There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

Slept in this morning. Had a very quick breakfast while watching Pac Man. Mezmeron finally gets his wish when the Ghosts make Pac Man and his army giggle so hard, they can't defend the Power Pellet Forest. Pac Man has to stop "The Day the Forest Disappeared" and rescue them. The Ghosts are sent back in time to stop Pac Man from defending the forest, but they end up encountering his ancestor "Sir Chomps A Lot" and his Pac Dragon instead.

I was just going to hang around online again, but...ehh. Snow or no snow, I was bored. I had a little time before the after-school program started. They went in two hours late this time instead of closing. I grabbed a heavy coat, wrapped up, and headed out.

On one hand, the day was beautiful, sunny, and not windy at all. It was also literally Antarctic, barely in the 20's. Though Johnson and the White Horse Pike had been cleared and cleared well, East Clinton still had ice on it. Most sidewalks had been cleared, but some of them were still icy, and some of the sidewalks on the Pike were still covered in snow. I had to pick my way carefully, especially since my knee continues to be sore.

I'd never seen Dunkin's have so many donuts in the middle of the day. It was past 2 by the time I got there, but the donut racks were almost full. I'm guessing most people are either staying inside or just getting hot drinks at the drive-through. I still have the gift cards I got from the kids for Christmas, so I got a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, bacon, and "bacon jam," a cream donut, a vanilla-frosted donut, and a hot chocolate. Yum. The croissant the sandwich was on was a little burned, but it was edible. The hot chocolate was great, warm, chocolatey, and sweet. The vanilla frosted was ok, but the chocolate-frosted cream was tasty.

I picked up the Uber at Dunkin's. They arrived in 9 minutes, not bad for the state the roads are still in. No traffic anywhere, not even at the corner of the White Horse Pike and Collingswood. I was slightly late to the Thomas Sharp School, but nothing outrageous.

The kids must have spent the last three days running themselves ragged outside in the snow, because they honestly could have been worse. My group gave me no trouble in the bathroom. To keep them from running around in the hall, I did poses for them to imitate. They loved it, especially the flexible young ladies who take ballet and dance. They did start to get rowdy when we moved them to the library. Some of them thought it would be funny to hide under the tables, but the head teacher quickly ended that idea. I sat in the back with the kids working on Duplo towers. By the time I finished, we were down to three younger kids. I helped them move them and their toys and art supplies back to the cafeteria before I headed out.

Hit the bathroom fast, then called Uber. They arrived in 11 minutes, not bad for rush hour on a day when many roads are icy. And unlike Oaklyn, all but Collings and the area around the Thomas Sharp School did seem to be in pretty bad shape in West Collingswood. No wonder the kids had that delay. It took a tiny bit longer to get home than it had been to get there, but not that much.

I watched Sunny and had dinner after I managed to get the trash and recycling out in the ice-covered snow. I go further into this charming early talkie about a bareback rider in an English circus who follows her crush to the US on a cruise ship at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Sunny (1930)

Switched to Remember WENN after a shower. It's "Two for the Price of One" when Pruitt's secretary Miss Cosgrave (Audrie Neenan) signs a contract requiring Betty and the actors to create shows for radio station WEEP and their own. Though Gertie the receptionist (Margaret Hall) enjoys doing her gardening show, it proves to be too much for the staff and for CJ the engineer (CJ Byrnes). Mr. Crawley (Lee Wilkof), the owner of WEEP, is so impressed, he takes all their shows for his own. It's Scott who finally comes up with the idea of mixing the shows and the broadcasts, so no one knows which station is which.

Hilary's having her own problems in "Mr. and Mrs. Singer." Jeff keeps trying to call her and warn her about something, but he just can't get through to her. As it turns out, he has good reason to worry. Czech refugee Pavla Nemcova (Karen Travis) claims Jeff married her in London and even brings a letter backing up her statement. Hilary's devastated, until Scott, Betty, Mr. Foley, and CJ turn the tables and show Pavla for the gold-digger she truly is.

Finished the night working on the Sunny review while listening to the Disney Legacy Collection Disneyland CDs. This is especially fascinating for me. I went to Disney World twice in the 80's and early 90's, but I've never been to the original Disneyland. I've never even been to California. Some of these songs and rides - The Country Bears, the Tiki Room, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion with its "Grim Grinning Ghosts," "Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me" - I know very well, as they can still be found in many of the parks to this day. Others, like the theme from The Twilight Zone and the music from Star Tours, are based on familiar properties Disney borrowed or owns. 

Others are from older versions or rides that no longer exist. "Miracles from Molecules" is from Adventures Thru Inner Space, which closed in the 80's. "Nation On Wheels" is from the Peoplemover, which hasn't moved anyone at Disneyland since the early 2000's. (They attempted to turn it into a roller coaster and abandoned the tracks when that didn't work. It's apparently still at Disney World, though.) The dreamy "Rainbow Caverns" would be replaced by the more dynamic Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the 70's. The "Swisskapolka" was the music heard in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, until Disney gave it a only-in-Disneyland Tarzan theme...which was replaced in 2022 by a variation on the original. 

If you love Disney Parks history or theme park history, or have actually been to Disneyland between 1955 and 2015, you'll absolutely want to look around for this collection of songs from some of the most beloved properties, shows, and rides to ever grace the "Happiest Place On Earth." 

Holidays On Ice

Began the day with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save the Marooned Mayors" when Mayor Goodway and Mayor Humdinger are stranded in a chasm, chased by Arctic wolf pups who wanted Humdinger's "hum-burgers." The pups recruit Everett to help rescue them, then get them off an block of ice floating out to sea. "Pups Save the Game Show," what amounts to an animated version of Wild West Challenge being filmed at a local ranch. After Humdinger's cheating drives off the competition, the pups help competitor Chase out to clean up the havoc Humdinger caused and make sure everything remains fair.

Switched to Super Password on Buzzr. Leslie Bloom and comedian Jack Carter were the celebrities. Jack was really impressive. He might have been even better at Password than he was at Match Game. He got a lady through the Super Password bonus round with maybe one bobble in pretty decent time. 

Got my schedule at this point, too. I wasn't sure I'd get the whole week off, but...thank heavens, I don't work at the Acme again until early next Saturday. I won't be back at the after-school program until January 5th! I'll be able to enjoy a nice, quiet Christmas break doing what I want to do without rushing. 

Headed out after that. I wanted to get my grocery shopping done before the snow and ice arrived. My first stop was the Target Starbucks for a treat. I was surprised at how quiet they were. All the teens who usually hang out there must have been at home, messing with their new gadgets and listening to music. I got a wonderfully minty peppermint hot chocolate without a fuss.

Sprouts was only a little busier. I didn't need much here under any circumstances. Found more of those white chocolate-filled coconut pillows, this time marked down to 99 cents. Got dried mango slices, coconut milk, and diet soda and sparkling water. Found white chocolate macadamia cookies with clearance stickers on the bakery rack.

Hurried down Cuthbert, past the library, the McDonald's, and the Haddon Township High School to the Acme. They were a lot busier, and had been even worse earlier, if the lack of carts up front and the devastated shelves were any indication. Mainly needed yogurt and apples here. Grabbed probiotic sodas on good sales. Grabbed bread to have sandwiches this week. Had online coupons for yogurt, bags of gala apples, and granola. Finally found the Fresca again. Got one last bottle of Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite Zero, too.

By the time I rode home alongside Newton Lake Park, it was much cloudier. Those clouds had the pearly gray sheen of ice and snow. The park is now fully embracing winter. The grass is a little greener than usual for this time of year, probably due to all of the rain and snow we've had, but the trees are black brushstrokes, the lake is still slightly frozen, and the only animals around are the honking Canadian geese. (And even they were pretty scarce today.)

When I got home, I put everything away, then had lunch and spent the rest of the evening watching YouTube. Match Game Productions fixed the audio issues he had with his What's My Line Christmas marathon. Though there were two color episodes from the early 70's with a man who sold Santa Claus suits, the majority of the episodes were the black and white shows from the 1950's and early 60's. In addition to flat-out Christmas shows like the one I watched last week with Johnny Marks and the Salvation Army, there were episodes featuring singers associated with Christmas songs (like Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Eartha Kitt, Johnny Mathis, and Andy Williams) or those with Christmas-related "lines" (like the man who sold bells). There was even the Christmas episode where the spouses of the panelists (Tony Randall joining regulars Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, and Dorothy Kilgalleon) appeared as Mystery Guests. 

Find out if the holidays are really bigger than a bread box in this elegant and delightful marathon!

A What's My Line Christmas Marathon

Wait, there's more! We have the 1983 and 1984 Christmas episodes of the Richard Dawson Family Feud, Brett giving a naughty answer that got censored on Match Game in 1977, a hilarious and rare post-Christmas episode from 1978 where a contestant gave Fannie a huge kiss despite losing the match, more of the Carol Burnett-Bert Convy battle on Password Plus during Christmas 1979, and Illene Graff and Pat Harrington tossing out wisecracks on Super Password during Christmas 1988. It's the gift that keeps on giving - more game show bang for your holiday buck!

Family Feud (1983)

Family Feud (1984)

Match Game (1977)

Match Game (1978)

Password Plus (1979)

Super Password (1988)

Called Mom during the What's My Line marathon. Apparently, she's doing fine, and everyone liked my gifts. Aurora really loved that book on being a big sister I found at the thrift shop in Woodbury! Mom said it really helped her. She's more worried about my brother. Apparently, his knees are going and he has gout and arthritis in his hands, and he's only in his early 30's. I have an arthritic thumb (though my bad knees are more from bike accidents than family history), so I do understand what she's saying there. With Keefe, I wonder if he's just worked a little too long at the Naval shipyard.

It started raining - and raining hard - somewhere around 6 PM. I'm not sure when the ice came, only that by the time Family Feud and Match Game were on, everything was covered in a sheet of dully glistening ice. Good thing I am off tomorrow. If it doesn't melt by early afternoon, I won't have to go anywhere. 

Finished the night with Forest by George Winston. This was a better choice than I thought. The CD includes lovely versions of "Walking In the Air," "Building the Snowman," and "The Snowman's Music Box Dance" from the British animated special The Snowman. Other lovely, calming numbers here include "Troubadour," "Graceful Ghost," "and "Lights In the Sky." 

Road to the Frozen South

First thing I did after I woke up was look out the window. Yes, it snowed last night...but only an inch or two. Freezing rain fell softly in the background, but the roads were clear. I figured I'd be fine going to work. 

Watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while I ate breakfast and got ready. "Mr. Malik Comes Back to School" and the kids couldn't be more excited to see their substitute teacher again. They do learn a lesson in listening when he reminds me that there's a time for dancing, and a time to do something else. Daniel and Katerina have fun on "Daniel's Wintry Walk." They don't want to go in, until Mrs. Tiger coaxes them home for hot chocolate and to play with Margaret.

I had more trouble getting to work. It took me ten minutes just to find a driver this morning, and another 13 for him to arrive. Thanks to all that, I was 15 minutes late. Thank heavens, the road cleared enough by quarter after 3 for it only to take the driver 11 minutes to arrive. No trouble getting to or from work.

I hadn't been there more than five minutes before the floral manager and I headed out again. She scraped the ice off her car, then drove us down to Pennsville, near the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The Pennsville Acme was holding a workshop for floral department workers to exchange ideas and those interested in floral work to learn how to make bouquets and tie balloons. I was the only one who joined her. A manager and one of the girls who fill online orders were supposed to come, but they got scared of the weather and called out. Fortunately, the bad weather had likely scared off the traffic, and she stuck to the heavily-salted main highways. We arrived within 45 minutes.

The workshop took place in their cavernous warehouse room, twice the size of the Audubon Acme's. We were ten minutes late and rushed to the last table after signing in. There were already a ton of people gathered around tables, with colorful roses and lilies in buckets next to them, mylar balloons waiting against the wall, a container of latex balloons on one side, and vases of water waiting to be filled. 

We spent most of the two hours learning to do specific arrangements. I have to admit, most of what I did came out rather well. I was especially proud of a dark red "posie" nosegay in a small squat vase, cut short and with one rose pushing up among the others. I added two tiny pieces of gypsum that had been leftover from larger bouquets, and it looked rather sweet.

The last half-hour was devoted to tying latex balloons to the bottom of the larger mylar ones to make them a bit more "extra." I had a much harder time with this. I took forever to tie the darn balloons, and then I couldn't tie them together. Couldn't figure out how to get two longer balloons together, too. The floral manager says I'll get better with practice. 

After we left the Acme, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel about ten minutes from the Acme for lunch. They were surprisingly busy, considering the freezing mist was only just starting to subside at 1 PM. I suspect they may have had a lot of call-outs. It took us almost fifteen minutes just to get a waitress. Things went much faster after that. She had coffee and a massive grilled chicken salad on a plate bigger than a flying saucer. I had berry iced tea and "pancake tacos," eggs, cheese, and bacon in a pancake folded like a taco, with fried apples on the side. (It was supposed to come with syrup for dipping, but I didn't see any and didn't make a fuss. The waitress was harried enough as it was.) It was delicious, warm and filling on a cold, gray day.

Headed straight back to the store after that. There was slightly more traffic, but nothing overwhelming. Even so, we still arrived ten minutes after 3. Considering I was late arriving, it might actually be a good thing. 

Watched Super Password while I changed after I got home. Tom Poston and Vicki Lawrence continued with their week. This was never Tom's game. He moved a tad slow on the Super Password bonus round. No one had much luck on the main game, especially trying to figure out the puzzle revolving around a certain southern host who was in charge of then-fellow NBC show Scrabble and had a long-running hit with Love Connection...

Settled down with Road to Utopia after the show ended. I go further into this wacky trip to the Yukon with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Road to Utopia

Did some writing for a while next. Avery's scared to death, but he does manage to get everyone across. Joyce hugs him and tells him she's proud of him, but he's about ready to faint!

Broke for dinner and Match Game '79 at 7. We start off with "Afternoon __" on the Audience Match...and Gene and Brett not getting the obvious answer that was a big hit song a few years before. Elaine Joyce has far more luck with "New Orleans __" in a later Head-to-Head. 

Finished the night with something unique on YouTube. I found a dubbed live-action version of the German fairy tale Mother Holle from Russia, if the Eastern European-sounding names in the credits are any indication. A young boy manages to cheat Mother Death and ends up living with her cousin Mother Holle, who shakes the feathers from her bed and makes it snow all over the world. The mischievous boy falls for sweet human girl Elizabeth, and keeps sneaking out to see her. He finally leaves Holle's domain and grows into a man in order to be with her. Unfortunately, she's under the thumb of her obnoxious stepmother, who keeps trying to push her equally nasty daughter on him. 

He rejects her in favor of Elizabeth, leading the stepmother to seek revenge. She kills Elizabeth's prize peacocks and blames him, then insists he killed Elizabeth when she and her daughter were the ones who pushed down his new well. Mother Holle wants Elizabeth to stay with her and help her with her work. However, if Elizabeth doesn't return, the young man will either have to accept the stepdaughter's proposal, or be hanged.

Honestly, this doesn't have that much in common with the German Mother Holle. Originally, both daughters ended up in her domain. One would work and was industrious, and one was lazy and refused to help her or anything in the well. The boy was an actual prince, and there was no Mother Death. It's still a lot of fun to watch him lead Death with her scythe around by the nose and see his and Elizabeth's charming courtship. Worth seeking on YouTube if you love European fairy tales like me. 

A Snowy Day at Home

Awoke at 7 to a world covered in white. Snow fell hard on Hillcrest, making it difficult to tell where the road began and the sidewalk and lawns ended. I called the Acme and told them I couldn't come in; got one of the managers, who said that was fine. There's no way I'd get a ride in that mess. The call took less than five minutes, and I was back in bed within fifteen.

Went back to sleep for another two hours before I finally opened my eyes for good. Read the 1940's Connie Blair mystery The Clue In Blue, then worked on my journal. Rolled out of bed in time for Blockbusters. The father-daughter pair defeated the younger man, but only got four questions on the Gold Run. They'd just started playing a solo woman as the show ended. 

Not only was it pretty obvious the snow wasn't stopping anytime soon, by 11 PM, it was starting to mix with sleet and freezing rain, too. It was no day to go anywhere. I texted Jodie and asked her if I could do the laundry at her house today or tomorrow. Since she was fine either way, I figured I'd get it done today. Might as well get it out of the way sooner than later. 

Gave my new Story of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom record a shot after breakfast. And it is new. I found it factory sealed and in perfect shape at The House of Fun. It's what the cover claims, a recording of the score and some of the dialogue from the film. Oddly, considering it's supposed to be for kids, it does include some of the more disturbing scenes from the film like the hearts being ripped out of chests and isn't shy about discussing Willie and Indy's relationship. 

Thought I'd try making some kind of sweet roll with my unexpected free time. I've had mixed results with my cinnamon rolls, but a snowy day felt like the perfect backdrop to give them another shot. This time, I almost forgot the egg in the dough! I kneaded it in, which made the dough sticky. Just ended up adding more flour. Don't think I put enough cinnamon after rolling it out, either. Oh well. The rolls did rise nicely and smelled amazing in the oven.

Finally took the laundry over to Jodie's side of the house while the rolls rose in my bedroom. Jodie was watching something on The Hallmark Channel as I passed through. She had two important pieces of mail for me. I ordered a copy of the original American Girl BeForever version of Never Stop Singing, the other Melody book, off eBay last week; it showed up a day early. Also got my new non-driver's ID.

Put on Match Game '78 as I cleaned up from the roll mess. Tab Hunter of Damn Yankees and Grease 2 and Marilou Henner of Taxi join Brett, Charles, Fannie Flagg, and Dick Martin here. Tab got a surprise match for big money in the first episode; Gene manages to swat a fly that was annoying him in the second.

Worked on writing for a while after moving the laundry to the dryer and the rolls to the oven. Put on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood after the rolls cooled enough to cover in almond milk glaze. Considering how angry and frustrated I've been with all the lunacy at work lately, I thought two episodes on dealing with anger were more than appropriate. 

Daniel is "Mad at the Crayon Factory" when the box-making machine doesn't have enough boxes for him. His mother calms him down long enough to wait for Lady Elaine to put more paper in. He's even more upset when his baby sister Margaret breaks his rainbow crayon, but his mother reminds him that broken crayons still color. He and O the Owl are "Mad at School" after they can't get their "invention" to work. Teacher Harriett shows them how to calm down, so they can think and fix the problem.

(Oh, and the rolls came out incredible. I probably should have used more cinnamon, but the rolls themselves baked beautifully, smelled wonderful in the oven, and tasted moist and flaky.)

Broke to grab the laundry at quarter after three. Caught the second half of Super Password as I went back and forth. This time, Robert Walden was the one who got his contestant to the Super Password bonus round...but alas, they only got about half the letters right. Tough guy comedian Scoey Mitchilll and his beloved wife Claire were the big winners on Tattletales today, over Bill Macy and his then-girlfriend Samantha and William Gray Espy and Janice Lynde. 

Put the laundry away while running Press Your Luck. The previous champ ran headlong into Whammies in both rounds and didn't get much in the way of turns. The one guy also ran into Whammies, leaving the other lady to pick up a trip and squeal as loudly as her platinum blonde fishing buddy, who was contestant on the show earlier in 1984 but lost.

Resumed writing after the show ended. Added a sequence where Gene swings down, just as Goodson is about to send Tom Kennedy over the side. Gene duels with the amiable Goodson...who is a lot less pleasant when he's reminded that everyone, including reporter Robert Walden, could reveal his corrupt ways on land. He's about to take Gene down when Brett flies into him...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching Match Game '74. Nipsey Russell joins Anita Gillette and Jo Ann Worley of Laugh-In, Gene, and the regulars for jokes about President Ford pardoning baseball players and what animal gets put in the mailbox to get back at the mailman. 

Tonight's episode of Match Game PM hasn't been seen since it originally ran in 1977. I understood why when they made a few dicey jokes about an Asian contestant that he handled well, but may not be taken at face value by audiences nowadays. Otherwise, this was actually a pretty fun episode. Eva Gabor and "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson joined in the jokes here.

It was a tight race for the third time this week on Sale of the Century. The champ said she'd just moved and bought a glass coffee table for her new house; the other lady bought a lemon dessert of the month deal and won two of the three Fame Games. The guy bought the Instant Cash. The champ was behind for the second half of the show, but she came back to win the Speed Round and just barely missed the Bonus Round money.

Finished the night watching The Cotton Club on Pluto TV's on demand service after a shower. I go into further details on Francis Ford Coppola's recut version of his 1984 gangster flop at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Cotton Club

New Jersey On Ice

Got such a late start this morning, I had breakfast while working on writing. Richard and Gene are evenly matched, as swordsmen and as captains. Gene's still angry with Richard for his betrayal. Richard, for his part, regrets letting Goodson dump Gene overboard...but not taking Gene's treasure for his own. When Gene asks Richard how he got so good on a sword and on a ship, he tells Gene he learned everything he knows from watching him.

Broke at 11 to get ready for work. Clouds hung low over Hillcrest and it remained cold, but it wasn't wet or snowy, or even windy. I still had a hard time finding an Uber driver. It took 20 minutes for them to arrive. Thankfully, I called for one early enough that I still got to work on time.

If you've seen the weather reports today, you can probably guess that the Acme was a total madhouse, especially early in the afternoon. We're only supposed to get freezing rain, sleet, and regular old rain from this round, but that was still enough to make people want to buy food. There's the holiday weekend and tomorrow being Valentine's Day, too. Thankfully, I had help outside with the carts for most of the day. Other than sweeping once when the other bagger went on lunch and bringing in trash, I was outside with the carts. 

The freezing rain finally started around 3 PM. It wasn't really bad at first...but the longer it continued, the icier everything got. I had to dodge several patches of ice on the otherwise-heavily salted parking lot. Thankfully, though I slipped a few times, I never fell. 

Did my grocery shopping as quickly as possible after work. Mostly needed milk, which I'm almost out of. Found boxes of orange clove herbal tea and After Eight Dinner Mints on clearance. Grabbed three salad bowls for dinner later this week. Restocked oranges, bananas, cereal, peanut butter, black beans, and yogurt. 

Not happy with my schedule next week. In good news, two days off and no early days. Trouble is, I'm still working very long hours...and next Saturday is an 8 and 1/2 hour day. Three people went on vacation, the bagger who got sick earlier this week took leave, and there's still many people out to avoid the virus.

As soon as I finished, I tried to get through to Uber. And kept trying. And trying. I tried for 20 minutes and could not get a driver. It either would say "error" and not go through, or no cars would appear as available. One of my co-workers tried calling cabs, and none of them could pick me up, either. There was no one willing to brave the storm.

Ended up hitching a ride with a co-worker, a sweet college student who lives in the Audubon Park development across the street from the Acme with her family and knew Oaklyn well enough to get me home. Even she had trouble when we got out. Her car was so thickly coated with ice, she ended up calling her mom to help her scrape it off. She also did grocery shopping tonight; I put her cart in the corral, only to finally slip and fall after I finished! I was more amused than hurt. I pushed carts all afternoon and only slipped a bit.

Thankfully, the roads were perfectly fine. There's a ton of salt leftover from our last two or three storms. As I discovered at work, it's the untreated curbs and sidewalks that are a problem. I had to get out of her car very gingerly, but I did manage to get myself and my groceries into my apartment with no trouble besides a little slipping.

Put on Super Password while I quickly got organized and had a snack. Patricia Klous and Orson Bean were the celebrities on the 1985 episode I saw. Orson got his contestant to the bonus round, but even his brain filled with trivia couldn't figure out words for two of the Super Passwords. 

Finished the night watching A Monster In Paris on Pluto TV. I go further into this French animated romance in tonight's Musical Dreams Movie Review. 

My Animated Valentine - A Monster In Paris 

Rain In the Stars

It was pouring rain and sleet when I got up this morning, and continued to in some capacity for the entire day. This was no day to be outside. I had breakfast, then finally finished the cleaning. I really needed to get the dusting done. I mostly just dust around things at this time of year, but I put it off for too long. The entertainment area and my bedroom were especially bad. Made the bed, too. The blankets I layer on me at night keep slipping off.

Watched The Incredibles 2 while I did my chores. We start off right where the previous film left off, with Bob Parr (Craig T. Nelson), his wife Helen (Holly Hunter), their son Dash (Huckleberry Milner), teen daughter Violet (Sarah Vowell), and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile), and Bob's friend Lucius (Samuel L. Jackson) fighting the Underminer. They do manage to stop him from destroying City Hall, but not from robbing a bank. They're out of funds after the program that gave them their home shuts down.

Help comes in the form of wealthy Winston Deaver (Bob Odenkirk) and his sarcastic sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener), who want to make superheroes legal. Winston chooses Helen, aka Elasticgirl, as his spokeswoman and the new savior of the city. Helen's thrilled at first, until she keeps running into a supervillain called the Screensaver who seems to be controlling people through their televisions. They turn out to not only be whom Helen expected, but they're someone with a grudge against Winston and superheroes who desperately doesn't want to see them return. Meanwhile, Bob is trying to deal with the kids, including Jack-Jack and his new powers. Edna Mode (Brad Bird) gives Jack-Jack a suit to help control them. All the Incredibles learn a bit about working as a team when they go after Elasticgirl, who is being held captive on Winston's yacht during a major summit.

The Incredibles is one of my favorite Pixar movies, so yeah, I had a lot of fun with this. The animation is even better, especially in action sequences like the finale on the yacht and Elasticgirl stopping a monorail from crashing. I love the family dynamics and how realistic they are, and it's always great to see the marvelous Edna Mode.

My main complaint is that the villain can be telegraphed from a mile off, and while I appreciate that their motivation is better than usual for a superhero movie, I wish they weren't quite so obvious. Otherwise, if you're a fan of the first movie or the cast, you may find just as much to enjoy here as I did. (And there's rumors swirling around of a third movie. Let's hope it doesn't take them 14 years this time.)

Watched more Buck Rogers during lunch and while beginning the dough for Cinnamon Swirl Bread. Buck and Wilma are on a "Cruise Ship to the Stars" in order to protect Miss Cosmos (Dorothy Stratten), a beauty queen considered to be a genetically perfect woman. Someone keeps trying to attack her, a frizzy-haired thief who calls herself Sabrina (Trisha Noble). While Wilma tries to figure out what she's up to, Buck befriends shy Alison (Kimberly Beck) and her boyfriend Jay (Leigh McCloskey) who are on a trip for her health. Alison insists that she keeps having blackouts and may have hurt someone, but Jay waves it off. Buck's not as convinced...and believes that there's a lot more to the frightened girl than mere illness.

Went on the computer as soon as I put the bread aside to rise. I did more research on being a freelance writer. I'm not sure how well I'll do with this. I want to write, and I want to sell my writing...but I'm not good with money. I'm bad at math, and I'm not good with managing money, either. Every time I try, I never have enough to manage. The more I researched, the more I panicked. How can I do this? How can I sell my work when I can't even talk to people? When I'm not good with people? What if I don't know what to say? And I don't really have the time for a ton of work. I'm just looking for a little bit of writing, just a small side gig, not a full career yet. I want to promote my blog, but I'm afraid of what people will say. I don't want to encourage trolls again.

I did manage to post my blog with several groups on Facebook (including one I didn't mean to post to). I don't know what to do. I want to write...but I'm starting to wonder if random freelance writing is a good idea. I will keep up with all three blogs in the meantime, but I still need money. There has to be some way I can promote the blogs and make money off them without getting nervous!

Broke briefly to knead the dough, roll it out, and brush it with butter and cinnamon sugar before letting it rise again. Baked it while having leftovers for dinner and moving on with Buck. "Space Vampire" moves from camp space opera to straight horror. Buck and Wilma are at a space station getting Twiki repaired when a freighter collides with them. All aboard seem to be dead, the victims of a rare virus. Wilma, however, becomes paranoid about being followed, and when members of the space station crew start turning up as zombies, Buck and Twiki start to wonder what else came in with that freighter.

The bread finally came out during "Happy Birthday, Buck." Wilma, Twiki, and Dr. Huer hold a real 20th century birthday party for Buck to cheer him up on his big day. They assign him to bring psychic courier Raylyn (Morgan Brittany) to New Detroit, but they're captured by a man named Traegar (Peter MacLean) who wants revenge on Dr. Huer for sending him to prison years ago.

(Incidentally, in good news, the bread did actually rise this time, smelled amazing while baking, and tasted quite nice out of the oven. It took long to bake than I thought it would, though, and fell apart when I tried to get it out of the pan. I didn't add enough cinnamon, either. I taste sugar, not spices. Next time, I'll separate this into two batches and just bake one at a time, or use the other batch for rolls or something else.)

Disc 4 ends with "A Blast for Buck." The blast is to the past in this clip show episode when someone sends Buck and his friends a mysterious riddle. Dr. Huer goes back into their minds to try to figure out which of the many villains they've gone up against earlier in the season have a grudge against Buck (and we find out the fate of many of them).

Finished out the night with another blast from the past, the all-African American film Cabin In the Sky, which I review at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cabin In the Sky

Snow In the Springtime

It was still just cloudy when I finally rolled out of bed this morning. Despite the weather, I opted to honor the first day of spring during breakfast with a couple of cartoons. It's "Spring In Acme Acres" during the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures. Babs and Buster introduce three cartoons with (very) mild spring themes. "Love Among the Tunes" has the Elmer Fudd Cupid turning his arrows over to Conrad so he can go on vacation. The none-too-bright vulture proceeds to create some odd matches, including Babs and Montana Max. "Elmyra's Spring Cleaning" proves to be hazardous to all of Acme Acres, especially one poor fish whose bowl she sucks into her vacuum cleaner. "That's Incredibly Stupid" is a parody of the goofy stunt-based game shows that were wildly popular in the late 80's-early 90's. Plucky keeps making Dizzy do all the stunts, but the last one proves to be more than even Plucky can handle.

Did a few shorts while getting ready to run errands. "Springtime Serenade" seemed very appropriate, given it had started to snow by the time I put it on. This later Walter Lanz Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon is one the few the character did during his starring years in color. He and Fanny are proprietors of a summer resort who, along with the other animals of the farm and woods, are delighted that spring is here and they can get their cleaning done. A grouchy old groundhog is determined to spoil their fun with predictions of bad weather. They don't believe him at first, until the snow actually begins to fall.

"Springtime" is the second of the seasonal-themed Disney Silly Symphony shorts (and the third Silly Symphony period), and as such, is the one of the most basic. It's pretty much just animals dancing and eating each other in time to classical music.

The snow was just coming down as a light squall when I headed out. My first stop was the Oaklyn Library. Considering the weather, I was surprised there was even just one other person there besides the librarian and me. I organized DVDs and half-listened to the blather on CNN. I did end up taking out some movies here. They get new releases quicker than the Haddon Township Library. Found Coco and Thor: Ragnorok, along with the French ballet-themed animated film Leap!

The snow and wind were both picking up by the time I left the library, around quarter of 1. I was going to go home, but I really wanted to return the Haddon Township Library DVDs. My next day off is Saturday, and they usually have plenty of help that day. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't too bad at that point, though the snow was just starting to mix with ice and sting my face.

Needless to say, the Haddon Township Library wasn't busy, either. I didn't have nearly as much to do this week as I had last week. Just shelved the children's DVDs and CDs and audio books. Didn't take anything out here; I don't know when I'll be able to get here again.

By 2:30, the snow was quickly turning into sleet. Beyond really hurting when it hit my face, it was making the sidewalks and back roads more than a little slippery. I went straight home, dodging early traffic that may have been let out early due to the weather.

Made some calls when I got in. Today is Mom's birthday. She was spending it buying a new car after the old one was totaled in a crash. They got luckier than we did weather-wise; at press time, all they've gotten has been rain.

I called Dad before that, hoping for a ride to work tomorrow. Jodie called me back while I was talking to Mom. When I did get through to her, she told me what I'd suspected all along. The roads are a sheet of ice...and if they continue to be messy, she and Dad won't be going anywhere tomorrow. I don't want to call out and lose my 8 and 1/2 hour day, but if no one can get out, I may have to consider that.

Did two more spring-related Silly Symphonies while I got organized. "Birds In the Spring" is what the title implies. We follow a family of birds in the late spring, particularly one cheeky little fledgling who gets into big trouble when he leaves the nest for the first time. "The Goddess of Spring" is the myth of Persephone and Hades retold as a full-blown mini-opera. This was one of several Symphonies Disney made as a test for Snow White. While some of it is lovely (the dancing in the "Mighty Hades" number is pretty nifty), other bits show that Walt's animators had a long way to go (Persephone dances like she has no bones).

Spent the rest of the afternoon inside, working on my story. Han continues to be fussy after Obi-Wan and Luke go off to work on spells, insisting on sleeping in the cart and turning it into a tent. Leia helps him. She finally decides it's time to bury the hatchet with this man, especially given he's not in great shape. He agrees. He finally thanks her for having saved him earlier and asks her if she'll teach him how to handle a sword. Only if he shows her how to handle a mechanical bow; she's never seen one before.

They finally make it to Scarif, a dusty port city. Obi-Wan tells them they'll look for people to help them get to Coruscant and deal with Palpatine and who know about Han's real identity there. Leia points out that unicorns are rare, and Luke might attract unwanted attention. He makes his horn invisible and the rest of him look more like an ordinary horse.

Got so into writing, I didn't break for dinner until quarter of 7. Used up the last of the spaghetti sauce, along with spinach, mushrooms, and Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, to make Italian Scrambled Eggs for dinner.

Played more Lego Star Wars as I ate. There's one piece in "Retake Theed Palace" I just cannot get to! I'll have to look that one up online. Had a much easier time finally finding the red brick in "Darth Maul."

Finished the night with Can-Can. The 1960 film version of the Cole Porter show keeps most of the original show intact, but eliminates the artist subplot. Satine Pistache (Shirley MacLaine) runs a nightclub in Paris that's notorious for performing the scandalous, leg-baring can-can dance. Her lawyer boyfriend Francois (Frank Sinatra) and a laid-back judge (Maurice Chevalier) are more than happy to look the other way. A newly-arriving judge (Louis Jordan) is less willing to play Satine's game. He tries twice to get her arrested and actually succeeds the second time. She tries to seduce him into changing his mind, but ends up falling for him. Francois doesn't like that one bit! Satine has been trying to get him to marry her, with no success. Now she has a judge who is more than willing to comply. Francois responds by getting her drunk at a high-society party, where she embarrasses herself. But Satine has her own way of getting back at him...and proving that the can-can is really good, clean fun for all.

Overlong fluff, but it does have some good numbers, notably "It's All Right With Me" for Sinatra and an attentive Juliet Prowse (in her first role), "Live and Let Live" for Chevalier and Jordan, MacLane's "Adam and Eve Ballet," and the full version of the can-can with Prowse and MacLane in the finale. I'm especially fond of the colorful and evocative costumes, which gained a deserved Oscar nomination (along with the score).

This is still a favorite of Mom's. She saw it as a kid and introduced it to us when it came out on video in the early 90's. If you're a fan of the cast, Porter's music, or like your musicals on the lighter side, this musical might be all right with you, too.

I'm really crossing my fingers. It snowed and sleeted on and off all afternoon. The snow stopped around quarter of 5, and it hasn't really done anything since then. Right now, they're saying anything from 5 to 10 inches. Yikes! If it's going to do that, I may be stuck here. We'll see what happens.

Watch Out for the Icy Patch!

Slept in, trying to stay warm. It was still cloudy when I awoke. The wind howled, breaking off icicles and ice-covered branches. I had breakfast, then made one of my favorite cakes. I got the recipe for Rosemary-Lemon Currant Cake form the Cooking Light 1998 Cookbook. It's one of my favorites. It's easy to make, uses simple ingredients, and only makes one layer - perfect for one person who is craving baked goods. I didn't have any currents, and I made the syrup you pour over it lime instead of lemon, since I only have lime juice. Under any circumstances, it came out perfectly, earthy and tangy.

Watched Follow the Fleet while I worked. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers headline this 1936 musical as a sailor and his officer buddy (Randolph Scott) who get shore leave and visit a seedy dive. The sailor's former girlfriend (Ginger Rogers) has been claiming she's a big-time singer, when she's really just escorting the Navy around a nightclub dance floor. Her sister (Harriet Hillard), a timid music teacher, arrives with frustrating news - if they can't come up with the money to save their father's ship, he'll lose it. Even after winning a dancing contest with the sailor, it's still not enough. It doesn't help that the officer is chasing a rich but dim blond, and the sailor's not happy when his girl tries to get a part on her own without him. Will they ever get the money in time?

A decent score by Irving Berlin (including "Let Yourself Go," "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket," and "Let's Face the Music and Dance") buoy a so-so Astaire/Rogers effort. While still out of place in a musical, Scott at least seems slightly less stiff here than he did in Roberta. Good numbers include Astaire and Rogers' cup-winning "Let Yourself Go" and the dramatic "Face the Music" finale. Not my favorite of theirs, but not bad, either. Worth looking around if you're a fan of Astaire, Rogers, or Harriet Hillard-Nelson (yes, that is the Harriet who would eventually marry bandleader Ozzie Nelson).

Headed to work around 1. It was just starting to snow as I made it there. We were on-and-off steady all afternoon, busier than you'd think, given the weather, but not as bad as Monday. Though I did round up carts for 20 minutes before break and for an hour before I left, I was mainly inside. I gathered trash inside and out and cleaned the break room. The break room really needed it. The cupboards over the sink were a mess. The shelves were an amalgam of condiment, sugar, and non-sugar sweetener packets, tiny plastic forks and spoons, larger plastic knives and forks, coffee stirrer straws, Sterno heaters leftover from our last few employee parties, a bag of Styrofoam bowls, four package of small party napkins, three bags of cups of various sizes (one Styrofoam, the others plastic), one bag of WaWa coffee cup lids, random extension cords, a half-used bottle of pancake syrup, and a jar of "not" peanut butter product we got to taste-test last summer. And the shelves themselves were a crusted, dirty mess.

I sorted them out as best I could. Put the extension cords on one shelf, plates in another. Tossed all the cups and lids together. The plastic utensils, sugars, one package of napkins, and straws went into cups to be used at the coffee machine. Washed any dishes that needed to be washed, grabbed a new sponge, and dried the one dishcloth. Wiped down all the shelves, counters, and tables. Took out the overflowing trash and recycling.

(I'm glad I was inside for most of the day. While the roads were entirely clear, there were icy patches in the parking lot and in the area between the front and back entrances that were fairly treacherous. The wind remained a problem too, howling like a banshee the entire day.)

Of course, the snow had begun to slow down just as I was leaving work. By the time I was at home and online, working on my story, it was gone. Left a really beautiful deep orange-red sunset, too.

Did get a little writing in. Luke insists that Leia visit Henry and Charles at their table while he prepares for the fencing exhibition. Henry is eager to show of his latest invention. He's proud that Charles, one of the few free Wookie natives in Naboo, was able to help him. He and Leia finally agree that slavery is wrong and they shouldn't force these people to work like this.

Finished out the burgers for dinner, along with sauteed green beans and pasta with herbs and butter. Watched Oklahoma! as I ate. We move from New York in the 1930's to the Sooner State around 1912. Cocky cowboy Curley (Gordon MacRae) wants to ask farmer Laurey (Shirley Jones) to the Box Social that night. He's waited too long. She's already going with menacing farm hand Judd (Rod Steiger). Meanwhile, flighty Aldo Annie (Gloria Grahame) is trying to choose between another cowboy, Will Parker (Gene Nelson), and flirtatious peddler Ali Hakim (Eddie Albert). Laurey's Aunt Eller (Charlotte Greenwood) helps the lovers make up their mind while mediating the feuding between local ranchers and farmers as everyone prepares for Oklahoma to enter the union.

This has always been my favorite Rogers and Hammerstein musical. I especially love Grahame's wonderful, eternally lustful Aldo Annie and Charlotte Greenwood as the perfect Aunt Eller. As with most of the Rogers and Hammerstein shows, this one does have a dark current, mostly involving Steiger's hulking, damaged Jud Fry. Highly recommended for families with older kids on up, especially if they love dance. There's some wonderful numbers here, including the famous "Dream Ballet" midway through.

Winter Has Returned

It was snowing pretty heavily when I finally dragged myself out of bed around 9:30. I read The Darkness Knows for a little while and wrote in my journal, then had corn meal mush and half of a grapefruit for breakfast. Watched Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall while I ate. This 1992 concert brought stars of the stage, some of whom had actually appeared in Sondheim's shows (like Bernadette Peters), to sing some of the composer and lyricist's best work as a solo writer. Numbers ranged from patter songs for neurotic comediennes Madeline Khan and Dorothy Louden to touching ballads from Patti LuPone and Peters to operatic numbers from Sweeney Todd featuring genuine opera stars. There was also dancer Karen Ziemba having fun with comic Bill Irwin in "Sooner or Later," the Follies number "Broadway Baby" sung by then-child star Daisy Egan, and a harrowing song from what was then Sondheim's most recent show, Assassins, "The Ballad of Booth."

The snow and sleet continued through the early afternoon, then on and off for the rest of the day. I spent the time inside avoiding it. Thank goodness I was already off today! I mostly puttered online and worked on writing and ideas. Rusty Arlington is Han's mechanic and handyman. He was the one selling wooden hawks to Leia. He's starting to pack up his wares when Cedric, Mon Mothma's butler, runs into him. The two are good friends...when they aren't insulting one another. Rusty's taking a mysterious machine to the Industrial area in the back of the park and literally drags Cedric along for the ride.

Meanwhile, Leia has met Luke and Bail at the fair grounds. Luke is dressed as a swashbuckler for his fencing exhibition. Vader's airship is the major attraction. It's dark and sleek, with a long projectile on the nose that resembles a slender cannon.

The snow finally ended by 4 PM, and the sun began to emerge. By that point, I was less worried about actual precipitation and more about the wind. Ice-covered branches were falling or being blown off the trees over my home. They fell hard against my bedroom windows, sometimes so roughly that I was surprised the windows didn't break. I can still occasionally hear them.

Broke briefly around 2:30-3ish for lunch and to bake Irish Soda Muffins. The recipe I used from The Beanie Baby Handbook wasn't very good. It didn't tell you what to do with the butter once  you got it in. I cut it in, and...I don't think I mixed it well enough. On a suggestion in the Vermont Country Store Cookbook, I added cheese (Gouda was all I had) and rosemary. Tasted pretty good, but it melted in the pan and made a buttery mess.

Ran two snow-themed Scooby Doo episodes while I ate and baked. "That's Snow Ghost" from the original show has the gang on vacation at a dilapidated ski resort. The area seems to be haunted by a spectral yeti that can fly, a creature from an old Tibetan man's story. The creature seems to be hiding something, something that's tied into the sawmill nearby. It's "A Scary Night With a Snow Beast Fright" when the gang finds themselves in the Arctic. They were called their by their friend the professor, but he and the local Eskimo chief have vanished. The kids have to figure out what it was that the professor found...and where the gigantic dinosaur-like "Snow Beast" sprang from.

I got so caught up with writing and Pinterest, I didn't break for dinner until around 7:30. I enjoyed the Felix the Cat cartoons I watched yesterday so much, I put on one of the disc of the public domain animated shorts Lauren sent me and watched a bunch of random ones. Little Audrey thinks nursery rhymes are a bore, but in "Goofy Goofy Gander," a hip Mother Goose proves otherwise, at least until the gangsters from Audrey's comic leap into her rhyme book. "Tarts and Flowers" has Audrey helping her Gingerbread Man rescue his angel cake bride from the Devil's Food Cake.

Finished the night with more Three Stooges. They're "Hairbrained Barbers" who manage to make a British rock star happy, even though they've made a mess of his mane. Their boss isn't as pleased. Two little boys are "My Littlest Martian" when they dress as spacemen to play a trick on the Stooges. "Flat Heads" has a robber pulling into the Stooges' new service station, hoping for them to fix his flat tire. Their attempts at replacing the tire ends with them stuck in the tires...and the robber getting arrested.

Ice Is Not Nice

Mother Nature couldn't figure out what she was doing when I got up this morning. She went back and forth between ice and snow as I made Confetti Pancakes for breakfast. Baking mixes with rainbow sprinkles mixed in seem to be one of the "in" things these days. Not just cake mixes, either. I've seen frozen waffles and pancakes with them and recipes for Confetti Pancakes online. I thought I'd try my own. I used melted butter in place of canola oil and added vanilla, a little sugar, and round rainbow sprinkles (I didn't have the longer kind). Yum. Not bad. I couldn't really see much of the sprinkles, maybe because I make my pancakes with whole wheat flour, but otherwise, it was like eating a cake at breakfast.

I listened to the original cast album for Funny Girl while I ate breakfast. The original 1964 stage version of the musical that made Barbara Streisand a star has a lot more songs than made it into the film version. The movie drops two songs for her mom (including one about her mom possibly finding another husband), a song for Sydney Chaplin as Nicky Arnstein, and three large-scale dance routines. To be honest, I can understand why most of the material was dropped. The ensemble dance number "Henry Street" and the Follies routines really have nothing to do with the plot other than atmosphere and giving the dancers something to do. The losses of a song for Chaplin and Streisand on their way to the Henry Street party ("I'd Love to Be Seen With You Tonight") and two ballads for Streisand in the finale ("The Music That Makes Me Dance," "Who Are You Now?") are more regrettable. "Music" in particular is a lovely, aching number.

Although Funny Lady was a hit in 1975, mainly due to its stars Streisand, Ben Vereen, and James Caan, it was ravaged by critics and isn't terribly well-known today. Most people would be surprised to hear that the Kander and Ebb standard "How Lucky Can You Get?" was written for this film. I haven't seen the movie since I was a kid and it would turn up from time to time on cable, but I do like this soundtrack. Caan is supposed to be Fanny Brice's real-life third husband, the shifty con-man/songwriter/producer Billy Rose. The songs are a mix of ones written by Kander and Ebb directly for the film and real-life standards written by Rose, the latter including "It's Only a Paper Moon," "More Than You Know," and "Great Day." Streisand and Caan's "Paper Moon" duet, with their added lyrics written by Kander and Ebb, is especially charming.

The snow had changed back to ice by the time I went to work. I was hoping it would return to snow. There wasn't enough time to call for a ride. Besides, most people I know are either sick, dealing with children, or no good at driving in snow and ice. I rode my bike to work, dodging ice on the back streets and messy slush on Kendall Boulevard and the Black Horse Pike. The sleet felt like stinging needles on my face.

Work was very busy when I came in. Today was the first day of the month, and ice or no ice, many people don't have the time to shop any day but Sunday. There were some rude people, and now we're not only almost out of plastic bags, but paper bags, too. I was so happy to finally get out right on time.

By 6 PM, the sleet had been replaced by an ordinary rain shower. Once I got out of the Acme's ice-clogged parking lot, I actually had an easier time getting home than I did getting to work. The main streets really weren't that bad. Manor Avenue was a mess, though. I walked carefully down the street to my apartment and cut across my neighbors' path to avoid the icy mess in the front of the house.

I ate a quick dinner while listening to another Streisand LP. Her recording of Broadway standards came out, I believe, in the mid-80's. I remember hearing her stunning version of "Somewhere" on the radio as a kid. I also like the opening "Putting It Together," the sweet "Not While I'm Around," and the King and I medley that ends the first disc.

Running On Ice

I ate the last of the grits for breakfast while listening to the George Harrison CD I bought on Saturday. Ringo Starr is my favorite solo Beatle, but I like a lot of Harrison's work, too. I picked up this particular CD because it included my two favorite Harrison solo songs, "All Those Years Ago" and "Blown Away." "Got My Mind Set On You" is the first song on the CD; I remember when that came out in 1987. Having been a toddler when "All Those Years Ago" came out, "Set On You" was really my first encounter with Harrison. He's always been Mom's favorite Beatle. (She likes the quiet guys. Peter Tork is her favorite Monkee.)

Didn't get out to run today's errands until quarter of 1...and got a nasty surprise when I did. It was damp and gray but not raining when I awoke this morning. As I walked out the door, I could feel myself get pelted with ice. I skidded across the porch, just as I realized that it was sleeting. I made my way carefully downstairs and checked the roads before I left. The roads were wet but fine, with no ice anywhere. Goes without saying that Newton Lake Park wasn't terribly busy. I saw one jogger and one duck swimming on the defrosted part of the lake as I hurried to Cuthbert Road.

The weather scared people away from Haddon Township Library, too. I organized DVD's with no interference of any kind. Other than they still have too many Scooby Doo titles to fit on the kids' shelves (and a few S adult titles that wouldn't get in), I was able to shelve everything without trouble. The librarians had more problems than I did. Their computer system went down (probably due to the weather) and had to be rebooted.

It was back up by the time I was ready to take out some DVDs. I grabbed new titles for The Cat In the Hat Knows A Lot About That and Sofia the First, along with My Little Pony: The Movie. The only adult movie I rented this time around was Lincoln, the well-received biography Steven Spielburg did a few years ago with Daniel Day Lewis as the title character and Sally Field as his wife. I thought it would be great for Lincoln's birthday and President's Day.

Though it looked like it had sleeted again while I was in the library, it was gone by the time I got out. I was taking no chances. This wasn't a day for lingering. I kept the rest of my errands short. Checked Tuesday Morning to see if they had Ever After High dolls. Yes, they'd just gotten lots of them in, including Briar, Raven, Maddie, Cupid, one Blondie, Legacy Day (fancy outfit) Raven and Apple, and Thronecoming (prom gown) Blondie, Raven, and Cupid, along with the Hat-Tastic (tea-party-themed) playset that included Maddie. Nothing I hadn't seen before except for the Thronecoming dolls. I'm only looking for the basic "Signature" dolls.

A stop at Dollar Tree was even quicker. I just wanted a few Valentine's Day cards for family members and a birthday card for my stepsister Jessa. (Hers is Friday.) It took me longer to stand in line than it did to choose cards.

I just made it to the Westmont Bagel Shop in time for a quick lunch before they closed. The owner mopped the floor even as I ate my Turkey Club Sandwich on whole wheat, fries, and macaroni salad. I watched Jeopardy! and listened to the oldies on their radio.

Made one more fast stop at Thriftway for milk. I was originally going to get it at WaWa, but I really didn't want to go anywhere else. After I got out, I went straight home. The traffic wasn't horrible, not even on Cuthbert - I got out just as the rush hour was starting.

There was a huge box sitting on the front apartment porch when I got in. The ice did stick to the walkway that lead to the front apartment, so I had to be really careful getting it off the porch and up to my apartment. (Richard finally salted my porch and steps later. Hopefully, he did the front for Charlie and his men, too.)

The first part of my Amazon order had arrived! I bought a new Jensen record player and the next Ever After High doll I was looking for, Cedar Wood. The record player is a simple replacement for my old turntable. I bought that from a novelty catalog at least six years ago (with Lauren's help). The Jensen is nothing fancy, no big speakers or added gadgets, but I just want something to play records. That, it did. Billy Joel's The Bridge played just fine and sounded even better. (And thankfully, the plastic top is attached this time. The last one was removable, but I couldn't figure out how to get it back on.)

I got Cedar out next. Cedar is the sweet-natured artist daughter of Pinocchio. She's been cursed to never tell a lie, which is more than a little inconvenient, what with all the secrets floating around Ever After High. (Especially the rather big one her roommate and good friend Cerise Hood is hiding.) Not being a princess or an eccentric tea party lover, Cedar's outfit is a little simpler than the fancy get-ups Maddie and the princesses wear. Her dress is a cute purple and pink variation on her dad's famous outfit from the Disney movie. She has a schoolgirl-ish Peter Pan collar instead of a necklace. She does have a ring and earrings, along with a cute bright green cricket clip in her hair. Her hair was crunchy with a ton of styling goop out of the box. I gave it a good washing. She's another one who sheds badly, but unlike Briar and Blondie, she does seem to have retained her curl.

(The neatest thing about Cedar is her vinyl. It's actually textured to look like she's a real wooden puppet girl. It doesn't just extend to the places that show, either. It's all over her body except for her face. This makes her one of the most detailed - and definitely one of the most unique - dolls in the entire line.)

Ran The Cat In the Hat's newest tales while pulling everything out. The theme here is simply Let's Take An Adventure, as The Cat and the kids take trips and learn how seeds and animals travel. "Amazing Journey" is one of the most interesting, teaching Nick and Sally how Salmon Samantha swims upstream (and up a waterfall) to calm waters to lay her eggs. The kids and The Cat use "Maps!" as they play pirate on an island and look for treasure. "I See Seeds" shows the group how seeds travel long distances when a bird grabs the Thing-A-Ma-Jigger, and they use seeds to go after it.

Finished the night with Bloomer Girl on my new record player and braised celery in chicken stock with a leftover chicken leg for dinner. This 1944 musical had Celeste Holm as Evelina, the youngest daughter of a hoop skirt manufacturer right before the Civil War, who gets involved with her aunt Dolly Bloomer and her crusades for women's and African-American rights. The southern gentleman her father is trying to marry her off to (David Burns) mostly sides with her, to the point of even releasing his slave (Dooley Wilson). Not everyone's so amused, and even the lovers quarrel after she's arrested for showing off her aunt's new trouser-style garments for women in public. It takes the arrival of war to reunite them and make him understand the importance of rights for all.

Harold Arlen and E.Y Harburg did some nice music for this somewhat fanciful historic tale, including "The Eagle and Me" for Wilson and "Right as the Rain" for the young lovers. This was a hit in the nostalgia-starved mid 40's and was made into a TV musical with Barbara Cook 10 years later, but hasn't been seen much since then. Thankfully, both the cast album and the TV version are available and easy to find on Amazon and other sites.

Avengers On Ice

Ok, so I was wrong. I awoke to what appeared to be three inches of snow. I was originally going to go to the gym this morning, but the road still hadn't been cleared at 10AM, and the sky looked pearly-gray and iffy. I ended up finishing The Fences Between Us and writing in my journal instead, with the radio disco-ing away in the background.

(Incidentally, Fences was a hard read but a touching and well-written one. Piper, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Seattle in the early 40s, learns a difficult lesson in prejudice and sacrifice when her father, a minster for a Japanese church, follows his congregation as they're moved to a concentration camp in Idaho. Piper makes friends with the people there, and through her beloved camera, she discovers that no one is an enemy when you come to understand them. I actually kind of wish her Japanese friend Betty had been the protagonist so we could see life in the concentration camps first-hand, but other than that, this was an excellent, if harrowing, story. Oh, and the deaths of several major characters and fairly graphic descriptions of life in the concentration camps and in the war in the Pacific definitely make this a story for teens Piper's age and older.)

It was 11:30 before I finally settled down to putting the shelf together. Needless to say, it took me far less time to get it finished today than it did New Year's Eve. For one thing, I was doing it in the middle of the day, not during dinner. I was off today, too, so there was no need to rush. My morning had gone just fine, so I wasn't yelling at myself over every little thing. I had a good idea of put it together now, too. I got the shelf done and set up and the DVDs organized in two hours.

The shelf didn't fit where I was originally going to put it, so it went where the rack used to be. It did fit there (barely). I loaded it with the comedies and action and drama films and moved the holiday DVDs back to the smaller cherry heart cut-out shelf. To my delight, the DVDs barely took up two shelves. I didn't have as much overflow as I thought. Even moving the animated movies over just took up another shelf. I moved some of the non-entertainment books from the music area and put them on the bottom shelf. Moved the winter seasonal stuffed animals to the first shelf from the baker's rack, and the horses and remaining stuffed animals on the cherry heart shelf to the new one. The cherry Ikea shelf wound up staying right where it is. It's perfect. I love how everything looks now, and how much room I have.

Miss Ellie called me as I was finishing up the entertainment area. Apparently, I had a package in the mail. I pulled on my snow boots and headed out the door to pick it up...and barely got three steps before I realized I felt something crunchy under my feet. That "snow" was ice! It might have been snow early this morning, but it had probably rained this morning, and it must have frozen over. Just walking downstairs to pick up the package and the rest of my mail was treacherous. It was sloppy and messy, and the street still hadn't been plowed.

I never went anywhere else today. Made vegetable soup for lunch as I watched the two Backyardigans episodes revolving around snow and ice, "The Snow Fort" and "The Yeti". As "Knights are Brave and Strong" wound down, I decided that since I couldn't get outside, I would try what came in that package - a series of yoga DVDs done by a man who had designed his own yoga course to lose weight after many years of struggling. Lauren said it was a really good workout, and she loved it. I need a faster workout than the yoga and pilates DVD I have provides, one that really gets your heart pumping.

Well, this certainly did that! I just did the ten minute "Wake Up" and the 30 minute "Strength Up" discs, and I was breathing hard afterwards. The fellow was energetic and noisy, but fun. He did some typical yoga moves, often renamed to make them more "manly" (i.e, Child's Pose was called Safety Zone), and some of his own, such as the Black Diamond (basically, pull your arms back, pull out your chest, and breathe). There was also a lot of push-ups and crunches, and a lot of standing poses. I can do crunches, but push ups...forget it. My legs (except the bum knees) are fine. Bike riding every day will do that. My arms can't hold much of anything, including me. I just did Child's/Safety pose.

My neighbor Michael appeared while the DVD was running. He finally shoveled and salted my porch and steps. He said he regretted doing it earlier when it was slush, confirming my suspicion that it must have rained and hardened later this morning.

Ran movies while making sugar-free Apple Muffins and Italian Chicken and Tomatoes and steamed broccoli for dinner. I've been meaning to watch Captain America: The First Avenger since Christmas Eve, and have put off viewing The Aviator since October! The reason? Both movies are really long - The Aviator is over 2 hours! - and I simply haven't had the time.  I didn't get to all of The Aviator tonight, but I did do Captain America.

While I'm not a comic books fan, I did have some idea of the Captain's story going in. Once a 98-pound weakling named Steve Rogers who wanted to join the Army during World War II, the young man is injected with a serum that turns him into a huge, hulking youth. Turns out another man, a Nazi who has formed his own organization, has also been injected with the serum...and gone mad. He takes a whole battalion hostage in the hopes of turning them into super-beings, too. Steve was originally just used as a patriotic prop to encourage people to do what they can for their country. When he hears that his best friend has gone missing with the battalion, he becomes determined to rescue them...and then the serum...no matter what the cost.

This was done by the same director who did The Rocketeer, and it does show. The movies have a great deal in common, from the "little guys vs. big guys" spirit to the attempt to show that not everyone who is a German or of Japanese origin (a member of the battalion points out quickly that he's from San Fransisco) is bad, even during wartime. If you're even a mild comics fan or a fan of this era, it's highly recommended...especially if you have any interest in this summer's upcoming Avengers movie.

New Jersey On Ice

I awoke to a chilly, 30-degree morning. Unfortunately, that meant anything that melted yesterday was frozen by the time I got out...including the ice on the path leading to my apartment, a line of melting snow on my porch, and just about any water surrounding the laundromat. The streets are still clear, but it was hard to get onto the sidewalk once I got there.

At least I didn't have much laundry to do. It didn't take much more than the usual hour-hour and a half. They laundromat was really busy today. Everyone was fussing about the ice and the weather, and it got very annoying to listen to. I got squawked at by the old lady who owns the place, too. She complained about my bike blocking the door...but there weren't too many other places I could put it! I was glad when I was finally done with both Clues In the Shadows and my dryer load and was able to go home.

I put my clothes away, then had leftover meatballs and peas and carrots for lunch while watching more McBride. In The Doctor's Out...Really Out, Mac attempts to help out his friend and accountant Harvey, who just lost custody of his son due to a psychiatrist's insistence that he's unstable. Harvey goes to the man's house to have it out with him and make it look like he's going to kill himself, but he trips and accidentally shoots the man. When he panics and calls McBride, it's discovered that the man was likely dead before Harvey arrives, and that he may have been poisoned with a chemical that can dissipate in the body after 36 hours. However, when Roberta arrives, the body's somehow disappeared. Some very interesting cat-and-mouse games here, especially as Phil searches the hospital for the body.

I wish I'd stayed with McBride. Snow/ice jitters crossed with beginning-of-the-month customers made for a busy and fairly unpleasant night at work. This is getting absurd. We are supposed to have ONE inch of snow tomorrow, then a LITTLE freezing rain, and tons of regular old RAIN! People will have to be a little careful on their morning commutes, but we're hardly going to get snowed in. People were snippy; old ladies were demanding and obnoxious. We had call outs, including one manager who couldn't get her car started, and were short-handed all night.

Isolation

I debated on and off running to the bank this morning, since I worked at noon. It didn't take very long, and I had to send out bills, anyway, so I did it. It was sunny, bright, and warmer than it has been, probably in the lower 40s. Everything's melting like crazy here. The snow on my porch is more than half-gone.

While the snow is melting in sunny spots, anything in the shade remains icy. I discovered this the hard way when I walked over a patch of ice near the train bridge over West Clinton Avenue and almost ended up flat on my face. That was really close. I'm going to have to be more careful going by there until the snow is gone completely.

I've been feeling really isolated. Of course, it's really part of a larger problem, but it's been more pronounced this winter. It's been at least three weeks since I've been able to run my regular errands, between my hours, the weather, and this cold.

Ok, colds happen to everyone, especially at this time of year. Ok, we got two historic blizzards in a row. Those are legitimate excuses. Ok, I've worked a lot. I just feel like I'm in a box, somehow. I feel like I'm a machine who stands behind a register, says "hello," shoves food around, counts money, and says "good bye." I have no life and no feelings. I can't love, and I can't write anymore. I haven't come up with a really good idea for a regular story in ages. Even our Monkee Role Plays haven't really been that great lately.

I was able to continue to ride the bike to work, still dodging traffic on the Black Horse Pike. More of the snow is melting on the sidewalk, but they aren't anywhere near clear enough to ride on.

Work was, once again, very busy. It was much busier than it has been, and this wasn't aided by being short on help. We had at least four call-outs, including my relief. It was quiet enough by the time I got off that I was able to shut down with no problems.

I took myself out to dinner at Arby's to cheer myself up after work. That was probably a mistake. My stomach's been feeling weird ever since. Maybe it's reacting to the bacon in the Chicken Club Sandwich.

I hope it's not reacting to the ice cream. I bought a gallon of light Turkey Hill Ice Cream after work. Coconut Almond Fudge doesn't sound like a flavor that would normally be called "light," but while fairly high in calories for a light (probably due to the almonds), it has less fat and sugar than some of the plain light and frozen yogurt flavors. I only buy ice cream once in a blue moon, when there's a really good sale. It wasn't the best sale, but come on...who's gonna resist a light Coconut-Almond-Fudge ice cream?

Emma and the Snowpeople

Spent most of today at work. It wasn't too bad. Steady, but not as busy as it could have been...or anywhere near what it was last weekend before the first storm hit. In fact, it was kind of on-and-off. That's fine by me. It's been a very long couple of weeks, and it looks like I have another one coming. We're supposed to get some kind of snow on Monday and/or Tuesday, though it doesn't look like we'll be getting nearly as much as Wednesday or a week ago.

Dad picked me up and dropped me off from work. There was enough time before he arrived for me to pick up some things I'd forgotten yesterday, and some the Acme had just restocked - celery, bananas, corn meal, and granola bars.

Dad said he'll be busy tomorrow. Uncle Ken might be able to drive me. The streets are generally clear. I'm hoping to be able to take the bike tomorrow. It's just a matter of getting it out to the street, since most curbs are clotted with ice, dirt, and snow.

After I got in, I put away my groceries and went right back out again. Our paychecks had finally come in this morning, and I needed to deposit mine in the ATM machine at the PNC Bank down the street from me. It was a very pleasant little walk. Some sidewalks were still a little icy or snow-covered, but most were salted and clear. I saw several snowpeople perched on yards on Manor Avenue that were really cute. One family used a baby carrot for a nose. Another gave their leaning fellow a jaunty black felt hat. There was a snowwoman with a pink scarf, Valentine's Day beads, and pennies for eyes.

It was worth going out this evening just for a magnificent sunset, all brilliant red in the sky, like a giant bouquet of roses.

With Plenty of Money and Snow

I really, really had to get to the bank and deposit my tax return today. My rent was way overdue. I went out this morning...and am very glad I did. It was a gorgeous February day. Yes, it was still cold and there's still a foot of snow here, but all of the streets and most of the sidewalks had been cleared. Some sidewalks were still icy, especially on the White Horse Pike, but I didn't really have much of a problem running errands. I delivered my rent to my landlady and paid more of my debt to the dentist next-door to the bank.

Dad drove me to work and back. Work was very busy. It was far busier than yesterday, but still not nearly as bad as Friday. People must have heard the reports for the next storm on the morning news. Thankfully, there were no major problems, and my relief was on time.

(And since the roads are so clear, I may end up walking to work tomorrow. They're still too messy for the bike, but I hate relying on other people's schedules.)

My landlady Miss Ellie was just coming home when I arrived. She had her own mail and something in a tube for me. I helped her spread salt on her front stoop, then took my tube upstairs. Turned out to be the first part of my order from Rhino Records, home of the Monkees. They finally put out the Deluxe Edition of one of my favorite Monkees albums. The Birds, The Bees, and the Monkees features one of my two favorite Monkees songs, "Daydream Believer," along with another big hit, "Valleri," and their last top-20 single until 1986, "DW Washburn." The big "Deluxe Edition" that was supposed to have appeared today includes 12 previously unreleased songs.

The Birds, The Bees, and the Monkees: Deluxe Edition

Rhino was selling posters with the first 500 orders and 45 singles of Mike Nesmith's "St. Matthew" and Peter Tork's "Lady's Baby" with the first 1,000 orders. Guess which big fan ordered early enough to get both? I really love the poster I got, too, a shot of the group performing Mike's "What Am I Doin' Hangin' 'Round?" in the early second season.

(Alas, at the moment, it looks like it's either sold out, or they've had so many problems, they've stopped selling it. It took Lauren and me forever to order the darn thing. First, the site wouldn't show it, then it wouldn't show up in the cart. At least it seems to have gone through.)

It was such a nice day, I went for a quick walk in the neighborhood after I checked out the poster. I went down Goff Avenue to take pictures of the river. I'm not sure how well my shots came out. Turns out the landing that leads to the river had been plowed over. I almost went tumbling down the hill trying to get around the snow bank to get some shots!

Walked over to West Clinton Avenue after the batteries on my camera ran out. Visited the Dorias at Doria's Deli and bought a Diet 7-UP. They were fine. Unlike a lot of people around here, they don't mind doing a lot of shoveling and seem to have enjoyed the weather.

Slip Sliding Away

I was just finishing breakfast around 11AM when the Acme called. Someone went home early, could I come in? No. I'd just finished eating! I did eventually come in at quarter of 2. I wanted to do some stuff at home this morning, including sweep the piles of sticker balls off my porch. (At least, as many of them as I could. It's still very cold, despite the sunshine, and some of them are frozen fast to the porch!)

As it turned out, work was on-and-off busy anyway, not nearly as crazy as it was over the weekend. There were no really huge problems, and my relief was on time.

My ride to work was fine. The weather remains cold, but sunny and windless. I didn't have as much luck riding home. There's a thick patch of ice on the bottom of the hill that is Goff Avenue. I tried to ride around it, but the bike slid out from under me, and I ended up on the pavement.

Thank God it wasn't nearly as horrible as the last time I fell off my bike. All I did was smack my right elbow really hard, leaving a very nasty bruise. The bike itself is fine, other than the basket's dented again. It rode fine, and I made it the remaining two blocks home with no more trouble.

The Road to the Super Bowl

Not surprisingly, work was really busy today. Not only is the Super Bowl tomorrow, but it's the end of the month, and a lot of people will be receiving money and/or food stamps soon. Thankfully, there were no problems, and I was out on time.

There was a problem with the schedule for next week. They'd given me the wrong day off. I asked for Thursday off for counseling, but they gave me Friday off instead. They were able to smooth things out when one of the teenage boys who had the same hours (2PM - 6PM) on Thursday was willing to switch with me.

There was still a lot of ice on the ground when I went to work at 9:30 this morning, but by the time I got out, around quarter after 3, most of the ice was gone from sunny areas. It'll take a bit longer for the ice around my apartment, which is constantly in the shade, to disappear.

I spent the rest of a very quiet evening putting up the Valentine's Day decorations and working on editing the Monkees role play. We just started the next story a few days ago. Look for it in about two weeks!

Taxed Out

Spent most of today doing my taxes. It wouldn't have taken nearly as long if Turbo Tax hadn't been a pain. I wanted to do their free Basic, but it kept putting me on Deluxe, despite saying I didn't want Deluxe. I ended up having to start another account to get the free return, but I did get it. My taxes don't take very long to do. I'm single, rent my apartment, and have one job and no dependents. All I have to report is my interest from my college loans. It takes me about 20 minutes to do my taxes, and that's counting printing the return form.

I had a hard time getting to and from work. My porch and steps are clear...but the path leading to my apartment is one big icy mess. The sidewalks are even worse - I had to ride in the street, including on the Black Horse Pike. The Acme parking lot hasn't been completely cleared, either, though it looks 100 times better than it did yesterday.

Thank goodness, after all that, work was no problem. We had a few mildly cranky people (it is almost the beginning of the month), but other than that, we were steady-to-dead all night.

Festival of Ice

First of all, Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate it! Today is the first day of the Jewish Feast of Lights. I'm not Jewish, but there were several Jewish families in Cape May when I was a kid. One December, each class in Cape May Elementary was assigned a different country. They'd study it's holiday customs and even do a craft or recipe related to the country. Rose's class did Poland. Mom hung her "Polish angel" in the house for years. Because of the Jewish kids in our class, mine did Israel. We had a wonderful time playing with dredals and making potato latkas. To this day, I still love the dredel game...and potato latkes are sooo good!

Second, the weather has not been pleasant here, a reminder that today is also the Winter Solstice, the first day of winter. I awoke this morning to sleet and a porch that was sheer ice. I didn't want to call for a ride after what happened last week, and I couldn't ride my ice-covered bike, so I lowered myself down the icy steps (soaking my pants doing so) and walked to work. I was fifteen minutes late...but as it turned out, so was everyone else. The rain had stopped by the time I arrived at work. By the time I was finally finished, the sun was out, and most of the ice had melted. I told them I'd stay an extra fifteen minutes to make up for my lateness (and make sure I got the money)...and ended up staying about five or ten minutes more because, like yesterday, it was just so darn busy! Thankfully, a co-worker was nice enough to give me a ride home.

I had settled into listening to the Eagles game (they played poorly and lost to the Washington Redskins 10-3) on the radio when Jodie called. They had hoagies and wanted to know if I was up for joining them. I'd just finished the cranberry bread I'd made for my neighbors and was only going to listen to the game and watch The Bishop's Wife for the rest of the night, so I figured...what the heck?

Jessa drove me there and back. Dad's finally home. He, Jodie, and Jessa bought their (huge, natural) tree today and were going to decorate it tonight or tomorrow. Dad put up the lights on the house, too, and all the house decorations were out, including their massive collection of Christmas stuffed animals and Jessa's stocking. (Only kid in the world with a flamingo on her stocking.) We had hoagies and soft pretzels and chatted with Dolores as she showed off what her granddaughters had given her for a Christmas party - a Nintendo DS. (For those of you who, like Jodie, Dolores, and me, are video-game illiterate, the DS is the fancier, more interactive version of the hand-held Game Boy.) I watched the Eagles-Washington and Jets-Seahawks games with Daddy while Dolores, Jodie, and Jess worked on figuring out Brain Age 2. (I don't think they ever really got very far.) The Jets-Seahawks game was really interesting. They played in a snowstorm! (The Seahawks won, incidentally.)

I'll be doing cupcakes for Christmas presents tomorrow. It's really windy out there now. Gusts are supposed to get up to 40 miles an hour and stay that way until tomorrow afternoon. I don't think I'll make it to Yogawood, but if it does calm down by the afternoon, I'll try for the Acme luncheon.