First Harvest of the Season

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The Mouskedoer, the system that powers the Clubhouse and provides Toodles with his Mousketools, is breaking down. "Mickey's Mouskedoer Adventure" becomes a bizarre spoof of Tron when he, Goofy, Donald, and Toodles enter the system to find out why it's malfunctioning.

Did a little online, then hurried out to the Collingswood Farm Market. This is its first weekend of the year, and even at 11:30, the parking lot was still elbow-to-elbow. If people weren't buying food for barbecues and birthday parties, they were preparing for Kentucky Derby and Flyers and Sixers viewing get-togethers. I ran into one of the boys from my class while looking for the ATM machine. He and his mommy said they were going to get cream pops, but he didn't want a strawberry with seeds. (I presume he meant he wanted strawberries and cream, not the all-fruit strawberry.)

I think they were good luck. After they went to get the cream pops, I turned around...and there was the ATM machine.  I took out enough money to get apples, strawberries, whole wheat bread, and a cream pop of my own at the Bubba's Creamery cart. The line was still long, even as the market was 10 minutes from closing. Though many flavors were sold out, there was enough left for me to have a hard time choosing. I finally went with Cherry vanilla. Yum! The pops come in fruit or cream, and they're made from all-natural ingredients. It was perfectly cherry-sweet and creamy, and so nice on a cloudy, blustery day.

Hurried home and watched Bluey while I put everything away and had lunch. Brett just got five dollars from the Tooth Fairy. She's having a hard time deciding what to buy at the "Markets." Her friend Indy can only eat organic and natural food, and the pony rides only have room for one. She finally buys a candy apple, then regrets it before she realizes how true the words "what goes around comes around" are. While grocery shopping, Bandit pretends to be one of the "Kids" while Bluey is the mother. She plays favorites with Bingo and scolds Bandit, until Bandit starts disobeying her.

Dashed off to the Acme after the cartoons ended...and ended up being late. That was the worst thing that happened all day. I spent the entire afternoon sweeping and gathering carts. It was almost as busy as the farm market when I arrived. The head bagger came out at one point to help me with the carts, but she was mostly inside, working in the floral department or cashiering. The weather wasn't bad either, windy and off-and-on sunny. 

Did my grocery shopping after work ended. I didn't really need a whole lot anyway, and I hit some terrific sales. Restocked yogurt, soda, cheese, and granola bars. Found Jones Prebiotic Soda on clearance for 70 cents each. The Olipops were buy one, get one. Decided to try the Acme's limited edition cookie flavors glazed lemon and key lime tea cookies. (They both tasted really good, but there were only a few cookies in the glazed lemon container.) Had an online coupon for free peanut butter. 

Finished the night after I got home with dinner and the Saturday Match Game marathon on YouTube. The show had quite a few panelists named Bob or Robert. The most prominent were likely long-time Price Is Right host Bob Barker and dancer and host Bobby Van. Barker appeared on the show and ogled ladies from the second week of 1973 through 1980, while Bobby Van turned up with and without his wife Elaine Joyce from 1973 through 1977. 

Three Roberts were semi-regulars later in the show's run and in syndication. Deadpan Bob Donner of Mork and Mindy appeared from 1979 through 1982 and would do several weeks on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. Handsome and cocky Robert Walden of Lou Grant turned up in 1978 and 1979, including on the infamous episode with the woman who gave the strange answer to "Cuckoo __." Genial Robert Pine, the only actor to last through the entire run of CHips, lent his fatherly presence to the show between 1978 and 1981. 

Lots of other men named Robert only appeared for one or two weeks. Robert Mandan of Soap was terrific during a very memorable week in 1978. Robert Culp frankly didn't seem to get the humor early in 1973, not doing nearly as well as the other one-week wonder Pat Carroll. Goofy Broadway star Robert Morse dodged a redheaded contestant who kept kissing the ladies in 1974. Host and comedian Robert Q. Lewis finished up 1973 with some hilarious quips. Slick Robert Vaughn of Mission: Impossible did two weeks in 1973 and 1975, including McLean Stevenson's first week. Brett was more than happy to kiss TV action star Robert Urich during his one week in 1975. 

Get to know a lot of guys named Bob in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Bobs are Awesome Marathon

Angels In the Sunshine

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Babysitter" is Prince Tuesday, who keeps an eye on him when his parents go out for the night. Dan is worried, then upset when Tigey goes missing. Prince Tuesday plays jungle with him, helps him find his favorite stuffed toy, and reminds him that no matter how long they're gone, grown ups come back. Likewise, "Daniel Goes to School," but is worried when his father has to head across the street to the Clock Factory. He assures him that he'll pick him up at the end of the day. Good thing he has lots of fun ways to play with his friends to distract him.

It was so late by the time I got downstairs, I called Uber. They came in 11 minutes, but I called so late that I was late to work. That was the only trouble I had with Uber today. I almost missed the one going to Thomas Sharp, but they did arrive in 9 minutes. I was so tired by the time I finished at Thomas Sharp, I called for a ride home...and was glad I did when the driver arrived in less than 2 minutes.

I started off in the floral department for the first hour, helping the manager rearrange glass globes filled with water, bright-colored roses with glitter on them, and fabric butterflies. They pulled me by 10 AM. Turns out there had been a mistake. The head bagger was supposed to work in the floral department. I was disappointed, and it didn't help that we were busy and I had a hard time keeping up with the carts at first. 

Not thrilled with my schedule, either. Once again, I work an extra weekday because the head bagger will be cashiering or helping the floral department manager. This time, in addition to Wednesday, I work Friday. I'm also going to be working early all week. The Sunday morning bagger took the day off again. 

Soon as I finished, I changed into regular clothes, bought a Hint apple water on clearance, and headed out. Stopped at WaWa for money first, then headed two blocks down the Black Horse Pike to the Black Horse Diner for lunch. Like I told the man who seated me, pancakes were calling my name. And their pancakes were enormous, the size of the plate, and tasty and fluffy. Good thing I only asked for two! I also had scrambled eggs, pineapple juice, and iced tea. I enjoyed my lunch and listened to the chatter of the mostly elderly people around me.

I got to the Thomas Sharp School very early. The kids were still running around on the blacktop. Some of them even waved to me and said "hi" as I got organized. I ended up going for a walk down to the train tracks to avoid distracting them. It was too nice to hang out anyway. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was sunny, breezy, and wonderfully warm, not too hot or cold. Gardens are bursting into bloom now. I even saw the first roses of the year. You'd never know we had such a rough winter by looking at how beautiful the greenery is.

I'm glad I signed in early. We had 24 kids today, 7 at my table. My group went to the bathrooms first, so we were pretty much in and out. Once again, it was after lunch when they got crazy. Two girls hid under a table and refused to get out. They're not supposed to be under the tables at all. Others ripped the paper taped down for stenciling. 

I was just glad we got them on the playground early again. It was too nice for them to be in the cafeteria anyway, especially after they spent most of the winter inside. They chased each other with a big fuzzy spider toy (that got thrown over the fence and a teacher had to retrieve) until there were few enough that they could get on the swings. I gave the kids pushes, even the ones who were capable of swinging on their own, and made sure everyone got a turn. The others danced to "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "I Like to Move It," "I'm Still Standing," "Dance With Me," the themes from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bluey, and PJ Masks, and songs from The Lion King, Moana, Moana 2, Trolls, and KPop Demon Hunters. One of the older girls joined us later to toss a basketball with the kids. They were down to 2 younger kids and 5 older ones when I finished.

Put on The Price Is Right when I got home. I came in just in time to see a lady miss "One Away" by one number. The gentleman after her did a bit better, but the lady was the one who won the big wheel. This was a rare episode with two themed Showcases. One was "Discovering the World"...Disney World, that is, with tickets to Walt Disney World in Orlando and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. The other one was themed around things people needed to get on track after being lost or injured. This included a jukebox and a sailboat. The lady with the trip package overbid. The other lady got her boat and some great music.

Let it continue into Match Game '91 while I ate dinner. They finished out the Soupy Sales week with Sally Struthers announcing that she was going to be doing a voice on the new ABC puppet sitcom Dinosaurs. (Incidentally, Sally was the voice of the younger sister Charlene.) They jumped around a lot after that, finally settling on a week with Tom Parks of Not Necessarily the News and Dana Fleming stuck between whiny Charles Nelson Reilly and Brad Garrett and his goofy impressions.

Finally finished out Charlie's Angels after Match Game ended. In "One Love, Two Angels," Kelly's shocked that she could be a millionaire's daughter when the owner of a hotel fortune (Ray Milland) is convinced she's the child he lost years before. His greedy nephew (Robert Reed) has his own reasons for wanting Kelly to be the real deal. Kelly, however, is not convinced. She insists that lawyer Bill Cord (Patrick Duffy) check and reject his research. Things get messy when first the millionaire is poisoned, and then Bill dies mysteriously after having fallen for Kelly and Kris. The two women have to settle their differences in order to find what Bill learned that ended up killing him.

And I believe that's the last episode I hadn't watched. For all the camp, this is still a fun show. The first two seasons in particular are a little darker than I remember from catching this occasionally in re-runs during my childhood. I know everyone remembers Farrah Fawcett and the ladies'...assets, but to be honest, the show got more interesting after she left. I thought the second season was the best as they navigated Kris' arrival. The scripts were better, too. They started to get goofier in season three. While Shelly Hack and Tanya Roberts weren't horrible as Kate Jackson's replacements, the magic wasn't really there with either of them. Weird scripts in the last season (including that male bodybuilder episode) didn't help. 

If you love the show, check out the first three seasons to get a better idea of the set-up and situations. The remaining two seasons with Tiffany and Julie are more for major fans of this or other 70's crime capers. 

Flower Power

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. Bogey ends up "Horsin' Around" when they enter a retired cab driving horse in a race so he can boast to all the race horses that he was in one. It's "Mission: Mutt" when Dinkel sends a sweet old dog to the pound and the Shirt Tales bust him loose.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. To my surprise, it arrived in 2 minutes. In fact, I had no trouble with Uber at all today. The one going to Thomas Sharp came in 6 minutes and got me there early. No traffic anywhere.

I had been wondering why I was working Thursday and Friday. The head bagger did the sweeping and indoor chores. I gathered carts, but it was dead as can be this morning. There just weren't that many out there. The floral department manager eventually asked me to help her with flowers for graduations and Mother's Day instead. I put small graduation balloons on sticks in a display and cut lavender and sage green netting, fit it into flowered bags, and put potted hyacinths into the bags.

Wasn't up to much more than lunch at Applebee's. Enjoyed a juicy cheeseburger and nicely-seasoned fries while watching the Phillies play the Giants and giggling at a 2-year-old boy who kept bouncing up and down in the booth in front of me and grinning. Went back to the Acme to buy straws for drinking soda (the silicone kind you can clean) and pick up the Uber after I ate.

Got to the school in plenty of time. There were far fewer problems today than there have been lately. For one thing, we only had 22 kids all together, 7 at my table. For another, we had more than enough teachers around for once, including one of the heads of the program. I owe the Phillies for getting my group to calm down in the hall by the bathrooms. The custodians were listening to the game on their radio in their office, and the door was open. Some of the kids couldn't help stopping to listen, too. I told them to be quiet, or they might make the Phillies lose! (Which they didn't. Later research revealed that the Phillies barely beat the Giants 6 - 5.)

It also helped that we once again got them out to the playground relatively early. I had trouble keeping them off the swings until more kids went home. Two of them fibbed to me that the head teacher let them on when she hadn't. Once they did get on around 4:30, I had to argue with a few of them to get them to allow their friends who were going home to have a turn. On the other hand, they chased one of the teachers around, pretending she was that elusive Pink Tiger. It was hilarious to see them running all over. Those who didn't run or swing danced to "Pink Pony Club," the themes from Bluey and PJ Max, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, and songs from Moana, Frozen, Encanto, and KPop Demon Hunters. By 5 PM, we were down to 2 little kids and 5 older ones, and I was allowed to leave early.

It was still a nice day at that point, too. It was so nice, I walked home. Though there were clouds on the horizon and it was windy, it was also mostly sunny at that point and fairly warm, in the mid-60's. I just crossed at Collings Avenue after a quick stop at Speedy Mart for a drink and a treat, passing the park and Dollar General on my way home. 

(It didn't start raining until around 7-7:30. It's rained off and on for the rest of the evening, though I don't think it's raining now.)

Had dinner while watching Match Game '91. For some reason, they skipped way ahead to the week that featured the second of comedian Soupy Sales' two appearances on a version of Match Game. He may have been older, but he was just as goofy as ever, including when he ended up handling a $10,000 Head to Head. He was joined by Pam Stone, Charles, Jimmie Walker, and comedienne Andi Matheny.

Finished the night working on that Michael review while listening to some of my new music acquisitions. The K-Tel collection Gold Rush '79 Volume 2 lives up to its name with some of the biggest hits from that year. Side one alone features "Knock On Wood," "Shake Your Groove Thing," "An Everlasting Love," and "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)." The major hits on side 2 were "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "Every 1's a Winner."

The Color Purple debuted on Broadway in 2005, and though it was a huge hit that ran three years, it got mixed reviews from the critics. Fortunately, you can't see the overblown production the critics fussed about here, just the powerhouse performances from LaChanze as Celie, Elisabeth Winters as Shug, and Felicia P. Fields as Sofia. Some critics complained about the deemphasis of the relationship between Shug Avery and Celie (there would be similar grievances about the film version of the musical as well), but they do get the gorgeous ballad "What About Love?" LaChanze scores with "I'm Here" and the title song, while Winters gets the jazzy "Push Da Button." Yes, the story is fairly depressing, but the music and performances alone make this worth checking out for fans of the novel or those who like their musicals on the meatier side.

And speaking of musicals, here's that review of Michael, on the life of Michael Jackson, I promised yesterday.

Michael (2026) 

Rock In the Rain

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. "Little Bear and the Wind" is nervous about the sounds the wind makes. Mother Bear tells him a story about his fisher-bear father confronting a wild wind in a storm until he feels better. Grandfather Bear tells Little Bear "The Goblin Story" about a goblin who was frightened of something behind him when Little Bear fibs about eating blueberries and says a goblin did it. Little Bear is working on a marble rolling contraption with his grandparents. He claims he's "Not Tired," in order to finish it, but it sure looks like he's passed out to the adults...

Called Uber after the cartoon ended and I finished eating. I got an AMC Theaters gift card for my birthday. I wanted to use it to see Michael, but the only morning showings on a Wednesday were at the AMC Deptford 8. The driver going to Deptford arrived in 10 minutes. The one going home came in 8. No traffic, a bit surprised given there's supposed to be road work going on near the entrance to Deptford.

Got there just in time for the commercials. Most of the ones I saw today weren't nearly as interesting as the ones in front of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. I did see the previous Spider Man Marvel films in the theater, but in all honesty, I'm not that big of a fan. I might check out Spider Man: Brand New Day if I'm bored in late July. My sisters and I used to play the Mortal Kombat games when we could sneak them past Mom, but I'm not all that interested in seeing a movie version. Is God Is looks more like something I'd catch on streaming some afternoon or in the evening after Match Game. I'm not a horror fan, and I certainly see no reason to reboot the Scary Movie series. No interest in more Hunger Games, either. I never did get around to watching The Mandelorian, and I have no desire to jump back into the Star Wars fray, no matter how impossibly cute Grogu is. 

As for Michael, I'll go further into the just-released biography of Michael Jackson tomorrow night on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Had a quick tuna salad wrap when I got home and watched Bluey. The girls are disappointed when they can't get toys from "The Claw," so their parents pretend to be claw machines. Chili gives them toys right away, but Bandit is harder to "work." He's hoping to teach the kids that life isn't fair...but they just end up tickling him until he gives them the unlimited bowls of ice cream block he put in his lap.

Went straight to the Thomas Sharp School after Bluey ended and got there right on time. We had 24 younger kids to start, 10 of them at my table. I'm kind of glad we went last going to the bathroom this time. There were still kids there when I brought them. I just had to wait for stragglers. 

The head of the program circumvented the noise and insanity in the cafeteria by having the kids go out to the playground a half-hour early. It showered slightly when we came out and about a half-hour later, but nothing heavy or that would make anyone melt. The kids were pretty crazy when there were still a lot of them around. One boy got upset when his toy car went missing, then threw said car over the fence. I chatted with one of the older girls while the others called out to kids playing ball on the sidewalk. They were much happier when enough kids went home that they could swing safely without hitting anyone. The head teacher had just taken the remaining 4 kids to the blacktop to play ball games with the remaining 8 older kids when I went home.

Waited for Jessa outside for a half-hour before she finally picked me up. Perfect timing, too. We were on our way to Runnemede when it finally started showering harder. It was coming down at a pretty good clip when Jessa pulled up at the Philly Diner, a lavish chrome diner and sports bar. Jessa said she mainly wanted to go there for their frothy chicken lemon orzo soup, made with whipped eggs instead of cream. She got the soup and a bowl of Caesar salad big enough for the smallest kids in the after-school program to swim in. I had a tasty farmer's omelet - sausage, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers - whole wheat toast, and home fries. I only ate half the home fries. I wanted to save room for a big slice of a decadent Reece's Peanut Butter Cup Cake with too-rich cream cheese peanut butter frosting. Jessa had a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

The last time we were in Runnemede, Jessa had wanted to check out Raintree Shopping in the shopping center next to the Acme, but they closed at 7. They still close at 7...but for some reason, they were open when we came. They're basically a smaller version of Ollie's or Ocean State Job Lots, overstocks and slightly used stuff for prices that, frankly, could have been cheaper. I did find two Care Bears I'd never heard of. I went with Friends Forever Bear, with her joined heart and swirly psychedelic colors. I'll dial her name down to the much simpler Groovy Bear. (I also saw an equally psychedelic Care Bear, Good Vibes Bear, who had a tummy symbol that resembled the logo of the Grateful Dead.) I don't think Jess got anything at Raintree, but she did get beaded flamingo fringe (she loves all things flamingo from growing up in Florida) at Dollar Tree. I got a 4th of July tinsel garland and a frame for the card one of the kids gave me on my birthday.

(Oh, and it continued to rain all through that trip, and during the ride home. It's showered hard, sometimes with thunder, off and on for the rest of the night.)

I finished the night with the second disc from The Essential Michael Jackson. Michael ends in 1988, conveniently before he started to be known more for his eccentric behavior than his music. It may have made his family feel better to stop there, but...those were the years I remember best. In fact, my favorite Jackson songs, "Smooth Criminal," "Black and White," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and "You are Not Alone" are all from later in his career, when he was somewhere between being a near-saint and a freak show. 

I almost literally grew up with Jackson's music. Off the Wall debuted four months after I was born. Thriller was one of the first albums I remember listening to constantly, and it was one of the first records I bought after Dad gave me the record player/CD combo for my birthday in April 2006. I'm pretty sure we also had Off the Wall on record. I know my family owned Bad on cassette, because I listened to that a lot, too. Dangerous was one of the first CDs anyone in my family ever owned. 

Cinnamon Sweet

Began the morning with oatmeal for breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. Niddler is frustrated with too many orders from the humans on the Wraith and too few melons. He's thrilled to be declared "King Niddler" on an island inhabited by non-flying colorful monkeys. What he doesn't know is they expect him to kill the monster that has been terrifying them for decades. Niddler learns just how important his friends are to him when they and one of the female monkeys end up helping him beat the monster and get the treasure he was guarding. 

Went online after the cartoon ended and made an appointment with PNC Bank. I need to talk to them about a loan and what I can reasonably afford in a condo. They told me to wait two years last year, but...I can't do that. I need a home of my own. I can't stay in an attic forever. I tried calling Alyssa again, but I still didn't get her. If I don't hear from her by next week, I'm going to assume she's not interested and will start looking for other ways to get loans.

Went downstairs next to make Cinnamon Strusel Muffins. Krusteaz mixes are on a really good sale at the Acme this week. I thought muffins would be easier to store than a coffee cake or loaf and make a nice lunch or snack. I also wanted to use up ingredients leftover from the baking on St. Patrick's Day and Easter. The last of the buttermilk replaced the water the box called for, and I added the last of the white chocolate chips from the Easter lemon cookies. Oh yuuuummm! They came out perfectly. The buttermilk made them super moist, and the little morsels of white chocolate added a sweet, creamy note. Smelled great baking in the oven, too.

Had a quick lunch while watching Sailor Moon. I felt like something goofy, so I went to the second half of the first season for "Love and Chased: Luna's Worst Day Ever." Usagi's cat Luna is having a rough time when she's twice chased by local alley cats. She's rescued both times by a plump cat named Rhett Butler who is sweet on her. The Sailor Guardians think his little girl owner holds the Rainbow Crystal they're looking for, but Mamoru - and nasty Zoycite - know it's much closer than they think.

Headed out to the Thomas Sharp School with plenty of time to park my bike before my shift began. I found the kids and the other teachers in the hall, with the kids and their backpacks leaning against the wall. They couldn't use the cafeteria because the music class was finishing, and they couldn't use the library because of the book fair. The kids weren't complaining too much. Most of them were happily reading, coloring, or playing with their purchases from the Book Fair.

We had quite a crowd today. There were 24 kids all together, 10 in my group. Honestly, they all could have been a lot worse. Mine were mostly fine in the bathrooms. They did get a little noisy in the cafeteria, but the head teacher headed off any attempts at beating each other up by cutting off their play time early and reading to them instead. I did have to pull one of the boys away from another when he tried to grab his toy cars. The kid was so grateful, he sat next to me until we went outside.

Things went much better once we got out to the playground. For one thing, there were far fewer of them by that point. Most of them went home between 4 and 4:30. By 4:30, we figured there was few enough for them to go on the swings. They were so funny! One little boy pretended he was an airplane. A little girl asked to go higher and higher! I did have to tell one of the older boys not to throw mulch while he swung, but I think he liked it when I grabbed a swing and joined him. We listened to "You've Got a Friend In Me" from Toy Story, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, and songs from KPop Demon Hunters before the battery on the speaker finally died. By the time I left at 5:15, they took the remaining two little boys inside to play with the remaining six older kids.

When I got home, I took out the trash, grabbed leftovers for dinner, and finished cleaning up the baking mess. Watched Match Game '91 while I ate. Most of the episodes finished the week with three queens of supreme sarcasm, Marcia Wallace, Pam Stone, and Vicki Lawrence. Deadpan Stone with her dry Southern wit is honestly one of my favorite panelists who is exclusive to Match Game '90. Brad Garrett and Sally Struthers returned to join Charles Nelson Reilly in the last episode.

Switched to The Persuaders! after dinner. Brett's saying "That's Me Over There" when a friend of his is murdered after gathering evidence on a crooked businessman, who then has Brett himself kidnapped. Danny has to play his friend and partner at a big auction in order to get evidence from a pretty female informant (Suzan Farmer).

Finished the night with some Good Eats. Not only was "Top Banana" the last episode from the DVDs I found on vacation last fall I hadn't watched, but I did just have a banana with lunch. Alton shows how sweet, nutrition-packed bananas can replace eggs in ice cream, make terrific Bananas Foster, and how the plaintain differs from your typical Cavendish banana. It kicks off with a hilarious spoof of Raiders of the Lost Ark that makes use of the fact that someone apparently fibbed and told Alton he had a banana plantation, when it was really just a lot of banana trees in his backyard. 

Bad Tooth Rising

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "The Big Foot Incident" has a Sasquatch-like creature stealing gold and cash from banks all over the city. Pammy points out that the creatures are usually gentle and couldn't possibly be doing this on their own. As it turns out, she's right. It's being controlled by a magician who is hypnotizing it for their own gain. The creature chases them all over the magician's castle, but Pammy's the one who finally breaks him out of it. There's an "Elephant On the Loose" (Joe Besser), but he just wants to go home to the walk-around safari. The Shirt Tales help him get where he belongs, before Mr. Dinkel catches him for a reward.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. I didn't think I'd be up to a bike ride after my tooth was pulled. The first driver arrived in 8 minutes; got there just in time. The second came in 5 minutes. 

As it turned out, my being on time was a moot point. I sat in the waiting room for a half-hour before they came for me. Honestly, though pulling the tooth was no picnic, the needles used to numb my gums hurt even worse. Not to mention, it cost a bundle, and may cost even more. The doctor gave me prescriptions for antibiotics to help with the infected gums and stronger pain killer to help with the swelling. At least I can eat real food this time. They just have to be soft and not too hot. 

I took that second Uber trip to the Acme to get them filled. Walked around, then sat for a few minutes while the pharmacy filled them. After I paid for them, I bought one of those new Powerade waters that are really on sale right now (99 cents!).

It was such a gorgeous day, I decided to walk home. Besides, I wanted to stop at Common Grounds Coffee Shop for lunch. I figured you can't get much softer than a blueberry muffin and a slice of mushroom and caramelized onion quiche. Tried their Strawberry Meadow Matcha off their seasonal menu. Not bad. Strawberry foam on top of green tea. Not sweet at all. The muffin was nice and moist, but it could have done with more blueberries. The quiche was much better, filled with soft veggie pieces and lots of cheese. They were really busy - they had to pull out a separate table so I could eat.

After I dodged road work on Newton Avenue long enough to get home, I went straight into The Persuaders! I hadn't watched this British action show about two wealthy playboys who solve crimes for a while. A "Chain of Events" leads Danny (Tony Curtis) to being accidentally chained to a briefcase intended for British Secret Service agents. While his partner Brett (Roger Moore) figures out what's in the case, Danny dodges Russian agents who will literally kill for its contents.

Left slightly early to drop the bag with my old winter coat in the clothes bin behind Dollar General. Even with that and dodging traffic on the White Horse Pike, I was still right on time for the after-school program. This time, they couldn't get a teacher to help with the older kids. They needed more than one, so the head teacher stayed with them. The 10 kids at my table left two of them and myself to do all the cleaning up, and they were pretty noisy in the bathrooms, too. The kids were worse in the cafeteria after snack time, running around, hitting each other, and tattling on it. Maybe they were all excited about the Book Fair this week. I'm just glad they still have book fairs. Several of them had new books they were more than happy to show me.

I'm glad we were able to get them outside slightly early. Like I told one of the girls later, it was too nice to stay inside for long. The weather couldn't have been nicer for late April, breezy, sunny, and in the upper 60's. Just warm enough to take off your jacket without boiling to death. One poor little girl nearly got run over by a boy who was too eager to go on a slide when she was trying to get her boot back on. I had to break up at least two fights, too. At least they all got to go on the swings this time. There were three teachers by quarter of 5, enough to keep an eye on the remaining kids and keep them from getting kicked.

We took them back inside around 5...which lasted for all of 5 minutes before the kids voted to go on the blacktop and play ball games. I was almost done at that point, anyway. I kept an eye on a couple of boys playing soccer and one poor younger boy who had smacked his back earlier and now had an ice pack on it. They were down to six older kids and two younger ones when I finished.

Took out the recycling, took my laundry downstairs, and took a shower when I got home, then had dinner while watching Match Game '91. Most of the episodes finished the week with Bill Kirchenbauer, Pat Musick, Jo Anne Worley, Charles, Bruce Baum, and soap star and singer Gloria Loring. Bill got the lion's share of the good lines that week, especially his reaction to a question about Vidal Sassoon! Vicki Lawrence and another soap star, Walt Willey, returned the next week, along with Ronn Lucas and Scorch and the hilariously sarcastic Pam Stone.

Brought my laundry upstairs as I watched episodes from various versions of Scrabble. This may be by far the best board game to have become a game show. It debuted on NBC in 1984 with Chuck Woolery hosting, and became a cornerstone of their daytime schedule. Two contestants play what is essentially Scrabble Crosswords. They choose numbered tiles that bring up two letters. If the letter is in the word, it'll appear. If it doesn't, it's considered a "stopper." Three stoppers, and the contestants now had to guess the word as letters appeared. The "Scrabble Sprint" was the bonus round. The winner has to guess words as quickly as they can. That determines the length of time they have to play the champ. 

Despite the slightly complicated game play, I can see why this was a hit right out of the gate and would be a mainstay of NBC's daytime schedule for five years. This is one of the fastest-moving game shows I've ever seen. They usually have room for at least two games. Woolery is just as charming her as he was on Love Connection around the same time. I have the debut episode here and the 200th episode from 1985.

Scrabble briefly returned to NBC in 1993. It was more-or-less the same format, but even with a snazzier set and Woolery returning, the life seemed to have gone out of the show. This version lasted six months. A pilot for a syndicated version in 1990 didn't sell.

Scrabble wasn't seen on TV again until 2010 as part of Family Game Night. This hit on the Hub (and later Discovery Kids) had four games an episode based on popular Hasbro board games. Scrabble Flash had families rearranging giant letter tiles to make words. The bigger the word, the more points they got. 

Scrabble Flash was dropped after the first season in favor of a full Hub show, Scrabble Showdown. This time, a parent and their child plays. Once again, we have a series of mini-games, this time all based on Scrabble. In "Scrabble Knockout," one contestant plays Vanna White and eliminates the letters on a huge board that the other contestant calls out. "Scrabble Babble" is basically "Scrabble Password." The adults get a three-letter word with a missing letter. They have to put a tile in and describe the word. "Scrabble Scream" is unscrambling words. Scrabble Slam has them replacing a letter in a four-letter word with another letter to make a new word. Scrabble Flash is retained for the bonus round. Really fun show, especially if you love words, and it's too bad it didn't last more than six months in 2011-2012. 

It wouldn't be until 2024 when Scrabble would return in something like its original form and for adults, this time on the CW. The game still revolves around crosswords, but this time, they're on a computer-generated Scrabble board. The current and returning champs once again play each other and guess words quickly in the bonus round. Raven-Symone hosted the first season of the show. Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson took over last fall, and he's the host in the episode from the CW's website I have here. 

Calling all word lovers! Challenge your brains and stump your reading skills with these fast-paced, heart stopping spelling extravaganzas based on one of the most beloved board games of all time!

Scrabble Premiere (1984)

Scrabble (1985)

Scrabble (1993)

Family Game Night (2010)

Scrabble Showdown (2011)

Scrabble (2026)

The Doctor Is In for Matches

Began the day with breakfast and the Growing Pains album. These are all songs produced, written, and/or performed by Steven Dorff. The version of the Growing Pains theme "As Long as We've Got Each Other" included here is the slightly more rock-ish version performed by B.J Thomas and Dusty Springfield from the 4th season. (He performs it solo or with Jennifer Warrens for the rest of the series.) The other memorable theme here is the lovely "Room Enough for Two" from My Sister Sam. We even get instrumental themes for the mystery Spencer for Hire and for the comedy-drama Murphy Brown. There's even two rarities. According to Wikipedia, the cop comedy The Oldest Rookie lasted four months from September 1987 through January 1988. Whattley By the Bay never made it past the pilot stage. The pilot ended up being shown as part of the CBS Summer Playhouse in August 1988. 

Springtime Favorites is Disney's second try at an Easter album after their Peter Cottontail from the 70's. This CD from 1998 is much better. It kicks off with a re-written, spring-related "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" is here, too, and we have a charming "Easter Parade." The early 20th century hits "When You Wore a Tulip" and "When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along" are performed in the style they would have been when they debuted, the latter by what sounds like a barbershop quartet. "It's a Sunny, Sunny Day" is a weird one - an upbeat number performed by a man with a bass voice that sounds like it should be singing dirges.

Took off on the bike after the CD ended. Alas, I got a later start than I should have and was late to work. Not a good thing. I don't know what the Sunday morning bagger was doing, but the carts were empty on both sides when I arrived. It was busy enough that I never managed to catch up with them, either. I didn't get to the pharmacy door side until the end of the day. We were short on help, too. One of the cashiers called out. They got one of the college boys to help me around 3:30, then pulled him when they needed cashiers. I was just happy when I headed home. 

At least the weather wasn't bad. It started out cold and gloomy again. If it rained, it did it early in the morning. By the time I finished, it was sunny, breezy, and in the lower 60's. 

Changed, had dinner, and spent the rest of the night watching today's Match Game marathon. Colds and getting sick turned up a lot in questions, usual as a joke about what doctors do that causes people to undress, even if it's for a small reason like a hangnail. Gene at least twice during the 70's run played when he had a cold or was sick. In fact, he was so sick on the first day Bonnie Franklin of One Day at a Time played, he couldn't give her a welcoming kiss. It was the only time during the series Richard got to kiss the "new kid on the block" ingenue. 

There was a question about colds in the hilarious nighttime episode where Gene stripped off his jacket and vest and showed off his body when a contestant answered a question about weak bodies with him. In an episode from 1974, McLean Stevenson started off sitting at the contestant's desk, complaining about Brett not hearing the question all week, and ended by chasing Gene Rayburn around the studio. Fannie Flagg heard two of them the week she sat in for Brett in late '77-early '78, including the nighttime episode. Questions about illnesses turned up as late as 1990 on the week with Sally Struthers, Bill Kirkenbauer, and Rebecca Arthur and her cute little poodle Emmy.

Let Match Game help you through the springtime sniffles with these hilariously funny cures for the April blues!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Catch a Cold Marathon

The Thin Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Bluey. "Calypso" is Bluey's Afghan Hound teacher. She encourages her students to play together by finding  a way they can all help each other, from Bluey offering Indy a job in her fish and chip shop to the Terrier Brothers defending Honey's gnome village. Speaking of Honey, she's been waiting...and waiting...for "The Doctor" Bingo to notice her in the waiting room. Bingo keeps finding other injuries more interesting, until Honey finally makes up her own weird disease.

Called Uber after I ate. I was running late, and I didn't like the sound of the weather later. The driver going to the Acme came in 8 minutes. I arrived just in time. The one going home came in 10, not bad for 4:30 on a Saturday. No traffic either way.

Work wasn't terribly busy when I arrived. In fact, it didn't get really bad until the rain finally arrived at 2 PM. It had been cold, blustery, and cloudy all day. By the time it finally started to shower, we had picked up a little. I had to clean up a small soda spill and fell behind on the carts. Thankfully, it slowed down slightly by the time I finished work. I grabbed callus remover - I have one on my left pinky toe that really hurts - vitamins, and water. 

(And I'm glad I got home when I did. The rain picked up while I was shopping, becoming a much heavier shower. It's continued to shower off and on for the rest of the evening.)

Watched Angels In Disguise on Tubi when I got in. This unusually dark Bowery Boys movie starts off with Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall), copy boys at the New York Chronicle, hearing their cop friend Gabe Moreno (Gabriel Dell) has been shot. Gabe survived, but another long-time policeman, Officer Murphy, wasn't so lucky. Horrified, Sach and Slip take it on themselves to find the group responsible for the raid - the Loop Gang from Chicago. They get friendly with a pool-playing tough guy (Joseph Turkel) and convince him to take them to his boss. Turns out the head of the Loop Gang is young, brilliant, well-read Carver (Edward Ryan), who has been using an outside man to get information on where their next job should be. Slip and Sach realize they're in over their heads when they bring the rest of the Boys, including soda shop owner Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey) in to infiltrate the gang and send Gabe information about the next robbery.

Finished the night with dinner, a shower, and tonight's Match Game marathon. For every joke on the show about chests and curvy figures, there were two about stick-straight ones. Slender British model and actress Twiggy was just coming off the height of her popularity when the show began in 1973. Most of the jokes tended to compare her boyish figure to more voluptuous ones belonging to Raquel Welch, and later in the run, Dolly Pardon. If it wasn't Twiggy who was the butt of skinny jokes, it was Skinny Minnie, who was compared to everything from a string bean to a blade of grass.

There was a skinny joke in the hilarious episode in 1978 that introduced the Star Wheel and saw most of the panel but Scoey Mitchelll walk out when it landed on Richard Dawson. Brett Somers wasn't too happy when her own boyish figure came in for jokes on at least two separate occasions, one of which compared her to her chesty friend Fannie Flagg. A handsome, slender young gentleman from Maine turned Brett and Barbara Rhodes' heads in another episode from 1979. There were two skinny jokes on the week featuring game show host and comedian Robert Q. Lewis in late 1973 that also introduced Joyce Bulifant. Morey Amsterdam made a funny but slightly macabre skinny joke in an episode from early 1974.

Folks of any weight can enjoy these hilarious episodes with Gene and his wacky weirdos, no matter how big the peaks and valleys on your shirt may be.

Match Game Saturday Classics - Twiggy and Skinny Minnie Marathon

Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

Got a late start today with breakfast and It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. Linus and Lucy's little brother Rerun makes his debut in the last Peanuts special with music by Vince Guaraldi (who died just hours after he completed the soundtrack). Sally turns the baseball field into a garden and orchard as part of an Arbor Day project. Her older brother is understandably furious, until it looks like the foliage might help them actually win a game.

Headed out after I made the grocery list. I didn't really need that much this week and I left late, so I limited the grocery shopping to just the Westmont Acme this week. I had online coupons for coconut milk, cookies, strawberries, and yogurt. Nature's Valley granola bars were two for $6. Restocked sliced chicken, soda, and apples. Thankfully, the store wasn't busy at all. I was able to get in and out with no trouble. 

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It's really spring in the park now. The grass is mostly green with a few dry patches. The leaves are a bright yellow green. Sunny yellow buttercups and dandelions line the banks of the lake. Canadian geese cropped grass with their adorable brand-new goslings. It was much busier in the park at quarter after 1. I dodged dog walkers, older folks and college kids out for a stroll, and parents pushing strollers before turning on the path over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center. 

Put everything away and had a quick lunch while watching Shirt Tales. The animals think they're "The Game Masters" when they sneak out to play consoles at a local arcade. They think they're getting a bargain when a game claims they can play for free, only to find them trapped in a bumper-car game. Tired of having to clean up the park for Mr. Dinkel, they don't object to being "Shirt Napped" by aliens, until it turns out the aliens just want them to clean up their planet. They finally swipe a flying saucer to get them back to the aliens' ship and get them home.

Called Alyssa at Camden County right before I left. I didn't get her, so I left a message. I hope I can get her on Monday. If she can't help me, I'm going to start looking for loan programs that might be more willing to help. 

Hurried out after the cartoon ended. Got there on time...to find the kids and their Thomas Sharp teachers, but no one from Healthy Kids. One of the heads of the program showed up shortly after I did. Turned out the head teacher had called out, and another couldn't come in. We were severely short-handed. Not a good thing, since we had 26 kids today, 11 at my table. They were crazy in the bathroom, especially the girls. I spent most of the twenty minutes or so after snack time cleaning up a little boy who had had an accident. By the time we got back, they were lining up the kids to go outside.

It was much too nice for them to stay inside. It was sunny and in the lower 70's when we first went out. Even after it clouded over and got windy later, it was still a lovely day. I did have to argue them off the swings, especially after they were all allowed on yesterday. There were too many of them and not enough teachers to keep an eye on them. Most of them were happy to draw with chalk, hug a tree, or dance along with "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "Pink Pony Club," "I Like to Move It," the theme from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and songs from Moana, Moana 2, Trolls, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

I stayed a little later after the head teacher had to go home at 5. We were down to six kids when we moved them with the older kids on the blacktop. The weather remained cloudy and a little chillier but still too decent to take them back inside. Most of the kids kicked balls around, but I did have to argue with two boys to stop throwing around bottles of glitter-filled water they made in class (the bottles were really kind of flimsy), then stop playing around a car that did not belong to them. 

Went straight home after all that and into Match Game '90. This was the wild week where Fred Travalena dressed as Elvis Presley, complete with sequined jump suit. The Star Wheel kept landing on him, too. To give him credit, he got it right two out of three times. Pam Stone was really hilarious this week too, tossing out several British and southern gothic jokes.

Got my schedule at this point, too. In good news, slightly more hours and no long shifts. Unfortunately, I have two double-shift days this time, Thursday and Friday. No idea when I'll get to the grocery store. The head bagger must have taken those days off again. 

Finished the night with three of my newly-acquired records and CDs. The Superman book and record from Peter Pan runs with the continuity in the comic books when it debuted in 1978, which means Clark and Lois works for Galaxy Broadcasting and Jimmy is a full-fledged reporter. "The Mxyzptlk Menace" makes everyone speak without vowels, which means they can't really communicate at all, until Superman finds a way for him to say his name backwards. "Alien Creatures" is a much darker and stranger story. After aliens appear, it suddenly starts raining silver bullets that dissolve anything in their path. Superman has to convince them telepathically that Earth is not a good place for them to make their home.

The Cars were one of the most popular rock groups of the late 70's and early 80's. Their Greatest Hits include "Just What I Needed," "Good Times Roll," "Drive," and "My Best Friend's Girl." Other favorites on this 1985 album include "Since You're Gone," "Touch and Go," "Let's Go," "Shake It Up," and "Magic."

James Taylor's music was an all together quieter version of rock. His Greatest Hits include mellow ballads like "Fire and Rain," "Sweet Baby James," and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight." "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," "Mexico," and "Walking Man" show Taylor in a slightly more uptempo mode.

Spring at the Library

Began the day with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Explores Nature" when he and his family have a picnic outside and see cardinals building their nest. "Daniel's Nature Walk" shows Dan, O the Owl, and his uncle X all the wonders of nature in the rain as they go for a stroll outside.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. To my surprise, the car going to the Cherry Hill Library arrived in 5 minutes. It only took 7 minutes going home. There was a little traffic on Cuthbert going home, but otherwise, it wasn't bad.

Today was the start of the first Cherry Hill Library book sale of the year. The basement level was bursting with boxes of DVDs, CDs, and records, the meeting room had humor books and children's literature, and the larger meeting room had the adult literature and non-fiction. No record finds this time around, but I did pick up four books, five CDs (one a two-disc set), and two DVD sets. The DVD sets were:

The Adventures of Superman: Seasons 3 and 4

The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Volume 2

The CDs were:

Springtime Favorites - A Disney Easter and spring-themed kids' album from 1999 

James Taylor - The Best of James Taylor

Hall & Oates - Greatest Hits: Rock N' Soul Part I

The original Broadway cast albums for The Color Purple and Sunset Boulevard (I had Boulevard on cassette in the early 90's, but I got rid of it ages ago.) 

The books were:

The White Lady by Jacqueline Windspear

Miracle On 34th Street by Valentine Davies 

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerald Jones (I think I've taken this one out of the Haddon Township Library before, but it's been a while.)

American Cooking: The Eastern Heartland (They had all of the early 70's Time-Life cookbooks, including the ones for French, Japanese, and Chinese cooking. I went with the one closest to home, so to speak.)

(At least I didn't argue over whether they could just buy CD cases, like one guy did. If my haul seems big, there were people buying dozens of CDs to sell on line and piles and piles of books for their friends who owned a store to sell.)

Put on The Pirates of Dark Water and had a quick leftover pizza lunch after I got home. "Panacea" is the land where the next treasure can be found, but it's guarded by an enormous crustacean. There's a certain flower that can heal most people, but kill the monster. A shady "bio-transmuter" who combines animals into new species offers a small half-fish, half-mammal to be their guide to finding the flower. The little fellow is annoying, sarcastic, and offends everyone, until Ren figures out what he really wants.

Headed to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoon ended. I forgot that today is also Take Your Child to Work Day. Most of the kids went to work with their parents. We had 16 younger children, 5 at my table. The kids wouldn't help clean up, and they were noisy in the bathroom...and noisier in the cafeteria after snack! The head teacher finally put on a video about making a "cake" from rainbow slime to distract them from the daughter of one of those working mothers who was watching movies on her iPad.

By the time we got them outside, we were down to 10 kids. Those that remained were allowed to go on the swings from the outset. Despite some squabbling, I did enjoy pushing them. As I pointed out, Moana and her crew couldn't have been more right. What could be better than a perfectly sunny, gorgeous, breezy April day in the lower 70's, not too hot or cold? The kids danced to "I Like to Move It," "Pink Pony Club," "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, the theme from Bluey, and songs from Moana and Moana 2 when they weren't drawing with chalk or arguing over the swings. The head teacher was just moving the remaining 3 kids to the blacktop to play with the 6 remaining older kids as I left. 

Made a quick stop at CVS on the way home. In addition to a pit stop, the Native shampoo and conditioner I bought still isn't helping my itchy perimenopause scalp. I hope the CereVe works better.

Had dinner and watched Daddy Long Legs when I got in. I go further into this charming 1955 dance musical with Leslie Caron and Fred Astaire at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Finished the night with the second disc from the Pisces, Aquarius Monkees set. Truth be told, there's far less of interest here. There's a few songs on the original mono album that sound slightly different from their stereo counterparts, notably the addition of Mike's patter on "Salesman." Most of the other songs are remixes of ones that are already on the album or been heard elsewhere. We do get the unedited version of "Goin' Down" used on the TV show and some alternate vocals for "Door Into Summer." 

Rain In the Morning

Got a really quick start this morning when I overslept again. I had enough time to write in my journal, change, have breakfast, and call Uber. Alas, they couldn't come for 12 minutes. I arrived one minute late.

As it turned out, I could have been infinitely late. We were quiet all morning. It started raining around 11, getting pretty heavy at one point. The rain and cooler temperatures scared off our customers. It got mildly busy around 11:30-12, then went right back to being quiet again. Other than having to put away a few cold items, there were no problems whatsoever.

Once I changed, I went across the Black Horse Pike to Rexy's Bar. Thought I'd try their flatbread or pizza. Went with "The Italian Job" pizza - mozzarella, tomato sauce, ricotta, peppers, thick sweet sausage slices. I ordered the individual pie. I expected something more like Pizza Hut's individual pan pizza, a little pie that came in a pan. What I got was what would be called a "small" at most pizzerias. It was delicious, especially the sausage, but I ended up taking half of it home.

After lunch, I went back over to the Acme. Got a treat so I could take out money for the Cherry Hill Library book sale tomorrow. Called Uber early. I didn't want to be late this time. They arrived in 8 minutes...too early, as it turned out. I went for a walk around the two blocks nearest to the school until it was time for work. West Collingswood is such a lovely little town, with so many nice older houses and charming gardens, I really should check out more of it.

Good thing I did arrive early. We had 26 kids today, 9 of them at my table. The kids at my table cleaned up well enough and were fine in the bathrooms. Once they all finished snack time, though, they were a mess. The boys playing with magnetic tiles in particular threw so many of them around, there were barely any left on the table by the time we were getting ready to go outside, and everyone who had sat at the table were kept inside for 10 minutes. (Though one girl did sneak out anyway.) The ones coloring weren't much better. They ripped the white paper we taped down for them to stencil on, to the point where I finally threw it away and gave them regular paper.

Things were still crazy, even when we got outside. At least all of the teachers were here this time. I had to meditate between the two squabbling best friends again. Another girl threw an absolute fit when she tried to climb up the slides (which she's not supposed to do anyway) and some of the other kids blocked her. It calmed down a little by 4:30 when more kids started to go home. That's when they were allowed on the swings, too. Everyone wanted me to push them, even the kids who are perfectly capable of swinging on their own.

Thank heavens the weather had much improved by quarter of 5. If there weren't a few fat drops of water left on the slides, you'd never know it rained this morning. The streets weren't even wet anymore. It was sunny, breezy, and much warmer, likely in the lower-mid 60's. It was so nice, the kids never went back inside. The head teacher took the four remaining younger kids to the blacktop in the back to play ball games with the five remaining older kids as I called Uber. It took me two tries, but I did get one that came in 7 minutes, not bad for the height of the dinner rush hour.

Put on Buzzr when I got home. The Price Is Right was already into the Showcases. I think I might have seen this episode before, actually. The first one was a generic "every room in the house" that ended with a piano. The second saluted the then-popular CBS soap Capitol with a trip to Washington DC, a sports car, and an appearance on the show. Two of the hunky leading men even appeared in some segments. Alas, the lady going for the soap went over. The other lady got her piano.

Things went better on Match Game '90. The entire night was devoted to the week with Vicki Lawrence sitting in the second "character actress" seat next to Charles for the first time. She was joined by Jimmie Walker, slightly ditzy soap star Jacklyn Zeman, and stand-up comedian and voice actor Roger Behr. Honestly, Roger was the funniest this week, tossing out a few good quips. No wonder he'd been doing voices on Hanna-Barbara shows since the 70's, and would continue doing them up until his death in 2018. 

Moved to Disney Plus for two animated episodes about respecting plant life, the birth-death cycle, and helping our planet next. In Muppet Babies, Summer Penguin learns why "It's Not Easy Being Greeny" when her beloved daisy Greeny McPlant Plant starts to wilt. The Muppets do everything they can to revive it, but to no avail. Nanny gently explains about the birth-death cycle to them and that it's ok to miss their friend. "Dueling Harmonicas" is a little less dark. Rizzo the Rat stubs his toe and decides to play harmonica in the Muppet Talent Show instead of dance. Fozzie, who is also playing harmonica, tries to get him to do something else.

Usagi and the Guardians also learn a lesson about the importance of plant life and preserving it during the first season of Sailor Moon. Usagi isn't thrilled when Rei manages to snag a date with an unimpressed Mamoru in "Usagi's Panic: Rei's First Date." She grabs nerdy Umino and uses him to keep an eye on the two. Ami is more concerned about the kindly old park manager who is upset that the park may get torn down for an office building. Nephrite of the Dark Kingdom has used his black energy to possess him and the animals in the park, who attack anyone who seemingly abuse nature. It takes the combined effort of all three girls and Tuxedo Mask to get rid of the flowery monster who took over his body.

Finished the night with the first disc from my last birthday/Easter present to myself. The deluxe 4-disc CD edition of Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones LTD that I ordered from Rhino Records finally turned up today. It's the same as the previous CD box sets, two discs of the original songs on the album with remixes and rarities, another of backing tracks and rarities, a 45 featuring two of those rarities as singles (in this case "Goin' Down" and "Love Is Only Sleeping" in alternate mixes), and a book on how it all went down. Considering there's far fewer rarities here and more remixes of songs already available, I wonder if the well is really going dry here. Actually, the stand-out on the first disc that hadn't already been heard in one form or another is a lovely alternate version of "Riu Chiu," which the Monkees performed on the Christmas episode of their TV show.