Remembering Muppets

Began the morning with breakfast and two episodes of Bluey. Chili wants to make Bandit an "Omelette" for his birthday. She tries to make it quickly when he insists he's hungry, but Bingo's attempt to help slows things down. When Chili takes over the job herself, she sees how upset her daughter is and agrees to let her help out. "Unicorse" is a unicorn puppet Bandit's playing with who disrupts Chili and Blue while they're reading. They first try to change the annoying unicorn's behavior, then decide they're better off ignoring him.

I called Uber as soon as the second episode ended. The driver was supposed to come in 12 minutes, but...ten minutes passed, and it still said 12 minutes. I canceled them. Their replacement arrived in 7 minutes, but he missed the turn off for the Acme and had to go down the Black Horse Pike to turn around. Between those two, I ended up being 20 minutes late.

Thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened the entire morning. The Acme was surprisingly dead for the beginning of the month. Everyone must have come over the weekend. I swept the store and pushed carts with no trouble whatsoever. Nicer weather helped, too. It's still sunny, but I think it got into the lower-mid 30's today, closer to what it should be this time of year. I even found two bags of the super-expensive Michele's Granola on clearance - their Christmas flavor Cranberry Pecan. I bought two. 

Since it was nicer, I strolled to the shopping center in the back of the mall and had lunch at the Vietnamese Pho restaurant. They were pin-drop quiet when I arrived, too. I had shrimp and pork rolls in sticky clear rice wraps and a huge pho bowl with shrimp, rice noodles, sprouts, and scallions. Delicious and filling on a day that remained relatively cold.

Headed back to the Acme and picked up the Uber there. Had no more trouble getting a driver. The one going to Thomas Sharp School arrived in 7 minutes. The one going home came in 11. The one going home hit a little traffic on the White Horse Pike, but otherwise, there were no problems. Got to the school right on time.

That was a really good thing. We were crazy today. I had 8 kids at my table alone. They were noisy in the halls going to the bathrooms. Two of the boys threw Duplos at my back when I tried to read 101 Dalmatians to a couple of the other kids. The head teacher had to stop the music three times because the kids who were dancing kept laying on the floor and running around, things they weren't supposed to be doing. I had to separate a girl and a boy when she kept poking at him. I spent the rest of the time coloring artwork for Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN at one of the tables with a couple of the boys once the girl got up and danced with the others. 

Went straight into Remember WENN when I got home. The fourth season kicks off with "Some Time, Some Station." After he accidentally shoots Pruitt, Victor thinks it's 8 AM and time to start their broadcast day. While the others trickle back in and Scott tries to keep Victor from finding out the truth, Betty attempts to find out who Victor's contact is from Pruitt and Jeff tells Hilary why he really married Pavla.

Mr. Eldridge is saying "Thanks a Lottery!" after he wins the Irish Sweepstakes. Everyone at the station has definite ideas of how he should spend the money. Meanwhile, though he's now in jail, Pruitt isn't done making trouble for the station. He's shunted WENN into another company that slashes the budget and insists on a mandatory age for retirement that Mr. Eldridge is long past. The others think his winnings go up in smoke when Hilary burns her letters from Jeff, but Mr. Eldridge is a lot smarter than everyone thinks he is. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Phyllis Diller and Fred Grandy joined in during the episodes I saw. Fred mostly protested the Star Wheel landing on his name three times in a row. 

Finished the night with the new Muppet Show special on Disney Plus. They've been advertising this to high heck online...and yeah, they were right to. It's the Muppet Show you know and love, with Kermit in charge, Statler and Waldorf in the balcony, Piggy angry that her number has been cut, and Gonzo's attempt at "performance art" going haywire. We even get some Muppet Labs. (I hope they found Beeker's eyeballs.) I don't know who Sabrina Carpenter is, but she had so much fun and played off Miss Piggy so well, I might have to look up her albums. Also look for Seth Rogan (who apparently executive-produced this) and Maya Randoph. If you're a fan of the original Muppet Show or the Muppets in general, this is definitely worth braving flaming rings for. 

Dolls On a Warm Winter Day

Began the day with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. When Mickey goes to help Clarabelle Cow at her Moo Mart, the clubhouse becomes "Donald's Clubhouse." Goofy and Pluto teach Donald a lesson in helping out when he keeps trying to push all the work in cleaning up the clubhouse for a surprise guest on them and the Handy Helpers.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon dressing the dolls for cooler January weather. Molly wears her Play Outfit with the gray and red plaid flannel shirt. I haven't gotten her oxfords yet, so she borrows Kit's. Kit wears Rebecca's School Outfit with Samantha's black strap shoes. Samantha is in her gray flannel School Outfit and the black boots from Rebecca's School Outfit. Felicity will be warm and cozy on the trail in her emerald green Riding Habit. Jessa is in her original Meet Outfit with the yellow felt sweater and black corduroys and a flower-print long sleeved AG shirt from the 2002 Ready for Fun meet outfit. Ariel wears Julie's orange and blue embroidered long-sleeved tunic, dark blue corduroy gauchos, and boots. Whitney hopes she can go skating in her blue and red Skating Outfit and Springfield Collection skates. Josefina and Barbara Jean are both in hand-made eBay outfits. Josefina wears a lovely blue and red flower print Empire-waist dress, while Barbara Jean's yellow dress has long, full sleeves and pin tucks on the chest.

Listened to records while I worked. Merrily We Roll Along is the 1981 musical adaptation of the 1934 play that goes backwards in time, showing the dissolution of a movie producer, his wife, and his best friend from the acrimonious debut of his latest film to their high school graduation. Apparently, Sondheim suggested this one because he wanted to work with teenagers. He may have thought the idea charming, but he was the only one who did in 1981. Audiences and critics alike found the book too bitter and difficult to figure out, though Sondheim's music was praised. It was so badly received at the time, it ended Sondheim's collaborations with producer Harold Prince until 2003. 

I can see why people wanted to give this a second chance, even after the original production flopped. "Old Friends," "Good Thing Going," the searing "Not a Day Goes By," and the title song are among the best Sondheim ever wrote. The cast is mostly unknown and kind of shrill, though Jason Alexander can be heard as a washed-up Broadway producer. Apparently, a lot was re-written and re-worked after this production failed, enough that a revival off and on Broadway in 2023 and 2024 with Johnathan Groff as Frank and Daniel Ratcliffe as Charley was a surprise hit. I might have to look for that one too and see what's different. As it is, the original cast is worth hearing for the wonderful songs and unique plot alone.

I was so late getting out to the Thomas Sharp School, I ate my lunch with the kids. It was even nicer today than it was yesterday, sunny and warm, without a bit of wind, probably in the mid-50's. The kids had a great time running around outside after their snacks. I made sure there was no fighting over the swings and kept an eye on my watch to make sure everyone got enough time. The other kids danced to "Takedown" from KPop Demon Warriors and various kids' dance numbers or chased the other teachers. They were so funny playing tag! I hadn't laughed so hard in ages. 

Grabbed dinner and put on Copacabana after I got home, after a quick stop at the Speedy Mart for a Propel water. I go further into the 1985 TV movie version of the Barry Manilow song at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On TV - Copacabana (1985) 

Watched Match Game Syndicated after the movie ended. Gail Farrell was the only cast member of The Lawrence Welk Show who was brave enough to join the lunacy on Match Game. She was joined on her week by an even more famous musician, diminutive singer-songwriter Paul Williams. 

Switched to Remember WENN after the show ended. "Sight Unseen" becomes the first of two episodes in a row to deal with minority relations in the 1940's. In this case, a blind girl (Molly Ringwauld) comes the station to meet her hero "The Vagabond." The Vagabond is played by Mackie Bloom, who is a short, balding character actor and anything but the suave, handsome man he thinks she wants. He's the one who learns a lesson when she points out that he's just a voice to her, but one that means more than all the sight in the world.

"The Emperor Smith" is George Smith (Howard Rollins), a black waiter Betty hastily puts on the air as the sexy Lord Bramley in one of Hilary's soaps when Mackie gets laryngitis. He's a sensation, but this is 1940 Pittsburgh, and blacks playing anything besides waiters is still frowned on. Betty and the cast jump through hoops to keep their "mystery man" under wraps when a gossip columnist insists on getting the full scoop. 

Finished the night with more Copacabana. Manilow expanded the movie into a full stage musical in the early 90's. Though it has yet to play Broadway, it did run two years in London from 1994 to 1996 and has toured the US. Here, the story is framed as a songwriter imagining the story of his newest brainchild, and Tony is not the one who dies in the end. The framing is a bit confusing, but I actually think the ending here works better than the more tragic one in the movie does. Some of the additional numbers are fun, too. I love the opening "Just Arrived" that depicts Lola and many other women arriving in New York to find stardom, the hilarious "Who am I Kidding?" for Sam Silver after everyone at the Copa convinces him to keep an eye on Tony in Havana, and the meta-romance "This Can't Be Real."

Even the Muppets had their own take on the song in The Muppet Show. Liza Minnelli performed it with two Muppet monsters representing Tony and Rico in a hilarious spoof of 40's film noir from the 4th season. Kermit is the private eye trying to figure out who's killing the cast, while Piggy is Minnelli's jealous understudy. 

Birth of Fall

Began the day with breakfast and The Muppet Show. Hard rock star Alice Cooper was the other guest associated with horror who appeared on the show, this time in the third season. The Muppets played on his ghoulish reputation with a story where he tries to sell the Muppets' souls, but Gonzo is the only taker. Meanwhile, teeth complain about a toothache, Pigs In Space are turned into ghostly outlines by a virus, and Robin sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Work was pretty much the same deal it had been on Wednesday. We were dead the entire morning. It got a little steady around 11:30, then went right back to being dead. Like I said, we're between holidays, the next major holiday isn't really food-oriented anyway, and the weather remains gorgeous. It was sunny and windy, but not quite as warm as it has been, likely in the lower 60's. 

Got my schedule here, too. In good news, I only work Sunday afternoon and Wednesday morning next week. I asked for Halloween off (we're never busy anyway), but I didn't expect to get Saturday! In bad news, that means a really bad paycheck the week after. 

Headed home after work, then changed and briefly went right back out. I bought a pepperoni-stuffed pretzel and two regular pretzels for lunch. Got them at the A&A Pretzel Shop, then rode home.

Had lunch while watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save the Trick or Treaters" when Mayor Humdinger's giant spider costume steals all of the trick or treat candy. They make use of a marshmallow web Marshall inadvertently created to catch him. "Pups Save an Out of Control Mini Patrol" when Alex accidentally takes Daring Danny X's new rocket bike while delivering cow shampoo to Katie. Chase and Marshall keep him from ending up in the bay.

Rode to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoon ended. Though the teacher did read a book about various kinds of tools and their uses after snack time, we were mainly outside. I had to settle a lot of arguments over the swings! They all really love them, but there's only two. I told them I'd choose who went next and would keep them from hitting each other. They love it when I push them! The girls say I push really high. We had a somewhat smaller group than usual that disappeared quicker than usual. The school was apparently holding a "trunk or treat" event on the blacktop in the back of the school later in the evening. It was just starting as I left.

At this point, I also got two big announcements. First of all, my fourth nephew was born this afternoon! Keefe's wife Julia had her son, Elijah Jackman, and mother and son are apparently doing just fine. Second, Jessa texted me to say Rose's husband Craig's father just passed away and asked me if I could come to his funeral tomorrow. (I can't. I'm working in the morning.) 

Made a quick stop at the Speedy Mart on Collings Street after I got out. They were really busy with teens from Collingswood High getting snacks and drinks. I just bought bagels and a Propel.

Watched Match Game '76 while eating dinner. Tom Poston and Laugh-In comedienne Barbara Sharma made their only appearances on the 1973-1982 run of the show this week. Neither played especially well, though Tom Poston at least had a sense of humor about it. 

Moved to YouTube after dinner for a rare Halloween special. Boo! is another attempt at a Halloween variety show, this one coming from Canada in 1982. It's even stranger than Paul Lynde's special. Monsters, including a rather adorable orange-haired Frankenstein, appear in a series of blackout sketches. The wolfman is hypnotized to not go crazy at the mention of the full moon, Dracula and his Countess sing "If Our Friends Could See Us Now," and truckers discuss the death of the variety show on regular TV. (Real variety shows had just gone out of fashion in the late 70's.) Dionne Warwick sings "Deja Vu" and "Just the Way You Are," the latter to Frankenstein's monster, and Rip Taylor appears as a prisoner with a few screws loose and sells his wares to aliens in a bar.

Jessica Fletcher recreates another Halloween favorite in Murder She Wrote. Dorian Beecher (Thom Bray), a nerdy young man who teaches poetry at a private school in Vermont, calls Jessica to act as his mother and impress the father (Doug McClure) of his sweetheart (Karlene Crockett). Dorian is at odds with bullying riding instructor Nate Findley (Barry Williams), until he's found dead with his head missing after witnessing "The Night of the Headless Horseman." Dorian is arrested for the crime, but Jessica doesn't think he's capable of murder. She realizes the obnoxious Findley had other enemies, including the town dentist (Charles Siebert) whose fiancee ran off with Findley. 

Winds of Fall

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. Mystery Inc ends up in Salem for Halloween when a friend invites them to the spooky house she just inherited. An old caretaker warns them away when they arrive, claiming the witch ancestor of the girl has returned from the grave...and worse yet, she looks like their friend. While Shaggy and Scooby prepare their trick-or-treating costumes, the others explore Salem's notorious witch-dunking past and try "To Switch a Witch" and find out what's really behind the spooky magic in Salem.

Switched to the second half of Supermarket Sweep while getting organized for grocery shopping. The episode I caught looked like a mid-90's tournament of contestants who had played before and lost. No wonder they all got far more time than usual for these groups. Only one team got anything resembling a good score, though. They did well on the first two questions in the Bonus Round, but the third one was a reference to Roman numerals you would probably only understand if you knew something about Latin.

Hurried out to run errands next. Hit Dollar Tree first to find rope for my cowgirl outfit. I was hoping to get a plastic sheriff's badge or plastic pistols too, but I didn't see them. I did get Moon Pies for the trick-or-treat bags. and cute Halloween cards for Mom, Keefe, and his family and Lauren and her parents. Hit Sprouts after a brief peek at Target. (Which is surprisingly still into Halloween. The Acmes are, too. Dollar Tree is half-Christmas.) Got coconut milk, dried apricots, soda, sparkling water, granola bars, and ginger molasses cookies from the bakery. (That's their seasonal cookie flavor.) 

Sprouts had been quiet. The Acme was even more so. I had no trouble picking up grapes, Cliff Bars were on a decent sale, and I had online coupons for yogurt. They actually had the Dannon Light Pumpkin Pie. I hadn't seen it for a while at the Audubon Acme. Grabbed a slice of white cake for a special dessert this weekend from the bakery clearance racks. Since they were out of Fresca, I grabbed two of the Diet Cokes With Lime. Grabbed a pack of two turkey and cheddar sandwiches on pretzel rolls for lunch.

Threw on The Muppet Show while I ate lunch and put everything away when I got home. Elegant horror icon Vincent Price became the first of two spooky guest stars to appear on the show in the late first season. He and Kermit discuss gourmet cooking with a distinguished panel (including a very hungry Muppet monster) and learn about the fine art of horror acting. Meanwhile, Gonzo and Fozzie are nervous when Price and Uncle Deadly turn up on the doorstep of their haunted mansion, one Muppet monster eats another (and sings about it), and the Muppet Newscaster reads a story about living furniture consuming its owners. 

Actually got off to the Thomas Sharp School a bit early. Good, because we had quite a few kids today. They were all excited because a fire truck and ambulance came by earlier in the day in honor of Fire Prevention Month. They taught them fire safety and gave them red plastic fire hats. That brought back a lot of memories. We also got red plastic fire hats in October, only instead of the fire fighters coming to us, we would walk to the Cape May Fire Hall and Museum on Washington Street to learn about fire safety and fighting fires in the past from them.

They were all still really wound up from the fire truck visit, which is likely why they were so crazy outside. There was a lot of arguing over the swings. I wish there were more than two of them! Some of the girls in particular would remain on the entire hour if allowed and will throw a fit if they have to get off. I admire their spunk, but they do have to take turns. The weather was still a bit blustery and cloudy, but a bit warmer than yesterday. It was so nice, all of the kids regardless of age once again remained outside until the session ended.

Hurried straight home after that. Jessa asked if she could bring a friend to dinner...but she didn't say it was a guy friend. He seemed nice enough, and he did pay for our meals at the Pub, but he mentioned a GED, spent a lot of time complaining about how the suburbs had spread, and had no idea that Shop-Rite and Marlton go a lot further back than the 80's and 90's. (I've seen houses in Marlton that date to the 1840's, and online research reveals that Shop-Rite began in 1946.) My salmon sandwich and crispy fries were delicious (if messy), but I just felt a little awkward.

Finished the night with Shock 'Em Dead, a heavy metal horror comedy from 1991, at Tubi. I go further into this B-pic take on the Faust legend at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Shock 'Em Dead

Hot Day for a Fair

Began the day with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. "Goofy's Sock Hunt" begins with everyone looking for Goofy's lost sock, but eventually spreads to include Minnie's bow, Donald's stuffed lion, and Mickey's barbecue apron. Pluto has spent the episode sneaking around in the background and mostly missing...and it turns out he's the one who knows where the lost things are.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Not only was it too hot for riding, but I didn't have the time. I'd barely have the time to have lunch before the summer program. No trouble here. It took 8 minutes for the morning driver to arrive; I got to work just in time. It took 4 minutes for the afternoon driver to come. No traffic or trouble coming or going.

No trouble at work, either. It's the end of a month without a lot going on besides the 4th of July. I did have to mop up a leaking meat cooler, but other than that, I was sweeping and pushing carts. No wonder we weren't busy. It was hot, sunny, and beastly humid. I saw heavy traffic going south. Most people were likely heading to the Shore or hiding in their pools or air conditioning.

Oh, and I got my schedule. Still more hours than usual. I work on Monday this time, and Saturday is 9 to 4. The head manager took a lot of time off this week. That'll help with my paycheck, but it'll also mean not a lot of time between my two jobs for a few days. 

When I got home, I changed quickly and ate lunch while watching What's New, Scooby Doo? "Simple Plan and the Invisible Man" is probably the most prominent of the episodes revolving around real-life celebrities of the early 2000's. In this case, Mystery Inc run across popular rock band of the time Simple Plan en route to their concert in Montreal. Their van has been run off the road by an invisible trickster who keeps sabotaging their rides...and then it does the same to the Mystery Machine when they give them a ride. The gang has to learn who did it when it seems like everyone around them...including annoying Gibby Norton, leftover from "The Fast and the Wormious"...has a motive.

Headed back out on my bike this time. The Oaklyn School isn't even a five-minute ride from me. I'll deal with the heat for less than five minutes. I got there just as the kids were sitting in a circle in the cafeteria, playing a game. Once again, I joined them for a snack, then helped clean the tables while they went back into the circle to calm down. I also found out why we were playing games indoors from the young ladies who joined me at the drawing table. Not only was it too hot to play outside, but Canadian geese had left too many droppings on the playground to be able to use it. I drew Eugenia and Foley and all of the princesses and their suitors from the "Four Dancing Princesses" I have planned, then joined some of the noisier boys to build secret bases and boats from Legos.

Oaklyn's Final Friday block party on West Clinton was in full swing by the time summer camp ended for the day. They didn't seem quite as boisterous as usual. There were fewer food trucks, making me wonder if some trucks and booths had been scared off by the hot weather. I was still able to walk around for a little while and buy two pretzels from the pretzel shop's booth. 

Went straight into Remember WENN when I got home. Hilary is having enough trouble dealing with Scott changing her soaps to focus on politics and constantly missing Jeff calling from London when Gertie says there's a woman in the Green Room who wants to meet her. To the horror of "Mr. and Mrs. Singer," it's Jeff's new wife Pavla Nemcova (Karen Travis), who gloats that she has married Jeff in Europe. The others reveal that she cares more about her career and staying in the US than Jeff...but Hilary's still deeply hurt.

Hilary's still feeling that hurt in "Nothing Up My Sleeve." This show was out during the tail-end of Seinfeld's phenomenal run and was probably one of the most-advertised of the entire series. Mentalist Allan Ballinger (Jason Alexander) charms Hilary with his tricks and confessions. Maple, however, remembers him from her burlesque days and worries that he may be tricking Hilary into admitting her deepest secret. Hilary's ready to take him down, but it turns out he's come to respect her too much to hurt her.

Worked on Hilary and the Beasts while the show was on. Hilary finds Betty and Bear (Scott) catching fish in a pond during a hot, sultry August afternoon. They're taking a break from reading lessons as Betty admits Bear has made significant progress. He can now read "Snow White and Rose Red" and most of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," though that "darkness" in his head continues to pain him badly when he does so. She thinks he'll be able to move on to actually writing stories. When he points out that he can't write or hold a pencil with bear paws, she says he can dictate it to her or may be able to use her typewriter. They're enjoying each other's company, to the point where they knock each other into the pond and end up on top of each other at one point.

Put on The Muppet Show next in honor of British jazz chanteuse Cleo Laine, who passed away today. Though Laine mostly sang with the Electric Mayhem (and introduced them by name), Fozzie was the real heart of this episode. He keeps trying to insert himself into every sketch to impress his mother in the audience, including taking Piggy's role in "Pigs In Space."

Moved to Match Game '76 during dinner. Soap ingenue Bennye Gatteys joined in for the first and only time this week, along with Bill Daily and Fannie Flagg. The real news, however, was Gene announcing Richard had gotten a gig in the fall, hosting a brand-new game show called Family Feud...

Finished the night at Paramount Plus with I Love Lucy. I'm not the only one finding her muse right now. "Lucy Writes a Play" for her woman's group and hopes Ricky will star. He's not interested, so Lucy moves the story of a Cuban tobacco-picker in love with a senorita to merry old England when she and Ethel talk Fred into it. Ricky suddenly changes his mind when he learns producers are in the audience, but no one told him about the change in settings. 

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Got a late start this morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Asks What Friends Like" when it's his job to greet the kids coming in and he needs to find out whether they prefer a high five, a hug, or a wave. Later, he has to explain to Prince Wednesday why he prefers being called "Daniel," not "Danny." Katrina is the waitress at "Miss Elaina's Space Restaurant," but she wants to wear her apron as a cape, and Elaina likes it as an apron.

Watched Supermarket Sweep while making my grocery list. The two women in the first team clearly dominated the game. They got by far the most time in the mini games and made the most in the Big Sweep. But when it came time to do the bonus round, they couldn't find the small bottle of Neet hair remover they were looking for.

Went out to run errands after the episode ended. I was a bit surprised to see teens milling around when I arrived at the Westmont Plaza. They were mainly wearing uniforms, so I assume the catholic high school down the street Paul VI got out early. At least the kids aren't interested in Sprouts. I had no trouble picking up granola bars, coconut milk, and dried apricots. It's going to be too hot to bake this week, so I found vegan chocolate chip cookies on clearance. Found a Cove flavor they didn't have at the Acme (raspberry) and decided to try Reed Soda, since it was on sale.

My next stop went less well. I did pick up two of the newest Tea Shop Mysteries books at the Haddon Township Library, Murder In the Tea Leaves and Peach Tea Smash, and a book by the lady who wrote Wintering, Enchantment, on finding the delight in everyday beauty. They weren't willing to write me a letter of recommendation, though. There was no one still working at the library who remembered when I volunteered there. Bryanna wouldn't, either. They weren't a job, only a non-profit organization. I'm going to have to ask the Acme for a second letter tomorrow.

Did better at the Westmont Acme down the street. Found a very pretty Mother's Day card for my mom. Strawberries, Made Good granola bars, and Choboni yogurt were all on sale with online coupons. Thought I'd try Skyr Yogurt's cold brew coffee flavor on a decent sale as well. Fished an adorable little aqua and pink Squishmallow cow named Ysmaris out of the Easter clearance cart. Her tag says she's an Easter muralist, but her coloring is generic enough for her to be out the entire spring season. Popwell and Jones sodas were also on good sales. 

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It's really beautiful there now. The leaves on the trees get more and more green by the day. Wildflowers wave in the breeze, and I got a glimpse of the new playground equipment that they finally finished across the lake as I rode by. They also put gravel down at the base of the path going over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center. 

Put on Fiesta when I got home while having lunch and putting everything away. I'll go further into this unique Mexican-set vehicle for Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban tomorrow on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog for Cinco Del Mayo.

Got my schedule at this point. In good news, I did get next Saturday off as I asked for the Haddon Township Town-Wide Yard Sale (since I did so well with that last year), along with Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  Bad news is I work long hours when I am there, including an 8 1/2 hour day on Wednesday. No idea what's going on there. 

I vacuumed and Swiftered during the second half of Fiesta. Continued dusting while watching Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In in honor of Ruth Buzzi, the comedienne who passed away today. She was so associated with the show, she would be one of only four actors to appear in all six seasons (and the others were hosts Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and announcer Gary Owens). I started with the very first episode, featuring guest stars Flip Wilson, Barbara Feldon, and a number from the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Buzzi got to do a hilarious opera spoof with Arte Johnson mid-way through during a "talent show," with them in Wagnerian horned headdresses singing an operatic version of a rock song. Also during the talent show segment, we got to hear Tiny Tim perform his own...unique...version of "On the Good Ship Lollipop." 

Looked up some things online while watching the episode of The Monkees Buzzi appeared in. A few months before Laugh-In began, she played a far more amiable little old lady than frumpy Gladys in the second season episode "A Coffin Too Frequent." The Monkees prove her scheming nephew (George Firth) is a fraud during a goofy seance while dodging his enormous and menacing assistant. 

It had been gorgeous for most of the day, sunny and breezy...but it was also very hot, into the upper 80's. It was too hot for cooking, and I was tired of leftovers. I went down to Crown Chicken and Gyro and bought a chicken gyro and fries for dinner. Ate at home while watching Match Game '76. Bonnie Franklin turned up for the first time in the first episode, which also brought in folksy Bill Anderson. Scoey Mitchilll was happier to finally get an ovation after he got an especially good answer in the second.

Took a shower, then put on Buzzi's episode of The Muppet Show. She was one of the first stars on its very first season, probably because she always seemed like something of a human Muppet anyway. Her big number was "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" as a princess who was really into Sweetums. She also plays a soldier who talks - and talks - after being tortured and did a panel show spoof on whether the human body is obsolete. Kermit has more trouble backstage when Scooter creates a wind-up version of him created by his uncle. After the wind-up Kermit hits on her, Piggy tries slapping him...inadvertently discovering her signature karate chop instead! 

Finished the night back at Tubi with the cut-ups at Laugh-In. Wild and wacky Johnathan Winters was a natural fit for this show in a third season episode that had Arte Johnson's dirty old man flirting with his Maude Frickert, to the dismay of Buzzi's Gladys! Winters also played a cop that had to deal with the infamous Frakas family. Lily Tomilin joins the cast here...and proceeds to talk Dan Rowan's ear off during a segment on travel jokes.

By the fifth season, Tomlin and Buzzi had been joined by Richard Dawson, Alan Sues, Barbara Shawma,  Johnny Brown, and child actor Moosie Drier. With Fannie Flagg and Ann Elder doing blackout gags, this episode almost felt like a warm-up for the new version of Match Game that debuted two years later. Health and exercise advocate Jack LaLane's appearance sparked a round of health and fitness gags and jokes, while Buddy Hackett joined Brown for weight gags. Sally Struthers tosses in commentary on the then-success of her show All In the Family. Buzzi's Gladys dreams of being married to Sigmund Freud, but it's not as sexy as she first believes. 

Autumn Was Warm

Began the morning with breakfast and The Muppet Show. Vincent Price appeared in the first season amid spooky skits and bizarre happenings. Kermit gets eaten by a very hungry Muppet monster, Fozzie and Gonzo have Price and Uncle Deadly as their guests at a haunted house on a very special night, Kermit and Price discuss the fine art of acting, the Muppet Newscaster announces a story about living furniture, and Price sings "You've Got a Friend" with the Muppet Monsters.

Hurried off to work after that. Between stunning weather and it being the end of the month and the day before a major holiday that doesn't involve big meals, we were dead almost the entire afternoon. It picked up a little bit around the last hour...just as the managers kept calling me to put cold items away and I spilled soapy water in the back area when I was taking it to the drains and had to mop it all up. Thanks to all that, I barely had 15 minutes to do carts before I went home. 

Went straight upstairs and into Ghostbusters when I got home. Paranormal scientists Egon Spangler (Harold Ramis), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), and Ray Stantz (Dan Acroyd) go into business as ghost-catchers after they're fired by Columbia University. Venkman is more interested in flirting with their first customer, pretty and intelligent musician Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), then taking her claim that she saw a ghost in her refrigerator seriously. He begins to wonder if she might really be onto something when their business triples after they catch a little green ghost roaming around a swanky hotel. They're so busy, they have to hire a fourth man, Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson) to help them deal with the volume.

Their secretary Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) is convinced that something terrible is going to happen...and it turns out she's right. They're arrested when a man from the Environmental Protection Agency (William Atherton) shuts down their containment unit and literally blows the top off their headquarters. Turns out the apartment building where Dana and her nerdy neighbor Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) live is actually the conduit for Gozer, a spirit who could bring about the apocalypse. It's up to the Ghostbusters to stop Gozer and the Stay-Puft Man from turning New York into the world's largest charred marshmallow!

I've loved the original version of this movie since it came out in 1984. The sequel was the first movie my sisters and I saw in a theater without parental supervision. I don't think the first sequel is that bad, am still convinced that the 2016 remake gets a bum rap, and haven't gotten around to the recent sequels. Frankly, the original is probably the only Ghostbusters movie most casual viewers need. 

Watched The Halloween Tree during dinner. Four kids dressed as a skeleton, a witch, a mummy, and a monster are alarmed when their leader and best friend Pip doesn't turn up for trick or treat. Halloween is Pip's favorite night of the year! They follow what they think is him to a spooky old house and a tree filled with Jack o'lanterns. The house and the tree are owned by Moundshround (Leonard Nimoy), a spooky old man. Pip takes off with a pumpkin carved to look like him, prompting Moundshround and the kids to go after him. Moundshround tells the kids that if they can keep up with Pip - and learn about 4,000 years of Halloween history in the process - he'll let him go. Even when the kids do manage to follow him and learn about the death customs of Ancient Egypt, the Celtic Druids, medieval Europe, and modern Mexico, the old man may not be ready to keep his promise, until the kids make the ultimate sacrifice.

Ray Bradbury narrates the story, based on his own book of the same name. It's interesting to learn about how Halloween came around, especially since its customs and origins aren't as widely-discussed as those for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Sweet and spooky, with decent animation for a TV special in 1993, this is very much recommended for pre-teens looking for something different to watch before trick-or-treat and adults who are interested in learning more about the holiday.

Put on Match Game '77 before taking a shower. They're finally down to New Year's week. Fannie Flagg took over from Brett Somers, who was out doing a play, in the character actress seat. She's joined by Richard Deacon and sweet but slightly bizarre Joyce Bulifant. 

Switched to vintage Disney holiday specials next, starting with Halloween Hall of Fame. Jonathan Winters plays a Disney security guard who is working at the studio Halloween night when he finds a Jack o'lantern (Winters) in a crystal ball. Jack claims he's hiding at Disney because the holiday just isn't scary enough for him anymore. Winters points to the Donald Duck short "Trick Or Treat," the truly scary "Pluto's Judgement Day," and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to prove otherwise. 

Disney's Halloween Treat debuted in 1982 in syndication, but we saw it when it ran yearly on The Disney Channel. A talking pumpkin is the main narrator as he introduces spooky shorts like "Donald and the Gorilla" and "The Old Mill," along with the Wizard's Duel sequence from The Sword In the Stone and a short piece on the cat's contribution to horror mythology. Hans Conried as the Magic Mirror takes over to introduce some of Disney's most beloved villains, including the one he voiced, Captain Hook. The special ends with what's likely their most famous spooky shorts, Micky, Donald, and Goofy being their own ghost catchers in "Lonesome Ghosts" and "Trick or Treat."

Moved to YouTube for "Jack O'Lantern." This episode Rankin Bass's Festival of Family Classics TV show is the closest they got to a Halloween special. Jack is a leprechaun living inside a carved pumpkin who makes a scarecrow come alive to battle a witch and a warlock and help two kids save their father's farm.

Returned to Disney Plus for more Muppet Show. Alice Cooper was one of the earliest "shock jocks," and his appearance in the third season was controversial, to say the least. Henson played on his ghoulish reputation by having him try to buy the souls of various Muppets...but Gonzo is the only taker. Meanwhile, teeth complain of a toothache, ghosts sing about their "Once a Year Day," the crew of the Swine Trek try to figure out what to do when a space virus turns them all invisible, and Robin sings a lovely "Over the Rainbow."

Finished the night back at YouTube with the short "Betty's Halloween Party" from 1933. Betty Boop has fun on Halloween with her friends, until a gorilla breaks up the party and tries to grab Betty. He gets a real scare when she turns off the light, and he's attacked by ghosts, ghoulies, and the witch and black cat decorations. 

And here's even more vintage Halloween specials to enjoy before trick or treat tomorrow!

Fat Albert Halloween Special

The Wickedest Witch

The Last Halloween

Casper's Halloween Special

Looney Tunes: Broomstick Bunny

The Trouble With Miss Switch

Miss Switch to the Rescue

The Great Bear Scare

Buttons and Rusty In Which Witch is Which

Once Upon a Midnight Scary

A Pumpkin Full of Nonsense

Disney's Haunted Halloween (Educational Short)

DTV Monster Hits

Angels In a Heat Wave

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. Scooby and Shaggy are over the moon when the Mystery Machine crashes into an ice cream factory, and they suddenly have all the frozen treats they could ever want. Their sweet dreams turn sour when "The Ghost of the Bad Humor Man" turns up in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry colors to scare them off. Shaggy and Scooby try to eat their treats and outrun the ghosts, while the other three realize there's a lot more to the ice cream trucks than a place to put popsicles... 

Called Uber after that. Not only was it too hot for bike riding, but I wanted to pick up something at Goodwill after work that I couldn't carry home on the bike. No trouble here. The drive going to the Acme arrived in seven minutes. I got there just in time. The one going home arrived in 6 minutes. We did hit traffic going to work, but no trouble getting home at all (partially because she cut through Audubon rather than going down Nicholson Road).

Work was mostly no problem. We were dead almost the entire afternoon. Despite the ongoing heat, I spent most of the day sweeping or pushing carts. There wasn't a whole lot else for me to do. There weren't that many stray items to put away, either. I did have to clean up a big container of spaghetti sauce someone dropped. The managers kept insisting on using a mop. A mop would have made even more of a mess. One of the pricing managers helped me clean it up with paper towels instead.

Hiked behind the Acme to Audubon Crossings Shopping Center after work. Grabbed the big gift for my friend and a pair of Old Navy jean shorts for me. The same funny older lady who handled Lauren and me kept insisting I should have a cart, even though I had no intention of leaving the sidewalk until the Uber driver arrived. Grabbed a Sprite Zero and a Zagnut Bar at Five Below next door.

Watched Laff-a-Lympics as I got organized at home. The games in "Hawaii" began with a surfing contest. Abu's magic worked well enough for him to get into first place. Huckleberry Hound and Hokey Wolf are proud of their outrigger that can do anything in the outrigger race, but they don't have Captain Caveman on their side! The Daltons have a harder time keeping their craft together. The Viking boat race in "Norway" is the only time all members of the team take part in an event. In this case, the Yogis have a secret weapon - Grape Ape and his extra-long arms. Daisy Mayhem thinks she wins the long jump wearing snowshoes, but then she loses her snowshoes before landing.

Worked on the inventory for the next few hours. Added CDs from the the 5th Dimension, Fleetwood Mac, Debbie Gibson, George Harrison, Whitney Houston, Don Henley, Rupert Holmes, Michael Jackson, Jefferson Airplane, and Billy Joel, and the Dan Fogelberg record I got yesterday. The vast majority of my rock titles came from yard sales, thrift shops, or Abbie Road. Picked up a few from Goodwill more recently. I really need to listen to some of these again. I'm not sure I ever listened to a few titles before I put them away, or I only listened to them once or twice.

I did listen to some of my recent record acquisitions. The Muppet Show record is based around the first season, from the songs and the designs of the characters on the back cover. Among the highlights are Kermit singing "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" (though we do miss that cool Lydia tattooed pig Muppet), Piggy braying through "What Now My Love," Kermit's famous "Bein' Green," and the Electric Mayhem's idea of performing "Tenderly." My favorite number is Robin's sweet "Halfway Down the Stairs" that closes the first side. Gonzo eating a tire to the tune of "The Flight of the Bumblebee" makes even less sense on an LP than it did on the show. Fozzie and Kermit's "Good Grief!" gag routine comes off much better, even if it did annoy Kermit in the end.

I could think of no better follow-up to the Muppets than the wild sound-effects filled world of Spike Jones and His City Slickers. I found a cassette with their music in college and have been a fan ever since. Among my favorites here that are new to me are the spoof melodramatic "None But the Lonely Heart," "Laura," and "Hawaiian War Chant."

Are You Experienced? was Jimi Hendrix's debut album. It was a sensation on release, hitting the top five here in the US. No wonder, with classic songs like "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," and "Foxey Lady," all of which were huge in their own right. Hendrix's years playing live gives him a raw, wild sound, with a lot of virtuoso guitar work that makes me understand why he's still so admired even sixty years after his early death.

Switched to Match Game Syndicated while eating leftovers for dinner. Buzzr finally got to the week with Bill Cullen and Peter Marshall where only Brett had never been a game show host and never would be. Betty White's car gave her trouble and she was out of breath when the episode began after apparently jogging to the taping. The second had Gene tacking up a "thought for the day" he got from a fan.

Finished the night after a shower with the second season premiere of Charlie's Angels. Kris joins the ladies for "Angels In Paradise," but the happy homecoming is short-lived when Charlie is kidnapped. The wife of a gangster in Hawaii wants the Angels to get him out of prison...and then a rival from Chicago who hates Hawaii grabs Charlie. The ladies are through playing games and find themselves having to negotiate with both parties. 

Scary Games

Started off the morning with breakfast and Boo to You Too, Winnie the Pooh! Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Gopher are looking forward to trick or treating and a night full of scares. Piglet, however, finds Halloween to be a little too frightening for him. In deference to his best friend, Pooh finally says they won't have Halloween this year. Tigger and Gopher set out to prove to Piglet that Halloween is nothing to be afraid of.

Switched to Match Game '77 next. This one started off with everyone teasing Charles over his blue and orange satin shirt that made him look like he was racing Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby. Dick Martin, Fannie Flagg, and Patty Duke join in to help the contestant figure out the Audience Match "___ Buds."

Headed out after that to run a few quick errands. Started at Westmont Plaza again to avoid running into kids coming out of school. Picked up coconut milk and more of those Olympus breakfast sandwich cookies at Sprouts. Mainly needed mouthwash and fish oil vitamins at Target. I was hoping they'd have even one Halloween aisle left. Nope. They were just starting to put out the Christmas items. Couldn't find more of those amazing cinnamon cashews, either. I got the donut glazed almonds. 

I had more luck at Starbucks, where I tried a small Vampire Frappucino. It was strawberry syrup mixed into Vanilla Bean Frappucino to look like dripping blood. Watery, yes, but also tart, thanks to the strawberry syrup. Not bad as one-time-only holiday treat.

It was such a nice day at that point, I took the long way across Collingswood to the PNC Bank. Sunny and warm, in the lower 70's, breezy and humid for late October. Even as I stopped at the ATM machine in their drive-through, I could see dark clouds rolling in over the horizon. Heavy, cold winds arrived with the clouds. It must have dropped a good fifteen degrees as I made my way across Newton Lake Park, past Collingswood High School and the Parkview Apartments. I waved at the most adorable little girl whose mother was teaching her to ride her first big-girl training wheel bike on the sidewalk as I headed down the White Horse Pike.

Stopped at Dollar General next. Last year, we gave away a ton of candy along with the Mystery Bags. I bought Halloween ring pops as my contribution to the candy pile. Figured they were something different that the kids would get a kick out of.

Wanted an adult treat for tomorrow, so I stopped at the Mexican bakery on the way home. Oddly, they didn't really have much for the holiday. Thought I'd try some shortbread tarts with chewy jam in the middle. Not bad. Crumbly and not too sweet.

Had a sandwich and strawberries for lunch at home while watching The Halloween Tree. Ray Bradbury adapted his 1972 book as this spooky animated special in 1993. Four kids - Jenny, Tom, Wally, and Ralph - await the arrival of their best friend Joe "Pip" Pipkin so they can begin trick-or-treating. When they arrive at his house, they learn that he's having his appendix removed. He leaves a note to begin without him, but they don't think it would be fair to leave their buddy behind. 

When they see what looks like his ghost, they follow it to a forbidding black mansion. The owner, a shriveled man named Moundshroud (Leonard Nimoy), shows the children a "Halloween Tree" with pumpkins representing those who have passed on. He can't believe that the kids don't know why their costumes - Jenny's a witch, Tom is a skeleton, Wally is a Quasimodo-type monster, and Ralph is a mummy - are so significant to the holiday. Pip takes off with the pumpkin that has his face, prompting Moundshroud to recruit his friends to help recover it. They follow him through ancient Egypt, medieval Ireland, the building of the Notre Dame de Paris, and a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico, learning how the customs pertaining to the dead and the changing of seasons in each time period contributed to Halloween traditions and lore.

Bradbury wrote and narrated this himself, and it's a dark, yet touching look at Halloween customs and traditions that aren't as often covered as those for Christmas. It's truly sweet to see not only how much Pip means to the kids, but what they give up for him in the end. Nimoy makes a great Moundshroud, too, pushy and spooky as he explains each time period and their significance to the kids. Highly recommended if you want to show your older kids and pre-teens how many Halloween customs got started.

Moved to the original Ghostbusters as I cleaned up from lunch and took my laundry downstairs. After paranormal scientists Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Ray Stantz (Dan Acroyd) are fired from their jobs at Columbia University, they go into business as professional ghost-catchers. They don't have much luck until classical musician Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) goes to them insisting she's seen a spook in her icebox, and then the guys have to clear a certain hungry little green ghost out of a fancy hotel. Suddenly, the phone is ringing off the hook and ghost sightings are popping up all over the city. They're so swamped, they hire Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Wilson) to help out. 

Their receptionist Janine (Annie Potts) worries that something is going to go wrong...and it turns out she has a good reason. After EPA executive Walter Peck (William Atherton) orders the containment unit with the ghosts shut down, it bursts open, sending ghosts flying all over New York! The Ghostbusters are arrested...but they may be the only ones who can save the Big Apple from an otherworldly menace on top of Dana's apartment building determined to turn the town into the world's largest charred marshmallow.

I did hear good things about Afterlife, don't think Ghostbusters II is all that bad, and still believe the all-female remake from a few years ago has an undeserved bad rap, but this is really still the only Ghostbusters film most people will need. The entire cast is a delight, with Murray the stand-out as smarmy Venkman, throwing out some of the funniest one-liners of the 80's while backed by special effects that look good to this day.

Worked on writing after the movie and putting my laundry in the dryer. Cora and her father are surprised to see a pair of velvety brown eyes peering around a corner. They belong to an ugly hunchback with a misshapen face, spiky whacked-off hair, hairy ape-like arms, and loping legs, who shyly gives Cora a flower. She thinks he's a dear, but Stephen would rather she not pal around with his servant...

Watched the two horror episodes of The Muppet Show on Disney Plus during dinner. Horror movie legend Vincent Price lent his elegant spookiness to one of the best episodes of the first season. He and Uncle Deadly give Fozzie and Gonzo a fright in a haunted house, Kermit bites him in the neck after they discuss acting during an interview segment, and we see one Muppet monster eating another while singing "I've Got You Under My Skin." Price finishes off the show by serenading the Muppet monsters with "You've Got a Friend." 

Alice Cooper was one of the earliest "shock jocks," known for his crazy makeup and scary songs like "Welcome to My Nightmare" and "School's Out." In his third season episode, he tries to tempt various Muppets in to selling their souls, but Gonzo is the only taker. Meanwhile, teeth complain of a toothache, and the crew of the Swinetrek turn invisible after Captain Hogthrob contracts a space disease in "Pigs In Space."

Finished the night at Buzzr and YouTube with Halloween game show episodes. Buzzr's been running Halloween episodes all weekend as part of their second annual "Halloween Spooks and Frights" marathon. Sale of the Century really got into the holiday during Halloween week 1988, with pumpkins that matched the set and vampiresses and mummies introducing scary prizes that included a trip to Transylvania. 

To Tell the Truth has had many a frightening liar on the show during its 70-plus year run. The first episode from 1974 began with three female pilots who survived a horrific plane crash in the snow. The second guests were a lot more florid. Three men in costumes based around famous movie villains claimed to be a major horror movie buff who had set up a museum of horror movie props. Gene Rayburn, of course, couldn't resist trading bad Dracula accents with the guy in the vampire costume. 

The 1990 episode of Truth kicked off with a Bride of Frankenstein who found her perfect Frankenstein monster while working at Universal Studios Hollywood and married him in a ceremony attended by other Universal ghoulies. The second group were three women who claimed to be part of a project searching for intelligent life on other planets.

Moved to YouTube for other favorite Halloween game shows. Sale wasn't the only NBC show taking part in Halloween fun during 1988. Super Password had Edie McClurg and Christopher Hewitt pulling out a bag with "treats" - useful little items - for winners and "tricks" - little Halloween or horror-themed dollar toys - for losers. 

Halloween goes back a long way on game shows. Peter Lorre turned up during a 1960 episode of I've Got a Secret with a most unusual "secret." He shows the panel how to discern different scents without seeing them, then pulls the haunted-house thing by letting them touch objects without seeing them and guess what they're touching. Garry Moore probably found the squirmy two-year-old in the opening whose "secret" was he owned a lamb, a goat, a monkey, and nine dogs to be far scarier!

Though the Storybook Squares spin-off had long ended by 1977, Hollywood Squares still did occasional themed weeks with families and kids playing and everyone in costume. Paul Lynde lumbering into the center square as Frankenstein's monster makes this episode especially appropriate for Halloween. Other celebrities included a sweet Big Bird, Soupy Sales trying as Thomas Edison trying to perfect his latest record player, Pat Harrington as Leonardo DiVinci, Jo Ann Worley as Martha Washington, George Gobel as King Henry the 8th, Connie Stevens as the Queen of Hearts, and a hilarious Florence Henderson playing against type as tough outlaw queen Belle Starr. 

Hollywood Squares' comedy panel rival Match Game didn't get to a Halloween show until 1990, but it's the best episode of that series. Host Ross Schafer makes an especially handsome Dracula, while Vicki Lawrence wishes her Little Red Riding Hood dress wasn't quite so short. Charles Nelson Reilly is an unlikely Superman with inflatable muscles. His favorite drinking buddy Brett Somers reprises her little girl costume from Christmas 1978. It's Ronn Lucas and his dragon puppet Scorch who manage to come up with the most terrifying Halloween costume of all.

The Price Is Right has done a Halloween episode every year since Drew Carey started hosting. His first Halloween show in 2007 had him trying to explain pricing games through a mouthful of plastic vampire teeth. The models, dressed as a vampire and a mummy, have a somewhat easier time showing off Showcases filled with trips and prizes that would drive off a vampire and make a mummy happy. 

Family Feud also does annual Halloween episodes. John O'Hurley hosted the one from 2008 as a rather unhappy giant teddy bear. The families costumed as a farmer and his cow, pig, chicken, and penguin and a demon, priest, monk, and angel seemed to have a lot more fun. 

Run these delightfully frightening episodes at your Halloween party this year!

I've Got a Secret (1960)

Hollywood Squares (1977)

Super Password (1988)

Match Game (1990)

The Price Is Right (2007)

Family Feud (2008)

And here's even more vintage Halloween specials to tide you over until trick-or-treating!

Betty Boop: Betty Boop's Halloween Party

Casper the Friendly Ghost: To Boo or Not to Boo

Marc Summer's Magic Halloween Special

The Smurfs: All Hallows' Eve

DTV Monster Hits

Follow That Goblin!

The Great Bear Scare

The Last Halloween

Once Upon a Midnight Scary

A Pumpkin Full of Nonsense

Disney's Haunted Halloween (Educational Short)

Buttons and Rusty In Which Witch Is Which? 

The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo: Dr. Frankenstein 

Cool, Cool Summer

Started off the morning with breakfast and more of The Muppet Show. Linda Lavin of Alice joins in to wish Kermit a happy birthday. Kermit wishes they'd just stick to the originally planned show, but Linda does get to join the Electric Mayhem for a nice "The More I See of You" and the entire cast for "Beyond the Blue Horizon" in the finale. We also find out why operetta spoof singers Wayne and Wanda were dropped when they turn up for a brief number, and Kermit remembers why he fired them to begin with. 

Switched to the 2009 Strawberry Shortcake on The Roku Channel next. "Lights, Camera..." was their series finale. Strawberry and her girls are upset when their favorite movie theater closes, so they try to make a movie worthy of being shown in it. The Purple Pieman wants it for a pie shop and attempts to get Blueberry and Angel cake fighting, but Strawberry insists that they talk out their problems.

Put on Buzzr for Match Game '77 next. The young man whose innocent answer kicked off the infamous "School Riot" was brought back for a second chance in this episode. And then there's Brett's differing answer to what they put a criminal in instead of an electric chair...

Headed out after this episode for a walk...and just to enjoy the afternoon. It was cloudy and breezy, but also blissfully cool for August, barely in the mid-70's. Went to Dollar General, but they didn't have what I wanted. I was going to grab a pretzel for lunch, but the pretzel shop is apparently undergoing maintenance through next Wednesday. I ended up buying a Bodyarmor Lyte at Dollar General and moving on.

The park was wonderfully quiet, too. I saw two girls fishing on the bridge between Oaklyn and Collingswood and heard people in their backyards while walking the trails. Everything else was birds chirping, fish splashing, and the wind rippling through shiny green leaves and the last summer wildflowers.

When I got home, I went straight into lunch and Kid Millions. I go further into this odd Eddie Cantor vehicle with him inheriting a million dollars and being chased by Ethel Merman, among others, in Egypt at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Kid Millions

Looked up jobs after the movie. I wish I had a better idea of what I could do with library skills that don't involve working in a library. Most editing and proofreading jobs require more experience than I have, and I don't want to go to school for years and years. I need a job now. And yes, I'm aware of how competitive writing and publishing is. Writing and organizing is what I know. 

(Oh, and it looked like it rained briefly around the time I started writing. I haven't heard it on the roof, so I don't think it's done anything since then.) 

Did some writing next. Joyce enjoys her trip through the Munchkin countryside. It's a lovely land filled with towering trees and fruitful fields. As she settles down for lunch, her dog Rover runs off to chase crows...and finds a familiar scarecrow among them...

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Watched Match Game '79 while I ate. The parade of well-meaning contestants with terrible answers continues. At one point, the contestant's answer was so off, Gene had everyone hold up their answers to show that they weren't going to match. He thinks it happens again later in the show...but Charles has been known to match contestants others didn't before...

Finished the night on Hoopla again with another title from Verasae Sarabande. Unsung Musicals is a series of CDs showcasing songs from musicals that never made Broadway, had short runs, were off-Broadway, or simply were never recorded. I listened to the elusive third set, which I only found a few years ago. Among my favorites here are the jaunty "At the Same Time" from an earlier stage version of Freaky Friday, the wistful "Wishes Won't Wash Dishes" from The Bone Room, the lovely "Reville Sun" from a short-lived musical version of East of Eden called Here's Where I Belong, and the nostalgic reminiscence about "Hundreds of Hats" from the baseball-themed off-Broadway show Diamonds. 

Spring Winds

I didn't sleep that well last night. When I did get up, I read Caught Read-Handed and wrote in my journal until around 11:30. Watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while eating breakfast. "Mickey's Little Parade" is just for the smallest members of the Clubhouse - Buzz Buzz the Bee, Chip & Dale, Baby Red Bird, and Goofy's old friend Wilbur the Grasshopper. Mickey, Goofy, and Daisy accidentally wind the mechanical band members they intend to use for the parade too tight, sending them flying all over the Clubhouse! They recruit the others to help retrieve them.

Switched to Match Game '77 as I finished up breakfast. Roz Kelly, best known as Fonzie's tough girlfriend Pinky Tuskedero on Happy Days, makes her second and last appearance on the show this week, along with Craig Morris and Joyce Bullifant. The German coat worn by a contestant and the Audience Match "Werner __" brings in a lot of German accent jokes, especially from Richard, who knew German and Austrian actors doing Hogan's Heroes.

Made a few phone calls after breakfast. I wasn't able to get Mrs. Stahl or Collingswood Family Medicine, but I did finally get Jessa. She's willing to join Lauren and me in Barrington and Deptford next week, and even suggested seeing concerts in Philly. (Although I suspect those may be a little too late for us.)

Headed out for a walk after I finally got off with Jess. It was too nice of a day to hang out inside. Stopped at CVS for water, then strolled down to Newton Lake Park. The weather remains perfect here, sunny, windy, and warm. The sun reflected on the bottle-green water as I made my way past the newly-laid blacktop parking lot and the old playground. Couldn't resist going down that awesome bumpy slide with the rollers on the bottom. Went home via the heavily wooded, unpaved back paths. It was cool and peaceful back there, amid the sweet-smelling primrose and sunny yellow irises. 

After I got home, I had a brief lunch and rested while watching Carolina Blues. I go further into this wartime vehicle for Ann Miller and Kay Kyser and His Orchestra at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Carolina Blues 

Tried to focus on writing as well as I could when I was tired for the next few hours. Richard's torn between helping Gene out with the bandits who are raiding the town, and keeping an eye on the gold. If only he could be in two places at once...

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched Match Game '79 as I ate. Bill Daily actually managed to match a few times here, while the others tried to figure out "Lullaby __" in the Audience Match. Brett was nervous when she was hit on the Star Wheel to do "__ In Law" for the Head-to-Head.

Finished the night at Disney Plus with episodes of The Muppet Show. Started off with three of the most unique guest stars to ever appear on the series. Mimes Shields & Yarnell inspire Fozzie Bear to attempt his own mime act, but he tries too hard to be unique. Scooter, meanwhile, is convinced that the mimes are robots, while we see bouncing birds on a wire perform "Take a Chance On Me" and a gorilla climbing the Empire State Building claim "It's Lonely at the Top." 

Puppeteer Senior Wences inspires an extremely meta episode devoted to other forms of puppetry. Fozzie's ready to try his own marionette act, but his wise guy clown puppet would rather control him. Piggy doesn't see why "moving dolls" are so entertaining. Wences isn't the only unique puppet act on the show that week, either. Another puppeteer, Bruce Schwartz, does a haunting act with shadows and a Japanese doll. 

Honored the late Harry Belafonte, who passed away last month, with his episode from the third season. Fozzie spends the show trying to write scrips around the madness backstage. (I guess no one told him about the writer's strike.) Belafonte does better by the opening version of his hit "Day-O" before Fozzie tries to "improve" it. The striking finale, "Turn the World Around," has Belefonte singing with realistic African mask puppets as we learn about the philosophy of peace for all people that he and Jim Henson shared. 

Bad Day Rising

Started off the morning with breakfast and more new Daniel Tiger. "Daniel Gives a Gift" to Miss Elainia, a beaded bracelet he made himself. He wants to make one for him, too, but doesn't have enough beads. His mother points out he should appreciate the beads he has. Likewise, when Elainia ignores Dan's gift amid the pile she has, Lady Elaine reminds her to stop and appreciate the gift she was given. "Daniel Receives a Gift" from Grandpere, but can't help comparing it to his other things. Likewise, Katerina likes the bell on her scooter, but wishes she had a basket like Daniel. Their mothers remind them to appreciate what they have.

Hurried off to work just as Daniel Tiger ended...and I really wish I'd stayed home. I usually like bagging, but work was nothing but a pain today. I didn't start until 9:30 and we're supposed to sweep on the hour, so I already started late. Wanted to go on break a little early so I could get to sweeping before noon. Not only did I not get to sweeping before noon, but a manager sent me in for one of the cashier's breaks. I panicked when I had to deal with a man whose government card wasn't working. (And he's not the first one. This is the second time in less than a week those cards gave us trouble. The government apparently didn't tell anyone how to work them. Instead of being early to break, I ended up being late and getting upset. 

And I missed at least two times sweeping the store. I thought I swept at 2, but a manager said I didn't. I must have forgotten to log it in. We're supposed to log the sweeping twice, on the time clock and on a paper list. I don't know why we have to sweep at all, and certainly not once an hour. Once every two to three hours would be more than sufficient, especially on quiet days.

And truth of the matter is, I'm just plain tired. My knees hurt. I'm worn out. I had a hard time keeping up with the carts, even though we weren't that busy. The night manager ended up sending one of the stock boys out to to do the carts, so I could gather the overflowing trash.

Needless to say, I rushed home soon as I finished. Changed and got organized while watching Match Game '74. This one is from the only week Penny Marshall appeared on the show, more than three years before Laverne & Shirley started. She was mostly pretty quiet, but she did begin to warm up some by this point, even if she didn't appreciate Brett imitating her.

Had dinner while watching the Match Game Syndicated episodes. The first episode ended with Brett and Charles not getting any of David Doyle's impressions at all. They also teased him in the second episode, giving him "Pathetic Answer Awards" for his reply to the question about why Dumb Dora the interior decorator didn't like Red China...even though it wasn't really that dumb of a reply. 

Finished out the night after a shower with more episodes of The Muppet Show on Disney Plus, this time revolving around tough-guy actors. Alan Arkin drinks Bunsen's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde potion, turning him into a rampaging monster who destroys a group of bunnies' rendition of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." He recovers well enough to sing "Pig Shuffle" in the end, to Piggy's annoyance...but then Kermit drinks the potion!

James Coburn befriends another well-known tough critter in the fifth season - Animal. He's impressed after seeing Animal attack a trio of octopuses who were playing "Temptation" on the drums too slowly for the Muppet monster's taste. His attempts to help Animal find his center and the sudden arrival of a stereotypical Japanese dance troupe inspires them to change the western finale to a Japanese kabuki finale. The cowboys who were supposed to be in the number aren't crazy about that idea, and they all end up square dancing anyway. 

In the Cold, Cold Winter

Slept in so late, I started off my day with brunch and Match Game '75. Buzzr jumped back to the first day of Carol Bartos' run. She went on to become the show's all-time winner at that point. Gene kicks off the episode goofing off with a smaller and heavier microphone than he normally uses. He's even happier with the top answer on "Gene __" in the Audience Match! Meanwhile, Dr. Joyce Brothers is very embarrassed by some of her answers. 

Headed out to run errands after that. Started off with my first visit of the year to the Haddon Township Library. They still haven't started their volunteering back up yet, and frankly, their selection, especially of mysteries and sci-fi, isn't that great. They never get the newest stuff in, either, or you have to wait ages for it. I did find an earlier book in Laura Childs' Tea Shop Mysteries, Blood Orange Brewing, one of Elizabeth Peters' thrillers from the 70's The Night of the Four Hundred Rabbits, The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey, and the most recent version of What Color Is Your Parachute? 

Needed a few things at Target on the way home. I'm almost out of B12 vitamins, so I grabbed a bottle. I accidentally stepped on and dented my dry erase board when I was redoing the schedule, and I've had it for a while anyway. Time to replace it. Picked up green grapes on a good sale. The line for self-checkout was insanely long when I joined it. Good thing they finally opened a regular line a minute or two later.

The line at Starbucks was nearly as long. By this point, the teenagers from the two high schools down the street and behind the Westmont Plaza were done and looking for warm drinks. Thankfully, the line moved pretty fast. I got to enjoy a chai tea latte, a vanilla bean scone, and a spinach-egg white-feta wrap while listening to their chatter.

Considered picking up a soda for the way back at Dollar Tree, but I finally decided I just wanted to go home. Besides, it was rush hour. Not the best time to be at the Westmont Plaza. It took me forever just to cross busy Cuthbert. Thank goodness I managed to cross during a lull. At least the weather remains decent. It's windy and a bit colder, probably in the lower 40's, but also sunny and bright.

Put everything away when I got home, then brought my laundry downstairs and went into writing and looking up things online. Debralee's shocked when she, Gene, the Nutcracker, and his men emerge into a white world. They're not even in Burbank anymore. The Nutcracker explains they're at the Forrest of the Snowflakes. Gene introduces the Snow Queen, who seems very familiar...

I got so caught up, it was past 7 before I put my laundry in the dryer and grabbed leftovers for dinner. Watched Match Game Syndicated as I ate. As he begins the Audience Match, the contestant calls on Patty Duke, calling her one of his favorite actresses...which prompts everyone else to walk off! Later on, Debralee Scott complains about her chair being broken or too low.

Took a shower, then brought up the laundry. Finished the night watching more of The Muppet Show on Disney Plus as I folded it. This time, I focused on jazz greats and vocalists seen during the fourth and fifth season. Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie is delighted to perform with the Electric Mayhem, but a noise auditor has been called in due to complaints about their rehearsals in the alley out back. Meanwhile, there's a new heckler in the box. Waldorf brought his wife Astoria, and she looks mighty familiar...

Everyone is on edge when Scooter brings in five million dollars worth of gold for guest star Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" finale number. Not only are the Muppets nervous, but a security guard keeps accusing everyone of wanting to steal it. Needless to say, he's not thrilled with Bunsen and Beaker's attempts to turn a bar into something else, or the Muppet Newscaster announcing it to the world on the air.

Animal isn't the only drummer on the show when veteran drummer Buddy Rich appears...what little anyone could see of him, anyway. His episode is plagued by lights suddenly going out. "Veterinarian's Hospital" and the Newscaster do their skits by candlelight (or the latter tries to). Rich has rougher encounters with Piggy when they do martial arts together and Animal during a drumming duel in the finale. 

Andy Williams is more than happy to perform the theme from "Love Story (Where Do I Begin?)" for Piggy and Kermit when she tells him they're engaged. Unfortunately, no one told Kermit that. Backstage, the show is a lot cheesier than usual when they're best by roving packs of cheese who tell terrible cheese puns. 

We Must Believe In Magic

Started off a gloomy morning with breakfast and Charlie & Lola. Considering what our weather's been like the last few days, I suspect a lot of kids can relate to "It's Raining, It's Boring." Lola's bored when she and Charlie visit his best friend Marv's house. Many of their games are for two players, or are something she can't play. She really wants to take his dog Sizzles to the park. As it turns out, the best game is the simplest...the one that allows Lola to use her considerable imagination.

Puttered around online for a while until it was time for me to head to work. Once again, it was wet when I left, but not raining...but this time, it had dropped back into a more normal mid-40's as well. At least, it wasn't windy or colder than it should have been for the time of year. I got to work right on time.

The Acme was pretty dead for most of the afternoon. I spent too much time standing around bored or desperately trying to find something to do...until the dinner rush hour, and then we ended up with long lines. People are still having a hard time figuring out their government program funds. To my frustration, a couple left behind a $600 order because the woman couldn't get their food basics card to work and said they didn't have enough on the food stamp card. It was almost an hour before we could corral a bagger who could put all that away. And then they said I had a relief, only to tell me I didn't when I went to put something away. Good thing I got out on time.

Ran right home after all that and into dinner and Match Game Syndicated. Eva and Gene briefly swapped seats at one point to figure out a question. Meanwhile, the others try to help the contestant figure out "__ the Car" on the Audience Match...but the top answer ends up being something that may be a little obscure today. 

Finished the night on Disney Plus with fourth season episodes of the The Muppet Show revolving around country music stars. John Denver was no stranger to Muppet lunacy. He'd go on to do two popular Christmas specials with them. He and Kermit hope to go backpacking in Kermit's native swamp, but the others aren't nearly as enthusiastic. Piggy has trouble with a mouthy tree in her version of the poem "Trees," the Swedish Chef can't catch squirrels for dinner, and Gonzo wants to know what one does with a talking garden.

We get our first taste of the popularity of Star Wars on The Muppet Show during the Crystal Gale episode when Darth Nadir (aka Gonzo in Darth Vader mode) and his Storm Chickens invade "Pigs In Space." Gorgeous Gale herself appears in a haunting rendition of her "We Must Believe In Magic," with ghosts and wizards who predate the Ghost of Christmas Past by almost 15 years gliding around her. Meanwhile, the Prairie Dog Glee Club steals anything they can get their paws on, including Kermit's collar (to his embarrassment) and most of Piggy's wardrobe.

Kenny Rogers lands right in the thick of the insanity when stereotyped Arabs drill for oil in his dressing room and Kermit winds up on crutches after breaking bones in a circus act. Kermit does manage to get a good idea for a number out of this, a really surreal version of the famous reggae number "Coconut." Naturally,"Veterinarian's Hospital" also has fun with this, though Piggy chastises them for making jokes about her frog. Rogers manages to squeeze in a surprisingly dark rendition of his "The Gambler." 

Piggy and her fellow hams hog the spotlight in the opening of the Anne Murray episode as literal road hogs riding motorcycles while singing "I Get Around." Anne does the much calmer "Snowbird" as she deflects a dodo's bad bird puns. Scooter's constantly riding a skateboard backstage somehow makes it into Anne's big finale, "Everything Old Is New Again." 

On the Job Hunt

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Bitty Adventures on The Roku Channel. Berrykin Bloom's "Berry Big Harvest" is so huge, Orange Blossom doesn't have room for it in her general store. Not that she'd admit it. She doesn't want the others thinking she's not organized and can't take care of her business, so she doesn't ask them for help with the windfall. When things get out of hand and Orange is left cleaning up the mess, Strawberry has to figure out a way to help her out without hurting her feelings.

Rushed out right after Strawberry ended. Made a quick stop at the post office to drop paperwork in the mail, then rode to the Collingswood Library for my appointment with my new Abilities Solutions counselor. I was three minutes late, but Karen just barely arrived ahead of me. She had to wrangle with Collingswood's parking meters. (One of the advantages of riding a bike. I just park in the bike rack.)

When we got upstairs, we talked for an hour and a half. I explained everything about my situation, from hating my job to all the trouble I've had in the past year. I don't care how long I've worked at the Acme, or how good everyone thinks I am at it. It's not right for me. All it does is make me anxious and stressed, and I don't make enough money to put up with it. I want to find a data entry job, or something similar. We did all the paperwork together, went over my resumes, and discussed what I wanted out of a job. Something where I can sit down, use my brain, and have a real career, not just something I do to make money. 

Karen said she'd go over my resumes, see if she could update or change them to find what skills I have, and get back to me after Thanksgiving.

I debated stopping at WaWa for a drink after we finished, but I finally decided I didn't need it and didn't really have the time. Hurried home, changed, packed my lunch bag, and hurried back out. At least the day was decent for all the rushing! It was sunny, windy, and very cold, probably in the mid-40's. 

Though I did push carts for a half-hour before the afternoon bagger arrived, I spent most of the day in one register or another. I wish I hadn't. We were only busy because one of the all-day cashiers called out. People with huge orders kept ignoring the signs and getting into the express lane, upsetting those with small orders. Others threw fits when they didn't understand how that online rewards program worked and didn't get the sale they wanted. 

Also got my schedule. I work 8 1/2 hours every day but Monday...which is not a surprise the week of Thanksgiving. I asked for Thanksgiving off, but to my surprise and delight, they also gave me Saturday. I'll be able to see the Collingswood Christmas Parade for the first time since 2019. 

I was very happy to get out of there. Went straight into dinner and Match Game '74 when I got home. New girl on the block Louisa Moritz is more than happy to get a welcoming kiss from Gene. The others are happier to help the sweet new champ with "Polly __" in the Audience Match.

Grand Ol' Opry favorite Minnie Pearl really livened up a week in Match Game '77 with her flowered hats, frilly dresses, and down-to-earth nature. Slightly more timid Dick Smothers also joined in to see Richard help the contestant with "Forward __" in the first episode. In the second, there were several jokes about a woman wearing a t-shirt that said "Baby Down There." 

Worked on writing for an hour after the show ended and while they were on. Debralee is upset when Bart breaks the teeth on her nutcracker. Gene wraps it up with his handkerchief and assures her he'll get it fixed tomorrow. He tells her the story of the nutcracker that the thrift shop owner told him. He's really an enchanted prince who was turned into a nutcracker by a wicked mouse queen when he tried to save a princess from her spells. Debralee thinks it's romantic; Bart thinks it's silly. 

Took a shower, then spent the rest of the night watching Thanksgiving sitcom and variety show episodes online. The closest The Muppet Show got to a Thanksgiving episode was when folk singer Arlo Guthrie appeared in the fourth season. While the Swedish Chef tries to figure out what to make for the big family dinner, cows perform "Elegance" from Hello Dolly, Gonzo's "Hernando's Hideaway" disrupts Fozzie's attempt to read Robert Frost in a sleigh, and Guthrie sings "Grocery Blues" and "Sailing Down This Golden River" in a simple home set.

The doctors and nurses of the 4077th have an even harder time on "The Yalu Brick Road" in the eighth season of MASH. The turkeys Klinger got from a guy he knew give everyone, including him and General Potter, salmonella poisoning. Sergeant Rizzo spends his Thanksgiving threatening Klinger with bodily harm when his stomach behaves. Winchester and Hot Lips end up taking care of everyone and spend the day on each other's throats. Father Mulcahey's barely able to keep them from killing each other. Meanwhile, Hawkeye and BJ do their best to get the antidote to camp, with a North Korean soldier they dub "Ralph" tagging along.

Family time is hard on The Bob Newhart Show, too. Bob's invited his parents for Thanksgiving, but they're far from "An American Family" when his wife Emily's  parents turn up too. Bob's fussy mother gets into an argument with Emily's loudmouth father, which ends with none of the grandparents showing up for dinner. Bob finally gets them all over for dessert, reminding them that no matter how much they fight, they're still family. 

Halloween Harts

Started off another gloomy, foggy morning with breakfast and The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That. It's "Trick or Treat," but the kids have to wait for their mothers to finish household chores. The Cat takes them to meet a spider monkey, a coconut crab, and a fruit bat to see how they do tricks for their favorite fruit treats. "King Cecil the Seahorse" is the world's best dad. He keeps his eggs in his pouch while he searches for a good place to raise them. When the Cat and the kids help him find a home, they realize that taking care of babies can be even more of an adventure than fighting a dragon. 

Worked on writing for a while after that. Brett admits that Ross is cute, but he's not Gene. He can't do voices like Gene, and he's not the comedian that Gene was. Of course, Ross comes over at that point to remind Brett that she needs to speed up on the Match-Up mini game. She's been going slow. Brett doesn't see the point to it and laments that their boss Mark Goodson's son thought it was a good idea. 

Broke for lunch a little earlier, at 1. Watched Disney's Halloween Treat while I ate. Mom taped this Disney Channel special somewhere around 1988, and I've watched it at least once almost every October since. A talking pumpkin introduces spooky classic shorts like "The Old Mill" and "Donald and the Gorilla," segments from films featuring their villains, and a sketch from the Wonderful World of Disney anthology show on the cat's contribution to horror. Wonderful World of Disney also contributes a segment that focuses wholly on villains from Disney animated films made up to that point, narrated by Hans Conried as the Magic Mirror. It ends with probably the most famous of Disney's classic spooky shorts, the Donald-Goofy-Mickey vehicle "Lonesome Ghosts" and Donald's "Trick or Treat" with his nephews. 

Headed out to work at 2. I left early because I had an appointment for my next Covid booster shot. I'm not taking chances after I spent my New Year's and the week after sick as a dog. I don't want to go through that again. I did have to wait a minute while she read over my vaccination card and got the shot ready, but once it was ready, she gave it to me in my right arm, and I was free to go. It took less than 10 minutes, and I still had plenty of time to relax before work.

As it turned out, work went almost exactly the same as it did yesterday. Rush hour made it a bit busy when I got in. By the time I finished, we were so dead, I got off the register a little early to put cold items away. No trouble whatsoever.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game '77 when I got home. Buzzr must have chickened out on showing the School Riot episode, because they jumped back to earlier in the year. Soap star Rosemary Forsyth and Broadway playwright Abe Burrows join Betty White and the others in honoring a female Army officer and helping the contestant with "Pinkie __" in the Audience Match. 

Spent the rest of the night watching vintage Halloween, horror, and thriller-themed TV show episodes online. MASH finally got to a Halloween episode in their eleventh and final season, "Trick or Treatment." The doctors swap spook stories as they help a constant flood of casualties Halloween night. Charles isn't amused...and he's even less happy with the soldier who shows up with a cue ball in his mouth (George Wendt) and the one who drove through a chicken coop (Andrew Dice Clay, and that sounds like him). Meanwhile, Hawkeye helps a malnourished soldier who can't bring himself to eat after he saw his comrades killed during a meal, and Father Mulcahy discovers that a supposedly dead soldier isn't quite gone yet.

Halloween is a lot less dire for Ricky Stratton and his friends during the third season of Silver Spoons. When "A Dark and Stormy Night" knocks out the power, Ricky's dad Edward suggests they tell their own round-robin ghost story. He and the boys finally come up with the story of three kids in 1895 who end up stranded in a haunted mansion with a beautiful lady, a really goofy mad scientist, and his extremely polite and intelligent creation. 

The Muppet Show had two guests who were associated with the horror genre. Vincent Price appeared during the first season. The erudite legend played on his sophisticated reputation by appearing in a sketch with him and Kermit interviewing (and Kermit being eaten by) a massive hungry gourmand monster and Kermit showing him that he can learn how to be a horror actor too. (The copy at Disney Plus restores a number cut from the DVD, Price singing "You've Got a Friend" with the Muppet Monsters in a crazy fright wig.) 

Alice Cooper turned up in the fourth season for a frighteningly funny story involving him trying to convince the Muppets to sell their souls. Gonzo was the only taker. Along with renditions of his hits "Welcome to My Nightmare," "School's Out," and "Superstar," we get monsters singing "Once a Year Day" and Piggy and the crew of "Pigs In Space" contracting a disease that makes them invisible. 

Johnathan and Jennifer Hart have a less spooky fall in the fifth season Hart to Hart episode "Harts and Hounds." They're in England to visit a friend and take part in a traditional fox hunt, but their friend is killed by an exploding gun before he can take part. The locals suspect his wife wasn't happy with him, but Johnathan and Jennifer have to join the hunt in order to corner her and her lover. 

Muppets and Matches

Kicked off a sunny, breezy morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. "Big Head Hallie" sees a TV show about her and thinks she's a star on-screen and off. Her desire to show off all her skills not only scares off her friends, but makes her unavailable for her usual nursing. Doc finally convinces her that they like her the way she is, whether she's a TV star or not. Strawberry Shortcake-esque southern belle doll Peaches Pie comes to Doc's office after being carried around by a dog. She wants to dance with the others, but no one will go near her because her clothes smell like wet dog. Doc tells her if she wants her regular peaches smell to come back, "Peaches Pie, Take a Bath!"

Switched to PBS Kids for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I cleaned up from breakfast. "Daniel Learns About Empathy" when he's pretending to fix his playhouse with O the Owl and O says he's hitting his hammer too loud. His mother reminds him that he needs to think about how other people might feel. He learns "Empathy at School" when his older friend Chrissie loses her favorite charm bracelet and he wants to keep playing doctor. Teacher Harriett reminds him of how he felt the time he lost his beloved stuffed animal Tigey and convinces him to help her find it.

Moved to Match Game '78 after Daniel ended. No clue why Buzzr constantly skips the hilarious episode that ends with Brett and Jack's mock "wedding." Maybe they find mock weddings to be offensive? On the other hand, I'm not complaining too much, considering the next week features Mary Wickes, Richard Paul, Loretta Swit, and hot Lou Grant reporter Robert Walden. Brett teased Gene about them flying together to LA from Boston and tries to help a lady win $10,000 on her "__ Sale" Head to Head. The next one gave Walden a chance to help a contestant, this time with "__ Crown."

Called Uber shortly after the show ended. It took them a while to get here, so I finally moved one of the dolls' wardrobes into the box I bought yesterday. The floral design suggested Felicity or Josefina, but their fancy two piece gowns and skirts are too big for the smaller box. Went with Molly (most of her clothes are separates anyway) instead.

Hit the Acme for this week's grocery shopping and to get my schedule. I really didn't need that much. I've eaten out of the fridge a lot lately. Picked up another cheap bowl of steamed shrimp for dinner. Thought I'd try one of the Poland Spring sparkling water bottles on sale - went with Blood Orange Hibiscus. Restocked milk, yogurt, butter, unbleached white flour, frozen fruit, spinach, apples, and bananas.

Mixed feelings on my schedule next week. In good news, Tuesday and Friday off, and nothing later than 6. In frustrating news, two long and early 7 and 1/2 and 8 and 1/2 hour shifts on Monday and Wednesday, and cashiering shifts on Sunday and Saturday (the days when we have the most bagging help). 

Threw on Super Password as I got in and started putting everything away. Richard Kline did get his contestant to the Super Password bonus round, but they did badly with guessing and only got a few words. George and Alaina Hamilton won for the second day in a row on Tattletales, culminating a wild episode that included George taking his shirt off to illustrate a question. Things also got pretty wild on Press Your Luck. This was the second day in a row everyone got slammed with Whammies. The last guy standing picked up over 9,000 in cash and only one Whammy. 

Made Banana-Honey Muffins for lunch at work next week while the shows were on from that muffin recipe book Jen Waters gave me years ago. They came out very well, so soft and moist, and smelled lovely in the oven. I love how well this oven cooks everything. (Though some things, like the cake, you have to watch, or they can become overdone.)

Worked on writing for a while after the shows ended. Doc McLean announces that their groups have a lot of cuts and bruises, but no broken bones. If they need rum, it's for antiseptic, not drinking. Gene agrees to drop Anson and Lorrie off at the nearest port to head to Philly, where Anson has friends who may give him a job. Brett says she does want to see her children eventually, but for right now, she's more than willing to stay with Gene and his crew and get their treasure back from Richard.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had that shrimp with broccoli and leftovers while watching Match Game '74. Once again, for some reason, Buzzr skipped an existing episode and moved into the next one. Mitzi McCall joined the regulars, Gene, Richard Deacon, and Gunilla Hutton of Petticoat Junction for detective jokes on what Sherlock Holmes would find on Kojak's bare head (which didn't amuse bald Deacon) and what a fortune teller would read after attending medical school.

Hans "Captain Hook" Conried, sweet little Sarah Kennedy from Laugh-In, and Betty White came in for Match Game PM. We get jokes about what a creature that's scaly and 10 feet tall does to a man's wife and what Sir Lancelot brings to bed. Richard helps the winning officer with the answer to "__ Boiled," but it's Betty who has the most fun!

Sale of the Century was another close, low-scoring game. Everyone won something, but the champ bought both Instant Bargains and the Instant Cash and just barely managed to win the Speed Round. He's still having trouble with the Bonus Round, though.

Finished the night on Disney Plus with more Muppet Show, this time from the fifth season. When Kermit fires Miss Piggy over telling a tabloid they're married, Loretta Swit gladly takes over for her in "Veterarian's Hospital" (Rolf and Janice aren't any weirder than the military hospital personnel she usually works with) and "Pigs In Space."  (And I didn't know Swit had such a great voice - check out her singing "I Feel the Earth Move" as big blue Muppet monster Thog smashes miniatures around her.)

Carol Burnett's not ready to make the dance floor move when she arrives and finds Gonzo's holding a dance marathon. She's even less thrilled to be partnered with Animal! At least she manages to sneak in a lovely "But Not for Me" in her Charwoman character from The Carol Burnett Show. 

Piggy also has trouble when Tony Randall's on the show. He reads a spell that turns Piggy to stone! Kermit's livid, but the rest of the gang has fewer problems with her petrified status, especially the "Pigs In Space" crew. It'll take a recitation from Tony at the end of the show to change her back. (Oh, and for some reason, the Disney Plus copy is missing Tony's big song from the start of the show.)