Trouble In the Spring

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What Could Be Better Than This?

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Donald, Daisy, Pluto, and Goofy have to find six eggs that lead to "Mickey's Springtime Surprise" Mickey and Minnie hid. Funny Bunny Pete is determined to hide the eggs and keep them hopping, but the others figure out how to get around his tricks and pranks.

Stayed at Disney Plus for Zootopia 2. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) have only been partners on the Zootopia Police Force for a week, but they're already showing signs of fracturing. Judy finds a snake skin during a smuggling raid and is convinced snakes are involved somehow, but reptiles haven't been seen in Zootopia for a hundred years. 

Infiltrating a gala ball celebrating Zootopia's 100th anniversary, they encounter white lynx Pawbert Lynxley (Andy Samberg), the nerdy runt of Zootopia's mafia-like founding family, and pit viper Gary De'Snake (Ke Hu Quan), who uses Pawbert's father Milton (David Straitham) to steal the journal with the notes on the creation of the walls that regular Zootopia's climate zones. Milton threatens to kill Gary to protect the journals, and when Judy won't destroy them, he frames her and Nick. Now Judy and Nick are on the run, searching through the lowest reaches of Zootopia for evidence that the Lynxleys aren't the big founders they claim to be, and that reptiles are more important to Zootopia than anyone wants to believe.

I can see why this was a huge hit last November. For one thing, this corrected some of my problems with the original. The villains are more menacing and not quite so obvious, the characters have more to do, and the story is more interesting and less obvious. Goodwin and Bateman may be even funnier and more touching here, and Quan's Gary is touching and hilarious. The real winner here is Samberg, who manages to make Pawbert both adorably awkward and almost terrifying, especially towards the end. Violence and some surprisingly dark themes make this for older elementary school mystery lovers and those who were huge fans of the first film.

Spent most of the morning doing more research on agencies that might be able to help me get a home. The big one is the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. There's also New Jersey Citizen Action and the Camden County First Time Homebuyer's Program. I'm way, way under the financial limit for all three, I have good credit, and I have two jobs, one of which I've been doing for 27 years. I'll start checking further into these and making phone calls next week.

Went for a short walk to briefly test my knee and enjoy the gorgeous weather. It was sunny, breezy, and ridiculously warm for March, probably in the mid-70's at 1 PM. I got a cheesesteak-filled pretzel, two soft pretzels, and a can of Diet Pepsi from A&A Pretzels for lunch, then headed back on home. 

Had lunch while watching two fruit-based episodes of Good Eats. In "Apple Family Values" (the very first episode to cover fruit back in 2000),  Alton shows how to make yummy baked apples, crisp Waldorf Salad, and how to use the microwave to make perfect applesauce. "Strawberry Sky" gives us a look at one of my favorite fruits, with macerated strawberries, strawberry pudding (which is really more of a strawberry bread pudding), and strawberries and cream.

Called Uber after the strawberry episode ended. Alas, I couldn't get a ride for 13 minutes, which meant I was slightly late to the Thomas Sharp School. I got in almost 8 minutes late.

That was the worst thing that happened all day. We had 24 kids all together, 8 at my table. They cleaned up pretty fast and weren't too bad in the bathrooms...because they wanted to go outside and enjoy this gorgeous weather, too. In fact, we weren't inside for more than 20 minutes after snack time ended. The kids spent the entire rest of the afternoon outside on the playground and had a marvelous time doing so. They chased bubbles and each other, dancing to "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, the themes from PJ Masks and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the kid dance songs "Swab the Decks" and "The Checkout Song," and songs from Moana, Moana 2, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

Once we were down to 6 kids, they were allowed on the swings. I even got to push them, which they loved. I got some good out of hauling all those carts around! The remaining five older kids had just joined the four younger kids that were left when I finished my shift. I even walked home, so I could keep enjoying that lovely weather.

Put on The Unsinkable Molly Brown when I got home. I go further into this 1964 biography of the pioneering Colorado high society lady played by a game Debbie Reynolds at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Finished the night at YouTube with The Bernstein Bears Play Ball in honor of baseball season starting today. I went further into this and the Easter special Peter and the Magic Egg at my musical blog back in late March 2024. 

The Bernstein Bears Play Ball

Laughter In the Sunshine

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Father Bear wants to read his newspaper, but Little Bear's "Hiccups" keep making noise. His friends try to help him get rid of them. Little Bear is so excited about his "Date With Father Bear," he wakes him up early. They hike up to "Pudding Hill" together, where they go camping and befriend a beaver family.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. No trouble here whatsoever. The one going to the Acme came in 9 minutes. To my surprise, it only took 2 minutes for the one going to Thomas Sharp to arrive. The one going home came in 5 minutes. No trouble anywhere, and I got to both jobs well ahead of time.

Absolutely no trouble at the Acme, either. Or much of anything else. They were quiet all morning. I barely had any carts to push. It's the middle of the week and the middle of a month without a lot going on besides March Madness and the start of baseball season. Most people won't be thinking of Easter until next week. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

Maybe everyone went out to lunch. Applebee's was a lot busier when I arrived, more than it normally would be on a Wednesday. I enjoyed their Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich, fries, and a Diet Coke while watching a family with the most adorable little girl who kept trying to run off. After lunch, I briefly returned to the Acme to buy travel hand wipes for my backpack purse and toothpaste before I called Uber.

Since I got a driver much faster than I expected, I arrived at Thomas Sharp early. Went for a walk around a couple of blocks before school began. Everything is getting much greener now. There's soft green buds on the trees, carpets of emerald grass, and bright yellow daffodils and purple and white crocus in every garden. Not a bit of snow or ice left anywhere, not even in that standing metal container in the shade. 

It wasn't too bad when I arrived. The 9 kids at my table cleaned up quickly and behaved fairly well in the bathrooms. Three of them even gave me hugs in the hall when I told them I loved them. This time, the trouble started during lunch. One of the boys knocked over his bottle of Gatorade, and we're out of paper towels. We had to go get them from the bathrooms. The kids tried to clean up or play in the Gatorade, neither of which were terribly helpful. Four of them were so wild after we cleaned up and the kids were drawing and playing with magnetic tiles, the head teacher kept them in the cafeteria briefly to talk to them while we took the others outside.

Things improved once everyone got out in the sunshine. The clouds had been in and out all day, but by quarter after 4, it was sunny as can be. Two of the boys bonked their heads on the slide equipment, but they seemed to recover quickly once they got ice packs. I talked to one girl who got upset because one of the boys had already shared his toy with her and wasn't giving her another turn when she'd already had two. Otherwise, they all had a great time, chasing each other and dancing to the themes from PJ Masks and Bluey, "I Like to Move It," "Swab the Deck," "The Gummy Bear Song," and songs from Moana, Moana 2, KPop Demon Hunters, Trolls, and Encanto. By the time I had finished and called Uber, they were down to two younger kids and five older ones, and they were all outside, running around and pushing each other on the swings.

Went straight into The Price Is Right when I got home. Alas, I came in just as the lady got the final red X on Three Strikes. The Showcase Showdown went a bit better. The lady bidding on a spa and dining room furniture went way over. The one who bid on the "How to watch movies at home"-themed car, TV, and projection equipment Showcase got so close, she just barely missed getting both showcases.

Started off with Match Game Syndicated for the first hour. They were on the week where Marcia Wallace, Joyce Bulifant, and Betty White all rotated taking over for Brett Somers when she was out doing a play. Joyce commented that she could finally understand how everyone on the top tier kept taking everyone else's answers - she could see them clearly from Brett's usual seat!

For some reason, the second hour flipped way ahead to Match Game '90. Betty and Charles stuck around, joined by Joe Alasky, Vicki Lawrence, and game show host Johnathan Prince. Ross Shafer asked the questions and led everyone through the Match Up mini-game that had contestants doing quick matching with the celebrity of their choice. I'm not overly fond of the Match Up game, which slows the pacing, but otherwise, I seriously regret that the Philly ABC didn't run this when it came out. I think I would have gotten a kick out of it as an 11-year-old.

Finished the night with an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in honor of Women's History Month. Angels Revenge is just about the most 1979 B action movie you can possibly imagine. Six gorgeous women (and one really pretty teenager) stop the drug cartel that has been selling its wares among the students of one of them. Needless to say, Mike and the robots are very quick to point out how absurd this is, how none of the women can act, and how genuinely good actors like Peter Lawford, Jack Palance, and Jim Backus ended up here for paychecks. Definitely not recommended for anyone but true aficionados of really, really cheesy B action movies of the 70's and 80's. 

It's a Sunshiny Day

Began a late morning with breakfast and Pac Man. Mezmeron gives "The Pac Mummy" a medallion that allows him to control it. Pac Man has to save Pepper and Pac Baby from the Pac Pyramid when the Mummy makes off with them. It's "Nighty Nightmares" for the Ghosts when they accidentally turn their nightmare machine on them and have wacky bad dreams about Pac Man and the other Pac-landers chomping them.

Switched to Murder She Wrote while looking up the website for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Private eye Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach) may think "Tough Guys Don't Die," but someone killed his partner when he was out on assignment. He believes it had to do with one of the three cases the guy was working on, but Jessica thinks he's got the wrong one. While he pursues a man who may be two-timing his wife, Jessica looks at a murder who may have had the wrong man arrested and the female editor of a magazine who suddenly retracts her intention of running for public office.

Switched to The First Easter Rabbit while having a really quick lunch and getting ready for work. I went further into this Rankin-Bass special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2023. 

Easter Short Subject Special - The First Easter Rabbit

Thankfully, no trouble getting a ride to the Thomas Sharp School, other than I made the call late and had to pay a bundle for it. At least the guy arrived in 5 minutes, and I got there in plenty of time.

We started with reading two books in the library, since the music class was still using the cafeteria. I had 10 kids today, and they were a little antsy in the bathrooms and waiting in line. I had to remind them not to block the door to the halls. The boiler room is right across from the boys' bathroom, and the custodians have their offices between the two bathrooms. They need to get in. Snack time and playing afterwards was even crazier. One of the girls spilled applesauce on herself, and I did my best to clean up her shirt front. Another one threw colored pencils at me until I got mad and put her in time-out. (Her mother did get her to apologize to me before she left later, and I had a talk with her.)

It was too beautiful outside for anyone to be angry for very long. I'm so glad we spent the rest of the afternoon outside. In fact, after it was down to four younger kids, the remaining older kids joined us on the playground. It couldn't have been a more perfect day in mid-March, mid-upper 50's, sunny, and breezy. I pointed out buds on the trees to the kids, another sign that spring is truly here. They happily chased each other and danced to "The Floor Is Lava" and songs from Frozen, Trolls, Moana 2, and KPop Demon Hunters. They even got on the swings, once their numbers had dwindled enough that fewer people were likely to get hurt around them and there were less of them to argue about who would go first.

Jessa picked me up around 5:30. We had a light dinner at Honeygrow at the Ellisburg Shopping Center in Cherry Hill. I'd been wanting to try that place for ages, but there's so many other restaurants in the area, I'd just never gotten around to it. It's basically the same idea as Cava or Chipolte, only with stir-fry and salad in bowls instead of Mexican or Mediterranean food. Jessa had the Chicken Shawmara and strawberry-guava drink. I had sparkling water and a make-your-own bowl with whole wheat noodles, shrimp, vegetables, and garlic butter sauce. Oh yum! It was a wonderful melding of flavors, perfect after all that running around with the kids.

We had dessert at the Rita's Water Ice on the other side of the shopping center. It was getting a little chilly by the time we finally got down there, which is probably why we were the only ones there. Jessa got a butter pecan cone. I couldn't decide and had a gelati with mint chocolate chip water ice and chocolate ice cream. Since it was getting chilly, we ate our treats in Jessa's car.

Finished the night at home with The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town. I went further into my favorite of the three Rankin-Bass Easter specials at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in April 2019.

The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Tow (plus Here Comes Peter Cottontail)

The Rains of Spring

My day did not begin well. I awoke to see my alarm clock said 7:42...and I had to be at Cooper Bone and Joint in Cherry Hill at 8! It was showering and gloomy, too. Even rushing breakfast and dressing didn't make things go any faster. I called for an Uber...and they couldn't arrive for 19 minutes. Between all of that and heavy traffic on Cuthbert, I was almost a half-hour late. 

Thankfully, things picked up considerably from there. It was only about 10-15 minutes when they did get me into the x-ray room, and another 5-10 minutes after that when I talked to the kindly older Asian doctor. He confirmed what I'd suspected since my knee first started hurting in January - I have mild arthritis in my left knee. Thankfully, it wasn't bad enough to need anything removed or done surgically, but it would need help. I got an injection and a list of exercises to do when I was up to it and made an appointment to follow-up in late June and see how it was doing. 

Since it was cold and cloudy when I got out but not raining, I treated myself to the Dunkin' Donuts next-door to the Cooper Bone and Joint building. Considering it was almost 10 by that point, I'm surprised they were so quiet and had so many donuts. I went with a simple jelly donut and a Chocolate Strawberry Refresher, which turned to be a very sweet strawberry drink topped with chocolate foam. A little odd, but not bad. 

Called Uber from there. Ironically, considering all the trouble I had getting there, I got a ride back in five minutes. This time, there was no traffic. I was home within 10-15 minutes, even with light rain starting up again. 

Put on Pirates of Dark Water, which I hadn't had time for before I left, when I got in. Ren smells "Victory" when he and Nibbler manage to escape Bloth, and Tula realizes Bloth has no intention of rewarding her for betraying the others. She gets the compass and first treasure back, while Ren confronts Bloth, and Ioz brings The Wraith back. 

Switched to The Moonspinners on Disney Plus after the cartoon ended. Teenager Nikky Ferris (Haley Mills) and her Aunt Frances (Joan Greenwood) arrive on Crete to continue her aunt's work gathering folk songs. They're not exactly welcome at the Moonspinners Inn, where the owner Sophia's (Irene Papas) brother Stratos (Eli Wallach) doesn't want guests beyond a wedding party, but her young son Alexis (Michael Davis) wants them to stay. She encounters young Englishman Mark Camford (Peter McEnery) at the wedding and falls for him. 

She's disappointed when he seems to have checked out the next day, but it turns out there's a lot more here than it appears. Stratos is a jewel thief who intends to sell jewelry Mark was supposed to bring to a client to Madame Habib (silent star Pola Negri in her last role). He first beats Mark, then kidnaps Nikky. After Mark and Alexis rescue her, she and a badly hurt Mark flee to British consul Anthony Gamble (John Le Mesurieir). Gamble, however, has secrets of his own, and after he drugs Mark, Nikky realizes that she's the one who will have to warn the Madame and make her realize that she's taking part in international smuggling.

I remember this turning up quite a bit on The Disney Channel during my childhood. Rose loved it. I thought it was a little weird. I like it slightly better now, but it's not my favorite Disney movie from this era. Wallace and Negri are the stand-outs as the tough fisherman who wants to make more money than he ever could catching seafood and the mysterious lady. In fact, I really wish Negri had more to do. She only appears in the last 20 minutes or so. Though Davis is funny, McEnery is dull as the love interest, and Nikky comes off as a bit naive until she finally takes matters into her own hands. Still worth a peek if you love Mills, jewel capers, or international action movies from the early-mid 60's. 

Spent most of the morning looking up government agencies that might be able to help me buy a house. Most of the ones I found were intended to help people with mental difficulties rent or live in a group home. I did eventually get the general idea of some non-profit and government organizations that might be more helpful, and even get me loans. I'm just doing research this week. I'll go further tomorrow.

Switched back to cartoons for Paw Patrol during lunch.  "Pups Save the Butterflies" when purple monarchs seemingly attack the town. Turns out Mayor Humdinger stole their bush to beat Mayor Goodway at a local flower competition. The pups have to find the scout butterfly and get Humdinger to put the bush back where it belongs. He's the one causing trouble again when he steals a statue of Goodway's beloved pet chicken Chickaletta to melt it down and make a statue of him in "Pups Save an Underground Chicken." The pups chase him through the underground sewer system to catch him.

Called Uber after the pups ended. Thankfully, no trouble here. I had to wait 13 minutes for a ride to the Thomas Sharp School, but I called early enough that I was right on time. Though the rain was long gone by 5:15, it was damp, windy, and cold. I got lucky again here. The Uber driver going home once again took 5 minutes to arrive. I would have walked, but my knee was still sore from the injection and wasn't up to it.

Good thing I got there when I did. We had 24 kids today, 10 at my table, and they couldn't go outside again. This time, they couldn't even use the library for most of the afternoon. There was some kind of school function going on in there. Though it hadn't rained in a while, the playground was still wet, and it was too cold and windy for running around outside. My kids mostly cleaned up fine and weren't that bad in the bathrooms. I had a harder time with the second round of kids going to the bathrooms, including one poor girl who fell down, hurt her knee, got very upset, and needed band aids. Another girl was even angrier when one of the little boys knocked over the magnetic tile house she was working on...but as I tried to explain, knocking over his train wasn't going to make the situation better.

The library didn't clear out until almost 5 PM. Maybe it's just as well. There was plenty of space for 7 kids to dance to "I'm Still Standing," the themes from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bluey, and "Your Idol" from KPop Demon Hunters. By the time I was done, there were three kids left, and they were moving back to the cafeteria.

When I got home, I took out the recycling, put the laundry downstairs, and grabbed dinner. Watched Match Game Syndicated while I ate. Most of the two hours were devoted to that wild week with Sharon Farrell, Richard Paul, Betty White, and McLean Stevenson. Though they skipped the episode with Betty turning up in that short red dress for some reason, we did get to see more of the contestant with the crazy laugh and see everyone miss the obvious answer on what a samurai baker watches. 

Finished the night and continued Women's History Month honoring the original Price Is Right models and watching other shows they appeared on. Probably the most famous and long-running of the Price Models from the 70's through the 90's would be Janice Pennington. She was on for so long, she debuted with the show in 1972 and didn't leave until 2000. My favorite of her appearances on another game show was the utterly hilarious episode of the 1972 I've Got a Secret where Charles Nelson Reilly "painted" her belly as his secret...and Gene Rayburn sure liked what he was doing! Janice also appeared on Hollywood Squares in 1988, doing their Christmas show with Debbie Reynolds, Joan Rivers, Chris Lemmon, Jm J. Bullock, and Jason Hervey of The Wonder Years, among others. 

Janice was one of three models who appeared on Match Game during its 1973-1982 run. Anitra Ford turned up a few weeks after Janice in 1976, shortly before she left the show. Richard Dawson spent the entire time flirting with a gorgeous blonde contestant who kept on winning. Holly Hallstrom was a semi-regular in her own right from 1979 through 1981. I have one of her later appearances here, where Gene shows off her fashionable (and incredibly short) ruffled blouse and shorts.

Janice, Bob Barker, Rod Roddy, and Dian Parkinson played their fellow CBS daytime stablemates The Young and the Restless on a very funny week of Family Feud in 1991. Gene Wood even called the Price cast to "come on down" instead of having them turn up in a pose in the sampler entrances. (Kathleen Kennedy replaced her when they played each other in syndication.) Not only did they play well, but they won every Fast Money too, making a ton of money for their (animal-related, given who their boss is) charity, too.

Anitra, Janice, Holly, Kathleen, Dian...come on down! Let's honor the ladies who keep the refrigerators and cars humming on America's favorite game show in these hilarious episodes!

I've Got a Secret (1972)

Match Game (1976)

Match Game Syndicated (1981)

Hollywood Squares (1988)

Family Feud (1991)

Family Feud (1991)

Out of This World Matches

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Wonderland. This 2011 modern Alice In Wonderland has a grown Alice following her daughter into a strange modern Wonderland, where the Cheshire Cat is a Hispanic guy who thinks he's invisible, the Caterpillar runs a head shop, and the White Knight looks distinctly like her ex-husband Jack. The Mad Hatter is the villain here, who takes Alice's daughter and then Jack and the others prisoner. Alice has to rescue them and her daughter by remembering that she was once a child, and that to love a child is to love ourselves. 

This wasn't a hit on Broadway, but I think it has some really interesting ideas and a couple of nice tunes. It is a little dark and very confusing, and not everything lands - some of the Mad Hatter's songs in particular are a bit awkward - and there's at least three climaxes too many. Still, this is worth hearing if you want to hear a unique version of Alice or love fantasy musicals.

Hurried downstairs to catch Uber soon as the CD ended. I needed to call Priority, but I managed to get one in 7 minutes that got me to work just in time. The one going home picked me up in 9 minutes and took a little longer to get me home. The driver had to stop at WaWa to use the bathroom.

That was the worst thing that happened all day. The Acme was unusually quiet for a Sunday. The only thing going on right now is March Madness. We're between holidays. Not to mention, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. It was in the 70's, breezy, and deliciously warm and sunny. I pushed carts for the first two hours and wondered how two Canadian geese could get away with sitting in puddles in the middle of the lot. I did have to take over sweeping after the Sunday morning bagger went home. Other than that, there were no problems whatsoever.

Went right in the shower when I got home, then had dinner and spent the rest of the evening watching tonight's Match Game marathon. The 70's-early 80's Match Game debuted around the same time as a boom in science fiction. The original Star Trek TV show was in re-runs, Doctor Who was delighting British telly fans on PBS, and movies like Logan's Run were astonishing audiences. Star Wars: A New Hope debuted in 1977, making science fiction even more popular. 

Many questions referred to what martians found when they landed on Earth, what they ate, or what they left laying around on Mars. There were Martian questions on the episode with the man with the bushy blonde beard Jo Anne Worley was nuts about and the little redheaded fellow who kept chasing all of the ladies, to the point where Charles and Richard had to "defend" them. There was also one on the early '73 episode with "Mama" Cass Elliot and Bill Cullen where Brett's insult to her husband Jack was pointed even for her, especially since Jack sat next to her that week. 

Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, appeared on the show twice. He did better his second week in 1975, which also featured major Broadway star (and friend of Charles Nelson Reilly) Julie Harris. While Gene gave a slightly nervous Harris a kiss, Shatner went after a very pretty contestant when she was trying to give Brett a hug. 

Have a little out-of-this world fun with Captain Kirk and travel to new frontiers with Gene and his wacky weirdos!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Travel Into Outer Space Marathon

The Warmth of the Sun

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. Tula's "Betrayal" of Ioz ends with her joining Bloth and bringing him the first treasure and the compass. Bloth also has Ren and Nibbler in with his other prisoners. The head of the prisoners is Abagon, a tough woman who had once been his father's advisor and knows more about the treasures and where they can be found.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. I had errands to run. Figured I'd start with a walk. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, breezy, and blue. It was fairly warm, but not too much so, probably in the upper 50's-lower 60's. The daffodils are finally blooming now, emerald lawns filled with bits of yellow and gold sunshine. Many people were out mowing lawns or clearing their gardens for the season. Others pushed their children in strollers or walked their dogs.

Made a quick stop at Target first. For one thing, I wanted more of those new Slice flavors. They're still buy one, get one 50 percent off there. Went with strawberry and cherry cola this time. I was mainly there for pads, which are decent prices for large containers.

The Westmont has slightly expanded hours to 2 on weekends. (And they'll be 8 to 3 all week starting Monday.) Needless to say, given they just reopened after a year a little over a week ago, they were very busy. I took a seat at the bar. The bar is now strictly for eating - there's no desserts or juice machines back there. No cakes or pastries, either, just breakfast breads and pastries. Everything is very simple beige and brown modern, very streamlined. At least the seats at the bar were comfortable!

The menu is limited to breakfast options and sandwiches at the moment. Fine by me. I wanted pancakes anyway. I ordered pancakes topped with strawberries, bacon, and a chai latte. The chai latte was ok, not all that different from Starbucks down the street. The pancakes were smaller, and even though there were three, they were nice and fluffy and not too much to eat in one sitting. The strawberry compote was delicious, and the bacon was amazing. I asked for it crispy, and it couldn't have been better. It was nice and thick, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Best bacon I ever had. The Maple syrup was so warm, I couldn't pick up the metal container at first. It was expensive, but so worth it.

Strolled past the Haddon Township High School to the Westmont Acme next. I really didn't need all that much, which is why I just shopped here this week. I had online coupons for coconut milk, yogurt, granola bars, and apples. Got bakery cookies, too, and more soda for a dollar each. Considering there were no carts outside when I arrived, the Acme was actually pretty dead. It was too nice to be grocery shopping, and there isn't a whole lot going on right now besides March Madness. It's a beautiful spring day, and we're between holidays.

Called Uber to get home. My knee was starting to get sore. Maybe I should have just walked. It took 19 minutes to get a ride at quarter of 2! At least that did give me the chance to go to the bathroom, and there was no trouble once he did arrive.

When I got home, I put everything away...then had trouble deciding what to watch. I finally settled on the two-hour fifth season premiere of The Love Boat. "Julie's Wedding" to a handsome Australian zoologist (Anthony Andrews) will have Vicki as her bridesmaid, the men as her ushers, and Captain Steubing giving her away...but the blood test his brother insists he gets proves to be far more important than he thinks. Meanwhile, Doc and Gopher chase after "Julie's Replacement" (Delvene Delaney). 

An anthropology professor (Henry Morgan) on "The Expedition" thinks his sleazy colleague (Jose Ferrer) has found "The Mongola," the missing link between man and ape...but it's not what they think it is. Meanwhile, "The Professor's Wife" (Katherine Helmond) is falling for the Captain, while his female assistant (Donna Dixon) falls for this seeming creature (Patrick Ward). A handsome rancher learns "The Three Rs" when a scheming blonde (Jennilee Harrison) and a gentle teacher (Michelle Phillips) vie for his affections.

Oh, and I got my schedule. It's perfectly normal for this time of the month and year. I'm back to weekend afternoons and Wednesday morning at the Acme. The kids are on their regular schedule again. At least the only other thing I have planned is a very, very early appointment to look at my knee at the Cooper Bone and Joint institute in Cherry Hill. 

Switched to music while I worked on the ladies arriving in the silenced Isabella Town in Legendary Tales of WENN. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a great soundtrack from a  very troubled movie. In addition to Kate Capshaw's opening "Anything Goes" in Chinese and the iconic "Indiana Jones March," there's the atmospheric music for the Temple of Doom itself and for the famous Mine Chase Ride scene.

Xanadu is an even stranger and more troubled 80's fantasy. The script may be a notorious mess, but that's not the fault of the soundtrack. The songs were a massive hit in 1980, with "Magic," "Suddenly," and the title song still receiving airplay to this day. I'm also fond of Olivia Newton-John's lovely ballad "Suspended In Time," her charming duet with Gene Kelly "Whenever You're Away From Me," and the Electric Light Orchestra solo "All Over the World." 

Finished the night with a late Match Game marathon. Match Game Productions honored Chuck Norris, the beloved action icon and star of Walker, Texas Ranger, who passed away on Thursday, with episodes that referred to karate (Norris was also a martial artist), Texas, rangers, cowboys, or oil magnates. This was the height of "Kung Fu Fighting" and Bruce Lee's brief but enormous popularity, though most of the karate jokes usually involved who wore what color belt. With country music stars like Mel Tills making occasional appearances on the show and both country music and Texas oil country being at their height of fame in the 70's and 80's, there were quite a few jokes about wealthy Texas millionaires and what they do with their homes, swimming pools, and oil wells. 

The Texas jokes were even more pronounced in the late 70's once Dallas became one of the hottest soap operas on TV. Steve Kanaly did one of the funniest of the later PM episodes, where Gene turns up in bright red shoes, Brett, Richard Paul, and Charles sings about "The Eyes of Texas" in response to an "Eyes of __" Audience Match, and the contestant ends up in Jamie Lee Curtis' lap. Another one featured a contestant who could turn his feet all the way around, which was just freaky.

At any rate, go deep into the heart of Texas to honor this iconic action star!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Remembering Chuck Norris 

Spring Treasure Hunt

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Bluey. Bandit wants to teach Bluey and Bingo to play Chess, or as they call it, "Chest." He's trying to show them strategy, but Chili ends up playing the actual game with him while the girls use the pieces as action figures. Chili finally points out to her husband that maybe it's just as important to teach their young ladies how to be kind and imaginative as it is to be intelligent.

Hurried downstairs and called Uber soon as the episode ended. I couldn't get a ride for 9 minutes, which was not good because I was already behind. I wound up being 10 minutes late.

Fortunately, that was the worst thing that happened all day. In fact, I had a rather pleasant day. For one thing, there were 19 younger kids all together, 6 at my table. Only one of the girls misbehaved when we were cleaning up and in the bathrooms. In fact, when I took a second group of kids to the bathroom during lunch time, the kids kept running in the hall. I told them if they were going to run, to do it together...and the girl and boy at the head of the line took each other's hands and skipped all the way down the hall hand in hand. It was too adorable.

There was something special waiting for them after lunch and they'd colored Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog, and spring-themed pages. Yesterday, one of the teachers had covered small rocks in glue, then in gold and glitter. The head teacher hid them in the playground and let the kids run around and find them. They had an absolutely wonderful time searching for those gold pieces. They could only find two or three. Any others had to be left for their friends to find. They each got to keep one after they were done. 

I think I found the best treasure of all, though. While the kids were running around later after they'd found the gold rocks, I spotted lovely purple crocus blooming along the chain link fences surrounding the playground, under the shady trees bordering Comley Avenue. As I pointed out to the kids, it's a good sign that spring is well and truly here. 

After the gold was found, we stayed outside for another hour. It would have been a crime not to. At that point, it was sunny and beautiful, in the 60's and breezy as can be. Though we did have to argue a few of them off the swings (and one girl took her shoes off again), they mainly had a wonderful time chasing each other around and dancing to "I'm Still Standing," "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from Lilo and Stitch, "The Gummy Bears Song," the theme from PJ Masks, and songs from Trolls and Frozen. 

When we were down to six younger kids, we took them inside...then went right back outside about 20 minutes later with the remaining 9 older kids. The older kids got to find gold rocks, too, this time spread out around the blacktop area. They were even funnier than the little guys had been! Though it was windier and cloudier by that point, we figured it was still nice enough for the kids to stay outside. I watched a girl and boy kick two balls around an enclosure before we were finally down to 3 younger kids and I was told I could go. 

I made a brief stop at the tiny little convenience store on Collings and got a giant chocolate chip cookie for a treat before I walked home. It was too nice for me to be inside again myself. The Thomas Sharp School isn't the only place in South Jersey where spring has arrived. The grass is looking much greener too. Many of the trees are finally budding, and daffodils are blossoming in gardens. 

Watched The Price Is Right on Buzzr when I got in. Started with a fairly rare win on the Any Number game. Most people just get the piggy bank on that one. The winning ladies were actually pretty close on the Showdowns. The one who bid on the "story" Showdown with the car did slightly better and got the car.

Match Game Syndicated moved on to the only week featuring Tom Kennedy (who was by then hosting Password Plus) and the last week for Gail Farrell, the only singer on The Lawrence Welk Show who was brave enough to try Match Game. At least these contestants were slightly smarter than the ones the previous week had been, including a lovely Air Force officer. 

Finished the night at YouTube with more Shirley Temple's Storybook Theater. Her version of "Dick Whittington and His Cat" starts out the same way the English folk tale does, with Dick Whittington coming to London to seek his fortune, getting help from a wealthy merchant, and falling for his daughter Alice. The cook is a man here, and not only does he beat Dick and his cat, but he and a treacherous captain have Dick, the merchant, and Alice sold as slaves to a sheik during that voyage with the merchant's treasures. The sheik can't sleep because of the rats in his room. Turns out Miss Puss is a better rat catcher than any human. While most of this doesn't have much to do with the original story, I do like that not only does Dick get to keep his beloved Puss, but the cook actually gets punished, too. 

Night of the Playground

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear is on his way "To Grandmother's House" with gifts, but he and his friends eat the gifts before they can get to her. Little Bear loves playing with "Grandfather Bear," even if he can't roll down a hill or do some of the more energetic things he does. Grandmother tells him the story of "Mother Bear's Robin." His mother took care of a baby robin when she was a young girl, finally letting him go when spring came.

Did two more cartoons involving the start of spring, which begins on Saturday. In Care Bears Family, Grams Bear tells Hugs and Tugs the story of "Caring for Spring." Jack (Tugs) and Jill (Hugs) must rescue Mother Nature (Grams) from the Wicked Witch of Winter (Shreeky) and her henchman Simple Simon (Beastly). They're given a magic ring, but use the wishes to help Jack Be Nimble (Champ) and Wee Willy Winkie (Bright Heart Raccoon). They learn about the importance of working together when their new friends help them after they're caught by the Witch, too.

Twilight Sparkle, on the other hand, must bring the spring without magic in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Each pony has a job to do in the "Winter Wrap Up," whether it's clearing snow clouds or breaking up icy ponds or awakening animals from their hibernation. Twilight struggles to find a group she can fit into, until she realizes how unorganized the others are. She then discovers where her true talents lay...making lists and making sure the others stick to them and to their schedule.

It was late when I called Uber. Thankfully, it only took me 8 minutes to get a ride going to the school. I had a much harder time getting a ride home. It took me 15 minutes! I was slightly late to work, but nothing really bad. 

Thankfully, we had slightly fewer kids today, only 22, 7 at my table. They cleaned up pretty well and were a little rowdy in the bathrooms, nothing really horrible. At least we were able to get them out to the playground this time! It was cloudy and chilly, probably in the upper 40's, but not windy or frigid. The kids had a marvelous time chasing bubbles and each other. I have no idea why half of them ditched their coats when they ran outside - it wasn't THAT warm! And I had to argue three of them back into their shoes. (You do not want to walk around in your sock feet on mulch.) They were so funny running after those bubbles, I spent most of the time doubled over laughing. We listened to "The Gummy Bear Song" and songs from Trolls, Bluey, Tangled, Moana, and Moana 2. 

Before and after we were outside, we let the kids color on papers taped to the tables. When we got back in, they used those dot markers and did stencils, too. We'd just had snack time and were trying to get the remaining four younger kids to settle down when they let me go. I saw the older kids in the playground on my way out to Uber. I even had the time to talk to one upset girl about how she was mad at her older sister. I know about being angry with sisters! Sometimes my sisters drive me crazy, too.

Put on Somebody Loves Me when I got home. I go further into this biography of legendary jazz singer Blossom Seeley and her long-time husband Benny Fields at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Somebody Loves Me

Switched to Match Game Syndicated next. This finished out the week with Robert Pine, Fannie Flagg, and Dolly Martin. They spent most of the week dealing with tiebreaker after tiebreaker when the contestants just couldn't seem to win anything. Fannie came up on the Star Wheel three times...and only got the answer right once.

Finished the night with The Wild Wild West. "The Night the Dragon Screamed" gets into stereotypical territory when Artemis Gordon and Jim West are tracking down opium smugglers who also run a thriving business bringing in Chinese immigrants. While Artemis poses as a Chinese worker for the head of the ring, Jim has to deal with British military man Colonel Allenby-Smythe (Ben Wright), who wants to capture a princess and take over China. 

Look to the Paper Rainbows

Began the morning with breakfast and Pac Man. Pac Man believes he has "A Bad Case of the Chomps" after he's chomped the ghosts one too many times. The ghosts follow him to the hospital, hoping to keep him thinking he can't chomp them. The Pac Family goes "Goo Goo at the Zoo" when Pac Baby first befriends a baby gorilla, then frees all of the animals.

One again, I called Uber early...and once again, I had no trouble getting a ride. The driver arrived in 7 minutes. There was only a little traffic around the corner of Collings and the White Horse Pike, nothing major. I even saw classes of older kids trooping back from seeing the Collingswood High Schoolers perform Mamma Mia! at the Scottish Rite Auditorium, including a few of the ones in the after-school program. In fact, I arrived first and got all of the toys out for the kids well before the other teachers and assistants arrived.

Good thing I did. We had 24 kids today, 9 at my table. The ones at my table cleaned up pretty well, but they were kind of wild in the bathrooms. (I did get lovely hugs from a boy and a girl while we were waiting for the last kid.) They were much crazier after lunch. Boys threw Duplos and wouldn't clean up their towers when they fell, and the kids coloring on the papers taped to the tables just ended up arguing over them. Two of the girls ran around and screamed so much, they had to be put in time out.

Thankfully, the library was open today. We were able to move the kids there for a really cute art project. The head teacher already cut out black construction paper "pots." We glued them onto white paper, then gave the kids "dot" markers that make dots when you press them. They made rainbows coming out of the pots with the markers and glitter glue...or at least, that was the idea. Some of them did rainbows. Two of the boys just smeared the markers and glue around. Most of them went all over the paper. It did rather look like unique leprechaun magic...even some benign dark magic, as I told one boy who went with black, gray, and red dots. While their artwork dried, the kids danced to the version of "I'm Still Standing" from Sing, "Try Everything" from the first Zootopia, the theme from PJ Masks, and songs from Moana. 

When there were six kids left, we took them back to the cafeteria for snack time. After we ate, we took the remaining five younger kids and nine older ones outside to play with balls on the blacktop area behind the school building. The blacktop has a small basketball court and several picnic tables against the chain link fences on either side of the enclosure. I'm so glad we got them outside. It was chilly but sunny, and the wind had died down to a far more reasonable breeze. I kept an eye on four boys and the oldest girl playing soccer and two of the older girls walking around doing hilarious old lady imitations by leaning on the Wiffle Ball bats. By quarter of 5, we were down to two younger kids and five older ones, and I was able to go home.

Stopped at Speedy Mart to get a bottle of grape Propel on my way home. It was too nice to take Uber this time. I just walked myself. My knee ended up being sore, but it was such a lovely day, it would have been a crime to take Uber again. Not to mention, it was pretty quiet. I walked past a few people who were on their way home too, but there was very little traffic. 

When I got home, I took down the St. Patrick's Day decorations and put up what I have for Easter. Easter is my third favorite holiday of the year after Thanksgiving and Christmas, and by far my favorite of the spring and summer holidays. I have a lot of Easter decorations, so many that I didn't have the room to put them all out. There's the two Sees Chocolate tins that Mom sent me a few years ago. I thought they were much too pretty to get rid of. There's Patchy the Bunny, the big resin bunny statue I rescued from a thrift shop almost 20 years ago. There's the porcelain bunny in the lavender dress and the one holding the basket that Mom sent me for my birthday about 15 years ago. 

I have a big, beautiful die-cut cardboard hanging of a darling duck and bunny among decorated eggs that I hang on the door to my bedroom. There's Flora Bunny and Freddie Frog, the rolly-polly plastic toys who no longer play music, but are still pretty cute. There's the basket with the "chocolate" bunnies, the plastic "double boiler" and "chocolate" and silver bunny mold from Kit's limited-edition Easter outfit. I found the two bunnies on strings in calico dresses with dangling button legs at thrift shops, and the pink felt door hanger with the lavender bells at a dollar store. The folksy raffia garland with the dangling pastel painted wooden eggs went over my window. The smaller yellow tinsel garland went over my bedroom door, and the large white one is on the entertainment center.

Watched The Price Is Right and Match Game Syndicated while I worked, and later as I had dinner. Came in just in time to see them spin the wheel on Price. Two ladies made it. For once, one way underbid on a "little-known fan clubs" showcase that included a sports car. The other was merely 800 off on a "walk down Main Street" showcase that included a spa and a day bed and got herself a nice, soothing spa.

Match Game Syndicated mostly continued the week with Fannie Flagg, Lee Merriweather, and Fred Travalena. In fact, it would be Lee's last week on Match Game. She went out in style when she and Fannie did a kick line to show a British contestant who the Rocketts were that was definitely the hit of the show! Fannie stuck around for the last episode and Robert Pine and Dolly Martin joined in to see a woman say she'd just come to the show to see Charles Nelson Reilly in the flesh, which certainly impressed Charles.

Finished the night at Tubi with Storybook International. Determined to rid his village of the robbers who stole money from even the poorest peasants, a young man becomes "The Robber Chief" by stealing three cows from a merchant. He then proves to them that it literally takes a village to deal with crime when he calls in his parents and the other villagers to help him catch these devils, before they take more of their hard-earned money.

The Children Wore Green

Top O' the Evenin' to ye! I got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. It's a "St. Patrick's Day Dilemma" when Doc's brother accidentally scribbles on her new paper doll Fiona's Irish dance dress. She won't wear anything else to the St. Patrick's Day parade. Doc and the others have to convince her that it's better to change clothes when they've gotten dirty. Doc's new doll Gillian thinks she's too tall to play with the other toys, but she's the one who makes "A Giant Save" when Professor Hootenberg is stuck in a tree and she's the only one who can catch her.

Called Uber shortly after that. Once again, I had a surprisingly easy time getting rides. The driver to West Collingswood came in 4 minutes! The one going home arrived in 7. No trouble or traffic either way.

Since I was a little early, I went for a short walk down Magill Street. Despite the sun, it was cold and blustery, barely in the 40's. It wasn't even that in the shade. I saw a container of water in the deep shadows that was frozen solid! On the other hand, I also saw the first blooming flowers of the season. Beautiful purple and white crocus and tiny white snowdrops were nestled among the green and dry yellow grasses in several sunlit gardens.

Thanks to the cold, the younger kids never went outside today. Almost every kid wore green of some kind - green dresses with shamrock prints, adorable green and black pants outfits trimmed with ruffles, green sweaters, Eagles t-shirts and jerseys. Two of the boys announced that their kindergarten class had captured a leprechaun. They didn't indicate if it was a "real" leprechaun, but they did say he'd left behind a mess of toilet paper and extra treats for them. All of the kids got bags with chocolate coins (most of those were eaten before lunch was over), tiny bubble wands, slap bracelets, and shamrock beaded necklaces. 

Though we started with 26 kids, things were a bit disorganized at first. The kids played wherever they could fit in the cafeteria while the music class finished their rehearsal. The library is being used for parent-teacher conferences this week, so we can't go there. After they left and the kids ate lunch, they colored Healthy Kids paper bags they could use for all that loot. While some continued to draw, I showed two best friends the Storyland Disney anthology book and its gorgeous vintage artwork. (The artwork depicting Donald's less-than-sterling driving skills from "Donald Duck, Prize Driver" was especially popular. Even the older girls thought it was hilarious when I showed them later.) By 4 PM, we were down to three younger kids and six older ones, and another teacher had come to help. I was let go early.

After I got home, I took out the trash, then made Irish Soda Bread. This is extremely easy to make, especially if you do what I did and cut the recipe down to make one loaf, instead of two. All it requires is flour, baking soda, baking powder, a little sugar, buttermilk, an egg, raisins or currants, and butter or shortening to cut into it. Oh yuuuum! I think that good organic buttermilk I got from Sprouts helped, but this was the best Irish Soda Bread I ever made. Dense, chewy, soft, just sweet enough, and it smelled incredible in the oven. 

I got the bread out just before Jessa arrived. We were originally going to celebrate the Westmont (formerly the Westmont Diner) having reopened, but they're only serving breakfast right now. We drove a little further down to the Club Diner in Bellmawr instead. I think we made the right call. They had a big and very Irish St. Patrick's Day menu. She had corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage (and shared some of it with me) with soup. I had Irish Lamb Stew with a rather watery iceberg lettuce salad. The stew came with shredded lamb and big pieces of potato and carrot. She had a slice of carrot cake for dessert. I had Oreo Cake (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting topped with an Oreo cookie). 

Put on Match Game Syndicated when I got home. Fannie Flagg and Lee Merriweather wore their green St. Patrick's Day blouses in the episode I saw. Fred Grandy had to spend the night listening to Charles and Brett complain about the contestants ending up in a tie.

Finished the night with The Quiet Man at Pluto TV. Sean Thornton (John Wayne) has come home to the tiny village of Innisfree in Ireland to buy the cottage that once belonged to his mother and settle down. He falls for spirited Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara), but her big stubborn brother Will (Victor McLaghlen) is angry Sean got the cottage instead of him and refuses. Father Lonergran (Ward Bond) and matchmaker Michaeleen Flynn (Barry Fitgerald) convince Will that the Widow Tilane (Mildred Natwick) wants to marry him. When she refuses, he gives the bride away, but not her dowry. Mary Kate is furious, even after the townspeople manage to get all of her things but her money. Sean doesn't get it. Money isn't important to him. For Mary Kate, it means her freedom. 

Sean refuses to fight her brother, which leads everyone to think he's a coward. Reverend Playfair (Arthur Shields) is more understanding...but he does encourage Sean to put aside his bad memories and fight for his bride. When Sean finally does confront Will about the money, it leads to a gigantic knock-down, drag out donnybrook that gets so big, half of Ireland come to Innisfree to start taking bets!

This was John Ford's love letter to his own homeland, made in gorgeous Technicolor and shot so glowingly on location, it won a Best Color Cinematography Oscar. Almost every Irish character actor in Hollywood has a delightful time with the hilarious script, especially Bond as the fishing-obsessed Catholic priest and Fitzgerald as the impish and very traditional matchmaker. Highly recommended around St. Patrick's Day, or whenever you're in the mood for O'Hara and Wayne sparring or want a taste of a slightly stereotypical but still lovely Ireland.