Sunday, January 19, 2020

A Walk On the Windy Side

I was up so late with Lauren last night, I didn't wake up this morning until almost 11! By the time I finished Cotton In My Sack by Lois Lenski and wrote in my journal, it was nearly 12:30. Kept things simple with Banana Pancakes for brunch. They came out pretty well, too. Burned a side of the first one slightly, but they otherwise came out very well, sweet and fluffy. Listened to the K-Tel Pure Gold LP from 1975 while I ate, enjoying songs like "Fooled Around and Fell In Love," "Right Back Where We Started From," "Let Your Love Flow," and the theme from Welcome Back Kotter.

Started something new after I cleaned up from breakfast. The essay on my long-time love of game shows took a while to write, but I did finish it. I decided to take my psychologist Mrs. Stahl up on an idea and write one on my fondness for malls.

Maybe it's because, for the first decade of my life, malls were sort of a mythological place to me. I wouldn't see the inside of a large, two-story mall until the early 90's. The only mall I knew of in the 80's was the Rio Mall in Rio Grande. Alas, it's long-gone now. Other, larger shopping centers opened down Route 9 and across the street, causing pretty much everything to move out or close. Super Wal-Mart eventually took over one of those brand-new shopping centers and probably would have killed the smaller K-Mart even if the chain wasn't having problems.

(In fact, according to a couple of local newspapers, Cape May County is apparently in the midst of remodeling the former K-Mart and Rio Mall into county offices, a bowling alley, an "entertainment center," and an expanded movie theater. Mom mentioned the movie theater being remodeled the last time I talked to her; she's upset that she won't be able to see Rise of Skywalker in the theater.)

Broke at quarter after 3 for a walk to Dad and Jodie's. At least it was a nice day for a walk. While it was still windy (I probably wouldn't have used the bike, even if it was in good shape), it was also sunny and a little warmer than yesterday, in the lower 40's. There were a lot of kids out for a walk or folks chatting with their neighbor before heading in to watch the football games.

I wanted to go over to their house because the Kansas City Chiefs played the Tennessee Titans for the AFC Championship at 3:05....and more importantly, I needed to finally return two of Jodie's larger Tupperware containers from the Christmas morning brunch leftovers. I watched part of the first, the second, and the first half of the third quarter with them, switching to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit when commercials rolled around.

It was a really exciting game, too. The Titans were up 10-0 when I arrived, but the Chiefs quickly got a touchdown. The Titans came back by halftime, making it 17-14. By the time the sun went down and I headed out, they were up 17-21. I later discovered online that the Chiefs did end up winning 35-24.

(The Packers played the 49ers later this evening. I didn't watch that one, but considering the Niners were up 27-0 at halftime when I checked the score online and later won 37-20, I suspect it wasn't quite as thrilling. Incidentally, for those of you following along at home, this means that it'll be the 49ers and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. I'm glad. They're both good teams to deserve to be going.)

Rose called almost as soon as I walked in the door. I intended to call her anyway and find out when we're going down to North Cape May tomorrow. It sounds like between 10:30 and 11, after Finley has her tumbling class. That's usually when she picks me up for trips to visit the family down there, so I wasn't surprised. Sounds like Mom's invited too, which makes me hope she and Anny have at least tried to mend their fences.

Finished out the Pure Gold set while wrapping Lilah's birthday presents. I'm giving her two cute picture books, both from the bargain bin at the Acme. One is about a little Scandinavian girl who suddenly becomes tiny and has an amazing adventure in the flowers and grass around her. The other allows the reader to place reusable stickers - or come up with an idea of their own - on a blank "spot" in a story and finish the story their own way. (I also have money for my 10-year-old nephew Collyn's birthday that I didn't get around to giving him last month.)

Made Cincinatti Chili on tri-color pasta for dinner while listening to the soundtrack for the Barbra Streisand vehicle Funny Lady. I saw the movie on Crackle when I was browsing around and may review it this Tuesday. I hadn't had the LP on in quite some time. Kander & Ebb wrote a couple of new numbers to go with a batch of older songs from Fannie Brice's second husband Billy Rose, including the standard "How Lucky Can You Get?" that opens the album. Other good numbers include "Great Day" and the comic "Blind Date" for Streisand, "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charley" for Ben Vereen, and a charming version of "It's Only a Paper Moon" mixed with the new "I Like Him/Her" for Streisand and James Caan as Rose.

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