Turning Japanese

The sky was whitish and overcast when I rolled out of bed this morning...but there wasn't the tiniest hint of snow on the ground. It was supposed to have started snowing overnight and continued well into the afternoon. Figures they wouldn't be able to figure this storm out. It must have all gone north.

Had breakfast, then went through cookbooks for ideas of something to make for me today and to bring to Anny's for the party on Monday. Watched The Magic School Bus while I ate. As someone who grew up by the beach and tidal zones, "Goes to Mussel Beach" actually brings back a lot of memories. The kids are frustrated when their beach gets crowded and Ralphie keeps insisting he has the perfect spot. They learn more about habitats when Ms. Frizzle introduces them to her Uncle Shelby's buddy - a mussel named Myrt. Myrt has a place in the middle tide zone, but it seems too crowded to them, leading them to set out to find something better.

They're supposed to create a project about air to travel on a space shuttle in "Goes On Air," but they can't think of anything great except for a jar of air. Ms. Frizzle takes them in the jar to learn more about what air does, but someone closes the jar and accidentally traps them inside. They have to figure out how to use air to create enough pressure to get them out.

Having grown up with wetlands almost literally down the road, "Gets Swamped" is especially meaningful to me. Carlos is supposed to debate at the town hall about whether their town should build a mall over the local swamp. He's all for destroying them, at least until obnoxious Janet chooses the opposing side and he has to defend them. Ms. Frizzle shows them just how important the swamps are, not only to whole ecosystems, but to people, too.

(I could have told the kids from the beginning that building a mall on swampy land is a bad idea. The Acme in North Cape May is part of a shopping center that was built over wetlands in 1989. Every time there was a snow storm or major rain, massive craters the size of ponds would form in the parking lot. Apparently, they didn't drain the area appropriately before they started building. Mom and Anny have mentioned that they did fix the problem since I worked there.)

Arnold is thrilled to be nominated for an award in honor of his vast knowledge of rocks in "Goes Cellular," but not that his skin has turned orange. Phoebe hides him from the rest of the guests while the others once again travel inside of him to figure out what happened to his skin and why it's such a strange color.

The class "Meets Molly Cule" when the superstar singer (Wynnona Judd) takes their hand-made car wash over machine ones. She doesn't want anyone to damage her crystal hood ornament. The kids learn about molecules and how they work when they have to remove one last speck of tar from her car, then repair the hood ornament when it lands in a bucket of water.

By 1 PM, I'd gotten bored. It wasn't snowing, raining, or even windy, just blahh and cold. I figured I was good to run to Dollar General. They weren't too busy - I guess everyone went yesterday. I was originally going to buy underwear there, but I'll hopefully be going by Somerville later in the week and will hit the big Walmart there. I did buy eggs, which are far cheaper there ($1.25) than they are at the Acme.

Of course, I'd barely left the parking lot when the seat on my bike went out from under me. One of the pieces that held the bars of the seat onto the pole had snapped. Thank goodness I wasn't hurt, but the seat was off. Frustrated, I put the pieces in my bag, dropped the bike on the pole, and walked across the street, trying not to get upset. At least I had a week to figure out how to fix it.

As I made my way across the White Horse Pike, I decided to walk two blocks down and check something out. Yes, they'd finally finished remodeling the old, abandoned Taco Bell into a new restaurant, Sakura Japanese Sushi and Steakhouse. While the outside still looked Mexican, the inside now had elegant mahogany-colored booths along the walls and larger metal tables, along with soft piano music and delicate paintings of Japan. I had the lunch version of the Shrimp Terikyaki, which came with a steamy soup filled with chewy seaweed and sliced tofu chunks. The shrimp came with vegetables smothered in savory sauce and brown fried rice. It was so tasty and savory! There was also quite a bit of it. I ended up taking half of the shrimp and rice home. The two people behind the counter were quick and very pleasant, too.

After I got in, I made the bed while running Let's Make a Deal on Buzzr. The heavy blankets on top were starting to slip again. After I finished the bed, I made Chocolate-Mint Truffle Cupcakes from my low-fat Chocolate Cupcake recipe in Hershey's Best-Loved Recipes. Monty had some big deals for a man in a karate outfit, a couple in jogging outfits decorated to look like highways, and a woman in a Mickey Mouse outfit, among others. The couple won big money. The mouse lady unfortunately ended up with just a can full of beans. The karate man did better, eventually getting a really nifty entertainment center and furniture in the end.

(And it's a good thing I got in when I did. Tiny white flakes began to fall as I turned onto Manor Avenue. No less than 10 minutes after I arrived, it was snowing heavily and covering the yard. Richard even came up and swept it off at one point. It changed to rain sometime in the evening and has rained off and on, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the night.)

Spent a few hours doing research on repairing cruiser bike seats. Oh damn. It seems to be hard to find metal clamps like the one that broke online. There are ones available, but only for certain bike brands.I was really hoping I wouldn't have to drag the damn bike to Cherry Hill and spend a ton of money to have it repaired, but I'm starting to wonder if it may be my only option. I may check the hardware stores in Collingswood and Westmont to see if they have it, too.

Finally went into my story around 5. Gene reminds them that they've now found five out of six of the Legendary Princesses they've been searching for. Three are in safe places with their sweethearts, and two are with them. They still need to find one, but no one knows where the Princess of Air is or how to find her. Marcia tells them they can discuss it further when they arrive at her cottage.

Broke for dinner at 7. Had leftovers while finishing The Magic School Bus. "Sees Stars" takes them back into orbit for their third and final space-based episode. They're hoping to buy a star from a home shopping network for Dorothy Ann's birthday and  name it after her, but Keesha won't buy anything she hasn't seen. They explore three different options...and when the one they chooses explodes, discover how a star is formed in order to make her a new one.

Ended the night online with the live-action-animation hybrid Lady and the Tramp on Disney Plus. I go more into yet another remake from last year on my Musical Dreams Movie  Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Lady and the Tramp (2019)