Happy Birthday Matches

Started a gorgeous day with a very quick yogurt-and-peanut-butter breakfast with two oranges. At this point, it was sunny, bright, and very warm out. It had to be in the upper 70's by 10:30, when I headed out. Mom mentioned that the best way to combat disorder of electrolytes was with Propel, so I stopped at WaWa on the way to Barrington for a watermelon, along with a tasty chocolate protein bar with the least sugar and ingredients I could find.

Pulled in at the Barrington Antique Center around quarter after 11. This is a huge barn of a place on Clements Bridge Road. It's rabbit warren of tiny rooms are stuffed full of every possible even mildly vintage thing you can think of, from 100-year-old china sets and figurines to DVDs and toys from four or five years ago. 

You could probably spend a whole day exploring the place, but I only had an hour. Finally found a pretty and unique 18-inch doll sitting with a few other mid-century toys upstairs. Her sales tag said she was from 1966. She had badly matted rooted blonde hair pulled back in a messy ponytail with a rubber band, but she was otherwise in perfect shape for a nearly 50-year-old doll. Her hard plastic body had no cracks or blemishes, the very mod makeup and blue eyeshadow was bright and sultry on her rubber head, and her purple paisley minidress, underwear, and stockings had no snags. She even had her white soft plastic shoes. To my surprise, she was only 8 dollars, marked down to $6.82 with their store-wide 20% off sale.

Rushed across the street to lock my bike at the rack next to the pizza parlor and pick up the bus on Clements Bridge Road. For once, they were right on time. Despite it being past 12:30, there was no traffic anywhere, not even in Deptford or on the Black Horse Pike. I spent the 20 minute trip listening to two old men chatter loudly about local events.

Since the bus lets you off right next-door, I had lunch at Red Robin. They were so busy with the tail end of the lunch crowd, I ate next to the bar. Kept things simple with an iced tea, a grilled chicken sandwich, and steak fries. The fries were perfectly seasoned and crispy. The sandwich was too salty and way too dry. Too bad they didn't have the Salmon Burger again. That was so much better. 

Round 1 Entertainment is two doors down from Red Robin. Spent the next hour running from giant Bust-a-Move to giant Space Invaders to giant Pac Man to Skee Ball to a bean bag toss, and having a marvelous time doing so. Tried several cranes, including one that had big stuffed Lunas from Sailor Moon, but wasn't able to win anything. Also did two carnival wheels that required you to turn them with your own power, one with a pirate theme. Didn't turn my points in; I'll wait until Lauren visits to see how much I have. 

Walked around a bit after that. The Deptford Mall FYE is primarily for pop culture knick-knacks and doesn't have the DVD or music selection that the larger ones in Lauren's area did. Didn't see anything I really needed at another pop culture store, Box Lunch. Bought new pants for work from JC Penney and socks from Boscov's. 

Picked up the bus at 4:30. Once again, it was right on time, and there were no problems getting back. Good thing, too. Dark clouds gathered, even as the bus chugged along Clements Bridge Road. By the time I unlocked my bike, they were thick, black, and nearly overhead.

Stopped briefly at WaWa again on the way back for more Propel and a salad for tomorrow...but I wasn't able to outrun the storm. It started raining hard as I rode through Audubon. Waited ten minutes at the entrance to Legacy Diner, then just moved on and got wet.

One of my neighbors invited me over for a birthday dinner while I was at the Antique Center. Alas, I ended up being ten minutes late. I actually passed her car as I rode furiously down Newton Avenue. She was going to come and get me. I parked my bike in her garage and dried off there with one of her towels instead.

Had chicken Parmesan, baked ziti, and salad with my neighbor, her elderly mother, and two other women from the neighborhood. They gave me cards and an ice cream cake and sang "Happy Birthday." I got to show them Candy and tell them about my adventures and how I'm doing in my new home. The rain was already stopping when I arrived. By the time I headed out, it was long gone and sunny again, though windier and much chillier. 

Watched Match Game PM as I brushed Candy's blonde tresses and tied them back with a piece of white yarn. Bubbly Betty Kennedy took Brett's spot while she was doing a play in St. Louis. Swedish jokes abounded here when Gene discovers that the male panelists speaks that language. Charles is more nervous about answering "__ Sprout" while that UCLA crowd hoots and hollers.

Finished off the night with even more Match Game. I enjoyed that favorite episodes marathon I did on my birthday last year so much, I did a second round of more episodes I love. Started with the one in 1973 when McLean Stevenson appeared naked from the waist up on the show except for a bow tie. McLean borrowed clothes from the other male panelists that week, and apparently they wouldn't loan him anything else. Richard makes a crack about having to get him to the Largo, a then-popular strip club in LA.

Betty White appears in many of my favorite episodes. Of course, I had to include the one from 1974 when everyone celebrates her birthday in the end. (Incidentally, by my calculations, she was 52. Not 73, as Brett suggests! At least, not then.) 

I also love the episode from the end of the week in 1975 where she and her beloved game show host husband Allen Ludden appeared on the panel together. Gene said "I've had Betty" in response to the contestant calling on her in the Audience Match, prompting her husband to come down for a little chat. Said contestant was supposed to belly dance if she won, but the music department played "Stars and Stripes Forever." Not that this stopped Brett and Betty from showing their own versions of belly dancing!

1975 was also the year of Richard's infamous answer of "Trench Hand" to "Trench __" in the Audience Match. He and Gene joked about eradicating "Trench Hand" for the rest of the episode, and they'd refer to this several times over the years. Richard did better a year later helping an older woman win money with an especially difficult Head-to-Head, "__ Ball." Charles was less amused when he did his own imitation of him a little earlier in '76.

By 1977, Richard was hosting Family Feud and was quite fed up with appearing on a show where he had little control over the proceedings. The School Riot was one infamous incident when he argued with the judges over an answer. He argued over his answer of "baggie" for "bag" later that year, and though he was equally incensed over being turned down, his protests didn't come out as well this time. 

Richard's departure in 1978 threw the spotlight on other members of the panel. Brett was reunited with her maybe-ex-husband Jack Klugman when he appeared on the panel in late 1978, after the set changed and the Star Wheel came in. By the last episode of the week, they were arguing next to each other, and the remaining panelists held a mock wedding for them. Sweetly silly Joyce Bulifant got to show off her early dance training by doing an awesome jitterbug with a former champion dancer in an episode from 1979.

One of the most memorable contestants ever on the show appeared during two 1979 syndicated episodes. Ginger was a very nice lady who gave some of the strangest answers I've ever heard. Her answer to "100 legs and __" was "accordion." She somehow managed to win and give "Cuckoo, Friend, and Ollie" for "Cuckoo __" in the Head-to-Head, to the utter frustration of Robert Walden, who was supposed to match her. Her answer literally sent everyone onstage falling over laughing. Gene ran around in goofy shock, spinning the Star Wheel and yelling "Run for your lives!"

Things could get even rowdier on the nighttime show. Marcia Wallace's answer to where a guy lost a couple of inches was censored on an episode in 1977. It's easy to tell from the expression of mixed shock and amusement on Richard's face when he saw her answer that he couldn't believe she said that, either. 

Here's all of tonight's Match Game episodes, including the one from Buzzr, so you can celebrate with some of the wildest people to ever hold a birthday bash!

1973 - McLean Is Shirtless

1974 - Betty White's Birthday

1975 - "I've Had Betty"

1975 - Trench Hand

1976 - Richard Imitates Charles

1976 - Richard Plays "Hard Ball"

1977 PM - Marcia Wallace Is Censored

1977 - Richard's Baggie Riot

1978 - Jack and Brett's Wedding

1979 - Joyce's Jitterbug

1979 Synd - The Accordion Answer

1979 Synd - Cuckoo, Friend, and Ollie

1981 PM - Betty Kennedy Sits in for Brett

And here's my review of Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit, which I watched yesterday. 

Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit

Waiting for the Rain

Kicked off the morning with a very quick breakfast of cereal and applesauce. While it was cloudy and cold again, it was also dry, without even a breeze. I was able to ride to work normally. 

My only bagging shift this week started out fairly well. I had no problems keeping up with the sweeping and carts until noon, when the rush hour came in. There were problems at the registers all day. Someone called out, and once again, they simply did not have enough help to handle everyone. Several people are on vacation, too, including two cashiers. We were less busy than lacking front end personnel. I ended up in a register for my last two hours, even though I still had sweeping to do and carts to gather, and the outside trash was overflowing. Someone did take over sweeping, but they never got the carts or the trash.

Rushed straight home the moment I could get out. Put on Match Game '77 while changing. Needless to say after the infamous "School Riot," judge and producer Ira Skutch really had to keep on his toes. Gene continued to be nervous...and Richard continued to be annoyed with Gene and Ira. Dick Martin is happier to talk about Sammy Davis Jr in the opening, while the others dig up some really interesting answers to "The Virgin __" in the Audience Match

Put on Match Game PM after dinner as I rearranged the shelves. Allen Ludden and Betty White made their last appearance on Match Game - and TV - together in 1980. Alas, the syndicated week is currently lost, but the PM episode exists. Gene and Brett discuss the gestation of the saying "up a river without a paddle" when Brett complains about her answer to a question of what Weird Willie brings when he goes to prison being rejected, while the others try to figure out "Can't Stop the ___" on the Audience Match. 

Finished the night online with Mystery Science Theater 3000. "Quest of the Delta Knights" is one of the few movies of the 90's that appeared on the show. It's your basic "medieval Star Wars with a touch of Willow," and frankly about a decade out of date. A young boy is sent on a quest to discover the treasures of Archimedes by a wizard (David Warner) who wants to protect them from an evil nobleman (Warner). After the wizard is killed by knights, the kid turns to no less than a young Leonardo DiVinci (David Kriegel) to help him find the treasure.

Fairly typical and mixed-up sword-and-sorcery movie is obviously cheap and filled with anachronisms (DiVinci was a figure of Renaissance Italy used in medieval England), but has some enjoyable action sequences. Nasty Pearl, who was in charge of the Gizmondo Institute, liked it enough to join Crow and Servo for the first 20 minutes or so of the film.

Moved to YouTube for The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Mrs. Muir wants her stingy landlord Claymore to do repair work around her seaside cottage. Captain Gregg buries maps around the property where she wants Claymore to work, sending him and her young son Johnathan on a "Treasure Hunt."  

(And while it showered lightly earlier in the day, the real rain didn't come until I was long settled down in front of my computer.) 

Darkness In the Sunshine

Started off the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Teacher Harriet reminds O that "You are Special" when they hold a talent show, and he worries that he's can't do the things they do. O, however, does have one talent they definitely don't - he can fly. Dan Sr. tells his son that "Daniel Is Special" while they're on a walk outside together.

Finally called the Voorhees neuropsychologists after I ate. To my surprise, they had a cancelation and was able to get me in on April 4th. The testing will literally take all day, from 8:30 to 3:30, and even with my health insurance, it'll still cost a few hundred dollars. At this point, I don't care. I just want to figure out what's wrong with me.

I also heard from Rose...who is not happy I contacted Craig about the dolls. I contacted him because he's actually speaking to me. She'll put the bin outside after 1 PM, but she's still not talking to me or Mom. She doesn't want to see us again, at birthdays or holidays or anytime, or make any contact with us. I don't get it. Why do I have to live with Mom? It's not Mom's fault that her home doesn't allow roommates. Why is she afraid she'll have to take care of me? I'm an adult. I can take care of myself. And if she's having a hard time, wouldn't it help to talk to someone about it, instead of ignoring people who could listen? And what about her children? It'll just hurt them to cut them off from family. 

Finally walked over to Kendall Boulevard around quarter of 1. Stopped over at Hillcrest to see if any neighbors were around. Talked to Ron, my former next-door neighbor. He basically said to give Rose time. This was a rough time for everyone, and she needs time to recover. I'm not so sure. I'm worried about her depression. I know she doesn't want me to, but...I'm her older sister, and I love her, no matter what. Even if she doesn't love me anymore. 

It took me another ten minutes to drum up the courage to walk to her front door. Yes, the bin was there, and that little live tree I bought for Christmas and forgot at her house, too. I picked them up and hauled them a block down Kendall to the Oaklyn School. Figured it would be better if I didn't call Uber from her house. It took me nearly a half-hour to get a driver. The first one canceled, and the second one took longer to come. At least he was really nice and helpful when he did come. He even carried the bin to Cindy's porch.

Moved the shelves into the middle of the room and attempted to get the bottoms back on the folding shelf while watching Match Game '74 episodes. No less than head producer Mark Goodson himself gave Gene Rayburn a bag for the needlepoint he did on long cross-country flights in honor of the show being a huge hit. In the second episode, Fannie Flagg appeared in a Girl Scout uniform and claimed to be leaving to lead her troop after the show, and we got a very funny (and maybe slightly mean) question about who gave the dumbest answers on the show. The panel spent the third episode searching for Brett's lost earring and teasing Allen Ludden for giving "President Arthur" as an answer to "__ Arthur" in the Audience Match.

Switched to a classic episode of I Love Lucy on Hulu, "Lucy Does a TV Commercial," while I had lunch. Lucy begs Ricky to let her be the spokeswoman on the commercial for his new TV show. He says no...but as usual, Lucy jumps into it anyway. She shows up at the studio and ends up advertising a health tonic that's so full of alcohol, she's drunk by the time Ricky's singing for a national audience.

Went online for an hour to look up a few things, then tried to head out to Emily's. I wanted to get the flattened cardboard boxes out of the way, but there were so many, and they were so big, it took me three tries to get them all into the recycling bin and out to the curb. Rushed out the second I finished. At least it was a nice day for a quick walk. The wind died down to a gentle breeze by 5:30, and it was sunny and in the mid-60's. 

Thanks to help from Ron's son Ryan and another little boy who was throwing baseballs with him, I found Emily's house around quarter of 6. She was in her lovely little kitchen, putting the finishing touch on roasted chicken and vegetables and salad. We talked about all my problems with Rose and about my making that appointment this morning. She's glad I made the appointment and echoes Mom's sentiment that it'll allow me to get more help and support than my family can provide. 

Truth be told, I still don't know what to do next. I don't want to stay in South Jersey, especially since most of my family plans on leaving the area, but then...where? Where should I go? There's no one I can move in with, and I really want a place of my own anyway. I want to take classes and learn to be an archivist or librarian, but that'll take a while. I need a better job, and not in retail. I've had enough of retail. Trouble is, every job I look at either requires more skills or experience than I have. 

At least dinner was delicious, with nice, tender chicken and flavorful vegetables. We chatted all through the meal. She and her son just moved here in August 2020, a few weeks after Dad's death. She's a teacher at an elementary school in Lindenwald who likes how tight-knit Oaklyn is and is glad to have a quiet place to raise her son. 

Mathieson joined us later. In fact, he was the little boy I saw earlier with Ryan. They're on the same little league team and were practicing their pitches together. He didn't really want to eat anything but the vegetables and the sweet and creamy pumpkin pie we had for dessert, but Emily convinced him to at least get some protein in.

They even walked me home. Well, walked and rode, as Mathieson rode his scooter. We listened to him talk about his classes and friends, while we discussed the local libraries and how they ran all of the Marvel movies when the pandemic hit two years ago. (I need to catch up on my superhero flicks. There's two Marvel and I think two or three DC movies I haven't gotten to yet.)

Finally moved the shelves into the back room or bed room, then went online to finish the night with Return to Oz on Disney Plus. Dorothy Gale (Faruza Balk) has had nightmares, ever since she went to Oz. Her aunt takes her to a mental hospital for treatment, but Dorothy doesn't like the sound of this electroshock therapy at all. She eventually flees with another little girl and dreams herself back into Oz. This Oz is very different from the one she knew, though. The Nome King (Nicol Williamson) stole all the emeralds from the Emerald City and turned everyone to stone. Dorothy and her pet chicken Billina travel from the city to the Nome King's domain to find the emeralds and free the citizens of the land from his tyranny.

Given how dark this is, you'd think I would avoid it. It's actually one of my favorite movies. I can handle a touch of macabre if it's not too gruesome. Too many people unfavorably compare this to the 1939 version, but I see Return as its own thing. If you want to see an Oz that's a bit closer to the books, or love other dark fantasy films of the 80's, you'll want to take the journey over that ruined Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy and her friends, too. 

Giving Thanks for Family and Matches

Woke up at 7 AM and called the Acme to tell them I wasn't coming in. Besides the fact that I really am that tired, I refuse to work on Thanksgiving. It's one thing if you're a doctor or a nurse or police officer, and your job genuinely involves being on constant call, but this is a grocery store. I'm not sure why the Acme is even open. There's WaWas and drug stores if people need last minute milk or something. We're rarely busy from Thanksgiving Day through the middle of December. 

I was so worn out, I went back to sleep after I got off with them...and didn't wake up again until almost 10:30! Read a piece on the first Thanksgiving and a couple of Thanksgiving hymns and songs, including "Over the River and Through the Woods," from Colliers Harvest of Holidays, The Disney anthology Storybookland also features a Thanksgiving short story, "Pilgrim's Party." Mickey takes the gang north for a real old-fashioned New England Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock. It's all fun and Pilgrim cosplay, until Pluto steals the turkey!

Changed, grabbed breakfast, and went straight online after I wrote in my journal for the first YouTube game show marathon of the day. Sam Mitchell, who did that fun Halloween game show marathon, also put together one for Thanksgiving. No particular theme this time, just good episodes. I caught episodes of the tough word-find show Now You See It from 1974, part of Thom McKee's legendary run on Tic Tac Dough in 1980, and one of the Bill Cullen-hosted Joker's Wild episodes from 1986 before switching over to the all-Match Game '70s marathon. The guy who posts the vintage Match Game episodes on YouTube lost his beloved aunt last week and did an all PM episode marathon in her honor. Watched the first PM episode and fifth before Rose called and said Craig would be by to pick me up for dinner.

I came in around 1. Craig had the Bears-Lions game on as Finley played in the living room. Rose set out appetizers as I arrived. There was a plate with a cheeseball (Rose got Mom's famous recipe, the one she used on Thanksgiving in the 90's and 2000's) and crackers, another with shrimp cocktail, a third with grapes, cheese, and sausage, and a tray of vegetables. I enjoyed a little bit of everything but the really spicy sliced salamis. 

Craig's mom and dad arrived less than a half-hour later. By the time they came in, the Bears were just barely down in a tight game 14-13. They picked up a final field goal in the fourth quarter that eventually won them the game, 16-14. 

While Rose and Craig focused on dinner and cleaning up the snack trays, Mrs. Wurster read books to Finley. We all watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer together, which apparently is a favorite of Finley's. I go into more details on the original 1964 Rankin-Bass version of this beloved story and song at this Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog entry from 2018. 

After the special ended, Khai switched the TV to Disney Junior for his sister, and I ready Finley one of our favorite books from when we were little. The Bike Lesson is one of the earliest Bernstein Bears books. Brother Bear (here called Small Bear) wants to ride his new bike, but Papa insists that he can't until he teaches him how. Papa's idea of "teaching him how" mostly consists of Brother digging him out of scrapes and him showing the cub how NOT to ride a bike.

Rose finally declared dinner was ready around 4:30. What a feast! In addition to a huge turkey, we had mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, roasted asparagus, cornmeal stuffing and sausage stuffing from the restaurant where Craig works, ciabatta rolls from Shop Rite, and Khai's favorite canned cranberry sauce. Khai loves cranberry sauce so much, he started laying into three big slices before the rest of us sat down to eat! Needless to say, his parents scolded him for taking so much and not waiting.

Khai, Finley, and I watched Disney Junior shows while everyone else rested, chatted, and got dessert ready. Bless Fin's heart, she's a Muppet Babies fan too. It's a "Kitchen Catastrophe" when picky eater Sam the Eagle comes to Piggy's Diner for lunch. Piggy begs the Swedish Chef to make him a meal he can't refuse. The Chef won't even try Gonzo's pickle, pineapple, and sauerkraut sandwich, until Animal accidentally gives it to Sam. "Kermit Gets the Grumpies," and even the kids can't seem to get him to shake them. Bunsen and Beaker separate his grumpy side from his happy side, but then he keeps trying to avoid his grumpy half.

Mickey Mouse Funhouse is the newest show to feature the Disney gang. Minnie's upset when the toppings on her pizzas are all jumbled in delivery. She and the others go to ancient Greece to get more, only to find that the pizza maker is so harried, he needs to deliver his pies before he can make theirs. "Minnie's Big Delivery" takes the gang all over Athens, before Minnie realizes that pizzas -and people - don't need to be perfect. The gang meets "The Wanderin' Warbler" while in the Wild West. She's a singer with the habit of wandering off. When she vanishes on a day she's scheduled to sing in the local saloon, Mickey and Pluto go after her.

Fin still loves Bluey, and I'll admit, I've grown fond of the blue pup and her family, too. Bluey and her sister Bingo pretend to be old ladies on the "Bus" who wreck havoc trying to bring shy rider Chili and driver Bandit together. Chili and Bluey pretend Bluey is in "Mum School" while Chili shows her oldest daughter how to take care of one particular balloon that keeps wanting to fly away. 

Spidey and His Amazing Friends is another recent addition to Disney Junior. Here, "Spidey" is Peter Parker and his "Amazing Friends" include fellow Spider Kids Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy, along with super-stretching Ms. Marvel Karmela Khan. He, Miles, and Gwen rescue a baby octopus whom a female Doc Ock grew to gigantic size and returned it to is parents in the first story. The second had Peter and Karmela rescuing Central Park from the Green Goblin's giggle gas that makes people laugh so hard, he can steal whatever he wants.

Rose announced dessert around 6:30. I always have a slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, in this case topped with Redi-Whip. Yum! Sweet and perfect. Rose said she tried a different crust recipe this year. Whatever she did worked just fine - it was tender and just flakey enough. Had a bunch of macarons Rose picked up at Shop Rite, too.

Mr. and Mrs. Wurster dropped me and a huge bag of leftovers off at home by 7. I spent the rest of the night returning to the Match Game PM marathon. By the time I came in, they were on the much-later episodes with syndicated casts. One show featuring Fred Travelena started off with some jokes about Confucius featuring several very bad accents and stereotype jokes that's likely the reason this episode is now banned from the air. Allen Ludden and Betty White had more luck in what eventually became their last TV appearance together before Allen's untimely death in 1981. Charles kindly gave a balding young man his toupee, one of the very few times he appeared on the show without it, even briefly.

Spend your holiday weekend playing vintage games with both these hilarious marathons!

Sam's Game Show Resort 2021 Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving Marathon - Match Game PM

Oh, and here's that review for Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Thanksgiving! - Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving

I hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving with all the people you love to match with! 

Of Sailor Men and Meddling Kids

Started off a kind-of-cloudy morning with a spinach omelet for breakfast while watching the newest Muppet Babies episode. Sam becomes the "Eagle In the Middle" when it's his turn to choose the show for their "Scribble Screen" time. Fozzie wants him to choose his favorite show "The Wacky Alpacas," but Gonzo insists on seeing "Zorna the Space Princess." They try to convince Sam to decide one way or the other, but Sam has his own ideas. Rizzo sees a show for big kids about a cool rat who gets involved in a hot rod race at an intergalactic diner, but "Rizzo's Space Race" is less fun when he insists on using his new hero's favorite insult a little too often.

Moved to Tubi for Scooby Doo & Scrappy while doing the dishes and getting organized for work. Shaggy and Scooby are yelling "Rocky Mountain Yiii" when they discover the ghost of an old miner who died after being caught in an avalanche while bringing government gold to Denver. Scrappy wishes his uncle would dig further into the snowdrifts and catch that criminal, while Velma's the one who finds the last clue and figures out what the ghost is after.

Scooby and Scrappy just ended when I got I ride to work. In fact, I got the rides there and home in less than 3 minutes. No trouble either way, no traffic on the road or in Oaklyn. 

Work was...more or less the same as yesterday. Even with a bagger calling out and a cashier leaving early, we still had a ton of help, for once. I spent almost the entire first half of my short shift shelving candy. It did pick up later in the day, and in fact, I was almost late because they kept pushing people in my line, even when I was trying to leave.

Went straight into grocery shopping after I finally finished. Found a container of popcorn on the clearance rack and two inexpensive tilapia fillets in the seafood department. Fresh pineapple and Bryers ice cream were on really good sales with online coupons, and brussels sprouts were cheap, too. Restocked grapes, bananas, butter, yogurt, milk, food storage bags, low-salt white beans, brown sugar, peanut butter, and cranberries.

Got my schedule, too. It's actually pretty similar to last week. Same hours, Monday and Tuesday off, only two bagging days this time. With most days later than 10 and two days off in a row, I might actually have the chance to get a lot of things done.

Put everything away when I got in while watching The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That. Sally and Nick have trouble staying on the wooden beam in their backyard. The Cat takes them to visit his friend Zappa the Snow Leopard and see how he does his "Balancing Act" while leaping down steep cliffs. After Nick's "Marvelous Marbles" roll away, the Cat takes the kids to the beach, where they learn from his pirate friend Sharkey McGee how sand is turned into glass. 

Did some writing next. Betty orders Bill the White Rabbit and Duchess Marcia to lead the others to Looking Glass Land...or else, lose their heads (or at least get into trouble). Marcia's all for it, but Bill has to be practically thrown out the door. Orson and Gary the Doormouse volunteer as well. They want to find Charles.

Broke for baked tilapia with roasted Brussels sprouts and riced cauliflower medley for dinner. Watched Popeye while I ate. I go further into this 1980 adaptation of the beloved cartoon and comics character at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Popeye (1980)

Where Do I Go From Here?

Badly needed to sleep in today after the long couple of weeks I had! When I finally got rolling, I had a fried egg and tomato sandwich for breakfast while watching She-Ra. Picked up from where the set I found at the yard sale left off with "The Stone In the Sword" from the first season. When the stone in Princess Adora's sword cracks, she can't transform into She-Ra or rescue Bow from the Horde. She goes on a journey through magical caverns to repair it. 

Switched to Match Game '79 while making my grocery list and doing the dishes. In the first episode, the contestant is so thrilled when Elaine Joyce matches her unusual answer, both women jump all over the stage...and then Gary Burghoff leaps out and dances with the contestant, and everyone else jumps all over the place! Bill Daily nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to figure out an answer to the first question in the second show. 

Headed out towards the end of the second episode. Didn't really need a ton of groceries this week - I ate out of the fridge a lot, when Jodie wasn't giving me food - but I did need a few things that were on a good sale. Had online coupons for riced frozen veggies, sorbet and plant milk ice cream pints (went with passion fruit sorbet and coconut milk ice cream), peanut butter, and oatmeal. Found a small container of shrimp in the seafood section for dinner tomorrow. Restocked yogurt, cereal, milk, bananas, and hair elastics (my current ones won't hold my hair and keep sagging). 

Also found Clearly Canadian on a good sale. I used to love Clearly Canadian in the early-mid 90's. Bought it all the time from the Eckard's on Bayshore Road as I'd ride to and from the Villas Library. Too bad they're so expensive...because the tart cranberry flavor tastes as good and sparkling as I remember. 

Not nearly as happy with my schedule next week. Two days off (one for counseling) and my cashiering days are normal six hour shifts...but I have three 8 and 1/2 hour bagging days, two in a row. One of the baggers went on vacation, and a lot of people are on non-virus-related health leaves right now, or they've quit. Like everyone else who isn't an at-home job, we're just short on help. 

Put everything away when I got home, then made a Banana-Berry Smoothie while watching more She-Ra. Madame Razz explains how She-Ra came to acquire her famous home "The Crystal Castle," aka the huge pearly pink castle playset every girl in the mid-80's coveted (including us). Hoping to keep Hordak from destroying Queen Angella's home Castle Bright Moon, she befriended a group of trolls who were wary of humans to learn the secrets of the castle's magic. 

Headed out to get the laundry done after I cleaned up from lunch. It wasn't a huge load, but there were a few things I really needed to get done, including a sheet and work clothes. Sat outside and worked on story notes while my clothes were in the washer. It's still sunny, hot, and sticky humid here, but the laundromat was so busy, every chair was taken. Strolled to WaWa after I put everything in the drier for a Chips Ahoy Chocolate Smoothie (basically, Chips Ahoy bits and chocolate syrup in a smoothie - very tasty). 

Rose called while I wrote outside. Did I want to join them in the pool after I got home? Sure! As soon as I rolled in, I put the sheet back on, made the bed, then wriggled into my bathing suit and hurried out to the pool. Rose and her tribe and Reilly and her mother were already there. Jodie and her Aunt Colleen came out later to say "hi." A friend of Khai's came around later (and got into an argument with Rose over whether he could eat Doritos - apparently, he has a food allergy, and Rose wasn't sure). 

The pool water was amazingly warm, like stepping into the shower. Finley probably didn't even notice. She swam from one end of the pool to the other with me and her mother, climbing on my back and laughing when I dunked her under the waves. She's fearless in the pool, probably because she wants to keep up with the other kids. The older kids, for their part, think she's funny. The girls in particular treat her like their little sister and have no trouble playing with her and swimming with her. 

We broke up around 5 so Rose could take us home to make dinner. I dashed into my place to changed into regular clothes and finish putting away the laundry. Ran Match Game '74 as I worked. Janet Finn, who became one of the most popular and winningest contestants of the entire 70's-80's run, made her debut towards the middle of this episode. We got some jokes about whom the Three Musketeers would kiss when her initial audience match was "The Three __." Finley and Reilly came to pick me up...and it was a bit hard to shoo them away from the dolls and stuffed animals!

When we pulled into Rose's house, Finley showed me her room. Or what I could see of it under the intricate layers of toys, dolls, stuffed animals, hand-knitted blankets and sweaters, tap shoes, play food, and Disney Princess costume jewelry and ball gowns spread all over the floor. We were able to find her nifty play kitchen and see how she could open her "oven" and "refrigerator" and take care of her two little baby dolls with her doctor set. 

Rose's original plan was to use the grill for dinner, but she apparently ran out of propane. We had baked turkey tenderloin, green beans, and roasted potatoes for dinner. Yum! I loved it. The turkey tenderloin came out moist and flavorful. Rose thought she overcooked the green beans, but they tasted fine to me. Even the kids ate enough of it. 

After dinner, we looked at all the photos Jodie gave me a few months ago. Rose wants to scan ones she doesn't already have copies of, and I need to start scanning photos, too, now that I have a scanner. We showed Khai pictures of us goofing off in what's now Jodie's pool in the 1980's and feeding ducks on the bottom of the hill in her backyard where the dock now is. Finley got to see us at Disney World in 1986 and 1990, and all the photos we took in front of the giant alligator statues at the hotel we stayed at in Kissimee in 1986. They got to see the pool table and the organ Uncle Ken had in the den in the 80's and early 90's, and Rose and I with Mom visiting Dad-Bruce in Ft. Lauderdale in the early 80's. 

(Research later in the evening revealed that the Gator Motel is still there, though no word if the alligator statue survives.)

Rose also told me around this point that she lost her job as a lawyer for Camden County in March. Apparently, it was a thankless job, and not one she was entirely unhappy to let go of. While she and Craig considered remodeling their house, they came to the conclusion that it's really too small for their family. The kids want a larger backyard, and Rose wants a bigger kitchen and more room to breathe. They're thinking of moving to Hammonton, one of the small cozy suburban-style towns just outside of Atlantic City. Rose offered to find a house that either came with an attached apartment for me, or room to build one.

I have mixed feelings on that. On one hand, I've also put serious consideration into leaving the area over the past five or six years or so, since before the Manor Avenue house changed hands. As nice as my neighbors are, I never really fit in here. I'm tired of being a fifth wheel wherever I go and having no one in the area I can talk to. Even if Dad had lived, I never intended to stay at the attached apartment for more than two or three years at most while I figured out what to do next. 

I've had no luck finding apartments for rent I can afford here, either. That's the other reason I didn't move sooner. Most of the apartment buildings are situated on busy main roads or next to gas stations or car shops and often are not in the best condition. Attached apartments are not only getting expensive, they usually prefer people they know...and I don't know many people.

Trouble is...I don't know what to do next. I want to remain independent, and my needs are different than Rose's. I'm looking for people I can talk culture and do projects with, not good school districts and giant backyards. I'd rather find something near them but not next to them. I do like Rose's idea of the Atlantic City suburb area. Close enough to family and the Shore that it won't take long to see them, far enough away for the prices to be slightly more reasonable. Plus, I still know the area relatively well from going to college at Stockton and taking the train to AC. 

I also need to get away from the Acme. I'm going crazy there. I'm tired of dealing with customers, coworkers who have nothing in common with me, and the revolving door of managers. There's no chance for advancement, or doing anything besides the same thing I've done for 20 years. The only things keeping me from quitting tomorrow are my need for cheap health insurance and my fear of talking about myself. I'm still not sure how to promote myself or my writing. I don't really know myself well at all. I know what I like, but not what my values are, or what I need for my wellbeing. I'm not sure what I want or need anymore. 

Rose had one last project she wanted to do with the kids before I left. Evidently, they read either online or in a book on science projects that Mentos dropped into a bottle of soda will make fizzy liquid shoot high into the air! We stood back as the kids dropped mint candy into plastic liters of Pepsi on their front driveway. It did fizz and shoot up...a little, but not very high. Rose came to the conclusion that the bottles were too warm. They would try again after the bottles chilled. She and Finley dropped me at home shortly after.

Finished the night on The Roku Channel with The A-Team. It's a "Bad Time at the Border" when B.A encounters a little Mexican girl at a local baseball field and becomes attached to her. Turns out she fled from a truck carrying illegal immigrants into the country to be used in a slavery ring and wants to return to her mother, who is deathly ill at the compound where they keep the Mexicans. When they capture Hannibal as well, the others spring to the ready to rescue them. 

A Quiet Birthday

Began the morning with breakfast and the final episode of The Yogi Bear Show, "Yogi's Birthday." The sponsor insists on celebrating Yogi's big day with a party on TV. Ranger Smith tells Yogi that he's going to be on a variety show, but Yogi's attempt to learn how to dance and sing end in disaster. When the Ranger does coax him out of Jellystone, he discovers that it's really a chance for all the Hanna Barbara funny animals to come together to celebrate his big day.

Opened my birthday presents after breakfast. Linda and James Young gave me a book on Barbara Eden, Jeannie Out of the Bottle, and a collection of all of the Good Eats: Reloaded episodes made up to this point. Unlike with the Popeye cartoons, I'll try to dole out the latter sparingly instead of watching them all at once. It'll be nice to have something different to watch with the Match Game marathons when I get home from work, and I'm always open to trying new recipes.

Switched to Labyrinth while making orange cream cheese frosting for my birthday carrot cake and pan-frying apricot jam-filled pocket pies. I go further into this dark 1980's fantasy featuring David Bowie singing among Jim Henson creatures at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Labyrinth

Around 12, I packed my small white Easter basket with the flowers with a tuna salad sandwich, celery sticks, pocket pies, and Popchips. My original plan for today was the movies, but after all the virus craziness closed the theaters, I thought a picnic in the park would be nice. At least, until all the parks were closed. Fortunately, I remembered there's a little green field behind the VFW where members toss horseshoes and enjoy barbecue at outdoor parties. It's bordered by a line of trees and the train tracks on one side and a parking lot on another, making it the perfect isolated space for a quiet, distanced picnic.

There was part of a fence with a sign up in front of the field, claiming that it was closed to vehicles. Not only did it say nothing about being closed to people, but a random truck was parked right next to the back of the VFW. I enjoyed my lunch at one of the concrete tables and benches while listening to the birds and admiring the soft greenery and lavender and sun-yellow dandelions and

Took a short walk over a narrow path through the trees and brambles and over to the train tracks. The view from the train bridge is amazing. You can see straight to the Parkview Apartments in one direction, half-way to the park in the other. The sun was in and out, warming my back, and it was breezy, but not nearly as windy as yesterday. A lone fisherman caught lake trout in a small boat floating off to my right on the Parkview side.

When I got in, I quickly took down the Easter decorations. The general spring decorations will likely stay up until I begin to pack everything for my move. I'll wait to put up the summer items until after I leave.

After I put everything away, I went online to watch the Gary Burgoff Match Game marathon, only to find the guy who's been posting these is still having problems with YouTube and the marathon was postponed until tomorrow. Since I was dead tired and had no other plans, I ignored the lawn mowers and potty mouths going outside and dropped into bed for a nap.

Woke up an hour and a half later, feeling disoriented and still tired. I drowned out the lawn mower by focusing on writing. Richard tries to get Fannie to come to the ball, but she insists that she's not only too well-known at the Palace, but her stepmother would never allow it. Even as Charles drags him away, Richard insists that there has to be a way she can come with them and identify her contact...and of course, dance with him at the ball.

Rose arrived while I was writing, sporting a huge paper bag. She handed me the bag and I handed her the envelope with her birthday card and gift card, and she dashed off. The paper bag held a complete Italian meal. There was enough pasta with tomatoes and shrimp, anti-pasto salad, mozzarella sticks, salad, and crusty bread to feed every stuffed animal and doll in my apartment if they could actually eat, and maybe all the Star Wars action figures, too.

Watched Match Game on Buzzr while I ate. This one was one of the episodes that turned up in the marathon, with McLean kissing Gene and Richard after a contestant won big money in the head-to-head round. The woman champion on Sale of the Century went back and forth with the lone gentleman, even buying a camera to take photos of her new baby at one point, but he pulled ahead in the speed round and won. It didn't take him long to match a trip to the Bahamas in the bonus memory round.

And the guy in charge of the Match Game Productions channel at YouTube has already posted the Gary Burgoff marathon for 1 tomorrow. This time, we really will get to see everyone's favorite teddy bear-loving MASH comedian imitation everyone from Price Is Right contestants to his former teacher, Charles Nelson Reilly.

Luckier Than You Think

Kicked off a cloudy St. Patrick's Day with Irish Oatmeal Pancakes and Split Second. I just added oatmeal and molasses to the usual whole wheat mix. Not bad, actually. Might have come out better if I hadn't burned the side of one.

Buzzr honored St. Patrick's Day by running episodes themed around "Lucky Wins" all day. Some of them really were amazing, like the come-from-behind victory in Second. With the champ having taken that vacation yesterday, there were three new contestants answering trivia. One of the two women was ahead going into the bonus round...but the other, who bore a striking resemblance to a blonde Annie Potts, emerged the winner. And not only that, but she picked the right board with the car in the bonus round on her first try!

Blockbusters pitted a serious young man with a beard against a mother-and-daughter team (the daughter had the memorable first name "Puff"). Puff and her mom kept blocking his lines, but he finally got through twice. Not only that, but he just barely got the bonus round and picked up $5.500. The father in the father-daughter pair on next had an even more interesting name - Jimmy Carter! (He looked nothing like the president, though, including claiming that peanuts gave him heartburn.)

Switched to the late 70's Wonder Woman while making Irish Soda Bread in a square pan. (My round pans were too big for the recipe.) "Pot o' Gold" from the third season is technically a Christmas episode, but it has more to do with Irish mythology than the winter holidays. Diana has to help a little old Irish shoemaker recover his gold from a small-time crook, who hopes to use it to buy plates from an industrialist.

Returned to Buzzr for the 12 PM Match Game episodes while slicing vegetables and putting together an Irish Chicken Stew in the Crock Pot, then headed out to run errands. I couldn't stay inside anymore. Besides needing a few things, the sun started to emerge around 1. I'm probably one of the only people who can go outside right now, and I figured I might as well take advantage of it.

Came back in before I got past the front walk. Mom gave me a 25 dollar online gift card for Amazon to cheer me up last weekend. I chose the next two Popeye 40's shorts sets from the Warner Archives. I brought them upstairs and slid them on one of the black shelves before going on my way.

Originally, my first stop was going to be the Oaklyn Library. Yes, they are closed, but only for about a week and a half, not for the under a month that the Haddon Township Library will be closed. They're so small, I don't think I've ever seen more than 10 adults in there at a time, even at the knitting club or on computers. I've only seen more than 10 people in there at a time when they've had elementary school classes.

Strolled to WaWa for a treat instead. I'm glad to be able to get out and enjoy spring. It's lovely in the neighborhood now. Pale purple and snow white crocus, brilliant yellow daffodils, and cotton candy pink hyacinths grace every front yard. Sunny dandelions brighten green grass popping out of crinkly lawns. Some of the trees are starting to show flowers; buds have appeared on others.

To my surprise, WaWa was dead when I arrived. I figured I'd be lucky to get in, considering what the Acme's been like. Maybe they're all still at the Acme. The bread was empty and some candy bars were missing, but otherwise, things were perfectly normal. They weren't even really out of milk. (Of course, their milk is kind of expensive.) I bought a beef and cheddar hoagie, a small chocolate-covered coconut egg, and a sinus-clearing Cream Mint Smoothie.

Strolled down the White Horse Pike to see what was open. Dunkin' Donuts had people driving around to their window - I guess that, at least, is open. There were cars in Family Dollar's parking lot, too. The House of Fun was supposed to be open, but they weren't. Had more luck at Dollar General. Mom's birthday is on Friday. I bought her a card and a gift card. Wanted to try the new Dr. Pepper & Cream flavor. I used to love their Berries and Cream flavor a decade ago. The line was no longer or shorter than usual, and only one woman had a full cart.

Went right online after I got home to do some writing. Fannie sadly admits that her stepmother would rather her stay home from the ball and did chores. Arlene says she'll find a way for her to go, even if she has to make it appear herself...

Ran more Buzzr while I worked. Things got really crazy on the 1978 Card Sharks. A sweet little teacher barely made it into the bonus round and totally struck out there, going bust on the second line. By contrast, the next woman walloped her in the regular round and killed at the Money Cards, making over 28,000 dollars in one go.

Match Game returned as I broke to make a lime vanilla cake from a vanilla cake mix. Today's episodes were some of the last from the daytime run on CBS in mid-1979. A young woman named Carolyn kept killing at the bonus rounds. She matched so often, she became the show's all-time winner with over 30,000 dollars. (Incidentally, these episodes weren't in the original run on CBS, though they did apparently turn up on a few New York stations. They weren't seen until Game Show Network ran them in the early 2000's.)

I'd just started making the bed as Jessa arrived. I texted her earlier and invited her over. She had to work, but said she'd come for dinner. We shared Irish Chicken Stew and Irish soda bread while watching Match Game and Sale of the Century. An older woman just barely came from behind in the speed round to win. By the time of this episode, instead of just taking the prize or saying they'd come back, they had the first of two bonus rounds. This one involved matching prizes to see which one you'd take home, rather like the cars in the Concentration bonus round. I don't think the lady was too upset about winning a trip.

We mainly chatted about our families and how we're kind of lucky. Yes, we're both overworked and tired and are annoyed with everyone here...but she lives with a dog and her boyfriend Joe, I live alone, and we all have "essential" jobs. We won't be losing money, we don't have kids out of school, we're all healthy, and Jessa and I are shy introverts who aren't big on social interaction to begin with. It's hard to explain this to Rose and Jodie, who are more extroverted and confident and have more typical business and law careers.

Tried to pull out the lime vanilla cake while Sale of the Century was on, but it didn't come out well. It fell on the bottom and just made a mess. Like Daniel Tiger's smushed birthday cake, it did still taste good, and Jessa didn't seem to care how messy it was.

Continued with the first half of Let's Make a Deal as I finished the bed and cleaned up after Jessa left. A flapper in a flame-red dress really hit the jackpot today when she traded in a bag of money to go for a car. Monty had her press buttons on an old-fashioned brass cash register. If she got a "no sale" sign, she'd lose the car...but she never hit the signs. She hit money signs around them, but not them. She became one of the few people I'd seen on the show go for the car and not lose it or trade it away.

Finished the night with syndicated Match Game "premieres" on YouTube and Once. I go further into this sweet low-key Irish romance on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy St. Patrick's Day - Once (2007)

And whether you spent it out and about or at home, I hope you had an equally lucky St. Patrick's Day!

To My Sister's House I Go

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I began mine with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. They feature a short story on the first Thanksgiving, as well as several poems and the old song "Over the River and Through the Woods."

The Disney anthology Storybookland has a short story set around Thanksgiving, "Pilgrim's Party." Mickey and the gang decide to do their Thanksgiving the old fashioned way and head into New England to have dinner with the pilgrims and Indians at Plymouth Rock. It's all fun and historical cosplay, until Pluto steals the turkey!

Kit Kitteredge isn't feeling too grateful in the last two chapters of Kit Learns a Lesson. It's the height of the Great Depression, and Kit is upset that they've taken in boarders that have invaded her home and worried that her father will have to leave town to find work. When she and her friends Ruthie and Sterling bring the food from their class charity drive to a soup kitchen, she makes a shocking discovery there...and learns how much she really has to be thankful for.

Had a quick breakfast while watching Garfield's Thanksgiving. Garfield's not too happy with his holiday celebration, either. Liz the Veterinarian put him on a strict diet, right before John invited her for Thanksgiving dinner. Jon has never cooked a turkey dinner in his life, and his mind is really more on romance anyway. Good thing Grandma Arbuckle from the Christmas special comes around to make things right.

Watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on YouTube for the next few hours. A lot of folks were worried that the high winds today would discourage them from using the balloons, but they did eventually let them fly. They just kept them low to the ground. My favorites of the new balloons I hadn't seen before were the adorable Green Eggs and Ham one with Sam I Am and his buddy driving the ham and Astronaut Snoopy, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in his bright colored space suit.

Worked on writing for an hour after the parade ended. Donald is happily watching his date eat every bit of seafood at the booth, in their shells, when the others arrive. Gene tells her that they know she's the Princess Patti and that the queen is after her. What they don't know is how she ended up on land. Patti reveals the reflection in a rain barrel to tell them what happened...

Headed out for Rose's house around 12:30, with the two loaves of bread and the box with the remaining Kimberly-Clark items I wanted to give her. At least it was a nice day for a stroll. While it was just as windy here as in New York, it was also mostly sunny and warmer than you might think, probably in the lower 50's. (Definitely better than the lower 30 degree temperatures we had at Thanksgiving last year.)

Rose's small house was full when I arrived. Mom, my brother Keefe, and his new wife Julia had arrived from Cape May County earlier this morning; Keefe and Julia drove up to Mom's house in the Villas from Virginia a few days ago. Evidently, Keefe and Julia decided it would be easier to not go through all the hassle and cost of a big wedding and got married in front of a justice of the peace a few months ago. (No one around here tells me anything.)

There was a huge spread out in the dining room. Everyone gathered around plates of cheese and Triscuits and Vegetable Thins, a vegetable tray with home-made ranch dressing, a home-made cheese ball, and pumpkin butter and blackberry jam. Khai mostly hung out on the bunk beds in his room, watched cartoons, and avoided us. Kelsey the Miniature Pincher tried to snitch food, while Lynx the striped cat wound through ankles and his sister Toothless the black cat kept out of sight as much as she could.

Two-year old Finley woke up as the first football game of the day between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears was on its second half. It was a real nail-biter of a game, too. Both teams played very well, but the Bears finally managed to push ahead in the end, 24-20.

Craig decided Finley needed to let off steam, so he, Keefe and I took her out into the backyard. She showed me her big blue sandbox and her brother's hula hoop. Craig and Keefe discussed where they want to put the new fence that will replace the ragged wooden one that currently sits on the property.

After the game, Rose switched on a show called Bubble Guppies for Finley to keep her occupied and away from the food. Bubble Guppies revolves around six mer-kids and their mer-puppy who discuss either discuss a top relevant to toddlers, like fire fighters or dentists, or do a spoof of adventures or pulp fiction. The first one we saw was a fairy tale that had two of the mer-kids figure out how to gather the ingredients to restore their Bubble-Puppy after a witch turns him into a frog.

Finley found the contents of my purse to be more interesting. I showed her my wallet, coupon holder, cell phone, and my "lucky piece," but she really liked my note pad that I mainly use to write down story ideas when I'm in a restaurant or have to wait somewhere. I let her scribble her own "story ideas" on several of the blank pages.

We finally ate dinner around 4. It was an absolute feast. The turkey was huge, juicy, and so, so flavorful! Along with favorites like sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, and rolls, Rose made brown sugar baby carrots and replaced the gunky green bean casserole with sauteed green beans with fried onions and bacon bits. Oh, yum! She really outdid herself. I loved it all, especially the sweet potatoes and green beans.

Mom, Julia, and Keefe joined Finley and I for Bubble Guppies after dinner. They weren't terribly amused. As cute as the show is, it never addresses the problem that many of the activities shown - like fighting fires and chasing dragons - simply can't be done under the water and aren't logical. I say they were over analyzing things a bit. It's just a show for young kids. They can learn what's real and what isn't. I ignored them and showed Finley a Match Game marathon on my cell phone.

Everyone was more than a little worn out by the time dessert was on the table. Mom is still getting the hang of her smaller stove and burnt the crust on her pumpkin pie...but the filling was just as tasty. Rose bought apple and cherry tarts and Italian cookies from Desserts By Design in Audubon. I enjoyed the pie and apple tart with real, home-made whipped cream.

Finley went into the shower after we finished eating, allowing the rest of us to switch to the last quarter of the Bills-Cowboys game. The Bills were already kicking their rears when we came in, 26-7. The Cowboys managed to get a touchdown and a two-point conversion shortly after we started watching, but it wasn't enough. They ultimately lost 26-15.

Craig and Keefe drove me home. Rose deemed the old microwave cart in the basement too grimy to be saved, but she was able to give me a book shelf and a computer chair. The chair is sort of rickety and I may not keep it, but the shelf is perfect for my bedroom and will work just fine. I'll put the books in it tomorrow. She also gave me a huge bag of leftovers to take home.

Finished the night with Meet Me In St. Louis. I go further into this classic tale of the year in a life of a family preparing for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Meet Me In St. Louis

Hello, Oaklyn, Hello

Started off  the morning with another episode of Rick Steves' Europe. This time, we head east to Prague, the capitol of the Czech Republic. Prague has some really interesting history, including recent history. Czechoslovakia was able to shake off its communist past without bloodshed in 1989, something Rick does discuss. I also love the ornate Art Noveau buildings and artwork on display, especially since that form of art seems to have become popular again of late.

Work was even quieter than yesterday. It was gorgeous, sunny, breezy, and in the upper 60's by 10 AM. While I did check the bathrooms, clean the backroom, and do returns during the last hour, I was mostly outside. The carts generally weren't that bad...but not only was it too nice to be inside, but there really wasn't that much to do inside, either. When the carts were full, I swept the patio and rounded up what little trash there was. (The recycling was fine.)

Took Nicholson Road home. As soon as I got in, I changed, grabbed my purse and Harley Quinn at Super Hero High to return, and went right back out. Charlie was still working on the last window in my bedroom, so I hit Phillies Phatties for lunch. I loved the basil-fresh mozzarella pizza from last week so much, I had it again, this time with a slice of cheese and a can of Pepsi. The place was much busier than usual for a weekday. It's a popular hangout for local kids, and they're all out of school this week. I half-listened to their chatter and half-watched ESPN talk about football trades.

The weather was so gorgeous, I took the long way across Newton Lake Park to the Haddon Township Library. I wasn't the only one who wanted to get out and enjoy the weather. I dodged other bikers, dog walkers, people with strollers, and a dad walking hand-in-hand with his adorable little girl, who didn't look more than 4. The trees are just getting greener and greener; buttercups wave in the breeze on the riverbanks.

The Haddon Township Library was just as dead as the Acme this morning. They were doing inventory, but I was able to shelve DVDs for adults and kids between their hourly work sessions. Once again, it was quiet, and there just wasn't that much to do. I spent longer grabbing a young adult book about Superman's youth in Smallville than I did volunteering.

Stopped at Dollar Tree really fast on the way home. I bought a plastic tote for Khai's Pokemon figure, instead of the usual cheap bag, along with sponges, tissue paper, and a card for Khai. (His birthday was on Friday.) They weren't really all that busy either, despite it being rush hour when I finally headed back to Oaklyn.

Did some writing after I packed up Khai's gift. Luke insists on rescuing Leia, whom Vader wants to kill. Harris refuses to help, until Luke plays the "she's rich" card, and even then he does it reluctantly.

(Oh, and Charlie is now totally finished with all the windows in the house. He's going to come back and paint in the living room and kitchen, and then he'll be done until after Lauren visits and he can do the closet. I really wish some of the windows weren't permanently closed ones, but at least most of them can open. And I need to ask about new shades or curtains after the windows are done. I like my privacy.)

Rose called me last night, but I had my cell phone turned off and missed it. Called her back this afternoon, right after work. She invited me to eat Easter leftovers with her, Khai, and Finley. No problem! I only had leftovers of my own planned for dinner. We had ham, potato salad, and a green bean and tomato salad that apparently is a specialty of Craig's and is delicious. Rose, Finley, and I shared pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. Khai wasn't feeling well and went to his room and his new loft bed as soon as he could, but he did like the Pokemon figure I gave him. Rose loved her gift card to Target, too. She gave me a 25 dollar gift card to Applebee's. Finley has a cool new bed too, a white loft bed with a very slippery slide to ride down. I got to watch her mother give her a bath before we settled in to watch the first How to Train Your Dragon movie for a while.

Returned to Rick Steves after I got in. The episodes about Berlin fascinate me. Like Prague, this is one of the few episodes where I can actually claim to have lived through some of the history depicted. I remember watching people tear the Berlin Wall down on my little black-and-white Zenith TV in 1989. Berlin has exploded as a cosmopolitan center since the Cold War ended and the two sides of Germany were unified. It does respect it's past, though, including a touching Holocaust Memorial Monnument and the excavated ruins of Germany Nazi underground bunkers.

Finished the night with the 1943 Alice Faye vehicle Hello, Frisco, Hello, which I go into in more detail on my Musical Dreams Movies Reviews blog.

Hello, Frisco, Hello

We Gather Together

Kicked off a sunny, windy Thanksgiving morning with some holiday reading. The Harvest of Holidays anthology has a story on the first Thanksgiving, plus two holiday poems and "Over the River and Through the Woods."

The Disney anthology Storybookland features a short tale called "Pilgrim's Party." They Disney gang head to New England to celebrate Thanksgiving the old-fashioned way with the pilgrims and Indians at Plymouth. It's all fun and pilgrim cosplay...until Pluto steals the turkey! "Johnny Appleseed" is a retelling of the American folk tale of the young man who went west to plant apple trees, and how he made friends animal and human along the way.

Kit Kitteredge is having a less pleasant Thanksgiving in the last two chapters of Kit Learns a Lesson. Kit and her best friends Ruthie and Sterling are charged with taking the food from their class charity drive to a soup kitchen. Kit gets a nasty surprise there when she gives out food...and learns what it means to be truly thankful.

Spent most of the morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, including during breakfast. The CBS broadcast was streaming on YouTube. I missed the Broadway performances, but I did get to see all kinds of nifty balloons. My favorite by far was the utterly adorable Pikachu holding a snow-Pokemon! Other cool balloons included Goku from the much-loved Dragon Ball anime franchise (they had a hard time controlling him in the wind), the Grinch and Max the dog, Greg from Diary of a Wimpy Kid (my nephew Skylar would have loved that one - he used to read the books), the Pillsbury Dough Boy, the Trolls, and the too-cute small cloud and rainbow.

(I did try to watch the NBC broadcast, but it turns out that you need cable to stream their live feed. And ABC was only running a "fan cam" online of the Philadelphia parade.)

Called Mom while the parade was running. I wanted to catch her before my sisters arrived. She was just about to vacuum. She told me "Happy Thanksgiving!" and that she would miss me and Keefe, who couldn't make it from Virginia, either. They were eating much earlier than usual, around 2. Rose and Craig wanted to get home before dark.

Squeezed some writing in during the parade. Sheev Palpatine Marley is quick to praise Anakin...and even quicker to point out that Yoda and Mace Windu keep insisting that he's not ready to be a full partner yet. Marley will make him a partner in his new firm, if he does what he's told. Anakin's not sure he wants to change jobs...until Padme tells him he's going to be a father very soon.

Switched to cartoons while having a quick Banana-Cranberry Smoothie and gingerbread for lunch. Garfield's Thanksgiving isn't going much better than Kit's. Not only does Liz the Veterinarian put him on a diet the day before the holiday, but Jon invites her over for dinner! Trouble is, he's never cooked a turkey in his life. Good thing Grandma Arbuckle from the Christmas special knows what to do.

Ran into trouble while making the Cranberry Bread. The plug on the food processor had gotten so corroded, I couldn't use it anymore. I tried to chop the berries in the blender, but they got caught on the blade and it wouldn't chop all of them. I had to chop half by hand and made a mess.

Did the Peanuts specials while dealing with the bread. It's A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving when Peppermint Patty invites herself, Marcie, and Franklin over for the big dinner. Problem is, Chuck is going over to his grandmother's house for dinner. He, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock make a meal of toast, ice cream, jelly beans, and pretzels to appease them. Peppermint Patty is angry, until Linus and Marcie remind their friends of the real reason for the holiday.

Charles Schultz went further into the real reason for the holiday in "The Mayflower Voyagers," an episode of the miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown. The Peanuts and Snoopy and Woodstock play Pilgrim children and pets on their way to the New World. Even once they make it off the Mayflower, they face a terrible winter with little food and many people dying. Friendly Indians, including English-speaking Squanto and Massasoit, help them survive. They hold a great feast of Thanksgiving in honor of a bountiful harvest and their new friends.

Moved on to Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving after the bread was in the oven. This is another anthology, this time of three stories with mild seasonal themes. The first one has everyone dressing Piglet as a groundhog to find out if it's spring yet. The second story is the Thanksgiving special. Rabbit insists on having everyone gather ingredients for a "traditional" holiday. When his party goes wrong, it's Pooh who reminds them that they still have many things to be thankful for. Rabbit is also a big part of the third story. He adopts a baby bird named Kessie, but has a hard time letting her go south for the winter.

Did something I haven't done in a long time while Pooh was on. I took photos of my dolls, arranging them to look like they were doing Thanksgiving activities. Samantha "read" Cranberry Thanksgiving to my stuffed Max and Ruby. Rey and Luke had a Thanksgiving Day lightsaber tournament, while Poe and Finn cheered them on. Han decides to teach Felicity, Whitney, and Josefina how to play football the Corellian way, but falls over. Leia's the one who really shows them how to play.

Ran Molly's Pilgrim while the bread cooled. In this Oscar-winning live-action short from 1985, Molly is a little Russian Jewish girl who is having a hard time adapting to her new life in the US. Her clothes are old-fashioned, she's still learning English, her lunch is borscht rather than peanut butter and jelly, and she's much better at gymnastics than the other kids. Most of the girls in the class make fun of her. When she asks her mother to help her make a pilgrim for a class project, she makes one who looks like them, rather than the traditional Puritan. The kids are puzzled, until their teacher explains that Molly's family came to the US for religious freedom, which makes them pilgrims, too.

Put on two quick Disney shorts while I wrapped up the bread and got ready to go. Mickey is "The Grocery Boy" who brings Minnie her fixings for a big meal. Once again, Pluto snatches the turkey, leading the two mice to chase after him and their dinner. Mickey and Pluto's relationship is also at the heart of "Mickey's Good Deed." A poor Mickey during the Great Depression gives up the one thing that means the most to him to help  family that has even less than he does.

(Incidentally, while the bread came out brown and fell apart when I pulled it out, it at least looked like it was edible.)

Headed out to Dad and Jodie's around quarter of 4. It was such a nice day, I decided to walk there. Though it was bitterly cold, no more than the lower 30's, the wind had diminished somewhat since the morning, and it remained sunny and bright. The cold temperatures kept most people indoors, though I did see two guys chatting on a porch. Jesse, Jodie's younger son, saw me walking and ended up driving me the remaining two blocks.

I was the first one there. By the time we ate at 5:30, the house was packed. I didn't know most of the people there. It was mostly relatives of Dana's or Jodie's. The only people I knew (besides Jesse, Dana, Dad, and Jodie) were Jodie's Aunt Colleen, Vanessa, Jodie's parents, Jessa, Joe, and someone's girlfriend who used to work at the Acme and remembered seeing me around. There were so many people, we needed four tables set up in the den to hold them all. Dana and Jesse had been apparently tasked with setting the tables earlier. They used fancy white and pale blue tablecloths. Jesse even folded the napkins into fans.

I'd never seen so much food! The appetizers alone included mango brie, Irish cheddar, pepperoni, pepper jack cheese, Ritz and Triscuit crackers, garlic hummus, port wine cheese, olives, and extremely spicy pickles. When we all finally sat down, we passed around turkey, collard greens, asparagus with bacon, spoon bread, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, rolls (that got burnt), and cole slaw. In addition to my cranberry bread, dessert included date-nut bread, super-soft sandwich cookies, chocolate chip cookies, stewed apples, pound cake, and pumpkin and apple pies.

Football played in the background for most of the night. The Redskins tried hard, but they just couldn't out-run the Cowgirls. In the end, Dallas beat them 31-23. (The Lions didn't do much better against the Chicago Bears earlier in the day, losing 23-16.)

Jessa and Joe drove Vanessa and me home. I put on the How to Train Your Dragon holiday special Gift of the Night Fury while getting organized. The Viking citizens of Berk are preparing to celebrate their big winter holiday Snoggletog when all their dragons fly off without warning. While Hiccup tries to figure out where they went to, Astrid and the other kids create new traditions to make their holidays merrier.

Finished the night with By the Light of the Silvery Moon while online. The sequel to On Moonlight Bay has a prominent Thanksgiving sequence, which is why I wanted to review the series this week. I discuss it further at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog:

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

And here's hoping that all of you had an equally merry and full Thanksgiving!

Yard Sales Up to Eleven

Began an absolutely gorgeous spring morning with corn meal mush and a half of a grapefruit. Ran an episode of Fairie Tale Theatre while I ate and got organized. "The Emperor's New Clothes" brings a pair of con-men to the court of a vain ruler. He only cares about his clothes, so much that he taxes his people to finance his outrageous wardrobe and spent so much on his army's uniform, he can only afford one man. The hucksters take advantage of the emperor and court's vanity, claiming that they have created an invisible cloth that only wise men can see. Naturally, no one in the court, including the emperor, wants to appear to be a fool. But you know what they say about "out of the mouths of babes.."

Headed out around 9:30 and spent the next three hours riding around Audubon, checking out the first town-wide yard sales of the season. My first stop was at a house on one of the side streets between Nicholson Road and Market Street. I found How to Train Your Dragon 2 on DVD (which I've been wanting to get for a while - I do have the first one) among kids' DVDs, a book of meditations for women, and dug an orange and brown floral owl holding a felt book out of a small pile of collectible stuffed animals. Evidently, Starbucks put out stuffed animals in the late 2000's, including my little fellow. His fabric is orange and brown flowers; between his colors and the book, he might be nice for fall and back-to-school.

My other major find on the White Horse Pike side of Audubon was a sale with at least six boxes of records. It took some digging, but I came up with:

Diana Ross - Diana Ross

Billy Joel - Songs from the Attic

By 11 AM, the White Horse Pike side of Audubon was a mess. I dodged tons of cars looking for sales on back roads that were never intended for heavy traffic. After I saw a woman on a bike scream at one of the cars for cutting her off and nearly running her over, I decided it was time to find another, quieter part of town. I headed down Pine to the other side of Audubon, stopping at the WaWa on the White Horse Pike to get a soft pretzel and a watermelon Perrier.

While the Cuthbert Road side of Audubon was still fairly busy, it wasn't as bad as the other side of town. One yard sale had a box of really interesting DVDs. I ended up with This Is Spinal Tap.

As I was leaving, I saw a red head peeking out of a box of stuffed animals. I pulled out an 18-inch doll - not American Girl, but Target's version, Our Generation. While the doll had the same dour and dull face as most OG dolls, it was livened by waist-length hair the color of flame done in a few little braids around her head (like AG's Julie) and stunning turquoise eyes. She wore a blue Swiss-lace dress, a narrow double "leather" belt, and a crocheted vest. Between her slightly hippie-ish looks and her hair and eyes making her resemble a certain Disney mermaid, I named her Ariel Cassandra Wilson. I was surprised at how good of shape she was in. Her Rapunzel hair was badly tangled, but her limbs were tight, and I suspected her clothes were her original ones.)

(Online research at Target and Google this evening revealed that she's an older version of the current Hair Play Peyton doll. Evidently, she has a knob in the back of her head that can be used to pull in the braids until they're the length you desire. I'll take a better look at her head tomorrow. Oh, and she's staying Ariel Cassandra. I'm not really big on "Peyton.")

I rode around for another hour after I found Ariel, but the only other thing I picked up was a new American Girl brush. The old one I picked up from AG in 2014 had thin bristles and kept falling apart every time I tried to brush the dolls' hair. This one must be slightly older - it has stiffer bristles and had no trouble with most of the snarls in Ariel's bright orange mane.

Since I was on that side of Cuthbert Road anyway, I stopped at Friendly's for lunch. Needless to say, given it was around 12:30, they were packed. I managed to get a small booth right in front. Had an apple chicken salad for the lunch combo meal, with chocolate ice cream drenched in strawberry syrup and a mountain of whipped topping for dessert.

Headed home after that. I initially went back out to bring Khai his birthday present. No one seemed to be home but the dogs by 2, so I just went back to my place. Called Rose - she'd gone out to run errands, but she did invite me to a ham dinner later.

Worked on writing for a few hours. Leia manages to evade the stormtroopers by leading them into a pond, but she ends up lost in the woods again. Yoda puts in another appearance on a branch overhead, this time warning her away from Bespin and that its charming host may not have their best intentions in mind. Leia agrees, but they really have nowhere else to go. Yoda helps her and Luke lift a tree that's blocking their path and returns them to Han, Cyril and Artello.

Rose had dinner ready around 5. We had a huge ham with brown sugar glaze, cranberry sauce, and pineapple. Khai also had carrots, which he loves. We were originally going to have asparagus as well, but Rose said they were too sandy and tossed them. Little Finley watched her mother work in her high chair while she ate blueberry puffs. She's getting so big! She watched me the whole time we were at the dinner table. Maybe she's not used to my glasses.

(Incidentally, it sounds like Rose is going to pick me up for the wedding around 3 next Saturday. Good. That will give me time to get stuff done, including checking out Haddon Heights' town-wide yard sale.)

I kept an eye on Khai for a half-hour while Rose took Finley to go get milk from WaWa. We played with his Megablocks (sturdy, thick transulcent plastic with magnets on the side to make them fit together easily) and he played with his Pokemon figures, including his new Raichu. Khai put on a couple of episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which apparently his sister loves. We did their version of A Christmas Carol, "A Hearth's Warming Tale" as well as an episode where Rarity's new clothes shop in Manehattan opens...and her friends are worried that they may have caused a journalist to give her a bad review.

After I got home, I played Wii Sports for a little while. Mainly focused on baseball, golf, and tennis. I'm getting somewhat better at hitting home runs, which means I can actually hit two, maybe three home runs on occasion. I'm better at hitting short, quick throws.

 Finished out the night with more Lego Star Wars. Completed the remaining character and minikit challenges. The only one I didn't get in under 5 minutes was Bespin - and I got that one the second time. I got some of the minikit challenges in under a minute! Started the bounty hunter challenge, but that didn't go as well. I'll try that again another time.

Rewrite the Stars

I couldn't believe how warm it already was by 8 AM! I flung open all the windows, even before I had breakfast. Celebrated my birthday with two of the American Girl birthday books. Happy Birthday, Kirsten! opens with the Swedish pioneer getting ready to help her mother with a new baby. Once the baby comes, Kirsten is too busy for much of anything, including school and helping her friends with sewing a quilt for their teacher. Her friends and family finally come through with a barn-raising birthday party and a big surprise.

Kit also gets to share her party with family. In Happy Birthday, Kit!, we're introduced to her thrifty Aunt Millie from Kentucky. Kit loves most of her great ideas to save money, from gathering dandelion greens to raising chickens and selling the eggs. Some of them, though, like buying damaged goods from the grocery or making bloomers from a feed sack, seem more embarrassing to Kit than fun. She gets upset when it seems like the kids in her class are laughing at her aunt...but when she sees the beautiful dress she made from a feed sack, she understands just how useful her aunt's money-saving tips can be.

Ate a quick breakfast while watching The World of Strawberry Shortcake. The original 1981 Strawberry Shortcake special is set on the title character's sixth birthday. She's upset when she thinks the rest of the residents of Strawberry Land have abandoned her. What they're really doing is setting up a surprise party. The Peculiar Purple Pie Man is determined to spoil their fun and steal their berries for his own wares. When his watering can gift wrecks havoc on their home, it's up to the kids and an army of kids to steal back the berries and rescue resident toddler Apple Dumplin'.

Did a quick Disney short as I got ready to head out. A second "Mickey's Birthday Party," this time in color, came out in 1942. Once again, the entire gang joins Minnie and Mickey for the latter's big day. While we do get Mickey trying to play the organ and having fun dancing along, the focus is mainly on Donald rumba-ing with well-endowed Clara Cluck and Goofy's failed attempts to bake a birthday cake.

It was already in the 70's when I headed out around ten after 9. First stop was the Haddon Township Library. I wanted to return The World of Tomorrow (which I finished last week but forgot to bring back on Monday) and the DVDs. Thought they opened at 9 AM, but it would seem that the don't open until 10. I stuck the book and DVDs in the book drop, went for a short walk to watch the progress on the sign for the new Target that's replacing the shuttered Thriftway, and sat on the curb across the library and waited for the bus. Figured I'd pick up the bus at the library since I had to bring the books and DVDs back anyway.

To my surprise, the bus was almost ten minutes early! In fact, they had to honk their horn to get my attention and me off the curb. That was the worst that happened. The bus was busy but not full, and there was no traffic whatsoever.

The Cherry Hill Mall was also relatively quiet when I arrived. Decided to check out a few smaller toy and game stores first. Didn't find anything at Game Stop or Jay Street Video Games, but I did pick up something for Lauren and the cutest little stuffed chick off the discount rack at Build-a-Bear. The chick is actually a game. He "chirps" when you squeeze him, and will keep chirping until you "find" him and squeeze him again. Though The Lego Store had Solo: A Star Wars Story merchandise (including an awesome Millennium Falcon with Han, Chewie, Q'ida, and Lando), The Disney Store ironically didn't. (Despite the nice lady who greeted me when I came in claiming they did. Nope, just the barest leftovers from Last Jedi. They're gearing up for Avengers: Infinity War and The Incredibles 2 in Disney-dom right now.)

It was around 11 when I struck out across the street for the Hillview Shopping Center. The main reason I wanted to go to the Cherry Hill Mall was I got a 10 dollar-off coupon for Kohl's yesterday. There's a Kohl's at Hillview. After much hemming and hawing over blouses and pants, I finally decided to buy a new white t-shirt (my old white t-shirt got so grungy, I eventually cut it up into dust rags) and a jean jacket. I've been wanting to pick up a light jacket for cool-but-not-cold days in spring and fall for a while now.

Had lunch at the Silver Dollar Diner, overlooking the hill across from the Cherry Hill Mall. They were so busy by noon, I ended up at the counter. I had a tasty "western" omelet (omelet with green peppers, onions, and ham), a drop biscuit, and hash browns. The omelet was the perfect size, the biscuit was nicely flaky, and while the hash browns weren't as good as my stepdad's, they weren't bad, either.

Next stop was the small Target at the end of the mall. Though I looked at blouses and underwear here, I ended up with a Pokemon Raichu (the larger, more evolved form of Pikachu) for Khai's birthday next week, a "Rowdy" Roddy Piper figure that can talk to other wrestling figures for Lauren, and The Greatest Showman on DVD for me. I wanted to see that when it came out...but it came out right after The Last Jedi, and my Star Wars obsession won out at the time. The cashier who rang my order really praised it and Hugh Jackman. She and the lady behind me also gave me warm birthday greetings when I told them why I was there.

I was starting to get more than a little worn out by quarter of 2. Not to mention, it had soared into the lower 80's by that point, ridiculously hot for April in New Jersey (though a stiff, cool wind made things a little more bearable). I returned to the Cherry Hill Mall. Stopped by the Dairy Queen/Orange Julius booth for a cooling treat. I'd never had a Julius before; went with the Pina Colada. Yum. It was basically a creamy coconut-pineapple smoothie, with lots of pineapple pulp and coconut bits.

Since JC Penney is only two stores down from the food court, I ended up there next. Finally found a white lace-trimmed blouse to go with my good skirt for the wedding here, along with two three-packs of socks on sale and a pair of brown capris on the clearance rack. Also took a brief peek at Payless Shoes to find a pair of good flats, but had no luck.

Saturday may not have been the best time to hit up a popular local mall. The place was packed when I left Payless. Since I was tired anyway, I just ended up taking the 3:07 bus home. Once again, I had no trouble getting home whatsover. Traffic was sparse, even around Haddon Avenue and Cuthbert Road.

Of course, as soon as I got in, I realized I'd forgotten to buy one of the most important things - a gift card for Rose's birthday, which was last Saturday. Pulled in at the Rite Aid across from the Westmont Plaza to grab a Duncan Donuts card for her. They also had the last Tiny Toon Adventures DVD set I didn't have, Volume 3. Bought an orange Perrier to combat that heat.

Did a little bit of writing when I got home. Encouraged by Leia, Han/Prince Henry manages to escape the rack, but he's still not quite sure of himself. Leia and Luke  hold off the demons while he confronts the cloaked magician who haunts his nightmares.

It was so hot in my apartment (and Charlie was being so noisy with the dogs), I just left for Dad and Jodie's a little early. Jodie made a pot roast for my birthday dinner. We also had a spinach salad with bacon, sliced French bread and butter, carrots and potatoes, and corn. The roast was a little dry; otherwise, everything was delicious. Jessa and Joe were already there when I arrived. Rose came around with Finley a bit later. She'd gone to Khai's first baseball game of the season that morning and had completely forgotten about the dinner. (Khai was at a roller skating party in Cherry Hill; Craig had work.) Chubby, cute little Finley is starting to walk with help now. I played with some of the toys Dad and Jodie had for her.

Rose gave me a tarp to cover my new bike. She loved the gift card. Apparently, she stops at the Duncan Donuts down the street a lot and buys treats for Khai from there.

Put on The Greatest Showman as soon as I got home. Tired of a series of dead-end jobs, P.T Barnum (Hugh Jackman) comes up with the idea of starting a wax museum and cultural center to delight his two daughters. When one of his girls points out how dull the waxworks are, he adds unique acts - "freaks" like bearded lady Lettie Lutz (Keala Settle), dwarf Tom Thumb (Sam Humphery), and trapeze artist siblings Anne (Zendaya) and W.D Wheeler (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) - to bring in the crowds. It becomes so colorful and outrageous, he eventually titles it Barnum's Circus. Though the museum/circus is making money, it's not delighting New York's elite, including the editor of the New York Herold James Gordon Bennett (Paul Sparks). Casting around for something more upscale, Barnum hires bored young playwright Philip Carlyle (Zac Efron) to help him out. A tour of Europe turns up gorgeous, refined Swedish soprano Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson). While Barnum conducts an affair with Lind, Carlyle goes after Anne, despite their differences in race and class. Barnum's personal and private lives come crashing down when protesters burn the museum and his wife Charity (Michelle Williams), who has heard about the affair, leaves him. But a true showman never gives up...and as the Barnum Circus rises from the ashes, P.T and Philip learn that while show business may be make-believe, true love and friendship are as genuine as it comes.

The music and performances are the thing here. The plot is a storm of biographical cliches (and most of them are fictional), but Jackman, Williams, Zendaya, and Efron all play the heck out of them. My only real complaint is, fond though I am of Jackman, I really wish we'd seen less of Barnum and Carlyle and more of the actual "freaks." The movie talks about diversity, but it still focuses on the handsome white guys. In all honesty, the real P.T Barnum's career was far more interesting than this.

The music is a lot more fun. "This Is Me," Lettie's anthem at a fancy party, won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar, but my favorites are the duet "Rewrite the Stars" for Phillip and Anne and "Come Alive" for Barnum and his family as they recruit the "freaks." Ironically, the movie's fate was much like that of Barnum's Circus - critics didn't know what to make of it, but it went on to become a word-of-mouth hit.

If you think of it in the same way as the Danny Kaye Hans Christian Anderson movie, another "biographical" musical that's "a fairy tale about a spinner of fairy tales," you may find a lot to enjoy in this fanciful tale. Highly recommended.

Finished the night with a two-part Sailor Moon birthday tale from the third season. Usagi thinks she's not having a great birthday when her friends would rather study and Mamoru doesn't seem to remember. Like the residents of Strawberry Land, her friends are really having a surprise party...and she never told Mamoru when it was in the first place. Even when he buys her the glass slippers she wants, they turn into a monster who is bent on getting her pure heart crystal...and nasty witch Kaorinite finds out who she really is! And then there's the mysterious Sailors Uranus and Neptune, who seem to be determined to find pure heart crystals, at any cost...