The Empty Bedroom March

Slept in this morning and finished Alice In Wonderland. Didn't get going with banana pancakes until almost 11:30. Put on The Story of Johnny Appleseed while I ate. This is an LP and book adaptation of the Melody Time short, once again with Dennis Day singing all the parts. I've had this one for a long time. It's one of the original 65 records I got from my first stepmother Kaye's collection. She loved all things mid-20th century, including the music, and was a fan of Day. The album largely sticks to the original short...except for one segment that depicts how Johnny befriended the Indians and comes off as very awkward nowadays.

Stuck with Disney but went patriotic with Yankee Doodle Mickey as I cleaned up from breakfast. I listen to this children's album on or before every major patriotic holiday. Mickey, the gang, and a group of kids (including a very young Molly Ringwauld) perform songs like the title number, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," and "God Bless America." My favorite number is the Armed Services Medley, with Mickey singing for the Marines and the Air Force, Goofy for the Army, and Donald, of course, for the Navy.

Switched to the soundtrack from the film version of The Music Man as I packed up the desk. Most of the papers, sheets of stickers, and the calculator and ruler went into my old laptop shoulder bag from college. The things that didn't fit - two pencil cases, the stapler and staples, the containers of USB ports with many stories on them - went in a box. Left the laptop, pens in the jar, the USB ports with my stories and the letter, and

Although I do have the original cast album for The Music Man too, the film version has the better cast. Hermoine Gingold makes her "Ballzaac" in "Pick a Little, Talk a Little" sound like the worst offense in the world, and Shirley Jones sounds marvelous on "Being In Love," "Goodnight, My Someone," and "'Till There Was You." There's also Buddy Hackett on "Shipoopi" and all those salesman laying into their big rap "Rock Island" in the opening.

Spent the next few hours listening to Hooked on Swing and Turned On Broadway II while I moved my packing into the living room and kitchen. Boxed up the first round of cups and mugs today in two smaller boxes, one a shoe box that still had the tissue paper inside. After that, I pulled out one of the empty crates and used it for the remaining records from the dry sink.

Worked on writing for a while after switching to my America the Beautiful patriotic instrumental music collection. Thorny vines try to keep the group from reaching Marcia. Brett and Jo Ann use their magic to keep it at bay, while the little frog slips under the door and opens the lock. Bill (Daily) the wolf dashes in as soon as the door is open and gives the sleeping Princess Marcia (Wallace) a doggy kiss. Marcia does awaken, but immediately comments that she's not thrilled with waking up to dog breath!

Bill finally admits that he loves her, and she's able to say she does too and gives him a real, human kiss...that transforms him into a short man with brown hair and gentle light-blue eyes. Yes, he's Prince William, and he was the one who wrote Marcia the letters and called himself Will. He wasn't sure how she'd react to the "prince" thing. He wanted her to like him for himself.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Continued with the other disc of America the Beautiful as I made Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies. Pretty much the same deal as the Fudgy No-Bake Cookies without the cocoa. Yum! They came out just as well as the chocolate ones, though they did take slightly longer to set.

I was just sliding the cookies into the fridge when Rose called. Evidently, Dad's in the hospital, getting a blood clot removed. Rose wanted to do some laundry and clean up the house a little for Jodie while they're away, but she also had to watch the kids. She asked me if I could keep an eye on them at my side of the house while she cleaned. Sure! Why not? Finley had fun the last time we were there. Rose even said she'd bring a few smaller boxes over.

I'd just grabbed my sandals and grabbed a few stuffed animals for Finley to play with when Rose arrived. She helped me wrap my arm in the car before we drove over there. It took a few minutes - the door sticks - but Rose managed to get all of us through.

It was harder to amuse Khai than it was Finley. Finley was mostly happy to admire the view of the creek from my living room/kitchen, play with Butterbear and the two stuffed My Little Ponies, and climb onto the window ledges and look out to the garden. Khai was bored. He kept grabbing tools and the plunger from the bathroom and pounding on the door to make his mother get her chores done faster. We did have some fun marching around the empty bedroom, turning around and going backwards (though I had to keep reminding the kids not to touch the newly-painted walls).

Khai was also thirsty and kept asking for a drink of water. Good thing one of the boxes Rose grabbed happened to be the shoe box with the mugs and cups I packed earlier! The faucet in the kitchen needed to be attached, but the one in the bathroom worked fine. It also gave me a chance to explore the kitchen and bathroom further and check out the wider shelves and cabinets and all four of the huge closets. (They need to fix the door to the bedroom closet. The kids kept pushing at it and swinging it. The bedroom door sticks badly, too.)

It must have seemed like forever to the kids, but it was really only about 20 or 30 minutes before Rose came back in, sporting a mask. Jodie's really nervous about Dad catching this virus, which is why she's been telling us to stay away. Finley was upset when we had to leave; I assured the kids they could visit when I'd fully moved in.