Little Girl Lost

Began my day with breakfast and Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost. After the kids catch the wrong villain on one of their usual ghost hunts, the local sheriff points out something fans have been calling them on for years - that normal kids would leave the professionals to their jobs. Shocked and upset, they decide to give up on mystery-solving, including selling the Mystery Machine.

Among the things they find when they sell other items from their cases are the crystal ball that Daphne, Scooby, and Shaggy used to contact Vincent Van Ghoul in the mid-80's show The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo. Ghoul, to their surprise, calls them about having found the final ghost. Velma, as usual, is skeptical about ghosts existing, and Fred is upset that Daphne seems to have usurped his leader role. They head to Tibet, where they learn about a demon who has been attacking the locals. They also encounter the show's con-artist kid character Flim-Flam, who's now an adult and is selling demon merchandise advertising the town as a tourist trap. Velma continues to claim that the ghost isn't real...but there's something that's after the Chest of Demons that holds the ghosts, and this time, even Van Ghoul's magic may not be able to save them from the curse of the demon.

Your enjoyment of this one will depend on how much you know about The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo and the other Daphne/Shaggy/Scooby shows of the early-mid 80's. Even with some explanations, most people will probably be as lost as Fred and Velma. I also think the ending is a bit of a cop-out, since it doesn't really settle anything. Plus, there's only one off-handed mention of Scrappy, who was a major part of this show. (And despite what the movie claims, Fred and Velma did know Scrappy. They appeared in most of the first-season Scooby Doo and Scrappy Show episodes.)

On the other hand, I do like that this movie addresses some long-standing complaints about the franchise, such as the kids interfering with law officers and the changes to Fred and Daphne's characters over the years. I also give Hanna-Barbara props for returning to a series I assumed most people had forgotten about and trying to do something like finishing it. (Heck, I never heard of this series until I read about it online. Research reveals that it was apparently pitted against Alvin and the Chipmunks in the spring of 1986, a big hit that my sisters and I all loved.)

Though there are some interesting ideas, this one is really for major fans of the Scooby franchise or 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo only. I honestly wouldn't come anywhere near here unless you've seen that series or the Daphne/Shaggy/Scooby episodes.

I spent most of the morning while the movie was on taking down the St. Patrick's Day decorations, then doing things around the apartment. I'm continuing to clear out toys and other things I really don't need. I got rid of all of my Effanbee dolls but the Musketeer (I call him D'Artangan), Cinderella, Miss USA (my black cowgirl - I named her Oklahoma Sal), and Miss Russia (Sonia) and all of the Sailor Moon toys. They're all just sitting there, taking up room and being something else for me to dust under. The Effanbees would be better off with a collector who could restore them and treat them properly; the Sailor Moon dolls need a child to play with them. I moved the Star Wars toys up to where they'd been on top of the wardrobes and gave them their doll holders.

That freed up room on the shelf where the Sailor Moon dolls were. I moved the adult hardback novels over there, then shifted the American Girl and children's books over to the shelf where they'd been with the children's hardbacks. Changed the Star Wars books over to the now-empty shelf.

It was so late by the time I finished, I headed straight out to have lunch. It was a gorgeous day for riding. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and while it was still a bit breezy, it wasn't anything near as bad as it has been the past few days. The ride was pretty decent. I even managed to cross Cuthbert quickly.

My original plan was to treat myself to lunch at Friendly's. Turns out they'd closed over a month and a half ago, despite having been there for literally years. I ended up going next-door to Nick and Joe's pizza instead. Ordered what was listed as a mini chicken cutlet sandwich with fries. It ended up being breaded chicken strips with mayo, lettuce, and tomato on a roll with a bag of potato chips. It wasn't bad, just not what I expected. I had it with a Coke. There were a bunch of kids having a late lunch, but it otherwise wasn't that crowded.

Headed along to the Haddon Township Library next. The librarians were literally delighted to see me. The DVD cart was overflowing with pretty much everything possible. There was so much, I never even got to the kids titles. I spent almost an hour and a half just shelving the adult DVDs and TV series. I'm really trying to focus on other things right now and limited my rentals to another Daniel Tiger set and two movies. I loved Ocean's 8 so much in the theater last summer, I thought I'd check it out again on home media. Also grabbed the family fantasy The House With a Clock In Its Walls.

Made a quick stop at Target on the way home. While eggs and sugar aren't as cheap there as they are at Dollar General, they are cheaper than at the Acme. (Especially the eggs, which are currently $1.49 there. The Acme's regular 12-count large eggs are $2.99!) I got lucky that a line opened just as I was looking for a shorter line to get in.

When I got home, I did some research. I can find plenty of entertainment and review blogs that I could write for online. That's not a problem. The problem is getting myself to write a proposal. I don't mind selling my writing. It's harder for me to sell myself. There's a little girl inside me who doesn't think she's worth believing in, who is bullied and belittled by children and adults alike for not being like everyone else. Who believes she should have done better, been better, been a better daughter and a better person. It's hard for me to let that go. I have no idea what I want my future to be like, other than "not this and with more writing."

I cheered myself up with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while making a green salad with romaine lettuce, spinach, grape tomatoes, scallions, and broccoli. Had it with home-made orange dressing. Figured I'd eat healthy after the breaded sandwich this afternoon. It came out quite well, fresh and inviting. Turned Mrs. Tiger's banana whirl into peanut butter banana whirl with the addition of peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon.

Daniel is excited about his first "Tiger Family Trip," a vacation to visit his Grandpere. They take Trolley, stopping at a playground with a dinosaur slide and a butterfly garden. "Visiting Grandpere" is a lot of fun, especially a treasure hunt and a picnic. Eventually, "The Tiger Family Goes Back Home," but not until after Grandpere shows Daniel a special place to watch the sun rise and lets him leave his paw print on his boat.

The little cub is also excited about "The Neighborhood Carnival." He really wants to ride the Ferris Wheel, but it's so high, he's kind of scared about it, too. Mrs. Tiger tells him it's normal to feel more than one thing. He plays ring toss with Prince Wednesday until he's ready to tackle the Ferris Wheel with his mom and Miss Elania.

The Tiger Family celebrates the 4th of July with "Fireflies and Fireworks." Baby Margaret is scared of the fireflies, but her big brother Daniel holds her hand until she's used to them. When the fireworks start up, they're both scared, and not happy with the loud noise. They hold each other's hands until they're done.

(Margaret's not the only one who is scared of bugs. Rose had been stung by a bee as a young child and was deathly afraid of them for years. Once, probably in the early-mid 80's, she thought she saw a bee on a tree in the backyard and got really upset! I went and got Mom, who explained that it was actually a ladybug. They're not only harmless, but are said to be lucky as well. I stayed with her and Mom until she calmed down a little.)

Finished the night with the remaining two episodes after a shower. Daniel and Prince Wednesday are excited to start "The Lemonade Stand" and give away lemonade to their neighbors. They don't always get along in their new business. Prince Wednesday keeps shaking the lemons off the tree before Daniel can count them, and Dan gives people lemonade out of turn, without giving Wednesday the chance to do it. Queen Sara encourages them to talk about their anger and work out their problems.

Discussing anger also helps at "Mad at the Beach." Daniel hits the sand with Elania and his dad, but things don't always work out like they'd hoped. Daniel gets mad at Elaina when she splashes too hard and sea water ends up in his eyes. Neither of them are happy when the waves wash away their sandcastle. Even Daniel Sr. has to learn to talk out his anger with the kids when they go into the water without asking him first. They all discover that talking out anger can lead to finding a solution - like rebuilding your sandcastle in a drier spot, not splashing your guy friend so hard, or taking Dad with you when you need water for your moat.