A Quiet Birthday

Began the morning with breakfast and the final episode of The Yogi Bear Show, "Yogi's Birthday." The sponsor insists on celebrating Yogi's big day with a party on TV. Ranger Smith tells Yogi that he's going to be on a variety show, but Yogi's attempt to learn how to dance and sing end in disaster. When the Ranger does coax him out of Jellystone, he discovers that it's really a chance for all the Hanna Barbara funny animals to come together to celebrate his big day.

Opened my birthday presents after breakfast. Linda and James Young gave me a book on Barbara Eden, Jeannie Out of the Bottle, and a collection of all of the Good Eats: Reloaded episodes made up to this point. Unlike with the Popeye cartoons, I'll try to dole out the latter sparingly instead of watching them all at once. It'll be nice to have something different to watch with the Match Game marathons when I get home from work, and I'm always open to trying new recipes.

Switched to Labyrinth while making orange cream cheese frosting for my birthday carrot cake and pan-frying apricot jam-filled pocket pies. I go further into this dark 1980's fantasy featuring David Bowie singing among Jim Henson creatures at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Labyrinth

Around 12, I packed my small white Easter basket with the flowers with a tuna salad sandwich, celery sticks, pocket pies, and Popchips. My original plan for today was the movies, but after all the virus craziness closed the theaters, I thought a picnic in the park would be nice. At least, until all the parks were closed. Fortunately, I remembered there's a little green field behind the VFW where members toss horseshoes and enjoy barbecue at outdoor parties. It's bordered by a line of trees and the train tracks on one side and a parking lot on another, making it the perfect isolated space for a quiet, distanced picnic.

There was part of a fence with a sign up in front of the field, claiming that it was closed to vehicles. Not only did it say nothing about being closed to people, but a random truck was parked right next to the back of the VFW. I enjoyed my lunch at one of the concrete tables and benches while listening to the birds and admiring the soft greenery and lavender and sun-yellow dandelions and

Took a short walk over a narrow path through the trees and brambles and over to the train tracks. The view from the train bridge is amazing. You can see straight to the Parkview Apartments in one direction, half-way to the park in the other. The sun was in and out, warming my back, and it was breezy, but not nearly as windy as yesterday. A lone fisherman caught lake trout in a small boat floating off to my right on the Parkview side.

When I got in, I quickly took down the Easter decorations. The general spring decorations will likely stay up until I begin to pack everything for my move. I'll wait to put up the summer items until after I leave.

After I put everything away, I went online to watch the Gary Burgoff Match Game marathon, only to find the guy who's been posting these is still having problems with YouTube and the marathon was postponed until tomorrow. Since I was dead tired and had no other plans, I ignored the lawn mowers and potty mouths going outside and dropped into bed for a nap.

Woke up an hour and a half later, feeling disoriented and still tired. I drowned out the lawn mower by focusing on writing. Richard tries to get Fannie to come to the ball, but she insists that she's not only too well-known at the Palace, but her stepmother would never allow it. Even as Charles drags him away, Richard insists that there has to be a way she can come with them and identify her contact...and of course, dance with him at the ball.

Rose arrived while I was writing, sporting a huge paper bag. She handed me the bag and I handed her the envelope with her birthday card and gift card, and she dashed off. The paper bag held a complete Italian meal. There was enough pasta with tomatoes and shrimp, anti-pasto salad, mozzarella sticks, salad, and crusty bread to feed every stuffed animal and doll in my apartment if they could actually eat, and maybe all the Star Wars action figures, too.

Watched Match Game on Buzzr while I ate. This one was one of the episodes that turned up in the marathon, with McLean kissing Gene and Richard after a contestant won big money in the head-to-head round. The woman champion on Sale of the Century went back and forth with the lone gentleman, even buying a camera to take photos of her new baby at one point, but he pulled ahead in the speed round and won. It didn't take him long to match a trip to the Bahamas in the bonus memory round.

And the guy in charge of the Match Game Productions channel at YouTube has already posted the Gary Burgoff marathon for 1 tomorrow. This time, we really will get to see everyone's favorite teddy bear-loving MASH comedian imitation everyone from Price Is Right contestants to his former teacher, Charles Nelson Reilly.