Out In the Sunshine

Began a sunny morning with breakfast and Strawberry Shortcake on The Roku Channel. "Toto's Tale" is actually Pupcake's story, as he narrates the tale of how he and Strawberry were blown into a strange land by a tornado. There, they met the Scarecrow (Ginger Snap), Tin Woodsgirl (Peppermint Fizz), and Cowardly Lion (Orange Blossom), who help get Strawberry to the Emerald City and dodge the Wicked Witch of the West (Sour Grapes).

In fact, all these Match Game marathons are giving me some great story ideas, like the one I got watching Joyce's episodes last night. Joyce finds a puppy outside the studio that needs a home and smuggles him in. Clever Charles suggests she find a place to hide him, while Richard, whose heart is more tender than he'll admit, says he'd take him home to his sons. Bill Daily is terrified he'll be found out, but Brett is more level-headed and suggests she find Gene and see what he says. When Ira the producer and judge threatens to send her new friend to the pound, Joyce flees the studio, only for Gene to convince her to return. There's a big storm coming.

Joyce and her puppy dart into a storage shed on the property, which is then lifted in the air and sent over California...and indeed, to a bright, colorful land Joyce has never seen. The redheaded Witch of the North (Patti Deutsch) tells her she rescued her little blue people from the evil Witch of the East and gives her the silver slippers left behind to protect her. She's told that the Wizard of Match will help her get home. Along the way, she meets a fussy, bespectacled scarecrow, a British tin woodsman who claims he has no heart, and a terrified little lion who is nervous about everything. Even when they managed to avoid the schemes of the Warlock of the West, they learn he's imprisoned Lady Brett, the Witch of the South, and they must free her and destroy the Warlock.

No idea when I'll get to this one. I was either going to do the western or the Star Wars spoof next, but this one is intriguing, too. We'll see what happens.

Work was a total pain. I started the day cleaning. Wouldn't have minded moving out to do carts around 11:30 if they hadn't taken the guy who was supposed to be cleaning and had him counting people going into the store. I had to do carts and sweep the store on my own, and I have no idea who got the cleaning done before the evening bagger arrived at 2. We were very low on help. Our vacation cycle restarts in May, and a lot of people will be taking their use it or lose it time this week and next week. I used the last of mine in January.

I was too tired when I got home to do much more than change, eat a snack, and watch an episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Considering I was more than a little annoyed with a lot of my co-workers for not having more help this morning, I could relate to "Daniel Gets Mad at Dad." Daniel gets upset when his dad says they need to go to the post office and he can't play at the playground, and then when Margaret plays with his favorite stuffed tiger. Dan Sr. gets him calmed down and reminds him that you can be angry with someone and still love them. "Daniel Gets Mad at His Friends" when Miss Elania spills red paint on his full-body tracing; she's not too happy either when he accidentally rips hers. Teacher Harriett reminds the two that even when friends fight, they're still friends.

Attempted a little writing when I went online. Fannie's startled to find two gentlemen in the kitchen, to say the least. Charles cuts off Richard's flirting by asking her about her father's work. Fannie's stepmother and stepsisters are desperate to get in with high-level members of the court. She listens in on their conversations and passes her findings to Arlene and her contact at the Palace.

Finally gave up and had a quick leftovers dinner around quarter of 7. An episode of Match Game from 1974 featured not Charles but a big, hearty gentleman named George Kirby on the end. Brett was left to spar with Richard and a nasal Morey Amsterdam.

Sale of the Century featured a man who had won everything on the matching board but the big car. Alas, he didn't get it. The one woman got a money card in The Fame Game, bought no prizes, and jumped ahead in the speed round. She ended up matching a sauna.

Returned to Strawberry Shortcake as I went online. Their version of "Sleeping Beauty" has Strawberry as the princess cursed by Brambleberry Fairy (Blueberry), who believes she was deliberately left out of her christening party and won't listen to the page (Banana Twirl) who says she wasn't. Apple Fairy (the grown Apple Dumplin') makes it so she only sleeps, but the other fairies can't figure out how to break the spell. It takes Prince Huckleberry to convince Brambleberry to forgive the others and remove her curse.

Finished the night on Crackle with Charlie's Angels. They're "Cruisin' Angels" when Charlie puts them and Bosley in charge of hiring a captain to bring his new yacht down to the Caribbean. Bosley's horrified when the yacht vanishes while he's on a date with its interior decorator (Beverly Garland), and is even more puzzled when it reappears the next day. Turns out the yacht is being used as part of a plot to smuggle gold to a dictator in South America, and everyone from mercenaries to lackeys of the dictators want that bullion back!

Oh, and it seems the McLean Stevenson marathon took longer to upload than planned, so it'll be shown tomorrow. Tune in at 4 PM Eastern for some of everyone's favorite ex-MASH surgeon's wildest antics!