Lady On the Playground

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. Alice, JoJo, Fergie, and Hattie discover "Captain Dodo's Snack Shack" abandoned in the jungle near the beach. Captain Dodo explains it was his dream to run a snack shack, but no one came, so he gave up on it. They encourage him to try again...but it would seem he's not much of a baker. Alice helps him perfect his recipes and teaches him to never give up on a dream. Alice thinks it'll be "A Piece of Cake" to teach a shy little violet, Fergie's younger siblings, and the Cheshire Cat how to bake. The tea cakes she chooses have way too many steps, which ends in chaos before Cookie points out that sometimes, the best way to teach beginners is to begin at the ending.

Hurried out to run errands after the cartoon ended. Had quite a bit of shopping to do, starting at Sprouts. Mainly needed coconut milk and more of those tasty containers of lemon curd-flavored dried mango slices and apple fritter-flavored cranberries there. Also picked up soda and found bakery chocolate chip cookies on clearance. 

The Acme was even busier, with long lines at self-checkout. I won't be getting to the last day of the farm market this week, so I grabbed a bag of clementines. Restocked granola, granola bars, shrimp, soda, and yogurt. They were out of Fresca...but they did have Coke's holiday flavors Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite Zero and Holiday Creamy Vanilla Coke Zero. Picked up butter to make pumpkin bread next week and pumpkin cake roll slices for a treat.

Headed across Newton Lake Park next. The weather was still a little chilly, but nicer than it has been. The clouds were just parting by then, and the sun was out. The park was surprisingly quiet by 1 PM. Everyone must have gone back to school or work. It's really fall now. The leaves are all stunning shades of gold, green, and rust, and many of the trees are almost totally leafless. It was almost eerily quiet as I pushed my bike up the path over the hill. 

Stopped at the A&A Pretzel Shop for lunch. They did indeed have stuffed cheese steak pretzels this time. I went in, bought the cheese steak pretzel and two regular pretzels, and hurried out.

Put on The Lottery Bride when I got home, put everything away, and had lunch. I go further into this unique Norwegian-set early talkie operetta featuring Jeanette MacDonald as the title mail-order bride at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Lottery Bride

Rushed off to the Thomas Sharp School next. I don't know what got into the kids, but they were really rowdy, especially in the bathrooms. The girls in particular took forever, and the boys weren't much better. We reminded the kids of the rules for the bathrooms and the playground before we went outside, and they were still crazy. I did manage to cheer up one of the girls who was upset, but another threw a fit when I told her she'd have to wait for the swings and took off her boots and jacket just to be obnoxious, despite the mid-40's day.

They settled down a bit when we all went inside. The kids were really fascinated by my artwork of the Nutcracker Prince (Scott) rescuing the Sugar Plum Fairy (Hilary) from the furnace in my current WENN Nutcracker Suite story. One of the smaller girls really loved hearing me explain the story and what was going on in the picture. 

Finished The Lottery Bride when I got home, then watched Match Game '76. Most of tonight's episodes featured Lyle, the go-getting contestant from Las Vegas with the worst toupee this side of Howard Cosell. I think his self-promotion (and ugly suit jacket) really grated on Richard Dawson's nerves, and Ed Asner didn't seem to be a fan of his, either.

Finished the night with some of my recent record cast album finds. Ballroom was a 1978 stage adaptation of the 1975 TV movie Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. Dorothy Loudon is the widow who re-discovers life when she starts dancing at a local ballroom and falls for a mail carrier (Vincent Gardenia). I think people were expecting something more dynamic and youthful as Michael Bennett's follow-up to A Chorus Line, but I think this is charming. Some of the music is really lovely, especially Louden's "Fifty Percent" and "I've Been Waiting All My Life" and "More of the Same" for the orchestra and singers. If you love Louden or are looking for a musical that's understated and sweet, this is highly recommended.

Rise Stevens sings the lead role of fashion magazine editor Liza Elliott in the truly unique Lady In the Dark. Liza is undergoing psychoanalysis, as she can't decided between the three men in her life. All of the songs are represented by lavish "dream" sequences. Adolph Green does the tongue-twisting comedy number "Tchaikovsky and Other Russians" more than justice, while Stevens gets a soaring "Princess of Pure Delight" and has fun with "The Saga of Jenny."