The Children Wore Green

Top O' the Evenin' to ye! I got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. It's a "St. Patrick's Day Dilemma" when Doc's brother accidentally scribbles on her new paper doll Fiona's Irish dance dress. She won't wear anything else to the St. Patrick's Day parade. Doc and the others have to convince her that it's better to change clothes when they've gotten dirty. Doc's new doll Gillian thinks she's too tall to play with the other toys, but she's the one who makes "A Giant Save" when Professor Hootenberg is stuck in a tree and she's the only one who can catch her.

Called Uber shortly after that. Once again, I had a surprisingly easy time getting rides. The driver to West Collingswood came in 4 minutes! The one going home arrived in 7. No trouble or traffic either way.

Since I was a little early, I went for a short walk down Magill Street. Despite the sun, it was cold and blustery, barely in the 40's. It wasn't even that in the shade. I saw a container of water in the deep shadows that was frozen solid! On the other hand, I also saw the first blooming flowers of the season. Beautiful purple and white crocus and tiny white snowdrops were nestled among the green and dry yellow grasses in several sunlit gardens.

Thanks to the cold, the younger kids never went outside today. Almost every kid wore green of some kind - green dresses with shamrock prints, adorable green and black pants outfits trimmed with ruffles, green sweaters, Eagles t-shirts and jerseys. Two of the boys announced that their kindergarten class had captured a leprechaun. They didn't indicate if it was a "real" leprechaun, but they did say he'd left behind a mess of toilet paper and extra treats for them. All of the kids got bags with chocolate coins (most of those were eaten before lunch was over), tiny bubble wands, slap bracelets, and shamrock beaded necklaces. 

Though we started with 26 kids, things were a bit disorganized at first. The kids played wherever they could fit in the cafeteria while the music class finished their rehearsal. The library is being used for parent-teacher conferences this week, so we can't go there. After they left and the kids ate lunch, they colored Healthy Kids paper bags they could use for all that loot. While some continued to draw, I showed two best friends the Storyland Disney anthology book and its gorgeous vintage artwork. (The artwork depicting Donald's less-than-sterling driving skills from "Donald Duck, Prize Driver" was especially popular. Even the older girls thought it was hilarious when I showed them later.) By 4 PM, we were down to three younger kids and six older ones, and another teacher had come to help. I was let go early.

After I got home, I took out the trash, then made Irish Soda Bread. This is extremely easy to make, especially if you do what I did and cut the recipe down to make one loaf, instead of two. All it requires is flour, baking soda, baking powder, a little sugar, buttermilk, an egg, raisins or currants, and butter or shortening to cut into it. Oh yuuuum! I think that good organic buttermilk I got from Sprouts helped, but this was the best Irish Soda Bread I ever made. Dense, chewy, soft, just sweet enough, and it smelled incredible in the oven. 

I got the bread out just before Jessa arrived. We were originally going to celebrate the Westmont (formerly the Westmont Diner) having reopened, but they're only serving breakfast right now. We drove a little further down to the Club Diner in Bellmawr instead. I think we made the right call. They had a big and very Irish St. Patrick's Day menu. She had corned beef, potatoes, and cabbage (and shared some of it with me) with soup. I had Irish Lamb Stew with a rather watery iceberg lettuce salad. The stew came with shredded lamb and big pieces of potato and carrot. She had a slice of carrot cake for dessert. I had Oreo Cake (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting topped with an Oreo cookie). 

Put on Match Game Syndicated when I got home. Fannie Flagg and Lee Merriweather wore their green St. Patrick's Day blouses in the episode I saw. Fred Grandy had to spend the night listening to Charles and Brett complain about the contestants ending up in a tie.

Finished the night with The Quiet Man at Pluto TV. Sean Thornton (John Wayne) has come home to the tiny village of Innisfree in Ireland to buy the cottage that once belonged to his mother and settle down. He falls for spirited Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara), but her big stubborn brother Will (Victor McLaghlen) is angry Sean got the cottage instead of him and refuses. Father Lonergran (Ward Bond) and matchmaker Michaeleen Flynn (Barry Fitgerald) convince Will that the Widow Tilane (Mildred Natwick) wants to marry him. When she refuses, he gives the bride away, but not her dowry. Mary Kate is furious, even after the townspeople manage to get all of her things but her money. Sean doesn't get it. Money isn't important to him. For Mary Kate, it means her freedom. 

Sean refuses to fight her brother, which leads everyone to think he's a coward. Reverend Playfair (Arthur Shields) is more understanding...but he does encourage Sean to put aside his bad memories and fight for his bride. When Sean finally does confront Will about the money, it leads to a gigantic knock-down, drag out donnybrook that gets so big, half of Ireland come to Innisfree to start taking bets!

This was John Ford's love letter to his own homeland, made in gorgeous Technicolor and shot so glowingly on location, it won a Best Color Cinematography Oscar. Almost every Irish character actor in Hollywood has a delightful time with the hilarious script, especially Bond as the fishing-obsessed Catholic priest and Fitzgerald as the impish and very traditional matchmaker. Highly recommended around St. Patrick's Day, or whenever you're in the mood for O'Hara and Wayne sparring or want a taste of a slightly stereotypical but still lovely Ireland. 

Baking Matches

I woke up at 7 AM...and promptly called out. My knee was too sore for pushing carts. If I had worked in the morning, I might have reconsidered, but I wasn't supposed to be in until 1:30. Working in the afternoon means I'm just helping with the carts. They'd live without me today. 

Went back to sleep after that. When I got up for good, I had a nice, warm breakfast while watching winter-related animated specials. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty the Snowman (Jackie Vernon) back, to the delight of all his kid friends. Frosty's lonely when they're inside at night, so they create a "snow wife" (Shelly Winters) they dub Crystal to keep him company. Trouble is, they can't figure out how to make her "all livin'" at first. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (Paul Frees) is jealous of Frosty's popularity and would love to blow those snow people right off the map.

Frosty Returns from 1992 was one of the last cartoons made by Bill Melendez, and as such, comes off as more of a cross between Rankin-Bass and a Peanuts holiday special. This time, Frosty (John Goodman) appears to two kids in a town whose winter carnival is threatened by an industrialist (Brian Doyle Murphy) who created a spray that quickly removes snow. The kids know that the kind of magic winter needs can be found in good friends and cozy days, not quick ideas.

I went further into another Rankin-Bass winter special, Jack Frost, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2020. 

Jack Frost

After that ended, I switched to YouTube for Dot and Keeto. I also go further into the fourth movie in the long-running Dot series from Australia at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and Keeto

Spent most of the afternoon looking over my Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN story. With The WENN Nutcracker Suite having stalled and it being past Christmas anyway, I thought I'd double back and take a look at this Game of Thrones-esque fantasy I've been working on for a decade. I started it in August 2015, worked on it off and on through early 2016, then dropped it after I got into Star Wars. Started it again last May, but ultimately switched to Hilary and the Beasts instead. 

It's the early 4th season, between "And If I Die Before I Sleep" and "Hilary's Agent." Betty is writing a new series for a sponsor who was inspired by her When In Rome script and asked for a deeper fantasy story than usual for a radio show. As usual for Betty, her problems, including the three men in her life, intrude...and explode into the story of Elizabeth Roberts (Betty) who discovers her destiny as the Light Guardian even as she deals with the two men in her life, noble King Victor (Comstock) who is currently a spy, and former Prince Scott (Sherwood), who now steals from the rich in the woods and leads the rebel faction. 

After Dot and Keeto ended, I decided to try something downstairs. I still had buttermilk and coconut leftover from Christmas baking. I made Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread from The Taste of Home Baking Book, adding coconut to the batter and sprinkling it along with the cinnamon sugar between the layers. Oh yuuuummm! It came out perfectly, sweet and spicy and moist, and smelled amazing in the oven. I haven't made anything this good in ages. And it only took me about 10-15 minutes to put together, too. 

Finished my night with a late lunch-early dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. I'm not the only one who loves good food. Despite Gene Rayburn's frequent admonishment that they weren't supposed to be eating on the air, food was often consumed in front of the cameras by panelists anyway. Charles brought a burger with him during a syndicated episode. In a 1974 show, Richard stole an apple given to Brett by an audience member. Also in syndication, opera singer and avowed pasta lover Diana Sorvino handed plates of spaghetti and meatballs to the panelists. Gene once let everyone try out caviar. There was the contestant who brought kiwi from his farm for everyone to test, too. There were also all of the jokes about the "Russian" club soda Brett and Charles imbibed, and the time Bill Daily spilled water and ended up out of his chair to wipe it up. 

Food also turned up in Audience Matches and Head-to-Heads. Betty helped a Naval officer in a nighttime episode whose answer to her Head-to-Head was a brand of beer. Another one in 1975 had "Pie __." "Mama" Cass Elliot got teased quite a bit about her weight and what she ate during her one week in 1973. There was also the obvious answer to "Club __," given how much of it the panelists (supposedly) consumed. 

Enjoy dinner and a show with the Match Game panelists in this tasty and rib-tickling marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - What's for Dinner Marathon - Featuring Food & Drink Items On Match Game

Oh, and at press time...it still hasn't snowed, iced, or done anything but look ugly and be cold. It hasn't all day. I don't think it's supposed to arrive until later in the morning. 

Very Nearly Spring

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. "The Warlock of Wimbledon" has supposedly cursed tennis star Jimmy Pelton, who bought an enormous old English manor that seemingly came with the warlock and his terrifying "Hell Hound." Scooby and Shaggy would rather dodge the dog's sharp teeth, but Velma suspects there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye when the manor's caretaker and Jimmy's coach disappear, and she finds a certain red clay where they vanished every time....

Spent the next few hours baking. Took advantage of the glass pan I got from Goodwill and having all of my cookbooks in one place again to make my favorite brownie recipe. They came out pretty well, despite my getting some yolk in with the egg whites. Since I'm clearing out food, I also made that banana bran muffin mix Rose gave me a while back. Added actual banana, vanilla, and the remaining chocolate chips from the brownies, and since the bag was so small, I made it into banana bread instead. Other than I didn't realize the mix had nuts in it, this came out even better, soft and just sweet enough on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

Went back upstairs while the bread was in the oven. I had lunch, then dusted the rooms and took down the winter decorations while watching The Dance of Life. I go further into this early talkie backstage melodrama at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Dance of Life

Took the trash and recycling outside, and then waited for Jessa. And waited, And waited, And waited some more. After a half-hour, I texted her. She was getting her oil changed, then got stuck in traffic. She could have told me a lot earlier. I got so fed up with waiting, I grabbed a cookbook and walked down Johnson to drop it in the larger book kiosk. She was finally there when I arrived.

(At least it was a nice day for all the waiting. It was sunny and breezy, but much warmer. It got into the 60's for the first time this year today. I was fine in a sweater and my jean jacket.) 

Though it was too late for outings by quarter after 6, Jessa did treat me to dinner at the Black Horse Pike Diner. She had chicken Parmesan. I had fish and chips. My "fish and chips" were crunchy breaded flounder fillets on top of fries with two big onion rings, broccoli, a salad, and chicken soup. It was all delicious, even the butter pecan ice cream I had for dessert.

After I got home, I finished The Dance of Life, then switched to Match Game Syndicated while putting up what I have for spring and St. Patrick's Day, including a green tinsel garland, two cute vintage hangings of a panda and raccoon dressed for the holiday, and my Irish-themed pair of Beanie Baby bears. Gene and Bill Daily spent this week drooling over a nubile young Charlene Tilton, while Charles and Brett did their best acting to impress Patty Duke. Patty just wished Charlene would actually wear more than halter tops for a change.

Finished the night with the first disc of The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz while I worked on the Dance of Life review. Considering the movie I was reviewing is from 1929, it's rather appropriate that all of the selections here date to the 10's and 20's. We actually start off with two vintage ragtime numbers in Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton's versions of "Maple Leaf Rag" before moving on to Bessie Smith's "St. Louis Blues" and King Oliver's "Dippermouth Blues." Things pick up back with Jelly Roll and hot numbers like "King Porter Stomp." Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven contribute the best and best-known numbers here with "Hotter Than That," "Sweethearts On Parade," and "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues." 

Bad Day Rising

Started out a gray morning with breakfast. While it wasn't lovely outside, it wasn't raining at that point, either. I rode to work and actually managed to get there a few minutes early this time. 

Which is about the only thing that went right the entire day. Work was a mess. This is the first Tuesday of the month and the first Senior Discount Day of the month, plus a lot of other people were buying huge orders, too. Some people spent upwards to nearly 800 dollars...and they weren't happy about it. I was supposed to be rounding up carts while the other bagger swept the store, but they kept pulling me inside to take customers. I was gathering trash and recycling the last time they did it. Not only was I there for the remaining three hours of my shift, but I never was able to take the trash and recycling to the back of the store. They remained in an unused register the entire time.

Went straight home, got my laundry started downstairs, and made dinner. I pulled out chicken thighs earlier in the afternoon. Added sliced potatoes and carrots for a simple but flavorful baked chicken meal.  Watched Match Game '76 after I pushed the chicken in the oven. Bert Convy and Patty Duke joined in to help a contestant try to figure out "__ Soda" in the Audience Match and see Gene scold cue card boy Roger Dobowitz for sleeping on the job. 

Went downstairs to try something different. I wanted to used coconut flour to make something for dessert. Alas, it came out very badly. No matter how much water or milk I added, it just stayed dry, and two eggs couldn't bind it. I tried turning the whole mess into a bread, but it didn't close to come together. I finally just threw the bits away. 

At least the chicken and vegetables came out perfectly. Had them with a green salad while watching Match Game '77. Hans Conried, the original voice of Captain Hook from the Disney Peter Pan, and Laugh-In sweetie Sarah Kennedy were on aboard for a very funny episode that saw Betty White and Charles Nelson Reilly switching seats for the first half. Gene kept getting them mixed up, since he was used to them sitting in opposite seats. 

Went downstairs to do the dishes; came back up for Match Game PM. Richard Paul was very happy when the contestant gave him kisses for helping her with the Audience Match. Announcer Johnny Olsen was even happier. When she kissed him in the end, he fainted!

Finished the night on Disney Plus with the West Side Story remake from last year after a shower and putting my laundry away. I go further into this gritty take on the teen version of Romeo & Juliet at my Musical Dreams Movie reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - West Side Story (2021)

Oh, and the rain finally came down around 11 PM, when I was chatting with Lauren and had long been at home. 

Dreaming of a Wet Christmas

Started off a gray morning with the Christmas material from Colliers Harvest of Holidays, which I brought with me for my annual holiday readings. My favorite story was "Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas." An old-fashioned doll who was forgotten by her own makes her way downstairs, only to be made fun of by newer dolls who were left by Santa. A mouse and the angel on the tree help her to look brand-new again. "Barney's Wee Red Cap" sounds more like something that should be told at St. Patrick's Day. The title character uses the Red Cap from the Leprechauns to travel...and gets into a pickle when he loses it and a king wants his head! "A Star for Hansi" has a grandmother teach her granddaughter the value of saving when she recalls how she spent her much-saved last coin on a special present for her brother Hansi.

Fed the cats and fish, ad a quick breakfast while watching another marathon from Sam Mitchell. This one focused on the hosts, both starring and as panelists on shows. I came in for the second half of the 1987 syndicated Blockbusters. Bill Rafferty lead a one-on-one contestant duo through trivia questions on a hexagonal board that otherwise resembled the 1980 version. Bill himself turned up on a 1985 episode of Super Password, joking with Bert Convy and Jill Whelan. Gene Rayburn hosted the Match Game segment of The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, then switched places with Jon Bauman to be a panelist. Bob Eubanks also joined in for a lot of cat questions during the featured episode.

Mom, Rose, and Jessa also texted me around this time. Mom loved her fancy soap and holder. Rose was happy to note Toothless actually put in a brief appearance during breakfast. Jessa had less good news. She thought I was going over to her house! She said she'd come over briefly later. I'd still at least make something for her.

Put on A Christmas Story while I started the dough for Rosemary Bread. I couldn't find Rose's rosemary, so it became more general Herb Bread. Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsly) is determined to get a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. Trouble is, his mother (Melinda Dillon) isn't big on guns to begin with, and his father (Darren McGavin) is too busy fighting with the neighbor's dogs and their furnace to notice his son's wishes. Ralphie himself may not dodge neighborhood bullies, blurting out bad words in front of his father, and other childhood pitfalls long enough to make it to Christmas Day...and even then, the holiday doesn't go quite the way he or his family planned.

This is another old family favorite. We ran our old copy taped off HBO constantly during December, long before TNT and TBS started running it 24 hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Everyone here is pitch-perfect, from determined Ralphie to Dillon and McGavin as his harried parents. 

Let the home-made DVD go into Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas, another old family favorite, while I started the baked ziti. This 1977 special made its first US appearance on HBO a year later, which is where we first recorded it in the late 80's. It was one of Jim Henson's first specials to use Muppets that resembled realistic animals. Emmett Otter (Jerry Nelson) and his mother Alice (Marilyn Sokol) are facing a bare Christmas, until they give up the things that let them make a living to join a local talent contest on Christmas Eve. 

I also unwrapped my present from Rose and her family at this point. It was a small tool kit, complete with a real large bolt wrench and screwdriver. I've used the same three cheap tools from Dollar Tree since I got out of college. Rose pointed out back in the summer that adults need a lot more than three cheap tools to survive. 

Threw on Match Game after that, but it was one I saw this week. Slid the bread out of the oven and taste-tested it while returning to Sam's marathon. By the time I got back, they were on the original one-on-two Blockbusters from 1980 with Bill Cullen. Cullen stuck around for a 1981 Password Plus episode with Barbara Rhodes as his partner and Tom Kennedy hosting. Monty Hall turned up in an earlier 1979 Allen Ludden-hosted Password Plus with Janet Lennon, then was seen hosting his best-known show Let's Make a Deal in the early 70's. Jack Narz hosted the complicated word-based game show Now You See It in 1974 and announced the 1979 Monty Hall Beat the Clock. He made a rare and funny appearance during a stunt in the latter.  

Jessa turned up as Beat the Clock ended. We enjoyed the tasty baked ziti and delicious, crusty Herb Bread together while she kept her little dog Midnight from going after the cats' food. After we ate, we had a long talk about my finding a place to live. I know I should probably move back down to Mom and Cape May County and help take care of her, but...I was hoping to find my own way. 

The trouble is, I just plain don't make enough money at the Acme, even with the raises I've gotten in the past year, and no one gives a fig what I have in my bank account. I was hoping to not have to go to the government either. I wanted to do this on my own, but I guess I'm just not good enough. I don't know if there's any government buildings around here, or if they'll take me with the money I have in the bank, or if I'll be stuck on a waiting list. I can't afford to wait. I need something NOW. 

I did end up going to Deptford with Jessa and Midnight to spend a few hours with her husband Joe and Joe's children, 13-year-old Danica and 11-year-old Connor. The kids and Joe were bopping along to the most recent version of the dance video game Just Dance when I arrived. I only played once, and not well, but I laughed watching Jessa, Joe, and the kids dance along to popular hits and novelty rock songs like "Rasputin" by Boney M. (Lithe Danica's smooth moves kept blowing everyone else away, even her brother.) Joe and Jessa have two smaller versions of actual arcade consoles in their living room. I played Pac Man a few times. 

Played Fruit Ninja with Connor while the other three made the kids ramen bowls for dinner and sliced the bread. This one is pretty simple. You make slashing motions with your arms to slice fruit and gain points. Avoid the bombs that take time off! Mini-fruit and big combos can give you even more points. All that arm-slashing is pretty tiring after a few games. I let Connor handle the mini-games.

We watched Mickey's Christmas Carol on Disney Plus and How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Peacock while the kids ate dinner and rain poured down outside. All the Whos down in Whoville like Christmas a lot...but the Grinch who lives up on Mount Crumpet thinks it's a lot of noise. He dresses as Santa and heads down to the town to steal their Christmas goodies. It takes the Whos celebrating no matter what to make the Grinch understand what the real meaning of the holiday is.

(Incidentally, I will absolutely be making that bread recipe again. It was a huge hit. Everyone ate at least one big slice and asked for more.)

The rain slowed down slightly by the time we all headed out at 8 PM. Joe drove his kids home to their mother, while Jessa took me home. I hurried in while the rain slowed down, greeted Lynx with a good head scratch, and went on the laptop to watch A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa on Disney Plus. I go further into this cute Muppets holiday special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Merry Christmas! - A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

And here's hoping you had a wonderful Christmas, no matter whom you spent it with or where!

Dolls and Holidays

Started off the morning with breakfast and The Bernstein Bears Meet Big Paw on YouTube. Papa Bear is slightly shaken when Mama divines that Big Paw, a legendary figure on the mountains over Bear Country, will come and destroy them if they're not good to the needy. Mama insists he's not that scary, but the citizens in the valley are ready to blast him to bits...until they see Sister and Brother Bear trapped on the mountain. 

Quickly made my bed, then headed out to run errands and do some Christmas shopping. I would have done a morning in Collingswood whether the house inspector came or not. The weather was utterly stunning, sunny, breezy, and in the mid-upper 40's, perfect for November. It was too nice to be hanging around inside, even if I hadn't been spending a lot of time there lately. 

Wandered around for a while. Checked out the gift shop Occasionette, but didn't buy anything. Looked around at the games and toys store Extraordinary Ed for a few minutes before I dashed across Haddon Avenue to the Collingswood Library to use the bathroom. Since I was there, I peeked at their books and DVDs for sale. Found a set of the first three-episode season of the 1999 BBC Scarlet Pimpernel TV show for a dollar. I heard it's not much like the books, but I love anything Pimpernel and am definitely willing to try it. Went back to Extraordinary and bought two card games, one for Lauren and her parents and one for my 12-year-old nephew Collyn. 

Strolled further down the street and ducked into a tiny whitewashed shop crowded with tables of hand-made soaps, body lotions, and other fancy bath toiletries. Truthfully, I wasn't in a very good mood, even as I bought a gift for Mom. Everything is going wrong. I can't afford an apartment until I get a better job, and I can't get a better job until I find a place to live. Either everything is full, or they don't understand that I have money in the bank and can pay the rent. My family is all at each other's throats over it, and the job I do have is driving me crazy. 

She was really sweet. She apparently just lost her parents and is also trying to figure things out. She suggested going out into nature and giving myself a chance to think and enjoy the view. I haven't had the chance to get out and enjoy nature lately, or do much of anything. She also figured I was on the right track with my outing. I needed to take some time out and enjoy myself.

In that spirit, my next stop was a block down at Sabrina's Cafe. They're normally crazy-busy when I'm in Collingswood, but they didn't look full when I went by. When I asked the hostess, she said there would be a 15 minute wait. As it turned out, it was barely five minutes before she seated me at one of the small rustic wooden tables along the blue vinyl booths on the wall.

Sabrina's specializes in fresh local dinner and lunch meals. Some of their portions can be huge, so I kept things simple and ordered a cup of soup, half of a chicken sandwich on a bagel, and fries. Good thing it was only a half of a chicken salad sandwich. Even that was massive, piles of chicken spilling out of a thick, chewy bagel with everything on top. The spicy tomato-basil soup was tasty, but it was in a tiny cup, and there was a lot less of it. The fries were neither too greasy, nor too heavily seasoned.

Checked out Clutter after lunch, but I saw nothing there and moved on. The lady was right about it being the perfect day for the park. Since I still had a lot to do, I opted for a bike ride through Knight Park and Newton Lake Park rather than strolling by the lake. It did feel nice to be breezing past the glowing gold and flame orange trees on my bike again! It felt like fall, too, with just enough of a chill in the air to keep the food cold before dinner tomorrow.

Heard the phone go off as I left Newton Lake Park. It was Rose, who forgot to tell me the other day when to come to Thanksgiving dinner. I can come anytime after 12. I wanted to call her back anyway and ask her if she needed me to bring anything besides pumpkin bread. Nope, she said. She has everything else covered, since it's just us eating anyway. 

The Target on Cuthbert Road was my next stop. By this point, the local kids were out of school for the Thanksgiving weekend. I managed to push my way through a gaggle of students let loose from Paul the 6th Catholic High School down the street and lock my bike before going in. Surprisingly for the day before Thanksgiving, they weren't busy at all. I picked up a gift for my 17-year-old nephew Skylar, cute toys for Finley and Khai to play with on the way to Maine, and York peppermint patties shaped like snowflakes for me. 

My last stop of the day was at WaWa. Treated myself to a creamy eggnog smoothie. It was sweet and rich, and this year, actually tasted like eggnog. I enjoyed it while riding home.

Put my presents away after I got in, then dressed the dolls for the holidays. Samantha wears her original Cranberry Christmas Dress, which perfectly matches the red shoes from her Spring Dress. Molly wears her Evergreen Christmas Dress and borrowed Samantha's black strap shoes. Ariel gets Julie's second Christmas outfit, the purple brocade minidress with the white gossamer sleeves and the soft knit stockings. I actually like Molly's white t-straps better with that outfit than the black shoes that originally came with it. Jessa is in the original 1996 Chinese New Year outfit with the brocade pants and jacket. (The current dressier Lunar New Year's Outfit on the American Girl website is too girlie for Jess.) Josefina resembles a Mexican princess in her yellow and black striped Christmas Dress with the black lace mantilla. Felicity's ready to dance at the Governor's ball in her bright blue Christmas Gown. Whitney wears the elegant blue-violet Snowflake Ball Gown from 2010 with black stockings, a black spencer jacket from another dress, and black velvet strap shoes.

Half-watched, half-listened to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles while I worked. Neil Page (Steve Martin) is an ad executive who's desperate to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. He manages to make it as far as Wichita before his plane is grounded by a snowstorm...but not before his cab in New York is accidentally stolen by Del Griifth (John Candy). Del is a traveling salesman and the nicest guy you'll ever meet, but he's also a chatty mass of bad habits. As the two men keep getting thrown together traveling across the frozen Midwestern landscape, Neil starts to understand why Del is really on the road...and realizes how much he has to be truly thankful for. 

Two of Martin and Candy's best performances anchor this ode to getting home for the holidays under any means necessary. They're never less than believable, even when the movie takes a slight left turn into forced sentimentality towards the end. 

Rose called again as I finished with the dolls. She and Craig apparently heard that someone moved out of the apartment/condo buildings a block away between Manheim and Reading and are in the midst of remodeling the apartment and are willing to rent it for 1,000 when it's done in three months. I just hope they're also willing to negotiate...and Jodie is willing to wait that long.

Worked on writing for a while after I put all the doll things away. Brett sends her sons through the mirror, but she's hesitant to do it herself. She finally steps through the glass, which ripples like silk, before falling into a dark void. She only falls a few minutes this time before landing on something soft in the same room she left. But something seems different...

Broke for a banana-orange chocolate smoothie for dinner at 6:30. I've looked forward to Buzzr running this week of Match Game '79 episodes for a while. Vintage TV puppets Kukla and Ollie became the first non-humans to join the panel, and it's just too adorable, especially how Brett flirts with them. Meanwhile, Eva Gabor is still arguing over her answers with Gene and the judge while Charles snarks in Brett's general direction. 

Put on Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving while making that pumpkin bread for dinner at Rose's house tomorrow. I'll go further into this semi-musical anthology of Pooh holiday shorts and specials at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog tomorrow. 

Switched to Molly's Pilgrim as I did the dishes and pulled the bread out of the oven. Molly is a little Russian girl who came to the US with her parents for religious freedom. The other girls at school make fun of her accent, her old-fashioned clothing, her acrobatic skills, and her borscht lunches. She's really upset when her mother makes the pilgrim doll she's supposed to bring to school look more like a Russian peasant than a traditional Mayflower pilgrim. Molly's mother and her teacher remind her that her family are as much pilgrims as those Mayflower Voyagers were. As one of Molly's schoolmates point out, it really does take all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving. 

Finished the night online. The Thanksgiving episode of Barney Miller, "Thanksgiving Story" from the fifth season, is currently on Crackle. Barney and his boys have their hands full with a guy who stabs his mooching brother-in-law in the hand with a fork over a turkey leg and a trio of escapees from a mental health institute who caused trouble at the nearby automat. 

There's dozens of Macy's parades from Thanksgivings past littered all over YouTube. I went with the jam-packed show from 1989. Wow, I'm sorry we spent that morning traveling to my Aunt Terri and Uncle Roger's house in the Washington DC suburbs. We missed The Jets doing a terrible version of the Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers theme song, a hilarious Looney Tunes tribute to Bugs Bunny, impressionist Fred Travelena's great Jack Nicholson Joker imitation, a Barbie float with colorful dancers all "Doing the Barbie," Melba Moore singing "Holding Out for a Hero" while escaping Doctor Doom on a Marvel float, New Kids On the Block, and a beautifully detailed float depicting great folk heroes of American history, from John Henry to Paul Bunyon and his blue ox Babe. Not to mention Alf making jokes about eating the Pink Panther and Garfield balloons and Michael Jeter's amazing rubber-limbed Charleston in the "We'll Take a Glass Together" number from Grand Hotel.

Here's the entire parade, complete with most of the original commercials! 

1989 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

And here's even more Thanksgiving specials of the past to enjoy while you wait for the big dinner tomorrow!

The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't

A Thanksgiving Tale

Nickelodeon's Thanksgiving Fest 1989

Calvin & the Colonel: Thanksgiving Dinner

Casper the Friendly Ghost: Do or Diet

Looney Tunes: Tom Turk and Daffy

Care Bears Family: Grams Bear's Thanksgiving

Tex Avery at MGM: Jerky Turkey

Terry Toons: Harvest Time

Animated Hero Classics: William Bradford - The First Thanksgiving

Buttons and Rusty In the Turkey Caper (A Chucklewood Thanksgiving)

Rainy Days and Matches

Began a quick morning with breakfast and the cast album for the 1946 revival of Show Boat. This was the last show Jerome Kern worked on before his death in 1945. "Nobody Else But Me," a charmingly self-depreciating ballad originally written for Magnolia's daughter Kim, would be his last song. I think the song is lovely, but other aspects of the show don't wear as well, including some shortened and revised lyrics to be more racially sensitive. 

Headed off to work before the album even ended. Once again, no trouble with Uber. Both drivers came within 11 minutes or less, and I got to work right on time. 

Work wasn't bad when I got in, but it picked up around 10 and wouldn't let up until past 3:30. Between the rainy weather, the holiday weekend, and the big Eagles game against the Carolina Panthers, almost everyone had huge orders. I'm dead tired and didn't always handle them as well as I could have, especially later in the day when I was really run down.

(At least the Eagles did better than me. I found out later that they did beat the Panthers 21-18.)

When I got home, I discovered someone made my bed, or tried to. It looks all lumpy and thrown-together, but not like I slept in it. I didn't think anyone was going to look at the house until tomorrow, so I have no idea what was going on there.

Changed, had a snack, and went into writing, or tried to. Brett's son Adam angrily defends his mother. Ira hotly denies being near the tarts, but Adam points out everyone ate them throughout the croquet game, including him.

Didn't break for dinner until almost 7:30. Had the leftover chicken leg and rice with steamed green beans and made Minted Honey Banana Bread while listening to the soundtrack from Popeye. I've always loved this long and peculiar 1980 live-action version of the comic strip, with Robin Williams as the sailor title character and Shelly Duval as his fickle sweetheart Olive Oyl. Makes me wish Williams and Duvall did more musicals. Duval has two adorably odd ballads, "He Needs Me" after she meets Popeye and her assessment of Bluto, "He's Large." Popeye's best numbers are his introductory "I Yam What I Yam" and the lovely "Sweet Pea's Lullaby." I'm also fond of the touching ballad that was cut from the film, "Din' We." 

Finished the night at YouTube with Match Game '73. As Linda Young mentioned last week, the first few weeks of the show started out as a more staid affair, not unlike the early weeks of the 60's show...and like the 60's show, it didn't work until it started to be played for comedy. The laughs turned up as early as the fifth episode, the first time someone answered a question with "boobs." (For the record, it was Vicki Lawrence.) 

Charles, Brett, and Betty White made their debuts in the eleventh episode...and they proved to be a breath of fresh air. Brett was originally suggested by her then-husband Jack Klugman, who said she was dying to get out of the house. It worked. She was so funny and sarcastic and worked so well with Gene and Richard, she became a regular almost immediately. Busy Charles wouldn't become a permanent part of the show until the end of the year. 

Along with showcasing more familiar semi-regulars like White, Elaine Joyce, and MASH alumni McLean Stevenson and Loretta Swit, we get to see some folks who wouldn't pop up again after those first weeks. Michael Landon often appeared on the 60's version, but he was so disenchanted with the rules for the 1973 show, he refused to return after the first week. Others who would only turn up at this early stage include The Waltons stars Michael Lerned and Richard Thomas, Robert Culp, comedienne and voice actress Pat Carroll, Broadway star Nanette Fabray, comedian Stu Gilliam, and Gail Fisher of Mannix. 

Take a peek at the early years of this hilarious favorite, from the first naughty answer to how Gene got his beloved long microphone! (Watch out for a bad tape on the Batman and Robin episode - some now-offensive sexual language there have kept this off TV since 1998.) 

Match Game - Vicki Lawrence Answers "Boobs"

Match Game - First Appearances of Charles, Brett, and Betty

Match Game - Batman and Robin are ___

Match Game - The Contestant Flashes/McLean Gets Hot and Bothered

Match Game - Richard's Naughty Answer

Match Game - McLean Goes Shirtless

Match Game - Wrong Way Turntable

Match Game - Gene and the Long Microphone 

Summer at Home

Started off a hazy, cloudy morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. The new champ was a woman whom the producers invited back to the show when they increased consecutive appearances from 10 to 20. She handily beat a father-daughter team when I came in. Had more trouble with the Gold Run; beat it with two seconds left. She just started in on a pair of older sisters when the show ended.

In addition to doing chores around the apartment like tidying up, I thought I'd try something different today. I have a recipe for English Muffins in the muffin cook book my friend Jennifer Waters gave me years ago. Seems English Muffins are very easy to make and are perfect for hot weather. They're ordinary yeast bread batter that's cooked on a griddle or a frying pan, rather than baked. 

The dough went together just right and rose perfectly. The only problem I had involved the cooking. Didn't pay attention to the pan like I should have and burned the bottom of the first few Muffins. A few others didn't cook all the way. After that, most of them did came out very well, chewy and slightly sweet like English Muffins should. I will never buy English muffins from the store ever again. 

Watched Thank Your Lucky Stars while the bread rose and cooked. I go further into this World War II semi-revue from Warner Bros at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Thank Your Lucky Stars

Headed out to run errands after the movie ended and the Muffins cooled on a plate. I picked the right day to do my laundry. The laundromat was empty except for two guys loudly listening to what sounded like a ribald, explicative-filled stand-up comedy routine on a podcast. It was so noisy, it even drowned out the talk show on ABC. I picked up shredded Mexican Cheese, tortilla chips, and a Dew S.A at Family Dollar, then sat outside and worked on story notes to avoid them.

Put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when I got home and made a quick Summer Fruit Smoothie for lunch. In "Pluto's Tale," Prince Pluto rescues Lady Clarabelle's puppy Princess Bella from the Witch Pete, who wants Pluto's golden ball. Queen Daisy, King Donald, Jester Goofy, and Pluto's friend Mickey (not to mention Toodles) help him along his way.

Switched to Hogan's Heroes as I made the bed and put my clothes away. To Hogan's horror, the bribe money Newkirk hid from Klink goes up in smoke when Kink tosses a burning three-day pass in. He and Newkirk pull "The Great Brinksmeyer Robbery" in order to get more. 

I'd seen the episode of Tattletales before. Despite everyone getting at least one question right, comedian Milt Kamen and his wife Margot were the big winners, over Gary Crosby and his wife Barbara and songwriter Sammy Cahn and his wife Tita. Things were nearly as wild on Press Your Luck. Once again, round 1 was relatively subdued, with everyone getting money and no Whammies. The Whammies hit the champ all at once in the second round, knocking him out quickly. In the end, an Army officer just barely beat the lady, picking up a trip to Palm Springs and a Mediterranean cruise. 

My package from Lands End finally turned up on my doorstep. I opened it while the show ran. Love the gorgeous Hawaiian flower-inspired print on the yellow bathing suit. If the company's website is any indication, I got one of the last ones they had in stock. I like my new daisy-print lunch bag, too. It's technically for kids, and thus, is smaller than my old one...but it also has outside and inside pockets and zippers closed rather than snaps. Not as happy with my new sandals. They're comfortable enough, but I think they may be a tad too small. I'm not crazy about the idea of sending them back, though. I adjusted the straps and will just wear them for the remaining two months or so of summer. 

Worked on writing for a while next. Betty's about ready to send Brett and her boys to the dungeon when Sir Richard and his sons arrive to rescue the older lady fair. Richard's liege White King Gene and Queen Helen were supposed to come, but they're too busy holding off the Jabberwocky and the other terrible creatures the Red King sent to their land. Naturally, Red King Mark denies all of this.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Made black bean dip while watching Match Game '76. The current champ is very pregnant...and her delicate condition made Gene and the panelists very nervous. Gene kept warning her not to do a lot of jumping around. Meanwhile, the others joked about Charles now directing opera. (Charles Nelson Reilly was a big opera fan and did, indeed, direct opera and stage shows.) 

Returned to Hogan's Heroes after dinner. Hogan's resentful when a scientist is put in charge of a mission to destroy a German chemical lab. He feels better when the chemist turns out to be an attractive and intelligent woman scientist. "Hogan and the Lady Doctor" have to figure out how to explain her presence in the camp, then get into the chemical plant.

Sale of the Century began as yet another close game. It didn't last long. Even with buying two out of three Instant Bargains, the champ built up a huge lead and won the Speed Round by a wide margin. She picked up diamond hoop earrings on the Match the Prizes board. (And I think she made a nice choice there. Jim Perry was right that they looked lovely on her.) 

Finished out the night at Shout Factory TV's website with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Code Name: Diamond Head is an unexciting TV spy yarn from 1977 about a gambler and American agent who has to stop a British double agent from delivering a stolen rocket fuel to the wrong hands. I agree with Mike and the robots that, not only does the movie not look like it was filmed in Hawaii, but there's too many long stretches of people talking and standing there and not enough action. The black-and-white short about a family at the county fair in the 40's was more exciting. 

Spring at Home

Began the morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. Came in as a solo lady played a brother-sister team. She finally beat them, then won the Gold Run after a shaky start. She was on the first round with a mother/daughter team as the show ended.

Took a stroll to Dollar General after the episode ended. It wound up being a rather nice day, despite the continuing heavy wind. At least it was dry and cloudless, if a bit chilly. They were a bit busier than I expected, given the decent weather. I finally picked up a can of mandarin oranges, cooking spray, a kitchen towel to go along with the one Linda Young sent me for my birthday, and dry cloths for my dust mop. Thought I'd try Squirt, a brand of Mountain Dew-like citrus soda I'd heard of, but never seen until today.

Got home in time for an orange-strawberry smoothie and the second Match Game '75 episode. Years before Joan Collins became the most beloved villainess on prime time, she turned up in a memorable week with Scoey Mitchilll and Patti Deustch. Charles' answer for "Bi __" on the Audience Match was "bisexual"...and surprisingly for 1975, not only did the contestant choose it, but it was the second answer on the board. (Charles looked quite satisfied after they revealed the answer.) Later, Gene literally climbed the audience to get to a camera that wouldn't cut to a commercial!

After the lunacy with Match Game, I turned to cable-based apps on my new TV that were a lot safer. Activated Disney Now, Cartoon Network, TCM, Nickelodeon, and Nick Jr. Watched a recent episode of Bluey to test Disney Now. Bluey and Bingo are disappointed when they wake up on "Easter" to find that the Easter Bunny didn't leave them any colored eggs. He did leave a clue in their baskets, leading them on a merry chase all over the house looking for clues leading to the hiding place of their eggs.

Checked out the first episode of We Bare Bears to test Cartoon Network. The bears are ready to take prisoners when a backpack with "Our Stuff" is stolen after a basketball game. They try to retrieve it with the help of some shady pigeons, but end up making a worse mess all over town.

Ran the 1944 Kismet to test TCM and to watch while I worked on Honey White Bread. Ronald Coleman is magician and "King of the Beggars" Hafiz, who passes himself as the Prince of Hassir to gain entry to the home of the Grand Wazir (Edward Arnold). He's hoping the Wazir will marry his lovely young daughter Marsinah (Joy Page), but she's in love with the man she believes to be the gardener's son (James Craig). Hafiz wants to run away with the Wazir's head wife Jamilla (Marlene Dietrich), but he's caught and arrested for stealing clothes. He gets out of it only by promising to murder the Caliph...but he's the one who's surprised when he realizes whom the Caliph really is. Now he has to dodge the Caliph's men, save Marsinah from the Wazir, and get out of Baghdad with Jamilla, before they all end up losing a lot more than their hands.

Coleman makes for a charming rascal in this Technicolor Arabian Nights confection. Dietrich isn't the first person you'd drop in a story set in old Baghdad, and indeed, she does seem a little out of place. Arnold has more fun as the scheming Wazir. The sets and costumes are gorgeous, looking like illustrations from my old Arabian Nights book come to life. The musical remake has its own fun, but if you're a fan of Coleman or Dietrich or are looking for something closer to the original play, this is worth making appear.

Switched back to the second half of Super Password, just in time to see Jamie Widdoes try to help a lady through the bonus round. He and his new contestant only had slightly more luck with the next puzzles. Comedians Marty and Frenchie Allen were the big winners on Tattletales - and I do mean big, with over 500 won for the red section. 

Everyone got slammed with Whammies in the first half of Press Your Luck. The second half went better. The champ eventually just picked up enough money to beat the one guy and exceed what was then the money limit at CBS, entering the "hall of fame."

Heard giggling on Jodie's side of the house as Press Your Luck ended. Rose was visiting briefly with the kids. Finley was dying to come and see the Cabbies. We bounced on my mattresses (I don't have a real bed) for a few minutes before she played with my Cabbage Patch Kids at their little table and with my stuffed black kitty Luna. Mom, Khai, and one of the neighborhood kids came around a few minutes later to retrieve her...and a few minutes after that to find her favorite blanket.

Worked on writing as the dough rose on the window ledge in my bedroom. Gene explains to Richard that the railroad bought a lot of the land vacated by settlers that the Wild Rider Gang drove away. Sheriff Michael Landon was looking into this before he died...and likely died because someone didn't appreciate his meddling.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched Match Game '79 while having crab cakes and leftover asparagus with my Honey White Bread. (It baked well enough, but the dough came out too cakey and bland.) This week finished with jokes about what a lazy dog chases and Fannie helping a contestant win 10,000 on "__ Harry."

Tonight's Match Game PM episode was hilarious...and actually, rather sweet. A poor lady was so nervous, she couldn't even remember her husband's name! Gene held her hand until she calmed down. Joyce Bulifant was only a little less nervous when she had to help her win 12,000 on "__ Inn." 

It was another close one Sale of the Century. Everyone bought something or won something, and no one pulled ahead until the champ pushed out slightly in the second half. She finally won the Speed Round by two questions, but had more trouble in the Bonus Round.

Finished the night on The Roku Channel with The A-Team. "The Battle of Bel-Air" from the second season introduces reporter Tawnia Baker, who is undercover as a clerk in a security firm. She warns the A-Team that Decker's after them, then recruits them to help her save an oil-sheik from being murdered by corrupt company executives. 

Spring Cleaning Day

Began a cloudy, gloomy morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. I came in during a pitched battle between a young man and a mother-daughter team. The young man won, and went on to only miss one question on the Gold Run as well. He and a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law team were working on their first round when the episode ended.

Moved to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I cleaned up from breakfast. There's lots of new episodes in the neighborhood this month, including "Daniel's Rocking Chair." Mrs. Tiger's clearing out some of Daniel's old toys. He has a hard time giving things away, until he sees his friend Jodi's twin brothers happily playing with his old cars and his little sister Margaret settling in a rocking char that's too small. Prince Wednesday has a similar dilemma in "Prince Wednesday Gives Away His Book." He doesn't want to let his book on rock crystals go, until he sees how much O enjoys it.

"Daniel Does It Himself" when he's able to wait to play in the snow without waking up anyone in the family. He's even prouder when "Daniel Learns to Swing" as well as his friend Jodi. 

My stepmother Jodie brought in two packages as I worked, both from eBay. One held You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, one of the Peanuts DVDs I bought to finish out my collection. The other has the early 50's musical cast album Make a Wish, a vehicle for Nanette Fabray. 

Switched to Match Game '75 while cleaning the kitchen. These episodes are probably among my favorites of the entire year. The first opens with Gene getting very into kissing Dolly Martin's hand. Dolly has a really interesting way of describing "loincloth" later in the episode too, as does Betty White! 

The second episode is absolutely hilarious. Allen Ludden constantly chatters about his fancy "tank" gun; Brett Somers later brags that he let her wear it. Later in the Audience Match, Gene jokingly answers with "I've had Betty," which brings her husband down for a chat. The contestant claims she'd belly dance if she won 5,000...and might have, if the music department hadn't played "Stars and Stripes Forever." Brett and Betty had no problems doing their idea of belly dancing, though! 

Continued with Classic Concentration's "Tournament of Champions" as I finished the kitchen. Every contestant in these two episodes were previous big winners who picked up the car in record time. Instead of the time on the clock for the match-the-car bonus round counting down, it counted up. If a contestant could get it in under the previous contestant's record, they could win the car. The women who won these rounds had no trouble doing so, especially the young lady in the second round who got it in 42 seconds!

Switched to Tubi for Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff as I ordered a chicken cheesesteak and fries from Crown Gyros and Steaks for a special lunch. Bellboy Freddy Phillips (Costello) is accused of murdering criminal attorney Amos Strickland (Nicholas Joy) when he's found with the body. Freddy got angry earlier after Strickland ordered him fired for his incompetence, and now the cops all think he did it. Only house detective Casey Edwards (Abbott) believes in his innocence. There's enough strange people wandering around the hotel to pass for suspects, including the odd Swami Talpur (Karloff), black widow Angela Gordon (Lenore Aubert), and Melton the nervous hotel manager (Alan Mowbray). Casey finally decides to use Freddy as bait, claiming he has a certain blood stained handkerchief that could give the murderer away...but Freddy's not so thrilled when the bodies start piling up and the bullets are all aimed in his direction.

Despite the title, Karloff doesn't really have much to do in this bizarre mystery, other than one sequence where he attempts to hypnotize the childish Freddy. The convoluted mystery is frankly a little dull and hard to follow, and we never do find out what the blackmailing is all about. Abbott and Costello have enough good bits to make this worth a look for their fans, especially when Freddy sets up booby traps all over his room, and in the chase around the cavern near the end.

(Oh, and while my cheesesteak was yummy enough to want to eat at Crown Gyros again, I won't be ordering delivery. They called me at least twice to figure out where I lived...when I'm just a couple of streets down and clearly gave the guy the street name.) 

I moved on to making Cinnamon Raisin Bread while Tattletales was on. Pat Harrington and his wife Marjorie were today's big winners, over Juliet Prowse and her husband Jon McCook and long-time married couple Monty and Marilyn Hall. 

Switched to dusting as soon as I put the dough in my on the ledge in my bedroom to rise. Whammies flew all over the place on Press Your Luck, especially in the first round. The previous champ got hit with so many, he was knocked out almost instantly in the second round. The new champ picked up a trip and lots of cash, among other things.

Went into writing as soon as I finished dusting the apartment. Went back and edited a few things, then added Lee launching into six hundred questions, asking Richard about the robbery and how he and Gene stopped the bandits. Debralee just wants to know if he's taken.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had a quick strawberry-pineapple smoothie while watching Match Game '76. Charles' jokes about the lacy poncho Brett wore ended in the last few minutes with Charles spreading it over his desk and pretending it was a tablecloth and he and Brett were opening a restaurant. Comedian Alfie Wise and singer Jack Jones join Patty Duke, Debralee Scott and the regulars to figure out what you need to have to get into the unemployment offices in Beverly Hills and help Alfie figure out "Price ___" in the Head-to-Head in Match Game PM. 

Everyone did well on Sale of the Century. They all won something, but the other man got a 10 dollar Money Card on a Fame Game and jumped ahead in the Speed Round. He just missed the Bonus Round by one, though...

(Oh, and my Cinnamon Raisin Bread loaves came out beautifully, sweet and spicy and moist. I think yeast bread rises better in this apartment, probably because it's a little warmer in here.)

Finished the night online with Hart to Hart. "The Harts Strike Out" in the third season when a friend of Johnathan dies, leaving his wife and son penniless...except his massive and very valuable collection of baseball cards. After the cards are stolen, the Harts track them to a convention, then have to buy a few of their own to play "flip the card" and get the collection back. 

Easter Memories

Got a rare chance to sleep in on a work day, since I didn't go in until later. Watched It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown while having breakfast. This is basically the same idea as Charlie Brown's All-Stars. Chuck found a sponsor who'll give them uniforms...but there's a catch. This time, they actually have to win a game. That seems impossible, until Freida's little brother Leland joins the team, and they start to put forth real effort.

Switched to The Easter Promise while making Portuguese Easter Bread from my 70's bread cookbook. Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) is thrilled when she learns that Broadway star Constance Payne (Jean Simmons) has returned to her native Clear River, Nebraska. She brags that her dad (Jason Robards) knew her and invites her to dinner and to judge her school's style show. The dinner with her dad and grandmother (Mildred Natwick) becomes awkward quickly when Mr. Mills says he can't understand why Constance wanted to pursue a big dream like acting rather than settle down. Constance keeps asking for wine...and shows up the next day at the style show so drunk, she can't give out the prizes.

Addy's disappointed, but she still manages to convince the despondent Constance to give her and her best friends acting lessons. Everything seems to be going well...until Constance goes on another bender. The girls show up and discover she's gone again and not up to lessons or anything else. Addie's so upset, she's ready to give up on her, but it's Grandma who reminds her that Easter is the time of rebirth and of giving life - and friends - a second chance.

Other than being filmed on a soundstage, rather than the authentic locations of House Without a Christmas Tree, I think I liked this one even more than that movie. Watching Addie and her buddies at the slumber party and decorating eggs reminds me so much of Easter when my sisters and I were 12. We used to giggle in each other's rooms and decorate eggs together, too, usually with Mom supervising. (Only we didn't use blown eggs. We always hard-boiled them.) The style show was an absolute riot before Constance's drunken arrival. Loved Addie in her cute blue and red rickrack dress (especially the hat), and the girl in the cool tulip applique outfit. My favorite was Addie's best friend Cora Sue's (Franny Michael) peach "Hollywood" dress with the feather and ruffle trim. I've always been a sucker for ruffles.

Simmons did very well as Constance, especially in the second half where she warms up to the girls. I also appreciate the message of second chances and Easter being a time for rebirth. Honestly, if you love stories of strong young ladies, the Addie movies, or are looking for a good family movie for Easter (especially for older girls), all of the Addie holiday films are worth checking out.

Worked on writing while the dough rose. Richard blows the gold dust out of the bandit's hand...then blows the gun out of his hand when he tries to shoot Gene. Gene, Gary, and Bill are able to arrest the injured bandit, but the others get away.

Made a Chocolate-Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie for lunch, then let them rise for a bit again. After the second rise, I rolled the bread into twisted circular shapes. You're supposed to put a dyed egg in the center, but I don't dye eggs anymore. I brushed them with egg wash and sprinkled them with pastel colored sugar instead.

Watched Here Comes Peter Cottontail as I worked. I go further into this Rankin-Bass springtime tale from 1971 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Dashed out the second the bread came out of the oven. I got really lucky during the first half of my short shift. They only had one bagger who had to gather carts strewn all over the parking lot by himself. I spent three hours of my four-hour shift helping him round them all up again. I did spend the last hour in a register when an early afternoon cashier went home. At least it was a gorgeous day to be outside, sunny, breezy, and warmer than yesterday, probably in the 50's.

Put on Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement when I arrived home as I got organized and had a snack. Daffy's the host and star of the second Looney Tunes springtime show, but he'd be happier about it if the animator didn't keep giving him a hard time. He and Sylvester spend the first short chasing a gold egg. In the second short, Daffy's the security guard at a chocolate Easter bunny factory trying to keep Speedy Gonzoles from stealing their product for the kids of his village. The final short has Daffy solo as he tries to figure out how to get north without flying.

Took a shower, then went to Amazon Prime for the Doris Day musical My Dream Is Yours. I go further into this tale of a singer and the agent who believes she has what it takes to be a star at my Musical Dreams blog.

Happy Easter! - My Dream Is Yours

Finished the night on YouTube. The Lawrence Welk Show did annual Easter programs every year, always kicking off with some version of "Easter Parade" and everyone in pastel Edwardian spring outfits. "A Tisket, A Tasket" turned up a few times (including a really swinging version on piano by JoAnn Castle in '68 and Arthur Duncan tap-dancing to it in '82). My favorite "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" had Anacani as a little girl in a fluffy ruffled dress, singing and looking for the elusive Peter while Ken Delo as Peter in a goofy bunny suit hid eggs behind her. All three shows ended with a medley of religious hymns; the 80's shows put this in a church set with everyone as an actual choir. There were also two adorable versions of "Tip Toe Through the Tulips" in 1980 and 1982, with dance teams clopping in wooden shoes. 

Easter Show - 1968

Easter Show - 1980

Easter Show - 1982

And here's even more vintage Easter shows to enjoy while you await the arrival of the Easter Bunny!

Silly Symphonies: Funny Little Bunnies

Fabulous Fleischer Folio: Bunny Mooning

A Family Circus Easter

The Smurfs: The Smurfs' Springtime

Easter Egg Mornin'

Thumpkin and the Easter Bunny

Buttons and Rusty Meet the Easter Bunny (A Chucklewood Easter)

Peter and the Magic Egg

The Tale of the Bunny Picnic

The Long Walk Home

Had just enough time for breakfast and two episodes of Bluey before work. Bluey's family is on a "Road Trip" to a campground, but Mum seems to have forgotten the girls' tablets. She reminds them that you don't need computers to have fun and shows them how enjoyable life can be if you slow down and take a look. Meanwhile, their father is trying to avoid ending up behind "The Gray Nomads," a slow caravan of elderly people on vacation. 

She and her friends create their own pretend "Circus" while their parents take part in Election Day. When a big St. Bernard boy picks on the others and tries to force the younger kids to play his way, Bluey finds a way to bring him into the game, too.

Not too many problems getting to work this time. It took me a few minutes, but I did get a ride. After directing him through the shortest route possible through Oaklyn and down the Black Horse Pike, I got into work with no time to spare. It was cloudy and blahh and still chilly, though not nearly as chilly or windy as yesterday. 

Work was quiet when I came in, but by noon, it picked up considerably. That was a problem. We were short on help again, including baggers. The afternoon bagger called out. I ended up doing her sweeping and gathering the carts. I never did get to rounding up the outside trash. 

Picked up a few more things on the way out. My mother's birthday is Saturday. I picked up a Barnes & Noble gift card for her. Found a few interesting things on the clearance shelves, including cinnamon and marshmallow-flavored popcorn, a box of Celestial Seasonings (black) cinnamon tea, and a 12-pack box of watermelon sparkling water. 

It was showering lightly when I got out. I tried and tried to find a ride home on Uber. I tried for almost a half-hour. Either nothing showed up as available, or when they did appear to be available, I couldn't get through to them. I got so fed up with it, I just walked home, sparkling water box and all. I was very fed up when I got home, and my arms were (and are) very sore from carrying that full box.

Put on the 1978 Card Sharks as I had a snack and put everything away when I got home. A very funny little old lady in adorable cat's eye glasses started the show by winning a tiebreaker, and then picking up over 4,000 on the Money Cards. Everything seemed to go her way, as she said...until she was defeated by a sweet young man in a beard who said he'd just become a father for the first time.

Worked on as much writing as I could muster after the show ended and I changed into regular clothes. Richard overhears Ira and Gene arguing over the Wild Rider Gang and the railroad, with Gene pointing out that the gang targets people whom the railroad's owner, Senator Goodson, wants to buy land from. Ira claims he doesn't know anything about it, or Sheriff Landon's untimely death after he was looking into the thefts.

Broke for the last of Jodie's beef stew for dinner at 6:30. Watched Match Game '76 while I ate. The older lady is finally defeated by a sweet but nervous younger woman who is calmed down by a gentle Richard. Meanwhile, Gene introduces Didi Conn (now best known as Frenchy from Grease) to the panel, and Brett's keeping track of Dick Martin's bad answers.

Started Irish Soda Bread for tomorrow as Match Game PM began. Debralee Scott and Jonelle Allen start singing "Battle of Jerico" during a question about Joshua and the wall, prompting jokes about selling albums on TV from Charles and Bill Anderson. Another question about Tonto opening a restaurant inspires some racy racial comments from Jonelle and Gene, and another brings out a rant on the state of the New York subway system from Brett. 

Sale of the Century got very close again tonight. The younger guy kept getting Instant Bargain offers and turning them down to keep up with the champ. It was to no avail. He did badly in the Speed Round, and the champ jumped way ahead of him. He didn't do nearly as well at the Bonus Round this time, though. 

Finished the night on TCM after a shower with My Wild Irish Rose. I go further into this biography of Irish-American actor and songwriter Chauncy Olcott as an early preparation for St. Patrick's Day at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy St. Patrick's Day - My Wild Irish Rose

A Snowy Day at Home

Awoke at 7 to a world covered in white. Snow fell hard on Hillcrest, making it difficult to tell where the road began and the sidewalk and lawns ended. I called the Acme and told them I couldn't come in; got one of the managers, who said that was fine. There's no way I'd get a ride in that mess. The call took less than five minutes, and I was back in bed within fifteen.

Went back to sleep for another two hours before I finally opened my eyes for good. Read the 1940's Connie Blair mystery The Clue In Blue, then worked on my journal. Rolled out of bed in time for Blockbusters. The father-daughter pair defeated the younger man, but only got four questions on the Gold Run. They'd just started playing a solo woman as the show ended. 

Not only was it pretty obvious the snow wasn't stopping anytime soon, by 11 PM, it was starting to mix with sleet and freezing rain, too. It was no day to go anywhere. I texted Jodie and asked her if I could do the laundry at her house today or tomorrow. Since she was fine either way, I figured I'd get it done today. Might as well get it out of the way sooner than later. 

Gave my new Story of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom record a shot after breakfast. And it is new. I found it factory sealed and in perfect shape at The House of Fun. It's what the cover claims, a recording of the score and some of the dialogue from the film. Oddly, considering it's supposed to be for kids, it does include some of the more disturbing scenes from the film like the hearts being ripped out of chests and isn't shy about discussing Willie and Indy's relationship. 

Thought I'd try making some kind of sweet roll with my unexpected free time. I've had mixed results with my cinnamon rolls, but a snowy day felt like the perfect backdrop to give them another shot. This time, I almost forgot the egg in the dough! I kneaded it in, which made the dough sticky. Just ended up adding more flour. Don't think I put enough cinnamon after rolling it out, either. Oh well. The rolls did rise nicely and smelled amazing in the oven.

Finally took the laundry over to Jodie's side of the house while the rolls rose in my bedroom. Jodie was watching something on The Hallmark Channel as I passed through. She had two important pieces of mail for me. I ordered a copy of the original American Girl BeForever version of Never Stop Singing, the other Melody book, off eBay last week; it showed up a day early. Also got my new non-driver's ID.

Put on Match Game '78 as I cleaned up from the roll mess. Tab Hunter of Damn Yankees and Grease 2 and Marilou Henner of Taxi join Brett, Charles, Fannie Flagg, and Dick Martin here. Tab got a surprise match for big money in the first episode; Gene manages to swat a fly that was annoying him in the second.

Worked on writing for a while after moving the laundry to the dryer and the rolls to the oven. Put on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood after the rolls cooled enough to cover in almond milk glaze. Considering how angry and frustrated I've been with all the lunacy at work lately, I thought two episodes on dealing with anger were more than appropriate. 

Daniel is "Mad at the Crayon Factory" when the box-making machine doesn't have enough boxes for him. His mother calms him down long enough to wait for Lady Elaine to put more paper in. He's even more upset when his baby sister Margaret breaks his rainbow crayon, but his mother reminds him that broken crayons still color. He and O the Owl are "Mad at School" after they can't get their "invention" to work. Teacher Harriett shows them how to calm down, so they can think and fix the problem.

(Oh, and the rolls came out incredible. I probably should have used more cinnamon, but the rolls themselves baked beautifully, smelled wonderful in the oven, and tasted moist and flaky.)

Broke to grab the laundry at quarter after three. Caught the second half of Super Password as I went back and forth. This time, Robert Walden was the one who got his contestant to the Super Password bonus round...but alas, they only got about half the letters right. Tough guy comedian Scoey Mitchilll and his beloved wife Claire were the big winners on Tattletales today, over Bill Macy and his then-girlfriend Samantha and William Gray Espy and Janice Lynde. 

Put the laundry away while running Press Your Luck. The previous champ ran headlong into Whammies in both rounds and didn't get much in the way of turns. The one guy also ran into Whammies, leaving the other lady to pick up a trip and squeal as loudly as her platinum blonde fishing buddy, who was contestant on the show earlier in 1984 but lost.

Resumed writing after the show ended. Added a sequence where Gene swings down, just as Goodson is about to send Tom Kennedy over the side. Gene duels with the amiable Goodson...who is a lot less pleasant when he's reminded that everyone, including reporter Robert Walden, could reveal his corrupt ways on land. He's about to take Gene down when Brett flies into him...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching Match Game '74. Nipsey Russell joins Anita Gillette and Jo Ann Worley of Laugh-In, Gene, and the regulars for jokes about President Ford pardoning baseball players and what animal gets put in the mailbox to get back at the mailman. 

Tonight's episode of Match Game PM hasn't been seen since it originally ran in 1977. I understood why when they made a few dicey jokes about an Asian contestant that he handled well, but may not be taken at face value by audiences nowadays. Otherwise, this was actually a pretty fun episode. Eva Gabor and "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson joined in the jokes here.

It was a tight race for the third time this week on Sale of the Century. The champ said she'd just moved and bought a glass coffee table for her new house; the other lady bought a lemon dessert of the month deal and won two of the three Fame Games. The guy bought the Instant Cash. The champ was behind for the second half of the show, but she came back to win the Speed Round and just barely missed the Bonus Round money.

Finished the night watching The Cotton Club on Pluto TV's on demand service after a shower. I go into further details on Francis Ford Coppola's recut version of his 1984 gangster flop at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Cotton Club

Tax Woman

Began a sunny morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. The father-daughter-in-law pair were finally upended by a young gentleman. He did very well in the Gold Run round, missing only one question. He'd just started with a father-in-law and son-in-law pair as the show ended.

Rose called just as I was rolling out of bed. I called her back, then went into my taxes. They were a lot more complicated this year! I got a second W2 for the money I inherited from Dad, and there was the temporary disability from the broken arm. Needless to say, it took me a lot longer to finish than usual. I can normally knock my taxes out in 20 minutes to an hour. It took me over an hour and a half to round up all that information. And I ended up paying the state money! At least Federal's giving me over 1,000. That'll help pay the state. 

After I sent it all out, I made a Raspberry-Squash Smoothie for lunch. Watched the tail end of Match Game '75 before switching to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Teacher Harriet tells O the Owl "You are Special" when he tries to imitate the other kids' talents. He does have a talent none of them do, though. Dan Sr. reminds his son that "Daniel Is Special" when they take a walk through the leaves and he collects a pile to make pictures.

Finally dashed to Jodie's side of the house while she was out to do my laundry. While the sun peeked in and out of silver clouds all day, it remained very windy and way to0 cold to hike to the laundromat. I threw the laundry into Jodie's machine and hurried back to my side of the house, before she came home.

Put on Ski Patrol as I returned and started Butterscotch Bread from one of my bread recipe books...and again when Tubi stopped and the Roku reset itself. Jerry Cramer (Roger Rose) is the laid-back head of the Ski Patrol, who operate out of the old ski lodge run by Pops (Ray Walston). His fellow patrollers include Iceman (T.K Cramer), who loves his karaoke machine, explosives expert Eddie Martinez (George Lopez), and lovely Ellen (Yvette Nipar) who teaches the beginner's classes. There's also Stanley (Paul Feig), who has tried out for the Ski Patrol seven years in a row without making it. Real estate magnate Sam Marris (Martin Mull) wants to build a gigantic ski resort in the area where Pops' lodge is. With the help of Cramer's snooty rival Lance (Corbin Timberbrook), he sabotages the Ski Patrol at every turn...until they all figure out what Marris is up to and band together to save the mountain they love. There's also the nutty guy with three personalities (Sean Gregory Sullivan) who has his own one-man rock band and keeps getting into trouble on the mountain. 

This is one of those wacky random comedies that used to show up constantly on cable in the early 90's. My family loved it then, but we were always big on the Police Academy movies, too. This is pretty much the same deal, but with skiing instead of cops. Interestingly, while it's never been on DVD to my knowledge, it does show up for streaming - it's on Amazon Prime for rent and purchase along with being free on Tubi. Not the most outstanding movie ever, but an amusing way to spend an afternoon if you have fond memories of those cable showings or are a big fan of the slobs vs. snobs comedies of the 80's and early 90's.

Jodie came in towards the end of the movie. Rose was calling me on her cell phone...and she wasn't happy. Why did I do my taxes now? They're too complicated for me to do on my own. Um, I've always done them on my own, with Turbo Tax, and no one has ever complained. Why didn't I wait for more paperwork to come in? Why didn't I wait for her, so we could figure it all out? Because I wanted to get it done and out of the way now. Why wait when you can get something done quickly and with a minimum of fuss? I didn't realize they aren't processing claims until February 12th. They usually take mine right away. 

Now she's more convinced then ever that I have something wrong with me. Something about compulsions. I should probably call Mrs. Stahl again. I tried a couple of times last year, but I never heard from her after April. I called her and gave her my cell phone number after I moved in July, and she never called me back. 

I called her back on my own phone. At least we did manage to figure out the bikes. I told her what I'd narrowed it down to, and she asked me to send her text messages with the model numbers and information. She also said she or Craig would drive me to work during the snowstorm we're supposed to get from Sunday night into Tuesday if I had to work on those days. 

By the time I got off with her, finally slid the bread into the oven, and retrieved my laundry, we'd switched to Press Your Luck. It was all about the ladies today - the one guy Whammied out early. They went back and forth in the second round, with one only winning because she hit a Windjammer cruise on her last turn.

Yes, I did text Rose the bike information she wanted after the show finished. I also checked my schedule for next week, which is usually up on the employee website by mid-Friday. Boy, did I get lucky. I've never been so happy to lose hours. I'm off on Monday and Tuesday along with next Friday. I do work 7 and 8 hour shifts all week except for Saturday, but I'll take it to avoid the weather. (And if the weather does get that bad, they may need me for 8 hours on Sunday anyway.) 

Got some writing in after sliding the bread out of the oven. Goodson not only won't lead them to Charles, he's ready to call his men. Gene is ready to throw him overboard...but Richard says there's someone who may be able to help...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. I set up Lentil and Root Vegetable Stew in the crock pot earlier. Enjoyed it while watching Match Game '74. Skipped ahead a bit to the next week with South American hunk Alejandro Rey and sweet Juliet Mills. While Gene sat down as an excited contestant related her life story, everyone else gave their answers to the "antipasto" question that wondered what Frankenstein would do if he were the only man in the world and Brett was the only lady. Foster Brooks' appearance on Match Game PM assured that there would be several drunk jokes...but he did get to try to help a lady win $7,500. 

For some reason, Sale of the Century jumped back to Varsity Week and skipped the first day. They picked up with a volleyball player, a cheerleader, and a football player. The volleyball player bought one of the Instant Bargains and won the Instant Cash and ultimately killed at the Speed Round. Unlike some of the adults the last few nights, he was easily able to pick up the Bonus Round cash.

Finished the night online, cheering myself up with vintage sitcoms from the 90's. I'd noticed earlier that Disney Plus just put Dinosaurs on their site. Used to love that show in the early 90's. Earl Sinclair, his wife Fran, their three children, and his mother may seem like your typical sitcom family, except for one detail. They're all dinosaurs, full body puppets created by the Jim Henson Workshop. Went with the first season episode "The Mating Dance." Fran is feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated after the hatching of her third child, rambunctious Baby. Earl re-learns the Mating Dance to put some spark back into their marriage.

The second season of Parker Lewis Can't Lose kicked off with "Father Knows Less." Parker's best friend Mikey is angry because his mother can't help him with a project to make a toaster and his father left the family six months before. All the other kids in school are working with their parents, including Parker and his sister Shelly. Parker pairs him with a kid having trouble in school, but Mikey's not having an easy time with him. Meanwhile, their principal Musso butters up the industrialist in charge of the show in the hope of getting a better job.

Family Matters began their second season with the creation of "Rachel's Place." Laura's thrilled when she gets a job at Leroy's, the local hangout...but being a waitress loses its luster when she has to work with clumsy Steve Urkel. Urkel's attempt to work the grill ends with the diner burning down. Rachel has been looking for a job and thinks running a diner would be a great idea...if she can get Carl and Harriet to loan her the money...

Rose is also having money problems on The Golden Girls. "Rose Fights Back" in the fifth season when her husband's pension is cut off and she can't find a second job because of her age. She goes to a popular investigative reporter to complain and try to get a job with him. He almost turns her away because of her age as well, but she finally convinces him to give her a chance. Meanwhile, Sophia is buying everything she can get her hands on in bulk after joining a local warehouse market, and it's driving the ladies crazy. 

New Year's Matches

Began the morning with a phone call from Rose as I read Christmas and New Year's stories by L.M Montgomery. She invited me over to her house for lunch and to do my laundry, instead of hiking to the laundromat on a cold, cloudy day. I happily accepted her offer. I hadn't met their new puppy Cider yet, and I'm tired of braving the weather.

After I finally finished, I had breakfast and Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! Charlie Brown's stuck reading War and Peace over Christmas break for a school project. He's easily distracted by Peppermint Patty's big New Year's Eve party, especially once he realizes he can invite the Little Red Haired Girl to be his date.

Began whole-wheat rolls while watching Rudolph's Shiny New Year. I go further into this Rankin-Bass tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews New Year's blog entry from last year. 

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

Did this year's New Year's Eve review while finishing the rolls. Once I signed into TCM on my TV (which took a few minutes), I was able to watch the Debbie Reynolds-Eddie Fisher romantic musical comedy Bundle of Joy. I also go further into this at Musical Dreams Movie Reviews.

Happy New Year's Eve! - Bundle of Joy

Rose knocked on my door as the movie was winding down. She drove me to her house; got to say hi to Craig just as he left for his job as a chef at a high-end Italian restaurant in Haddon Heights. Finley was watching her favorite show Bubble Guppies and playing with Cider, their new puppy. She's a frisky miss who is white with pale brown spots. She's teething, so she tends to want to chew on everything...especially the little legs of her older sister Kelsey the Miniature Pincher. 

After Rose showed me where her washer and dryer were in the basement, we went upstairs and had lunch. She treated all of us to hoagies from WaWa. I had a roast beef and provolone "shorti" on a whole-wheat roll. As I ate, Rose opened the blow-outs she bought for tonight and let Finley and me play with them.

I spent the next few hours watching cartoons with Finley, and then with Khai and the dogs after he was dragged from video games and she took a nap. While Cider and Kelsey chased each other, Lynx the big striped cat decided he wanted to leap from Cider's enclosure up onto the scratching post he shares with his little sister Toothless and watch all from above. 

Rose switched to Netflix, first with We Bare Bears. Finley loves it when the three goofy Cartoon Network bears are baby bears, as in "Christmas Movies." The Baby Bears are working in a video store and watching Christmas videos all night when they hear a voice. A burglar wants to steal their holiday cheer...but the bears make use of what they've seen in the movies to convince him it's better to give than receive. 

The bears make their own metal fourth "Imaginary Bears" member, but he ends up causing more trouble than he's worth. Grizz Bear works at "The Mall" as a cop, while Panda tries to see a famous singer and Ice Bear joins a figure skating competition. The bears discover "Tunnels" under Panda's bed, dug by moles who worship his adventure comics. The have to convince the moles to help them keep their home from sinking. The baby bears return to help a young woman in Japan perfect her "Ramen" and impress her father, a former ramen chef who still owns her shop.

After Finley passed out, we switched to Khai's favorite, The Garfield Show. This is more-or-less an updated CGI version of Garfield and Friends, with more characters from the comics and no "Friends." I have to admit, I like the CGI here -it's made to look like rubbery stop motion animation. 

"Little Angel" appears to be a kitten, but he's no angel. He's really a nasty older cat who makes a mess and gets Garfield thrown out. Garfield has to alert an animal catcher to his location to get rid of him. Garfield becomes a "Fraidy Cat" when a mad scientist who uses his gizmo to eliminate Jon's fear of mice uses it to make Garfield afraid of cats...including himself. 

After Rose dropped me off, I put everything away, then worked on writing. They're able to find Goodson's cabin, but it's locked. Gene ties the sheets together to swing into the cabin through the window...but Betty may have another way...

Switched to Holiday Inn while making ham and Swiss sliders with roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potato fries for my New Year's Eve dinner. I go further into the Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire musical that introduced the beloved song "White Christmas" at a previous Musical Dreams Movie Review from New Year's 2019. 

Happy New Year! - Holiday Inn

Finished the night making an Orange Cake with Whipped Cocoa Frosting while watching Buzzr's Match Game "Blanking In the New Year" marathon. The New Year's episodes on the 70's Match Game were legendary, with streamers and balloons falling at the end (or in 1977, the beginning) of the episode and Gene announcing the changing of the show's logo to reflect the upcoming year. In 1976, a huge paper mache bird dropped an egg with a 1977 label into Charles Nelson Reilly's waiting arms. Charles popped a huge 1974 balloon, revealing a smaller 1975 one, and he and Brett launched the new sign in 1978 by breaking champagne bottles over it.

Here's the New Year's marathon on the Match Game Productions YouTube channel from last year, so you can ring in 2021 with all of the panelist's wild, matching antics! 

Match Game New Year's Eve Marathon

As I switched to The Price Is Right and made my usual Whipped Syllabub, I heard popping out my kitchen window. Fireworks exploded over the river, blooming with sparkles of white and gold. Here's hoping that all of you had a glowing evening and enjoy a safe, healthy, and far happier 2021!