Night of the Springtime Dolls

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. They help a "Hapless Hound" with a cold who can't smell find a new owner after he wanders into the park and Dinkel says he can't stay. Two jewel thieves trick Dinkel into thinking they're from a park magazine, when they're really looking for "The Very Buried Treasure." The Shirt Tales make sure the jewels fall into the right hands.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon dressing the dolls. Samantha looks so grown-up in Rebecca's lovely white and pink Lace Dress. Molly's Birthday Pinafore with the rickrack trim is thin and more appropriate for summer than her birthday in April. Whitney is trying on a hand-made purple gingham dress with smocking and flowers on the blouse. Felicity wears a white gown with huge blue roses I bought from a doll clothes booth at the Deptford Mall more than 15 years ago. Jess is going to Girl Scouts in the original 90's Girl Scouts vest, shorts, and loafers. It's paired with a gray 90's American Girl t-shirt, since the shirt that goes with that outfit is a turtleneck.

Kit's ready to chase scoops around Cincinnati in her turquoise and pink flowered sundress from the "BeForever" revamp a decade ago. Josefina's in one of my favorites of her outfits, the lovely tan and burgundy Weaving Outfit with the lace-trimmed skirt. Ariel's dressed for Pride Month in Ivy's Rainbow Terrycloth Jumper and roller skates. Barbara Jean wears the purple Paisley mini-dress she came in, net stockings (the ones she came in are ripped beyond use), and her own white strap shoes. 

Listened to the last of the records I bought last week as I worked. Probably the best-known song from Major League is the cover of "Wild Thing" heard near the end when they defeat the Yankees. I actually bought this for the last song, the wistful, nostalgic ballad "Most of All You" by Bill Medley. Other good songs here include "Cryin' Shame" by Lyle Lovett, "How Can the Girl Refuse?" by Beckett, and "Burn On" by Randy Newman.

The House at Pooh Corner/Now We are Six are simple retellings of those two Winnie the Pooh stories. House is narrated by Ian Carmichael and Dick Bentley. Bentley alone does Now We are Six, which also includes a few charming songs taken directly from the source material.

Switched to The Wild Wild West while I put everything away and had a really quick lunch. It's "The Night of the Jack O'Diamonds" when Artemis and James attempt to deliver a beautiful horse to the president of Mexico, only to have it stolen by bandits. They attempt to join the bandits and get it back, but it's not going to be as easy as they think.

Rushed out the moment the show ended. I thought I had enough time to take the bike, but...not only did I leave late, but I ran over a bump crossing Collings Avenue and my basket flew off! I had to gather everything before the cars ran me over, which meant I was a few minutes late arriving at the Thomas Sharp School.

Not a good thing, since we were really busy today. Though we only had 21 kids, 8 at my table, they're all wound up from various end of the year events. None of them would sit down in the cafeteria, and they were even worse outside. They kept begging and begging to go on the swings, especially when their friends whose parents had arrived were allowed to go on. They did get into line once they were allowed to swing, but...I tried to get one girl off who had already been on so another girl who had to go home could get on. The girl would not get off, no matter how much everyone pointed out that there were only two swings, and she had to share. I had to drag her off, and she just sat in front of it while her friend tried to swing, which meant her friend hit her and made her more upset. I finally just told all of the kids to get off, and they weren't going to be allowed on for the remaining time we were outside. Fortunately, they were only outside for another 10 minutes anyway. I helped take the last 4 kids inside, then went home.

Put on The Price Is Right when I got in, then Match Game '74. The Scoey Mitchelll-Elaine Joyce week ended with Charles Nelson Reilly announcing that he would leave soon to direct a Broadway play, The Belle of Amherst. Character actor Richard Lang made his only appearance the next week.

Finished up with Viennese Nights on YouTube. I go further into this charming Technicolor operetta from the early 30's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Viennese Nights

Red, White, and Matches

Began a gloomy Memorial Day with material from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Since Memorial Day began as Decoration Day honoring the soldiers who fought and died during the Civil War, all of the material revolves around that conflict. The most touching is the lone prose piece, "Light Bread and Apple Butter." A starving Union soldier and his dog wins the trust of a mother and her brood with his good manners and his volunteering to chop wood for them in exchange for the title meal. The poems were "Barbara Friechie," "The Sword of Robert E. Lee," and "Sherman's Ride."

Switched to Disney war-related shorts while I ate breakfast. Though Mickey Mouse didn't really figure into the World War II shorts, he did do one short based around World War I in 1929. "The Barnyard Battle" pits scrappy Mickey against huge Hun cats. Mickey uses his wits - and a convenient piano - to take those big cats down.

Goofy and Donald Duck were far more popular by the time the US entered the war in 1941. Goofy managed to get into two war shorts. "How to Be a Sailor" starts off as one of his typical how-to spoofs, with Goofy learning semaphore and trying to tie knots, but it ends with war footage and him being shot at the enemy. "Victory Vehicles" gives us a variety of conveyances, from Pogo sticks to literal golf carts, designed to get Goofys to where they're going without using rationed metal or gasoline. (By the way, I agree with Leonard Maltin in the intro to this cartoon. The song "Hop On Your Pogo Stick" is rather catchy.)

Donald was by far the biggest and most beloved character in Disney shorts by the 1940's, and he had the lion's share of war-related material. "Donald Gets Drafted" when he's swayed by the glamour offered on the recruitment posters. He wants to be a flyer, but Sergeant Pete would rather have him stand attention on an ant hill. He does finally get to fly after a disastrous check-up in "The Sky Trooper," but not in the way he planned. He finally gets the best of Pete in "The Vanishing Private," where he's doused with an invisibility paint while camouflaging a cannon. Pete follows "The Little Man You Can't See" on a Merry chase around the base. 

"Der Furher's Face" won an Oscar in 1943 for its surreal imagery depicting Donald dreaming he's a worker in a Nazi munitions factory. "Fall Out-Fall In" has Donald first trying to set up his tent, then attempting to sleep as the snores of his fellow soldiers keep him awake. "Commando Duck" is sent into the heart of Japan to contact their men. In the end, he's able to wipe...no, wash...out the enemy with the help of a rubber raft and a lot of water.

The Pink Panther was one of the few major animated characters to join the Vietnam War in "G.I Pink." Unlike Donald, he was swayed by the power, but doesn't have an easier time than Disney's irascible duck did 25 years before. Cranky drill sergeants, angry mascots, and land mine-ridden obstacle courses make him wish he'd just stayed at home. 

Headed out after "G.I Pink" ended. I just caught one of the new NJ Transit buses up the White Horse Pike. The lack of stairs is probably intended to make the bus more wheelchair-accessible, but while they're cleaner and smell better, the seats are harder and a lot less comfortable. I had no idea how you asked the driver to get off. There were no buttons, like on the old buses. I originally said Barrington, but Lawnside was closer to where I wanted to start anyway. (I later discovered that you pull on a yellow rope to get off, rather than a button.)

Another Red, White, and Blue Thrift Shop just replaced the long-empty K-Mart in the Lawnside Shopping Center a few days ago. Between the cloudy, warm weather, the new store, and this being one of the few things open on a major holiday, you can guess that they were mobbed. I did manage to dig up a few interesting items. I had no idea Major League had a soundtrack, let alone one on LP! I had even more luck with CDs: 

Journey - Raised On Radio

Diana Ross - Anthology (2-Disc set)

Soundtrack from Prince of Egypt

The Great Ladies of Rock & Roll: The 60's

And one interesting-looking young adult book: 

The League of Secret Heroes: Cape - Book One, by Kate Hannigan

Hiked down to Barrington after I left Red, White, and Blue. Thank heavens the weather held. It hadn't rained since this morning...and to my knowledge, it hasn't rained again since. It was just gloomy, cloudy, humid, and warm as I headed across Clements Bridge Road to the Old Rail Tavern. I had a tasty Italian Chicken Cutlet with provolone cheese and sauteed broccoli rabe and crunchy sweet potato fries with cinnamon cream cheese dip on their covered patio area while listening to a large family chatter on the other side of the room and half-looking at the college men's lacrosse game on TV. (Princeton killed Notre Dame, by the way, 16-9.)

The Barrington Antique Center is two doors down. This rabbit warren of tiny rooms filled with every possible vintage item, from Victorian glassware to relatively recent DVDs and Barbies, is open all week and on most holidays. My best find here was a stuffed version of Rick Raccoon from Shirt Tales. I had no idea there even were stuffed Shirt Tales. Rather appropriate, given I've been watching the show. (I'll have to look around for stuffed versions of Digger and Pammy, too.) Grabbed a bag of buttery sour cherry thumbprint cookies that were really yummy. I also picked up two children's records, The Care Bears' Birthday Party and readings of two original Winnie the Pooh stories. 

I originally wanted to get a drink at Berri Caffeinated, but they were closed by quarter after 3. I just walked down to the White Horse Pike to wait for the bus instead. Once again, it was on time, and there were no problems. I pulled the rope just in time. They let me off at the perfect spot to get home quickly.

Went straight into another Match Game Memorial Day marathon when I got home. In addition to many of the same episodes seen on Saturday, this one expanded to feature soldiers who appeared on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour and Match Game '90 as well. The Match Game '90 episodes were the hilarious Veteran's Day week shows with Marines as contestants and in the audience. The Marines really adored soap stars Karen Wittier and Fiona Hutchinson, cheering everything they said or did. In the case of Karen, their affections were warranted. She proved to be more than a pretty face when she twice won big money for the contestants. Fiona spent most of the week flirting with Ronn Lucas and Scorch.

Match Game Holiday Extra - Memorial Day Celebration 2026

Finished the night with two more wartime shorts, this time from Universal. "21 Day, Once a Month" debuted just weeks before the US joined the war, making it perhaps more timely than Universal planned. Woody Woodpecker has a cameo in this parody of the peacetime draft featuring toy soldiers. He also figured into one of the few wartime shorts Universal did. Like Donald, he wants to be an "Ace In the Hole," but his sergeant has him shaving horses. The Big bulldog definitely regrets it when Woody finally does get into the air!

Happy Holidays Dolls

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save Thanksgiving" when Mayor Humdinger tries to steal the big dinner and turkey-shaped bounce house, but ends up flying off in the bounce house with the Cat-tastrophe Crew. The Paw Patrol ends up going after them. "Pups Save a Windy Bay" from Mayor Humdinger's out-of-control wind-creating fan that has sent all of the other wind surfing contestants scattered around the bay and even on top of a lighthouse.

Spent the rest of the morning dressing the dolls for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Samantha is in her original Cranberry Christmas Dress. The red bow shoes from her green Spring Dress match it perfectly. Barbara Jean is ready to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas in Julie's previous purple paisley mini dress with the filmy white sleeves and lace stockings. Molly loves to twirl in her velvet Evergreen Christmas Dress and black strap shoes borrowed from Samantha. Felicity can't wait to join the dance lesson at the Governor's Palace in her blue taffeta ball gown with the lace stomacher. Kit's in her first Christmas dress, long-sleeved red outfit with the triangular white collar.

Ariel also gets an earlier Julie Christmas outfit, in this case the wine velvet jumper with the flower embroidery and ruffly white blouse. I never liked the gold stockings and black platforms that originally went with that outfit, so she wears white tights and white t-straps. Whitney wears the beautiful blue-violet velvet and tulle Snowflake Ball Gown Lauren found at a yard sale with a black shrug from another outfit and black velvet shoes. Josefina is pretty as a Spanish princess in her original yellow-striped Christmas Dress with the black mantilla. Jessa honors her heritage in the first Chinese New Year's outfit American Girl released in the late 90's, which she wears with mules borrowed from Josefina. 

Watched Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving as I worked. I went further into this direct-to-home media blending of two New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh shorts and the Pooh Thanksgiving special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2021.

Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving

Switched to Thanksgiving variety show and sitcom episodes as I ate lunch. The closest The Muppet Show got to a Thanksgiving episode was when Arlo Guthrie was the celebrity. His folksy presence inspired a down-home setting and several numbers with the Muppet jug band. Meanwhile, the Swedish Chef tries to find something to make for Thanksgiving dinner that won't attack him and Fozzie attempts to read Robert Frost poetry, only to be interrupted by Gonzo singing "Hernando's Hideaway."

Marian Cunningham on Happy Days is fed up with her family paying more attention to the Green Bay Packers game than her big dinner. She tells them her version of "The First Thanksgiving" to remind them of why we celebrate this holiday. The Cunninghams are a pilgrim family, Potsie and Ralph are trappers, and Fonzie is an outsider who gets into trouble for inviting Natives to share their celebrations.

Listened to The Story of Hans Brinker album as I gathered everything for work. This is a pretty straightforward retelling of the original book by Mary Mapes Dodge. There's a few changes; his sister Gretel doesn't enter or win the race, his father falls off a dyke during a storm, and Hans now wishes to attend school for art, rather then medicine. 

Headed out after the Hans Brinker record ended. I'm glad it was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and in the 50's. This is the nicest day we'll have this week, and the kids got to spend most of it running around in the playground, chasing each other, playing house, and looking for ladybugs in the mulch. (And this time, we did get them to put their back packs back on the concrete where they belong, not under the playground equipment.) 

I did have trouble with two of the older boys, who got into a fight over some game one of the girls concocted. She said they'd get points for how high of a rung they could jump off of on the climbing pole. First of all, they shouldn't be jumping off of it at all. Second, the boys took it way too seriously, especially when the girl gave one of the boys extra points after he'd gotten hurt previously. We had to separate the boys when we came inside. At least the games of Heads Up 7 Up and Silent Ball we played in the library with some of the kids went a lot better. In fact, they could be downright hilarious, especially with Silent Ball.

Took out the trash and brought up the laundry after I'd taken it downstairs during lunch, then watched Match Game '76 as I ate dinner. We got the tail end of Debralee Scott's first week as Scoey Mitchilll drooled over a pretty curly-haired contestant. Picked up the next week with the debut of a very different comedienne, character actress Mary Wickes.

Finished the night after a shower with Thanksgiving game show episodes. Thanksgiving goes back a long way on game shows. The episode of I've Got a Secret I have here from 1964 lets comedian Louis Nye show off his modern method of cooking a complete Thanksgiving dinner in 10 minutes - in what looks like a huge microwave oven. 

Sale of the Century got an early start on Black Friday with their big Thanksgiving deals in 1985. Likewise, the Wink Martindale syndicated High Rollers stuffed their Thanksgiving pots with tons of cash and prizes, including a car, in 1987. Family Feud celebrated the holiday in 1989 with questions about what to do with turkey leftovers and a big meal in the end for host Ray Combs and both families.

The Price Is Right has done Thanksgiving episodes since the mid-70's. The one I have here is from 2003. There were a lot of newlyweds that year - two turn up on this episode, and one makes it to the Showcases. One showcase shows where you can eat Thanksgiving dinner. The other gives us things to do on the big day, including watch football on an enormous big-screen TV and ride around in a black convertible. 

Let's give thanks for food, family, and games with these hilarious and heartfelt episodes!

I've Got a Secret (1964)

Sale of the Century (1985)

High Rollers (1987)

Family Feud Syndicated (1989)

The Price Is Right (2003)

Matches and Lovely Ladies

Began the morning with breakfast and Halloween Songs and Sounds. The first half of this Disney collection is mildly spooky songs featuring either Goofy and Mickey or the chorus. Mickey's "They Don't Scare Me" and the hilarious "The Werewolf Song" are probably the best of the Disney character material. We also get two Winnie the Pooh songs, "Heffalumps and Woozels" from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Tigger's "I Want to Scare Myself" from the special Boo to You, Winnie the Pooh! The remaining tracks are all sounds...and as they're likely taken from the later version of Disney's Haunted Mansion sounds album, they're all really too spooky to go with the kiddie songs on the first half.

Hurried off to work the moment the CD ended. Work was a little busier when I arrived, likely due to the Eagles-Giants game just starting. It cleared out pretty quickly after that. Though it did pick up again around 4-4:30 as the game ended and I had some trouble gathering carts then, it never became overwhelmingly busy. Considering what the carts looked like when I arrived, everyone must have come in the morning, before the game. Nice weather may have been a factor, too. Though there were some clouds, it was mostly sunny, windless, and warmer than it has been, probably in the lower 60's. 

(Oh, and the Eagles got themselves together well enough this time at home to beat the Giants 38-28. Good thing they're off next week. There's a couple of important guys who need to heal from injuries, including Saquon Barkley. Not to mention, it'll be busy enough next weekend with people celebrating leftover Halloween parties without an Eagles game, too.)

Had dinner when I got home, then watched two Match Game marathons. The first one was another look at episodes that are rare in one way or another. Either they were damaged and only recently restored, like episode 7 from 1973 with Bob Barker, Richard Thomas, and Michael Lerned or the day after Christmas episode from 1978 with Joe Santos and Fannie Flagg, or they had humor that would be offensive today. The anything-goes syndicated episodes were particularly prone to this. Gene made a "mudball" comment at a contestant in a 1981 syndicated episode that would not only never fly today, but got that episode banned from the airwaves. There's also weeks that haven't been officially cleared by their celebrities but have episodes floating around on YouTube, including the Steve Kanaly week on syndication in 1979 and some of Jimmie Walker's syndicated episodes. 

Buzzr has restored at least twenty episodes or more to the rotation, including two long-lost nighttime episodes. Episode 11 ends with a contestant fully striking out and taking off afterwards. Richard does a comic recitation about a bricklayer who loses control of his wares instead. Episode 74 features Brett trying to be an elegant lady like Eva Gabor with her fan and pearls. It also has Gene making a mildly derogatory comment to a cheerful Asian contestant that may have been the reason this episode disappeared to begin with.

See some of the rarest Match Game episodes of all in this unusual marathon!

Match Game - Around the Years Special Episodes 

Match Game Productions also honored the late June Lockhart, who died on Thursday at the ripe old age of 100, with a marathon featuring her one week on the show. She appeared during Christmas week 1973, which also happened to mark the first of three appearances of suave character actor Jack Cassidy. She got to see Charles appear as Santa on Christmas Day, complete with curly beard and (for some odd reason) a southern accent. The show also made jokes about the show she's still most associated with, Lassie. Brett got censored for her rather pointed answer about what Lassie's least-favorite movie he ever made was in one infamous later episode.

Honor this lovely lady with a jolt of holiday hilarity - no censoring needed!

June Lockhart Tribute - Featuring Episodes with June and Lassie References

Finished the night working on Maplepunzel. Maple, Mackie, and Walter the Bear Cub make their way into the dungeon. Maple turns the bird-monsters guarding Scott into ordinary birds, while Walter gets the keys and Mackie frees Scott. Betty the deer is able to free herself, running away from the ladies of the court Pavla ordered to watch over her. Scott's tired and whispering and not in the best shape, and he still insists on helping the others stop the wedding. He's also delighted to learn that Maple's powers are not only back, but as Mackie tells her, they revolve around what's in her heart, not growing on her head. Maple and Betty lead them to the throne room to stop the wedding, following the depressing dirges Pavla is so fond of. 

Autumn Blue and Gold

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and a spooky episode of the 2002 version of Strawberry Shortcake. After getting scared in the woods during a hike, the kids are convinced "The Blueberry Beast" lives in that spooky old house. Strawberry is determined to prove that their imaginations are running away with them, and just because the house is in bad shape doesn't mean the owner isn't nice.

Headed out to run errands next. I had donations to drop at Goodwill, then went around front. Found a brown cowboy hat that was better than the one I picked up a few years ago, a disc with the Lord Peter Wimsey episodes Clouds of Witness and The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, the first season of Boardwalk Empire, and two CDs: 

Barenaked Ladies - Snack Time

The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Boogie Woogie Christmas

Had lunch at Antonio's Pizza on Market Street. They're a pretty typical hole-in-the wall in a small shopping center that likely hasn't been remodeled since 1972, if the blonde wood paneling and Formica booths are any indication. They do make great pizza, though. The tomato-basil-mozzarella and mushroom were excellent. Washed them down with a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi. Stopped quickly at Desserts By Design a few blocks down and got a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream icing and fall sprinkles. I said hi to the lady working there, but she was busy dealing with customers and didn't have time for talk.

Took the longer way home down Market Street and across the border of Audubon and Westmont. It was too nice to not be out and enjoy the weather! The sun was shining, and although it remains windy, it was also warmer, probably in the upper 60's-lower 70's. Couldn't have been a nicer day in October. The leaves are finally starting to change colors here, too, turning shades of burnished gold and russet that glowed in the mid-afternoon sun.

Put on spooky-themed episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at home while I got organized. Tigger convinces Piglet to tell a scary story of "The Monster Frankenpooh," but Piglet (and Pooh) get a little too caught up in it. "Things That Go Piglet In the Night" has Piglet running off when he hears scary noises in the night, and the rest of the Hundred Acre Woods residents chasing after him. It's a "Pooh Moon" when the group is camping and Pooh thinks the moon is made of honey. While he and Piglet try to find if this is true, the others think they were abducted by the Grab-Me-Gotcha.

Went to work even before the cartoon ended. The kids were really antsy today, not helped by the younger ones ending up having snacks in the library due to the school's music class running late. I had trouble taking five of the girls to the bathroom. The two smallest took forever to come out. The three older ones wouldn't stop running, laying on the floor, and yelling in the halls. They fooled around so much, they accidentally knocked down a banner hanging on the walls. I wasn't happy with any of them.

It's a good thing we ended up spending the rest of the session outside. The kids got to let out that pent-up energy and enjoy the gorgeous day. Frankly, it was too beautiful to have them play inside. I did have to argue over the swings with some of the kids, but I also had a nice chat with two of the younger girls later in the afternoon, and the one boy who needed to use the bathroom was a perfect gentleman. It was so gorgeous, we just turned the few remaining younger kids loose with the older kids playing ball games on the black top when I left.

It was too nice to go straight home after work. I rode around in West Collingswood for a little while instead. West Collingswood Heights is the neighborhood between Newton Creek, Route 70, and the two Pikes. Though there's a few newer houses and condo rental buildings, most of the houses date to between the late 1800's and the 1930's. Some of them are actually quite lovely, with their turrets and wide porches.

I watched Studio 666 when I got in. This was originally going to be my musical review for tonight, but...this spoof of slasher flicks featuring the Foo Fighters wasn't really a musical. Though it did have some amusing moments, it was mostly way too bloody for my taste. Doesn't help that I'm not that big of a fan of the Foo Fighters, either. The Foo Fighters rent a house where another hard rock band supposedly died in the 90's, only to be stalked by the same killer who eliminated the band. This is strictly for fans of the Foo Fighters, hard rock, or cheep, bloody horror.

My actual review ended up being Murder In the Blue Room. I go further into this equally cheap but far more palatable horror murder mystery at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Murder In the Blue Room

Matches In the Nighttime

Started off the morning with breakfast and the 1990 studio cast album for Babes In Arms. This is apparently as close to a reconstruction of the original 1937 show as they could come up with in 1990. The 1937 Babes In Arms did involve kids putting on a show in Long Island...but some of those "kids" included a communist, a female drifter, and several who were hit with racism. It was re-written to eliminate all of this in the 1950's. Both versions tend to show up fairly often today, but this one is based on the original. Some of Rodgers and Hart's best music came from this simple premise, including the gorgeous ballads "Where Or When" and "My Funny Valentine," the charming "Imagine," the drifter's declaration "The Lady Is a Tramp," and the dynamic "Johnny One-Note." It even includes the music for the two ballets, one based around "Johnny One-Note," the other around "Imagine." Not the greatest cast for this, but they do no harm singing this wonderful score.

Headed out to work shortly after Babes In Arms ended. I spent almost the entire afternoon pushing carts. It honestly could have been worse, especially for a Sunday. We weren't even remotely busy until the last hour, and even that wasn't bad. It was hot, sunny, and murderously humid. Most people were probably either at the Shore or hiding in the air conditioner. I did have to sweep during the last hour when the morning bagger went home, but other than that, there were no problems.

Went straight home after that and into a badly-needed shower. After I got out, I worked on Hilary and the Beasts. It takes almost a month, but Hilary is able to get through to C.J again. He first of all assures her that, though Pavla isn't a bad actress, she's too cold for Hilary's role in The Rivals. Second, the producer hasn't been acting like himself, and neither have several others. There's also government men there, sniffing around. C.J doesn't like any of this. He tells his sister to leave and take the others if things get too scary, but Hilary assures him that they'll be fine.

Listened to my recently-acquired children's albums while I worked. The series Tale Spinners for Children not only adapted fairy tales, but also adventure tales like Robin Hood. Not bad condensed adaptation. I especially liked the action-packed ending, where they rescue Maid Marion from being hanged.

I believe I have the very first book-and-record version of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. Sterling Holloway does play Pooh and narrates the story, but that's definitely not Paul Winchell as Tigger, and I think the Piglet is female. At any rate, they do retell the entire short, up to and including the songs "A Rather Blustery Day," "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers," and "The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down." Only "Heffalumps and Woozels" is missing (though the sequence is mentioned without music). The artwork is pretty odd, too - Piglet has a much longer snout, and Tigger looks more like a striped lion with a scary grin than a tiger.

Finished the night with tonight's Match Game marathon. Today is the 50th anniversary of the debut of Match Game PM, the syndicated nighttime version of Match Game. Unlike the daytime version, this one was a hit straight away. Some of the best episodes of the nighttime version were seen during the first year. There was the episode where Charles and Richard wore wide-brimmed hats that Richard eventually used to hide him while he kissed the contestant in the end. One of the first episodes had Gene using some racially-charged gags that, though Clifton took it well, now has this show banned from the airwaves. 

On the other hand, Buzzr aired at least two episodes GSN didn't or hadn't been able to restore. Episode 11 ended with the contestant totally striking out at the Audience Match. He took off, leaving Richard to do a comic reading of a letter from a bricklayer having difficulty with his product in his Newkirk accent. The first time Richard made a bet with Gene involving the Audience Match was when he came up with the answer "Burns and Cuts" to "Burns and __" It wasn't the top answer...but Richard being Richard, it was up there.

My favorite PM episode came from the show's first year...and it once again involved Gene not believing Richard's answer on the Audience Match. That whole episode had been hilarious, with Brett and Betty White sniping at each other the entire time. When they got to the first Audience Match, Richard's answer to "Admiral __" was "Admiral Color Television." Gene didn't think it would be up there and made a bet with Richard...but you should never, ever bet with Richard when it comes to matching. Richard was, as usual, right...and Earl the guy behind the Audience Match board got to share in his largess.

Celebrate 50 years of Match Game in the nighttime with this blanking hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Match Game PM: Celebrating 50 Years Marathon

How Do You Talk to An Angel

This time, we began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. I thought "Tiger Family Trip" was more than appropriate. Daniel's excited when he, his parents, and his little sister Margaret go on a long trip to visit Grandpere. He learns that getting there is half the fun when they stop at a playground with a dinosaur slide and a butterfly garden. 

Called Uber around 10:30 for today's trip to Woodbury. The gentleman arrived within seven minutes. There was no traffic anywhere on the highway or in Woodbury Heights. We arrived across the street from the Nerd Mall within 20 minutes.

The Nerd Mall is one big room filled with shelves and bins of pop culture paraphernalia. Lauren looked the comic book bins over while I checked out the metal shelves groaning with stacks and stacks of just about every board game that had been created since the 1970's. I keep hoping to find the older versions of Family Feud and Match Game to go with my Password, but the only one I saw was the Family Feud DVD game. 

Alas, that was all that was there. The vintage arcade that had been in the back room had been replaced by couches, tables, and a TV for role-playing and video games. There were three arcade games, but nothing like what was there last year. We eventually moved on.

Our next stop was LC's Family-Style Restaurant a few blocks down for lunch. They were totally empty when we arrived, a bit surprising given it was quarter of noon. Three other young men did arrive for snacks, and some people picked up orders. Lauren had a big Cubano sandwich. I had the same salmon sandwich I got in October. It was just as messy this time around, and they hadn't gotten all the bones out, either, but it still tasted good. We had hot, salty crinkle fries and washed them down with Diet Pepsis.

Next up was On the Record across the street. This small independent store is a bit on the pricey side, but I especially like their collection of rare children's albums. I would have taken them all home if I had the room. While Lauren looked over his fairly extensive CD collection, I ended up with:

The original 1967 book and record for Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (from the rather odd designs of Piglet, Gopher, and Tigger). 

Chinese Fairy Tales, read by Siobahn McKenna

The soundtrack for the 1985 TV movie of Copacabana 

We were in and out of stores next. The thrift shop next-door to On the Record was not only busy, but the owner was watching her tiny baby son. We had to duck around him swinging in a baby's chair on the door leading to the room with the racks and racks of clothes. Neither of us found anything there. I liked some of the smaller furniture at 2nd Chance Boutique across the street, but I can neither carry it home, nor have the room for it. Not to mention, most of their clothes were stained or pilled in some way, or just not very good.

Had more luck at Woodbury Antiques a block down from 2nd Chance. This is an even bigger version of the thrift shop across the street, with more actual antiques and less junk. Lauren found three tiny Happy Meal stuffed animals she thought were cute and would fit in her luggage. Between their high prices and my being wary of hauling around too many records after the last few days, I only ended up with:

The soundtrack from the 1982 film version of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. (I have the original cast, too, but this is worth having just for Charles Durning's hilarious "Dance a Little Side Step.") 

Huey Lewis & the News - Small World

We hit the road next, heading down Mantua Pike towards Goodwill. It's surrounded by a sea of cannabis dispensaries, supermarkets, fast food restaurants, and car dealerships, but we did find a Dunkin' Donuts next door to the Pizza Hut. Our original thought was donuts for Free Donut Day...but by 3 PM. their donuts were long gone. She got an Arctic Cherry Energy Drink, and I got a Vanilla Bean Coolatta. 

Goodwill proved to be far more fruitful. She picked up a tank top and a t-shirt, both in purple, her favorite color. I found three books and a CD. The CD is:

Janis Joplin - Pearl

The books are:

Eight Cousins, by Louisa May Alcott

Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, by Mary Mapes Dodge (Both of these were vintage hardbacks from the 50's or 60's, if the whimsical pastel designs on the covers are any indication.)

That's Entertainment, Essays on readers' memories of entertainment in the early and mid-20th century, from the archives of Reminiscence Magazine

It was 4 PM by the time we got out of there. Not only was it late, but the traffic on the Pike was getting worse. I attempted to call Uber...but the price to get us home would have been over $62! No way. Not to go just 20 minutes. We ended up going next-door to WaWa to get drinks and use the bathroom while waiting for the prices to go down. Got batteries here, too. They were expensive, but I needed them. I'll get more next week. Within 20 minutes, the price had dropped to a reasonable enough level for me to contact Uber. Despite the continuing rush-hour traffic, the gentleman got us home in a little over 20 minutes.

We went upstairs, put everything away, and relaxed while watching more Remember WENN. Hilary and Jeff may be thrilled to have been reunited after his brush with death in London, but the others, including their sponsors, are sick of their baby talk on the air. They take a train to Mexico to say "I Now Pronounce You Man and Wife...Again," but end up feeling very differently when they get off the honeymoon. Meanwhile, Scott recruits Eugenia for his new late night talk show The Agitato Hour. 

Eugenia's exhaustion from doing the day and night shows takes us into "Some Good News, Some Bad News." She's replaced by bubbly former burlesque dancer Maple LaMarsh (Carollee Caramello), who walks right into Scott's latest brilliant scheme. He wants to turn WENN into CNN and create an all-news day, but this turns into a bust when they can find absolutely nothing noteworthy to report. Scott tries to make his own news, with disastrous results, before the others finally admit that a day where nothing earth-shattering happens is newsworthy in and of itself.

Went out to dinner after WENN ended. After our long walks the last few days, all we were up for was Capitol Pizza around the corner. I got tired of hearing Action News, so I insisted we take our slices of mushroom, broccoli, and pepperoni pizza to the wrought iron tables on the sidewalk. Hearing cars speed by was better than hearing depressing news blurbs. 

At least it was a nice day for sitting outside. It was hot, breezy, and humid when we were at Woodbury. It clouded over after we arrived at Goodwill, but by dinner time, the clouds had vanished again. It's supposed to rain a bit tomorrow, but at least it's nice now.

I put on Charlie's Angels when we got home and Lauren took a shower. Kris, Kelly, and Tiffany are caught up in an "Angel Hunt" when they're lured to a tropical animal reserve by an old enemy of Charlie's. He wants to pick them off one by one. The ladies do their best to avoid them as Bosley and Charlie try to figure out where they are...but Kelly and Kris end up having to rescue Tiffany when she's captured by the hunters.

Worked on my Land of WENN fanfic as the episode ran. I added a short sequence between Betty and Maple after the ball. Betty is on cloud nine after her dance with Scott, but she's still wondering if she can trust him. Maple caught sight of Victor sneaking around before he went to the office and develops her own crush on what she thinks is Lone Star Kingdom rancher. She wishes a guy like Victor would take her seriously, the way Scott does Betty. They also admit that they're ready to move on the the lush valleys surrounding the Parched Mountains, where Lady Gloria Redmond is mourning her husband, Earth Guardian Sir Benjamin Redmond, who died in a carriage accident. 

Finished the night with the 1994 Goodtimes Entertainment version of Cinderella. I'll go further into this surprisingly charming low-budget retelling tomorrow at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Happy Sister-tine's Day

Began the morning with Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You. I went further into this bittersweet Pooh holiday special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2023. 

Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You

I tried to call Uber after the cartoon ended, but I just couldn't get through to anyone. Not to any Uber driver, not to any taxis. Everyone was either taking people to the Eagles parade or at the Eagles parade. I ended up taking the bike, but I was 20 minutes late getting in.

The floral department manager was frantic when I got in. She was desperately trying to fill buckets that were constantly emptying. I ran around, gathering buckets, setting flower arrangements on the table, and gathering bouquets for Door Dash orders.

I was loading buckets with huge double-sized bouquets of roses when I ended up being pulled to do carts. The head bagger was needed in a register to handle all the people on their way to the Eagles parade. I wasn't happy about it. They told me I was in floral today. They said they had no one else...until someone came in at noon, of course. He took over the sweeping, but I still did the carts, and cleaned up a spill and put cold items away, too.

Not really thrilled with my schedule next week. On one hand, still a lot of hours (if not to the degree of this week), a rare Sunday off, and all early four-hour days. Trouble is, Sunday is my only day off. The head bagger always takes the week following President's Day for her last vacation until our cycle starts over. I don't know why one of the guys couldn't have worked one morning. It wouldn't have killed them. The early hours should still give me the time to do some things, including get a cell phone.

Oh well. At least it was a nice day for all of this. Though it was chilly and blustery, it was also sunny, with a radiant blue sky. If we could only have one nice day this weekend, I'm glad it was the day of the parade. The floral department manager even gave me and the other two employees who helped her this week $5 off reward coupons for doing a good job.

And that coupon couldn't have come at a better time. I needed groceries. Restocked yogurt, granola bars, pads (had an online coupon), and prebiotic sodas. The store has just started to stock more Poppi flavors. Decided to try root beer and cherry cola. Thought bananas would be easier on my stomach than apples or citrus fruit; had another online coupon for the organic ones. Grabbed a bouquet of red carnations as a Valentine's Day gift for a friend who loves flowers. 

Went straight home after that. Changed, put everything away, and went right back out again. I texted Jessa two days ago and offered to take her out for a combination Valentine's Day/early birthday gift. (Her birthday is next week.) I know she loves Asian food, so I gave her a gift card to Benihana, the Japanese hibachi restaurant in Cherry Hill. I'd never tried them before and thought they'd be something different for dinner. They were busy when we got in, with a relatively long line, though it only took us about 15 minutes to be seated.

We ended up at a long, wide table with two dads and their adorable six-year-old son and a young-ish couple. You ordered either five or six course meals at a fixed price. I went with a five-course and got chicken with vegetable fried rice, shrimp, and veggies. Everyone got a delicious mushroom broth soup. The kid got chicken fingers. Everyone else waited for a chef in a tall hat and white coat to quickly chop, dice, and slap meat, rice, vegetables, an egg, and Jess's noodles (she had a salmon dish that came with noodles) on a long metal grill. He was hilarious, making quips and flipping bowls of rice to us. The kid was amazed, and everyone else had a great time, including me. Everyone but the kid had green tea after dinner, and then everyone but us had ice cream. My chicken was slightly dry but not bad, and I ate everything but the grilled onions and a little of the rice and chicken.

Jessa and I were the only ones who declined dessert. She's not that into sweets, and a friend of mine gave me a big heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. Besides, it was getting late, and the line was now three times as long. It was time to head home.

(Oh, and I think I've finally figured out where the stomach problems came from. I don't think it's a bug. I suspect that peri-menopause is to blame. Apparently, fluctuating hormones can create stomach distress. Oh swell. I hope this won't be a regular thing now.) 

My Valentine's Day gift to myself was three more disc media cases from Amazon. The big one will hold  cast album CDs. Soundtracks and jazz artists will go in the smaller ones. I started moving discs from the smaller cast album binder to the book while watching Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. Linus is so smitten with his teacher Miss Othmar, he buys her a huge box of chocolate for Valentine's Day. Sally is convinced the box is for her. Meanwhile, Lucy wishes Schroeder would leave his piano and acknowledge her existence, Charlie Brown waits in vain for any kind of a Valentine, and Snoopy is putting on melodramatic and messy puppet shows. 

A Charlie Brown Valentine spends its first half watching Charlie Brown desperately attempt to give the Little Red Haired Girl a box of candy, or at least try to drum up the nerve to talk to her. When he actually does call her, he accidentally ends up inviting Marcie and Peppermint Patty to the school dance instead. Sally tries to make a Valentine for her "sweet baboo" who wishes she'd disappear off the face of the planet, while Snoopy tries to keep up with the kids' demand for love notes and poetry.

I went further into the charming and very funny The Bernstein Bears' Comic Valentines on the same review as Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You back in 2023.

The Bernstein Bears' Comic Valentine

Finished the night with the Pink Panther. Pink at First Sight has him searching for a special pink panthress to spend his Valentine's Day with, but coming up short in the funds department. He buys a pile of tapes and a player and becomes a "singing" delivery cat. His Valentine's gets even crazier than mine when he has to dodge a jealous husband who thinks he's after his wife, an angry violinist who doesn't like what he did with his prize instrument, and gangsters who wants his tail after he innocently delivers a bomb. 

Here's even more specials on the funny side of love, for your late Valentine's enjoyment!

Alvin and the Chipmunks: I Love the Chipmunks Valentine's Day Special

Disney's DTV Valentine 

The Popeye Valentine's Special: Sweethearts at Sea

The Smurfs: My Smurfy Valentine

The Woody Woodpecker Valentine's Day Special: I'm With Cupid, Stupid

Buttons and Rusty In the Honey Bunch (A Chucklewood Valentine)

For Better or For Worse: A Valentine From the Heart

Cathy's Valentine

A Special Valentine With the Family Circus

From Disney With Love

A Goofy Look at Valentine's Day (Educational Short) 

And I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day, with a sibling, a significant other, or anyone else who's special to you! 

Seasons of Waltzes and Peanuts

It was raining hard when I woke up this morning, but the rain had long subsided by the time I sat down to breakfast and Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving. I went further into this Pooh holiday anthology movie at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog on Thanksgiving 2021. 

Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving

Hurried off to work the moment Pooh ended. As it turned out, I probably didn't need to rush. Work was dead when I arrived, and the head bagger was already pushing carts. I took over the carts when she went inside to sweep and gather trash, and stayed with them for the rest of the day. It did finally pick up around 3, when everyone stopped at the grocery store to pick up their Thanksgiving perishables after work. Other than that, there were no major problems...and that includes the weather. The clouds were breaking up even as I went to work. It was sunny, breezy, and relatively warm for the rest of the day, probably in the upper 50's. 

After I got home, I put on PAW Patrol while eating dinner and doing chores. "The Pups Save Thanksgiving" when Mayor Humdinger tries to steal the Thanksgiving dinner Mayor Goodway has set up for the citizens of Adventure Bay. He and his kittens accidentally set a turkey bounce house into the air instead, upending the food and leading the cubs on a chase all over town to get him down safely. "Pups Save a Windy Bay" when they have to rescue the contestants in a windsurfing contest and figure out where the huge wind that scattered them came from.

Watched The Last Waltz next. I go further into the last concert performed by the original members of The Band at my Musical Dreams blog.

Musical Documentaries - The Last Waltz

Finished the night with the soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. "Charlie Brown Blues" that opens the special and the "Thanksgiving Theme" are probably the best-known numbers from this one. I also like "Little Birdie," the song describing the antics of Woodstock and Snoopy, with vocals supplied by none other than Vince Guaraldi himself. Side two is mostly given over to alternate mixes and reprises of the songs on side one, though we do have "Clark and Guaraldi," a drum-heavy jam session. 

Night of the Monkees and Monsters

Began the day with breakfast and the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake. Strawberry and most of her friends are excited about their camping trip in the woods, but Ginger Snap keeps trying to get out of it. She brings dozens of lights when they finally do talk her into it...but she's the one who rescues them when they all get lost in the woods during "Ginger Snap's No-Light Night of Fright."

Headed off to work after that. The floral department manager did take me aside first thing to show me how to do heavy cleaning on the bathrooms. After that, I mostly focused on the sweeping and carts. It got steady during the noon rush hour, but for the most part, it was too nice out for people to want to shop. The weather remains sunny, though it's also windy and in the 50's. Not to mention, it's the middle of the month, and we're between holidays. It might pick up a little this weekend when the Eagles play, but it shouldn't be too bad. I was in and out with no other trouble.

Went straight home and watched more spooky New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh while changing and having a snack. Piglet wants the tale of "Frankenpooh" to be a not-so-scary story, but Tigger's version gets out of hand, thanks to their wild imaginations! "Things That Go Pooh In the Night" has Piglet on edge so badly, he runs off dressed in a pillowcase. The others think he's a ghost, but he's not the one who's really making those spooky noises. Pooh and Piglet think they've landed on "Pooh Moon" during a camp-out. Rabbit, Tigger, and Gopher think the Grab-Me-Gotcha got them and go looking for them. 

Watched The Monkees next. "I Was a Teenage Monster" has the groovy quartet teaching a towering robot monster (Richard Kiel) how to be a swinging hip musician. Turns out the mad scientist who made him has more than teaching in mind when he transfers their musical abilities to the monster. It's up to science-loving Micky Dolenz to switch them back.

Switched to The Wild Wild West next. Gruesome mysteries and horrific tales abounded on this show, including "The Night of the Glowing Corpse" from the first season. West and Gordon are supposed to be guarding a new type of radioactive fuel source found by French scientists, but it's stolen by a man with huge, heavy feet even as West tries to take him down. Their only clue is the set of finger print marks found on the ankle of a comely secretary after she's killed.

Worked on the inventory for a while. Finished the Gs with Grand Hotel, the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, and two versions of Gypsy, the 1959 original with Ethel Merman and the 2008 revival with Patti LuPone. Lauren gave me the Ethel Merman Gypsy for my birthday ages ago, and I totally can't remember where Guys and Dolls came from. The other two came from Abbie Road at various times. 

Watched Match Game '77 during dinner. Bill Cullen and Debralee Scott came along as we met Buzz, a very funny older gentleman who worked in a junk yard. He proved to be a delightful contestant and was totally adorable as the panelists tried to figure out "Grain __" in the Audience Match.

Finished the night after a shower with Mystery Science Theater 3000. We kick off with a very annoying short depicting a musical pixie introducing a shy junior high school boy to the delights of playing an instrument. I think she was supposed to be a male pixie, imitating Mary Martin on Peter Pan, but I found her to be overbearing. The robots found her to be sexy and kept making jokes to that effect. The main feature War of the Colossal Beast was less annoying, but in its own way just as goofy. A semi-sequel to The Amazing Colossal Man, the "colossal beast" (Dean Parkin) is captured and subdued, but manages to escape and go on a rampage through several Los Angeles and Hollywood landmarks. 

The special effects would be cooler if the Amazing Colossal Man looked like he was anywhere near them. It's obvious his sequences were shot and filmed later. The acting is uniformly across-the-boards dull, and the dialog is worse. I'd say unless you're a huge fan of bad 50's sci-fi or want to hear mouthy robots riffing on the same, or are a fan of Amazing Colossal Man, you'd be best to avoid this one. 

Autumn Blue and Gold

Began the day with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Katerina and O and their mother and uncle stay with Daniel and his family when they're hit by "A Storm In the Neighborhood." The kids are nervous about the weather, but their parents encourage them to follow the plan and stay with the adults so they'll be safe. The entire community gathers to remove a tree that fell in front of the Clock Factory "After the Neighborhood Storm."

Dawn hit traffic coming up here and was about 10 minutes late arriving. We finally started out at quarter of 9. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't as bad going to Westville. She stopped at Abilities Solutions for a few minutes to talk to someone and make copies of my resume before we went on our way.

It was past 9 when Dawn pulled in at the big parking lot at Rowan University next to their Engineering Hall. Dawn caught the little jitney going to the job fair just in time. He even had two seats left for us. I shivered as the jitney picked up speed and I held on. It was a beautiful day, sunny and windy, but also much cooler than it has been. It wasn't even in the 50's at 9 AM!

At least it was warmer in the gym. It was the same job fair I went to at Rowan last spring and fall. They were equally busy, and nearly impossible to get around in. To my disappointment, I saw almost nothing of interest. The Emerson Group wanted office workers with more experience. I don't know anything about Word or Excel or anything that costs extra to use, and I haven't done a real job in years. I did see Shop Rite, Goodwill, and a lot of police and safety tables, but that was it. Everything else was either industrial or health care. 

I wish New Jersey wasn't so obsessed with health care! No Comcast, no newspapers, not even Walgreens. It was extremely disappointing. Dawn talked to the Jewish Federation of Cherry Hill and even said we could apply there, but I checked their site later, and their jobs were all teaching or placing families. I don't know anything about that. I'll put in the application, but I don't think anything will come of it.

We finally took the jitney back around 11. Dawn returned briefly to give someone her business card, then we were on our way. The traffic was much worse going home than it had been going to Rowan, especially on the highway. Everyone must have been heading home for lunch. It was past 11:30 when she finally pulled up at the curb.

Put on The Monkees when I got home and had the two muffins I snitched from the refreshment tables for lunch. In addition to doing the four horror-themed episodes for Halloween, I'm going to re-watch the show from the beginning, starting with "Royal Flush." Davy saves a pretty girl from drowning, but she turns out to be far more important than he believes when her Uncle Otto reveals her to be the Princess of Harmonica and threatens them both. He recruits the other three to help him find out what Uncle Otto's plot is and save the princess from certain doom at the hands of her greedy uncle and his chauffeur henchman.

Switched to mildly bizarre episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh as I made my grocery list. Pooh and his friends wander up to the attic on a stormy afternoon, looking for something to do. They want to play chess, but some of the pieces are missing. Terrified Piglet becomes "A Knight to Remember" when he imagines himself as a chess knight who has to fight a not-so-scary dragon. It's "Rock-a-Bye Pooh Bear" when Piglet has a nightmare about losing his friends in a storm. The others try to prove that nightmares don't come true and aren't anything to be afraid of.

Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I had grocery shopping to do today, starting with Sprouts. Had online coupons for Cascadian Farms granola bars and Nixie probiotic soda. Found bakery chocolate chip cookies with clearance tags. Scooped dried cranberries into one bag, salted vegetable chips into another.

After Sprouts, I ducked past the library and Haddon Township High School to the Acme. Mainly needed to restock yogurt, apples, Kind bars, and bagels (and I almost forgot the last-named). Had online coupons for Choboni yogurt, the Kind bars, Poppi soda, and Always pads. In fact, I found ultra-thin pads that were already half-off and got them for even cheaper. Grabbed a Propel Peach for the ride home.

And the ride home was gorgeous. Newton Lake sparkled like a million jade stones as I rode past. The fountains shot tiny diamonds into the radiant blue sky. The trees here are just starting to turn shades of scarlet, gold, and yellow that makes the rainbow look pale. I dodged people out for leisurely strolls, finally pushing my bike over the hill and past the Environmental Center.

Let The Price Is Right run in the background as I went through my records and books to see if there was anything I wanted to get rid of. Truth be told...not really. I've been better about thinning out my collection since I moved. I do need to clear out some stuffed animals, and I definitely have too many clothes.

Finally switched to adding my newest finds to the inventories. Television's Greatest Hits Vol. II went with the soundtracks. Kinky Boots, the Hugh Jackman Music Man, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Little Women were added to the cast albums. Magic Bus: The Who On Tour and The Ballad of Tom Joad went in with the rock and pop albums. 

I also got my schedule online at this point. In good news, not quite so many hours on Wednesday...or at all. They dropped me right back to the four days off I had during the summer. I'm glad that I won't have to deal with more 8 1/2 hour days and will have the chance to rest this week, but I could have used a few more hours than this. We are coming up on the holidays.

Watched Match Game '77 while eating dinner. Dick Martin, Fannie Flagg, and Conny Van Dyke joined in for these episodes. Conny argues for Gene kissing her, while the others try to figure out "__ Cooper" in the Audience Match.

Finished the night with Who's That Girl. Tax attorney Loudon Trott (Grififth Dunne) has be tasked with bringing a rare cougar to an animal fan, and then he has to get recently-paroled Nikki Finn (Madonna) on the bus home to Philadelphia after a stint in jail. Nikki has absolutely no desire to go home. She wants to find out who killed her previous boyfriend (as depicted in the opening cartoon sequence), handed her a key, and sent her up the river. Believing her innocent, Loudon ends up joining her as she runs all over New York looking for the real murders, even though he's getting married to Wendy Worthington (Haviland Morris) the next day and her father Simon (John McMartin) is his boss and the one who wanted Nikki out of town in the first place. 

Though the movie was a flop in 1987, I have fond memories of it anyway. The title song and "Causing a Commotion" were huge hits in late summer and early fall that year. When the movie hit home video and cable, it became the choice for pre-teen and young teen girls like me and my friends to watch at slumber parties and girl get-togethers. On one hand, Madonna always was pretty funny, Dunne does his best as the bamboozled lawyer caught up in her schemes, and yeah, the soundtrack is good. 

The movie is also very much of its time. The plot is likely supposed to be the 80's idea of a screwball comedy, but it's really all over the place. Nikki is an annoying idiot whose idea of fun is swiping cassettes from a music store. Some of the gags - like what happens to the bridesmaids and who Wendy eventually ends up with - are just too dumb. 

I'm going to say this is cute, but unless you're a massive Madonna fan or you share my fond memories of watching this with your own friends at slumber parties, you're better off digging up the soundtrack album and skipping the film. 

Isn't It Romantic

Began Valentine's Day with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. They only have one long piece for Valentine's Day, but it's "The Valentine Box" by Maud Hart Lovelace. Julia is new in town and fears she won't get any valentines at her school party. She ends up befriending Margaret when her valentine's blow away, and then she leaves her bag with her best friend's valentine in the snow.

Watched Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You during dinner. I went further into this sweet tale of Pooh and the gang trying to save Christopher Robin from "the Smitten" bug at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog last year.

Valentine's Short Subject Special - Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You

Hurried off to work soon as the special ended. I had a far harder time getting there. Some Uber drivers went on strike today to protest their working conditions. Thankfully, they were only those who had to haul people to airports. Got a driver in 11 minutes this morning and 7 in the afternoon. No traffic either way.

All the traffic ended up at the Acme. We were busy the entire morning and early afternoon. In addition to people buying flowers, candy, and fancy dinners for Valentine's Day, it's also Ash Wednesday. They had their traditional 1-day seafood sale for Lent, which is extremely popular. I swept and pushed carts and didn't have the time to do much else. At least it was a gorgeous day for it. Chilly, yes, in the upper 30's, and windy, but not too chilly for mid-February. It was actually quite nice in the sun.

The lines were still long when I finished at 2. I was able to buy a drink and a lovely bouquet of carnations and mums for a friend, but I decided not to wait for a cashier to do a gift card for Jessa. I'll pick it up when I go grocery shopping on Friday instead. 

Soon as I got home, I changed while watching Happy Days. They did their lone Valentine's Day episode, "Be My Valentine," in the fifth season. Joanie, who is enjoying her first real relationship, imagines all of her friends and families in musical vignettes depicting their own romances. Scott Baio did a really cute "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" chorus girl spoof, Donny Most crooned a surprisingly good "My Funny Valentine," and Ron Howard and Linda Goodhead had an even better apache dance, but Marion Ross and Tom Bosley stole the show with their sweet and absolutely spot-on "I Remember It Well." (And no, Henry Winkler did not attempt to sing. Fonzie did a romantic recitation for a group of ecstatic college co-eds instead.)

Headed back out after the episode ended. I had Valentine's Day bags and cookies for Rose and her family, and I never did deliver Jessa's Christmas presents. Besides, it really was too nice of a day to be hanging out inside. I strolled to the other side of town, and seeing they weren't at home, dropped both bags on their front stoop. 

Stopped at Common Grounds Coffee House for a Valentine's Day treat. Their Red Velvet Chai was likely just chai, cocoa, and foam, but it was amazing, spicy and warm and oh so chocolatey. Had it with a small red velvet cake pop. They were busy with high schoolers and college kids just out of class, so I drank my chai on the walk home.

Put on Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers when I got in. A distinctly Elmer Fudd-like Cupid tries to spread love among the Toons. Bugs thinks he's a meddler, but Cupid knows how to get to him, too. This is another collection of random bits and pieces of shorts, but there are some funny moments, including Bugs marrying the Tasmanian Devil to a female devil, Detective Daffy trying to prove a dame is guilty of being something besides crazy about him, and Pepe LePew chasing Penelope around the Foreign Legion.

The Pink Panther has an even tougher holiday in Pink at First Sight. He's so desperate for a pink panthress to love, he ends up squeezing a child's teddy bear. He finally gets a job as a singing delivery boy, thanks to cassettes and a cassette player. That goes even less well when he ends up dealing with everything from a jealous husband who thinks he's after his wife to a group of gangsters who are convinced he sent them a bomb. 

Switched to Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie while job hunting. The Sailor Guardians are excited to make their own cookies for Valentine's Day. Chibi-Usa is delighted when her cookies turn out better than Usagi's, but she ends up giving them to an odd little boy with a flute that can make candies dance. Usagi realizes how precious her daughter - and all children - are when an evil witch steals children to harness their dream energy and open a black hole that can swallow the earth. The Guardians join Chibi-Usa's new friend and head into the Black Dream Hole to make sure their sweet Valentine's Day dreams don't end on a sour note.

I got a very nice surprise at this point. I gave my friend, her daughter, and the neighbor's daughter bags of strawberry white chocolate chip cookies. The kids also got heart-shaped bubble wands and small Valentine's-themed bead craft kits, while the lady got the mums and carnations I picked up earlier. They gave me a smaller rose arrangement in a slim vase, a box of dark-chocolate-covered cherries, and a card. 

Called Mom around this point as well to thank her for the Valentine's card she sent me. I didn't get to talk to her for very long. She was sitting for my one-year-old niece Aurora. All she mentioned is no, she hasn't heard from Rose and her family in a while, either. I presume they're either busy with school and work activities or sick or both.

Worked on writing for a little bit next. Patti admits that yes, the poppies were the Warlock of the West's doing. The bees that attacked them in the woods were, too. Plus, Televisia City may not be friendly to strangers at the moment. They were attacked by the Warlock's army and are skittish about visitors.

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Watched Match Game '79 as I ate. Fred Grandy made his first appearance during its second-to-last week on CBS. Charles spent the week teasing Brett about her drooling over another younger man sitting next to her. The first episode also featured an appearance by a contestant named Carolyn who would be far more important to the show during the next week...

Finished the night with more Valentine's specials, starting with a Peanuts triple feature. Charlie Brown is nervous about escorting The Little Red Haired Girl to the Homecoming Dance, especially after he doesn't do very well at the game thanks to Lucy pulling the ball away. He proves to be far better at being the life of the party than expected when It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown leaves him in another world. 

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown explores the various Peanuts romances. Linus is hoping to impress his teacher Miss Othmar with a huge box of candy, which Sally thinks is for her. Lucy destroys Schroeder's piano when he ignores her ranting about not giving her a valentine. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown waits for someone, anyone, to give him a valentine, and Snoopy is putting on melodramatic and messy puppet shows.

A Charlie Brown Valentine was created to fill an hour with Be My Valentine, but it has some entertaining vignettes of its own. Chuck wants to ask the Little Red Haired Girl to the Valentine's Day dance, but Marcie and Peppermint Patty think he's taking them. Meanwhile, Sally wants to make a card for her "Sweet Baboo," but Linus would rather be anywhere on the planet but near her.

Smurfette is also feeling less than lovey-dovey in My Smurfy Valentine. She goes to a wishing well to ask for a Smurf Charming to sweep her off her white heels. Unfortunately, a witch and Gargamel had the same idea. Gargamel wants to use his cat Azreal to wish the Smurfs away, while the witch wants to eliminate all love. Smurfette ends up working with Cupid to foil their plans before the end of an eclipse. 

And I hope you all had a Valentine's Day that was equally sweet! 

Scary Games

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I've Got a Secret (1960)

Hollywood Squares (1977)

Super Password (1988)

Match Game (1990)

The Price Is Right (2007)

Family Feud (2008)

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

Betty Boop: Betty Boop's Halloween Party

Casper the Friendly Ghost: To Boo or Not to Boo

Marc Summer's Magic Halloween Special

The Smurfs: All Hallows' Eve

DTV Monster Hits

Follow That Goblin!

The Great Bear Scare

The Last Halloween

Once Upon a Midnight Scary

A Pumpkin Full of Nonsense

Disney's Haunted Halloween (Educational Short)

Buttons and Rusty In Which Witch Is Which? 

The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo: Dr. Frankenstein 

Winter's Comin'

Started off a late morning with breakfast and spooky shorts from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Piglet tries to turn "Frankenpooh" into a not-so-scary story of a very nice scientist. Tigger finds this too boring and has that scientist create a giant Pooh who is after honey. "Things That Go Piglet In the Night" sends Piglet, Pooh, Rabbit, and Gopher into the woods looking for spookables when they hear noises in the night...but it isn't anything like they expect. Piglet and Pooh think they've been launched into the "Pooh Moon" after accidentally flying over a tree. The others think they've been taken by the "Grab Me Gotcha" monster Tigger made up and go looking for them. 

Switched to Match Game '77 while making the bed. Fannie Flagg is thrilled to get a standing ovation from Gene and the audience when she's the only one to match a contestant. She and the others don't do nearly as well helping the contestant with "__ Feather" in the Audience Match.

Headed out after the episode ended. I had a lot of errands to run at the Westmont Plaza. Picked up a kind of breakfast sandwich cookie that was buy one-get one free with a digital coupon and the vanilla coconut milk I like at Sprouts. Target had the Made Good granola bars on sale, and I needed to restock disinfectant wipes. Grabbed more almonds there, too. Started my Halloween shopping at Dollar Tree by buying bags and stickers for the Mystery Bags. I enjoyed the bagels I bought for breakfast and lunch last week so much, I bought five more for this week, plus a cranberry muffin for today.

No wonder Dollar Tree was the only store that was even remotely busy. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for mid-October, sunny, breezy, and cool but not cold. I took the long way home, across Newton Lake Park and over the trail on the hill to the Haddon Township Historical and Environmental Center. The woods are just starting to turn yellows and reds, but most trees still remain green.

Went straight upstairs when I got home, then put everything away and brought down the laundry. Pulled out the container with the winter clothes to sort them out. It's going to be in the 60's this week and drop into the 50's by next week. I think we're done with warmer weather for more than a day or two until April. Sorted out the piles of what would stay out year-round and what got put away while the laundry was downstairs.

Finished it while watching Rhapsody In Blue. I go further into this 1945 biopic featuring stage actor Robert Alda as George Gershwin at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Rhapsody In Blue

Worked on writing for a while after that. Richard the Tin Man vaguely recognizes Charles. He too barely remembers who he was. He knows he was once a member of the Queen's court, chased away by the Wicked Warlock of the West when she invaded Televisia City.

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched Match Game '79 while I ate. The first episode introduced a very funny contestant named Bert (for Roberta) who got an interesting answer for what Dumb Dora asked a doorman about. The second skipped ahead to the second episode of the week with Brianne Leary of ChiPS, Bob Barker, and Jon "Bowser" Bauman. Jon reads everyone his poem about being on the show in character, while everyone else teases Gene about matching his brown suit with blue socks and Brianne's newsboy-style outfit and answer of Tiger Beat for "Tiger __." 

Finished the night after a shower on YouTube with the two Miss Switch After School Specials from Ruby Spears. The Trouble With Miss Switch is that the substitute teacher (Janet Waldo) is a genuine witch. She's not a bad witch, though the Witch Council considers her old-fashioned. Her students consider her fair-minded and kind, especially Rupert Brown (Eric Taslitz) and his friend Amelia Dally (Nancy McKeon). Rupert and Amelia try to use her magic to let their school win their homecoming game, but evil head of the witches Saturna (June Foray) sabotages the game. Now Miss Switch may be banished, unless she and the kids can find a way to prove that the witch is really up-to-date.

Miss Switch to the Rescue has the kids accidentally opening a bottle and releasing the evil warlock Mordo (Hans Conried). He kidnaps Amelia and takes her back in time to the 1600's. He wants revenge on the witches who shut him up in the bottle and turns their Mayor (Walker Edmiston) into a troll. Rupert and Miss Switch have to find Amelia, then save her from fading away all together when it turns out she has a closer connection to the Mayor than anyone could have guessed.

While the animation is nothing special, these are otherwise charming adventure comedies with more than a touch of the supernatural. Waldo makes a lovely and warm Miss Switch, while Conried had his last role as the vengeful warlock. They're both based after children's books - I might have to look for those, too. Too bad YouTube seems to be the only place besides long-gone videos that you can find the specials nowadays.

The Trouble With Miss Switch

Miss Switch to the Rescue

Sweets for the Sweet

Started off the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. Lambie's looking forward to "My Huggy Valentine" and spending the day with Doc. She's upset when Doc gets a stuffed heart doll from her parents that she seems to like more, but Doc reminds her that friends always have a special place in our hearts. As a teddy bear collector with allergies, I really appreciate "Dusty Bear." Donnie's bear Teddy B thinks he doesn't want him anymore. Doc insists her brother's sneezing is from allergies and puts Teddy in the washing machine to clean off the dust.

Switched to Match Game '75 as I cleaned up from breakfast and made my grocery list. The first episode had Gene kissing "new kid on the block" character actress Pat Crowley while Gary Burghoff, Joyce Bulifant, and the others try to figure out what Dr. Welby does nights. Richard gives that sobbing lady tissues in the second, then helps the new champ with "__ Beater" in the Head-to-Head.

Headed out soon as the episode ended. To my surprise, it was neither cold, nor rainy like it was supposed to be today. In fact, we were cloudy and way too warm for this time of year, into the upper 50's. I dodged a lot of folks out for strolls in Newton Lake Park on my way to the Westmont Acme, passing by the bare black branches and dry yellowing grass.

They weren't terribly busy when I arrived. The lines weren't really that bad. Good thing, because I wanted to beat the crowds and get ready for Valentine's Day. If you bought three cards, you got a box of Russell Stover chocolates. I picked up Valentine's Day cards for Mom and Rose and her family, a get-well soon card for my friend Amanda who is off work with a dislocated knee, and a birthday card and gift card for Jessa (her birthday is Sunday). Had an onlne coupon for Fiber One granola bars; since they were a part of the Nature's Valley sale, I bought more of those, too. Also had online coupons for Oikos Pro yogurt and Pillsbury cake mix. Ghradelli's chocolate chips were on a decent sale, too. They only had the Cotton Candy grapes, but I figured I might as well try those. 

Also tried the new Starry Pepsi lemon-lime soda, their replacement for Sierra Mist. It was...just ok. Sweeter than Sprite and less crisp, maybe a little too sweet for me. I've only seen the Zero Sugar in 12-packs. I'll keep looking around.

Went straight home and upstairs to get the cards that needed to be sent out together...before realizing I forgot Valentine's cards for Keefe and his family and Anny and hers. Besides, it was too nice of a day to sit inside. I strolled to Dollar General for two more cards, then went a block down the White Horse Pike to the Post Office to send them out. 

Had lunch when I got home while watching Winnie the Pooh Valentine's Day specials. A Valentine for You is the only Pooh holiday special that was never combined with new material on DVD. (It's even that way on Disney Plus.) Owl convinces the Hundred Acres Woods crew when they see Christopher Robin making a valentine for a girl that he's been bitten by the "Smitten" bug, and that the only way to restore him is to find another bug to bite him. Even after chasing the bug, Pooh finally realizes that Christopher's happy the way he is...and as Doc did with Lambie, Christopher reminds Pooh that real friends never leave your heart.

"Un-Valentine's Day" is an episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. In the first of several instances where a holiday is canceled in the Hundred Acre Woods, Rabbit insists they won't do Valentine's Day this year to stem the flood of valentines they received the year before. That doesn't last very long when Pooh finds a pot of honey at his front door. Soon, cakes and hearts are flying everywhere, Pooh's dressed as a mail box, and Rabbit's putting on a romantic play for Christopher Robin that goes comically wrong. But who did give Pooh the original pot of honey?

Hit the kitchen after lunch to try a very simple recipe I found on Pinterest. Strawberry-White Chocolate Chip Cookies are what they say on the tin - strawberry cake mix, cooking oil, eggs, and white chocolate chips. The cookies came together fine, but I let the first batch go too long and some of them burned on the bottoms. I kept the really burnt ones for me, gave the slightly browned ones to the daughter of a friend for Valentine's Day, and will give the rest to Rose as a combined Super Bowl/Valentine's Day gift. 

Went upstairs to look up jobs and do some writing. Richard tries to flirt with Jo Ann, even as he insists that the Ace is a myth. She's not buying either the myth thing or his hitting on her. Allen reminds her that she needs to get all this on the air.

It was past 7:30 when I finally broke for dinner. Watched Match Game Syndicated while I ate. Richard Paul turned up in a fireman's hat, while Gene gives Judy Landers her "new kid on the block" smooch. The contestants don't do nearly as well with a question about what goose thing Weird Willy puts in his quilt besides goose down.

Finished the night with House Party 2 on Amazon Prime. I go further into the second movie in this wacky rap series at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

House Party 2