Puppy Love Matches

Started a gloomy morning with breakfast and the Elton John album Ice On Fire. The lovely Cold War ballad "Nikita" was the big hit here, but honestly, this is a pretty dark album. Wikipedia talks about this having a rhythm and blues sound, but I think it's very mid-80s dark blues. "This Town" explores economic decline, "Cry to Heaven" is vaguely anti-war, and "Shoot Down the Moon" is a dark ballad. The other hit "Wrap It Up" and the upbeat ballad "Soul Glove" are more fun.

It had just started to shower by around 9. I ended up calling Uber. I called them early, and they arrived in less than 5 minutes. Had less luck going home. The original driver canceled, and their replacement didn't arrive for 13 minutes. 

Honestly, work was unusually quiet for the Eagles' first 1 PM Sunday game. It was busy right before the game started, but it was relatively quiet before that and died quickly afterwards. The weather didn't help. It remained cool, rainy, and humid off and on for the entire afternoon. I had plenty of help, too. The Sunday bagger and one of the college boys took the indoor chores and did carts, though I did end up doing the outside trash. No trouble whatsoever.

(I didn't see the game, but the Eagles apparently started well, then stumbled against the Tennessee Titans in the second half. They got a last minute pass that won them the game 24-20. It was a good Philadelphia sports day all around. The Phillies killed the Mets too, 7-2.)

Went straight down for a nap when I got home. I was up way too late last night, and I'm still really tired. I've been busy lately! Hit the sack at 4, and didn't get up until around 5:30.

Good thing I woke up when I did. Tonight's Match Game YouTube marathon had just started. Questions and jokes about our friends from the animal kingdom abounded on this show. Though they were mainly about what mean widdle kids do to animals, two real animals did appear on syndicated episodes. Blind man Glenn made history as one of the first disabled contestants, with the help of his beautiful service dog Princess. Betty White adored her, and she was sweeter and better-behaved than most of the panelists. 

Betty also helped with Trotter, who belonged to Gene's daughter Lynne. Trotter was a dear sweet old mutt who stayed right with Aunt Betty and Grandpapa Gene. Charles kept talking about her being a vicious dog, but he later said he had dogs himself. I think he realized that Trotter was probably smarter and better-looking than any of them.

The other "animal" who turned up on an episode wasn't real, or quite as pleasant. An extremely ugly paper-mache eagle Charles dubbed "The Goody-Toddy Bird" dropped a Match Game '77 egg at the start of the New Year's Eve 1976 episode. Later on, Gene gave the egg to the contestant George when he gave a bad answer on the Head-to-Head. Mark Goodson turned up to praise the job they were all doing before the balloons dropped for the New Year and the new sign.

Celebrate our animal friends with two of the sweetest real dogs around!

Match Game Sunday Classics - We Love Our Animals Marathon

There's a Kind of Hush

I had a very quick breakfast, then we went outside and called Uber. Honestly, it was hot and humid, but not any hazier than it had been yesterday evening. I was more concerned about the mid-90's heat than the haze. At least we had no trouble there. The driver picked us up in 8 minutes and pleasantly chatted with us all the way up to Red, White, and Blue Thrift at Lawnside. 

Red, White, and Blue replaced the long-empty K-Mart the week before Memorial Day. I did so well there, I wanted to show it to Lauren. I made even better finds this time! Lauren turned up more workout shorts. I found a pair of jean shorts for work, a pair of brown shorts, two records, two books, and 3 CDs (one a two-disc set). The books were:

The Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters

Forgotten Fairy Tales of Brave and Brilliant Girls

The records were:

The Disney Winnie the Pooh retelling of When We Were Very Young

True Value Happy Holidays Vol. III (The earliest True Value Happy Holidays I've found - before that, my earliest Happy Holidays collection was Volume 13.)

The CDs were: 

The 2-disc original cast album for the revue Closer Than Ever

Jack Jones - The Best of Jack Jones

Phil Collins - Dance Into the Light

Since it's two blocks down the White Horse Pike, our next stop was the House of Fun. I sorted through the bins of stuffed toys and looked over the racks and racks of sci-fi, action, and horror DVDs, but saw nothing of interest. Lauren was more interested in the back wall filled with every kind of Funco figure imaginable. She ended up with Captain America poised to attack and Deadpool dressed as Bob Ross. (I am not going to ask there.)

We hiked further down Atlantic Avenue to the Old Rail Tavern for lunch. We ate outside...which might not have been the smartest idea. Flies kept attacking our legs! On the other hand, our sandwiches were really good. Lauren had Southwestern grilled chicken and thick chips. I had fries and the same yummy Italian Chicken Cutlet I had back in May. Very tasty despite the bugs.

After lunch, we headed a block over to the Haddon Heights Antique Center at Barrington. This huge rabbit warren of rooms is filled with everything from antique china to depression glass to recent DVDs and Barbies. Lauren found a few things for her parents. I picked up two older Beanie Babies, Fleece the sweet lamb and Curly the brown bear. 

It may have only been hazy, but it was still really hot. Even the air conditioning at the Antique Center didn't help cool us off. We picked up drinks next-door at the Garnet Grill before heading down Barrington Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, under the 295 overpass and past the baseball field and Haddon Heights Public Works. It took us 20 minutes, but we did get into Haddon Heights, coming out next to Jane's Tea Room on Station Avenue. 

Our next stop was Doc's Finds, a gift shop and record store. Doc's records and CD have more and more begun to dominate. He has tons and tons of great stuff, and I never fail to walk out with something good. He had so much great stuff, I couldn't explore half his dollar bins because they were buried under more records. Lauren bought three CDs. I picked up six records, two of them with multiple discs:

The soundtracks for Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter and Working Girl 

The cast album for the 1970 revival of The Boy Friend with Judy Carne and Sandy Duncan (Still in its original plastic!)

Jefferson Airplane - Bless Its Pointed Little Head

Stage Door Canteen, a 4-disc collection of popular songs from World War II

The Hit List - 1982 2-Disc K-Tel collection

Cabana Water Ice is right across the street from Doc's, so we headed there next. They looked very different from the last time I was in there years ago. They were all white and chrome, with a fill-your-own-frozen yogurt section. I didn't want frozen yogurt. I wanted water ice. Once a family with three boys finally got their ice cream, I ordered a medium chocolate covered strawberry water ice. That turned out to be a very red, very strawberry water ice with chocolate bits. At least it was a lot less grainy than Cabana's water ice used to be! Lauren took longer to decide, but she finally got a gelati - sugar-free lemon water ice layered with vanilla ice cream and pineapple topping. Yum! It was delectably sweet and cool. We watched it while Law & Order: Special Victims Unit played in the background on USA.

By that point, it was past 4:30. We hurried down Station Avenue and across the White Horse Pike to the bus shelter. Thankfully, the 4:42 was slightly late, nothing horrible, and there was no traffic. We got off at Oaklyn and were home within 20 minutes. 

After we put everything away, we went right back out for dinner. This time, we ended up at a very busy Amoto Bros two blocks down the White Horse Pike. This dark-paneled local bar replaced a deli by the same name when that burned down. They were known for their amazing hoagies...and fortunately, both the deli and their sandwiches carried over to the bar. Lauren had a massive triple-decker sandwich that was so good, she ate it all. I couldn't even finish my Pilgrim Turkey Hoagie with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Lauren had sour cream and onion chips. I had regular. We chatted while watching the Phillies-Mets game. (Alas, later research revealed that the Phils lost, 4-1.)

Once we got home, she finished packing and went online. I watched Safety In Numbers. I go further into this 1930 romantic comedy featuring Carole Lombard as one of three ladies showing young millionaire Buddy Rogers how to live at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Safety In Numbers

Flower Power

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. Bogey ends up "Horsin' Around" when they enter a retired cab driving horse in a race so he can boast to all the race horses that he was in one. It's "Mission: Mutt" when Dinkel sends a sweet old dog to the pound and the Shirt Tales bust him loose.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. To my surprise, it arrived in 2 minutes. In fact, I had no trouble with Uber at all today. The one going to Thomas Sharp came in 6 minutes and got me there early. No traffic anywhere.

I had been wondering why I was working Thursday and Friday. The head bagger did the sweeping and indoor chores. I gathered carts, but it was dead as can be this morning. There just weren't that many out there. The floral department manager eventually asked me to help her with flowers for graduations and Mother's Day instead. I put small graduation balloons on sticks in a display and cut lavender and sage green netting, fit it into flowered bags, and put potted hyacinths into the bags.

Wasn't up to much more than lunch at Applebee's. Enjoyed a juicy cheeseburger and nicely-seasoned fries while watching the Phillies play the Giants and giggling at a 2-year-old boy who kept bouncing up and down in the booth in front of me and grinning. Went back to the Acme to buy straws for drinking soda (the silicone kind you can clean) and pick up the Uber after I ate.

Got to the school in plenty of time. There were far fewer problems today than there have been lately. For one thing, we only had 22 kids all together, 7 at my table. For another, we had more than enough teachers around for once, including one of the heads of the program. I owe the Phillies for getting my group to calm down in the hall by the bathrooms. The custodians were listening to the game on their radio in their office, and the door was open. Some of the kids couldn't help stopping to listen, too. I told them to be quiet, or they might make the Phillies lose! (Which they didn't. Later research revealed that the Phillies barely beat the Giants 6 - 5.)

It also helped that we once again got them out to the playground relatively early. I had trouble keeping them off the swings until more kids went home. Two of them fibbed to me that the head teacher let them on when she hadn't. Once they did get on around 4:30, I had to argue with a few of them to get them to allow their friends who were going home to have a turn. On the other hand, they chased one of the teachers around, pretending she was that elusive Pink Tiger. It was hilarious to see them running all over. Those who didn't run or swing danced to "Pink Pony Club," the themes from Bluey and PJ Max, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, and songs from Moana, Frozen, Encanto, and KPop Demon Hunters. By 5 PM, we were down to 2 little kids and 5 older ones, and I was allowed to leave early.

It was still a nice day at that point, too. It was so nice, I walked home. Though there were clouds on the horizon and it was windy, it was also mostly sunny at that point and fairly warm, in the mid-60's. I just crossed at Collings Avenue after a quick stop at Speedy Mart for a drink and a treat, passing the park and Dollar General on my way home. 

(It didn't start raining until around 7-7:30. It's rained off and on for the rest of the evening, though I don't think it's raining now.)

Had dinner while watching Match Game '91. For some reason, they skipped way ahead to the week that featured the second of comedian Soupy Sales' two appearances on a version of Match Game. He may have been older, but he was just as goofy as ever, including when he ended up handling a $10,000 Head to Head. He was joined by Pam Stone, Charles, Jimmie Walker, and comedienne Andi Matheny.

Finished the night working on that Michael review while listening to some of my new music acquisitions. The K-Tel collection Gold Rush '79 Volume 2 lives up to its name with some of the biggest hits from that year. Side one alone features "Knock On Wood," "Shake Your Groove Thing," "An Everlasting Love," and "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)." The major hits on side 2 were "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "Every 1's a Winner."

The Color Purple debuted on Broadway in 2005, and though it was a huge hit that ran three years, it got mixed reviews from the critics. Fortunately, you can't see the overblown production the critics fussed about here, just the powerhouse performances from LaChanze as Celie, Elisabeth Winters as Shug, and Felicia P. Fields as Sofia. Some critics complained about the deemphasis of the relationship between Shug Avery and Celie (there would be similar grievances about the film version of the musical as well), but they do get the gorgeous ballad "What About Love?" LaChanze scores with "I'm Here" and the title song, while Winters gets the jazzy "Push Da Button." Yes, the story is fairly depressing, but the music and performances alone make this worth checking out for fans of the novel or those who like their musicals on the meatier side.

And speaking of musicals, here's that review of Michael, on the life of Michael Jackson, I promised yesterday.

Michael (2026) 

Dolls On a Sunny Fall Day

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora is concerned about "The Price of Power" as the third season begins. Against everyone else's protests, she uses her powers to heal Shadow Weaver. She reveals that Hordak not only intends to open an inter-dimensional portal and bring the rest of the Horde, Adora isn't from Etheria originally, either. Horrified, Adora runs to Light Hope to learn the truth. Meanwhile, Entraptra convinces Hordak to give Catra one last chance. He sends her to the Wastes to gather more First Ones technology.

Switched to New Faces next. I go further into this filming of the popular 1952 review that introduced Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, and Carol Lawrence to audiences at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

New Faces

Spent the next hour and a half dressing the dolls for October. Ariel wears the Our Generation Retro white satin shirt and pink ascot, knitted coral vest, and brown plaid skirt. Barbara Jean also wears an Our Generation 60's outfit, in this case a knitted chevron-print skirt in red, brown, black, orange, and white, with a white blouse and orange cuffs and collar. Whitney is in the black and purple floral dress with the black lace trim I got from the Barrington Antique Center a while back. Josefina wears her pretty BeForever "meet" outfit with the red and blue flowered skirt. Felicity is in her original "meet" outfit; the orange and red rose print is perfect for fall. Samantha's ready to climb trees in her blue windowpane check play dress with the ruffly pinafore. Molly's also ready to play in khakis, her red hula sweater, and the dickey from her meet outfit. Kit's in her original "meet" outfit with the floral skirt and lavender twin set as well.

Switched to The Backyardigans while eating a really quick lunch. Mad Scientist Tasha wants her assistant Austin to retrieve Wolf-girl Uniqua, Vampire Pablo, and Mummy King Tyrone, but they're all "Scared of You" and keep running away. Not to mention, it's Austin's birthday, and he's upset that no one seems to have noticed...but there's a reason Tasha wanted to get him away from the lab...

Headed out to the Thomas Sharp School after that. The kids are still pretty wound up from Book Fair Week. We read them Pete the Cat and played animal charades with them inside, then spent the rest of the afternoon outside. In fact, we were outside for so long, the older kids eventually joined us near the end of the session.

No wonder. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was sunny, breezy, and bright blue, probably in the mid-60's. Couldn't have been a nicer fall day. This was no day for anyone to be inside. We danced to "The Train Song," "The Robot Song," "Sharks In the Water," "Let It Go," and several songs from The Lion King and KPop Demon Hunters while I pushed kids on the swings and tried to keep them from being on for too long. (There's only two swings!)

I stopped at the White Horse Grill for dinner. Had a yummy (if messy) grilled chicken sandwich and tasty sweet potato fries while watching the Phillies-Dodgers game. (Neither they nor the Eagles did well. The Phillies lost to the Dodgers 2-1. I don't know how the Eagles lost to the Giants later on 34-17, since the Giants aren't very good.)

Watched Match Game '76 when I got home. George Kennedy made his debut on the show this week and proved to be one of the best men to play the game, and likely the best player to frequently sit in the male ingenue (first) seat along with Nipsey Russell. Lee Merriweather had more fun taking a leaf from Betty White and rolling up Gene Rayburn's trousers. 

Finished the night with Bewitched. Darren doesn't think a female client is "The Cat's Meow" when she's more interested in seducing him on her yacht than talking advertising. When Samantha refuses to snoop, Endora takes matters into her own hands...er, paws.

Children Will Listen

Started the day off with breakfast...and I hadn't even finished when I called the NJCISS to figure out what was going on with the registry tabs for the training courses. It only took them a few minutes to fix it. I was on my way less than five minutes after talking to them.

The course was learning all the basics of caring for children in New Jersey - safety, health, when to report child abuse, how to handle infants. I didn't think I'd need to know the last-named - I was working in an elementary school - but it's nice to know. The course took so long, I was still doing it while eating lunch. In fact, I was only 90 percent done with it when I called Uber. I partially wanted to get there on time, and I partially wanted to figure out where Thomas Sharp Elementary is. It was the only school in Collingswood that I didn't have an inkling of where it was. The driver thankfully arrived in even less than the 9 minutes listed and got me there in less than 5.

Listened to See How It Feels while I worked. Apparently, this would be the only recording the Brubeck Lavender Trio made. I can't find a listing of any others. It's too bad. There's some good material here. "Central" and "Aqua" on the first side and the title number on the second were especially good. 

Thomas Sharp Elementary turned to be a small older brick building in West Collingswood. It took me a few minutes to figure out which door I was to go into. After that, I settled down right away to help with the kids and play dinosaurs with them. I won't go much further into it, but let's say I had a marvelous time. The kids were great. They were absolutely hilarious. I hadn't laughed so much in ages. They were all really good, too. One of the girls said they were in preschool, so some of them getting loud made sense. It's their ages. The head manager came by to help me with some paperwork that needed to be downloaded. Other than that, it was a very good first day. 

I was so happy, I treated myself to dinner at one of the few restaurants on the White Horse Pike open on a Monday. The White Horse Pub was surprisingly quiet for the dinner hour. Most people were at the bar, watching Shrek or the news. By the time I was digging into a delicious turkey and bacon wrap and sweet potato fries with syrup, they'd switched to the Cardinals-Phillies game. The Phillies were just up to bat in the 1st when I left. (Alas, I found out later the Phils lost to the Cards 3-2.)

Yeah, I ended up walking home. I wasn't in a hurry, and I did want to eat out. As the other teachers remarked, it was sunny, hot, and humid earlier in the day. There was, however, a nice breeze that kept it from getting too hot. By the time I was heading down the White Horse Pike to East Clinton, the sun was gone, the wind had picked up, and it was a bit cooler.

When I got home, I took a shower, then finished up the safety/child abuse course. Finished the night with fantasy and stunt game shows for kids on YouTube. Probably the top kids' stunt show is still Double Dare. It's not only been Nickelodeon's premiere game show since 1986, it's the basis behind the vast majority of their subsequent games. By 1988, they were popular enough to bring in the occasional celebrities to play with the kids, like Jeremy Miller of Growing Pains and Candace Cameron of Full House in the episode I have here.

I loved Fun House even more in some ways. It was pretty much the same idea as Double Dare with no daring and a final "stunt" that had the kids racing each other and grabbing rings on some strange vehicle. (They push each other on colorful beds in the episode I have here.) I still prefer the run through the Fun House to Double Dare's difficult Obstacle Course. With the Fun House, all but the slowest kids were guaranteed to come out with some cash or good prizes, as they do here.

Nickelodeon upped the ante in 1993, crossing goofy Double Dare stunts with the extreme sports popular in the 90's and a fantasy storyline to create one of their best-regarded game shows, Legends of the Hidden Temple. Six teams attempt to get across a "moat" (pool of water). The four with the fastest times will face the giant talking stone head Olmec, who relates a tale of some artifact lost in the Hidden Temple. The kids then head down "The Steps of Knowledge" as Olmec asks questions about the story. The two teams who make it play mini-games to see which one will run through the Hidden Temple and rescue that artifact! No wonder this was a three-year-hit for Nick and was so well-remembered, the CW would briefly revive it for adults in 2021. 

The Secrets of the Crypt Keeper's Haunted House traded fantasy for horror during its run on CBS Saturday mornings in 1996. The Crypt Keeper of Tales from the Crypt cackled and made catty remarks as two teams of kids dodged a giant skull shooting fireballs, grabbed letters to complete words in a room that's falling down, tried to pass basketballs in a wind tunnel, and ran along a corridor where floating objects would suddenly come into view and their partner would have to guess the phrase. Very weird, with its obvious early CGI, but the horror theme alone makes this unique. 

Fantasy shows came from other lands, too. The Canadian Splatalot was inspired by the stunt show Wipeout, but it had more in common with Knights and Warriors. Kids competed on three different courses to capture the crown and become the King or Queen. As in Knights, there were actors dressed in stock fantasy trope costumes spraying the kids with water or slime balls and trying to take them down. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids try to storm the castle, even if hosts Jason Agnew and Matt Chin get a little annoying after a while.

The British really loved their fantasy-themed game shows. Knightmare had three kids describing rooms in a castle to a fourth now wearing a helmet. They have to use their heads and work together to get their friend away from obstacles that include an ogre and a demanding older witch. It's slow-moving and the green screen tech is pretty obvious, but this was state-of-the-art when it debuted in 1987, including one of the first uses of virtual reality on a TV show.

The Scottish show The Raven took the medieval competition back outside. The mysterious title host leads six apprentices through three challenges based on knight tests. Every couple of weeks, one kid would be eliminated, until a young knight was declared the Ultimate Warrior! I can definitely see why this was a smash hit from 2002 to 2010 on the CBBC. It was so authentically medieval, romantic, and steeped in lore, it had three spin-offs that went further into its mythology. 

Live the ultimate kid fantasy of being a knight, an explorer, or a paranormal investigator with these imaginative games!

Knighmare (1987)

Double Dare (1988)

Fun House (1989)

Legends of the Hidden Temple (1993)

The Secrets of the Crypt Keeper's Haunted House (1996)

The Raven (2005)

Splatalot! (2012)

Sunny Day Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Magic Bus: The Who On Tour. This isn't actually a live album. It's a collection of singles that hadn't been released on an album in the US at that point. Supposedly, the Who weren't happy with the collection or the photo in the front, but I think it's funny.  The best known songs here are the title number and  "Pictures of Lily," both of which would later turn up in the greatest hits collection Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy. I liked "Disguises" and one song they did do live, "Call Me Lightning."

Hurried off to work after the album ended. No trouble here whatsoever. There were two other baggers working today who did the trash and everything inside. I focused on the carts...and I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. The weather was stunning, warm, windy, and sunny. 

It helped that we weren't busy, not even before the Eagles game. I guess everyone decided to go out and enjoy the nice day, or went away for the holiday weekend. Or after 1, they were at home watching the Eagles. The Eagles apparently played much better, going on to beat the Browns 20-16. (Which is more than can be said for the Phillies, who lost the National League championship to the Mets 4-1.)

It was such a nice day, I took the long way home for the first time in ages. Even Nicholson Road wasn't bad. I saw more kids on bikes in Oaklyn than cars. It wasn't even heavy around the entrance to the mall, and only a little bit on the White Horse Pike.

Changed and listened to the Barbra Streisand CD Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway when I got in. This one is pretty recent, from the "movie partners" joining Streisand on selections from various musicals. Younger actresses Daisy Ridley and Anne Hathaway are probably more appropriate for "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line than Streisand, while Anthony Newley is mismatched with her on his own "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)."  On the other hand, she sounds sensational with Alec Baldwin on "The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened," from the rare Sondheim Road Show, and on "Take Me to the World" from the odd TV musical Evening Primrose with Antonio Banderas. 

Finished the night at YouTube with Match Game Sunday Classics. Beloved comedienne Phyllis Diller didn't turn up on Match Game until the syndicated run, but found her way into some fun episodes anyway. She first appeared with Fred Travelena and his 800 voices next to her and got to see a make up man do Charles right there onstage. She was less than thrilled when Gene tried to give her that welcome to the show kiss! 

She probably did her best and most memorable work on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. You never knew what she'd turn up in. In one episode, she wore what looked like a wig made of brown and tan yarn, a matching caftan, and enough huge bead necklaces to stock ten costume jewelry stores. In another episode, she had a pink wig and a pink feathered outfit that made her look like a demented flamingo. Another had her wearing a bright gold feathered cap and gold pantsuit. 

She sported ostrich feathers for my favorite episode of the entire series, the one where the tic-tac-toe board broke down mid-way through the Hollywood Squares segment and everyone had to make X or O shapes with their arms. Needless to say, no one was very happy about that. Jay Leno spent the entire incident whining about calling his lawyer. Brian Stokes Mitchell wore increasingly huge boutonnieres, ending with Ellen Fry giving him a potted plant (and Jay playing with it). 

She made her final appearances on Match Game '90...and wore her most memorable wig there, too. She sported sunglasses and a pink mohawk in imitation of Chuck Roast, Ronn Lucas' mouthy punk rock puppet. I think Chuck sort of liked her. (In so much as he ever seemed to like anyone.) She sure liked him. She flirted with him during the entire episode. She also won several people big money, both on Match Game '90 and the syndicated Match Game. 

Bring your feathered wig and witty repartee to this marathon with everyone's favorite sarcastic queen of comedy!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Best of Phyllis Diller

I Get Around

This time, we watched a little Family Feud before we started out. I had to stop quick at the kiosk two blocks down to drop off a book there. Cut through the park after that on our way to Collingswood. It remains gorgeous here, sunny, dry, and breezy. We stopped to watch a turtle poke his head out of the green water to enjoy the warmth, and then saw his baby do the same, before moving on down Beechwood.

I needed money, so our next stop was WaWa. I got cash and a Grape Propel. Lauren got two bags of snacks and an iced coffee with milk and vanilla she claimed was like drinking a coffee milkshake. They were pretty busy, so we ducked out fast as we could.

Headed across the street to the farm market after leaving WaWa. Needless to say, they were also busy on such a perfect June day. Lauren initially said she didn't want anything, until I spied a table selling the first cherries, raspberries, and New Jersey blueberries of the season. I bought cherries and blueberries for me and raspberries for her, along with a pretzel ring for my own treat.

Next up was Time Lapse, the collectibles store a couple of blocks down on Haddon Avenue. They're basically a smaller version of The House of Fun, with books and records along with the vintage toys and games. I found two Hello Kitty Happy Meal toys and a genuine vintage She Ra (missing her accessories) in two bins featuring loose action figures 3 for $9.99. I'll give them to the daughter of a friend of mine. Lauren picked up a Cabbage Patch figure, an Inspector Gadget figure, and a GoBot, a bagged wrestling figure, a copy of Cracked for her dad, and two tins of Golden Girls mints. 

Went a few doors down after that to Clutter, which specializes in more elegant antiques, but we found nothing there. I didn't buy anything at Haddon Culinary, but Lauren picked up a container of cocoa-dusted pecans. She didn't find anything at the Library's book sales, but I got Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends: The Complete Season 1 and Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin. 

We decided to move on after that. Since we weren't far from the PATCO, we opted to take that to Haddonfield. They were surprisingly full for noon on Saturday. I guess a lot of people were going out to lunch in the small towns along Haddon Avenue.

After we got off the train, we made our way straight down King's Highway to The British Chip Shop. Thankfully, unlike last year, it was open when we arrived. In fact, it too was busy. We had to briefly wait for a table. I was surprised to see the Phillies playing the Mets on their TV...until I remembered they were in London. We celebrated Bryce Harper's and Edumundo Sosa's home runs while she had a Beef and Cheddar Melt with "chips" (fries) and French onion soup to dip them in, and I had a cold sliced chicken sandwich with lettuce, crisp apples, mustard, and Irish cheddar and a salad. 

(And the Phillies jolly well flattened the wayward Mets 7-2.)

I hadn't checked out Happy Hippo Toys in a while...and remembered why when I saw the prices. They had some great stuff, including a lot of Care Bears merchandise, but most of it was overpriced. Haddonfield shops tend to be expensive. Not to mention, there were a lot of families in the small store, checking out the rows of dolls, books, games, and stuffed animals. We bought nothing here and moved on.

RAM Arcade is three blocks down Haddon Avenue from Happy Hippo. They're pretty much the same deal as the arcade at the Nerd Mall yesterday, slightly larger and with pinball machines replacing the Japanese cabinets. The pinball machines weren't working and a few of the games were down as well, but there was enough that did work for us to spend an enjoyable hour. I got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to myself this time. Also tried Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Rampage, Space Invaders, Carnival King, Area 51, Tron, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Dig Dug, Centipede, and Frogger. Did best at Ms. Pac Man, getting to the fifth level. I always did play better with the faster Ms. than her pokier hubby. 

Since it was such a nice day, we decided to just walk down Haddon Avenue to Westmont. Cooled off when we got in with Primo's Water Ice. Surprisingly, they weren't busy when we finally made it down there. Lauren had a root beer soft serve cone. I went with chocolate peanut butter water ice. The water ice wasn't all that chocolatey, but it sure had a lot of thick peanut butter. Lauren seemed to enjoy her root beer cone a lot more.

Phidelity Records is on the next block over from Primo's. Like Abbie Road, they carry CDs and DVDs in addition to records. Lauren said she mostly found instrumental CDs for her parents, but she did get a copy of the Goo Goo Dolls for herself and The Sunshine Boys on DVD for all of them. I didn't find any DVDs this time, but I did get two CDs:

Miles Davis - Nefertiti

The soundtrack from the Disney fireworks/light show Fantasmic!

And five records: 

The Care Bears - Adventures In Care-a-Lot (We had this one when we were kids in the 80's.)

Strawberry Shortcake - Sweet Songs

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Dave Digs Disney

The George Shearing Quintet - Touch Me Softly

The original London cast album for Robert and Elizabeth, a hit West End operetta on the life of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. (And don't ask me how I keep finding British cast albums on this side of the Atlantic.) 

By the time we went across the street to WaWa for a Mocha Brownie Smoothie and another vanilla iced coffee, we were hot, tired, and sore from a lot of walking. Not to mention, it was past 5:30. Rush hour on Cuthbert Road and Haddon Avenue aren't fun at any time of the week, but it's especially crazy on the weekends. I ended up calling Uber for a ride home. The girl came in 10 minutes and got us back in less than 5. 

When we got home, we got organized, then had dinner while watching Dr. Seuss On the Loose and Pontoffel Pock, Where are You? I go further into these two classic Seuss specials at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Seuss Short Subject Special - Dr. Seuss On the Loose and Pontoffel Pock, Where are You? 

I took a shower, then joined Lauren for Match Game '76. These episodes were from the hilarious week featuring Isobel Sanford and Martin Hamlisch. The latter managed to play the show's theme on his toy piano and wrote songs about Brett and the sweet contestant Farnicia. Charles joined him to put over the latter two.

Watched The Lawrence Welk Show next. Welk and his musical family did at least two episodes themed around vacations. The first went way back to 1967. Cissy King is introduced here, dancing the Charleston with Bobby Burgess to the tune of "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me." Lynn Anderson also makes her debut with "If I Kiss You." Jo Ann Castle is a piano-playing mermaid and Larry Hooper is the deep-sea diver looking for her while singing "Many of the Mermaid." (Jo Ann later reported that neither costume was especially comfortable.) Jo Ann also joins a trio of flappers and two tapping sheiks for "Thoroughly Modern Millie," complete with fringed piano. The show ends with everyone singing about "Cruising Down the River."

Their 1980 Vacation Show stuck closer to the theme. Guy and Ralna sang "Leaving On a Jet Plane," while Bobby Burgess and his then-partner Elaine Niverson dance "Come to the Mardi Gras." Kathie Sullivan wonders "Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?" Jimmy Roberts croons about going "Around the World." Arthur Duncan taps up a storm in "San Francisco." Anacani is more interested in heading to her native Mexico to visit "Acapulco." 

Go on under the sea and around the world without leaving home with Lawrence Welk and his orchestra!

Vacation Show (1967)

Vacation Show (1980)

(I also finally remembered to get my schedule at this point. Not only am I off, but they gave me Saturday off, the one day I didn't ask for. I guess they figured they had plenty of help without calling me in for one day. Good. I can do a farm market run and relax before going back to work.)

Finished the night with a short, late marathon revolving around big wins on Match Game PM. Indeed, some of the show's biggest wins could be found in the nighttime. There was the time David Doyle had to help the contestant with "__ Mountains" for $20,000 after he hit him on the Star Wheel in late 1978. Or when Richard was more than happy to answer "__ Richard" on the Audience Match, then help a contestant win $10,000 in 1976. Ken Olflson was extremely nervous in 1978 when had to help a contestant win $20,000. Gene wasn't too thrilled with the answer most of his panelists gave in 1980 as to what show would make its viewers sick! 

Let's keep winning in the wee hours with this short but sweet marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Big Winners on Match Game PM 

High Hopes

Began the morning with breakfast and Charlie and Lola. He has to remind his sister that "This Is Actually My Party," and he wants a monster theme, loud music, and a scary cake. Lola would rather he had pink cupcakes, classical music, and a ballerina theme. He's not happy with the changes, but she goes too far when she starts opening his cards and his presents for him. When he argues with her, she decides she has to make things right. 

Hurried to work soon as the cartoon ended. We were steady off and on for most of the morning. That was a bit of a surprise. There's really nothing going on right now besides sports. Maybe everyone wanted to dodge the weather. It started showering lightly around 12:30, which cleared out our customers. Thankfully, it was never heavy enough to make me more than damp. By the time I rode home, the rain was vanishing, though the clouds remained.

Watched Press Your Luck as changed and had a snack. Whammies slammed everyone in this episode. The two women hit two each in the first round. They didn't get the guy until the second, but then they got him three times. He Whammied out on his last turn, allowing the champ to come out on top. Her prizes are likely the reason this was included with Buzzr's Spring Break marathon - trips to New York and Hong Kong.

Rested while watching The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis) is more than a little worried about Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (Errol Flynn). Sure, he's one of her best fighters, but he's also ambitious and wouldn't mind having the throne for himself. She praises everyone but him, which angers him enough to leave for his estate. She calls him back to route an uprising in Ireland. 

He thinks she's scorning and ignoring him when she doesn't answer his letters. Turns out the letters were intercepted by Lady Penelope Gray (Olivia De Havilland), who also loves Robert. Elizabeth equally thinks he's ignoring her and calls him back to London. He leads an army against her, then assumes they'll rule together. But Elizabeth isn't the type of woman to share with anyone, and Robert's more likely to lose his head than rule beside her.

Strong acting from everyone here, from Davis playing Elizabeth for the first of two times to Flynn as the nobleman who is too caught up in his own ambition to realize the queen has no desire to let him sit on the throne. DeHavilland gets to play a slightly stronger character than usual in these dramas as the lady-in-waiting whose love for Robert leads her come between him and Elizabeth. Look for half the character actors on the Warners lot at the time as members of the Queen's court, including Vincent Price as Sir Walter Raleigh and Donald Crisp as Sir Francis Bacon.

The Elizabeth and Essex DVD came with several extras, including the Warners musical short The Royal Rodeo. John Payne, still a few years away from his Fox musicals, here plays a singing cowboy whose wild west show delights a boy king (Scotty Beckett) when it visits his country. He and his sidekick Shorty (Cliff Edwards) rescue him and his Aunt Marianne (Lucile Fairbanks) from conspirators who want to take over the country. 

Jessa texted me during work. She apparently had extra tickets to the Phillies-Rockies game this evening and couldn't find anyone to go with her. Did I want to come? Sure, why not? Beat sitting at home, messing around on the laptop. 

She picked me up at 5:30 to catch the 6:05 game. Fortunately, the traffic wasn't bad, not even around the stadium. Once we actually got into the parking lot, it was a different story. The Phillies weren't the only team playing this evening. The Sixers were at the Wells Fargo Center as well, playing the Miami Heat. Jess parked in the back, which means it took a while for us to dodge cars and people heading to both venues.

Citizens Bank Park is huge, with tons of food and shopping options. We walked around a bit before getting in line at a Shake Shack. She wanted a hot dog later, so she just bought fries and the "MVP Shake" - vanilla ice cream with various cookie bits and red, white, and blue sprinkles. I got the Shake with a single burger. 

We sat at the tables next to the booth as the game began. The Phillies couldn't have started off stronger against a team that's currently one of the worst in the National League. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner hit home-runs almost as soon as the game began. The Rockies couldn't get anywhere near them. By the time we'd joined 35,000 screaming fans in the stands, the Phils were up 2-1.

Jess got great seats, too, 108 on the right outfield. I could clearly see all the pitching and current batters. That was actually the last scoring anyone did for a while. At least the game moved quickly. I worried it would drag on, especially given it remained cloudy and windy all evening. Far from it. Pitcher Cristopher Sanchez struck out most of the Rockies up to bat...until a disastrous 7th inning, when he allowed 5 guys to make it through. 

Maybe the weather distracted him. The clouds that had hung on since I got home from work finally burst around 8 PM. At least the rain was neither heavy, nor did it last long. It showered lightly for about twenty minutes. By that point, it was almost the 8th inning, too late to call the game. Thankfully, the Phils managed to hang on and win the game 7-6.

The crowds were a lot of fun, too. Considering tonight is a school night, I'm surprised how many families with kids I saw in the stands. If the kids were ecstatic, the adults around them were even more so, especially once they had a few dozen yards of beer in them. The guys two rows behind us kept yelling at right fielder Nick Castallan. (Frankly, considering some of it wasn't complimentary, I hope he didn't hear them.) 

I got up during the 7th inning stretch to use the bathroom and get a snack. Jessa had done a similar run about two innings before. I liked the nifty souvenir cup she brought back, so I thought I'd get one, too. I also wasn't leaving a Philadelphia sports venue without having a soft pretzel. I found a booth that sold Aaron Nola Coke Zero cups and huge pretzels in the shape of a P.  

It once again took us a little while to get out of there. Jessa stopped for a second bathroom break before we headed out for good. When we got into the parking lot and found Jess' car, everyone was trying to leave at the same time. We pulled out at the same time as two other cars, and everyone was inching along.

Once we got away from Citizen's Bank Park, it was smooth sailing. There was no traffic anywhere going home, not even in South Philly. Jessa's husband Joe even called and gave us the play-by-play on the Sixers game, which was literally in its last seconds. Oh, yeah, and the Sixers also just barely won over the Heat by one point, 105-104, which apparently gives them the seventh seed in the playoffs. 

A Little Easter Magic

Began the morning with Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Since April Fool's Day is tomorrow, I started with the really cute April Fool's story about two boys who find a giraffe in their backyard and try to figure out how to keep him there and collect a reward. "Nino's Easter" follows the holiday traditions - and huge feast - of a peasant boy living with his parents in northern Italy. "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes" wants badly to deliver Easter eggs. After she proves her babies are capable of taking care of themselves, the head Bunny gives her a chance. He's so impressed with her, he gives her special golden shoes to get a beautiful egg to a sick little boy. 

"Grandpa Bunny" is a sweet short from the Disney Storybookland anthology. It's supposedly based on the Silly Symphony short "Funny Little Bunnies," but has nothing in common with it besides rabbits. Grandpa Bunny presides over all the rabbits in the woods, making sure they keep nature extra bright and colorful. The adult bunnies miss him when he's gone, but the children know Grandpa left one last spectacular surprise in the morning sunrise.

Put on It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown while I got dressed and organized. The Peanuts are excited for their own holiday festivities. Sally goes shopping for new shoes, while Snoopy buys a birdhouse for Woodstock. Peppermint Patty wants to teach Marcie how to color eggs, but her best friend has a hard time grasping that you have to boil them. Lucy's more interested in pestering Schroder for gifts and coloring and hiding her own eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does that. Sally's skeptical after the incident with the Great Pumpkin at Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise for the kids.

Called Mom while the Peanuts were on. She, Keefe, and Julia were having an egg hunt for Aurora and her friends. Aurora was also delighted with her many treats this morning. They were briefly having Julia's family over, but it sounded like they'd mainly have a small dinner with them and some friends. 

Headed out after that for Easter brunch. It was sunny, windy, and cool but not cold, in the upper 50's. Just about as nice of an Easter as one could wish. If there's one thing I like about an early Easter, it's that all the spring flowers are still out. Usually, by the time we get to Easter, the daffodils are gone and the hyacinths are almost there. Almost every yard in Oaklyn and Haddon Township was a sea of yellow, white, and purple as I rode through the local neighborhoods, and it smelled so good! I even saw early irises.

As I did last year, I had brunch at the Westmont Diner on the hill under the Haddon Township Library. Since they were pretty busy, I sat at the counter to have lemon ricotta pancakes and a cup of fruit. A little boy and his dad sat next to me. The little boy was darling. He brought along a stuffed red bull, a cocker spaniel, and a plastic dinosaur who naturally got their own seat next to me. 

Rose finally got around to texting me while I waited for brunch to arrive. She and her family weren't planning on doing anything after the kids opened their Easter basket goodies. I told her I'd come around later with my treats for her family.

Innergroove Records is open every day but Monday and on all major holidays but Christmas Day. I headed there next. They were busy with record lovers on their spring breaks and looking for things to do before Easter dinner. I dodged the browsers long enough to find: 

The original Broadway cast of The Magic Show with magician Doug Henning

The soundtrack of the 1965 comedy The Great Race

Johnny Mathis - The First 25 Years

Waldo's Ragtime Orchestra - Spectacular Ragtime

Elvis Presley - Elvis' Golden Records

Michael Nesmith & The First National Band - Nevada Fighter (This one cost $9.99. The others all came out of the 1 and 2 dollar bins.)

Went home, put the records upstairs, got the treats for Rose and her family, and went right back out again. It took me a while to actually get their attention. I didn't want to ring the doorbell and rile up their dogs, but that was the only way anyone heard me. I knocked on the door for almost five minutes with no results.

I can't believe how big Khai is getting! He'll be 14 in three weeks. He definitely looks like a teenager now. Finley was taking a nap when I came in, but her mother got her up. She spent most of the time I was there showing me her new Marine Biologist Barbie doll that the Easter Bunny brought her. Honestly, that doll was pretty darn awesome. She came with a trunk filled with nifty accessories, including an underwater camera, fins, a snorkel, and tiny plastic water animals. Rose mentioned she found her a Paleontologist Barbie, too. 

Rose herself just looked tired when she brought me mint tea. She's a lawyer, and her husband Craig works two jobs. I suspect they were just happy to rest today. Apparently, they had their big Easter dinner with Craig's family in Westmont yesterday. Craig was watching the Phillies play the Braves with their dogs Oreo and Cider. Lynx the cat climbed up on the dining room table (where he is not allowed) to mew his two cents, too. (Oh, and the Phillies beat the Braves 5 - 4 for their first win of the season.)

Made a brief stop at WaWa for a treat. I had no idea Mountain Dew made a zero version of their Baja Blast. Since they do the 2 for $4 sale, I got Mountain Dew Zero for later, too. Tried a strawberry birthday cake smoothie. It tasted a lot less like birthday cake than an ordinary strawberry smoothie. Good, but not what I thought it would be.

After I got home, a friend brought me a big ham dinner while I watched Easter Parade. I went further into this classic MGM musical with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog the day before Easter 2019.

Happy Easter! - Easter Parade

Switched to the closest thing Happy Days has to an Easter episode while finishing dinner. Ralph, Potsie, and Richie become "Three On a Porch" during the third season when they rent the front of a cabin during spring break. They lie to the three college girls renting the inside and tell them they're big businessmen from Tunsia, but the arrival of Fonzie knocks big holes in their story.

Did "Funny Little Bunnies" next. This simple Silly Symphonies short depicts the Easter bunnies who dye eggs and make candy and baskets for the holiday. Some of the details are really charming, though, especially how the entire bunny community, from the oldest grandpa to the tiniest bunny, find a way to help out. 

Tonight's Match Game marathon was a short one devoted to original Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall, who turned 98 yesterday. Marshall only did two weeks during the syndicated run in 1980, but they were among the most memorable of the year. A wacky Bill Daily and fairly annoyed Marcia Wallace joined in during the first week. Of the panel on his second week, only Brett Somers had never been a host and would never be one. In addition to Bill Cullen's dense resume, Dick Martin hosted the short-lived Mindbenders and The Cheap Show in the late 70's, Betty White had hosted a week of Password '75 and would go on to host another short-lived show, Just Men, and Elaine Joyce briefly hosted The Dating Game in the 80's. 

See the Master of the Squares have fun on his show's rival for hilarity in this nutty marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Peter Marshall's 98th Birthday Celebration on Match Game

Finished out the night on YouTube before and after the marathon with vintage Disney World Easter parades. I might have seen the one in 1987 on Easter morning as an 8-year-old. Ben Vereen and Joan Lunden hosted, while Regis Philbin interviewed tourists. The Disney Cruise Line got the biggest push here, with a goofy storyline involving Alan Thicke being chased by pirates, namely Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, before ending up with the Disney characters on a tropical island, listening to a Beach Boys tribute band. We also got a very brief bit of Snow White and a Snow White float for its 50th anniversary.

Philbin moved up to the host's chair by 1998; Lunden was replaced by Ann Jillian. With Disney in the thick of its Renaissance, the emphasis here was almost entirely on its animated features. Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid all had floats, and Hercules was seen at the Disney MGM Studios. Jillian even showed Mulan being made. The other big push in '98 was for the Animal Kingdom, which opened 10 days after this special debuted. Philbin even rode Countdown to Extinction, now known as Dinosaur. 

Celebrate Easter with a little vintage Disney springtime magic!

1987 Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade

1998 Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade

And I hope you had a wonderful Easter and an absolutely wonderful start of spring!

Saturday at the Hundred Acre Woods

I was supposed to wake up at 8 AM. I opened my eyes at 9:15. Yikes! I had work at 10. Barely had time to write in my journal, change, eat, and dash off. 

Work was a pain in the rear, and way too long. We were busy almost the entire day, with long lines often across the store and not enough help to deal with them. The Phillies played tonight, it's still the beginning of the month, and we have two major holidays coming up this week and Thanksgiving in three weeks. I often panicked and just couldn't keep up with the orders. At least they were able to send a teen girl in for me so I could get out on time. 

Went straight home and into dinner and Match Game PM after I changed. The first episode is rather appropriate for the upcoming Veteran's Day holiday, as one of the contestants was a Scottish soldier with a charming accent and a truly nifty uniform. The top row even stands to salute him in the opening. (Brett thought he was an usher at the long-gone Roxy movie theater in New York!) Mary Ann Mobley rambled on so much giving one of her answers in the second episode, Gene ended up sitting on the floor waiting for her to finish.

Moved to Disney Plus for Pooh's Heffalump Movie after dinner. I go further into the first movie to feature Roo's Heffalump pal Lumpy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Animation Celebration Saturday - Pooh's Heffalump Movie

Finished the night at YouTube celebrating the upcoming holidays with Lawrence Welk. Even as the controversial Vietnam War raged, Welk and his musical family did two episodes saluting the Armed Services for Veteran's Day in 1968 and '69. The 1968 episode features a charming rendition of "How About You?" from Naval officers Dick Dale and Natalie Nivens, while the others tease Jack Imel about being "The Sailor Who Loved the Sea." For some reason, we also get a random Beverly Hillbillies spoof, with them getting an award for having "the most cards and letters" sent to them. Myron Floren and a group of hobos perform "Alley Cats," and Jo Anne Castle enjoys being the only lady hobo playing ragtime piano. 

The show from 1969 gets more into the holiday, thanks to it also being a tribute to Irving Berlin. The orchestra gives us some "Soft Lights and Sweet Music." Larry Hooper admits "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up In the Morning." He also tells his Navy troops that "This is the Army, Mr. Jones," but they don't take direction very well. Arthur Duncan explains how "A Shine On Your Shoes" can improve the morale of any cadet. The episode ends with the singers in uniform, performing the theme songs of the various branches of the Armed Services. 

The other major holiday next week is Election Day, and I did find an episode from 1980 that revolves around elections and politicians. The band tries to play to both sides with "Baby Elephant Walk" and "The Donkey Serenade." Dick Dale runs for office as he encourages the singers to "Hey, Look Me Over." Bobby Burgess and Elaine Niverson drum up the crowd with "Happy Days are Here Again." Jack Imel and Mary Lou Metzger sing about their spurs that "Jingle Jangle Jingle," while Guy Hovis recites a tribute to "The Ragged Flag." Champagne Lady Norma Zimmer ends the episode with a stirring "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean." 

Celebrate two all-American holidays with these rousing episodes! (Warning that the 1968 and '69 episodes are not in the best of shape, and all are missing the opening and closing numbers.)

Salute to the Armed Services - 1968

Veteran's Day/Irving Berlin Tribute - 1969

Election Time - 1980

(Oh, and I'm afraid the Phillies lost their last game and the World Series to the Houston Astros 4-1. And don't forget to set your clock back tonight for Daylight Savings!)

'Til the Clouds Roll By

Kicked off the morning with breakfast and Charlie & Lola. Lola wants to "Say 'Cheese!'" for her class picture, and do it while remaining neat and tidy. Lola's an active and forgetful six-year-old, however, and it's tough for her to refrain from walking in puddles and not getting paint on her face. Charlie finally finds a way to make a really good - and clean - picture of her.

Spent the next hour or so writing. Charles intervenes, reminding Brett that they're there to play, no matter what she thinks of the host. Brett still wishes Gene were there, along with many of their own friends, and says Ross really can't keep order. Ross once again reminds her he's new at hosting and is doing the best he can.

Broke at 12:30 to head to work. I wish I hadn't. Between the Phillies game, the beginning of the month, and this being Senior Discount Day, we were busy almost the entire evening. I just couldn't deal with all the fussing people. I'd get flustered when I'd have to wait for a manager to help with something, or the line wasn't moving the way it should have. I just get so frustrated. I can't help apologizing. I feel bad because things aren't doing what they're supposed to do. People claim I'm being too hard on myself, but I don't really feel like I am. It's so overwhelming when there's a long line and people fussing over the bags or the soda sales or the prices. They always think we're cheating them and never trust that we know what the price is and how to do our jobs. 

And, of course, they pulled me about an hour before I was done to do carts. Only to pull me inside five minutes later to clean up sushi someone spilled. And then pulled me in 15 minutes before I was done to go in for someone's break. And then I was almost late because my last customers complained about something not coming off and kept taking items off when they didn't need to and I had to call a manager.

(At least the weather got nice for pushing carts. The clouds lingered this morning, but they vanished even as I rode to work. By the time I got outside, the sun had come out, and it was a little too warm for the time of year, in the upper 60's.)

Needless to say, I rushed home fast as I could after that. Went straight into dinner and Match Game '77. Patty Duke shows why she won an Oscar by taking over for Gene and reading a question towards the end of the episode, and really enjoying herself. Richard had more trouble with "Much __" in the Head to Head. There's also several jokes about a very big former automobile worker and what he could do if they miss his answers! 

Finished the night online with The Book of Life. I go further into this vibrant animated fairy tale set on the Day of the Dead at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Celebrating the Day of the Dead - The Book of Life

(Oh, and the Phillies not only won tonight, they blanked the Astros 7-0.)

History Is Made at Night

Started the morning with breakfast and Halloween Is Grinch Night. When a sour sweet wind sends the Grinch on the prowl with his Paraphernalia Wagon filled with psychedelic scares, all of the Whos flee for the safety of their dwellings. Little Eukeriah Who gets lost up on the mountain and takes it on himself to make sure the Grinch and his infamously weird wagon never make it to the town.  

Headed out shortly after Grinch Night ended. Work was busy and harried. We had long lines, and often little or no help. If people weren't buying food for their Halloween parties, they were preparing for the Phillies game tonight or the Eagles game tomorrow. Thankfully, it settled down enough by 7 for me to let off slightly early to return a bag of fried chicken someone didn't want and rush out. 

Got my schedule during one of my breaks. Not thrilled with working very early tomorrow. However, that does mean I'll get to see at least part of Buzzr's Halloween marathon, including Match Game '90. The rest of the week is more realistic, though I do have another eight-and-a-half hour day on Saturday. 

Rushed home fast as I could to catch Match Game PM #12. This episode hasn't been seen anywhere since 1975! To my disappointment, I switched on the TV to discover Buzzr running the last five minutes. I thought they made the mistake...but I later discovered that the episode has been mislabeled for almost 50 years. It's really episode #11. 

Match Game Productions re-ran it on YouTube at 9:30 PM, and it was worth the wait. Adrianne Barbeau and Gary Burghoff join in to admire Fannie Flagg's sweater with a winking sequin eye and see a young man strike out twice on the Audience Match, one of two times this was known to happen on the nighttime shows. The young man just took off after that, leaving Richard to do a dramatic reading in his Newkirk cockney accent of a letter sent in by a British bricklayer who had a rough time with a barrel of bricks. 

Stayed on YouTube to finish the night with Lawrence Welk Halloween episodes. This is the last show you'd probably think would get into this frightening holiday, but they really ran with it. Jo Ann Castle and Jack Imel had a blast scaring the younger Lemmons as a pair of ghouls singing "Trick or Treat" from the Donald Duck cartoon in 1965, while Arthur Duncan got devlish tapping to "Old Devil Moon." Duncan joined Ken Delo to spoof Young Frankenstein in 1981 as Duncan helps Delo's monster get ready for a night on the town to "Puttin' On the Ritz." Bobby Burgess is Dracula looking for his perfect victim in "All I Need Is the Girl," while dashing Zorro Tom Netherton admits "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and Bride of Frankenstein Kathie Sullivan sings how "I Enjoy Being a Girl," mile-high hairdo and all.

My favorite episode I hadn't seen before was from 1979. Arthur Duncan is a hobo who is delighted to be dancing with "My Grandfather Clock." Slinky Anacani croons about how "The Moon Was Yellow," real-life country singer Jim Turner tells us about "Ghost Riders In the Sky" dressed as a cowboy, and Bobby and Elaine Niverson are two "Alley Cats" out for a night stroll with Myron Floren. Kathie gets the best number here, as her vampiress sings about how "It's Nice to Have a Man Around the House"...provided those men are Dracula and a werewolf! Jack and Mary Ann Metzger are a little spookier as a Jeckyl and his nurse who get their invisibility on with "They'll Be Some Changes Made." 

Who says champagne and pumpkin pie don't go together? Let Lawrence Welk's merry musical Halloween bashes play in the background at your Halloween party! 

Halloween Show - 1965

Halloween Show - 1979

Halloween - 1981

And here's that review of Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie that I watched yesterday!

Happy Halloween! - Pooh's Halloween Heffalump Movie 

Oh, and the Phillies didn't get lucky this time. They lost their second World Series game to the Astros 5 to 3.

Games In the Rain

Began a cloudy morning with breakfast and one of the records I found yesterday. I'm guessing Wonderland Records was a British children's music company. They put amazing work into the two fairy tales I found. "Snow White & Rose Red" and "The Goose Girl" not only were decent adaptations of their respective Grimm's fairy tales, but they were mini-operettas, complete with full orchestras and lovely songs. I might have to look for more Wonderland fairy tale albums, if they're all as charming and fun as this one.

Hurried off to work after feeding kittens for a friend. The Acme started out busy before about 2 PM, then died hard, thanks to a combination of bad weather and the big National League Championship game between the Phillies and the Padres. I spent a lot of the second half of my shift standing around, pulling sodas and organizing shelves. It died so hard, I spent the last ten minutes of my shift returning cold items people left in the soda coolers.

(Oh, and the Phillies beat the Padres 4-3 in a wet game and are going to play the Houston Astros in the World Series Halloween week. Probably just as well the Eagles were off today. I suspect most Philly sports fans would have been downright overwhelmed to focus on two winning sports teams.)

I rode to work under soft, gray clouds that didn't do much more than look ugly. They gradually darkened throughout the day. They must have burst sometime around 2 or 3; that's about when someone at work mentioned it was raining. I emerged to roads that were wet, but not flooded. Thankfully, by 6 PM, the rain had gentled down to a sprinkle. It died all together as I crossed the White Horse Pike. It wouldn't rain again until well into the early morning hours. 

Got organized when I got home, then had dinner while watching Match Game PM. The first episode is one of my favorites from 1975. Richard and Charles pass around their wide-brimmed straw hats, claiming they're "your basic big picture hat society." It ends up on the contestant after Richard helps her with "__ Robber" and comes in handy with hiding Richard kissing her! 

Dr. Joyce Brothers and tough-guy producer and actor Sheldon Leonard join Fannie and the regulars for the next episode. The female contestant had just as much fun here with some randy answers to what the 102-year-old man doll does when you wind up his key. Richard got to help her in the end with "__ Meter."

Finished off the night with more panel game shows. They go further back on TV than almost any other game show genre. What's My Line? and To Tell the Truth ran for 17 and 15 years on nighttime and daytime respectively. I have older friends with fond memories of tuning in every week to see the mystery guest or guessing along with the panel who is the fibber. Not much changed in Line over the years besides the panel line-up, but Truth had major shake-ups in their final seasons, including letting the audience in on guessing the fibber. 

Local channels got in on the panel games, too. What In the World debuted on what was then the Philadelphia CBS in 1951. It ran through 1955 on CBS and apparently was so popular in the Philly area, it was moved to the Philly educational channel until well into the 60's. Three professors (or in this case, three professors and erudite Vincent Price) try to identify works of art from the University of Pennsylvania Museum's collection. No wonder it ran for so long. This is surprisingly good for a local show, playing up the spooky and sophisticated atmosphere with smoke and eerie music. The hosts have genuinely interesting insights on the works of art under discussion, too. 

Panel shows got randier in the 70's. The revamped Match Game debuted in 1973 and immediately became a sensation for its ribald answers and wacky shenanigans. They could be funny even when the contestants were downright awful, as in Richard Dawson's third-to-last nighttime episode in 1978. The only reason either contestant made it to the Super Match was Charles matched them each once, then matched one in a tie-breaker round.

The success of Match Game spawned imitations, most of which didn't last nearly as long as the original. You Don't Say began as a clone of Password on ABC in the early 60's. They dusted off the name and host Tom Kennedy and resurrected it in 1975 as a Match Game clone. Here, four panelists act out words and phrases they want the contestant to guess. For the bonus round, the contestant acts it out for the panelists. Not bad, and it's nice to see Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall together on the same panel somewhere besides Tattletales.

Even PBS tossed its hat in the ring for its first national game show. We Interrupt This Week from 1978 had panelists, many of them from England, guessing the answers to joking questions based after the news of the past week. Very funny, especially if you know anything about the late 70's. Host Ned Sherrin was a droll delight.

Though panel games existed in the 80's, they rapidly fell out of fashion. Most of them likely moved too slow for the changing landscape of 80's TV, and the celebrities may have been out of the budget of many shows. Alex Trebek hosted Battlestars, which had contestants trying to capture three triangles on a board after guessing whether a celebrity's answer for a question is true or false. Merrill Heatter had such high hopes for this Hollywood Squares imitation, he revived it briefly in 1983 with a new bonus round after it barely lasted from fall 1981 to spring 1982. 

Jim Lange didn't have any more luck in 1982 with a syndicated revival of his Oh My Word as Take My Word for It. Once again, two contestants faced four panelists. This time, they gave odd answers to obscure words. Contestants had to guess which one was the real definition. This would be done far better under the name Wordplay with quicker a more-game Tom Kennedy in 1987. 

Guess along with these celebrities as they changed the standards for TV from the 50's through the 80's! (To Tell the Truth comes with its original and Buzzr commercials. (Oh, and thanks to Wink Martindale and his YouTube channel for the Battlestars episode!) 

What In the World (1955)

What's My Line? (1959)

To Tell the Truth (1968)

You Don't Say! (1975)

Match Game PM (1978)

We Interrupt This Week (1979)

Take My Word For It (1982)

The New Battlestars (1983)

On Sunday Morning

Began a sort-of cloudy morning with work. It wasn't bad when I came in, but things picked up by around 10:30-11 AM. The Eagles game was at one, and everyone wanted party food before that. I did shelve some items, but I mainly stayed outside and gathered carts and trash, at least for as long as I could. As it turned out, several people called out. They had me stay an extra hour. I got stuck in the register around 11:30-noon, but was able to get outside shortly after and spent the rest of the afternoon with the carts.

Hurried off as soon as I could get away. Mark, Joya, Rose, Craig, and their kids were already there when I arrived. This time, Jodie had meatball and hot sausage sandwiches with Caeser salad and those hot pepper tomato slices again. I had a tasty meatball sandwich and salad, with yellow cupcakes trimmed in fancy piped red, black, and green icing from Rose for dessert. Finley was napping when I came in; Khai played with his Nintendo Switch and iPad. Rose and Jodie eventually took them around to several neighbors' houses to play.

Wish the game had been as lovely as the food and company! I'm afraid the Minnesota Vikings simply outran the Eagles all afternoon. They were up 24-3 when I arrived. The Eagles did mange to catch up in the third quarter, but then the Vikings started up again. The Eagles just couldn't keep up, and an avalanche of penalties on both sides didn't help. They eventually lost 38-20.

Went home as soon as the game ended. Did a lot of writing tonight, including after dinner. The mysterious lady whom the head guard released turns out to have power over the woods. She makes the trees throw apples and acorns at Skutch and his men before running off. Charles sees Skutch attacking Richard and trying to pull off his hood and uses his lute to distract Skutch, then hit him over the head. Skutch vows revenge, but Richard is grateful enough to offer Charles a place to stay and a new job with them.

They return to the cottage in the woods they're living in and find the door wide open. After they drop the trunk in the living room, they go upstairs to find the perpetrator...and find the sorceress from earlier sleeping in one of their beds. She's not happy when she's woke up, but Charles gets her calmed down. She tells them that her name is Brett, and she was trying to put distance between herself and Skutch and stopped at the cottage to rest.

Finished the night with the second Disney music collection CD. My favorite here is a real rarity - the full soundtrack to the Main Street Electrical Parade, which is currently back in its original Disneyland home. I also like the lovely "Candle On the Water" from Pete's Dragon, "On the Front Porch" from Summer Magic, and the twittering birds of one of my favorite attractions at the parks, "The Tiki Room."

In the Swim

I slept in again and awoke to a sunny, hot morning. For once, I got to have my Sunday pancakes for brunch in the morning. I wish my blueberry pancakes had turned out better, but I think I used too many blueberries and couldn't turn them over. They just broke apart and made a mess, though they still tasted pretty good.

Listened to my Kismet original cast album as I ate and cleaned up afterwards. This is the 1953 musical adaptation of the early 1900's Arabian Nights-set play. In the course of a single day, a story teller in old Bagdad (Alfred Drake) falls in love with the lusty wife of the Wazir (Joan Diener), kills off the Wazir (Henry Calvin), and sees his lovely daughter Marsinah (Doretta Morrow) married to the Caliph (Richard Kiley). Some of the biggest Broadway hits of the early 50's could be found in this show, including "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads" for Marsinah, "The Sands of Time" for Drake, and the lush duet "Stranger In Paradise" for Marsinah and the Caliph when she thinks the latter is a gardener.

Went to run a few errands after I finished the dishes. I forgot that today was Dad's birthday, and my nephew Skylar's birthday is Wednesday. My first stop was Dollar General. I did grab cards for both of them here, along with my favorite pecan log. I was hoping to find Cool Whip to make a pudding cake for Dad, but no luck. The closest thing they had was Reddi-Whip, and they were out of it.

As I was leaving the store and going in the back to get my bike, my mind was so focused on getting presents for Sky and Dad, I wasn't looking where I was going. Took a bad step and ended up scraping my left arm against the stucco walls. Thankfully, my arm had rubbed red, but it wasn't really hurt. My left knuckle caught the worst of it got a little scraped. I always bring a small pack of Band-Aids in my purse, so that was an easy fix.

I didn't have much luck elsewhere. No Cool Whip at CVS or Family Dollar, or even heavy cream. None at WaWa, either, but I did get one of those dollar 32 ounce sodas there. The Minute Maid Peach Lemonade I got out of the Coca Cola Freestyle machine was amazing; it really tasted of sweet peach and tangy lemon.

Called Jodie when I got home and said I'd come over later, then relaxed a bit and did some writing. Maz tells Leia she thinks Harris is very much in love with her, and she'll prove it. She plans a romantic dinner for them, but the Empire may have other plans...

Watched a few episodes of Sale of the Century on Buzzr while I worked on my story. Today was their special "Christmas In July" theme, when they run Christmas episodes of some of their shows. Sale of the Century was kind of a mid-80's cross between Jeopardy and an upscale Price Is Right. They were decorated for the holidays with elaborate silver and green wreaths and a huge tree. Most of the little skits for the prizes were holiday-themed too, from Santa and people in gingerbread men costumes selling a karaoke machine to people in wide-shouldered 80's suits and dresses celebrating with crystal glasses. The woman who won was amazing, especially on the first episode. Not only did she get the final round in under a minute, but she got the last two in under five seconds!

Grabbed my bathing suit and went back out around quarter of 5. I was a little disappointed that Rose and her kids were leaving just as I came in. I was hoping to talk to her about the furniture. I did have a nice chat with Dad and Jodie in and out of the pool, though. The pool was so warm! It was bathwater-warm. I told them when my vacation in September is and about Rose giving me the coffee table. Jodie and I enjoyed mushroom pizza together and Jodie had hot wings while Dad switched between Law & Order re-runs and the Braves-Phillies game. (Phillies killed the Braves this evening, by the way, 9 - 4.)

Finished the night after I got in with Lego Star Wars. Finally completed "Rebel Attack" tonight. I don't know why I kept missing that one piece. Like I said, the blue pieces were hard to see against the gray and blue Death Star. Tried "Rescue the Princess" and "Mos Eisley Spaceport," but had no luck. I'll return to them tomorrow.

Heat of the Moment

While it was sunny when I cracked open my eyes this morning, it was also hot and nasty-humid. It was already in the 70's by 9 AM. I read in bed and did my journal, then worked online and tried to catch a few breezes. Lauren didn't roll off the couch until almost 11. When she was more awake, I made us Berry Banana Pancakes with a banana and some raspberries that were getting old. I burned mine slightly, but they otherwise came out very well.

The only major thing we had planned for today was a run to the laundromat. Lauren needed clothes, and I had things I wanted to wash. By the time we headed to the White Horse Pike, it was in the mid-80's. The sun burned down relentlessly, and while there was a nice breeze, it wasn't enough. The laundromat itself was cool, but it was also very busy. At least two families and three or four college students were moving around, trying to get a washer. I'm just glad we were able to get two. To save change and room (and because our loads were very big anyway), we shared a dryer. Lauren played games on her phone to pass the time; I worked on story notes.

We went home...and pretty much spent the rest of the day playing Angry Birds Star Wars. I'd tentatively suggested going for a walk in the neighborhood, but it was just too darn hot. There really isn't much to see around here anyway, other than some nice front-yard gardens. We made our way through the entire Hoth rounds. The later ones in the Space Slug that involved taking out mynock-pigs were generally easier than the ones on Hoth, where Princess Stella had to pull out Walker legs, or trying to take out Imperial Pig cruiser piles in space. One of the Imperial cruiser rounds took so long, we ultimately skipped it.

By 4:30, we'd decided we were hungry enough to chance the heat. It was slightly cooler and much windier when we strolled down to Phillies Phatties for lunch. They were busy with older elementary school-age boys watching the last inning of the Phillies-Rockies game. (Phils won, by the way, 7-5. In fact, they swept, according to Sports Philadelphia.) Lauren had slices of cheese and cheesesteak (white with chopped beef and mushrooms) and a bottle of Sierra Mist. I had yummy Chicken Rancher (white with breaded chicken chunks and ranch dressing) and tomato basil slices with a can of Cherry Vanilla Pepsi.

It was definitely a good day for water ice, especially since Phillies Yummies is only a door down from Phillies Phatties. Lauren bought a chocolate ice cream sandwich. I enjoyed a very minty, very green medium mint chocolate chip water ice. I finished mine walking home. Most people who hadn't fled the area to escape the heat were out and about. Adults worked in gardens or chatted on porches. Kids rode bikes or played catch in the shade.

Tomorrow, we're going to dodge the rain that's predicted and spend the day at the Cherry Hill Mall.

Day In the Sun

Kicked off the morning with a quick breakfast while watching more Flash. "The Man in the Yellow Suit" makes Barry's Christmas less-than-jolly when he attacks the Flash while he's protecting a new technology revolving around faster-than-light particles. To his horror, he realizes that this is the man he saw killing his mother. Meanwhile, Catlin and Cisco make their own discovery when they find out that, not only is Catlin's boyfriend alive, but he's got some smoking hot powers of his own...

Captain Cold is back in "Revenge of the Rogues," this time with his fire-based partner Mick Rory. When they grab Catlin, the guys have to find a way to rescue her and get Barry around their weapons...by pulling a Ghostbusters trick and crossing their streams.

After I made the bed, I spent my remaining hour before work cleaning up in the back room. Stuff was spread out all over the floor in plastic bags and cloth totes. I moved almost everything to boxes except for the stuffed animals, which went into the now-empty tote bags.

Once again, work was as dead as can be. It got a little bit steady around noon-1 PM, but was otherwise no trouble. Not only did baseball season start today (the Phillies murdered the Braves, 10-4), but it's the end of the month, and the weather is just too nice to be inside. It was sunny and still windy, but not nearly as chilly has it has been. I shelved candy when I arrived, but I spent most of the day gathering carts and baskets and sweeping the patio.

Charlie was just finishing up when I got home. He put on the actual walls and covered the rivets. He's talking about putting the window in the bathroom, then returning to the living room to paint the new walls before he moves on to my bedroom.

Finished up in the back room after he left. After everything I wanted to donate was in boxes or bags, I did a little writing. Ben explains the history of the Jedi Knights, telling Luke how they fought alongside the Allied nations in World War II. His father Anthony had been Ben's sidekick Blazing Boy as a child before growing up and becoming known as The Hero With No Fear.

Broke for dinner at 7. Made scrambled eggs with scallions, spinach, and mushrooms while watching Star! I go into more detail on this lavish vehicle for Julie Andrews at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Star!

Country Roads

We were out by 10 again, this time going north through Massachusetts and New York into Vermont. It was worth the two-hour trip just for the ride. Lauren drove through charming old farm towns, over babbling brooks and raging rivers, and past endless fields of waving corn and jolly orange pumpkins. Vermont lives up to it's nickname "The Green Mountain State." It was foggy when we left; the mists rose majestically over the carpets of pine and cedar on the hills. The fog eventually lifted, reduced to fluffy white clouds bundled around the mountaintops like fluffy scarves and revealing a gorgeous, breezy blue-and-gold late summer day.

It was a bit after noon when Lauren parked in the very back of The Vermont Country Store in Weston. We come here every year. The rustic shop is filled with unusual and hard-to-find bric-a-brac, from hand-made soaps, candies, and baked goods, to locally-made flannels and knits, to cookbooks by Vermont authors, to old-fashioned toys and games, to brands from the early and mid-20th century that other stores no longer carry. Thankfully, they weren't that busy when we arrived. I had no problems walking around, sampling their caramel corn puffs, Cookie Buttons, and Vermont Common Crackers and jam.

I didn't get much. Even many of the sale items in the rooms upstairs were beyond my budget, and others, like the knitted items, were things I could make myself or buy cheaper in my area. I couldn't resist those Cookie Buttons, though. I went with the seasonal Pumpkin Pie this year. I also bought my annual bag of Boston Fruit Slices. These half-moon-shaped, sugar-coated gel candies with the hard outer rind are some of my favorite candies. I usually get them in Atlantic City, but I haven't been able to get there in a while. I also picked up a thin cookbook filled with honey-based recipes from the Vermont Beekeepers Association that was far less costly than most of the books in the store.

The Bryant House is the Vermont Country Store's eat-in restaurant. Lauren had a reservation for 1:30. It wasn't really necessary. They were a little busy with the tail-end of the lunch crowd, but nothing horrible. We even got a prime table next to a wide hexagonal window that gave us an excellent view of Weston's main street. We both had egg creams, seltzer with milk and chocolate syrup. Lauren had flatbread with pulled beef and vegetables. I had an enormous bowl of chili topped with fresh Vermont cheddar and ground beef. Yow! That chili was delicious and savory, but it was also spicy-hot! Between the heat and the huge bowl, I couldn't finish it.

We couldn't resist their gingerbread with whipped cream for dessert. Ooh, that was good. Perfectly moist and just sweet enough. The waitress was really sweet. Our orders were a little late; evidently, she'd gotten Lauren's mixed up and had to fix it. She paid for our desserts to make up for it. We thanked her by giving her the biggest tip we could.

Strolled across the street after lunch. There's two other interesting stores that are worth visiting in Weston. The Christmas shop reminds me a lot of the Winterwood Christmas stores in Cape May County. They have every possible Christmassy thing and ornament, from favorite characters to figures and houses to sports teams to animals and traditional Christmas symbols like Santa and angels. There's even small sections for Halloween and Thanksgiving merchandise. I didn't get anything here, but Lauren found a paint-by-numbers nativity-themed advent calendar.

The Weston Village Store is next-door. While they sell a lot of the same things as the Vermont Country Store - maple syrup and candies, cheese, fudge, old-time toys, clothes - they're slightly more touristy and a bit more irreverent. Their walls are laden with signs with either retro logos or goofy sayings, and there's a lot of practical jokes and magic tricks among the toys and ribald joke books in the kids' area. All the clothes have "Vermont" on them, despite being only slightly cheaper than the non-labeled clothing across the street. Lauren got nothing here, but I bought a tiny glass bottle of maple syrup, which was slightly cheaper there than the similar sized bottle across the street.

Walked around for about a half-hour more at the Vermont Country Store. Lauren got a few more things, but I didn't see anything else I needed. We finally pulled out around quarter of 5, heading back across the endless highways and through the small farming villages and past horses grazing and the weathered farm houses and silos.

We arrived at almost 7. The Millers had gone to another appointment in North Adams, picking up dinner from one of their favorite holes-in-the-wall there, Jack's Hot Dogs. Lauren had two hot dogs; I had two tasty cheeseburgers with relish and ketchup. We shared popcorn chicken and cheese fries while watching the Yankees play the Red Sox and Phillies play the Mets. We got to show off our finds, too. Lauren gave her parents long-sleeved print shirts and her father a comfy sweater. She made the best find of the day for herself - a beautiful purple quilted vest with thick black fur lining that she found on the racks in the upstairs sales room.

Didn't have as much luck playing Mario Kart 8 tonight. Lauren wanted to play the online games, but for some reason, her Nintendo Switch just would not hook up online. When we did get on, we didn't do well. Lauren did the best, coming in 7th on the Wild Woods level. My best was 8th on the first go-around on Sweet Sweet Canyon.

(Incidentally, the Yankees killed the Red Sox tonight 10-1. The Phils did far better, flattening the wayward Mets 4-0.)

We're going to stay in the area on my last full day here, exploring the Lee Outlets. We haven't been there together since we spent three days there when I visited in October 2015. I'm looking forward to it; plus, it's a shorter and less complicated trip for our final day together.