Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Sunny Day Matches

Began a sunny morning with breakfast and Split Second. It was a tight race, but a young woman came back and got it in the speed round. She opted to take a trip to Paris rather than coming back and trying for the car. The former All American Woman's League player continues to dominate Blockbusters. She breezed past a pair of sisters, then just got the 5,000 dollars in the Gold Rush bonus round. The lady may have met her match in a set of brothers from Canada, though.

Called Mrs. Stahl after I cleaned up from breakfast. Obviously, I couldn't do Haddonfield just yet. I'm still not entirely sure I'm up to talking to her anyway. Got her answering machine. I suggested we reschedule for late in June after I moved. (She called back later and did, indeed, reschedule us for June 30th.)

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while I finished the dishes and got organized. "Daniel's Bicycle" was once his dad's, but Dan Sr. fixed it up for him. He has a hard time going over a hill at first, but his dad helps him. Later, Prince Tuesday helps Wednesday and Daniel go all the way across the rings. (Bless them - I have a hard time with the rings to this day and certainly couldn't manage them when I was a six-year-old!) Dan and his mom watch "Katarina's Magic Trick" at the Enchanted Garden. Henrietta teaches her daughter a new magic trick to try. Katarina has a rough time getting it at first, but with the help of her assistant O, she eventually gets it.

Went outside...and went right back in with my final birthday gift to myself. I needed a new pair of walking sandals. The ones I bought from Amazon a couple of years ago were cheap and starting to crack. Lands' End's been having huge sales on their summer clothes. The walking sandals I picked up were perfect, comfortable as can be, with straps in a gorgeous coral red color with gray trim. They felt so wonderful, I wore them on my outing.

It was too nice of a day not to head out for a walk. The neighborhood is flat-out gorgeous right now. Trees are all lime greens with cotton-candy flowers. Gardens burst with magenta and lavender hyacinths and brilliant wildflowers. Kids toss basketballs and ride bikes in their own yards. Their parents walked their dogs and pushed their baby siblings in strollers, heading down to West Clinton to order lunch.

My first stop was Dad and Jodie's house, dodging road work on the other side of Hillcrest. Well, actually, it was at the apartment. I saw no one around, so I figured no one would mind if I took a peek inside. Peering through the front window revealed a small room painted yellow. It was only slightly larger than my current bedroom...but I could see the hall Jodie described off to one side, and what was likely the large closet she mentioned. No one was anywhere to be seen, and the room was empty. If there was anyone painting anything, they were on break.

My real destination was Dollar General. They're less-stocked than the Acme on most things. They have no toilet paper or hand sanitizer or wipes and haven't for weeks. They did have quite a bit of cleaner left; I grabbed a vinegar-based spray cleaner. Needed underwear too. Their peanut butter is cheaper than the Acme's. The main reason I was there was for plastic bins; grabbed two medium-sized gray ones.

Put everything away when I got home, then made brownies while watching episodes of Good Eats: The Return. I thought "Wild Yeast Risin'" was extremely appropriate at the moment. Yeast has completely disappeared from stores, thanks to people deciding to make bread rather than buy it. I'm glad everyone's discovered how wonderful making bread is...but there's other ways to make it, as Alton reveals here. His starter makes Cheez-It's-style cheese crackers and Belgian waffles.

(And I know Alton likely intended the zombie apocalypse theme in this episode as a joke, but for many viewers right now, it may be a little too on the nose...)

"Every Grain Old Is New Again" introduces two ancient grains that are currently seeing a renaissance. The Latin American grain quinoa is popular in salads and side dishes. Chia comes off clay busts of favorite characters and into baked goods and sauces.

Finished the night back on YouTube with the next Match Game marathon. The panelists and crew aren't the only ones who get pretty wild. The show's had it's fair share of nutty or memorable contestants as well. Dorothy, who appeared on New Year's Day 1974, got so excited, she accidentally hit Gene and the contestant next to her when she cheered after winning! She got so crazy, even Richard was afraid to go near her. Betty Boop-voiced Marlena from a few weeks later lost her shoe after Morey Amsterdam gave her the winning answer.

Good friends and neighbors Janet Finn and Carol Bartos figured into two of the most delightful weeks of the entire series, and between them became some of the biggest winners ever on the show. Sweet Janet waited breathlessly while ever-dramatic Charles Nelson Reilly delivered the news of her major win, while Richard gave Carol big smooches after giving her the winning answer. Another lady in 1975 promised she'd belly dance if she won money. She didn't, because they played the wrong music...not that it bothered Brett and Betty, who came right out and did their own interpretation of belly dancing.

There were a few memorable male contestants, too. Cop CB Farnsworth proved to be funny and charming during a week in 1974. Handsome high school coach Ron Valenti turned quite a few heads during his three-day stint in 1975, including those of Fannie Flagg and Betty White.

Here's the marathon, so you can enjoy some of the wildest people to ever play Match Game, too! And it looks like tomorrow we'll finally get to hit the high seas with the much-delayed Salute to Love Boat marathon.

Best Contestants and Biggest Winners on Match Game 1973 - 1975

I also watched the 1937 comedy musical Double or Nothing this evening. I go further into this vehicle for Bing Crosby at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Double or Nothing (1937)

Oh, and Rose called while the marathon was on. She got Jodie to push the majority of the actual move to early July, but says I can start bringing over anything I won't need for the next two months as soon as they finish painting. I'm tired of being here and was really hoping to go in early June, but I know Rose and Craig are worried about finding someone to watch the kids. Not to mention, I need to figure out how to break the news to the McHughs and get out of that rental agreement.

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