Dolls In the Summer Breeze

Slept in this morning. It was past noon when I had breakfast and listened to the 1988 Summer Olympics Album. From 1976 until the last few years, album companies have put out collections of music from their own artists likely as a promotional product for the Olympic broadcasts. The big hit from the 1988 collection is "One Moment In Time," the stirring Whitney Houston ballad that was inescapable on the radio that year. I didn't find this one to be as varied or enjoyable as the album put out in 1992, but there were some good songs along with "Time," including "Shape of Things to Come" by the Bee Gees, "Willpower" by Taylor Dane, and the instrumental "Olympic Spirit" from composer and conductor John Williams. 

Spent the next hour and a half dressing the dolls for August after I finished eating and messing around a bit online. Kit, Samantha, and Molly all wear their historically-accurate bathing suits I found on eBay. Jessa's pretty purple and magenta Island Luau Bathing Suit from 2007 was also an eBay find. Ariel's ruffled tropical print  suit and Whitney's purple popsicle print skirted suit were gifts from Lauren. 

Josefina and Felicity come from time periods where swimming wasn't ladylike, and I haven't found a historically-accurate mid-60's bikini that fits Barbara Jean yet. The purple and pink pineapple-print sundress with the lacy cardigan Lauren set a while ago is short enough to pass for a mid-60's mini-dress. Josefina is in her pretty floral-print beige Party Dress and moccasins that she came in and Felicity wears her lavender Traveling Dress with the embroidered flowers.

Listened to two more CDs while I worked. Kitty's Kisses apparently had a respectable run for the summer of 1926, buoyed by a hit title song, and then vanished until most of the libretto was found in a warehouse in 1986 and restored and released on CD in 2009. In some ways, the storyline (a lady traveling alone poses as a lawyer's wife to get a room, then has to explain herself when the lawyer turns up and she falls for his brother) and songs aren't all that far removed from No, No, Nanette from the year before. Con Conrad and Gus Kahn did come up with some charming numbers, including "Choo Choo Love" for the second leads, "Two Fellas and a Girl" for Kitty and the male chorus, and the very funny "I Don't Want Him." According to the liner notes, the one bit of score they couldn't find was the finale, so they had to grab one from somewhere else...but Conrad and Kahn's Oscar-winning "The Continental" came out almost a decade after the show and sounds very out of place. 

The Damsel In Distress CD was a random collection of Fred Astaire songs from Top Hat, A Damsel In Distress, and The Sky Is the Limit, with one each from Dancing Lady and Holiday Inn. The Dancing Lady and Holiday Inn songs were the only ones I didn't have elsewhere. I won't be keeping this one. 

Went out for a walk and lunch after I put everything away. I had a choice of three restaurants open on the stretch of White Horse Pike in Oaklyn and Haddon Township on Sunday. I just ate at Crown Chicken and Gyro not long ago, and I didn't feel like sandwiches anyway. Sakura, the Japanese restaurant, was open, so I went there. In fact, they were busy for quarter of 4, with two pairs eating lunch and another couple coming in while I was there. I had shrimp hibachi (grilled shrimp) with vegetables and yummy brown fried rice. Tasty and filling, it really hit the spot.

Made my way down the Pike to WaWa to pick up a chicken and fruit salad I originally planned on having for dinner. Also grabbed two Olipop sodas and a frozen matcha chai drink. Oh, yum! Sweet and spicy, I really tasted more of the chai than the matcha, but it was still good. I drank it on my way home, stopping to listen to the final moments of West Side Story being performed at the Ritz Theater on my way. 

Hit the shower when I got home, then ate out of the fridge for dinner (I'll have the salad for lunch tomorrow) while watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Bloopers and mechanical failures abounded on this fast-paced show. You never know what would come out of Gene's mouth. He or one of the panelists might accidentally blurt out an answer, causing the question to be thrown out. Brett, Dick Martin, and Marcia Wallace all had answers that were censored on three separate occasions, Marcia's in an infamous nighttime episode. The wrong music might be played, or someone (usually Charles) would take so long, they'd play "The Star Spangled Banner" when they ran out of music. 

The two sets had so many bloopers of their own, I swear they were as alive and cranky as any of the panelists. The turntable went the wrong way at least three times. Words on the Audience Match board would be misspelled. Fannie Flagg's light went out once while she was giving an answer. The answer holder was forever sliding out of Gene's reach. In one episode, Gene and Charles had so much trouble getting the darn thing to work, they had a contestant hold it up so Gene could get the questions. 

Check out some of wildest bloopers that ever derailed a game show in this wacky marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Best Blooper Moments On Match Game