Hot In Autumn

Slept in and spent most of the morning reading and writing. It was almost noon before I got going with a very small breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Minnie-rella" is tired of her friends giving her tons of chores to do. She dreams that Fairy Godmother Clarabelle and Goofy give her a gown, glass slippers, and a tomato carriage so she can attend Prince Mickey's ball. They fall in love, but after Minnie flees, Goofy is the one who has to help Mickey find whose foot fits that glass shoe.

Headed out next. My first stop was brief. I dropped off that huge collection of F. Scott Fitzgerald short stories and his novels This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and the Damned at the book kiosk on Johnson Avenue. Not only do I not have the room for it anywhere, but I suspect I could probably find most of Fitzgerald's short stories online, and I didn't like the novels enough to keep them.

Headed down to Collingswood next for lunch. The Stardust Cafe was still pretty busy when I arrived. They gradually cleared out as I enjoyed my three massive pancakes topped with strawberries, syrup, and butter. The "strawberry sauce" I also ordered was so thick and full of huge strawberry pieces, I ate it with a spoon. Tried an Arnold Palmer Slushie, lemonade iced tea with lemon foam on top. Not bad. Tart and not too sweet...and cooling, which is really what I cared about.

It was too nice of a day off to spend it wandering around in stores. Besides, I want to save what little shopping I need to do for vacation next week. I rode around in Collingswood and Westmont for a while, enjoying the warm sunshine. It was a bit humid, more than it has been, but not to the killer degree that it was last summer. 

Made my way down to La Morense Plus on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike. It was too hot to not get some kind of cooling treat! Decided to try horschata water ice. It did indeed taste like rice and cinnamon drink water ice, almost like rice pudding water ice. Very sweet and very needed on that hot afternoon. I wasn't the only one there. A dad and his son enjoyed treats next to me.

I did make a stop at Family Dollar on the way home. My friend Amanda and my niece Aurora's birthdays will be while I'm on vacation. I wanted to get their cards and gift cards out now. Got Lauren and Amanda gift cards and Amanda a card here. Lauren's birthday isn't until the 19th, but I wanted to celebrate it with her early next week. Also grabbed a much-needed Propel.

Headed home and put on The Price Is Right while I took down the summer decorations and put up what I have for fall. It may not have felt like fall today, but today is the first full day of the season. I put out a stuffed squirrel holding a nut, an orange owl in glasses reading a book, and patchwork apples and pumpkins. There were tiny baskets of foliage and short Indian corn for my shelves, two small pillows from Jo Ann's and a yard sale respectively to hang on doors, and a lovely beaded wreath from another yard sale on my walls. The huge straw and fall foliage bow-shaped wreath is from a yard sale, too. The thick wooden standing rustic wood pumpkin is from Goodwill. 

Watched one episode of Match Game Syndicated while I put everything away. I wasn't going to miss McLean trying on Gene's jackets. He ends up in a pale blue one for most of the episode. He even does an imitation of a lounge singer near the end of the show. As Brett constantly said, he had no flair for fashion (though his comedy sense was pretty sound).

Switched to It's a Great Life after that. I go further into this 1929 backstage melodrama featuring genuine vaudeville headliners the Duncan Sisters at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - It's a Great Life

Worked on Maplepunzel while the movie was on. Maple and Scott settle into their roles as maid and gardener at the castle. Maple proves to be excellent at her job, enough for the king and queen to commend her. She most loves to hear the butler Mackie Bloom tell stories of his days as an actor and his beautiful late wife, Penelope, and the daughter they lost...

Went back to Match Game Syndicated after the movie ended. This time, McLean found himself caught between the considerable assets of glamorous blondes Eva Gabor and Elaine Joyce. Eva, Elaine, and Brett helped Gene show off the gorgeous bird-based artwork one of the contestants had done.

Finished the night with the original cast album for On the Twentieth Century. Madeline Kahn was movie star Lily Garland, arguing with her director ex-husband Oscar Jaffee (John Cullum) on this original cast album. Imogene Coca has a hilarious number near the end, "Repent!", as a religious nut who annoys everyone on board. Kahn wasn't in the show all that long (and was said to be difficult when she was), but she sounds great singing "Veronique" and joining Cullum for "Our Private World" and "I've Got It All."