Rainy Holidays

Awoke to pouring rain. Cheered myself up with breakfast and writing. Gene awakens the ornaments and dime-store toys on the tree. One in particular looks familiar as he nervously slides down the branches. The Nutcracker calls him Major Mint, but he more closely resembles eternally chatty Bill Daily...

Broke for lunch and to watch Match Game '75. This episode ended with a question that asked who Richard would marry. Rona Barrett said Raquel Welch, but everyone else said Charles or Brett. Charles must have turned ten shades of red! This is hilarious if you know anything about the show. Brett and Richard supposedly didn't get along, likely because they competed with each other for screen time. From what I gathered, Richard did get along with Charles...but Charles was gay, and Richard was very straight.

Spent the rest of my early afternoon finishing the cookies. Tried the Honey Bee Cookies recipe from Alpha Bakery, using their idea to roll the cookies in cinnamon sugar. They kind of ended up being honey snickerdoodles. It took a little while to make them, but they sure smelled good in the oven! The gingerbread bars smelled even better, and were a lot faster to make. I even used up the last of the blackstrap molasses I had from the old house on them. 

The rain still came down hard as I pulled the gingerbread bars out of the oven. It was no day for a bike ride. I called Uber...who of course, couldn't come for at least 15 minutes. I should have started the cookies earlier. Of course, I was 10 minutes late getting to work.

Work was boring, when it wasn't a pain in the rear. I had a hard time talking to some people in the express lane. One guy insisted every item was on sale, when it turns out he assumed the tag over the item was the sale price. It's the tag under the item. He refused to listen to me, even when I checked the price. Other than that, we weren't really that busy. I spent a lot of the later part of the night standing around, cleaning registers, organizing, or not doing much of anything. 

It was still raining hard when I finished. Once again, had to call Uber. Though it took them 15 minutes to get there, considering it took me three tries the last time I had to call Uber from work, I was glad he came at all. He did get me home in a little over five minutes, though.

(And it's continued to rain off and on, often hard, for the rest of the night.)

Watched Match Game '79 while loading the remaining bars and cookies into boxes and having dinner. Charles teases Brett about her age, then does Mario Lanza for "__ My Love" in the Audience Match. Gene leads a performance of "Somewhere, My Love" in the audience when that's the top answer.

Switched to Amazon Prime for Buttons: A Christmas Tale. I go further into this holiday melodrama that's the final film of Angela Lansbury at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Buttons: A Christmas Tale

Finished the night on YouTube with Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Santa Claus Caper. This is the first of two Ann and Andy holiday specials Chuck Jones did in the late 70's. Santa's reindeer Comet brings Ann, Andy, and their dog Arthur to the North Pole in order to save Santa's workshop from the Big, Bad Wolf. He wants to cover all the toys with an unbreakable substance called Gloopstick. If the kids can't touch their toys, he figures they'll have to buy them from him. It takes him sealing Arthur in Gloopstick for them to prove that their love for each other and the holiday is stronger than any Gloopstick. 

Love In a Home

Slept in so late today, it was past 12:30 when I finally got going. Watched Match Game '75 as I had breakfast. Gossip queen Rona Barrett and singer Clifton Davies joined the panel during this week. Clifton gets a rare chance to help the contestant with "Left __" in the Head-to-Head.

Put on that new Peanuts Happy Holidays DVD while finishing up breakfast and getting organized. This is a collection of a French-made series of Peanuts shorts from 2016. I like the different animation style. They're made to look more like the comic strips, with the kids yelling or reaching across "panels," than the original series. Most of the shorts, like the opening ones that dealt with Snoopy worrying about who'll feed him when Charlie Brown was away, didn't really have much to do with the holidays. There was at least one short with Woodstock being offended by Lucy talking about carving the Thanksgiving turkey, and another with snowman building antics. Snoopy tried to snitch Linus' blanket when he stayed at their house, too.

Went downstairs at 1:30. It took me a while to round up everything I needed (and I still didn't have the baking soda), but I did manage to get the first two batches of cookies started. This year, I'm doing four simple recipes. Started with chocolate chip and cake mix peanut butter today. The chocolate chip came from the Alpha Bakery cookbook I found at the thrift shop in Marlton back in July. I printed the cake mix peanut butter off the Betty Crocker website.

The cookies came out a little brown, but mostly very well. I had to use baking powder in the chocolate chips when I couldn't find baking soda. It did make them puffy instead of wide...but they remained sweet little morsels of rich goodness anyway. The cookies go to the Acme for their luncheon on Saturday and to friends, neighbors, and families. 

Finally got them out of the oven at around quarter after 4, packed into boxes I had leftover from 2019, and went upstairs for writing. The Nutcracker claims he'll protect Debralee at the cost of his life. She has a bit more sense and points out to Gene that they're outnumbered. To her surprise, he's able to make the ornaments and toys on the tree come to life.

Broke at 6:30 to head out for a walk. I'd been inside all day. Time for one of my annual traditions, my stroll to check out lights in the neighborhood. I always do this after a day I spent over a hot stove. I love how creative people on both sides of Oaklyn get with their holiday lights displays. They ranged from homes with simple outlines of gold lights on their roofs to those who decorated every inch of their small front yards in holiday splendor, from giant lit candy canes to lit wire Santa and reindeer sculptures. One house with a rare large backyard had a wrought-iron fence lined with elegant lit garlands. Another across the street had an inflatable Santa and reindeer on the smaller roof, surrounded by those gold lights. A few doors down, another roof was surrounded by lit snowflakes, with slit snowmen cut-outs on the lawn.

Inflatables aren't as common as they were a decade ago, but some folks do still put them out. The biggest was a gigantic Santa who nearly stretched to the top of a house's porch roof. On the next street over from me, one house had little Grogu (Baby Yoda) and an AT-AT walker wearing Santa hats. I saw a unicorn at one house, two polar bears (one upright, one sliding on his stomach) at another. A house on the next street over had a rather grumpy-looking bulldog in a sweater and a tree hung with faded vintage plastic gingerbread men. An inflatable "Merry Christmas" banner held by Santa and an elf greeted people further down. 

Even the Oaklyn Baptist Church had sparkling lights strung off their building to look like a tree, with a tiny star on top. Most other local businesses and religious buildings didn't go quite that all-out. Aunt Berta's was bustling with soul-food lovers, but they mainly had a tree. St. Mark's Lutheran Church on the next block down from me had no outdoor decorations, but I did see some lovely trees and lights in the windows.

Had dinner when I got home while watching Match Game '79. Having gotten to the end of the show's run, Buzzr jumped back to the first day of the year. Gene stumbled through his door, draped in streamers leftover from the previous New Year's episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. He sobered up long enough to field jokes from a balding contestant whose wife bet him he couldn't get on the show.

Finished the night online after a shower with more holiday specials. I went further into the original Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in a Musical Dreams Movie Reviews entry from 2018. (It's the first review on the page. 

Animation Celebration Double Feature: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Papa Bear is determined that The Bernstein Bears' Christmas Tree should be a beauty he chopped down himself. He and the cubs hike up into the mountains to find the perfect tree, but every one is already occupied by animals celebrating their own holiday festivities. After Papa spares the home of a snowbird family, the animals have a big surprise waiting for them when they return to their tree house.

Crooner Andy Williams has an even crazier holiday in The Andy Williams Christmas Show from 1967. It starts off simply enough, with Williams performing his most famous holiday song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" as he and his French wife Claudine Longet head into town with his parents for shopping jokes. While the Osmonds do get a bizarre version of "Whistle While You Work" that has them performing as pink-clad elves in a store window and Andy and his brothers perform "It's the Holiday Season" together, the bulk of the special is set either at Andy and Claudine's home or his parents' and comes off as far cozier. I'm especially fond of their charming duet "Love In a Home" from the 1956 stage musical Li'l Abner. 

(Oh, and Lauren got her box today. She loved everything. Said she put the bear-shaped bottle of soap in her bathroom right away, will play the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nintendo Switch game tomorrow, and thought the Alan Jackson Christmas CD I found at the record store in Woodbury in October was perfect.)

Christmas Is Waiting

Got a quick start with breakfast, then writing. Debralee's not crazy about Gene and the Nutcracker dragging her into the fray. The Nutcracker claims they're the only ones who can help. She tries to remind him that she's not a warrior. He needs real fighters. Gene can provide him with those...

Broke for lunch and to get ready for work at noon. Watched A Pink Christmas while I ate. In this holiday adaptation of the O.Henry short story The Cop and the Anthem, a cold and hungry Pink Panther would do anything to get a meal. He tries shoveling snow, but ends up eating the carrot nose off a snowman. He briefly works as a department store Santa, but is chased out by security after he eats a little girl's cookie. His attempt to get thrown in jail ends with him inadvertently catching a crook instead. It's not until he shares what little he has with an equally ravenous dog that he learns that giving is its own reward...and ends up getting everything he hoped for and more. 

Hurried off to work soon as the cartoon ended. It honestly could have been worse on our Senior Discount Day. We were off-and-on steady, not too bad. The lines did get long a few times later in the evening, but because we only had me and the express line to deal with them. There were a few grumpy people who complained about sales, but for the most part, it wasn't bad. At least, by the time I finished, it had died enough for me to close and return a few cold items with no trouble.

Went straight home and into dinner and Match Game '79. For some reason, the final week of the CBS run never aired on that network. It apparently ran on a few New York stations before finally turning up on Game Show Network in the early 2000's. Too bad. CBS really missed some fun. Bart Braverman joins in to see Bill Daily's odd spellings (he had dyslexia), Gene drool over a pretty dental student, and Marcia Wallace do her best to help with "__ Lobby" in the Head-to-Head.

Moved to Tubi online for Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol With a Twist. I go further into this very modern Christmas Carol at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol With a Twist

Finished out the night with the holiday episode of Remember WENN on Plex. "Christmas In the Airwaves" in 1940 brings some good tidings to perpetually struggling radio station WENN...and some not-so-good as they anticipate the arrival of Gloria Redmond (Betty Buckley), the owner of the station, and her miserly financier Rollie Pruitt (Johnathan Freeman). Gloria is still devastated by the loss of her husband the Christmas before, and to Pruitt's delight, declares that Christmas won't be mentioned or celebrated at the station. It takes a group effort by most of the staff to convince Gloria that Christmas is a wonderful time for a heart to start healing. 

Busy Busy Holidays

I was so worn out after the last few weeks and having stayed up way too late recently, I didn't wake up until quarter after 11! It was past 12:30 before I finally had breakfast. Watched Match Game '75 as I ate. Bass-voiced comedian Joe Silver and warm matriarch Esther Rolle from Good Times joined in for this unusual week. Gene started off things by finally giving Esther her welcoming kiss. The others discuss Brett's new perm and try to figure out "__ Shoes" in the Audience Match.

Switched to the holiday episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while I made my grocery list. It's "Snowflake Day," the Neighborhood's big winter celebration. Daniel's excited to play the narrator in their show at the Enchanted Garden. First, though, he forgets his lines, then mid-way through, the lights go out. Daniel's friends help him remember his speech to open the play, and he comes up with a novel solution to the lost light using the snowflake-print lanterns everyone carries. 

Went for a quick walk down to the post office after the cartoon ended. It's only three blocks away, and given how large my boxes are, I figured it would be easier to carry them in my arms than on the bike. Fortunately, I just missed the crowd. There were only two other people in line when I arrived. I sent the boxes for my family in Virginia, Anny and her crew, and Lauren and her parents off and bought stamps just as a long line formed behind me. Ducked out quickly as I could.

Soon as I got in, I grabbed my backpack and the bag with the DVD boxes and a few ornaments I didn't want and headed back out. Took the long way down Atlantic and Nicholson, since it takes you closer to Goodwill and the department stores than the Black Horse Pike. Though it was gloomy, windy, and cold, it also wasn't snowing or raining. It was just chilly, probably in the mid-40's. 

Dropped the bag around the back of Goodwill before riding around front. Wanted to get one more Christmas present for a friend. Found the perfect things for her on the shelves with the glassware and kitchen supplies.  Also found a lovely small beaded wreath that resembled a green and red winter version of one I picked up for fall at a yard sale and the rare original London cast album for Ambassador, a failed 1971 stage musical version of the Henry James novel The Ambassadors with Howard Keel and Danielle Darrieux. 

Made an even briefer stop at Five Below next-door. Mainly wanted to buy the daughter of a friend a stuffed animal. Wound up getting something for their cat, too. 

Dodged cars coming from WalMart on my way across the parking lot to Tu Se Bella's for lunch. I wasn't really that hungry, so I just had a slice of spinach, tomato, and shrimp and a Diet Pepsi. They were surprisingly busy for 3 PM. A mother and her noisy and hungry children and a lady reading a book had settled down for a very late lunch at the same time as me. I ended up at a large round table near the window.

Stopped at the Acme for grocery shopping next. Bought one last gift card, two bags of cat treats, and catnip toys, but I was mainly there to buy flour, sugar, butter, and cake mix for cookies. Though the aisles weren't that bad, there was a fairly long line in the express register, and the cashier did mention it had been busy all day. 

(Incidentally, the gift card finishes my Christmas shopping. I'll start making cookies on Wednesday, my next day off.)

Hurried home after that. Put everything away and brought the laundry downstairs, then worked on writing. Gene explains that Debralee's kindness to the Nutcracker brought him to life...and it should also give her the power to help him. The Nutcracker also begs her to help. He's desperately in need of soldiers. His are being easily picked off by the Mouse King. 

Got off around 6 for dinner and to put the laundry in the dryer. Watched Match Game '74 while I ate. McLean Stevenson was a wild man in one of the craziest weeks of the year. The first episode featured comedienne and comedy writer Ann Elder showing off the Emmy "charm bracelet" Richard got her. In the second, after Charles helped the contestant figure out "__ Alive" in the Head-to-Head, McLean chased Gene all around the studio before finally planting a kiss on him when they return to the stage.

Finished out the night online after I brought the laundry upstairs with favorite holiday specials. There's a copy of the Rankin-Bass Santa Claus Is Coming to Town on YouTube that is not only uncut, but has all the commercials intact from its 1981 ABC airing. (I have no idea why someone renamed Topper the Penguin to Waddles, though.) I go further into the original special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews entry from 2018. (It's the second review on the page.)

Animation Celebration Double Feature: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

The Smurfs' Christmas is equally harrowing. Two children are lost in the snow when their sleigh overturns and their grandfather goes to find help. The Smurfs help them out...but it turns out their uncle is an evil magician who wants them gone. Gargamel just wants the power to destroy the Smurfs. He does get his wish and delivers the kids to their uncle...but it takes the power of the Smurfs' good feelings (and a trumpet solo from Harmony) to restore their village and return the kids to their family.

Moved to Tubi for She-Ra & He Man: A Christmas Special after the Match Game '74 and Super Password YouTube chats. These are the last characters you'd probably associate with the holidays, but they were so popular in the mid-80's, Filmation did a special anyway. Oddly, this has a lot in common with the Smurfs show. Here, the two lost human kids are accidentally brought to Eternia from Earth by Orko when he crash-lands an experimental shuttle right in front of them. They end up teaching Skeletor about Christmas and its good feelings after he kidnaps them. He's so moved, he ends up defending them from Hordak and Horde Prime. Meanwhile, She-Ra and He-Man look for a crystal that will help transport them first to find Orko, then to send the kids home. 

The Eagles Stomp On the Giants

Got a quick start to a gloomy morning. Mom always sends me a box of goodies from Swiss Colony every Christmas. It arrived yesterday, just in time to have one of the sausage sticks and one of the cheese sticks with breakfast. Here's the box she sent me. Didn't have the time to do much else! I rushed into a misty morning. It didn't really do much besides lightly shower, so I took the bike and only got slightly damp.

The Acme was busy when I arrived, but it slowed down even before the Eagles game started at 1. We'd be off and on for the rest of the day, but never overwhelmingly busy. Thankfully, the worst thing that happened all day was cleaning up blueberries someone spilled and holding up the line. 

In addition to the weather scaring people off, football-loving customers admitted the Eagles-Giants game got really interesting. The Eagles were up 24-7 at half-time when I went on break. By the time I finished, they'd beaten the pants off the Giants 48-22. 

I'd just finished changing when Mom called. I texted her earlier to thank her for the Swiss Colony box. She's not doing a whole lot. The area in Virginia where Mom lives with Keefe, Julia, and Aurora is surrounded by traffic-laden highways she hates dealing with. At least sweet little Aurora is long at home and doing just fine. She already weighs 10 pounds and has had no further medical problems. 

Mom also insinuated Rose may be finally ready to talk to me. She said she had her own problems. I wish she'd found a better way to deal with them than shutting me out. It does sound like she's ready to look for a job and go back to work. 

Had dinner while watching Match Game '74, then went into writing. Debralee doesn't think she can really do anything to help the Nutcracker. She's no warrior! Gene's convinced otherwise. She did say she loved him. 

Finished up the night on YouTube honoring Bob Barker, who turns 99 tomorrow, bless his soul. He spent 50 years as a game show host on television. Ralph Edwards originally hosted Truth or Consequences on radio, but he turned the TV version over to Barker in 1956. He'd continue as the host of the show until 1973. Though he's obviously a little nervous here, he still has a great time right out of the gate with all the ladies and kids doing stunts.

Speaking of kids, the only show he hosted for Chuck Barris was The Family Game from 1967. This is basically Barris' cross between his Newlywed Game with families instead of couples and the later Child's Play. Here, it's kids giving wacky answers to slightly racy questions and their parents trying to match them. While Bob does have fun with the children, the show is better-known today for being the last black-and-white program on the networks before they switched to all-color in 1968. 

Bob was actually Goodson and Todman's second choice for hosting The New Price Is Right. Their original choice, Dennis James, couldn't get out of his NBC contract. He ended up hosting the nighttime show from 1974 to 1977, when Barker took over that, too. The revamped Price Is Right was such a new concept, Bob appeared on an episode of the short-lived revival of I've Got a Secret in 1972 to explain it. The episode was hilarious even before he came on, with no one able to figure out that a man was tossing rocket-powered frisbees at the screen, or that Bob was somehow letting the audience bid on Anita Gillette's bikini and Richard Dawson's mailbox. (Pat Carroll was offended when her kazoo only went for pennies!)

The New Price Is Right was an instant sensation straight out of the gate. The show now offered three mini-games in addition to the bidding. The top two winners of the games would bid on a big Showcase stuffed full of prizes. When it started faltering in the ratings around 1975, CBS bumped it to an hour, and that's the way it's been ever since.

We have four Price episodes here - one of the early half-hour shows, an episode from 1988 I may have seen as a child, one from 1999 that ran when I was in college, and Barker's last show in 2007. It's interesting to see how the show evolved over the years, from brownish backdrops to a bright neon set, from the Bonus Game to Plinko and the Bargain Game to the Grocery Game. Barker barely changed over the years, other than finally letting his hair turn white in the late 80's...and getting into trouble with his models, who accused him of being a little too intimate with them.

Barker was better-behaved on other people's shows. He hosted an episode of that Tattletales host week from 1975 and really seemed to enjoy it, especially getting a kiss from a lady in the audience during the opening. He was a semi-regular on Match Game from its beginning in 1973 to around 1980, joining Gene Rayburn in drooling over pretty ladies, offering refrigerators to the audience, and wondering why announcer Johnny Olsen wasn't calling people to "come on down!" 

Honor a true TV legend with these classic episodes! (Look for the original commercials on many of them, including Truth or Consequences and the Price shows. The Family Game is in two parts and Truth has numbers over it, but there's not a whole lot left of those shows.)

Truth or Consequences (1956)

The Family Game (1967)

I've Got a Secret (1972)

The New Price Is Right (1973)

Tattletales (1975)

Match Game (1977)

Match Game PM (1978)

The Price Is Right (1988)

The Price Is Right (1999)

The Price Is Right (2007)

Children Will Listen

Began the morning with breakfast and The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas. Sally and Nick enjoy the Cat's holiday party, but they're excited to get home to spend Christmas Eve at Sally's house. Ralph the Reindeer gets lost and ends up at their house, too. They and the Cat try to get Ralph back to Freeze-Your-Knees Snowland by nightfall, but the Thing-a-Ma-Jigger keeps breaking down. Good thing they get help from their elephant, dolphin, and crab friends, and learn how different animals travel and stay together in the process.

Worked on writing after that. To Debralee's shock, Gene waves a wand that looks distinctly like his microphone over her and him. Thanks to the spell, they're now no bigger than the Nutcracker! Debralee isn't thrilled, but Gene has his reasons for wanting her to be so tiny...

Headed out soon as I got off the laptop. We were off-and-on busy as people start coming out of the malls and focusing on wrapping and baking. Wish I could handle them all better. Everyone says I do well, but it doesn't look like I'm doing well to me. It looks like I'm getting upset and frustrated because I can't get the words out to explain about the digital coupons or why they can't mix and match soda brands (only flavors). And, of course, someone went on break at the same time as I did, and mine was almost an hour late. 

Hurried home fast as I could after I finished. Ate dinner, then worked on getting the packages for Lauren and her parents, Anny and her family, and my family in Virginia together. I'm not sending anyone food this time, so they're all going to go out on Monday. I'd also like to avoid the trouble I had in 2020 with packages arriving late. 

Finished the night as I ate and worked with The Christmas That Almost Wasn't at Tubi. I go further into this low-budget Italian-American fantasy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

Christmastime Sunshine

Started off the day with breakfast and the Charlie & Lola holiday episode. To keep Lola from asking "How Many More Minutes Until Christmas?" Charlie puts up an advent calendar. They're supposed to alternate the days they open the doors, but Lola's not always great at waiting. She gets upset when her letter to Santa is mixed up with Lola's card and thinks her list won't get to him in time. To make matters worse, they can't find the advent door for Christmas Day! They create one that takes them into a world where they help Santa's elves.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. For the first time in weeks, I got to sweep and do carts. Couldn't have been a nicer day for it. We were sunny and breezy, but not too cold or warm for this time of year, probably mid-50's. Between the scent of pine drifting on the breeze from the Christmas tree sellers in the back of the parking lot and the Salvation Army Santa blasting Christmas music, it felt rather festive out there. I did have a harder time keeping up with the carts later as rush hour got busy, and I briefly ended up in a register once to let the self-checkout manager get back there. Otherwise, there were no real problems.

Got my schedule during break. Not too bad. A couple of late days, but it's also all four and six hour shifts, Monday and Wednesday off. They also announced the Acme is reviving its Employee Luncheon. They'll bring the entrees, but employees can bring sides and desserts. Which means, in addition to sending out Christmas packages and finishing my shopping this week, I need to do the cookies.

Picked up some of the last things I need for Christmas. Got gift cards for my sister Anny and my brother Keefe and his wife Julia, along with a gift card holder for Anny and a card for Mom. Picked up muffins for lunch at work next week.

As I rode home tonight, I heard sirens going off in Oaklyn. Saw lights flashing down Goff Avenue when I passed and thought something might be happening there. As I rode up West Clinton to Newton, I saw another fire truck, this one decorated with lights and blasting "Wonderful Christmastime," ride down the street. I totally forgot tonight and tomorrow is when Santa will be out and about in town for kids to meet and greet. He must be coming by fire truck. 

After I got home, I changed and went straight into dinner and Match Game '74. McLean Stevenson was a nut that week! He'd run out and kiss everyone but the contestant, including Richard and Gene. Charles is more interested in making jokes about Gene's couch-upholstery-plaid jacket and makes the most hilarious face when Brett claims they're engaged. 

Worked on wrapping during Match Game '79.  The shows Buzzr's running now never aired on CBS. They were never aired at all outside of New York until GSN ran them in the 2000's. It's too bad, because they were mostly pretty funny. Brianne Leary had her first week as a panelist, while Bill Daily's more than happy to help the contestant with "__ Giants" in the Audience Match...and is very surprised when his answer and not Fannie's is on top! (But then, the show is filmed in California.) 

The second show unfortunately began with some fairly offensive answers to what the mice have in an authentic Japanese house. Everyone is mostly trying to show off for a reporter in the hope that she'll give them a good review. There's also Bill Daily's odd answer to which celebrity the Mounds company wants to name their new candy bar after, which ends with Brett and Brianne mock-beating on him. Gene Rayburn is happier to chat with people in the audience. 

Let Buzzr go into The Newlywed Game while I finished and cleaned up the paper mess. They finally started running the first season of the late 90's version a few weeks ago. This one had a few changes. The set is made to look more like a living room than a typical game show. Gary Kroger is younger, more congenial, and very eager to please. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of this show, but other than Gary and the set, I didn't really see much that was different from the second season with Eubanks. The couples were just as funny, even when asking questions in video segments. 

Finished the night at The Roku Channel with The Bishop's Wife. The bishop of the title is Henry (David Niven), who is hoping to secure enough funds from rich widow Mrs. Agnes Hamilton (Gladys Cooper) to build a lavish cathedral. He's so intent on his goal, he's neglecting his beloved wife Julia (Loretta Young) and daughter Debbie (Karolyn Grimes). His prayers for guidance bring Dudley (Cary Grant) to his home. Dudley claims to be an angel, and indeed, everyone who meets him comes away feeling spiritually enlightened. This includes Julia, who is completely charmed by him. The only one who isn't charmed by him is Henry. He's afraid he may have lost his wife forever, but as their family friend Professor Wutheridge (Monty Wooley) reminds them, Henry is flesh and blood, while Dudley is not. 

I like the 90's remake The Preacher's Wife too, but the original is also excellent. All three leads are delightful, with Grant in particular making a perfectly debonair angel. (Check out his quick method of decorating Christmas trees!)

Yuletide Harts

I desperately needed to sleep in. It's been a long time since I've gotten a full night's sleep. I slept so long, it was noon before I really got going. Watched Match Game '75 while I ate, and then as I worked on my Christmas cards. William "Captain Kirk" Shatner and Broadway star Julie Harris joined in for this memorable week late in the year. The first one featured a young missionary as a contestant whom Richard took to task for pushing "family values" when he didn't have a family of his own. The second threw out some hard answers to "__ Nails" in the Audience Match.

By the time I'd switched to The Smiling Lieutenant, I had begun wrapping Christmas presents. I go further into this 1931 comic operetta featuring Maurice Chevalier as the soldier of the title caught between a naive princess and a smart orchestra leader at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

The Smiling Lieutenant

Headed out soon as the movie ended. Got to work just in time. Once again, we were off and on busy, often with grouchy or annoying people. One older man claimed he saw a sweet potato pie on sale for $5. I went to check the price in the bakery, and it definitely said $6.59. There were no sales anywhere near the pies. He kept claiming he saw it on an end table, but I couldn't find that end table. Another older man thought two large Bounty packs were buy-one get-one...and wasn't happy when I checked and told him they were on sale, but not with one free. The tags got stuck on the wrong items. We had so little help, and my line was still so long when I finished, a manager had to come in so I could get out on time.

Was going to watch Match Game '79 when I got home, but Jodie called while I changed. She's fine. Still living in Ocean City, and still hasn't heard from anyone, including Rose. She's also still convinced Rose was after the house and she is totally blameless in what happened last winter, neither of which are true. Rose has a house of her own, and Jodie spent those four months doing nothing but whining, complaining, talking behind my back and Rose's, and having no respect for anyone's feelings but her own. 

I'm just as angry, disappointed, and disgusted with her as I am with Rose. They handled that entire incident badly and are equally to blame for what happened. I don't ignore people who upset me, though. If she really does want me to come down after Christmas, fine, but I'm not going to call or initiate contact with her. 

Finished the night after dinner and a shower on The Roku Channel with Hart to Hart. "'Tis the Season to Be Murdered" when Johnathan finds the detective he hired to give him information on leaks in his toy company dead in a drive-in. He and Jennifer go undercover in their toy manufacturing plant to find the source of the leaks...and learns that a designer may be involved in more than just creating the latest toy robot. 

Keep Christmas With You

Started the morning with breakfast, work at the computer, and Garfield's Christmas Special. Garfield's not happy about visiting Jon's parents on the farm, until he bonds with tough Grandma. Grandma misses her late husband badly, but Garfield finds a way to make her holidays a little merrier. 

Headed out to work shortly after I got off my laptop. Work went back-and-forth between insane with long lines and totally dead. Thankfully, most people were in decent moods, except for the one Door Dash delivery guy who threw a fit because he had to sign a tax removal form and buy his own bags. All of the delivery services have to buy their own bags and sign that form, so I don't know where he got the idea he didn't. And of course, my last customers were one of those big, noisy families with two carts who spend most of the time yelling at each other. Thank goodness they sent one of the teens in and he took over half-way through, or I would have been late getting out.

Stopped on my way out to pick up fudge-topped shortbread cookies, then headed home. Part of the reason for the off-and-on crowds may have been the off-and-on weather. It spit when I headed to work, but didn't rain hard. By the time I finished, a dense fog bank had settled over the area. I tried to be careful as possible heading home across Oaklyn.

When I got home, I changed and did a little writing. Gene appears at the top of the clock and says Debralee is the only one who can help the Nutcracker and the princess. How, she asks? She's bigger than any of them. Gene can fix that...

Broke at quarter of 7 to work on cards. Match Game '74 was already in progress when I started. Brett showed off a flowing pink batik dress a friend made for her, prompting Richard to joke about her going hang gliding. Meanwhile, Brett tries to help Charles with "Toll __" in the Head-to-Head, and Scoey Mitchilll admires the very elegant and pretty champion.

Had dinner with friends before coming back upstairs for Match Game '79. Gene's not too happy when Patti Deustch sneezes on him after he has to read a question to her alone. The others have their own opinions on the Audience Match "Do As I __."

Ended the night online honoring recently-passed TV actors Kirstie Alley and Bob McGrath. I was a bit young for Cheers during its heyday in the 80's-early 90's and didn't really get into it until I caught re-runs in college. Having grown up with one parent who worked as a cook in a bar and another who hung out in them, I was very familiar with grouchy waitresses, sage bartenders, and all manner of barflies. By the early 2000's, Cheers felt as much home to me as it did them. 

Alley took over as Rebecca, the new bar manager and love interest for Sam Malone (Ted Danson), in the sixth season after Diane (Shelley Long) left. "Christmas Cheers" has her keeping the crew late on Christmas Eve. Sam's angry he can't go out with his girlfriend, and then desperately tries to find Rebecca a gift. A pretty young stewardess provides the answer, but it's a bit much, even for Rebecca. Carla just wants to be home before midnight, Woody's more interested in the children's play going on in his native Indiana, Cliff's competing with another mailman to win a trip to Florida, and Norm's playing department store Santa.

Sam says "Love Me, Love My Car" when he convinces the widow of the man who bought his car (Dana Delaney) to sell it back to him during the show's last Christmas episode in season 11. He regrets it when he realizes that the woman feels betrayed and used. Rebecca's also going through an unlikely romance...with the pig Woody's parents sent for Christmas dinner. Her attempt to rescue her new porcine pal doesn't work out the way she hoped.

Bob McGrath was a fixture on Sesame Street from its inception in 1969 until just a few years ago, finally retiring in 2017. His warm presence is certainly felt on their first holiday special, Christmas Eve On Sesame Street from 1978. He introduces "Keep Christmas With You" with the help of kids signing for his deaf girlfriend. Big Bird just wants to find out how Santa gets down those skinny New York chimneys. Oscar told him if he can't figure it out, no one will get any presents! Mr. Hooper helps Ernie and Bert when they give up the things that mean the most to them to buy presents. Cookie Monster wants to contact Santa, but he keeps eating the writing utensils. 

The Tooth Will Out

Got such a fast start this morning, I barely had time for breakfast! Dashed out the door at quarter of 10 and into a gloomy day. Good thing I wasn't going as far as work. I had a 10 AM dental appointment. It showered lightly as I dodged traffic and hurried down to Westmont.

The dental assistant took me the moment I walked in the door and checked in. To be honest, my teeth have bothered me for a couple of weeks now. They never did remove that broken wisdom tooth on the upper back left side, and I forgot to get a crown put on one of the lower ones. The lady told me I had a lot of plaque build-up that had to be removed, too. I guess I don't floss well enough, because I do brush, floss, and use mouthwash every day. They had to take an x-ray of the two back teeth, too. 

Stopped on my way out to make appointments. I'll be getting the wisdom tooth out on the 27th and the crown on January 17th. In fact, I ended up taking my last vacation the week between Christmas and New Year's. I already took the holidays off anyway, and it'll give me a chance to recover and really enjoy the holidays. 

The rain stopped long enough for me to head across the street and return the two Christmas novels I took out a week ago. Stopped at Target next. I needed multi-vitamins, apples, clementines, and Swifter dusters. Had lunch at Starbucks, despite a long line of teens picking up lattes. Enjoyed my Pumpkin Spice Frappuchino, snowman shortbread cookie, and spinach feta egg wrap. 

After lunch, went a few doors down to Dollar Tree. I left my rolls of Christmas wrapping paper in storage. Bought a new one depicting a snowman giving gifts to little animals in the forest, plus some mini-bags and ribbon. I even found a gift for someone.

The rain started picking up as I got on my bike. Hurried home, before it could get worse. I just made it. It picked up not 20 minutes after I got in and showered steadily for the rest of the day. 

Had counseling with Mrs. Stahl at 2...and a lot to report. I'm still waiting on PNC and Abilities Solutions. The latter contacted me later in the day and said my resume is ready and will be sent out to prospective employers, but I still haven't heard from the former. 

Even living in an attic, I'm doing ten times better than I was this time last year. I can decorate and shop for friends. I don't have to go anywhere until I'm ready. I still say everything that happened last fall and winter was a farce from beginning to end. It solved nothing. All that happened was I wasted three weeks off of work and a week's vacation time, spent four months being told I don't make enough money, and Rose and Jodie ended up angry at each other and me. 

And I haven't heard from Rose, either...and I'm starting to think that's for the best. I love her, but I'm disappointed, angry, and disgusted with her. This is not the behavior of an adult lawyer. It's the way her 5-year-old daughter is supposed to behave. I'm tired of being bullied and bossed around and told what's best for me. Mom and Rose have fought over what's best for me for years. What I really want is to figure that out for myself. 

Spent the next few hours putting up as many of the Christmas decorations as I could fit. I have all kinds of great stuff. Mom gave me the little rainbow-colored "Noel" sign, the wooden nutcracker, the printed stuffed elves, the holly-print bear, and the home-made calico star garland and calico stuffed gingerbread men from her own holiday stash. The tree and the big resin Santa statue were Christmas presents from her when I lived in Wildwood. Jodi gave me the sweet honey-colored bear in the sweater with the jingle bells and the twin white "Beanie Baby" bears from the late 90's last year, after she cleared out Dad's Christmas decorations. Most of my smaller Beanie Baby bears were yard sale discoveries, except for Wallace in his plaid scarf and Herald the Angel Bear, who were gifts from Jessa. 

I've had the mini-tree since college. Found the slightly larger feather-style tree at Dollar Tree about three or four years ago. It's decorated with yarn flowers I crocheted myself, a beaded necklace my grandma gave me that broke, and beautiful chenille candy canes I picked up from the Vermont Country Store on one of my visits with Lauren. Aunt Terri, Mom's younger sister, gave me the American Girl tin with the first seven historical dolls wearing their Christmas dresses on the front. Found the adorable Disney tin, with artwork that looks like their shorts from the 1960's, and the Winter Cinderella fashion doll in her elaborate gown at yard sales. The holographic Peanuts gift card depicting how they cared for their little tree was too cute to throw away after I spent it.

Watched Monte Carlo as I worked. I go further into this frothy 1930 romantic comedy featuring Jeanette MacDonald and British star Jack Buchanon on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Monte Carlo (1930)

Went into writing after that. Debralee manages to swat away ugly mice with sharp teeth and razor claws with her pillow, but she knows it won't work forever. Just as she sees the mice gnaw the Nutcracker's arm, she hears the clock chiming...and sees Gene on top of it...

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched Match Game '79 as I ate. The first episode began with Lee Merriweather giving Gene a kiss and him teasing Don Galloway about his knitted sweater and ended with Gene and Bill Daily doing their own individual dances for the panel. The second one had Lee just about fainting when she helped the contestant with "__ Counselor."

Finished the night online after a shower with another Nutcracker On Ice. The 1994 version with then-world champ Oksana Bauil and her real-life friend and mentor Viktor Petrenko showed up on TV for the next few years. I remember seeing it as late as 1999 at my ex-boyfriend's house when I was over there one night. It starts pretty much the same, but Clara gets more solos later, the Nutcracker Prince barely appears, the dancing candy all perform in one number, and the Sugar Plum Fairy has more to do. 

The Nutcracker Sweets

Started off my morning with breakfast and the first Christmas Scooby Doo episode. "A Nutcracker Scoob" from The New Scooby Doo Adventures has Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and the dogs putting on a holiday show at a destitute orphanage. Mean old William Nicholby wants to throw the kids out in the cold...but he's really interested in the priceless gem hidden in their home. He's not the only one. The kids also have to head off the Ghost of Christmas Never Was and make sure they don't get their spectral hands on that fortune, either!

Headed straight to work even before the episode finished. Work was busy for most of the day. We're still in the beginning of the month. Quite a few people were grumpy or fussy, but at least the day went fast. It slowed down enough by 5:30 for me to leave with no relief and no need for one.

Sat down for some writing after I got home and changed. Debralee's shocked that the Nutcracker thinks she's the princess transformed into a doll from Gene's story. She only wishes she was a princess! He's still ready to defend her for her kindness to him, anyway.

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched Match Game '79 as I ate and put up the garland and stuffed cloth gingerbread people around the TV. Beloved vintage puppets Kukla and Ollie finished off their week as Gene chatted with a Hispanic woman who had just become an American citizen. The others try to figure out what Fannie Flagg is singing for "__ Sleeves" in the Audience Match. Brett spends the second episode complaining about the high taxes in California and encouraging people not to pay them. The others tease Bill Daily about his rather scraggly beard. 

Finished the night online with more variations on The Nutcracker at Tubi. Nutcracker On Ice was a more traditional truncated version of the ballet from 1995. No dancing candy, but we do have dancing flowers. US skating champs at the time Todd Eldridge and Nicole Bobeck are the Prince and Clara here...but the real spotlight is on legendary Peggy Fleming as an elegant Sugar Plum Fairy.

The Nutcracker Ballet also goes the more traditional route, other than they also eliminate the Sugar Plum Fairy. Here, Clara becomes the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker turns into the Prince when they duck under Godfather Drosselmeyer's cape. We also get a rather nice prologue showing everyone heading to the party, including Drosselmeyer. Not bad dancing, but there's other versions out there that use more of the full score.