Of Mummers and Muppets

Began the first day of 2026 with stories from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays. My favorite is the charming tale of a group of kids in a small town who ring the church bell for an elderly neighbor to celebrate the New Year. "A Disastrous New Year" from Hitty: Her First Hundred Years depicts how wooden doll Hitty was stolen on New Year's Day by a group of New York street toughs who attacked her child owner. "Dobry's New Year" focuses on Bulgarian New Year's customs, including reading the buds on a dram bush to see how your year will go. There's also several poems on New Year's festivities and changes in the New Year.

I thought I was running late when I ate a quick breakfast and waited for Jessa outside just after 10 AM. She didn't turn up until past 10:30 with her boyfriend Mike. He's a cheerful fellow, a bit on the chatty side. To my surprise, it snowed a little bit last night, enough that the ground was frosted white like a New Year's cake. Unfortunately, while the roads in Oaklyn had been cleared, the ones in Collingswood had not. Jessa skidded a few times before she finally pulled into the PATCO parking lot. 

We took a barely-full PATCO into Philly and made it to Broad Street by 11:30. It was a beautiful, if fridgid, day for a parade. The sky was a full-bodied, brilliant blue that almost hurt to look at, without a cloud in it. The wind, however, remained icy and so strong, some of the fancier string bands had to leave behind their props. It didn't dampen anyone's spirits. The Mummers strutted just as wildly as ever, and the crowds were even more enthusiastic, cheering, dancing along, and calling out the Eagles victory cheer.

The first group I saw as we made our way through the crowds were one of the Wench Brigades, this one wearing candy-print outfits and pulling a small "gingerbread house." The next group in red and blue were pirates, complete with a huge wooden "ship." Another had black and white outfits with an eye test print of large and small letters. Freddy Kruger wenches had red and green striped dress outfits, wore green tinsel garlands and Freddy's hat, and had clawed gloves. There were at least two Revolutionary War wench brigades in honor of America's 250th anniversary this year. A local used car dealership tossed its bear mascot in with characters representing Philly sports mascots and the Liberty Bell. Magician wenches wore red, black, and white and sported cards and long scarves. A yellow and black wench group were bees pulling cardboard hives.

I loved the comic Toy Story group, with a dad and mom Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a male Little Bo Peep, Buzz Lightyear, teen aliens, and the most adorable kid Trixie and Rex. A group of animals included eagles "soaring" on roller blades who got quite a reaction from the crowd! The first fancy brigade had a garden theme, with massive pink and green flowers and enormous Venus fly traps fluttering in the wind. The next was an amusement park. There were kids dressed as a roller coaster, a ticket booth, and even a giant ice cream swirl cone. Guys and girls twirled in fluffy cotton candy dresses. 

During a gap in the program, I got cold and bored standing there and headed down Broad Street to see what else was there. The wind and cold had scared off many people. There weren't quite as many people watching the parade live as there usually is. It was still fun to watch all of the drunk college kids screaming and (trying to) dance and the kids handing their parents beads while their parents taught them the Mummers Strut.

There's a Dunkin' Donuts further up Broad Street near the Sprouts Market and the Philadelphia High School for the Performing and Creative Arts. Though it was busy inside, the line surprisingly wasn't long. I made use of those gift cards from the kids to get a medium hot chocolate and a blueberry donut. There wasn't as much going on down by the school, so after I finished my donut, I followed the crowds back to Locust Street.

We finally decided by quarter of 12 that we'd seen enough and were too cold to stick around for the rest of the fancy groups. We took a largely empty PATCO (except for one really loud and drunk guy in a pink bunny outfit who thankfully got off at Broadway in Camden) back to Collingswood, getting in by just after 1. 

I usually have my first meal out of the year at the Westmont Diner. With the Westmont Diner still under renovations, I suggested the Haddon Diner on the border of Westmont and Haddonfield instead. Jessa had a hard time parking in the tiny, full lot, but they weren't that busy when we got in. The Haddon Diner is a lovely little spot with hand-stenciled wooden booths and reasonable prices. Mike had a huge chicken wrap. Jessa's turkey club sandwich was so big, she could only finish half of it. She and Mike both had chicken soup. Mike ordered mozzarella sticks and chicken quesadillas with curly fries. I had apple-raisin pancakes that were smaller, more moist, and more manageable than the ones at the Silver Diner on Tuesday, along with bacon and hot tea. Everything was so tasty, and the other two seemed to really enjoy theirs.

After they dropped me off at home, I went straight into Holiday Inn. I went further into this classic 1942 musical that introduced "White Christmas," "Happy Holiday," and "Let's Start the New Year Right" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back on New Year's Day 2019.

Happy New Year! - Holiday Inn

Moved on to Sesame Street Stays Up Late after the movie ended. I also go further into this charming special on how different cultures celebrate the New Year at my musical review blog.

Happy New Year! - Sesame Street Stays Up Late 

Switched to the Match Game New Year's Day Celebration Party marathon after dinner and a shower. The first episode of 1974 began with the arrival of Dorothy Zinni, an overly enthusiastic contestant who was so excited, she accidentally hit the laid-back guy next to her and scared the panelists to death. Even Richard was too terrified of her to kiss her! Richard's girlfriend Jodie proved to be far more palatable for him in 1976. Dick Martin kicked off 1976 by getting an answer right for the first time. Fannie Flagg enjoyed sitting in Brett's seat while she was out doing a play on the first day of 1978. Gene stumbled into the first day of 1979 draped with streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Jon "Bowser" Bauman played with rubber chains on the first episode of 1980, while McLean Stevenson had permanently taken over Richard's spot by 1981.

Dick Martin carried over to The Match Game-Hollywood Square Hour's first episode of 1984. Alison Arngrin showed off her stylish black dress and hat, Vic Dunlop dodged fat jokes, Arsenio Hall tossed out quips, and we have a young David Ruprecht when he was hosting Real People. Brad Garrett continued to imitate the on-vacation Charles Nelson Reilly on the first Match Game episode of 1991. Bruce Baum showed he could do more than create goofy and slightly disturbing "inventions" by actually doing pretty darn well at Match Up. 

Party on in the new year with Match Game in these hilarious episodes!

Match Game New Year's Celebration Party

Wait, there's more! We also have bonus episodes of Family Feud, Password Plus, Super Password, and a repeat of the Match Game '77 New Year's Eve episode. It's more bang for your game show buck in the New Year!

Family Feud (1980)

Family Feud (1980)

Match Game (1977)

Password Plus (1981)

Super Password (1987)

Finished the night working on the Sesame Street review while listening to My Favorite Things. John Coltrane digs into songs by three masters of American standards, starting with the Rodgers and Hammerstein title song. There's two gorgeous renditions of Gershwin brothers numbers, "But Not for Me" and "Summertime," and a darker Cole Porter "Every Time We Say Goodbye." 

Matching With the Mummers

Began 2025 with a quick breakfast and two shorts on Disney Plus, starting with Minnie's Bow-Toons: Party Palace Pals. Clarabelle, Daisy, and Minnie get into "Snow Day Shenanigans" when they first can't even get Daisy in her many sweaters out of the van, then sled down the wrong hill. Chip n' Dale's Nutty Tales have them constantly after an acorn. The acorn lands in Donald's popcorn during "Nutty Movie Madness." The chipmunks try to figure out how to get it while Don is distracted by a parody of Jurassic Park. 

Rushed to Collingswood after the cartoons ended. I got up way later than I planned. Didn't make it to the PATCO station until quarter of 11. Evidently, I wasn't the only person who wanted to sleep in. The PATCO station was busy with families and couples going into the city for the Mummers' Parade, despite the escalator and a lot of the back of the building still being blocked off. At least the train wasn't so full I couldn't get a seat to myself. I was climbing up the steps to 13th Street, two blocks from the parade route, within 20 minutes.

I arrived just in time for the comic "wench" brigades, the ones in the ruffly dresses with ruffled caps and parasols. One group and red and gold had gladiator helmets. Another had shark-shaped visors and wore red and silver. Red, white, and blue wenches had Phillies and Phanatics caps. A group in white and red sported medieval knights' helmets and parasol shields. A gold and black group had musical notes on their dresses and focused on the songs and dancing. I saw a group with frog parasols sporting green and black stripes and a ghoulish group in neon purple and green gowns with wild neon hair. There was a Pac Man dad with neon ghosts and a Jester group in rainbow print dresses. 

The wench groups gave way to comic groups as I strolled up and down Broad Street, from the DoubleTree Hotel to the former University of the Arts building. Aliens wandered in bright feelers, costumes with huge eyes, spaceships, and a couple of guys in silver riding bikes who were supposed to be satellites. An Alice In Wonderland mom was joined by a male Queen of Hearts in a lavish gown and various citizens of Wonderland. Woodland animals led by Swoop, the Eagles' mascot, rode skateboards. They were followed by a Christmas tree riding a bike. 

The crowds were nearly as crazy. They thinned out as I made my way down Broad Street. Mummers handed older kids metallic beads in bright colors, while adults taught their younger siblings to do the Mummers' strut. Families pushing huge strollers pushed past drunk college students who climbed onto ledges and yelled into the crowd. Some of the Mummers even tried to throw beads up to crowds watching them on higher floors, but most of those ended up with the crowds below them.

The weather wasn't bad, either. It was windy, semi-cloudy, and chilly but not overly cold for this time of year. The wild wind was more of a problem than anything. It made those little parasols hard to control and blew people on skates and bikes further along faster than the riders intended.

Finally got tired of the crowd and noise around quarter of 1 and headed back towards the 13th Street PATCO entrance. A few college students turned up right before the train left, but I mostly waited alone. The train itself was once again steady but not too full. No trouble getting off at Collingswood or grabbing my bike once got back in. Made a short stop at one of the outdoors PNC ATMs for money, then rode down Cuthbert to the Westmont Diner.

The Westmont Diner was just as busy with people eating their first lunches out of 2025 as it was last New Year's Day, but I was there for a reason. Last month, when I ate there with Dawn, they gave us red envelopes to be opened in front of our waiter. I ripped it open while eating blueberry pancakes and very crispy melt-in-your-mouth bacon. As I did last year, I got a coupon for a free dessert or appetizer. I knew exactly what I wanted. There was a pink cake in the bakery display with white frosting and cheesecake and strawberries between the layers. It looked amazing, and I was dying to try it.

Put on Rudolph's Shiny New Year when I got home. I went further into this bizarre but enjoyable 1976 follow-up to the original Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2019. 

Happy New Year's Eve! - Rudolph's Shiny New Year

Laverne and Shirley have their own New Year's excitement. "New Year's Eve - 1960" seems to be coming up roses for the ladies. Shirley's New Year's party is a huge success, and Laverne managed to snare a date with an old guy friend she'd wanted for years. Things don't go as well once midnight comes around. Shirley catches a cold, and Laverne's date ends up with his original girlfriend. At least they can look forward to Lenny dropping Squiggy at midnight instead of the ball.

Finished the night with more New Year's Match Game and game show episodes at YouTube. The first episode of 1974 introduced Dorothy Zinni, an overly excited contestant who bounced around so much, she accidentally hit the laid-back guy next to her. Even Richard Dawson was too scared of her for a kiss! A funny older man had even stranger answers on the first day of 1975. Dick Martin finally got an answer right on the first day of 1976. Fannie Flagg took over Brett's seat on the first day of 1978. (Brett was out doing a play, not in jail like everyone kept joking that week.) Gene stumbled into the first day of 1979 draped in streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Jon "Bowser" Bauman brought rubber chains for the first episode of 1980, while McLean Stevenson had become a permanent fixture by the time the first episode of 1981 rolled around.

Dick Martin stuck around for the first Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour of 1984. Allison Arngrin shows off her elegant black suit and hat, while comedian Vic Dunlop dodges fat jokes, Arsenio Hall tosses out quips, and we have a young David Ruprecht when he was one of the hosts of Real People. Vicki Lawrence does the best at the Match-Up mini game during the first episode of 1991, which ends with Brad Garrett channeling Charles again.

Wait, there's more! We also have Bill Cullen, Sharon Richardson, and Tom Kennedy celebrating the second Password Plus episode of 1980, plus encore showings of the first two episodes of 1976 and 1977. Party on with Match Game and Password Plus in these hilarious episodes!

Match Game New Year's Celebration Party - Ring In 2025

Match Game (1976)

Match Game (1977)

Password Plus (1980)

Mummers and Matches

I awoke...to realize I overslept. I finally got out the door at 10, and I'd wanted to be heading to Philadelphia by at least nine. Grabbed yogurt, a granola bar, and grapes, and rushed out the door on the bike.

Fortunately, it takes less than 5 minutes to get to Collingswood on my bike. The PATCO was busy, but it wasn't so full that I couldn't get a seat. Followed a family and got one in the front. The stations were busier. I just followed the crowd until I got up to 13th Street, which is two blocks from the parade route on Broad Street.

I arrived just in time for the "comic" wench brigades. They're the ones in the ruffly dresses and caps in weird prints. As I walked up and down Broad Street, from Doubletree up to the Philadelphia High School for the Performing Arts, I saw one group with a cow theme in white and black prints with red trim. The one before them were construction workers in orange with neon yellow trim and gray reflector fabric on the waists. There was a Barbie-themed group in pink, blue, and orange, with some guys walking down Broad Street in pink "boxes." 

An alien group wore silver and blue and sported sparkly feelers and green makeup. Another group had outfits in every color of the rainbow. There was a Toy Story group with a mom as Bo Peep, dad as Woody, and kids as Jesse, Buzz, and in an inflatable dinosaur costume, a Mario group with red and green Mario and Luigis, and scarecrows in yellow, white, and green with straw-trimmed hats. I loved the Route 66 group in map-printed outfits with red and blue trim.

The crowds were nearly as crazy. Big families pushing huge strollers pushed between drunk college students who got up on ledges to yell out in the crowd. I saw people walking dogs of every size and shape. They ranged from a beautiful white Samoyed who just watched the crowd to a frisky King's spaniel who barked at everything.

The weather cooperated for the parade, too. While not warm like it was this time last year, it wasn't freezing, either. It was probably in the mid-40's, perfectly normal for early January. The sun was out when I was there, and there was no wind, but there were clouds on the horizon even as I started back down 13th Street to the PATCO entrance. The only other people waiting with me were a group of college kids who were probably on their way back to Rutgers. By the time I got off at Collingswood, the sun was disappearing again.

Cut through Collingswood to the Westmont Diner for brunch. When I ate there last month, they gave me a green envelope that was only to be opened in front of my server between January 1st and 31st. Enjoyed super-soft pumpkin pancakes with dried cranberries mixed in. When my waitress brought the check, I opened it to reveal a coupon for a free dessert or appetizer. I knew what I wanted. While I waited 20 minutes for a booth to be ready, I got to admire the cakes and pastries in the display as you come in. I wanted to try the long Napoleon cake with the white and chocolate trimmed icing.

Went straight home after that. My wrist and big toe are still sore, and riding around on the bike and running around in Philly didn't help. I spent the rest of the afternoon resting, doing the laundry, and watching the Universal adventure movie Arabian Nights. The dancing girl Scheherazade (Maria Montez) is convinced she's to marry a caliph and become a queen. She thinks it'll be Kamar (Leif Erikson), who has taken over the throne in the absence of his brother Haroun (Jon Hall). Haroun was attacked by Kamar's men and left for dead. He was taken in by acrobat Ali Ben Ali (Sabu) and the troupe of actors Scherazade works for. 

The Grand Vizier Nadan (Edgar Barrier) wants both brothers out of the way. He orders his captain of the guards (Turhan Bey) to sell the entire group into slavery. Even after the troupe manages to escape, they still end up in Kamar's clutches. Kamar forces Scheherazade to marry him, but Ali knows he's not the brother she wants. It'll take a final rallying of the people and a fight to the death between brothers to finally put Haroun back on his rightful throne.

Delightful bit of blarney is the second of four films to pair up Montez, Hall, and Sabu. We also have Billy Gilbert as the head of the troupe and Shemp Howard as the least-likely Sinbad the Sailor ever onscreen. To tell the truth, this doesn't have much to do with the actual Arabian Nights stories, but that doesn't make it any less fun. Gorgeous production (this was Universal's first movie in three-strip Technicolor) definitely helps. Well worth your time if you love Arabic swashbucklers or fantasies or the three stars.

Switched to writing after getting the laundry in the dryer. The lion who attacks the group is small, plump, and has a very curly mane. Joyce recognizes him as comedian Avery Schreiber, and she's right. She's also right that he won't hurt them. He's a coward who can't bring himself to harm any living creature.

Watched New Year's game show episodes while eating dinner. New Year's goes back a long way on game shows. What's My Line celebrated their very first New Year's episode in 1950 by having none other than Guy Lombardo as a Mystery Guest to discuss his annual concert in New York to kick off the New Year.

One of the very few episodes of the second run of the Alex Trebek High Rollers still in existence is its New Year's 1979 show. Alex dons a snazzy tux, while the models wear fancy gowns. A twinkly-eyed older woman did manage to win a big prize package, but she still lost to a younger woman who got a beautiful brown fur coat. 

Peter Tomarken and Rod Roddy also dressed up for New Year's Eve 1984 on Press Your Luck. Whammies performing New Year's concerts flew fast and furious, particularly in the second round. In the end, the champ not only picked up a car and cash, he became one of the show's top winners at that point.

Monty Hall's New Year's Eve on Beat the Clock is even more frantic. Character actors Louis Nye and Ellen Travolta played comedian Jack Carter and soap star Eileen Barnett. In the end, after the entire group has used noisemakers to blow balloons into a crib and poured enough champagne to cascade over a stack of glasses, Barnett and Carter came out victorious, making twice as much money as the other two.

Children and families get on the games in the Bob Eubanks Card Sharks and Ray Combs Family Feud. The 1986 Card Sharks had their Young People's Week during the days between Christmas and New Year's. In 1990, Ray and the families celebrated the new decade with silvery poinsettias, balloons dropping in the end, and questions about what people do every New Year's Day.

Drew Carey and his Price Is Right models ended the 2000's by giving away some of the most popular prizes ever, according to people who sent reminiscences on their website. Prizes ranged from a vintage yellow luxury sport car to a man's watch to the Grand Game. One of the Showcases showed off trips to cities with big New Year's celebrations. The other revolved around how and where people watch the Bowl games at home.

Ring in 2024 with these hilarious New Year's parties! (Warning that the copy of Card Sharks is in bad shape and has barely-audible audio.) 

What's My Line (1950)

High Rollers (1979)

Beat the Clock (1979)

Press Your Luck (1984)

Card Sharks (1986)

Family Feud (1990)

The Price Is Right (2009)

Finished the night with a marathon of the first episode to air every year during the Match Game 70's and 80's run. The first episode of 1974 introduced Dorothy, a wild contestant who got so excited answering questions, she accidentally hit the laid-back guy next to her. A funny older man proved to have answers that were even odder on the first day of 1975. Fannie Flagg took over in Brett's seat while she did a play for the first week of 1977. Gene stumbled into New Year's Day 1979 draped with streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Bowser brought rubber chains for the first syndicated episode of 1980, while McLean Stevenson had taken over Richard's seat by the time of the first 1981 show. 

Dick Martin stuck around for the first Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour show of 1984. He's joined by Nathan Cook, Arsenio Hall, Alison Arngrin, and a young David Ruprecht when he was a host for Real People. Vicki Lawrence does very well at the Match Up mini game during the first episode of 1991. 

No one celebrates the New Year like Match Game! Party on with these hilarious episodes. 

Match Game New Year's Day Celebration Party - Ring in 2024

Have a Very Matching New Year

Began the last day of 2023 with Arthur. D.W wants to invade "Arthur's Sleepover" after she hears about UFO sightings in the area. Arthur and his friends find a creative way of keeping her out...by giving her what she wants. He's not staying up for "Arthur's New Year Eve," until his friends tell him all the cool stuff that supposedly happens at midnight. Grandma Thora reminds him that the really important thing about New Year's is looking back on the previous year and looking ahead to the next one.

Made a short run out next. It was nearly 1 when I headed to WaWa for my last treat of the year. Tried a Sugar Cookie Smoothie. Yum! Really did taste like a butter sugar cookie. Bought a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi and a soft pretzel for later. They were surprisingly not that busy for the last day of the year and around 1:30. Maybe everyone was getting ready for tonight. 

Or they were avoiding the weather. It remains the same as yesterday -  cloudy, cold, and windy. Which, to be fair, is what it's supposed to be doing at this time of year. At least it wasn't snowing or raining.

When I got home, I had the pretzel and soda, along with lunch, while watching Rudolph's Shiny New Year. I went further into this Rankin-Bass special at this Musical Dreams Movie Revews blog entry from 2019.

Happy New Year's Eve! - Rudolph's Shiny New Year

Wrote birthdays on my new calendar and looked something up on my phone while I had Holiday Inn on. I did my review of this classic Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire holiday-themed musical on New Year's Day 2019. 

Happy New Year! - Holiday Inn

Switched to a couple of sitcom episodes when I went online. "New Year's Eve - 1960" proves to be an exciting one for Laverne & Shirley. Laverne's ecstatic to be going to Shirley's party with an old guy friend of hers from high school, but she's heart-broken when her date doesn't go as expected. Shirley is with Carmine, but she's caught a cold. At least they can watch Lenny drop Squiggy before midnight instead of the ball.

The cops on Barney Miller have an equally memorable "Happy New Year" when they bring in a pregnant shoplifter who doesn't speak English. While Barney's wife Liz stays with her, the others prepare for the blessed event. Fish is more concerned about a man who is going to jump off a building if the war in the Middle East doesn't end, and Harris has to deal with a drunk who is waiting to file a complaint until he's sober.

Cathy Lane is looking forward to the arrival of her father, a newspaper correspondent, on The Patty Duke Show. Her cousin Patty is almost as excited, until she learns from her father Martin that not only is Cathy's father in jail for getting involved in a revolution, Martin has to fire him for disobeying his boss' orders. Everyone tries to prepare Cathy for "The Christmas Present" not coming home, but she insists that he'll come no matter what.

Even after Cathy's dad Ken makes it back to the US, "Auld Lang Syne" still isn't terribly pleasant, due to him being fired. The girls try to get him a book deal, but he's happier out in the field. When the revolution starts up again, there's only one man his boss wants out in Europe. Cathy may miss her dad, but she knows he's happiest covering the news, and she's happy with Patty as her cousin reminds her that they "made it through another one."

Worked on writing for a while after that. Rover the dog is sniffing around when a large lion with a curly mane nearly pounces on him! He sends Charles reeling, but pulls back after he realizes  he can't get through Richard's tin. Joyce isn't happy about him going after Rover, though...

Did a couple of cartoons themed around New Year's, parties, and clubs during dinner. Popeye says "Let's Celebrake" when he, Olive, and Bluto head out dancing for New Year's. Popeye gallantly brings along Olive's grandma. She's no swinger at first, but spinach really gets her feet moving. Bluto is jealous in "Morning, Noon, and Nightclub" and tries to sabotage Popeye and Olive's dance act. Popeye uses spinach to turn the tables. Mickey and Minnie Mouse are the original party animals in "The Whoopee Party." They get so into the music, even the furniture dances along!

Finished the night on YouTube with the Match Game Sunday Classics marathon. Every year in the 70's, Match Game celebrated the New Year with the changing of their sign, dropping balloons and streamers on the set and in the audience, and giving the panelists noisemakers and hats. Charles came out in a firefighter's hat and carrying a huge Match Game  balloon in 1975, which he popped to reveal a smaller 1976 balloon. In 1976, Charles caught an egg dropped by an exceedingly ugly paper mache "Goody-Toddy Bird" that said Match Game '77. Head honcho Mark Goodson came out to praise the job they were all doing and how popular the show had gotten at that point. 

Brett was out doing a play in 1977, but Fannie more than adequately took her place. They dropped the balloons first that year, probably to have more time for the game. By 1978, they had a new sign that only needed to have the number screwed in. After Charles and Gene finally figured out how to get the numbers in place, Charles and Brett "christened" it by breaking bottles over it. As the balloons dropped and the others celebrated, Gene passed out from the excitement!

1978 was the last Match Game New Year's episode on CBS. There wouldn't be another New Year's episode until Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983, and that was limited to comedian Gallagher playing with balloons during the Leave It to Beaver theme week. Match Game '90 got far more into the holiday. There were black and silver balloons arching over the set, and everyone dressed to the nines in gowns and tuxes. Charles was on vacation during that week, so Brad Garrett did a dead-on impression of him.

No game show celebrates New Year's like Match Game! Celebrate the start of 2024 with these hilarious episodes!

Match Game Sunday Classics - New Year's Eve Party

As Match Game '90 began, I heard booms going off all around me. One was so close, it shook the house! The New Year had arrived here, too. I sipped my apple-cranberry sparkling juice and watched the sparkles around me.

Here's hoping you  have a safe and happy 2024 with all the people you love to match with! 

I'm Into Something Good

I opened my eyes, gazed over at my alarm clock...and it said quarter after 10!  Yikes! I'd planned on being up and out the door to Collingswood at 8! Got dressed quickly, grabbed a banana and a cocoa-almond bar for breakfast, hurried downstairs, grabbed my bike, and rushed out.

One of the advantages of living on the other side of Oaklyn is being closer to Collingswood. I arrived at the PATCO Station in a little over five minutes. There was a long line to buy tickets...but once I bought the tickets, it wasn't as bad. I noticed when the train to Philly rolled in that the first car wasn't full like the others. I took that one, and had a nice, quiet ride. 

Got off at 13th Street, two blocks from the Mummers Parade. It was half-done by the time I made it there, but no matter. I strolled up and down Broad Street, enjoying the carnival atmosphere. The Mummers Parade has local string bands dressed in colorful ruffles and sequins strutting down mid-town Philly. One group in blue and turquoise had a shark theme. Another were Grinches in red and green. There were red, white, and blue clowns, and primary-colored clowns in baggy pants who stopped and did the Limbo for the delighted crowd. A magician and his brigade wore black and orange and performed tricks. A group in black and white checks blasted hard rock as they passed the Doubletree, following a band in glitter-trimmed khaki coveralls representing Top Gun: Maverick. 

I walked all the way down Broad to the stately Philadelphia High School for the Performing and Creative Arts. (Which I honestly mistook for a museum until I read the sign out front.) That seemed to be the end point for the parade. I caught another couple of groups here, including a pink-and-blue baby group in huge bonnets and two more generic groups in primaries and pale blue. All kinds of people stood on the lamp posts and watched from behind the barriers, from families with young children to extremely noisy and inebriated college students. 

I couldn't blame them for wanting to enjoy the parade. It was perfect parade weather. The sun was out, the sky was almost the same color blue as the shark group's costumes, and it was warm, in the upper 50's-lower 60's. It did get a bit blustery, but that beats the 30's and 40's it usually is during the Mummers Parade. 

Started back down Broad around noon. I wanted a drink, but the Dunkin' Donuts on Broad had a line of Mummers going out the door. After I got back to near City Hall, I ducked down 13th Street until I ran into Macy's. I remembered that they had a Starbucks. Not only is the little corner store still there, but they were empty. Drank my Peppermint Mocha Frappuchino in peace. Got to admire the Macy's Light Show as I made my way through, too. Even if the actual show ended yesterday, the lights still looked pretty.

Cut down Market Street and through Primark, since I was now closer to 8th Street than 13th. Lauren and I didn't check out the Round 1 on the top floor of the Fashion District when we visited in early June. I only went a half-hour here, since I had other things I wanted to do. Couldn't find the skee ball, but I had fun playing other games. Earned enough to get another medium Beanie Baby, this one a fluffy brown ostrich named Orson, and still have points left for my birthday in April.

I've already done a ton of shopping this week, so I passed on the rest of the Fashion District. Went straight to the PATCO station under the mall. They weren't busy, either. Nor were the mall or Round 1. Everyone must have still been at the Parade or heading to the Eagles-Saints game. No trouble getting home at all.

Since I was already in Collingswood, I had brunch at the Pop Shop. They were busy, mostly with college students looking for hangover cures and something to do away from the family. I kept things simple with two scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon, two pancakes, fruit salad, and iced tea. The scrambled eggs were more flat than scrambled, kind of like an unfolded omelet. They weren't bad, just strange. The bacon was just crispy enough, though, and their moist "Betty" pancakes have won awards. Even so, they were too big to finish.

Rose texted me when I was at the PATCO station. She had a ton of food out. Did I want to come over? Sure, why not? I had no other plans for the day. Took the quick way down Collings and across the White Horse Pike back to Oaklyn, making my way down to Reading and then to West Clinton.

It was basically similar to the spread Rose had out at Christmas...but there was even more food, and this time, her husband Craig's parents joined us. We noshed on a meat and cheese tray, a tray of berries and pomegranate seeds, a vegetable tray, a tray of pepper poppers and olives, baked brie, and a plate with crackers and blue cheese. She served Hoppin' John, a southern dish traditionally eaten on New Year's she'd gotten out of a Disney Princess cookbook. (Needless to say, it was a Tiana recipe.) After I ate, I played with Finley on the enclosed porch, trying to pop the bubbles she blew before she did! 

After we came in, I admired Rose's full bookshelves while her hubby Craig and her son Khai watched the Eagles game. They did not play well. Again. The Saints eventually shoved past them 20-10. 

Made a better find on Rose's shelves. One of my favorite books when I was younger was The Smartest Bear and His Brother Oliver, by Alice Bach. "The Smartest Bear" is Ronald, who wants to stay awake all winter to read the Encyclopedia and be seen as different from his twin brother Oliver, whose interests are in eating and not much else. It's not until his parents give them their birthday presents that Ronald realizes that they do know he and his brother are as unalike as bears can be.

Oh boy, did I relate to Ronald as a kid! Rose and I aren't twins, but we're different as can be. Rose wasn't a big reader when we were younger. She didn't really get into reading until she became a fan of fantasy in the early 90's. I actually did read the encyclopedia then, and would stay up very late to do it. And yes, my sisters did tease me about it. And like Ronald, I was over the moon when I got my first typewriter. (Only I got mine for Christmas 1987.)

We've had this book for as long as I can remember. It was definitely our original copy. The previous owner had colored in the Steven Kellogg artwork with colorful markers. I thought Mom got rid of it ages ago. Rose said I could have it, since her kids don't read it often. 

Rose sent me home with a ton of food, including grapes, a bag of salad, more Hoppin' John, and a slice of fruit tart. Put all that away when I got home, then went straight into writing. Debralee wants to know what's going on here. How did Gene get magic? He's always had it. He thinks she'll be able to help the Nutcracker save the Princess, before the Mouse King does worse things to her. 

After that, I had the fruit tart while watching Holiday Inn. I go further into the movie that introduced the song "White Christmas" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy New Year! - Holiday Inn

Took down most of the Christmas decorations during the second half of the movie. I intend to rearrange the containers, including moving most of the larger stuffed animals to the felt Santa bag. Had enough time to take down the regular odds and ends tonight. I'll do the bears and the tree on Wednesday, my next day off.

Finished the night online with the Match Game New Year's Day marathon. These episodes may have been less festive, but some of them were almost as funny. Dorothy, an overly enthusiastic contestant who jumped up in her seat and flung her arms around so much, she accidentally hit the guy next to her, really livened up New Year's Day 1974. Gene stumbled into the first day of 1979 draped with streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Butch Hartman, who would later go on to create The Fairly Oddparents for Nickelodeon, began his long winning streak on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour on the New Year's Day episode. 

Ring in the New Year with Match Game and see if you can get people playing along!

Match Game New Year's Day Marathon

Threw in a few more vintage New Year's game show episodes after that ended. What's My Line started off 1961 with Lucille Ball as the hilarious Mystery Guest. She couldn't disguise her voice from Arlene Francis, who knew her too well. Note the reference to her being on Broadway. The show she appeared in was Wildcat, a musical about a strong-willed oil driller who hopes to make a killing so she can earn money for her sister. It has good music, but the book was so weak, when Lucy got too sick to appear, that was the end of the show. 

One of the few remaining episodes of the second Alex Trebek High Rollers run is its New Year's Eve 1979 show. Alex dons a tux and his models sport sparkling gowns as contestants roll the dice to win big packages. The twinkly-eyed older lady who started off didn't have the best answers and didn't win, but she did pick up a prize package. The lady who won didn't do much better and missed the bonus round. She was going up against a young man when they finished.

Likewise, Peter Tomarken and Rod Roddy sported snazzy tuxes for the New Year's Eve 1985 Press Your Luck episode. There were a surprisingly lack of champagne-toting Whammies here; they only hit once in the second round. The champ just barely beats a lady to get cash.

The late 80's Card Sharks and Family Feud brought kids and families to the party. Card Sharks celebrated its Young People's Week in 1987 as kids competed to win a trip to Hawaii instead of a car. Family Feud finished its first season in 1988 with balloons, streamers, and a Fast Money win. 

Super Password didn't get too fancy in 1984, either. There was more talk about Jamie Farr being held over for a second week on the show. They didn't really do anything for the holiday until everyone sported hats and noisemakers in the end. 

Celebrate New Year's with these sparkling games!

What's My Line? (1961)

High Rollers (1979)

Super Password (1984)

Press Your Luck (1985)

Card Sharks (1987)

Family Feud (1988)

A Misty New Year

Began my first day of 2022 with breakfast and a quick episode of Doc McStuffins. Did the very first episode, "Knight Time." Doc borrows Sir Kirby the Knight from her brother to rescue Princess Lambie from Stuffy the Dragon, but he's dirty and keeps getting stuck to everything. After Doc discovers he's covered in jelly and pizza, she takes him in the bath with her...and teaches everyone the importance of good hygiene. Boppy the bopping bag dog gets "A Bad Case of the Pricklethorns" when he springs a leak twice. Doc finally reminds him to stay away from rose thorns and other sharp objects.

Headed off to work after that. They were surprisingly steady to busy for most of the day. I figured, if people weren't getting over last night, they'd be avoiding the weather. It was foggy and rainy even when I went to work at 9, and the rain continued off and on all day. I suspect it's the same deal as with the Christmas Eve crowds...and this time, not only is it the weekend, but it's the beginning of the month, too. 

Rose called during my lunch break around 1:45. Seems she gave Khai a self-test for Covid...and it came up positive, even though the rest of them didn't have it. She thinks he got it from me! Now I feel terrible. How could I have given a child the virus? I didn't have the more extreme symptoms of the virus. Even when I felt really terrible on Wednesday, I never lost my sense of taste or smell, was never nauseous or threw up, didn't have trouble breathing other than a slightly stuffy nose. The worst of it was the fever, and that was gone by Thursday morning. All I have left now is a slightly scratchy throat and a stuffy nose.

I felt absolutely horrible when I got home. Even the neighbors noticed it when I went by them. Even Jodie noticed it and texted me about it. My neighbor gave me a self-test, so I could figure it out for myself.

Thankfully, the test wasn't terribly complicated. It took a minute to set up, but it actually reminded me a of a mad scientist's lab. Kind of cool, really. I did it, then changed and heat up leftovers for dinner. 

By the time they were in the oven, I returned...and yes, it was positive. I should have known this would happen. I have no idea where I got it from. I wear a mask at work - company policy. Probably from one of the apartments I looked at. I'm kicking myself as hard as I can for not getting a booster shot sooner. I was going to make an appointment with the Acme to get one this week! I didn't think I had the time, with looking for an apartment and the holidays and everything. 

I'm not sure what to do now. I did quarantine for three (more like 2 1/2) days, but it's still positive and I do still have the sore throat and stuffy nose. I'll probably call work early tomorrow and see if I can take off the remaining two days for quarantine and if they'll pay me for that. (At least we're only supposed to isolate for 5 and not 14 days now!) 

Cheered myself up with dinner and Get Crazy. I go further into this wacky comedy about a New Year's Eve rock concert at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy New Year! - Get Crazy

Finished the night at YouTube with Lawrence Welk New Year's episodes. New Year's 1966 started off with everyone singing "The Happiest" and ended with them performing "Let's Start the New Year Right" at a party. Jo Ann Castle really gets into "Happy Days are Here Again" on an upright piano covered in streamers, and we have Arthur Duncan, Bobby Burgess, and Jack Sheldon as the world's least-likely tap-dancing football team! (As Lawrence put it, "I guarantee you won't find anything like that in any of the Bowl games.") 

The 1970 show ran even harder with the Bowl game theme. Arthur Duncan lead a merry Rose Parade to "Before the Parade Passes By," and we get Bob Dole and Norma Zimmer as the King and Queen of the Rose Bowl Parade singing "Beautiful Ohio." Later, Lawrence introduces the real Queen of the Rose Bowl Parade and her court, while his daughter-in-law Tanya Falan Welk hopes "May You Always." We also get Bobby Burgess and Cissy King showing off 50 years of American dance crazes, from the Cakewalk to "Land of 1,000 Dances." 

Bobby got to show off an older dance step in the 1981 New Year's show, too, this time the Balboa with Elaine Nivenson. Dick Dale and Kathie Sullivan get a charming "Real Live Girl," while Lawrence waltzes with the real Rose Parade Queen and her court. "Fame" sounded awfully strange performed by Guy and Rawla; Mary Lou Metzger and Jack Imel did far better with their delightful tap routine to "The Hucklebuck." 

Bring in the New Year with Lawrence Welk and his musical family! (The 1981 show is the full original broadcast, complete with commercials.)

New Year's Eve Show (1966)

New Year's Tribute to the Rose Bowl Parade (1970)

Happy New Year's Party (1981)

Have a Matching New Year!

Began the last day of 2021 with reading Christmas and New Year's stories from Christmas With Anne and writing in my journal. It was past 11:30 when I had breakfast and put on Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! Chuck's stuck reading War & Peace for a book report over Christmas break. What he really wants to do is invite the Little Red Haired Girl to Peppermint Patty's New Year's Eve party. Peppermint Patty wishes he'd be her date, Lucy's turned down by Schroder, and Sally is convinced Linus will ask her. 

Headed out to run errands after the show ended. It was chilly and gray, though not freezing, maybe even a tad warm for late December. Needed to pick up a few things at Dollar General I either forgot to order from Acme yesterday, or couldn't get. This time, I did find the cold medicine I wanted, and throat lozenges, too. Mandarin orange cups and rubbing alcohol are cheaper there. Forgot more Jell-O and sparkling grape juice yesterday. No heavy cream, so no Whipped Syllabub, but at least I'll have something bubbly. Treated myself to two paperback mysteries, since I got no books for Christmas.

Phone rang while I strolled home. It was Rose. Turns out, while Finley doesn't have the virus, everyone else at the house is now sick. Rose is canceling the New Year's Day party she planned for tomorrow. That's fine. Not only do I have work, but I'm not exactly feeling 100 percent myself. 

When I got home, I put everything away, then went straight into Sam Mitchell's New Year's Eve Marathon. This one revolved around various versions of the Pyramid franchise. I came in to see Mary Cadorette and Henry Polic III helping their contestants climb the $100,000 Pyramid in 1986. I only saw one person get through the Winner's Circle, and it was Mary's excellent lady. She gave great clues, too, winning money and a trip. 

Celebrate your New Year's climbing Pyramids with celebrities and players alike!

Sam Mitchell's New Year's Eve Pyramid Marathon

After the marathon ended, I made a winter fruit smoothie for lunch, then made snickerdoodles and cranberry sauce and rested for a while. Watched Holiday Inn while I worked and laid on the couch. I go further into this classic Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire vehicle at this entry from my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog from New Year's Day 2019. 

Happy New Year! - Holiday Inn

Went into writing next. Joyce the gnat buzzes around everyone's ears as they recover from jumping off the train. She wants to continue her conversation with Brett and asks everyone how they feel about insects. Brett admits she's not normally fond of them. Joyce goes on to explain how different insects are in Looking Glass Land, from rocking-horse flies to snap-dragon flies that resemble plum puddings. 

Broke to make dinner at 6:30. Couldn't pass up a classic Match Game '74 episode. Robert Morse does an ape imitation to help a contestant figure out a question about what happened to Robinson Crusoe's man Friday after he stuffed fruit in his ear. Even when she gave "going ape" as her answer, everyone kept giving every other variation on "going crazy," including bananas and crackers, and getting so annoyed the episode almost ended in a riot. 

Had a delicious dinner of baked sweet potato, roasted turkey London broil, and steamed broccoli while watching Rudolph's Shiny New Year. I went further into the second Rankin-Bass Rudolph special at my New Year's Eve review from 2019.

Happy New Year's Eve! - Rudolph's Shiny New Year

Finished the night online after a shower with more Match Game. Every year, they celebrated the changing of their sign with balloons, hats, and confetti in the end (or beginning, in 1977) of the episode. Charles popped a giant balloon in 1975 that revealed a smaller 1976 balloon inside. In 1976, a giant paper mache eagle dropped a 1977 egg, and head producer Mark Goodson came out to praise the job everyone did and wish them all a Happy New Year.

Here's the Match Game Productions New Year's Eve marathon from 2019! And yes, I did watch this partially in honor of Betty White, who finally passed on and went to spend New Year's with her beloved Allen Ludden yesterday. I'll be doing more in her honor on Sunday!

Match Game New Year's Eve Marathon

Squeaked one more episode in before the fireworks went off. Charles Nelson Reilly hosted the introduction to the final episode of the syndicated series on Game Show Network on New Year's Eve in 1999. He dedicated it to Gene Rayburn, who passed away a month and a half before this episode aired...but I now dedicate it to Charles, Brett (both of whom died in 2007), and Betty too.

Match Game Synd (1982)

And here's hoping you have a safe and far happier 2022, matching with all the people you love!

Windy New Year

Kicked off the morning with early work. Once again, it wasn't busy when I came in. It did pick up later, but not to the degree of yesterday. I shelved candy, washed the bathroom, and did the sweeping I could with the smaller broom up front missing, but I was once again mainly outside. It was cloudy when I went to work. It even flurried briefly but heavily at one point. By the time I finished and was heading to Audubon, the sun had emerged.

Had my annual New Year's brunch/lunch at the Legacy Diner. Considering it was nearly 2 when I walked in the door, I was surprised at how busy they were. It took me almost 10 minutes to get a waitress' attention. At least my apple cinnamon pancakes were really good when they finally brought them. I hadn't had a big breakfast, and I was so hungry, I was able to eat two and a half fat, fluffy rolled-up pancakes filled with hot, tart apples and spicy cinnamon. My hot cocoa was covered with so much whipped cream, I ate the cream off first before I could actually find the cocoa.

The day may have been sunny and bright, but it was also windy and a little chilly, probably in the lower-mid 40's. I went straight home, riding over the train bridge and dodging cars on the way across the train tracks. Did some writing when I got home. Donald comes running in, looking for Patti. He leans over and indicates that she's fine, though sleepy. She didn't really sleep much, either. Nipsey offers to help both women down the ladder, but Della assures him that, other than being tired, they're fine.

I just ordered Volume 1 of the updated dub for Sailor Moon Super S and decided to watch a couple of episodes of the previous season, Sailor Moon S, as a preview while I enjoyed my delicious ham, cheese, and potatoes Crock Pot meal. "An Invasion From Another Dimension: Mystery of Infinity Academy" takes the Guardians to Mugen School, where they suspect the villainous Witches 5 are headquartered. Witch member Mimtete gets literally into the spotlight to defeat them...but is in turn trapped by one of her fellow witches, Tellu. Meanwhile, Chibi-Usa is upset because she can't find her frail friend Hotoru and believes the older Guardians had something to do with her disappearance.

Hotoru turns up again briefly in "A Heart-Snatching Demon Flower: Tellu, the Third Witch." The next member of the Witches 5 is giving away beautiful flowers for very cheap. There's evil in those beautiful petals, though. They suck the owner's energy, as Sailor Pluto discovers. Thinking she's giving her best friend a nice present, Hotoru gives Chibi-Usa a flower. Pluto, Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Mask come after her...but she still insists that her friend had nothing to do with it.

Finished the night with another Match Game marathon on YouTube as I baked a lemon-coconut cake with whipped coconut topping. This time, it was all of the episodes that either ran on New Year's Day or were the first episode of the year. The first one from New Year's 1974 got really ribald, with an overly excited contestant screaming nervously and throwing her hands all over the place, including on Gene and the far-calmer man next to her. Gene stumbled into New Year's 1979 covered in streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed.

Here's the second marathon, so you can enjoy even more matching New Year's antics!

Match Game New Year's Day/First Show of the Year Marathon

And I hope you all have a safe and happy 2020!

Have a Matching New Year

Began the morning with early work. It wasn't bad when I came in. I rounded up carts, did the outside trash and recycling, and shelved candy. By the time I got to the candy, though, the crowds had increased. I did manage to do a quick training video, but after that and my break, I was outside for the rest of the day, getting the carts with another bagger. Fine by me. While windy, it was also a nice, normal mid-upper 40's, and the sun came out late in the afternoon.

I knew I should have gotten what I needed for New Year's yesterday. The lines were half-way across the store when I finished. Picked up whipping cream and the Acme's new generic sparkling white grape juice for Whipped Syllabub, plus pie crust to go with my dinner and bags of peppermint chocolate chips from the clearance shelves. It took me ten minutes longer than I should have when I got out of there.

There was a box waiting for me when I arrived. It was the first of my Target order, my new slippers. My old ones are so worn, the bottoms split. These are nice, simple brown moccasins. They're too big, but with slippers, that's not necessarily a bad thing. They're also very warm and comfortable.

Went into writing after I put everything away. Nipsey's the first up the ladder to check on the sleeping Della and Patti. He's so entranced by Della, he recites a poem on the spot and kisses her awake...or so he thinks. Actually, she's already awake. She and Patti never slept at all. There was something annoyingly lumpy under the mattresses, and it's keeping them awake.

Broke for dinner at quarter of 6. I have a little sauce, cheese, and turkey pepperoni leftover from my pizza the other night. I made them into mini-pizza pockets. When I ran out of sauce and cheese, they became cherry mini-pies with cherry preserves. Leftover dough was twisted, brushed with melted butter, and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Had them with green beans and almonds.

Watched a few half-hour programs while I ate. Laverne & Shirley are excited for Shirley's big New Year's party in the third season episode "New Year's Eve - 1960." Laverne nabbed a date with a handsome local, and Shirley's going with Carmine. Alas, Laverne's date walks out on her when his old girlfriend shows up at the party, and Shirley comes down with a cold. They're still able to watch Lenny drop Squiggy instead of the ball at midnight, though.

Charlie Brown's holiday isn't going much better in Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! He's supposed to write a book report on War & Peace over Christmas week, but there's too many distractions. Peppermint Patty is holding a New Year's Eve party. She's invited the whole gang, and she expects Chuck to be her date. Chuck would rather dance with the Little Red Haired Girl. Sally's hoping to catch Linus under the mistletoe. Lucy just wishes she could drag Schroder away from his piano.

Switched to Rudolph's Shiny New Year as I ate the last of the petits fours for dessert. I go further into the second Rankin-Bass/Rudolph special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Rudolph's Shiny New Year

Did a couple of cartoons as I cleaned up from dinner and got organized. Angry when Olive turns him down, Bluto sabotages hers and Popeye's nightclub act in "Morning, Noon, and Nightclub," until they figure out how to turn the tables. Popeye gallantly takes Olive's grandmother out with them for New Year's in "Let's Celebrake." Spinach gives her enough pep to not only keep going until midnight, but win a dancing contest. Mickey and Minnie Mouse's "Whoopee Party" gets so wild, even the furniture dances along!

Finished the night online with Match Game. The guy who's been posting all of the episodes of the series little by little strung together all of the New Year's/Last Show of the Year episodes into one long marathon. The 70's Match Game celebrated New Year's with balloons, streamers, hats, noisemakers, and the changing of the sign at the very end (or beginning, in 1977) of the episode. Head boss Mark Goodson came out to praise the job they were doing in 1974; a giant paper mache eagle dropped a huge egg in '76.  New Year's came in the midst of Leave It To Beaver Week on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. No streamers or party hats, but comedian Gallagher did play around with some balloons. The 1990 Match Game got more elegant with tons of black, blue, and silver balloons and everyone in fancy dress. Charles was on hiatus that week, so Brad Garrett got to do a dead-on impression of him.

Here's the Marathon, for your own New Year's enjoyment!

Match Game New Year's Eve Marathon

As I switched to regular Match Game episodes and sipped my Whipped Syllabub, I heard booms over the creek. I gazed out my new windows and saw fireworks going on over the creek, gorgeous big fireworks of green and gold and bright pink. It was a fitting end to the 2010's...and a bright, wonderful beginning to a new decade. Here's hoping that your New Year's was equally bright and beautiful!

Let's Start the New Year Right

Began 2019 with stories from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays. My favorite was the one about the kids in a small New Hampshire town who bring firewood to an elderly couple on New Year's Eve, then ring the bell for the man when he can't get out in the snow. I also like the story about the doll who is stolen from her wealthy young owner by hooligans, only to end up being given to the sister of one of them.

Headed to work after breakfast...and had more work than I planned. I stayed an extra two hours because, for some reason, that computer scheduled the head bagger to work New Year's, when she never, ever works holidays. Not that there was a whole lot for me to do. We were dead the entire day. I did do some returns early-on, but I was mainly outside with the carts. I had no problems with this. It was still cloudy when I went to work at 8:30. By noon, the clouds had cleared, and though it remained windy, it was otherwise a gorgeous, sunny day, probably in the upper 50's. (I'll take upper 50's and gale-force windy over the upper 10's and icy weather we had on New Year's Day last year.)

Picked up a few things from the after-Christmas-sales during my break. Found another pack of cards, this one with a really nice folk city design. Also found more tags (including the ones you tie on - I used up all of mine) and cardboard boxes for baked goods. (I need more for the cupcakes and bread next year.)

Went straight to the Legacy Diner after work for a now-late lunch/brunch. By 3 PM, they were steady, but not really crazy. I got my Chunky Monkey (banana and chocolate chip) Pancakes in less than 10 minutes. The waitress said they're her favorite pancakes, and I don't blame her. They were delicious - and nearly the size of the plate. I'm glad I went with the short stack. Watched the Mummers Parade from earlier on the TV in the back as I ate.

After I got home, I started going through things in the living area closet and my room. I need to clear out some of my Christmas decorations - they don't fit in the bin I have them in anymore - and a lot of the stuff in the back room and closets. I go through the books and other media fairly frequently and didn't need to get rid of much there...except the American Girl books. I still love American Girl, but I don't really read the books that often. I may keep the mysteries and get rid of the picture books. We'll see. I just don't have that much room, and if/when I move, I'll likely have even less room.

Worked on writing for a while around 4:30, but I was tired and didn't get far. Leia, Chewie, and Han are introduced to Princess Herfa and her husband, Prince Delent. While the prince does someone resemble Luke, he's not him. They were informed of their coming by Lady Gerda and are willing to help them get north to find Luke.

Broke at 6:30 to have leftovers for dinner. Continued to go through things after that, pulling some games, toys, and puzzles that I don't use from the living area closet. Watched Holiday Inn while I worked before and after writing. I go into more detail on this vehicle for Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Holiday Inn

Finished the night with Return of the Jedi. We begin with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his friends rescuing Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from the clutches of the disgusting crime lord Jabba the Hutt. After they manage to get out of that adventure intact, Han, Leia, and Lando (Billy Dee Williams) return to the Rebellion to learn that Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones) and the Emperor (Ian McDermid) are building a bigger, better Death Star. Luke has a talk with Yoda (voice of Frank Oz), who confirms that revelation about Vader from Empire and insists that Luke confront him. While Luke goes to the Death Star to deal with Vader, the cackling Emperor, and the truth about his family heritage, Leia, Han, and the Rebels find useful allies in the furry, cute, and extremely tenacious Ewoks.

This one starts off well, with the action-packed opening at Jabba's Palace that's by far my favorite part of the movie. I love the confrontation between Vader, Luke, and the Emperor, and I actually like the Ewoks...but the movie is too slow, with too much talk and dry exposition, and it goes on for about 20 minutes too long. Not my favorite Star Wars movie, but it was my first Star Wars movie (Mom says she took Rose and me to see it when it came out in 1983), and I still have a little bit of a soft spot for it.

Rainy New Year

Began the last day of 2018 with Rudolph's Shiny New Year during breakfast. Rudolph is called by Santa to help Father Time (Red Skelton) find Happy, the baby New Year. He keeps getting upset when people laugh at his unusually large ears and runs away. Rudolph gets help from a motley assortment of characters and former Father Times, including a whale named Big Ben (Harold Peery) and One Million BC (Morey Amsterdam), the oldest Father Time and the head of an island of dinosaurs. They're not the only ones looking for Happy. Aeon, the nasty old vulture, wants to capture the little baby to stop time and keep from dying.

Switched to a couple of New Year's and nightclub-themed shorts while chopping onions, ham, and a potato and shredding cheddar cheese for my Crock Pot Ham and Potatoes and making Cranberry Flummery. Popeye says "Let's Celebrake" when he, Olive, and Bluto go out dancing for the New Year. Popeye gallantly invites Olive's grandmother along. Spinach helps to really get the old lady's feet tapping! A jealous Bluto tries to sabotage Olive and Popeye's act in "Morning, Noon, and Nightclub." Popeye uses spinach to bring and end to his antics.

Headed out as soon as the cartoons were done and the Crock Pot was boiling away. Work wasn't too bad when I arrived...but by 11, it was a madhouse. I got stuck in the register for almost an hour and panicked badly. I did returns before that, then spent the rest of the afternoon gathering carts. I'm glad I had help from at least two other baggers. Even when it started to slow down somewhat by later in the afternoon, it never died completely.

The weather didn't help. It started showering sometime around 1, and has continued raining in some capacity, sometimes hard, for the rest of the day. My coat was dripping when I came in.

I had a few things I needed to pick up after work, mainly items to make Whipped Syllabub for New Year's Eve. Thought I'd try eggnog instead of cream. All of the bottles and cartons of eggnog were only a dollar, even the big ones. Also grabbed sparkling white grape juice, an orange, more of those tasty pumpkin cheesecake cookies, and the Acme's generic holiday gingerbread mix. (I've seen the latter all through the holiday season and have been meaning to try it, but kept forgetting to buy it.)

It was still raining when I stepped out of the Acme with my bike. Oh well. I had to take a shower later, anyway. I just rode home and got pre-wet.

Did one more cartoon while I changed, put everything away, and took the recycling out. Who knew Mickey and Minnie Mouse were the original party animals? In the black-and-white short "The Whoopee Party," their shindig gets so wild, even the furniture dances along! Meanwhile, Goofy decides it's fun to tease Clarabelle with a noisemaker. She doesn't agree...and she has her own way of getting him back.

Worked on writing for about an hour after I finished. Leia, Chewie, and Han arrive at the castle of the Princess Herfa and her husband. Leia's title and persuasiveness manages to get them past the guards, but they get quite a surprise when they realize whom the Princesses' husband resembles...

Broke for my crock pot dinner at 6. Oh, yum. Very salty, but very tasty. It even had these dark parts on the size - maybe cheese - that were really yummy. Had honey-glazed carrots for vegetables.

Watched Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! while I ate. Chuck's not having the easiest New Year. His teacher assigned him War and Peace, of all things, to read for a book report over the Christmas break week. Peppermint Patty's holding a New Year's party that proves to be a distraction, especially when he tries to invite the Little Red Haired Girl.

Moved to a third-season episode of Laverne & Shirley as I cleaned up from dinner. "New Year's Eve - 1960" begins promisingly for the ladies. Laverne got a date to Shirley's couples-only party with an old beau from school, and Shirley's going with Carmine. Things go downhill quickly when Laverne's date ditches her for his ex-girlfriend, and Shirley gets a cold. At least they get to watch Lenny drop Squiggy at midnight instead of the ball.

Put on an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures as I made the gingerbread and got it in the oven. Plucky is "A Quack In the Quarks" when he's duck-napped by alien "exchange students" who think he's brave and smart enough to take on the menacing Duck Vader. Buster, Babs, and Hampton take off into orbit to rescue him.

Finished my year after a shower with the first two Star Wars films. New Hope begins with sassy Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) trying to evade the evil Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones). Facing capture, she leaves a message with a droid, R2D2, and his fussy protocol droid buddy C3P0 (voice of Anthony Daniels). They end up on the desert planet of Tatoonie, where they're bought by bored farmer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his aunt and uncle. After R2 takes off, they're rescued by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness), a mysterious hermit who gives Luke a lightsaber that had once belonged to his father. He offers to teach him the way of the Force...and after stormtroopers kill his aunt and uncle, Luke doesn't have a choice. They convince space pirate Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his furry buddy Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) to take them to deliver the message, but are waylaid by the Empire's huge Death Star battle station. Now this motley crew has to save the Princess and stop the Death Star, before the Rebellion is the station's next victim.

The Empire Strikes Back takes place three years later. The entire crew is now on the frozen snow planet of Hoth. While Han tries to flirt with Leia, Luke is nearly eaten by a Wampa and sees a vision of Obi-Wan telling him to go to Dagobah to train with Yoda. The Empire shows up and drives them all off the planet. As Vader chases Han and Leia across the galaxy, the two begin to realize that they might have more than a few feelings for each other. Meanwhile, Luke begins his training with Yoda (voice of Frank Oz). He may look like a goofy little Muppet, but he's a tough taskmaster and a wise old sage. Vader, however, is determined to capture Luke, and sets up a trap for him at Cloud City, run by Han's old friend Lando Calarissian (Billy Dee Williams). Luke goes after his friends, but eventually regrets his decision, especially when Vader drops one hell of a revelation on him.

Yeah, I'm still a big Star Wars fan, and I probably always will be. Empire is my favorite movie of all time, but every Star Wars film (even the prequels) have something interesting in them. If you've ever wanted to give the series a try, these two movies are probably the best places to start. Grab your favorite version and have fun.

Empire had just ended when I heard the first pops and crackles over the creek. I peered out my window to see fireworks going off, in defiance of the showers that continue to come down. Here's hoping that you're start of 2019 was equally colorful!

May the New Year Be With You

Began a bitterly cold first day of 2018 with New Year's stories and poems from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. My favorite was the very first story in the book, about a group of kids who get their small New Hampshire town together to gather firewood for an elderly couple, then ring the bells on New Year's night for the man when he's unable to.

Also did two American Girl stories. Changes for Addy is set during Christmas and New Year's in 1865, several months after the end of the Civil War. Addy's delighted to finally find her beloved aunt and baby sister after they escaped to freedom in Philadelphia. But freedom has a high cost, and that includes losing loved ones. Addy's upset that she'll never have her full family together in freedom, but when she's asked to read the Emancipation Proclamation in front of her church on New Year's Eve, she realizes that her family is still with her, even if only in spirit.

Really Truly Ruthie moves across the Ohio Valley to Cincinatti in 1932. Ruthie Smithens is Kit Kitteridge's frilly best friend who loves fantasy and fairy tales. When she realizes that her father's bank may foreclose on the Kitteredge's house after Christmas instead of after New Year's Day, she becomes determined to go to Kit's Aunt Millie in Kentucky and get the money herself!

Ran one last New Year's episode during breakfast. "New Year's Eve - 1960" starts out fairly well for Laverne & Shirley. Things quickly unravel at Shirley's party when Laverne's date dumps her for his old girlfriend and Shirley gets a cold. At the very least, they're able to watch Lenny drop Squiggy down their apartment building, instead of the ball.

Did a quick animated short while chopping ham, potatoes, and onions and shredding cheese for Crock Pot Ham & Potatoes. Mickey Mouse gets Minnie's shindig hopping in the black-and-white tale "The Whoopee Party." His shindig gets so wild, even the furniture joins in the fun.

Spent an hour and a half writing. They finally pull around back of the tall, black Gothic-esque Crooked Castle. As they're trying to figure out how to get in, they're attacked by troll sentries. Well, all but BB. She finds another way inside...

Broke for lunch at 12:30. Did a few cartoons that spoofed the original Star Wars trilogy while I ate and got ready for work. Plucky Duck is "A Quack In the Quarks" in the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures. He brags about his non-existent physical and mental prowess to two "foreign exchange" students. They turn out to be aliens from Planet X who duck-nap Plucky to save them from the evil Duck Vader. Buster, Babs, and Hampton go after him.

If you think a duck Luke Skywalker is strange, how about a penguin? Tuxedo Sam takes the Luke role in "Cat Wars" from Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater. He's supposed to get Princess Hello Kitty and their seal and bunny droids home to Catern, but a blast from Darth Catnip throws them off-course. It'll take some help from wise Grandpa Catnobi to set them back on the right track.

Dad drove me to work at quarter after 1. It was too cold to ride the bike. I wish I'd stayed home. Work was, once again, a pain in the rear. I stayed outside doing carts for two and a half hours, on a windy day where the temperatures didn't even make it into the 20's. Granted, it was crazy-busy when I came in, but that only lasted for about an hour or so. By 4 PM, we were dead, and only became steady later in the evening. I still stayed outside. I never did get to the four overflowing carts of returns, but I did do the outside trash, the inside trash, gathered baskets, and I wound up back outside again anyway when the other bagger went on break.

Put on an episode of Fairie Tale Theatre while eating my delicious Ham and Potatoes, with Caesar salad with home-made dressing for dessert. I managed to find half-price Christmas Yorks at work for dessert, then made a Sweet Vanilla Cake from a yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding, and the rest of the bottle of sparkling grape juice from last night. "The Dancing Princesses" was the series' final episode. Leslie Ann Warren is the eldest of six sisters who manage to wear out their dancing slippers every night, despite their father (Roy Dotrice) locking them in. A soldier is determined to find out their secret and win one of their hands in the bargain, with the help of an old lady and her invisibility cloak.

Finished the night after my shower with more Star Wars. Return of the Jedi picks up a couple of months after Empire. Luke, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca rescue Han from the nasty gangster Jabba the Hutt, only to learn that the Empire is building another Death Star. Luke has one last confrontation  with Vader and his boss Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDermid) while Han, Chewie, and Leia enlist Wicket (Warrick Davis) and the bear-like Ewoks to help them, and Lando Calarissian and Wedge Antilles (Dennis Lawson) lead the Rebel fleet to take out the Death Star.

The Force Awakens begins over 30 years later. The First Order has now taken over the galaxy, lead by nasty Snoke (Andy Serkis) and his mysterious apprentice Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) has been seeking Luke Skywalker for the now-General Leia Organa. He gives his adorable droid BB-8 part of the map and manages to get him off before he's captured by Ren. The hotshot pilot is rescued by a runaway stormtrooper he dubs Finn (John Boyega). Meanwhile, BB-8 encounters hopeful scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) on the desert planet of Jakku. She, BB-8, and Finn end up taking off in the Millennium Falcon when they learn that the First Order is on their tail, only to run right into its former owners, Han Solo and Chewbacca. They make it to Takadana, where Maz Kantana (Lupita Nyong'o) tells Rey she's the inheritor of Luke Skywalker's sword...and the Jedi destiny. Meanwhile, hot-tempered and spoiled Ren has connections to Han and Leia that prove to have heartbreaking consequences for all involved.

While I'm not as fond of these as I am of Empire, they do have their moments. Jedi starts off well with the hilarious and action-packed opening in Jabba's palace. I like the Ewoks, too. I think they're a lot of fun to watch. And that intense duel between Vader and Luke in the finale almost manages to top the one in Bespin. But it's too long, the second longest of the series after Last Jedi, with too much dry exposition and slow pacing.

The Force Awakens benefits from fine performances from Boyega, Ridley, Driver, and Harrison Ford (looking happier than he has in years) and far better pacing. Other characters, like Poe and General Hux (Denhall Gleeson), are underused and under-written, and there's no escaping that feeling that you've seen a lot of this before.

Once again, not my favorite entries, but fun for casual viewers and necessary for fans.

Here's hoping your beginning of 2018 went a lot better than mine did!

New Year's Eve On Ice

Began the last day of 2017 with my traditional Sunday breakfast. Made Mint Chocolate Chip Pancakes. They didn't come out as well as I had hoped. I burned part of one, and I made them a tad too big. I couldn't finish part of the second one.

Watched Holiday Inn as I made my meal and got ready for work. Singer Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) thinks he's happily retiring to a farm after his former partner Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) and girlfriend Lilah (Virginia Dale) claim they want to continue in show business. What Jim discovers is he and his housekeeper Mamie (Louise Beavers) can't run the farm alone. Instead, he turns it into an inn and nightclub that's only open on holidays. The first performer he hires is Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), whom he met in the city when she delivered flowers to Ted and Lilah. On New Year's Eve, Ted shows up at Holiday Inn, plastered after Lilah left him. He dances with Linda, but he was so gone, he doesn't remember her. The dancer and his slightly smarmy agent Danny (Walter Abel) spend a month looking for Linda...and when they finally find her on Valentine's Day, Jim finds himself competing with his partner for a girl all over again.

I traditionally watch this one on New Year's Eve. Since it covers most major holidays, it makes a nice summing-up of the holiday season and the year in general. I actually prefer this to the shinier White Christmas. It has the better score (it introduced "White Christmas" and "Happy Holidays") and fewer of the romantic comedy contrivances that bog down the later movie.

Put on Yogi Bear's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper while getting cleaned up from breakfast. Actually, the title is a bit of a misnomer. The "all-star" cast of Hanna Barbara's more beloved funny animals only appear briefly in the beginning and end of this special. Yogi and Boo Boo are the real stars. They somehow end up in the city, where Yogi dresses in a Santa suit and winds up helping a little girl whose rich father is neglecting her during the holidays.

Did a couple of Popeye shorts themed around nightclubs or New Year's as I got ready for work. Bluto keeps annoying Popeye and Olive as they perform their own dance act in "Morning, Noon, and Nightclub." Popeye uses spinach to turn the tables. He's saying "Let's Celebrake" when he takes Olive's grandma out with him, Olive, and Bluto to attend a New Year's Eve dance contest. Spinach gives Grandma the vitality to keep jitterbugging.

Work was a royal pain in the rear. The manager told me to do the bathrooms right when I got in. They didn't really need to be done. All they needed was a few rolls of toilet paper. And all this while insanely long lines snaked around the front of the store.

The second time I had to go to the bathroom, I didn't realize the other bagger on duty had to go, too. We were both called outside, when we were only inside for five minutes.

The Eagles didn't do much better than I did. Their third-string couldn't get anything going against the Cowboys and ended their regular season with a 6-0 loss in a dull, frustrating game. (At least they have an extra week to rest before they start the playoffs.)

I couldn't have been happier to get out of there. I hurried home, changed into jeans (we're allowed to wear Eagles jerseys to work - Acme Markets sponsors the Eagles), grabbed my lemon cake, and rushed off to Dad and Jodie's house.

They were busy when I arrived. Rose rocked a chubby-cute Finley while chatting with Dana and one of the moms. Jodie filled three plates with food - part of an Italian hoagie, potato salad, cole slaw, baked barbecue chicken and ribs, macaroni and cheese. Along with my cake, there were Rose's delicious Cherry Cookies and leftover fudge, cheesecake, and mini-sticky buns from Christmas Day. Khai and his buddies Chloe, Bree, Mary, and Emily were in the den, playing with Barbies and the toy train and watching Ice Age: The Meltdown.

After the kids and moms left, I curled up in Jodie's big, soft chair in the living room and watched the late-day games with Dad, Jodie, Jessa, and a just-arriving Joe. The Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills game got very ugly, including a brawl in the fourth quarter that ended with two Dolphins getting ejected. While the Dolphins did manage to do better in the second half, the Bills still won 22-16. The Baltimore Ravens tried even harder against the Cincinatti Bengals, but the Bengals managed to get a last-minute touchdown that won them the game 31-27 and knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs. The Bills will be going to the postseason for the first time since 1999, breaking the longest postseason dry spell in any major league sport.

Jessa and Joe ended up driving me home around 8. I left the bike at Dad and Jodie's. They say they're going to drive me for a lot of the week while the temperatures are below freezing. I'll pick up the bike on Tuesday.

Ran a few cartoons as I got settled down for the night on the laptop. Max & Ruby did a sweet post-Christmas/New Year's episode. "Ruby's Gingerbread House" refuses to stand, no matter how much royal icing they apply to it. Max wants them to consider the merits of his gummy worms. Ruby is taking down the Christmas decorations in "Max's Christmas Passed," but Max finds a way to cheer his sister up and extend their holidays. Grandma and Ruby are enjoying dancing and fizzy drinks on "Max's New Year." He just wants to eat Grandma's clock-shaped cookies at midnight.

Charlie Brown's not having as pleasant of a holiday in Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! He has to somehow do a book report on War and Peace during Christmas vacation. He goes between struggling with the book and struggling with asking The Little Red-Haired Girl to Peppermint Patty's party. Meanwhile, Marcie and Peppermint Patty think Chuck's going to ask them, and Lucy's not-so-patiently waiting for Schroeder to ask her.

Rudolph's Shiny New Year has the baby reindeer with the bright-red nose searching for another famous baby. Happy, the baby New Year, has run away. He's upset that people keep laughing at his big ears. Rudolph and a motley assortment of characters go after him to show that his ears are nothing to be ashamed of.

The first fireworks could be briefly seen as I began Star Wars: A New Hope. Desert farmer Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) longs for fabulous adventures beyond the dusty backwater planet where he was raised. He gets more action than he bargained for when the two droids his uncle bought turn out to have a message for former Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness) from Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). She's been captured by the tyrannical Empire, ruled by intimidating Darth Vader and icy General Tarkin (Peter Cushing). Kenobi reveals that Luke's father was also a Jedi, and that he too has the power to become one. They hire cynical pirate Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his hairy buddy Chewbacca (Peter Mahew) to take them to Alderaan. It turns out that their destination is no more, destroyed by the massive weapon the Death Star, which is also where Leia's being held. The pirate and the hopeful farmer have to rescue the sassiest princess in the galaxy, then keep Vader from blowing the Rebellion to heck and gone.

The Empire Strikes Back begins three years later. The Rebels are now sequestered on Hoth, a planet of snow and ice that's almost as cold as Oaklyn right now. Though Han claims he has debts to pay, his real interest is in flirting with a seemingly disinterested Leia...until the Empire arrives. Han takes off with Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), while Luke heads to swampy Dagobah with R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) to find the wise Jedi master Yoda. Far from being your typical "great warrior," Yoda is a little green guy with a goofy voice and an odd sense of humor (voice of Frank Oz). Luke does finally get a reluctant Yoda to train him, even as Han and Leia flirt and banter their way across the galaxy in the perpetually breaking-down Millennium Falcon. The duo think they'll be able to continue their romance in Cloud City, home of Han's buddy Lando Calarissian (Billy Dee Williams). Vader, determined to get his hands on Luke and his power, uses them as bait to trap the impetuous knight-in-training, setting up for an intense showdown with one hell of a final revelation...

Even with all the fussing over Last Jedi, I'm still a Star Wars fan and probably always will be. Empire is my favorite movie of all time. While I'm not nearly as fond of it, New Hope has its moments, especially during Princess Leia's rescue. If you want to see where it all began, grab your favorite version and enjoy a trip to a galaxy far, far away.

Leia was just telling Han that she'd rather kiss a Wookie than him when I heard the first noisy pops and saw the first flashes of gold across the creek. I sipped my whipped syllabub and watched the fireworks go off all around me from the safety of my front living room window.

Here's hoping that all of you have a safe and happy 2018, no matter what galaxy you're celebrating in.

The New Year Awakens

Wish I could have begun 2017 more pleasantly than listening to Charlie scream at the dogs downstairs because they went to the bathroom where they shouldn't have again. (They're all old. What does he expect?) I read short stories and poems about New Year's from Colliers Harvest of Holidays and ignored him. My favorite short story is the very first one in the book, about a group of schoolchildren in a New Hampshire town who bring firewood for a kind old man on a snowy New Year's Eve, then ring the bells to usher in the New Year when he can't.

As soon as I got dressed, I headed out to the Legacy Diner in Audubon. Since I'm not a party person, my special New Year's tradition is going out for breakfast. The diner was a madhouse when I arrived, busy with families and groups of elderly people. I had to wait for my table, and then for them to notice me in the back. I did finally have my short stack of blueberry pancakes...which were only ok. They had pretty decent Christmas decorations, including gorgeous paintings on the windows.

I needed a calendar. I thought I would be able to find one at Family Dollar, but I didn't see any. Darn. Ended up getting one at Rite Aid, as I did last year. The themes were really boring, and nothing seasonal. I like it when they do seasonal themes, instead of variations on puppies or scantily-clad people in poses. Ended up with a songbird-themed one that had birds in different, appropriate backdrops for each holiday - even a sort of scary-looking warbler for October. They also had two of the Christmas bags of Yorks Peppermint Patties left. I hadn't seen them at the Acme or Target. I grabbed one.

At least it was a nice day for a ride. It was still windy, but sunny and much warmer, probably in the upper 40's-lower 50's. The traffic wasn't too bad, either. I got home and back with no problems.

When I got in, I ran a few remaining New Year's and party-related shorts I forgot yesterday while getting organized and coloring a picture from my new Star Wars adult coloring book. "New Year's - 1960" doesn't begin well for Laverne & Shirley. Shirley comes down with a cold right before their big New Year's Eve party. Laverne's dumped by her date well before midnight. At least they can watch Lenny drop Squiggy in honor of the New Year instead of the ball.

Donald Duck asks Daisy out on a date in one of my favorite Donald shorts, "Mr. Duck Steps Out." Huey, Dewey, and Louie are determined to join them. Donald does what he can to get rid of them. They try to humiliate their uncle, but their efforts only make Daisy love him even more.

Headed to Dad's house to watch the last Eagles game of the season around 1:30. It was just Dad, Jodie, Vanessa, Mark, and later Jessa. Dad and Jodie had gone away for the New Year's weekend and had only just gotten home an hour before. Vanessa brought taco dip, and Jodie made sloppy joes. At least the game was as good as the company. Dad kept whining that the Eagles should have been able to run rings around the Cowboys' second stringers, but hey, at least they won at all, 27-13.

(The Eagles aren't the only ones who ended the season on a high note. Mark's beloved Packers got past the Detroit Lions tonight, 31-24. Dad's Dolphins didn't have nearly as much luck with an on-fire New England Patriots and lost 35-14.)

Headed home as soon as the game ended. Worked on my story for a few hours. The bear is glad to make friends with the falcon and the deer. The deer is playful, fun, and an expert mimic who makes her laugh. The falcon is quiet, but kind and noble. She finds herself falling in love with him, and with the idea of flight...but not only does he have a mate and fledglings, but he's a bird, a flying creature. She's grounded. They part, but vow to remain friends.

Broke for dinner around 6:30. Did Jack Frost while eating bran flakes and broiled grapefruit for a very simple meal. In this Rankin-Bass cross between Santa Claus Is Coming to Town and The Little Mermaid, Jack Frost (Robert Morse) begs to become human in order to win the heart of a human girl. Not only does she have another, more dashing suitor, but she's also pursued by Kubla Krouse (Paul Frees), the evil Cossack King. When Kubla threatens her village, Jack makes it snow to keep him from attacking. But he needs to get a signal from one certain little groundhog to allow him to keep the snow going...

Returned to the Star Wars series to finish the night after a shower. Return of the Jedi kicks off with Luke, Leia, Lando, and Chewie rescuing Han from the clutches of the evil gangster slug Jabba the Hutt. While Lando takes off with Rogue Squadron leader Wedge Antilles (Dennis Lawson) to blow up another Death Star, Han and Leia get help from the furry Ewoks to take down the Empire's base on the forest moon of Endor. Luke, meanwhile, finds himself confronting not only Vader, but his boss Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDermid). He's determined to bring his father back to the side of Light, but Vader isn't sure he really wants to be saved.

The Force Awakens picks up 32 years later. Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger from the desert wastelands of Jakku, intercepts a message from cute little rolly-polly droid BB-8. He has a piece to the map that may lead to long-lost Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Rey and escaped stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) take off in the Millennium Falcon, hoping to return BB-8 to General Leia Organa and her Resistance. They're found by Han Solo and Chewbacca, who have been looking for their ship for years. Meanwhile, the First Order are the newest villains in the galaxy. Their hot-tempered, black-clad leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has connections to Han and to Leia that could have grave consequences for the young woman, and the galaxy.

I'm not as fond of either of these as I am of The Empire Strikes Back, but they both have their good points. The opening in Jabba's palace in Jedi is just pure fun, and the final duel between Vader and Luke is intense as hell. I don't mind the Ewoks, either. I think they're adorable and make for some great comic relief.

I almost didn't do The Force Awakens, despite fine performances from Ridley, Boyega, and Harrison Ford, nifty characters (I love Maz Kantana), and that awesome final duel between Rey and Ren. I didn't know how I'd handle Han's death after Carrie Fisher died the way she did.

I think I learned an important lesson this holiday season about real death vs fictional death. A lot of people in the Star Wars fandom, especially those who saw the Original Trilogy when it first debuted, have been complaining bitterly about Han Solo's death and how the older characters were treated. It does hurt when fictional characters are killed off, especially when you're attached to them...but there's always a chance that they could be resurrected later. And there's fanfiction and fan art. Beloved characters never quite leave us.

Death is real. It's raw. It hurts. It can be sudden. It can be messy. It's not something that can be automatically retconned or written away. You can't bring real people back from the dead. It's not like seeing a fictional character die, and knowing we can do something to bring them back. This isn't a Marvel comic book. It's life...and death is a part of that, even sudden, sad deaths.

(And I'm never going to make fun of how Padme Amidala died in the end of Revenge of the Sith ever again. We now know it is possible to die of a broken heart. :()