Busy In the Rain

I awoke to a cloudy, incredibly humid morning. Ate breakfast while watching the second half of Blockbusters. The contestant from yesterday seemed to be doing well against the mother-daughter team, but they came back at the last minute and won.

Switched to PBS Kids as I finished eating and did the dishes. I've done the nature-themed episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood before, but I thought I'd do them again now that I've been able to spend more time outside myself. "Daniel Explores Nature" when his family spends time outside. He and Katerina watch cardinals build a nest and even get Dan Sr. to help when their nest is blown over. O an X the Owl join "Daniel's Nature Walk" and see a squirrel run and worms wiggle after a rainstorm.

Took down the spring decorations next. Normally, the summer and 4th of July items would be going up in their place, but I'll need to repack them in a few weeks. I'll see what I can put up of the summer stuff after I move and likely won't bother with the 4th of July decorations.

Watched Doc McStuffins while I worked. Dan and his friends aren't the only kids who enjoy being outside. Doc and her toys are "Out in the Wild" during a camping trip with her brother and dad. Her brother's toy Robot Ray has an accident with a bluebird that results in his arm breaking. Doc puts his arm in a sling until she can get back home to fix it. Doc and her friends have "A Whale of a Time" helping Lula, the Beluga Whale sponge toy from the aquarium gift shop, get enough water to grow.

Spent the next hour or so cleaning the bathroom. It needed it badly, especially the bathtub. I scrubbed not only the tub itself, but used cleansing powder on the tiles in an attempt to get rid of all gunk there. Really needed to wipe down the mirror on the medicine cabinet, too.

Returned to Buzzr and Match Game '74 while I cleaned. Fannie Flagg sported a Girl Scout uniform in the first episode as she, Pat Harrington, and Jo Anne Worley finished their run. One question asked who the dumbest answers on the show came from, Everyone but Jo Anne answered Brett, including Brett and the contestant. (I don't think that's true, though Brett tended to be better at the Audience Match and Head-to-Head.) Charles returned for the second one, along with Patti Deustch, Betty White, and Bill Cullen.

Finished out the cleaning while watching Chasing Rainbows. I go further into this early talkie backstage melodrama at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Chasing Rainbows

By the time the movie was winding down and I was putting towels in the laundry, we were in the midst of a massive thunderstorm. It did rain a bit earlier, but that was nothing like this storm. Buckets of rain poured down as thunder crashed. It started to slow down as I was eating yogurt for lunch. The rain returned later in the afternoon, but finally vanished by about 3 and hasn't returned since.

I thought I'd heard someone on the porch while I was cleaning the bathroom, but I thought I imagined it. I'd just finished lunch when I opened the door to check the weather and found a damp Amazon package sitting under the roof on the porch. Thank goodness, the DVD boxes I ordered arrived! They're stylish 60's-esque plastic boxes containing four books of 24 holders each. The boxes are a tad on the flimsy side, but they still looked better than the heavy CD books, and they can even be stacked.

Moved the action, musical, and musical documentary DVDs to books while returning to Buzzr. I'm not familiar with Lynda Cornell, but I remember Fred Grandy from the occasional Love Boat re-run during my childhood. They made a good run with their contestants on Super Password. Gary Crosby and his wife Barbara were the big winners on Tattletales, even after everyone missed a question in the beginning. Everyone kept getting slammed with Whammies on Press Your Luck. The only reason there was a new champ was she picked up a home entertainment system that cost more than the little bit that the old champ had.

Finally got some writing done around 4:30. The Evil Queen Malade easily sees through Richard's princely disguise. She still wants him to marry her or tell her where Queen Betty (White) fis. He refuses to do either. Maid Lee (Merriweather) and Charles cut in before she can do any damage.

Broke for dinner at 6. Jack Albertson and Lynn Redgrave finished out a wild week on Match Game in 1975 with Albertson accidentally giving the answer to a question, causing it to be thrown out, then with a decision against an answer by the show's judge and producer Ira Skutch that lead to a lot of arguing from the panelists. Things had calmed down by the time Nipsey Russell, buxom blonde Lee Meredith, and Joyce Bulifant joined the group. Gene and Richard happily ogled Lee, while Brett tried her best on a Head-to-Head.

I'd started pulling the musical DVDs as Sale of the Century came on. It was another tight race, with the two men neck-in-neck the entire time. The champ bought two Instant Bargains and still managed to win the speed round, with the help of a money card found in the Fame Game. After three tough wins in a row, he decided he'd had enough and opted to take an elegant grand piano home.

Went to The Roku Channel for The Patty Duke Show as I finished with the boxes. "The Conquering Hero" is the super-tall Stretch, who represents the only hope for Brooklyn Heights High's basketball team to win the championship. Patty and her dad are so desperate for their team to win, they let the boy stay at their house when his family moves to Detroit. Patty's mom and Cathy aren't as amused. The very tall boy is sweet and polite, but he eats a ton and tends to be awkward or break things. His coach (Charles Nelson Reilly) is horrified when Stretch's bad grades may not let him play. Cathy thinks of a way for Stretch to learn...and makes a friend when Stretch admits that he's tired of the adoration and feels like a freak.

Finished out the night with The Golden Girls at Hulu after the Match Game premiere on YouTube. Blanche is thrilled that a handsome stud from the gym (Charles Hill) asked her out in "Blanche and the Younger Man" from the first season. She works hard to be as young as she can for him, to the amusement of Dorothy and Sophia. Meanwhile, Rose is shocked when her mother Alma (Jeanette Nolan) wins money at the track, whips Sophia at poker, and manages to get around town on her own. Alma has to remind her worried daughter that she may be older, but she's not a child or an incapable woman.