Preview of Spring

I actually got up around 10:30, but I spent so much time reading Coconut Layer Cake Murder and writing in my journal, it was nearly 12:30 before I had breakfast. Watched Match Game '74 while I ate. Buzzr is currently at the start of the wild week featuring Patti Deustch and her comedy writer husband Donald Ross. The two were utterly perfect for each other...because they both had the strangest minds I ever saw. Sweet contestant Janet Finn was happier that she kept winning as the others helped her figure out "Be My __" in the Audience Match.

Spent the next hour going through the clothes my neighbor gave me yesterday. The blue gingham button-down LL Bean shirt, the long pale blue print sweater, the snowflake-print turtleneck, and the heavy red polo shirt all fit. A few things didn't, including the shorts and the two Hawaiian t-shirts. Dropped those back in the bag to donate later. 

Jessa texted me as I went online. She's been wondering how I'm doing. I've wondered the same thing about her. We don't have many relatives left. We arranged to go out to lunch later in the afternoon at 3:30, after counseling.

Or what I thought was counseling. Boy, do I feel ridiculous. I waited and waited, and never heard from Mrs. Stahl. I must have gotten the days wrong. I might have to call her tomorrow or later this week and re-schedule. I can't take days off so quickly. 

Spent so much time waiting for her, it was quarter after 3 when I finally rushed out the door. Hurried down the street to drop the bag of clothes I didn't want in Dollar General's donation bin. Tried to take the short way cutting through the Baptist Church's parking lot, but there was a fence I couldn't climb. At least it was a nice day for running around, even warmer and sunnier than yesterday, in the mid-60's. 

Jessa waited for me in her car when I got back. We ended up having lunch at the Legacy Diner in Audubon. It's literally a straight line from Oaklyn. They were dead as can be in the mid-afternoon. Jessa had a tuna melt and I had coconut-pineapple pancakes while I asked her if she's heard from Rose. No, she hasn't. Didn't hear from Jodie before she left, either. She and her husband Joe are doing just fine, with Joe happy he's able to attend his favorite horror conventions again. 

I told her about signing up for HBO Max, and we had a long discussion about which streaming services we like best and why. Disney Plus is our favorite, followed by Hulu and its line-up of vintage sitcoms and new dramas and documentaries. I'm not as enamored with Netflix as a lot of people. I'm more interested in older shows and don't really care about their original dramas. My only interest with them is their cartoons. 

Briefly showed her my rooms after we finished lunch. It took her a while to find a place to park. Turns out the cops are very strict about no one parking on Johnson Avenue. She had to drive around and park on East Clinton.

Worked on Wonderland Blank after Jessa left. Patti Deustch Dee and Donald Ross Dum recite "The Walrus and the Carpenter" for the group, but Brett thinks the poem is more depressing than interesting. Richard wishes they'd just let them pass, so they can make their next jump to the White Castle. But Patti suddenly sees a broken rattle in the grass that sets her and Donald off on each other...

Match Game PM ran when I got back upstairs after talking. Brett was really interested in a laid-back gentleman who said he taught exercise classes on the beach at Waikiki. Rita Moreno and Gary Crosby were more interested in helping the other contestant figure out what doctor a lady married, while Charles had to figure out "Turn the Other __" on the Head to Head.

Finished out the night with pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes, and asparagus for dinner while watching The King and I. I go further into the original live-action film with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brunner as the title characters at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The King and I (1956)