Started the day with the soundtrack from The Happiest Millionaire as I ate breakfast. This live-action Disney musical tells the story of the Biddle family, mainly the relationship between Anthony Biddle (Fred MacMurray) and his daughter Cordelia (Leslie Ann Warren). Tommy Steele also turns up as the Biddles' proudly Irish butler, and John Davidson is Cordelia's beau. The music isn't the Sherman Brothers' best, but there are a few songs I like. Cordelia muses on growing out of her tomboy phase, wondering if she should love "Valentine Candy" or continue boxing with her family. "Are We Dancing?" is a decent duet for Cordy and her sweetheart Angie, and Steele joins snooty aunts Gladys Cooper and Geraldine Page for "There Are Those."
(And something I didn't realize until I really looked it up tonight - Joyce Bulifant, the goofy dimpled blonde from Match Game, was in this movie. She played Cordelia's roommate at boarding school and sang the vamp spoof "Bye Yum Pum Pum.")
Work was on-and-off steady, nothing really terrible. I rounded up recycling early-on and shelved gum, but once again, I was mainly outside with the carts. Some managers and customers claimed it was cold and it spit at one point. It was windy, cloudy, and a little chilly, but I never felt any rain, and the wind and cold could have been worse.
Went straight home after I finished and into putting up the Valentine's Day decorations. I couldn't find a place for the tinsel garlands, but I did put up everything else. Cardboard hearts hang on the cookbook shelf doors. Valentina the pink penguin and Amoura the love frog are on the DVD shelves. A pink bear tin is behind the DVD player. A small brown and red heart box guards the TV; a larger ruffled heart box brightens the book shelves in my bedroom. Taped up large red Mylar hearts and vintage hangings of a little pioneer girl with her puppy and a teddy bear holding a valentine.
Watched Downton Abbey as I worked. Season two, episode six begins with the arrival of a badly burned Canadian officer who claims he's Patrick Crawley (Trevor White), the heir who was lost in the Titanic disaster. Mary (Michelle Dockery), his former fiancee, doesn't believe him, but her sister Edith (Laura Carmichael) does after he remembers things only Patrick would know. Needless to say, current heir Matthew (Dan Stevens) is not happy, though he has lovely Lavinia (Zoe Boyle) to console him. Patrick, dismayed by everyone's lack of faith, takes off, upsetting Edith. Everyone else is just happy that the war is over. Matthew's mother Isobel (Penelope Wilson) wants to continue to use Downton as a hospital, but Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) insists it's a home first.
After everything was up, I finally got around to something I've been meaning to do. Roku can stream PBS and PBS Kids for free, but you have to activate both first. All you need to do is plug in a series of letters Roku shows online. I did both, signed in, chose WHYY as my local station, and they're now up and running.
Did some writing after the PBS stations were uploaded. Charles finally tells Bill that he's figured out he was the one who wrote the romantic letters to Marcia. Bill's tried writing her again, but he can't hold a quill in his paws. Charles gives him ideas on how to make his dinner with her more romantic.
Broke for dinner at 6. Had the last of the leftover chili while watching tonight's Match Game. Notorious ham Jack Cassidy joined Richard Dawson playing pirates in a nautical question in the first episode, while another question joked about Betty White's parties with her Password host husband Allan Ludden in the second.
Made Carrot Muffins as Buzzr switched to Sale of the Century. It was another close game today, at least until the speed round, where the man on the left absolutely killed the other two. It did him no good in the bonus round. He got caught up on a question and ran out of time before he could answer the last one.
Finished the night with The Hustle. Small-time con woman Penny Rust (Rumor Wilson) is enamored with the wealthy lifestyle of fellow hustler Josephine Chesterfield (Anne Hathaway) and wants to learn all her secrets. Josephine takes her in and teaches her the art of the hustle, eventually starting up a con with Penny passing as her crazy sister, who scares men out of their money. When Josephine won't pay her, Penny challenges her to hustle Thomas (Alex Sharp), the rich creator of a wildly popular app. Penny does seduce Thomas...but in doing so, falls for him. Not only does Thomas have feelings for her too, but he's definitely not what he claims to be...
Charming female-centric remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels floats on the talents of its two leads and some stunning French Riviera vistas and nifty costumes. Evidentaly, the critics were rough on this one when it came out last year, but I think they were too hard on it. If you love con capers or the two leading ladies, you'll want to give these dirty rotten scoundrellettes a look.
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