Put on Match Game '79 while eating Cream of Wheat for breakfast. Grand Ol' Opry cowboy Guich Kooch, songwriter Paul Williams, and Debralee Scott join in for wild west jokes and cracks at Williams' diminutive size. Charles and Brett argue over questions about what Dean Martin was hired to advertise, while Brett and Betty exchange barbs and Deb has to figure out "Very __" and "__ Talks" on the Head-to-Head.
Figured it was time I finally got to opening the cats' present under the tree. When I managed to get the green satin ribbons on the bag undone, I revealed a bag full of colorful little cat toys! Lynx loved it. He had a great time batting around a day-glow orange mouse and a glittery blue pom pom and trying to attack a small rod with ribbons and feathers on the end. At one point, I thought he lost the pom pom under the entertainment center, but that dexterous boy managed to slide his paw under and bat it right out.
Headed out for a short errand run next. I used up an extra can of cat food putting it outside for Toothless on Wednesday, so I figured I'd find more...and this time, not kitten food. They never touched the food I bought yesterday. Started out at Family Dollar, but they had no smaller cans of cat food, and barely any cat food at all. It was snowing, and rather hard, when I went over to WaWa. Needed money to do my laundry New Year's Eve and treated myself to a tasty Bananas Foster Smoothie.
Finally found Fancy Feast cat food at Dollar General. They have a slightly better pet section than Family Dollar that was a little bit better-stocked. Grabbed two cans of chicken and a pecan roll for me.
The snow was long gone when I made it home, but it remained cold, gray, and windy. I went nowhere else today. Threw my laundry into the dryer when I got in, then went into apartment hunting. Still no luck. I sent out for information on a house in Oaklyn that's kind of high for what I'm looking for, but is better than nothing. E-mailed the Collings Avenue Apartments, which were supposed to send me an application and never did.
Started packing while Tattletales was on. Gay pals Fannie Flagg and Dick Sargant were the winners today, over long-married couples John and Patty Duke Astin and Pat and Bill Daily. They only missed one question, while the other couples missed two each.
Realized while I packed that my jeans had flour caked on the rear, likely from the mishap with the mixer on Thursday. Took them and the socks I wore earlier down to the laundry room to wash them. Was quite surprised to encounter Toothless down there when I threw them in. This time, she actually let me pet her while she prowled around on an old metal cart instead of rushing off. She's not into belly rubs like her brother, but she does seem to enjoy ear scratches.
Press Your Luck was on by the time I started making orange muffins. Once again, a fairly subdued first half lead to a wild second. Everyone got high scores, but the one guy finally picked up a car and a trip to New Orleans that won him the game.
Also tried my first microwave popcorn. I will not be doing it again. The popcorn around the edges was fine, but it burned in the center and didn't taste very good. Threw a quarter of it away.
Went into writing after work. The others leap off just after the train jumps and find themselves in a dark forest. It's easy to get lost in such a spooky place...and even easier to forget who you are...
I also checked my e-mail at this point. I lost another apartment. They gave the Collings Avenue apartment to someone else, and apparently have nothing else open. I'm back to square one, yet again. I really don't want to, but I'm going to have to see if I can sign for government assistance. I don't think it'll do much good. There's a waiting list a mile long, and I need assistance NOW. Plus, research revealed that almost every low-cost facility in this area is for the elderly and disabled. I'm not even a family. I'm just a person trying to find a home. They might reject me because of the money I have in the bank, too.
Was really feeling terrible when I broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers and did the dishes while watching Match Game '74. Soap star Richard Long, noisy comedienne Kaye Stevens, and smart ingénue Jo Ann Pflug joined in as Jo Ann bantered with Brett and Richard answered "It's a __" on the Audience Match with the then-obscure It's a Wonderful Life.
Vacuumed the downstairs as Match Game PM ran. Ron Pallilo and Elaine Joyce helped Fannie and the regulars figure out what street they named after Richard Nixon. Richard Dawson does better with "Light My __" on the Head-to-Head round.
Finished out the night after a shower with New Year's game show episodes on YouTube. Wink Martindale ended 1987 on a high note with a new champ on High Rollers. Among the offerings on the board were a trip to New York to see the ball drop and a new kitchen to serve party dishes in. The new champ didn't get the big packages, but he did win a trip to Australia.
Peter Tomarken and Rod Roddy switched bathrobe and Santa suit for snappy tuxedoes to celebrate New Year's with the Whammies on Press Your Luck in 1986. The Whammies managed to slam everyone with exploding champagne bottles but the champ, who picked up a champagne bucketful of cash. The revival of Let's Make a Deal with Wayne Brady kicked off 2013 with a lady in a ladybug costume who gets a huge prize on her first try and a couple who come very close to picking up 20,000.
Celebrities got in on the New Year's fun, too. Match Game '90 got fancy with tuxes and gowns for all and a set festooned with black and white balloons and streamers. Brad Garrett represented the absent Charles Nelson Reilly by doing a dead-on impersonation of him in the opening. The late 90's-early 2000's Hollywood Squares celebrated their first show of the new millennium by giving away a cruise to the Galapagos Islands and a ton of goofy Y2K jokes. What's My Line in 1961 got in their own jokes about the club owner whose Peppermint Lounge in New York launched the dance craze the Twist. Mickey Rooney had a lot of fun stumping them with his teeny little voice.
Families celebrated the New Year together on the first Family Feud episode of 1990. Ray Combs witnessed a runaway game that came down to the last rounds, then a fairly close Fast Money as well. The episode ended with balloons, streamers and a "Happy New Year!" on the screen.
The New Year's Eve episode of Password Plus in 1979 was less elaborate. Brett Somers had a hard enough time concentrating as it is. She doesn't seem to do nearly as well at Password as she does Match Game. Ross Martin blew her away and got his contestant to the Alphabetics round twice. She did get to join Ross and Allen Ludden to sing "Auld Lang Syne" in the end, though.
Run these in the background of your New Year's party and see if everyone plays along! (Watch for a bad tape on Password Plus. The Hollywood Squares episode comes in two parts.)
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