of Bremen finished. No trouble here. I did have to wait 13 minutes for the first one, but I called early enough that I got to work right on time.  Waited 11 minutes for the one going home at the height of rush hour.

First of all, yes, I was right. The head bagger took half of next week off, which is how I got all those hours. She was here today, though, which is why I focused entirely on pushing carts. At least it was a gorgeous day for it. It was in the upper 50's, sunny and blue as can be. Most of the snow that came down last Sunday and Monday has already vanished. Only the highest piles on the curbs and in shady corners remain, and those aren't nearly as high.

Did my grocery shopping after I finished. I restocked yogurt, apples, grapes, soda, granola, granola bars, and coconut milk. I bought three bags of cookies from the Girl Scouts who were having so much fun outside earlier (two of them danced together, laughing and enjoying the day), so I just got a slice of carrot cake for a special treat. 

Put everything away when I got home, then took a much-needed shower and had dinner. Finished the night watching tonight's YouTube Match Game marathon. With the Cold War in full swing during the entire run of the show, many episodes joked either about America's allies at the time or the Eastern Bloc countries like Russia and Poland. Having worked with Germans and Austrians for six years on Hogan's Heroes, Richard Dawson could never resist trotting out his (fairly realistic) German accent. 

Probably the most memorable episode to feature another country was when Gene decided to do what the German version of Match Game did and say "Snick Snack" instead of blank. Apparently, the Germans don't have a word for "blank" in their language. Other questions joked about states sliding into the ocean or where Hawaiian goods really came from. 

Go on a trip around the world without leaving home the Match Game way with this high-flying marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Around the World Marathon (Part 1)

Rainy Days and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Mr. Malik Comes Back to School" to play his harmonica for the kids and introduce them to his hermit crab. The kids love dancing and pretending to be hermit crabs, but Mr. Malik has to remind them that they need to stop playing, and that there's a time for playing and a time for listening. Daniel and Katrina love making a snow cat, but Henrietta reminds them that there's a time for playing, and a time for listening. They go on "Daniel's Winter Walk" while heading home.

It was pouring cats and dogs when I got up late this morning. I was hoping the weather would subside, but the rain was still coming down at quarter after 1. Considering how bored I got the last time I sat around and did nothing on a Saturday off, I wanted to get out and do something. I grabbed a coat and called Uber. Surprisingly, they were there in 4 minutes.

They let me off at the Barrington Antique Center around 1:30, but I slid into The Garnet Grill first. Surprisingly, they were rather busy for 1:30, with one long table filled with locals chatting. I had a Camden-style chicken cheesesteak with Diet Dr. Brown cream soda and chips. "Camden-style" turned out to be on a round Kaiser roll rather than a hoagie roll, with tons of sauteed onions and cheddar cheese. Yum. Nice, warm, and filling on a messy day.

I wasn't the only person who thought this was a great day to visit the Barrington Antique Center. They were packed when I arrived around 2. I spent the next hour sorting through their piles of just about everything you can imagine, from depression glassware to fanciful Hilary Booth hats from the 40's and 50's to vintage toys and relatively recent DVDs. Found two authentic Cabbage Patch Kids outfits for my Cabbies Carrie and Dulcie, a cute gray, pink, and white knitted sweater with white knitted bloomers and red houndstooth check overalls with a frilly white short-sleeved blouse. Found one record, the 3-disc Original Gold Sessions soft rock collection. On my way out, while waiting for Uber, I spied an old industrial crate sitting on the front steps that would be perfect to finally thin out my jazz records. They're packed into the two crates I have for them now. And everything but the cookies was 20 percent off!

I wanted to go further to Doc's Finds in Haddon Heights and check out a new thrift shop in Audubon, but the rain just wasn't stopping. This was no day for wandering around. I called Uber...and spied the crate just after they said they'd be 11 minutes. That gave me just enough time to buy the crate before the lady arrived. Neither drive was longer than 5 minutes despite the continuing showers and chilly weather.

When I got home, I organized the jazz crates and dressed the Cabbies for winter while watching Geppetto. I go further into this Disney TV musical from 2000 with Drew Carey in the title role at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Geppetto 

Finished the night with the Saturday Match Game marathon. One of the writers' favorite questions parodied TV Guide listings and other TV shows of the time, usually the cop shows that dominated the airwaves in the 1970's. Ironside, Columbo, Kojak, and Cannon were their favorite targets, but such lesser-known cops as Banaceck and Harry-O got shout-outs occasionally too. The Rockford Files and Charlie's Angels got in later when Joe Santos of Rockford and David Doyle of Angels became semi-regulars around 1978. Usually, they were cracks about Kojak's bald head, Ironside's wheelchair, Columbo's rain coat and what he keeps in there, Cannon's girth, the Angels'...assets, or how tough the others were. 

There were TV jokes in some of the most beloved episodes of the entire series, like the time Richard gave "Benedict" for "__ Canyon" in the Head-to-Head. Or when Leslie Easterbrook, later of Police Academy, appeared on the show in 1980 wearing enormous shoulder pads that pre-dated the 80's shoulder pad fad by at least four or five years. Or an early syndicated episode with the most adorable and funny middle-aged lady who even knew how to put Gene in his place. Or when Elaine Joyce gave an answer Gene didn't like, and he untied her halter top. She held it on while avoiding Gene and Richard's attempts to help fix it.

Check the listings for laughter in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - The TV Guide Listings Marathon (Part 2)

Light Up the Neighborhood

Began the morning with breakfast and It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special. Buster is directing the Toons' big holiday show, but nothing is going right. Montana Max, who is stuck in a wheelchair after a skiing accident, sabotages the show, and Babs gets jealous of Cher when she sees Buster whispering in her ear. Upset after Monty is giving the directing job, Buster is literally ready to jump out of the film. He's stopped by a large white bunny with a familiar laid-back accent who shows him what life in Acme Acres and for his friends would be like if he was never on Tiny Toons.

Watched Card Sharks while getting organized to make my last batch of cookies. Looked like Christmas 1978 or 1979, from the men's hair and suits. We had two guys with accents playing, a young Hispanic man and a somewhat older British man. The Brit won the round and did all right on the Money Cards.

I spent the rest of the morning working on the Cherry Coconut Bars. These are basically lemon bars with a cherry-coconut custard filling instead of lemon. They're rich, super-sweet, but oh-so tasty. This may have been the best they came out in years. The cookie base baked perfectly and smelled terrific. The custard came out just right. (And at least I didn't almost forget the coconut this time, like I did last year.) 

Watched Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol while I ate lunch and packed up the bar cookies. I went further into this classic TV animated special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2019.

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

Hurried out after the show ended. I arrived at the Thomas Sharp School just in time. Once again, we were busy, with 20 pre-schoolers and kindergartners who hadn't been outside at home or school in almost a week. The blacktop was clear enough for the older kids to go out and play a ball game, but the younger ones still had to stay inside. Once again, they were incredibly rowdy until we got them settled down with toys, coloring, and books. I spent most of the evening working with the kids at the table with the magnetic tiles. I helped one boy build a space station, admired the geometric shapes another made, and shook my head as two more built a tall tower they kept knocking over, screaming with delight, before they'd build it back up again. One of the little girls wandered in and out. Another little girl and her family even gave me a gift card to Dunkin' Donuts and two Christmas shortbread cookies.

Had dinner at Crust n' Cravings on Collings after I left the kids. They were quiet except for the two guys making pizza and vacuuming and Action News. I ate a slice of chicken bacon ranch and a slice of broccoli tomato while half-listening to Channel 6. A mother and her grown daughter were just settling down with cheese steaks when I left.

Spent the next hour riding around, looking at lights displays in West Collingswood and Oaklyn. I traditionally do this about a week before Christmas, on a night after I've spent the day baking cookies on a hot stove. Since I was already out on the bike, I stayed on the bike instead of walking. I love how festive the local towns get at this time of year! I saw houses with electric candles in the window, with just the roof outlined, with the entire house wrapped in lights Clark Grizwauld-style. My favorites of the inflatables were the two Santas riding dinosaurs (Finley and the kids in the after-school program would love those) and a pig in a Santa hat. 

When I got home, I took a shower, then watched This Christmas. I go further into this R&B musical about a black family gathering for a memorable and melodramatic holiday season at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

This Christmas

Finished the night with two more holiday variety specials on YouTube. The Perry Como Winter Show is a more general holiday special from 1973 (complete with commercials that include recipes using Kraft products). Perry takes Sally Struthers, Jack Burns, and Avery Schriberer from the Metromedia Studios in sunny Califoria to wintry Vermont. Struthers, Burns, and Schriberer play broken toys who admit that they're glad they have each other. Schriberer insists that Como take him to sit on Santa's (Burns) knee. Como and Struthers have a romantic moment in the kitchen late at night over a sandwich. The group the Establishment perform chorus numbers and join in for a very peculiar tribute to vintage Hollywood. Struthers does Mae West, while the Establishment parodys Astaire and Rodgers and MacDonald and Eddy.

The 1966 Andy Williams Christmas Show is far more homey. Though we do have a very strange Osmond Brothers number "Whistle While You Work" with them as elves and a comic opening to "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," most of the show revolves around either Williams singing "Winter Weather" with his brothers, or Williams, his huge family, and his French then-wife Claudine Longet. He and Claudine get to sing a very sweet "Love In a Home" from Lil' Abner together. Williams finishes with a simple "Silent Night" on a bare stage.

In the Cold Late Autumn

Began the morning with breakfast and the 2018 Muppet Babies. "It's a Wonderful Elf-Bot," which Bunsen and Beaker invent to help the Muppets make a wreath for Statler and Waldorf. They're supposed to put art supplies in and get a present, but end up creating presents for themselves. They learn a lesson in giving when the Elf-Bot overloads, and they're out of art supplies to make a wreath. "A Merry Litter Christmas" has Bunsen learning a lesson about littering when he throws his shrimp-flavored milk into outer space to get rid of it, only to find the boxes are raining down on Gonzo's home planet of Gonzonia and blocking the shipping lanes.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon making more cookies. Did the two from-scratch batches today. The oatmeal chocolate chip recipe came from Prevention Magazine when Linda Young gave me that subscription in 2010. I got a lot of great recipes from Prevention that year, but that one is my favorite. The cookies are made with egg whites, and they come out moist and chewy every time. The ginger molasses recipe comes from the Cookie Classics Made Easy cookbook Lauren sent me a decade ago. I've never done a bad cookie from that book, and these are no exception. I didn't even burn anything this time. The ginger molasses spread slightly more than I would have liked, but they tasted great and smelled amazing in the oven. The oatmeal chocolate chip came out perfectly. 

It was so late when I finally ate lunch and got everything cleaned up, I called Uber to get to work. Or tried to, anyway. I must not have pushed the prong for the charger all the way in. It was down to 1 when I picked it up. I had to wait for it to get up to 4 to use it. (At least there's places in the cafeteria where you can charge your phone!) When I did finally call them, they took 13 minutes to arrive. Thankfully, there was no traffic anywhere once they did get there, but that did mean I was 5 minutes late to work. 

Which was not a good thing. We were crazy today. We had at least 22 pre-school/kindergarten kids and 20 older kids, and it's still too cold and messy for them to play outside. Ironically, we did end up outside anyway at one point. The head teacher (who's watching the older kids this week) called a practice fire drill about mid-way through the session. Everyone trooped outside...and then all the kids complained because there was no time to bring their jackets, and it was sunny but still pretty cold. I told one of the shivering girls they could lean on me for body heat.

They were still pretty rowdy even inside. They were crazy in the bathrooms, and crazy in the cafeteria...and once again, the library was being used, and we couldn't separate the two groups. Things settled down slightly once one of the teachers pulled out the Duplos and magnetic tiles along with coloring. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening coloring with the kids. I did two scenes from The WENN Nutcracker Suite, Betty trying to convince Queen Gloria to let Christmas go on despite what the Mouse King told her, and Scott changing back into a human. I was about to start a grove of Christmas trees when there was few enough kids to let me go. The parents of one of the little boys even gave me a $20 WaWa gift card and a lovely Christmas card for doing such a good job watching their son. 

Called Uber again after work...and once again had to wait 14 minutes for a driver. At least I spotted them fast when they did arrive. There was a little traffic around Collings and the White Horse Pike, but not enough to make it more than a five-minute ride home.

Did a few quick chores before Jessa picked me up a little after 6. We had dinner at Ponzio's Diner in Cherry Hill. Jessa has never been to this long-standing Cherry Hill institution, and I've only been there twice. (Once was with Dad when he took me to the near-by bike shop in March 2018.) Jessa had salmon cakes, broccoli, mashed potatoes, and a cup of chicken orzo soup. I had a shrimp salad sandwich on rye toast that was absolutely delicious, tasty hot fries, and a tiny cup of soupy Cole slaw. Jess had a gigantic black and white cookie for dessert. I had a massive slice of German chocolate cake that was slightly dry, but made up for it with its rich flavor and wonderfully thick chocolate and coconut-pecan icing. We talked about Dad, video games we liked, and childhood memories.

Finished the night watching Christmas On the Square at Netflix. I go further into this melodramatic Dolly Pardon TV musical that won an Emmy for Best TV movie in 2021 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - Christmas On the Square

(Oh, and Rose texted me earlier in the day. Yes, she and her family are not going away for Christmas this year. Did I want to come over and do a big appetizer spread, like I did at Thanksgiving? Sure! I have presents to give them all anyway.) 

Christmas Cookie Time

Began the morning with breakfast and the original Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman. Given our current weather, I figured this couldn't be more appropriate. Frosty comes to life on Christmas Eve thanks to a magic hat that was thrown away by lousy magician Professor Hinkle. Little Karen and Hinkle's rabbit Hocus Pocus take it on themselves to get Frosty back to the North Pole to keep from melting. Professor Hinkle follows, hoping to get his hat back. He thinks he's won when he traps Karen and Frosty, but as Santa Claus reminds Karen, snow never really goes completely away.

Spent the rest of the morning beginning one of my favorite parts of the holiday season - cookie baking! I made the recipes that use cake mixes as bases today. I first made Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies in 2012, when I was broke and looking to cut corners. The resulting cookies were so delicious, I've used the recipe for Christmas every year since. Chocolate Yum-Yums come from the craft book Christmas Is Coming 1987. The original recipe calls for devil's food cake mix and nuts, but I thought red velvet cake mix and white chocolate chips were more festive. I even replaced a little oil with some buttermilk, which many red velvet cake recipes call for.

Listened to unique Christmas music collections while I worked. Something Festive! doesn't look like a Christmas album. It's bright bird pinata cover screams Cinco Del Mayo, not Epiphany. The song selection is a bit more holiday-oriented. A&M founder and owner Herb Alpert gets two numbers with his Tijuana Brass, "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bell Rock." Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 do "The Christmas Song." Liza Minnelli performs the heartbreaking ballad "Raggedy Ann and Andy," while Claudine Longet gets the gentler "Snow." 

Things picked up with the first volume of A Very Special Christmas. This 1987 collection ups the energy quota with The Pointer Sisters' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and John Cougar Melloncamp's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Bon Jovi is a "Back Door Santa," Stevie Nicks does a gorgeous "Silent Night," and Run-D.M.C tosses rap into the mix with "Christmas In Hollis." (Hey fellas, mind if I join your Christmas? I love chicken and collard greens!)

Switched from rap and hard rock to soul and R&B for Soulful Christmas. Brook Benton's "This Time of the Year" and a lovely Patti LaBelle "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland" are my favorites here. We also have Sonny Til and the Oreoles asking "What are You Doing New Year's Eve?" and claiming "It's Gonna Be a Lonely Christmas."

Returned to the world of Frosty during lunch after I packed up the cookies and put everything away. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty back, but he's lonely when the kids go inside. They make him a "snow wife" he dubs Crystal, but she's not "all livin'" like him at first. It's not until Frosty makes Crystal a simple gift of love that she's finally able to be with him. Meanwhile, Jack Frost is jealous of Frosty's popularity with the kids. He'll do anything to get Frosty's hat and his magical ability to move.

Called Uber after I finished lunch. Alas, I couldn't get a driver for 20 minutes. Maybe it's just as well. I was able to do some quick chores. The driver did pick me up on time, but it still meant I was 5 minutes late to work. It took them almost 13 minutes to arrive going home. At least there was no traffic either way.

On one hand, we had 22 little kids and 20 older ones today, and as you can likely guess, no one went outside on a snow-covered playground. On the other hand, they were surprisingly not that bad. Bathroom breaks got a little crazy, but that was the worst of it. They mostly colored or played with magnetic tiles. I joined the kids coloring. Drew myself making cookies this morning on one side, Hilary the Sugar Plum Fairy and Jeff the Cavalier dancing while Annie the Rag Doll watches happily on the other. Read one of the littlest girls The Bernstein Bears Go to the Dentist when she requested it. 

There was a box waiting for me when I got home. I hadn't ordered anything. It turned out to be a revival of my annual Kimberly Clark box from Lauren. She and her parents own small stocks in the company and usually send me a box of their products. I kept the box of Kleenex tissues, the packs of tissues, the Cottonelle wipes, and the Thermos cup. I'll give a friend the Viva paper towels. Might see if I can donate everything else somewhere. (Oh, and incidentally, Lauren says she got my box today. She loved everything I gave her, and her parents loved their CDs.)

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner, after I took the laundry downstairs. No idea why Buzzr jumped way, way ahead to the second week of the syndicated series. Debralee Scott and Patty Duke joined in to hear David Doyle attempt impressions (and Brett and Charles not get what they were supposed to be).

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next. Betty hears Mr. Eldridge and Gertie talking as she prepares porridge for the next day. Gertie tells Mr. Eldridge that Princess Pirlipat, the Betty look-a-like who rejected Prince Scott after he became a Nutcracker, now has the music box with Cavalier Jeff. Jeff was turned into a wax doll dancing on a music box by the Mouse King. She also suspects he has the Christmas Star Sword, the family heirloom that had been stolen from Scott when he turned into a Nutcracker. The Nutcracker insists on sitting next to Betty's bed, though he can't sleep. He insists that his name isn't Scott, that he doesn't know who he is, but Mr. Eldridge knows better. 

Finished the night with holiday episodes of favorite game shows when I finally remembered to get the laundry out of the dryer and bring it upstairs. I had no idea Fun House had a Christmas episode until tonight. It was pretty cute, too. Kids dressed children in the audience as Rudolph, pushed a "sleigh" with flying "reindeer" while dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, and raced through a Fun House decorated with tinsel garlands and fake snow.

Christmas goes way back on game shows. What's My Line's holiday episode in 1955 featured the Salvation Army Band and Johnny Marks, who wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." (Which the Salvation Army proceeded to play.)  Christmas 1972 on To Tell the Truth introduced three female mall Santas and three gentlemen who claimed to be snowmobiling across the colder parts of the world.

Bob Barker was out sick during Christmas 1974 on The Price Is Right, so Dennis James filled in for him. Alas, he didn't have much luck with the games. I don't think anyone won their Pricing Game in this episode. The Showcases went better. One brought in Santa Claus (Johnny Olsen) to give a list of gifts. The other was gifts that represented A Christmas Carol.

Christmas is for families, too. Wheel of Fortune brought in family duos to play together during Christmas week 1992. A mother and her son had apparently dominated all week, and continued to do so that night. They were the only ones to get any money or prizes, and they won the bonus round, too.

Hollywood Squares got their Christmas party on in 2001 with Terri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Mull, Andrea Martin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Loretta Divine, Brad Garrett, and author John Saul, among others. The contestants played equally well, with one lady getting to the bonus round and choosing to keep her big bucks rather than risk an extra question (that she would have been wrong about anyway, as it turned out).

Celebrate the holidays game show style with these festive episodes!

What's My Line (1955)

To Tell the Truth (1972)

The Price Is Right (1974)

Fun House (1989)

Wheel of Fortune (1992)

Hollywood Squares (2001)

Winds of Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and A Christmas Carol on Tubi. This is the half-hour version animated by Richard Williams in 1971. No wonder it won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film a year later. Williams' work on this is haunting, from Marley and the ghosts outside Scrooge's window to Want and Ignorance under the Ghost of Christmas Present's robe. 

Hurried out even before the cartoon ended. I was ten minutes late to my appointment with Bryanna. She really just wanted to touch up with me anyway and see how the after-school program is going. That is mostly going fine. I love working with the kids, and I like the Thomas Sharp School. I don't like the constant turnover in the program. No wonder I got a job so easily despite my lack of experience working with kids. Since I don't have kids, it's also hard for me to keep up with the school schedule and remember when they have half-days and holidays. I'm going to stick with the after-school program until at least the end of the school year and see how I feel. The kids don't need to lose anyone else.

I do still want out of the Acme, however. I also still need to find a decent place to live that isn't an attic. Bryanna suggested calling my counselors at DVRS after the holidays to ask about low-income housing. Isn't all of that in Camden, and don't you have to sign a long, long waiting list to get it? I'm probably better off just trying to see what I can afford in Deptford and Cherry Hill.

Made a quick stop at Target on my way home. I was mainly there to get something for my nephew Collyn's birthday tomorrow. I also grabbed a few things to make cookies next week, including nifty hot chocolate and marshmallow-flavored chocolate chips and cake mix for the peanut butter cookies. 

Rushed home, loaded Collyn's birthday gift into his family's Christmas package, sealed the package, and rushed to the Oaklyn Post Office a couple of blocks down. I wanted to send my Christmas packages before work today. To my delight, there was no line when I arrived. I was expecting the line to be out the door. Sent a card for Linda Young and packages for Anny and her kids, Lauren and her parents, and Mom, Keefe, and his family. 

Since I took so little time at the Post Office, I was able to stop at Dollar General around the corner. I picked up red velvet cake mix and maraschino cherries for cookies next week and more bags for cookies. The line wasn't bad, and I was in and out.

Good thing I got to the school on time. The kids were really crazy today. It was sunny, but too windy and cold for them to go outside. They were so noisy in the bathrooms, the custodial staff complained. They just would not sit down in the cafeteria, no matter how many toys we pulled out for them or how many pages they colored. We put music on a speaker belonging to one of the teachers and let them dance, and it still wasn't enough for them to shake their sillies out. I did manage to get off early when there were only 3 pre-schoolers and kindergartners left by quarter of 4.

Hurried home and into baking. Normally, I'd bring cookies to the Acme's Christmas employee buffet, but for some reason, it's being held a week early this year. I don't make my cookies until the week before Christmas. That's why I needed buttermilk yesterday. I made the delicious gingerbread bars recipe from Samantha's Cooking Studio instead. Yum! It came out perfectly and smelled amazing in the oven.

I was so tired, after the gingerbread came out of the oven, I just grabbed my coat and strolled two blocks down to Crown Chicken and Gyro to get a tilapia sandwich and fries for dinner. At least it was a nice night for a walk. It remained cold, but the wind had died down considerably since I'd gotten back from school.

Had dinner while watching Hollywood Hotel. I go further into this Busby Berkeley-directed musical with Dick Powell that introduced "Hooray for Hollywood" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Hollywood Hotel

Finished the night with two beloved animated holiday soundtracks. A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the great jazz soundtracks of all time, and in fact, was one of the first records I bought after Dad gave me my first record player in 2006. "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmastime Is Here" were the big hits. I also like the lovely, flowing song played while the kids skate and "O Tannenbaum."

Decca re-released the soundtrack for the Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on LP in honor of its 60th anniversary last year. My favorite song from this one is its lively hit "Holly Jolly Christmas," performed by Burl Ives. There's also the Misfit Toys' "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" and Clarice the Reindeer's sweet ballad "There's Always Tomorrow."

Good and Busy Friday

Started off my morning with breakfast and the 2018 Muppet Babies. "Kermit and Fozzie's Egg-cellent Adventure" has them working together to find eggs during their Easter hunt. Fonzie wants to rush ahead, but he finally learns that it's best to make a plan first when he keeps tripping himself up and missing the eggs. Animal needs to use the bathroom, but he also doesn't want to miss all the fun of finding Ratlantis. It becomes "Animal and the Little Accident" when he keeps trying to hold it.

Switched to Paramount Plus for PAW Patrol. "Pups Save the Easter Egg Hunt" when Mayor Goodway breaks her arm and can't color the eggs. Even after the Pups fill a basket with them, the basket, Rocky, and Chickaletta are stolen by an eagle who isn't too happy that Alex took her egg to color! The others have to get them down and rescue the basket.

Put on The Easter Promise next while doing chores and making the bed. Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) and her friends are excited when Broadway star Constance Payne (Jean Simmons) comes home to Clear River, Nebraska for Easter 1947. She claims her father James (Jason Robards) once dated her, but in truth, he thinks she's snooty and eccentric. Addie invites Constance to dinner with her family and to give out prizes at her school's style show. James' constant criticism of her life choices at dinner ends with Constance drinking too much wine and turning up at the style show drunk. 

She makes up for it by agreeing to teach acting to Addie and her friends. That goes well at first, but she's plastered again by the second lesson. Addie is ready to give up, but her grandmother (Mildred Natwick) reminds Addie that we should never abandon a friend who needs help, and spring is the perfect time for new beginnings. 

Other than I wish they'd shot on location again instead of on a soundstage, this is my favorite of the four Addie Mills holiday movies. The style show is especially hilarious. I liked Cora Sue's peach "Hollywood" dress the best, but Addie's rickrack dress was cute, too. I get such a kick out of seeing how Addie and her friends celebrate Easter. They remind me so much of my sisters and I when I was 12. (Mr. Mills would be happy to know we dyed boiled eggs, not blown ones.) Lovely Easter viewing, especially if you have girls Addie's age.

Here's my friend Linda Young's website with more information on the films!

Put on the Bluey "Easter" episode while eating lunch fast and getting ready for work. Bluey and Bingo follow clues to find where the Easter Bunny hid their eggs. When the train runs cold, they think the Bunny forgot them...until they see sequined footprints leading to the desk...

It goes without saying on Good Friday we were busy the entire afternoon. I was hard-pressed to sweep and keep up with the carts. I had no help, either. The head bagger ended up in a register the entire time. The lines were just starting to settle down when I finally finished.

At least the weather wasn't bad. It's much warmer than it has been, in the mid-60's. It's also still windy, and though it was sunny earlier, the clouds moved in around 2 and hung around for the rest of the day. 

Got my schedule before work. In good news, I did get Easter and Thursday off, as requested. I knew the only way I'd get those days - or any days - off next week would be to ask for them. I work the entire rest of the week. Seven people went on vacation, including the head bagger. If people aren't on Easter break, they're using the last of their vacation days before our cycle starts over in May. Rather surprisingly, it's all short morning work straight through, no 8 1/2 hour days. 

Needed to do grocery shopping after work. Restocked yogurt, oranges, soda (they have more new probiotic brands on sale), and granola bars (Kind bars were on sale). Got a gift card for my nephew Khai's birthday tomorrow and tulips for a friend who loves flowers for Easter. Had an online coupon for "cream brulee" sandwich cookies, aka soft sugar cookies stuck together with cream like vanilla Oreo Cakesters.

Put everything away, then took a shower. Had dinner while watching Match Game '77. The audience was even more unruly than usual in these episodes, thanks to a group of high schoolers cheering on everything Richard said. Gene had more trouble with the two contestants ending up in a scoreless tie...at least until the much-traveled English gentleman started to catch on. Joyce Bulifant is more excited that she's giving some pretty good answers for a change as Bob Barker and Eva Gabor look on.

Watched Here Comes Peter Cottontail at Tubi next. I went further into this at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2019. 

Here Comes Peter Cottontail and The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town

Finished the night at YouTube with more of the Wink Martindale Password Plus tribute. Gene Rayburn kicked off this episode by trying take over Tom Kennedy's hosting job...and realizing that Tom wears his microphone and doesn't carry a wand-like one. Wink does better with the Alphabetics round, getting his lady through at the very last second.

Change of Heart

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mickey and Minnie hide six eggs, and the rest of the gang has to find them in order to reveal "Mickey's Springtime Surprise." Funny Bunny Pete plays all the tricks he can in order to keep the others from finding those eggs!

Headed off to the Haddon Township Library to meet Bryanna around quarter of 11. Got there just in time...to learn that she was late and wouldn't arrive until 12:30. Figured I'd get my grocery shopping done and went across the street to Target. My cell phone went off while I was in the snack food aisle. Seems she meant 11:30, not 12:30. I just grabbed brownie mix (which was on sale), granola bars, and an Orange Cream Coke Zero and rushed back across the street.

Bryanna was there when I arrived. She had applications for the Gloucester Township Libraries to sign. On one hand, they were only for part-time summer work, one as a regular library assistant, the other as a youth library assistant. I thought I wanted a real full-time job, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm up for that big of a change. As badly as I want out of the Acme (and I want out very badly), it might be better to do something smaller and see what I'm really interested in and what I can handle.

Explored the library a bit before I finally headed out to finish running errands at the Westmont Plaza. I couldn't find the treat bags I thought I picked up for the kids' Easter gifts, so I bought larger ones at Dollar Tree. Also grabbed two last Easter cards there. Picked up golden raisins, coconut milk, soda, sparkling water, sprinkles, poppy seeds, brown sugar, and bananas at a quiet Sprouts. 

At least it was a gorgeous day for all the running around! The sun was finally out, without a hint of cloud anywhere. Though it remained windy, it was also much warmer, into the lower 60's. It was so nice, I stopped at the Hispanic ice cream parlor on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike on the way home. The lime and cookies ice cream I had was delicious, crunchy and sweet all at once, with just enough hint of lime.

Went straight home after I got out of Sprouts. Watched The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town while I ate lunch and moved the new CD/cassette player to the top of one of the low book shelves in the bedroom. (The stuffed animals that had been there went on top of the record crate where I originally had the cassette player.) I went further into this and Here Comes Peter Cottontail at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in April 2019.

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town

After that ended, I went downstairs to make Pastel M&M Brownie Cookies. The original recipe called for the brownie cookies to be topped with Cadbury pastel eggs, but I already had the M&Ms. I mixed the M&Ms and sprinkles in with the brownie mix and added cocoa and more flour for extra richness. Yum! I'm giving these away and didn't taste them, but they sure smelled chocolate-y in the oven!

Listened to the Wicked soundtrack on my new CD player while I made the cookies. I almost didn't buy this. I've had the original cast album for years, and the song list is identical to the first half of the show. However, it does have fabulous performances from its two witches. Adriana Grande's "Popular" and her part of "Dancing Through Life" is adorable. Cynthia Erivo does equally well by gentle ballads like "I'm Not That Girl" and big belting numbers like the finale "Defying Gravity." Honestly, if you loved the movie, you'll probably want this, too. 

Tested the cassette player while the cookies were in the oven. It almost immediately ate my original copy of the Beach Boys' Still Crusin', but the soundtrack from the 1945 State Fair worked just fine. State Fair isn't regarded as one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best works, but it does have some decent songs. "It Might As Well Be Spring" won an Oscar, and I'm also fond of the ballad "That's for Me" and the chorus number "It's a Grand Night for Singing." 

My Jack Benny Show cassette played fine, too, and I've run this to death since I bought it in college. "Phil Harris Goes to War" with his band in the episode I listened to. More specifically, they joined the Merchant Marines. Jack is more interested in the trip to New York they'll be taking in the next episode, including the ultra-cheap Acme Arms Hotel. (Wonder if he ran into any Looney Tunes there?) Meanwhile, Mary Livingstone prefers to think of her husband as a mother duck, Rochester explains to Jack that he got the wrong pajamas back from the cleaners, and youthful singer Kenny Baker hasn't gotten around to seeing his boss' then-new movie yet. 

Did Sunday School Musical when I went back upstairs. I go further into this religious B-movie imitation of High School Musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Sunday School Musical

Switched to Match Game '77 during dinner. Buzzr took a flying leap into the week with Patty Duke and Nipsey Russell. Thankfully, Richard was still in a decent mood here, surprising considering this was the week after the infamous School Riot and he couldn't have been happy with the show or producer and judge Ira Skutch at that point.

Wink and Gene are only doing slightly better mid-way through their Password Plus week. Wink finally got to an Alphabetics and did well on it. Gene, however, keeps using long words that no one understands or have to be explained. 

Finished the night with the two children's Easter albums I've dug up in the last few weeks. Disney's Peter Cottontail has a too-sweet choral version of the title song, but also includes a retelling of the short story "Grandpa Bunny" from Storybookland. Songs about Thumper and the White Rabbit are just ok.

I found Peter Cottontail: The First Easter Record for Children to be vastly more enjoyable. Gene Autry has a lot more fun with the title song, along with the western-themed "Bunny Round-Up Time." Rosemary Clooney gets the cute "Eggbert, the Easter Egg" and "My Choc'late Rabbit." Art Carney gives us two goofy story-songs, the retelling of Peter Rabbit as "Flop, Mop, Cotton, and Pete," and the description of bunnies as "A Thump, A Twinkle, and a Twitch, or How to Make a Rabbit." 

You Say It's Your Birthday

Kicked off my birthday with breakfast and "Yogi's Birthday Party." In the series finale of The Yogi Bear Show, Yogi is thrilled at first when Ranger Smith tells him he's going to star in a big TV variety program. He tries to take dancing, singing, and music lessons from thinly-veiled spoofs of then-popular entertainers. Embarrassed when he realizes he really isn't a singer or dancer, he runs away, only to be caught by Smith and his men. Turns out that the "variety special" is actually a televised birthday party featuring all of the Hanna Barbara funny animals created up to that point, and all he has to do is sit back and listen to them sing a song for him and their sponsor Kellogg's.

Headed out after Yogi ended. My first stop of the day was Dollar General to buy an Orange Cream Coke Zero and make change for the bus. Turns out it was a moot point. They were using a larger bus usually reserved for longer trips of an hour or more, and the payment machine was broken. I got a free ride to Barrington.

I was in Barrington to check out the Antique Center. That huge warren of tiny rooms is filled with everything from antique china and glassware to relatively new DVDs and CDs...and it's one of the few South Jersey thrift shops open on Mondays. They were also surprisingly busy for a Monday. I had to dodge several people searching shelves for fancy glasses or vintage Easter decorations. I just ended up with two records: 

Unpublished Cole Porter (Another Ben Bagley album, this time featuring songs that were cut or never released.)

Peter Cottontail - The First Easter Record for Children (Songs about or related to either rabbits or the more secular side of Easter, performed by Rosemary Clooney, Gene Autry, and Art Carney. This comes from Columbia's Harmony label. There's a few more children's titles on the back I'm definitely going to look for, including Gene Kelly's performance of Peter Rabbit and The Pied Piper of Hamlin and two albums of fairy tales.) 

Fortunately, the closest bus stop is a block from the Antique Center. The bus to Deptford was right on time. I did have to pay, and it was one of the older, wider buses intended for shorter trips, but it got me to the Deptford Mall with a minimum of fuss and little traffic. 

Since it wasn't far from where I got off, I went in through Macy's and had lunch at the food court. I really like their Mediterranean Pitas & Greens booth. Had a messy chicken gyro with slender fries and a cup of iced tea that tasted home-brewed. It was almost 1 at that point, and the food court was relatively busy with college kids and parents taking younger children on a trip to the mall enjoying their lunches.

Spent the next hour or so at Round 1 Entertainment. The skee ball machines were down again, but everything else worked just fine. I played Princess Peach on Mario Kart Deluxe and came in second on a tougher course. I also got second on the Death Valley course in Crusin' Blast. Tried Tetris on a Japanese machine, too. Didn't do too badly shooting baskets. All in all, I ended up with over 2,500 points. I didn't see anything I liked, so I got a mini boom box from the same line as the mini-radio to give to my nephew. 

Explored stores for a couple of hours after that. Though I looked at Miniso, Otaku House, Rally House, Fan Treasures, FYE, The Loft, Hot Topic, and Box Lunch, the only place I bought anything was JC Penney. I dug a pale blue cable sweater and yellow three-quarters-length sleeve t-shirt on the clearance racks. The sweater came to about $8.50, the sweater to $5.50. Stopped at Ginny's Cookies and Ice Cream and treated myself to a wedge of chocolate chip cookie "cake" with green frosting.

Headed across the street past the abandoned shopping center to HomeGoods first. I looked at pots and pans, but didn't see anything I liked. I'll do more research there on what type of pots and pans I want. Had more luck at Old Navy. I picked up a pair of jean capris there.

I also just enjoyed the gorgeous day. The clouds had been in and out all morning, but by 4:30, they'd taken a temporary leave of absence. It was breezy and far warmer than it had been, into the mid-60's. 

Barnes and Noble was surprisingly busy, too. It was after 4:30 by then, and the high schoolers and college kids were out of school. I considered records, but I already bought two, and I didn't see any on sale that I liked. Found two CDs on sale and another that was just cheap, along with two books: 

The Essential Michael Jackson (2-Disc set of his best-known songs, including from before he went solo.)

Wicked soundtrack

The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra (This was the $8 one. The other two came to $14.40 each with 20 percent off.)

The Lies That Bind - Kate Carlisle

The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods

Mom called me when I was wandering around the children's section. I sat down in a quiet corner to chat. She wanted to wish me a happy birthday and was glad to hear I was enjoying my day. I told her about my trip and thanked her for the online Amazon gift card she sent me. Her card and Lauren's would pay for a new CD/cassette player. The CD player Dad and Jodie gave me in 2017 was skipping, too big for the room it was currently in, and I never liked that it was a front-loader. The CD part of my more than 15-year-old Emerson CD/cassette player hadn't worked in years. The cassette part did, but I didn't know for how much longer.

Met Jessa for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse in front of the shopping centers. I haven't eaten there in years. She had salmon, with broccoli and rice. I had a small steak with the same broccoli and a baked sweet potato. We shared brown bread and a Bloomin' Onion. Yum! It was all delicious, including the onion. I made sure to order a steak that was just the right size to finish in one go. Jessa did take home her rice and salmon, and I gave her the last of the bread and what little remained of my steak. I was more embarrassed when waitresses came up and sang "Happy birthday," but I felt better when they left a dish of velvety vanilla ice cream with a candle in it.

We went across the street to another shopping center and explored Hobby Lobby next. I'd love to take up another hobby...but I don't want to spend money on something and not follow through. I've dropped every single hobby I've tried, from crocheting to woodwork, because I'd get bored after a while or would tackle projects that were too large. 

I originally wanted to check out Hallmark, too, but it was getting late. Hallmark and Hobby Lobby closed at 8. Jessa just ended up driving me home, running the Beatles and other classic rock songs all the way back to Oaklyn. 

Finished the night after a shower, taking the recycling out, and bringing the cute T-shirt and box of Merci European chocolates a friend gave me for my birthday upstairs with my favorite episodes of the syndicated Match Game. Even after the CBS run ended in 1979, interest remained strong enough for the show to restart in syndication a few months later. 

Buzzr has ran a lot of the best early syndicated episodes, so I just stuck to a few of the ones that are my favorites or haven't been done to death. I couldn't leave out the time the contestant gave one of the most unlikely answers in game show history to "Cuckoo __" in the Head to Head, or the one where everyone but Dick Martin walked out while Gene droned on. 

There was also the time Gene seemed to get "electrocuted" by the question holder! Charles insinuated that someone would have to host, then said he'd never take over a part that badly acted. Charles was the one causing the trouble when he and Gene got into an argument over the merits of the original Sho Gun miniseries and he hit Gene with his card. Gene collapsed onto Jonnelle Allen while McLean Stevenson took over hosting for a couple of questions. Charles also got to clean up after Gene when people were throwing cards around.

Kirstie Alley wasn't the only later celebrity to win big on the syndicated show. Future talk show hostess Jenny Jones also made a big win on a week with Betty White and George Kennedy. Betty had her own fun on her next appearance flaunting her legs in a short red dress made by a friend of Sharon Farrell. That episode was wild in general. Sharon and Richard Paul inadvertently demonstrated mud wrestling to illustrate McLean's answer to a question about what should be an Olympic event, and McLean ran off after being scared by a contestant with a shrill laugh that he apparently used to wake his kids up every day.

Betty was there during the very last episode, along with McLean, Brett, Charles, Skip Stevenson, and Melinda O'Fee. Charles claimed he was dating the dummy used to test the color levels, while a curly-haired contestant asked to kiss McLean. Brett was right that he was blushing after that. He was the same color as his red sweater. Skip even rushed over and kissed the other contestant! Betty quipped that she should take some of that and send it to Richard Dawson.

Check out the best from one of the most underrated Match Game series! 

Episode 28 - Cuckoo Fran and Ollie?

Episode 42 - Panel Walks Out on Gene's Lecture

Episode 206 - Gene Gets Electrocuted

Episode 257 - Charles Cleans Up

Episode 302 - The Sho Gun Incident

Episode 395 - Jenny Jones On Match Game Part 2

Episode 442 - Betty White and the Red Dress

Episode 525 - Charles and the Dummy (Series Finale) 

Rainy Day at Home

It was pouring when I woke up this morning, and would continue pouring in some form or another for most of the day. I stayed at home the entire day. This was no time for running around. 

When I did roll out of bed, I watched Alice's Wonderland Bakery while eating breakfast. Alice and Fergie compete to see who can make the best potato recipe in "Potato Potahto." They discover that their recipes have very similar ingredients, and it may be related to the page that was torn out of Cookie years ago. "Hattie's Inside-Out Cake" is the first he's ever made for Dad Hatter's big tea party. His friends think it needs more decorations, but Hattie finally reminds them that it's what inside the cake that counts.

Checked my schedule next, which for some reason, took a while to appear. Perfectly normal hours. Only one early day, and it's the regular four-hour Wednesday. Nothing else earlier than 11 or later than 5. I do work Friday this time, but that's to be expected on Easter weekend. Not only did I get my birthday off, but I took it as a vacation day. I apparently still have a few left. 

Went downstairs to try that recipe I bought the oatmeal and dried cranberries for yesterday. There's a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies in Kit's Cooking Studio that is really good. It does require a lot of butter, but it also works well with whole wheat and regular flour and makes a lot of cookies. Since I bought them for snacking this week, I replaced the raisins with dried cranberries. Oh, yum! They couldn't have come out more perfectly, chewy on the inside and golden on the outside, and they smelled amazing. 

After I put everything away, I watched Adam Adamant Lives! on YouTube. Adam learns that blackmail is "More Deadly Than the Sword" when he travels to Japan to learn who has taken incriminating photos of a British politician. Georgina follows him, and is promptly captured by geishas and their bosses who have even worse things in mind for the photos and Adam.

Soon as the episode ended, I went down for a nap. I had no other plans for today, and the weather was so lousy, there wasn't a whole lot else to do. Besides, I'm still dead tired. I went down at 4:30 and didn't really get up again until past 6:30. 

Put on Match Game '73 during dinner. McLean Stevenson was a total nut during his first week. He bent over to kiss a contestant and claimed she stole his capped teeth. He'd run down to the lower desks and kiss Richard instead of the contestant. On Friday, he was naked from the waist up except for a bow tie. Gene loaned him a jacket, then another one when he claimed the first was itchy. Richard made a crack about getting McLean to the Largo, a strip club in LA.

Returned to Adam Adamant Lives! after that ended. "The Sweet Smell of Disaster" reveals Adam to be wary of a new laundry detergent that comes with a certain lovely-smelling blue carnation. Turns out he's right to be concerned. The carnation makes anyone who buys it addicted to the soap...and gives the advertising company control over the people who buy it. Georgina joins the company to give out carnations while Adam explores their headquarters to find out what their real end game is.

Watched the peculiar Australian animated fantasy The Magic Pudding at The Roku Channel next. I'll go further into this one tomorrow at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Finished the night at YouTube with Cinderella: Frozen In Time. This is actually Dorothy Hamill's last-ditch attempt to revive the Ice Capades in the mid-90's, with one full-length story and no vaudeville acts. The story has more in common with British pantomime than Disney. Cinderella has a goofy guy friend named Buttons, the stepsisters are played by men in drag, and she and Buttons are lost and attacked by spirits after the ball. Lloyd Bridges narrates the network special as a mysterious old man who tells the story to a pair of ice-skating kids. It's sweet, charming fun if you have kids who love princess stories or figure skating. 

Of Bats and Bunnies

Began the morning with breakfast and The First Easter Rabbit. I went further into this 1976 Rankin Bass special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2023.

The First Easter Rabbit

Switched to Press Your Luck while making my grocery list. The episode had the woman champ win money for a home viewer...only to lose hers minutes later to a Whammy. The one guy was the only one to avoid the Whammy and pick up a trip to Washington DC. 

Checked my schedule while the show was on. Mostly the same hours as last week, but an early day on Sunday, and this time, the 8 1/2 hour day is Saturday and Wednesday is back to four hours. The Sunday bagger and head bagger must have taken those days off. I badly need to find a better job, or at least something to do with myself at home or nearby.

Headed out to make a quick grocery run. I got white and brown sugar and dried apricots from the bulk bins, coconut milk, bananas and Waterloo sparkling water in 99 cent cans at Sprouts. Picked up blood oranges for a good price, yogurt on sale with an online coupon, coconut macaroons off the bakery clearance rack, new Spindrift soda on a good sale, pads, and butter for baking later. Neither store was busy, and I spent a little over 20 minutes in both. 

Cut through Newton Lake Park on the way home. It's really green now. The hills and banks of the lake are carpeted in bright green and sunny yellow buttercups. The trees burst with pink, lavender, and white and show the first signs of leaves. 

After I got up the hill and past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Center, I went to the A& Pretzel Shop for lunch. They weren't busy, either. I was able to get pretzels, a cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel, and a Diet Pepsi in peace. 

Put on It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown while having lunch after I got home. The Peanuts are excited about their spring festivities, even as Christmas decorations go up at the local department store. Peppermint Patty tries to teach Marcie how to color eggs, but Marcie can't seem to grasp the concept of hard-boiling. Snoopy buys Woodstock a birdhouse. Charlie Brown takes Sally shopping for shoes. Lucy pesters Schroeder for gifts and colors and hide her own eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does all that. Sally's skeptical after the incident with the Great Pumpkin at Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise for the kids.

After I finished lunch, I brought the butter downstairs to do some baking. I had two very ripe bananas that were so soft, they were practically turning into pudding in their skin. There's a recipe in the Pillsbury cookie book Anny gave me years ago for banana cookies that only requires bananas, vanilla, brown sugar, flour, and salt. No eggs or baking powder or soda. The recipe came with a caramel frosting, but I thought the brown sugar and ripe bananas made the cookies plenty sweet enough without it. Yum. They came out tasting like perfect mini banana bread morsels and smelled amazing in the oven. 

Switched to Batman Forever in honor of Val Kilmer, who died earlier this week, while the cookies cooled. He's Batman here, fighting Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) in a somewhat more colorful Gotham. Nerdy Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey) wants Bruce Wayne to consider his new machine that can send TV signals into the brain. Bruce points out the possibility for it to manipulate minds and rejects it. Nygma continues to develop it anyway, eventually programming it drain minds and transfer the information to his. Nygma calls himself the Riddler and joins Two Face to get rid of Batman once and for all.

Bruce has his own problems. He's trying to deflect the interest of psychologist Chase Meridan (Nicole Kidman), who is very interested in his split personality. After a family of aerialists die trying to stop Two-Face from killing everyone watching a local circus, Bruce takes in the orphaned youngest member Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Dick wants to join him and avenge his family, but Bruce knows all too well that revenge is a dish best not served at all. However, he may need more help dealing with Nygma than he originally believed. The Riddler is slowly losing his grip on reality...and may be manipulating more than brains when he gets Bruce into his machine, too...

I know a lot of people find this to be too goofy, but I think it walks the right fine line between the camp of the TV show and Batman and Robin and the violence and darkness of the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan films. Kilmer and Carrey put in career-best performance as the tortured costumed vigilante and the obsessed researcher-turned-supervillain. Not everything lands; Kidman is underused in a thankless love interest role, O'Donnell can be annoying, and Jones is really miscast as the other villain. 

Honestly, if you want to check out a Batman movie, the just-dark-and-weird-enough tone might make this the best place to start. You can go backwards or forwards from here, depending on how dark or campy you like your superhero films.

Switched to Match Game '73 during dinner. I really wish Pat Carroll had returned after her one week. She was hilarious and not a bad player. Robert Culp, on the other hand, didn't seem to get the humor and didn't have nearly as much fun. Nipsey Russell made his debut in the next week, complete with poetry, while Charles returned and Brett moved downstairs to the fourth ingenue seat to annoy Richard. 

Finished the night with Princess Castle at Tubi after a shower. I'll go further into this unique Golden Films fairy tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog tomorrow. 

Chocolate Chips and Sweet Springs

Began the day with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. The kids and their substitute teacher discover "The Mystery of the Stone Circle" when they accidentally find the way into caves under a group of boulders with pre-historic markings on them. Inspector Sneef saves every holiday shopper in New York after metal objects begin mysteriously floating upwards in "The Big Apple Christmas Caper." "Who's Too Scared to Masquerade?" Not Sally and her friends, who find the perfect spooky costume to wear to a monster costume party.

Let Press Your Luck run as I made my grocery list, then went online to check my schedule. In good news, no early days next week. 10:30 is the earliest. And that's because...no Wednesday, either. I only work Saturday and Sunday. On one hand, that means plenty of time to clean the apartment, prepare for Easter and warmer weather, and figure out where I want to go next with the job hunt. It also means I'm going to have a really lousy paycheck.

Headed out to do my grocery shopping next. Started at Westmont Plaza to beat the high schoolers to Target before they got out. I had an online coupon for Skintimate shaving lotion. I thought I had one for Ivory soap, but it didn't come up that way. Kind protein bars were on sale, too. 

Ducked next door to Sprouts just as the kids started coming up the hill. Fortunately, Sprouts has little that interests them. Grabbed bananas, soda, coconut milk, and granola bars from the regular shelves. It took me forever to find the bulk oatmeal. Turns out it's in barrels in the back of the bulk aisles. Shoveled out the old-fashioned version for a recipe, along with more of the European hot cereal and those yummy golden raisins.

Made my way past the Haddon Township Library and High School to the Westmont Acme next. Needed to restock yogurt, blood oranges, eggs, and soda that Sprouts doesn't have. Picked up bagels for lunch this weekend. Decided to try Dave's Killer Bread chocolate almond bars in lieu of granola bars (none of the one I like were on a good sale).

Took the long way home through Newton Lake Park and over the hill to the Haddon Township History and Environmental Center. It had been off-and-on sunny and relatively warm, in the mid-60's, but the sun was out when I was going through the park. It's really starting to look like spring there now. The leaves are barely sprouting on the trees, but the bushes and vines are lush and lime green. The fountains sparkle in the rippling lake. No wonder I dodged a lot of kids walking home from school and adults going for jogs and strolls. 

Got organized while watching The Price Is Right. The contestants did really well in both shows, including a rare $11,000 wheel win on the first episode. The trouble hit during the Showcases in the second episode. One contestant went so badly over, I knew she had no chance...but the other just barely missed. As Bob pointed out, it was a shame, since all but one person won their games in the rest of the show.

Grabbed my baking ingredients to make one of my favorite recipes after Price ended. I got my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe out of Prevention Magazine in 2010, the year my friend Linda Young gave me a subscription. It requires whole wheat flour, canola oil, egg whites, and oatmeal instead of butter and regular eggs. Not only are they more nutritional, but the oil and egg whites make them extra-chewy. I've very rarely had trouble with this recipe, and this time was no exception. The first batch came out a little dark, but the second was perfect, just sweet and nutty enough. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated while making the cookies, and later during dinner. The first couple of episodes featured Ted Lange of The Love Boat, a sweet Susan Richardson with blonde hair done in a unique curly style, and Joyce Bulifant. Alas, the last two episodes of that week are currently missing, due to them still trying to sort out the red tape with Jimmie Walker. I didn't object too much when they moved straight into the week featuring Diana Sorvino, a friend of Charles Nelson Reilly who would be the only opera singer to appear on Match Game. She got to see Gene show off his body when a contestant make a joke about it...and then Betty White do her own idea of a stripping routine.

Went upstairs for Hollywood Stargirl after dinner. I'll go further into the sweet sequel to Stargirl at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog tomorrow. 

Finished the night with the soundtrack for Licorice Pizza. I haven't seen the 2021 comedy yet, but I can say its soundtrack has an awesome cover, done as a earth-toned version of the artwork on pinball machines in the 60's and 70's. There's also some great music here. As you can guess, it's mostly 70's favorites like "Life on Mars?" by David Bowie, "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry, and "Stumblin' In" by Chris Norman and Susi Quatro, though Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters' version of "Accentuate the Positive" does manage to sneak onto side A. We even have lesser-known 70's tunes like "Walk Away" by James Gang and "July Tree" by Nina Simone that I'm glad I got to hear. I almost didn't buy this at Abbie Road, but I'm glad I broke down and grabbed it. Worth checking out whether you've seen the movie or not if you're a fan of the music of the time period and don't already have a lot of these tunes elsewhere.

Luck of the Irish

Began my St. Patrick's Day with Murder at an Irish Wedding and the one piece on St. Patrick's Day from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. I didn't know much about St. Patrick himself until I read this biographical essay on his life, other than he supposedly drove the snakes out of Ireland. Apparently, he rose from his roots as a slave who fell in love with Ireland and its culture to drive the Druids and paganism out, too. 

Watched cartoons with St. Patrick's Day or Irish-themed episodes while I had breakfast and got organized. It's a "St. Patrick's Day Dilemma" on Doc McStuffins when Donny accidentally scribbles on her new paper doll Fiona's green Irish dance dress. Fiona won't wear anything but that, until Doc and the others convince her that it's better for you to change your clothes when they're dirty. Doc's new giant doll Gillian is upset that she's too big to play tea party or castle with the other toys...but she's the one who makes "A Giant Save" when Professor Hootenburgh gets stuck in a tree.

Scooby Doo's All-Star Laugh-a-Lympics starts out in "The Grand Canyon" with a burro race that gets pretty sticky when Yogi uses gum to jump ahead and Mumbly gets to the finish by rocket jets. Huckleberry Hound gets luckier when the Rottens' cheating backfires and propels him into first instead of knocking him off the high wire between canyons. Grape Ape and the Blue Falcon work together to save the leprechaun and his gold from the scheming Daltons in "Ireland." Captain Caveman overshoots the ball on the hole-in-one tournament, and Dinky Dawson hits himself in instead of the ball. Cindy Bear has her own unique way of getting that ball in and making sure it stays.

Put together the birthday cards for Mom and Kelly, then headed out to run errands. I realized when I signed their cards that I'm almost out of stamps, so I sent the cards at the post office and picked up more there. I was originally going to make Irish soda bread today, but I forgot the buttermilk at the Acme, and none of the small stores on the White Horse Pike had any. Picked up cream cheese and coconut at Dollar General and butter at Family Dollar. Dropped a book in the kiosk on the White Horse Pike. Grabbed a ham and cheddar hoagie for lunch at WaWa and tried a Mint Smoothie. Not bad. Very smooth and minty, anyway.

The weather was actually rather nice when I came out, sunny and warm. By the time I was on the White Horse Pike, the cold wind had picked up and the clouds rolled in. It was now too chilly to linger. I went straight home, admiring gardens filled with daffodils and green banners waving in the breeze. 

Watched Happy Days while eating lunch. "Joanie's Weird Boyfriend" is a member of the Red Devils, whom she met at the St. Patrick's Day party at Arnold's. Joanie's intrigued at first. She's tired of her parents and brother treating her like a child. She realizes these boys are more than she can handle when they tell her their initiation rights. Good thing her brother and Fonzie follow her and bring along Carmine "The Big Ragu" Ragusa from sister show Laverne & Shirley. 

Spent the next few hours making peanut butter cookies and Irish potatoes. I've been craving peanut butter cookies lately, but the Acme doesn't make them, and the ones at Sprouts were too expensive. Tried the one-bowl recipe in that cookie cookbook Lauren sent me a few years ago. Irish potatoes are easy to make. You just mix cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and coconut and roll them in cinnamon to look like mini sweet potatoes. I think I should have used a bit more peanut butter on the cookies, but they otherwise came out very well. The Irish potatoes were definitely better than the truffles I tried to make at Christmas. At least they didn't involve melting chocolate.

Put on The Quiet Man when I got upstairs and as I ate dinner. Sean Thornton (John Wayne) returns home to 1929 Innesfree, Ireland to buy the home that belonged to his mother when she was a girl. He falls for spirited local lass Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara), but her brother Will (Victor McLaughlin) wanted the house himself and won't consent to the match. Matchmaker Micheleen Flynn (Barry Fitzgerald) eventually tricks Will into letting them wed, but when Will figures out what's going on, he won't give Mary Kate her dowry or furniture. He does eventually give up the furniture, but still won't turn the money over to her. She won't consider herself to be Sean's wife until he fights for her money. Sean has his own reasons for not fighting and refuses to at first, until Mary Kate tries to leave. His confrontation with Will finally turns into such a huge knock-down, drag-out donnybrook, almost the entirety of Ireland comes out to watch!

John Ford's love letter to the old country is one of the best things he ever did. Ireland glows with a radiance that makes even Oz look pale. Some of the best Irish character actors in Hollywood, including Fitzgerald, Mildred Natwick as the original owner of the cottage whom Will is sweet on, and Ward Bond as the town's fishing-obsessed priest have a grand time with the charming story. McLaughlin made such a wonderful bullying brother, he got one of the film's seven Oscar nominations. Ford won, along with that stunning cinematography. It would be B-studio Republic's only Oscar nomination for Best Picture. A must-see on St. Patrick's Day or if you're a fan of anyone involved or just want to see a really beautiful movie.

Finished the night after a shower with something different. In 1980, the Jim Perry Card Sharks did a three-week tournament featuring some of the most popular game show hosts of the time. I did week one tonight. Allen Ludden killed the competition, winning more than $6,000 for the Los Angeles Zoo. Gene Rayburn and Bill Cullen also did fairly well. Poor Wink Martindale just couldn't get anything going with the cards, but they gave him money for his charity anyway. 

The entire tournament was hilarious, but some of the best moments were in the first week. Gene spent the week flirting with the hostesses who turned the cards. At one point, he actually took Jim's microphone and flat-out hit on the girl. Allen Ludden dazedly claimed he was "between 97 of the biggest teeth I ever saw" when he found himself caught in the middle of Jim Perry and Wink Martindale's dazzling white smiles. 

Here's hoping you enjoy the first week for yourself! I'll be watching the remaining tournament episodes later this week. 

Card Sharks Host Tournament Day 1

Card Sharks Host Tournament Day 2

Card Sharks Host Tournament Day 3

Card Sharks Host Tournament Day 4

Card Sharks Host Tournament Day 5

Sculptures In the Snow

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Backyardigans. Tasha, Pablo, and Uniqua are the Do-Gooders, a band of nice bikers who like the help people. This includes mail-moose Tyrone when he loses his "Special Delivery" Valentine's Day mail. He believes all the cliches about biker gangs and tries to outrun them, but they're determined to stay on his trail and get the mail back to him. 

Took Uber this morning, partially due to concerns about the weather, and partially because Jessa was picking me up later. It only took five seconds for me to get a ride and five minutes for the gentleman to arrive, confirming my suspicions that it was just too darn busy yesterday to get any kind of public transportation.

Work went perfectly fine. I spent the morning sweeping and gathering carts. I did end up behind on the carts when they kept getting me to put cold items away. Unless it's meat, the cold stuff can go in freezers or coolers until I have time for it. The carts kept emptying. They needed to be done first. 

After work, I changed into a normal shirt, then grabbed a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero to get money for the Girl Scouts. I tried to get cookies from them last week, but forgot the money. I always buy cookies from the Girl Scouts. I remember when my sisters were Girl Scouts in the late 80's and early 90's and had a hard time selling cookies to the few people who were actually living on the northern end of Cape May in January. I got peanut butter sandwiches, Lemonades, and Caramel Delights. 

Jessa was already there when I was buying the cookies. We went straight out to the sculpture garden in Hamilton from the Acme. The drive was mostly on highways until we hit Hamilton, a suburb of Trenton. One of the premiere attractions in the area is Grounds for Sculpture, an enormous sculpture garden featuring works by many different modern artists. We stopped and bought the tickets and used the bathroom at the sprawling modern visitors center, but we'd explore it more extensively later.

Grounds for Sculpture is a rambling sculpture park, featuring many types of statues in a natural, woodsy setting. We followed paths under arbors, through random small doors, and over Monet-style wooden bridges. Statues of artists painted by a gurgling waterfall. A statue of a woman in red flaunted her gown on the placid pond. More provocative and less family-friendly statues and house-art could be found wandering around in the woods and on the path around the lake. We ended up at their restaurant Rat's at one point, but it would seem they were closed for the season.

In addition to the realistic artists, my favorite statues outside were the duo in the courtyard. One reclined on a bench. The other reached to the heavens. Snow began to fall as we arrived in Hamilton, allowing a strange, magical hush to fall on the area and giving the statues an otherworldly air. I was actually grateful for the snow. It made the place seem even more supernatural and gave the statues a unique perspective that was far different than a sunny day. The tangle of woods and house-like "scream" buildings with bodies popping out of every corner looked even weirder with a frosting of white.

We were going to have lunch at the cafe, but they were only selling drinks and small snacks. The cafe that sold meals was also closed for the winter. The gift shop wasn't terribly interesting, either. We did admire a huge gallery of the work from Seward Johnson, the artist who founded the park. My favorite indoor statues was the realistic jazz band "playing" in the gallery. Apparently, Johnson had been a huge jazz fan in his youth, which explained the jazz music piped in around Rat's, too. The statue "house," complete with furniture you could walk in and look at, was neat too.

Here's the link. It's worth checking out if you're ever in Central Jersey and are interested in learning more about sculptures or modern art, or just want a nice, relaxing walk in a tranquil setting. 

Grounds for Sculpture

Our next stop after we left the Grounds for Sculpture was a huge thrift shop a few blocks away. We thought the place looked intriguing. It was, and it did have a lot of neat stuff...but it was either having a sale, or the residents of Hamilton had nowhere else to go on a snowy Saturday. The place was so mobbed, there was a line half-way around the store. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth the long wait and left with nothing.

Jessa recommended a diner not far from where she lives for a late lunch/dinner. The Piston Diner was a small but nicely remodeled local watering hole with great prices. Soup and sandwiches are their specialty. We both had iced tea and Italian wedding soup. She had a tuna melt and strawberry shortcake. I had a crab melt and peanut butter cake. Yum! The sandwiches were tasty and used real seafood, the fries were crispy and perfect, and the cakes were huge. My still-settling stomach regretted the indulgence later, but it sure felt good going down.

By the time Jess dropped me off at home, the snow in Hamilton had given way to all rain. It looks like it'll stay rain all through tomorrow. Not even snow here this time.

Watched Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale while changing and getting organized. I go further into this independent family film from 2010 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale

Finished the night with the Saturday Match Game Classics marathon at YouTube. We celebrated Black History Month with some of the most beloved black stars to appear on the show. Later angel Della Reece was the first to appear on the second week in 1973. She'd turn up sporadically through 1977, usually sitting in the fourth ingenue seat. Comedian Stu Gilliam also appeared on two memorable weeks in 1973. Nipsey Russell was one of the most popular semi-regulars, tossing out his poetry on and off from 1973 through 1979. He even turned up in the week with Valernie Bertanelli that was rediscovered a few years ago. Isobel Sanford was a calming, motherly presence on two weeks in 1976. Her first screen son Michael Evans had his only appearance on the show in 1974. Round and jolly Johnny Brown had a lot of fun on his only week in 1974. 

His Good Times cast mate Jimmie Walker got far more out of the show. Walker was a semi-regular from 1974 straight through into the 1990-1991 run. I honestly thought he was at his best in the 90's, where he was a bit more subdued and less annoying. Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosely also had fun on the 1990-1991 series. Arsenio Hall and his wild antics was one of the best things about The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. You never knew what he'd do, including jump into what Gene dubbed "the canal" in the area behind the risers. 

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the best African-American panelists around!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Celebrating Black History Months with Special Celebrity Moments