Starflights

I was up late with Lauren last night and tried to sleep in, but I couldn't make it past 8:30. Oh, well. Plenty of time to finish Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, write in my journal, and have a nice breakfast.

Was glad to have the time to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast, along with tea and cherries. Listened to my K-Tel albums while I ate, and throughout the day. K-Tel is a Canadian company that puts together collections of whatever songs happens to be popular at the moment and releases them for cheap. (They still release them online to this day, according to Wikipedia.)

They were at their height of popularity in the 70's and 80's, when their infomercials selling the albums were as notorious as the songs themselves. Nowadays, the K-Tel albums are a treasure trove of forgotten and barely-remembered hits, from "Makin' It" by David Naughton (from Meatballs) to "Thank You For Being a Friend" and "Devil Woman." They always make me feel energized, even when including ballads like "Sad Eyes" and "Heaven Must Have Sent You."

As soon as I got the dishes washed, I headed out. I had to bring the note from the doctor to work. At least it was a decent day for a walk. While not as sunny or warm as yesterday, it was breezier and far from cold. I passed lots of people who were also out jogging, walking dogs, or riding their bikes, enjoying the nice day before the weather turns wet later in the week.

To my surprise, the Acme wasn't busy at all when I came in. There wasn't even a line outside, and the bored bagger counting people said there had been maybe once, and it wasn't long. The manager on duty took one look at my arm in the sling and figured out what the doctor yesterday didn't - I was going to need the full week off, and probably longer. I still gave her the paper to turn over to the head manager, who had already left for the day.

Picked up a few things I hadn't gotten yesterday that I thought I might need now. Pretty well restocked vegetables yesterday, but I thought celery sticks would be good for snacks or lunch. Can't hold floss the right way anymore, so I bought a bag of floss holders. Finally broke down and bought one of the larger containers of split chicken breasts - they were just that cheap. Grabbed more yogurt for lunch this week and milk for breakfast. Shredded cheese was on a good sale - I thought it would be easier to use shredded than try shredding it myself.

On my way home, a family sitting on their stoop waved hello, and noted my busted arm. I told them I'd just turned in my papers to work...and I was actually feeling quite upbeat. I've been stressed and frustrated and annoyed at work for weeks, more than usual. If a busted arm gets me away from all that and at home like the rest of the world, so be it.

After I put everything away and had my lunch, I thought I'd try using my laptop in bed in order to elevate my arm better. It didn't work. I couldn't elevate the arm, balance my laptop, and keep my mouse from wandering into the folds of my blankets. I finally gave up and moved to the roll-top desk.

Research on local orthopedics offices revealed that most of them weren't open on Sundays. Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow morning. I'm not going to call the rest of the family until I make that appointment, either.

I'm not asking for a ride. I'll splurge and use Uber. This isn't like when I hurt my ankle in 2012 and really did need someone to drive me everywhere. I can walk just fine to get the laundry done or make quick errands. I'm also not in as bad of a place financially. Between my paychecks, the stimulus check, and my tax return, I do have some money in the bank, and my food stamps are at least twice what I spend in a month.

Even if I wanted to spend money...besides the fact that there still aren't a lot of places people can go, there isn't much I need right now. I bought most of what I needed for my birthday. I'd rather spend 30 dollars to get Hulu, Disney Plus, and Amazon Prime at home. Not to mention, I'll be moving soon and am trying to get rid of stuff, not buy more. And most of all, I'll finally have the chance to stay at home and avoid this virus, like everyone is supposed to still be doing.

Switched to fanfic work around 4:30. Joyce (Bulifant) the nature fairy gives Charles his costumes and horse back. To his surprise, the costumes are now much nicer and better-made than they were before. He has clothes he can wear to the evil Malade's ball. Gene does the same for Richard and Bobby, turning their woodmen's outfits into fine uniforms.

Broke for leftovers at 5:30. After I ate, I thought I'd try making Red Velvet Chip Cookies with that cake mix I bought on Friday. It was a revision of a simple recipe I found on Pinterest, adding two teaspoons of buttermilk to the original oil, egg, and chocolate chips. Oh yum. Deliciously sweet, tangy, and chewy.

Finished the night online exploring Disney Plus. I canceled my subscription back in late January-early February, but now that I'm bored at home, I thought I'd give it another try. Checked out a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode I hadn't seen before. "Mickey and Minnie's Safari" take them down the river on Cap'n Pete's boat, past the Goofy-shaped rock, around the banana tree, and down the rainbow path in order for Minnie to take a photo of the rare hula hibiscus. The hibiscus only blooms once a year, so the gang has to hurry...and of course, ask for help from Toodles in getting around the obstacles they find on the way.

Last week, Buzzr swapped Body Language with the mid-70's game show Now You See It. This 1974 CBS show is basically a word search played for money. Four contestants play as two teams. One guesses the row an answer is in; the other has to decided what number the word starts. The winning team is separated into solo contestants and play against each other, trying to find words in one row of letters. The winner of that goes on to play the returning champion, and that winner plays the final speed round for an increasing jackpot and gets to come back.

In both cases, the challengers just could not overcome the returning champ...and neither champ I saw was able to win the full jackpot. (Though host Jack Narz did say one champ won the jackpot on a previous episode, as it had to be reset.) Not a bad idea for a show, but the format was cumbersome. They might have been better off keeping it as teams, or doing it solo from the start and eliminating a round.