Headed off the Westmont Plaza on Uber after the cartoon ended. No trouble here. The Uber going there came in 6 minutes. The one taking me home got there in 8. No traffic anywhere, not even on Cuthbert Road.
I had enough time before my dental appointment to drop off my L.L Bean boots at the UPS Store in the mall. Mom sent me a beautiful pair of L.L Bean boots, but they're too small. I'm exchanging them for a larger pair in a different color. I went in, handed them the exchange, and went back out again. The entire transaction took less than a minute.
Since I still had a little time, I browsed in Dollar Tree next. I found this really sweet flower-themed calendar that was just as cute as and a heck of a lot cheaper than anything at Go! Calendars and Toys. That took me longer to get than I would have liked. The cashier held up the line asking the woman to write down the place where she worked and see if she could get a job.
Thankfully, even running in five minutes or so ahead of schedule, I had no trouble at the dental office. I wasn't there two minutes when they brought me in. Took a half-hour to get my teeth cleaned and another ten minutes for the doctor to tell me I have no cavities and absolutely nothing wrong with me this time. Even my gums are perfectly healthy. It took them longer to find a doctor to look at my teeth than for him to look at them. I was out in less than an hour after making a regular cleaning appointment for late March.
Dropped by Sprouts really quick after I got out of the dentist's office. I'm not doing any kind of shopping at Westmont Plaza next week. Between last-minute Christmas shoppers at Target and Dollar Tree and the kids being out of school for Christmas break, the place will likely be a madhouse. Grabbed coconut milk, a box of those breakfast sandwich cookies I like, and a can of Zevia Ginger Root Beer, then admired their gingerbread house display. My favorites were the Eagles-themed house with the photos of players stuck on gingerbread men with icing and the house decorated with natural ingredients like dried fruit and herbs.
After I got home, I watched Tattletales while having lunch. Buzzr stuck to the week with Betty and Allen, Bill and Ann, and Chuck and Jo Ann from 1974. I'd seen the first episode before, including during other Betty White marathons. Allen got the best story in the first episode when he recalled how his wife insisted on stopping to pet a cow. She not only pet the cow, she crooned so nicely to it, cows eventually lined up to be petted by her. This story is so funny, it's also mentioned in the Allen and Betty biography. Chuck and Jo Ann also have a hilarious story about how he spent their New Year's Eve honeymoon in the Florida Keys serenading her girlfriends under the moonlight.
Got organized while watching the first Facts of Life Christmas episode. "The Christmas Show" from the fifth season has Tootie and Natalie excited to be going home together for the holidays as Jewish Natalie celebrates her first Christmas. Jo is very upset when she can't go visit her mother in Miami for Christmas, but she's not happy when Tootie and Blair try to rig up a phony raffle to give her tickets, either. Meanwhile, Mrs. Garrett would just be happy to sell the 75 fruitcakes she baked.
Switched to Ernest Saves Christmas as I made Ginger Molasses Cookies and Cherry Coconut Bars. Ernest (Jim Varney) may live in warm Orlando, Florida, but he's a huge Christmas fan. He's as shocked as anyone when none other than Santa Claus (Douglas Seale) shows up in his cab, claiming he's in Orlando looking for his replacement. He figures Joe Carruthers (Oliver Clark), a former children's show host, would be perfect. Joe's sleazy agent (Robert Lesser) is pressuring him into appearing in a Z-grade Christmas horror film, but he's reluctant to do or say anything that would frighten children. Ernest also finds himself dealing with Harmony Starr (Noelle Parker), a selfish runaway whose frequent lying and acting older than her age hides the pain over her parents' divorce, and then having to drive the sleigh with two sarcastic elves before midnight arrives!
Wacky Christmas comedy is one of Ernest's best vehicles, and one of the best movies about the existence of Santa. Seale is so good in his role, he was the man I imagined when I thought of Santa well into the 2000's. If you ever wanted to give one of Ernest's movies a try, this isn't a bad place to start.
And no trouble finishing the cookies this time. All of the Ginger Molasses batches came out perfectly and smelled incredible while baking. The Cherry Coconut Bars were slightly crumbly on the bottom, but not so much that I wasn't able to cut them and get them into boxes.
Went upstairs to watch The Polar Express. I go further into this creepy motion capture adventure with Tom Hanks playing, among other characters, a conductor on a train taking children to the North Pole at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Worked on writing for a little bit. I returned to Nutcracker Blank, the Match Game Nutcracker retelling I began last year. Betty, the queen of the snow fairies and of Toyland, brings the others to the castle. Her husband King Allen and daughter Princess Clara Marie are still under spells that turned them into toys. The Sugar Plum Fairy (Brett) and her cavalier (Charles) have vanished all together.
Broke at 7 PM for a quick dinner, then to make chocolate fudge while watching Match Game Syndicated. The first episode got especially wild. Bill Daily threw his chair when Gene had the panel vote on whether or not to cut to a commercial. (Bart Braverman was the only one in favor of it.) Brett's more nervous when she has to answer "Prince and __" for the Head-to-Head in the second episode.
Finished the night back upstairs with the original 1947 Miracle on 34th Street, another comedy about the existence of Santa. This time, Santa is in chilly New York City, and he's not looking for a replacement. He ends up getting a job when he goes over so well in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, their event director Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) hires him to be their store Santa.
Thing is, Kris also believes himself to be the real Santa Claus. Doris in particular is disturbed by this. She raised her daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) to not believe in any kind of fantasy after her difficulties with a nasty divorce. When Santa is put on trial for lunacy, he's defended by Fred Gailey (John Payne), who turns the hearing into the talk of the Big Apple...and teaches Doris, Susan, and every law official in New York a lesson about the real spirit of the holiday season.
Edmund Gwenn made such a perfect Santa, he won a supporting actor Oscar. The adapted screenplay won as well. I do appreciate that all those law officials aren't played as bad guys. They're normal lawyers and judges with nothing against Kris - the defense lawyer (Jerome Cowan) admits he actually likes him - but are just doing thankless jobs. O'Hara is lovely as Doris, charming and matter-of-fact Wood plays beautifully off her and Gwenn, and Payne is a lot happier and more comfortable here than he ever was trilling with Fox blondes in their musicals. Still a highly recommended holiday favorite.
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