Chilled Spring Matches

Once again began the day at work. It was pretty much the same deal as yesterday. I spent the entire morning (save 20 minutes where I cleaned up an iced tea spill) outside with the carts. The weather was a little strange. It was mostly sunny, chilly, and very windy...but somewhere around noon, it clouded up and spit a little. At one point, it even snowed lightly. The snow vanished quickly, and by the time I went home, the sun was back and would remain out for the rest of the day.

I saw a message from Mom while checking my phone during break. My brother Keefe is sick. Mom said he has all the symptoms of the virus but a fever, and his wife may have been effected, too. Keefe lives in Virginia, where he works building ships for the Navy. They can't stay 6 feet from each other in the warehouse where they build the ships. It just isn't possible. I'm so worried. All I want is for him to be all right.

When I got home, I changed and got organized while watching my first Good Eats: The Return episode. I'm not the only one who's discovered the delights and ease of icebox cakes in the last few years. Alton shows people how to make the perfect chocolate-coffee and strawberry cheesecake frozen cakes. While I'm not a fan of cheesecake, the chocolate-coffee cream cake is pretty simple, and I may try it someday.

Worked on writing for an hour after I had a snack. Charles finally drags Richard back to Gene and the ladies. Gene says they'll be going to the ball - all of them. Ethel tries to encourage them to consider letting her daughters accompany them, but they insist on meeting them there.

Spent the next couple of hours with today's Match Game marathon. Along with Patty Duke, Eva Gabor may be the best-known star at the time to have been a semi-regular. Today, she's best-remembered as the glamorous wife who would rather have lived in New York than Green Acres, and for her voice work in The Rescuers films and The Aristocats. On Match Game, she was known for her adorable accent, her odd spellings, and for her utter delight in just being there and having a good time.

She was around in 1979 for the hilarious week that featured the only non-humans to have appeared on the panel, beloved vintage TV puppets Kukla and Ollie. Brett lead a march that included them dancing and Eva singing along. She won $20,000 for a grateful young woman in the Kukla and Ollie PM episode. A young man was so enthusiastic after she won him $10,000 in another PM, he accidentally kicked her toes in open-toed sandals hard and took off her toenail! As Gene said later, she was a good sport about it. She, Brett, and Elaine Joyce helped Gene show off a young contestant's wonderful artwork of birds in a later syndicated episode from 1982.

Here's the entire marathon, so you can match wits with everyone's favorite Hungarian glamour girl, dahhling! And stay tuned for tomorrow's marathon at 2 PM, devoted to tough guy comedian Scoey Mitchlll.

The Best of Eva Gabor on Match Game Marathon 1977 - 1982

I also put on I Married an Angel towards the end of the night. I go further into this unusual romantic fantasy that was the last movie to feature Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy together at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - I Married an Angel

To My Sister's House I Go

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I began mine with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. They feature a short story on the first Thanksgiving, as well as several poems and the old song "Over the River and Through the Woods."

The Disney anthology Storybookland has a short story set around Thanksgiving, "Pilgrim's Party." Mickey and the gang decide to do their Thanksgiving the old fashioned way and head into New England to have dinner with the pilgrims and Indians at Plymouth Rock. It's all fun and historical cosplay, until Pluto steals the turkey!

Kit Kitteredge isn't feeling too grateful in the last two chapters of Kit Learns a Lesson. It's the height of the Great Depression, and Kit is upset that they've taken in boarders that have invaded her home and worried that her father will have to leave town to find work. When she and her friends Ruthie and Sterling bring the food from their class charity drive to a soup kitchen, she makes a shocking discovery there...and learns how much she really has to be thankful for.

Had a quick breakfast while watching Garfield's Thanksgiving. Garfield's not too happy with his holiday celebration, either. Liz the Veterinarian put him on a strict diet, right before John invited her for Thanksgiving dinner. Jon has never cooked a turkey dinner in his life, and his mind is really more on romance anyway. Good thing Grandma Arbuckle from the Christmas special comes around to make things right.

Watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on YouTube for the next few hours. A lot of folks were worried that the high winds today would discourage them from using the balloons, but they did eventually let them fly. They just kept them low to the ground. My favorites of the new balloons I hadn't seen before were the adorable Green Eggs and Ham one with Sam I Am and his buddy driving the ham and Astronaut Snoopy, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in his bright colored space suit.

Worked on writing for an hour after the parade ended. Donald is happily watching his date eat every bit of seafood at the booth, in their shells, when the others arrive. Gene tells her that they know she's the Princess Patti and that the queen is after her. What they don't know is how she ended up on land. Patti reveals the reflection in a rain barrel to tell them what happened...

Headed out for Rose's house around 12:30, with the two loaves of bread and the box with the remaining Kimberly-Clark items I wanted to give her. At least it was a nice day for a stroll. While it was just as windy here as in New York, it was also mostly sunny and warmer than you might think, probably in the lower 50's. (Definitely better than the lower 30 degree temperatures we had at Thanksgiving last year.)

Rose's small house was full when I arrived. Mom, my brother Keefe, and his new wife Julia had arrived from Cape May County earlier this morning; Keefe and Julia drove up to Mom's house in the Villas from Virginia a few days ago. Evidently, Keefe and Julia decided it would be easier to not go through all the hassle and cost of a big wedding and got married in front of a justice of the peace a few months ago. (No one around here tells me anything.)

There was a huge spread out in the dining room. Everyone gathered around plates of cheese and Triscuits and Vegetable Thins, a vegetable tray with home-made ranch dressing, a home-made cheese ball, and pumpkin butter and blackberry jam. Khai mostly hung out on the bunk beds in his room, watched cartoons, and avoided us. Kelsey the Miniature Pincher tried to snitch food, while Lynx the striped cat wound through ankles and his sister Toothless the black cat kept out of sight as much as she could.

Two-year old Finley woke up as the first football game of the day between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears was on its second half. It was a real nail-biter of a game, too. Both teams played very well, but the Bears finally managed to push ahead in the end, 24-20.

Craig decided Finley needed to let off steam, so he, Keefe and I took her out into the backyard. She showed me her big blue sandbox and her brother's hula hoop. Craig and Keefe discussed where they want to put the new fence that will replace the ragged wooden one that currently sits on the property.

After the game, Rose switched on a show called Bubble Guppies for Finley to keep her occupied and away from the food. Bubble Guppies revolves around six mer-kids and their mer-puppy who discuss either discuss a top relevant to toddlers, like fire fighters or dentists, or do a spoof of adventures or pulp fiction. The first one we saw was a fairy tale that had two of the mer-kids figure out how to gather the ingredients to restore their Bubble-Puppy after a witch turns him into a frog.

Finley found the contents of my purse to be more interesting. I showed her my wallet, coupon holder, cell phone, and my "lucky piece," but she really liked my note pad that I mainly use to write down story ideas when I'm in a restaurant or have to wait somewhere. I let her scribble her own "story ideas" on several of the blank pages.

We finally ate dinner around 4. It was an absolute feast. The turkey was huge, juicy, and so, so flavorful! Along with favorites like sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, and rolls, Rose made brown sugar baby carrots and replaced the gunky green bean casserole with sauteed green beans with fried onions and bacon bits. Oh, yum! She really outdid herself. I loved it all, especially the sweet potatoes and green beans.

Mom, Julia, and Keefe joined Finley and I for Bubble Guppies after dinner. They weren't terribly amused. As cute as the show is, it never addresses the problem that many of the activities shown - like fighting fires and chasing dragons - simply can't be done under the water and aren't logical. I say they were over analyzing things a bit. It's just a show for young kids. They can learn what's real and what isn't. I ignored them and showed Finley a Match Game marathon on my cell phone.

Everyone was more than a little worn out by the time dessert was on the table. Mom is still getting the hang of her smaller stove and burnt the crust on her pumpkin pie...but the filling was just as tasty. Rose bought apple and cherry tarts and Italian cookies from Desserts By Design in Audubon. I enjoyed the pie and apple tart with real, home-made whipped cream.

Finley went into the shower after we finished eating, allowing the rest of us to switch to the last quarter of the Bills-Cowboys game. The Bills were already kicking their rears when we came in, 26-7. The Cowboys managed to get a touchdown and a two-point conversion shortly after we started watching, but it wasn't enough. They ultimately lost 26-15.

Craig and Keefe drove me home. Rose deemed the old microwave cart in the basement too grimy to be saved, but she was able to give me a book shelf and a computer chair. The chair is sort of rickety and I may not keep it, but the shelf is perfect for my bedroom and will work just fine. I'll put the books in it tomorrow. She also gave me a huge bag of leftovers to take home.

Finished the night with Meet Me In St. Louis. I go further into this classic tale of the year in a life of a family preparing for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Meet Me In St. Louis

Remembering My Dad

I was up way too late last night and overslept. I barely had time to get dressed, eat breakfast, and round up the cookies for Anny and her crew before I heard from Dad and Jodie. I wanted to wear my black skirt, but I had no good shoes to go with them. I settled for black jeans, my dark teal long-sleeved t-shirt, and sneakers (and being warm).

It was cloudy, windy, humid, and way too warm, probably in the mid-70's, when Dad and Jodie picked me up around 10:30. Thankfully, other than a few sprinkles, the rain held off. We took the long away across the Pine Barrens, past Tuckahoe and Maurice River, onto the Garden State Parkway past Cape May Court House and Rio Grande. At least the foliage has finally started turning colors here. Some of the trees were really incredible shades of orange, rust, golden yellow, and lime green.

They dropped me off at Mom's house around noon. (Dad and Jodie spent the afternoon at the home of their friends Brian and Diane, who live in West Cape May.) Rose and her family and my brother Keefe and his girlfriend were already there, watching Trolls while Rose did Finley's hair. Keefe had come up from Norfolk, Virginia, where he currently lives. Mom didn't get in until later with cold-cuts to make wraps and sandwiches. I had a turkey-provolone wrap with spinach and pickles as Anny arrived not long after with her sons Skylar and Collyn, daughter Lilah, and boyfriend Jay.

One surprise was my Aunt Terri and her son Adam, up from the Smoky Mountains in Virginia. I haven't seen them since the late 90's, when Adam used to visit Anny regularly. (He and Anny are close in age and are good friends.) Aunt Terri is Mom's younger sister. We went to Thanksgiving at their house a couple of times in the 80's, and Rose stayed with her for a while in 2001-2002 when she was finishing school at American University in Washington DC. Aunt Terri knows I love to bake. She sent me the Betty Crocker Cooky Book that I get my Merry Christmas Molasses Cut-Outs and Cherry Coconut Bars recipes from for Christmas around 2000. I spent all of that Christmas Day looking over that book.

The memorial service was at Evoy Funeral Home on Breakwater Road in North Cape May, just five minutes from Mom's house in Erma. It's a beautiful old building with a pond and trees in front. I have fond memories of riding past it on my way to the Villas Library or to visit my friend Bridget in the 90's and early 2000's. I'd stop to get a Clearly Canadian at the Eckards across the street (now a Rite Aid) and wonder if it was just as grand inside.

It is. There was a nice, if musty, foyer with a fireplace when we entered. The brown and gold main room was filled with people. The line of people Mom, Keefe, and Rose greeted stretched all the way around the room and into the foyer. I saw Keefe's old friend Austin Carson and his mom Diane. Mrs. Carson was my teacher at Lower Cape May Regional High School in the 90's, and she became friends with Mom after Austin and Keefe got to be pals in pre-school. In fact, Austin helped Keefe with the flowers and decorations.

Grandma Ann, Dad's mom, is my last living grandparent. She's still very much alive and kicking at 91. (And she tells stories that are almost as good as her son's were.) Aunt Mary, Dad's vivacious younger sister who lives in Manhattan, was with her. They were joined by Dominique, the daughter of Dad's older brother Dennis, and her husband. Dennis and his family lived here briefly around 1990. I remember babysitting Dominique and how crazy she was about Barney the Dinosaur. I had to see a lot more of the videos than I would have preferred the winter I looked after her.

Along with several of Mom and Dad's current neighbors in Erma, I saw some of my sisters' long-time buddies. Sheila came up from Virginia; Colleen came from Harrisburg. They were Rose's best friends in high school, and they keep in touch with her via Facebook and e-mail. (And Colleen takes the train down from Harrisburg from time to time.) Joey is a teacher in Middle Township, representing him and his twin brother Jason, who just started a new job and couldn't get out of work. Anny's old friends Jenny and Rachel apparently live a few hours away, but keep in touch with Anny on Facebook and came down as soon as they heard. Dad and Mom were like parents to all of them.

The flowers were absolutely gorgeous, several of them sent by old friends of Dad's. One couple ordered a beautiful four-foot anchor made from white roses from a local florist. Another gave Mom a really lovely autumn bouquet for her living room.

It was nearly quarter of 3 by the time everyone sat down. Since it was so late, the pastor kept his speech brief. He quoted from the funeral home's obituary for Dad, talking about how Dad was a beloved "Poppy" to his grandchildren, and how he could relate because he had grandkids of his own. He spoke of Dad's 40 years as a fisherman, and how his loved ones always looked forward to when he came home.

And that's when I finally started crying...because it's true. We did look forward to Dad coming home from a fishing trip. He'd call from whatever boat he was working on, and we'd all gather around the phone, hoping to talk to him. And when he came home, in his oversized canvas work gear, he'd give us all hugs and kisses before his wife reminded him that he smelled like fish and that he needed to get in the shower.

I closed my eyes and just let the tears fall. Daddy is never going to come home again. I'll never get that fishy hug, or hear him tease Mom and call her "darlink." He'll never take me for a ride around Cape May on his motorcycle, never hug his grandchildren, or go fishing with Keefe or put Anny on his shoulders or play catch with Rose. Mom held my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, but I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't face her, or anyone.

Daddy, I know you're in a better place, but...I miss you. And I always will.

I'd recovered by the time the pastor finished. Rose, Anny, Keefe, and I looked over the three boards filled with old photos of Dad Keefe and Mom dug out of our family collections. There were so many wonderful memories! I saw one of him and me from probably the early-mid 90's, from the giant pink-framed glasses I'm wearing. There was one of him holding Anny as a tiny infant, with a 6-year-old Rose perched on the arm of his favorite chair, I think from right after we moved to the house on Maryland Avenue in Cape May. There were a couple of him in his younger years in the 70's, complete with tube socks and a giant Afro.

Poor Anny was still crying. Rose hugged her...and I hugged them as hard as I could. Keefe looked over, said "what the hell," and threw his arms around the three of us. We stood there for a few minutes, laughing and crying and holding each other. It felt so good.

Jodie and Dad picked me up around 3:30. Almost everyone else was either going home, or back to Mom's house, including Mom and my sisters. Keefe was the only one who was moving on to the Red Brick Ale House, formerly the Bayshore Inn, Dad's favorite watering hole after we moved to North Cape May in the 90's. I think the after-party was mostly for Dad's old fishing cronies.

They dropped me off at my place around quarter after 5. I wasn't up for much more than scrambled eggs with cheese and mushrooms and Cranberry Flummery for dinner. After I ate, I pulled out my own collection of photos, looking for non-holiday pictures of Dad. Actually, along with finding pictures of Dad, I finally dug up some pictures I thought were lost, including the photo of me in my Velma costume from Halloween 2010.

I went for a walk in Wildwood Crest one day when I was bored around 2003-2004, during my time in Wildwood. Since I had extra pictures on my camera and this was the height of the hotel demolition spree there, I took photos of some of the vintage 50's-60's hotels before they were gone. Of the six or so hotels I photographed, two of them, the Three Coins and the Tahiti, were eventually victims of the wrecking ball. (I swear I took more photos, but I may have given some to Dad-Bruce, who used to work as a lifeguard in Wildwood during it's 60's-70's heyday.)

Watched episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood while I looked over the books. The show's premise was simply. Kindly Fred Rogers introduces kids to his home, his fish, and the unique residents of his neighborhood (inspired by his real-life neighborhood in Pittsburgh). My favorite of the real-life residents was the storyteller, who invented a sweet tale of a bubble that entrapped a king who thought it was bad. No one could get him out...except his daughter, who treated the bubble like the toy it was.

The second half of the show focused on the Land of Make-Believe, a world where puppets and humans interacted. This is where the piecemeal episode selection became a problem. The Land of Make Believe story-line ran throughout the week. Characters would refer to events in episodes that weren't included on the set. It was nice to see all the characters again, though, especially my old favorite Henrietta Pussycat. My favorite episodes had King Friday convince Lady Elaine to return to the Land of Make Believe with her revolving museum after he lifted a rule that banned play, and the rather sweet segment that had Lady Aberlin helping Daniel Tiger to test his new string walkie-talkie, then staying with him when it started to rain.

Finished out the night after a shower with Ant-Man and the Wasp. Why wasn't Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in Avengers: Infinity War? He was under house arrest after the events of Captain America: Civil War. With only days left until he's released, he receives a message from Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfiffer), Hope's (Evangeline Lilly) mother, the original Wasp who is now trapped in the quantum realm. He passes the message onto Hope and her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglass). Despite not being happy with Scott over the Civil War incidents, they agree to get him out and leave a decoy so the FBI won't know. Hank manages to create a tunnel into the realm, but they need a special part to make it work. Unfortunately, the black market dealer they buy it from double-crosses them when he realizes how much money he could make off the suits.

Things get even worse when a young woman with unstable molecules (Hannah John-Kamen) appears to go right through them, shrinking Hank's lab to the size of a cube and taking off with it. She's the daughter of  one of Hank's former partners, who killed himself and his wife and damaged his daughter's molecular structure with one of his experiments. Now they have to get the lab back before the tunnel to Janet closes, all while making sure the FBI doesn't know Scott's out of the house.

While the whole "quantum tunnel" thing was a little strange, this was mostly just as much fun as the first movie. Lilly and Rudd in particular were having a great time as the couple who are still figuring out how to work all this shrinking and growing. (And Michael Pena was just as much fun this time around as Scott's goofy buddy Luis.) If you need a few laughs in your superhero films after the darkness of Justice League and Infinity War, you'll want to give this one a look.

(And incidentally, we did get lucky in one way. It didn't start really raining hard here until around 7, by which time I was already watching Mr. Rogers and long at home.)

It's All Over But the Shouting at Work

First of all, The Adventures of the Crimson Blade, the story I've been working on for the past month and a half, is now complete at my Remember WENN fanfiction site! I hope you're all in the mood for some reading. It wound up being 29 chapters, plus a prologue and epilogue set after the episode "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." I'll be posting it at a new blog and Fanfiction.net in the coming days.

The Adventures of the Crimson Blade at the WENN Fanfiction Library

The weather continued to be gloomy. I ran more Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater to brighten the morning as I ate breakfast. "Cinderkitty" would rather throw forward passes than be a cheerleader. She gets to do both with the help of her fairy godmother. A cursed TV set turns Princess Kitty into "Sleeping Kitty." Can Prince Tuxedo Sam break the spell? Hello Kitty learns that it's not a good idea to enter the house of a stranger, especially a strange family of pizza-loving bears, in "Kittylocks and the Three Bears." Kitty gets to save Sam in "Kitty and the Beast." Nasty witch Fangora has turned Sam into a pig-like beast. Catnip is more interested in his castle than his heart, but Kitty knows he's really a softie underneath. "Snow Kitty and the One Dwarf" has Kitty on the run from a jealous Evil Queen Catnip. Grinder the dwarf does his best to keep her safe.

Work was no fun at all. Between the beginning of the month crowd and the gloomy weather, people were not in the best of moods. One woman even had a screaming fit when a man told her she had too many groceries for the express lane. She was hollering curse words at the top of her lungs, even to our head manager! Supposedly, the man with her later said she hadn't taken her medication. She was lucky they didn't call the cops on her - there's a police station a block from the shopping center. My relief was late, too. I barely got out on time.

When I did finally got home, I called Mom. She, on the other hand, was in a great mood. She's working on a small rag doll for my sister Anny's baby daughter Lilah, a mini version of the larger rag dolls she made for Rose and me as kids. Mom's still working at the Ferry, but her hours limit there will be running out soon, and she'll have some time off. Oh, and she finally heard from Keefe. He's still in the Navy. He was on the Lincoln for a while. He's apparently renting a nice high-rise apartment with friends and is looking for a house near the base.

I made Blueberry-Honey Muffins, then had leftovers for dinner while watching an old favorite of mine, The Pirate Movie. In this version of The Pirates of Penzance, Mabel is a nerdy Australian girl who meets the guy of her dreams, only to lose him to her spoiled friends. When she goes after them, she falls off her boat...and into a dream that turns her into the spirited daughter of a major general, the object of her affections into a former pirate, her friends into her prim sisters, and the people she met earlier that day into a raucous group of goofy buccaneers. When the dream gets out of hand, Mabel finally learns that she can stand up for herself and others and take control of her dreams and her life.

Yes, I'm aware that this is not a straight version of Penzance, that the additional music is dated, and it's all a lot goofier than many people (and critics) would prefer. I don't care. My sisters and I loved this movie as kids, and I still enjoy it. If you like other odd 80's musicals like Xanadu, pirate tales, Mel Brooks-type spoof, or just want to see a rare movie with an action heroine, this is highly recommended if you can find it and really cute to watch.

A Beautiful Day for Banana Bread

Started out a sunny spring day with Brunch With the Beatles. "The Beatles at the BBC" - their live recordings made for various BBC shows on the radio in 1963 and 1964 - was the theme today. The songs heard included "Chains," "I Feel Fine," "You Really Got a Hold On Me," "'Till There Was You," and "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" I made Velvet Spring Spice Pancakes (made with melted butter spread rather than canola oil) as I listened.

Called Mom around 11. She was enjoying some quiet time after my two older nephews Skylar and Collyn's overnight visit. Evidently, not only did Keefe stick around, but he found more than enough things to do - he was barely home the whole week. He did get to spend some time with his nephews, though, much to Mom's amusement. Sounds like Dad is feeling better, too. Mom said he's still coughing a little, but nothing like last week. Rose must be feeling better as well - Mom mentioned that she and Anny were going to take their boys to the Cape May County Zoo later in the day.

I read the remaining two books I took out on the 80s as I ran Olivia Newton John's Greatest Hits Volume 2 after the Beatles show ended. The more interesting of the two, The Eighties, seems to have been written for British teens at the end of the decade. It actually gives a very interesting overview of the teen culture of the time, something I didn't really notice then except for on TV and in John Hughes movies, and certainly not the English version. I do remember hearing about the New Romantic movement (mainly because Mom loved the ruffled flowing shirts and big pants that were popular with that group), and hip-hop actually made it here sooner than to many parts of the country, thanks to our proximity to many of the largest cities in the US.

Other 80s fads passed South Jersey and my family by or barely registered. The whole "preppy/yuppie" thing was not largely well-received in an area whose year-round population was mostly fishermen, teachers, shop owners, dock workers, and Coast Guard officers. There was a Benetton on the Washington Street Mall in Cape May during the 80s, but that's as far as preppy went. Don't remember a lot of heavy metal enthusiasts, either (with the exception of fellow New Jerseyan Bon Jovi). I heard about break dancing, but the only time I ever tried it was one afternoon in kindergarten. The teachers had the kids attempt some moves inside when it rained during recess and we were really bored.

Headed to work around 1:30. While it was just as busy today as it has been all weekend, the nice weather (and the fact that it isn't going to suddenly go away now that we're well into April) must have finally registered with people. Almost everyone was in a far better mood than they have been. I was in and out with no major problems.

I defrosted chicken legs on Thursday, intending to make them then, but I ran out of time. I finally decided to slow cook 'em. I tossed them in the pot with molasses, chicken broth, water, onions, and the last of the pizza sauce. I must have overdid the water - there was yellow broth mess all over the top of the stove when I came home. It didn't seem to affect the legs. They were delicious, so soft they fell off the bone. I had a tasty meal with a Romaine lettuce salad.

I decided to try Alton Brown's banana bread recipe after dinner. I replaced the oat flour with whole wheat flour (I don't have any oat flour), cut the sugar in half, replaced half that sugar with fruit juice concentrate, and used two egg whites instead of two whole eggs. I think I must have put too much water in; it took twice as long to cook as it should have. The batter seemed a little sweet; we'll see what it's like when it cools.

Beginnings of the Spring Holidays

Started a cloudy morning with The Lion In the Valley (the next Amelia Peabody book I'm reading), Carrot-Spice Pancakes, and Brunch With the Beatles. The US-only Beatles Second Album was in the spotlight today. Don't worry, until I started listening to this show, I never heard of this album, either. Capitol apparently cobbled it together from earlier releases. It's main features were remakes of early rock hits, including "Money (That's What I Want)," "Shout," and "Roll Over Beethoven." Because it's also the shortest Beatles album at a little under a half-hour, they threw in a couple of tracks from a few early concerts to fill out the show.

After I cleaned up from breakfast, I decided it was finally time to take down the St. Patrick's Day decorations and put up the Easter stuff. I have a few more things for Easter than I did last year. Mom gave me some of her Easter decorations that she didn't want when I visited her in the fall. Her pretty quilted egg-shaped table runner went on the dining area table. The resin figure of the bunny holding the gardening tools went next to the small shelf with the rock CDs. The beautiful raffia garland with wooden painted eggs hanging off of it was hung on the window overlooking the path to the apartment. The mini-garland with the tiny wooden eggs, birds, and bunnies was draped around the top of the baker's rack. Two wooden cut-out tulips on raffia were hung on bare nails around the apartment. There's a few more tulips and eggs left; I'll see if I can find some ribbon to hang them up in the next few weeks.

I went to work shortly after finishing the decorations. Work was very busy all afternoon, which isn't uncommon on a Sunday. There's March Madness going on, along with a lot of birthdays. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 5:30 that I was able to leave with no relief.

When I got home, I put Italian breaded chicken cutlets, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts in the oven to bake for dinner and called Mom. She was mostly in a pretty good mood. She had Anny and Skylar visiting when I tried to call earlier. She was a little annoyed that my brother Keefe had just called her from the Navy in Norfolk a few days ago and declared that he's coming to visit for two weeks. That would be great....if this wasn't late March. There just isn't much to do in Cape May County at this time of the year. Mom says he'll probably be there for five days, tops, before getting bored and leaving.

I went right in the bath after I finished eating. Ahhh, that felt sooo nice. My back is a little stiff from all the computer work I did last week. I really need a new computer chair. I've had the old one since I moved in. It moves stiffly now, and the vinyl is a cracked, broken mess. Dad said he had a chair I might be able to have; I'll have to ask him about that.

Rockin' On the New Moon

Started a cloudy, warm, and humid morning with Blueberry Molasses Pancakes and Brunch With the Beatles. "Rock and Roll Music" - that is, Beatles songs that were pure rock, or covers of earlier rock songs - were the focus today. Covers included "Twist and Shout," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Rock and Roll Music" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy." Among the rockin' Beatles originals were "Paperback Writer," "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Revolution."

Called Mom while my pancakes were cooking. Mom was preparing lunch while my nephew Skylar played Kirby on the Wii. She generally seemed to be in a better mood than last week. For one thing, my stepfather was out riding on his motorcycle for the day. For another, she had a surprise visit from my brother Keefe. He took leave from the Navy for a week to attend the funeral of a beloved high school teacher. He also confirmed that he'll be taking an apartment with a couple of friends of his for a few months in North Carolina while he finishes his training and he wanted to take all the stuff left in his room with him. Evidently, he (barely) passed the written exams, but the hands-on parts of the testing are backed up due to three of the four prototypes they're supposed to work on being out of commission. He and his friends can get their apartment organized.

This means my parents now have a spare room to play with. It doesn't sound like they've decided what to do with it yet. Mom wants to get a new TV and DVD player to replace Keefe's sound system and possibly turn it into a den or playroom, or expand her office/workroom. Another idea is as a spare room for Dad, who tends to pass out in front of the TV downstairs instead of attempting to go upstairs to sleep.

I ran the Seekers' Georgy Girl record while fooling around with the laptop after breakfast and the Beatles ended. It was ok, mainly covers of 60s hits and kind of disappointing given I love the title song. Coupled with several scratches in the beginning that caused skips, I opted to put it in the back room to donate it to the local libraries.

The clouds had been building all morning. It was just starting to shower lightly as I headed for work. While it was fairly busy, especially early on, the rain kept it from being as crazy as yesterday. My relief was on-time, and I got out with no problems. Grabbed sponge cake dessert shells and Acme generic whipped topping to make berry shortcake when I got home.

I made an omelet with spring vegetables, then had my Raspberry Shortcake while listening to the New Moon record I found at Oaklyn's Town-Wide Yard Sale. This is a collection of recordings made for the original London cast of this venerable 20s operetta. I love it. It has far more music and more of the original stouthearted swashbuckler romance feel than either my shorter studio cast album on CD or the MacDonald/Eddy movie.

And I'd like to say a final farewell to Paul Mathis, a long-time and much-loved English, drama, and humanities teacher at Lower Cape May Regional High School, who died suddenly last week. I had him for Humanities my senior year, and was coached in the school play and musicals by him. He was the only teacher at Lower who let you choose and argue for your own grade. I remember him driving me home from school and the conversations about old movies and musicals we used to have. He will be much missed.

Recipe for a Quiet Day

Though it was sunny when I awoke, it was also rather cold for April in Southern New Jersey, probably in the mid-50s. I snuggled into bed, read the lunacy that is Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and wrote in my journal before switching on Brunch With the Beatles. "Beatles B-Sides" was the theme today, and we heard a great deal of them. Among the "B sides" of singles were such well-known hits as "I Saw Her Standing There," "Something," "I Am the Walrus," "I Should Have Known Better," and "Strawberry Fields Forever."

My breakfast didn't go as well as the show. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally burned my first Oatmeal Brown Sugar Pancake until it was tough and didn't cook the third enough. Oh well. They still tasted pretty good. I tried to call Mom, but she had my sister Anny and her son Skylar over; I'd call back after work.

Spent the rest of the afternoon doing things around the apartment. I went online to check my bank balance and see my paycheck at PNC.com. I'm going to continue to go easy on shopping. I really do need that laptop, and I don't want to spend myself into an empty account, like I did last year. (It also helps that I believe I've gotten more hours this year than I did in the winter and spring of last year.)

I also took another glance through that huge photo album of recipes. While the recipes themselves seem to largely be in good shape (especially the recent ones taken from the Internet), the album they come in is showing its age. The recipes aren't sticking to the pages any more, and the cellophane is coming off. While the clippings themselves are fairly well-organized, anything copied from a website or magazine was thrown in pell-mell. I do want to keep most of the clippings...but I'm going to find a newer album to put them in and integrate them with my recipe clippings from my own collection.

Since my Reading List is working out so well, I decided to apply the same principal to my massive collection of music. I have almost 400 records, over 270 CDs, and over 50 cassettes. I'm going to take time for the next few months to go through them on-and-off and see what I want to keep and what else can go. Of the three I listened to today, I'm going to keep the Air Supply album Now and Forever (I always did like a couple of songs on that album, especially "Even the Nights are Better"), but not Bread (the hit "Make It With You" is the only thing I like on that one, and I can get that elsewhere). Mickey Mouse Disco isn't quite as much fun as some of the later 80s "Disney has fun with fads" albums, but it does have some decent songs; my favorite is "Welcome to Rio" for Jose Carioca.

Work was crazy-busy when I got in, but that's kind of par for the course on even non-football Sundays. By the time I left at 8, it was dead. Other than a few annoying customers (including one grown man who thought he was being cute by asking for the stickers we keep for the kids; I told him no), there were no major problems, and I was in and out.

I did finally get a hold of Mom when I got in. She has Skylar over her house every other weekend. She enjoys the company, and Skylar loves visiting. His nana lets him do fun things like play with her Wii or cruise the neighborhood with her on his new bike (Mom gave him one for Christmas). Mom's glad that it sounds like Rose and Craig are settling on the house, but is worried about my brother Keefe. It sounds like he may flunk out of the Navy. He broke up with his girlfriend Vicki a few weeks ago. Without her, he has no one to support him, and Mom claims he's fallen in with a bad crowd, too. I hope he can regain some sense and pick himself up enough to do better.

Winds of Winter

Began a sunny but windy and cold Sunday with Brunch With the Beatles. The Beatles' Second Album was in the spotlight. If you've never heard of this one, you're in good company. Until I started listening to this show and doing more research on the Beatles, I hadn't, either. Apparently, Capitol chopped up their first few English albums, rearranged the cuts, and dropped a few. The Second Album mostly seemed to be covers, including "You Really Got a Hold On Me," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Devil In Her Heart," "Money," and "Shout." To make up for the fact that The Second Album is the shortest Beatles record, there was a lot of filler, including John's original demo of the song "Real Love" that would be released with his former bandmates' vocals in the 90s and several live cuts from late 64-early 65.

I went tropical with breakfast. Made Pineapple Honey Pancakes with some of the crushed pineapple leftover from baking. They were delicious, very sweet and tender. Had a blood orange and some Egg Noggin' tea. 

Called Mom as I finished my meal. Mom was on her way into the shower. She was in a good mood. Dad had just gone out for the day, and she planned on spending the rest of the day cleaning  now that he was no longer underfoot. For once, they actually saw more snow than we did this week. The clouds that produced flurries here gave them an inch of wet snow that Mom said was already disappearing. My brother Keefe got his orders; he and two Navy buddies will be moving to a base in upstate New York in early March. And my sister Anny lost her job as a manager at the North Cape May Big Lots. She applied for unemployment and is taking the time away from work to be with her sons. (She's posted many adorable pictures of them on Facebook.)

The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. Yesterday's American Top 40 inspired me to stay in the late 70s. I ran Barry Manilow, Donna Summer, Earth Wind & Fire, the Bee Gees, the Eagles, and one of my Have a Nice Day: Forgotten Hits of the 70s Rhino CDs. I cleared out a few records and DVDs. I took a good look at that Clara's Kitchen cookbook Linda Young gave me for Christmas. The Pasta With Escarole sounded tasty and a good idea at this time of year, when escarole is often one of the cheaper lettuces. I added some of the leftover Sloppy Joe sauce and made a complete skillet meal out of it.

Work was pretty quiet for most of the night. It was just starting to flurry when I came in. It briefly turned into a blizzard just as I started...for all of five minutes. There was sun on the horizon even when the snow was at its worst. Ultimately, all it did was look pretty. We were so empty after that, I spent almost the entire night doing returns.

Winter Interlude

I slept in so late, it was nearly 11:30 before I began Chocolate Chip Pancakes for brunch! I skipped the Beatles and opted to finish The Phantom and run more Popeye instead. By 1940, when the second set ends, the Fleischers were on a roll. They'd settled into their new, larger studio in Miami and were churning out not only more Popeye and the Superman shorts, but two feature-length films to compete with Disney, the fantasy Gulliver's Travels and the modern-set Mr. Bug Goes to Town.

Alas, the failure of Mr. Bug and a rift between the Fleischer brothers ended with Paramount forcing them out...but not before they released some fun Popeye tales. The episodes had lost some of the grit of earlier stories but were still pretty tough compared to the competition from Disney or MGM's Harmon and Ising. "Fightin' Pals" explores the contentious but somewhat friendly relationship between Bluto and Popeye. When Bluto disappears in the South Seas, Popeye is determined to rescue him..if only to give him someone to fight with! The Fleischers' show business aspirations come to the fore in "Shakespearean Spinach," in which Popeye and Bluto fight for the role of Romeo, with Olive as their Juliet. I surprisingly remember "Puttin' On An Act," in which Olive and Popeye enact their old stage routine for a delighted Sweet Pea, from occasional showings on TNT during my childhood. (Only I remember it being in color - it was probably colorized.) That short was the first time I'd ever heard of vaudeville.

I called Mom while the shorts were on. As it turned out, Cape May County got the wind from Friday's storm, but no snow, or even rain. Mom could turn her mind to other happenings. My brother Keefe got his orders; he's being relocated to a Naval base in upstate New York, along with two friends of his from his unit. His girlfriend Vicki is probably going to join them there. She and Keefe are crazy about each other, and she's apparently tired of living with her mother.

Dad also celebrated his birthday yesterday. His family took him out to dinner at the Rio Station, his long-time favorite restaurant, and gave him several good gifts. He told his wife it was the best birthday he'd had in years.

After I got off the phone, I put on the soundtrack for the 1980 Popeye musical and did chores around the apartment. I made my bed, which I only do every once in a while. Who's gonna see it? I changed my Cabbage Patch Kids dolls Carrie and Dulcie into overalls with a plaid shirt and a cute red and white Swiss-dotted dress with an embroidered strawberry on it. I vacuumed the entire apartment. The bedroom in particular was a pain. There was tons of hair all over the place; you can tell how long my hair was until last week.

The cleaning took so long, I was almost late to work! When I finally did get in, work was steady but not overwhelming, unusual for a Sunday. A lot of people must have done their shopping over the weekend. It was quiet enough when I finished to leave without a relief.

Tom and Jerry and Toyland Tales

Started a sunny, cold morning with the Vol 1 set of Tom & Jerry Tales that I picked up from a yard sale a few months ago. The violent cat and mouse duo kick off their most recent show with a slightly surreal Christmas episode that has Jerry climbing into his own Christmas Eve dream to rescue himself from Tom. The second segment has Spike abusing Tom and Jerry while having fun with his new sled. The third story moved the pair to the North Pole, where Jerry has to defend his salmon from a hungry Tom.

If you're a fan of these two, you have to look for these. I'd heard all over that they were really good, and everyone was right. The animation style is similar to the originals from the 40s and early 50s, the writing is good, and there's enough violence to keep grown ups who enjoy cartoons happy without scaring kids.

Spent most of the day behind a computer. I checked the Disability website. As of this morning, they hadn't gotten my papers yet. I sent them yesterday, so they should get them today or tomorrow. I looked up some shopping ideas for my nephews and my sister Jessa. I took a couple of things to the mail box, including a birthday card for my brother Keefe in the Navy in South Carolina. (His 20th birthday is Sunday.) During lunch, I picked up two things from the mail box, the second American Girl catalog and the Vermont Country Store's big Christmas catalog.

Once again worked on the inventory and writing in the afternoon. Finished out the Holiday Books Inventory. As with my inventories for holiday music and movies, the Holiday Books Inventory covers all holiday books from all genres - fiction, nonfiction, kids, adults, craft books, novels, picture books. They're mostly picture books I snared from libraries or craft/history/cooking books. I tend to shy away from buying books I'm not going to use year-round. Not to mention, I don't have a lot of room for them.

Put on the Disney Babes In Toyland as I worked on the scarf for my friend after my writing was done. This 1961 operetta fantasy was Walt's first foray into live-action musicals. It's about as simple as fantasy gets. Tom Piper (Tommy Sands) is set to wed Mary Quite Contrary (Annette Funicello), but nasty Barnaby (Ray Bolger) wants her money. He hires two bumbling and not-very-tough ruffians to get rid of Tom. When that plot fails, he steals Mary's sheep to force her into marriage. Her siblings, determined to keep her out of Barnaby's reach, go after the sheep, and Mary and Tom go after them. They all find themselves in Toyland, where the Toymaker (Ed Wynn) and his nerdy assistant (Tommy Kirk) are trying to make the Christmas deadline. The group offers to help, but Barnaby and his men aren't far behind...

While many people prefer the Laurel and Hardy version, I've always thought this one has its charms, too. The production design is eye-popping and colorful, the costumes are delightful, and some of the numbers are really fun, including the imaginative "I Can't Do the Sum" for Funicello and Bolger's "Castle In Spain" dance solo.

Oh, and I made my next Foot & Ankle Center appointment this evening. The orthopedics for my heel spur have finally arrived! They just have to fit them to my foot. I'll be going in on Monday at 4PM.

A Shorts Story

It was 8:30 when I originally picked my head off of my soft pillows. I was up with Lauren until past 3:30 last night, so I put my head back on the pillows, closed my eyes, and went back to sleep. It was over two hours later when I finally opened my eyes again. It was a hot, sunny day, hotter than yesterday but still not humid. It still wasn't bad in my apartment, either.

I pre-empted the Beatles today to finish 4 for Texas, which I did while eating Blueberry-Lemon Pancakes for brunch-lunch. The four in question are Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and European bombshells Anita Ekberg and Ursula Andress. Martin and Sinatra are rival businessmen and gamblers in 1870s Galveston, Texas. Ekberg is Sinatra's lady, the head of the local bordello. Andress owns the dilapidated riverboat Martin buys and repairs with hot money. Sinatra is determined to make sure Martin's riverboat isn't a success, despite the fact that he actually likes the guy. Victor Buono is the sniveling mayor in Sinatra's pay; a young Charles Bronsonan is a heartless gunslinger determined to take out the entire crowd.

Not great, not bad. Fun for what it is. One of the last films to feature Martin and Sinatra together; they do seem to be enjoying themselves, even without the rest of the Rat Pack. The ladies are also in pretty good form, especially Andress as the riverboat owner. The story doesn't make a lot of sense, but it has some nice set pieces, including the brawl on the riverboat dock in the finale. In addition to Buono and Bronsonan, the Three Stooges (Sinatra was apparently a fan) pop up towards the end with a short but pretty cute routine with Martin and Andress.

I talked to Mom while the movie was ending. Her week after our visit had been relatively quiet. It apparently consisted of cleaning up after a very big party - putting food away or giving it away, taking down the tent, returning rented items, clearing things from the backyard. Keefe spent a lot of the time with his girl Vicki. He's going back to Charleston early tomorrow morning. I'm going to miss him. He's such a sweetheart, and Vicki and his friends are good kids, too.

I went for a walk after I finished 4 for Texas and my chat with Mom. The breeze remained, but it was a bit warmer than yesterday. I was sweating as I strolled down to Goff Avenue to admire the view. The sky was a bit hazy, but not as bad as last week; I could see the Ben Franklin Bridge clear as day from the boat launch.

Went down to the White Horse Pike to Dunkin' Donuts for a treat. I rarely get anything from there. I don't like their prices, for one thing. For another, I'm not a big fan of donuts - they're too sweet for me. High prices or not, I was surprised at the crowd there when I went in to buy a Vanilla Coolatta. Mostly older and middle-aged people sat and chatted at tables while sipping coffee and eating sandwiches. I just grabbed my Coolatta and left. The Coolattas are thicker variations on Icees and Slurpees - crushed ice drinks. They're really fancy smoothies and milkshakes, and they're also a bit too sweet, but I do buy one on occasion for the heck of it.

It was a nice day for a walk. The Oaklyn Swim Club pool opened last week; there was a pretty decent crowd of kids diving in and splashing each other. The flowers are rich and beautiful, in shades of vibrant crimson, soft lavender, deep violet, sunset orange, and velvety maroon. The trees bend over with fat green leaves. The grass is a bit crunchy, due to a fair lack of rain in the last few weeks, turning crackly shades of tan and brown.

As you can guess from all the shorts I've watched, Lauren has had a Three Stooges thing going on lately...and I've been taking another look at the fellas, too. With that in mind, I spent the rest of the afternoon watching a documentary on the Laurel and Hardy DVD set I picked up in Philadelphia last year. Added Attractions: The Short Subjects Story is an overview of short subjects in the Golden Age of Hollywood - how they began in the silent era, their rise to popularity, and how each studio handled shorts differently.

The Stooges were the big thing at their home lot Columbia. Warner's Vitaphone studios, first in Brooklyn, then in Hollywood, specialized in musicals. They did a low-key jazz piece with a lot of great musicians that many of the stars on the lot came to watch. RKO stuck with rubber-legged Leon Errol. MGM took a while to find its' verve; when it did, it came up with the Pete Smith Specialties spoofs, Robert Benchley's How To...series, the melodrama series Crime Does Not Pay, and the Patrick Fitzgerald Travelogues, with their Technicolor views of the world. Shorts specialist Hal Roach created the long-running Our Gang kids' series and did the popular shorts with Laurel & Hardy and Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts (later Patsy Kelly).

Added Attractions ended right before I went to work. Denise, the woman I replaced, said it had been steady all day. It was stead for the first hour, but by 8PM, it was so dead, I left a few minutes early.

Welcome Back, Keefe

It was cloudy and cool when I finally rolled out of bed around quarter of 9. Since I was going to spend most of the day at my parents' house sitting down or in a car, I decided to go for a short walk to the Oaklyn Library to do some volunteering there. Headed out as soon as I finished my breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats, blueberries, and a pear.

It was busy when I arrived! The library was hosting two groups of very young kids from a local day camp, one after the other. I listened to the librarian read books about camping and summer to them as I organized DVDs and shelved children's books. My favorite was the Curious George tale about him camping with the Man In the Yellow Hat. He puts out a fire that someone was using, but after getting lost in the woods, saves the day when he finds a fire that has gotten out of control and reports it to a ranger. Unfortunately, he also has a close encounter with a certain black and white cat-like creature that leaves him smelling less than wonderful.

Rose called not long after I got home. She, Craig, and Khai were going to drop some Father's Day cards off at our biological father's house, then swing by and pick me up so we could head to Cape May County. I watched some Three Stooges shorts while I waited. "In the Sweet Pie and Pie" is a variation on the Stooges in high society theme. This time, three young women marry the trio of death-row convicts in order to gain their inheritance. When the Stooges are pardoned, they try to humiliate them by showing them off to their fancy friends. It's their friends who end up humiliating each other when their party turns into the pie fight to end all pie fights!

I got bored with waiting and went down to the front of the house to wait. Rose and her boys finally showed up around noon. Other than hitting a little traffic around a construction area in Runnemede, the trip up here was just fine. The weather cleared and became sunny and a little humid, but not nearly as hot as it's supposed to get over the next few days. There was no more traffic, two-year-old Khai slept most of the way, and I got to try out the iPod Nano Lauren gave me for Christmas.

(That thing is fun, BTW. I can change from song to song without letting the darn thing go on random. It takes a few minutes to figure out how to switch it back and forth on the tiny touch pad, but after that, it works great and sounds better.)

We arrived around 1:30. We were the first ones there, other than my mom, dad, nephew Skylar, brother Keefe, and his girlfriend Vicki. Keefe's awaiting his next orders for the Navy, but it sounds like he's going to be in Charleston for a while. He looked so handsome in his Naval dress uniform (even though he was a real baby about people taking pictures).

There was tons and tons of food set up under a big tent in the backyard. Dad grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. For people who preferred their meat chilled, there was all kinds of fresh seafood that Dad brought home from work (he's a commercial fisherman) - lobster tails, crab claws, chunk crab meat, and massive shrimp. Mom made four kinds of salad (two different pasta salads, a green salad with lettuce and onions, and a potato salad). Dad put out his own seafood salad with calamari rings, crab, and scallops. There were bottles of water, cans of soda, and bottles of beer and wine for those who prefer them.

I eventually met all kinds of people, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. Some of the first arrivals were Diane. Carson and her sons Brendan and Austin. Ms. Carson had been a teacher of mine in high school; Austin is a long-time friend of Keefe's who is going to culinary school in Philadelphia. I met some of Mom and Dad's neighbors and Dad's co-workers on his boat for the first time. Keefe and Rose's beloved junior high school music teacher Ms. Delacorte came later. Rose was happy to see her friends Joey Towns (an English teacher at Middle Township High School) and Laura. My sister Anny and her current boyfriend Tom finally showed up a bit after them.

I had a long chat with several of Keefe's friends, including the girlfriend of one of his best friends, Jocelyn. We were some of the only people drinking sugarless sodas. I'm dieting; she just found out she's diabetic. She wants to be a nurse, and she thinks knowing  how to handle this will be a big help. I had a nice chat with her throughout the night, about diets and about her prom. (The kids at Lower Cape May Regional High were lucky to have their Junior and Senior proms at the beautiful, brand-new Cape May Convention Center. Jocelyn and her boyfriend Nick had romantic shots of the two of them in their prom outfits taken right on the beach!)

I helped Mom and Rose bring out dessert around 4. In addition to the Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes I made on Sunday, we had a big half-gold, half-chocolate cake from the Acme in North Cape May, a key lime pie and blueberry crumble from Desserts by Design in Audubon, and Mom's famous chocolate chip bars and "magic bars." The latter is made from coconut, chocolate chips, condensed milk on a graham cracker crust. They're a huge family favorite; some of Rose's guy friends still talk about them, and Keefe adores them. (Ironically, Mom found the recipe in a book on PMS...but they've always seemed to be even more popular with men.)

By the time Anny's son Collyn and his father Mike arrived, it was starting to get late. I watched Keefe and his buddies kick a soccer ball around next to the tent and continued my talk with Jocelyn (she's got a heck of a soccer kick - in black bow-trimmed ballerina flats!). Joey and Laura left; Rose, Craig, and Mike took the kids inside to watch Cars. I joined them for the second half.

Everyone began to leave as the sun went down around 8:30. Poor Khai was so tired, I don't think he knew what to do with himself. I think everyone in the house is asleep but me. Keefe and Vicki went out with their friends after Keefe changed out of his uniform.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, too. I'm going to hit the beach in Cape May with Rose and her boys before heading back up north.

O Brother and Vicki, Where Art Thou?

Started a cloudy and cool morning with Brunch With the Beatles. Sir Paul McCartney turns 70 tomorrow, and they ran songs from his solo career (plus the Beatles song "Birthday") in his honor. Most of what we heard were songs from his days with Wings, including "Silly Love Songs," "My Love," "Uncle Albert," "Jet," "Band On the Run," and my personal favorite, "Live and Let Die."

After the largely lousy week I had, I figured I needed Double Chocolate Mint Chip Pancakes and a big handful of farm market cherries. When the last cherry had been popped in my mouth (and the pit popped in a bowl), I called Mom and Dad-Bill to wish the latter a Happy Father's Day.

Mom was not a happy camper. They were having "issues," in her words. Apparently, that used Camero my brother Keefe bought a few weeks ago died in North Carolina, stranding him and his girlfriend Vicki near Myrtle Beach. Dad sounded less ticked off and more annoyed when I talked to him. He cracked up when I told him to smack Keefe silly when he finally got home. (I wasn't joking. ;) )

I called Rose after I got off with Dad.  She confirmed  both Keefe being stranded and our departure time. She wants to pick me up somewhere between 11 and 12 on Tuesday morning. Fine with me. I'm off from Tuesday through 1PM Friday. She can pretty much pick me up anytime she wants. She wants to stay overnight after the party Tuesday, then make a Wednesday morning trip to either Wildwood Crest or Cape May to introduce her two-year-old son to the beach. Also fine by me. I can't remember the last time I went to a beach that wasn't on the banks of a river.

I spent the rest of the afternoon quietly. Messed around online for an hour, then made Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes for the party on Tuesday. I squeezed the juice of three of the lemons I bought from the Acme and grated some of their rind into a white cake mix. Also added flaxseed for a little extra crunch along with the blueberries. I also got a jump on my packing - I probably won't have the time tomorrow or Tuesday morning. I'm all set except for the things like my toothbrush that can't go in until Tuesday.

(When I was going through my bedroom closet, I decided to thin things out a bit. Moved most of my luggage except for the big gray piece under my bed. Put the plain brown messenger back in the back room. I used it a lot in college, but not only do I not transport a lot of books or things anymore, but I also have my laptop bag that performs the same function, more-or-less.)

The cupcakes came out of the oven just in time for me to make dinner, change into my uniform, and head out for work. Work was quiet when I arrived and when I left, but very busy during the usual 4-6 rush hour as people prepared for Father's Day barbecues and birthday and graduation parties. It was so quiet by 7PM, I was able to leave with no relief.

I called my biological father when I got in. Dad-Bruce is in Florida and in the midst of a cruise ship job, but it was still nice to talk to him. It sounds like he'll be home next week. He reminded me that the pool's open. I might try to get there Thursday - it's supposed to be super-hot that day.

Oh, and I finally started to play around with that iPod Lauren gave me for Christmas. I downloaded iTunes and synced a whole pile of CDs to the device. I'll mess around with downloading later in the week. I can't believe how fast this thing syncs CDs! It's three times as fast as my old Coby MP3 player. I love it. I'll bring it on the trip to Cape May County to try it out. 

Here's hoping all fathers had a great day, including those whose children are four-legged or feathered. :)

Strange Spring Weather

The weather was pretty normal when I finally got up this morning around 9:30. It was mostly sunny, with a few clouds that were hardly threatening. I read The Artist's Way and worked in my journal, then put on Brunch With the Beatles. Brunch concentrated on one of my favorite Beatles albums, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of the first CDs I ever owned. (It was a birthday present from Mom in 1993, along with the cast album for the original 1952 Broadway version of Can-Can. I still have both CDs.) I love the jaunty "With a Little Help from My Friends." Other familiar tunes from Pepper include "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite!", "When I'm 64", the title number, and the innovative "A Day In the Life." Also released around the same time were the  hit singles "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever."

I called Mom after finishing my Banana Silver Dollar Pancakes. We had a nice, long chat. Mom was getting ready to run some chores before going to a jazz concert in Cape May with Dad. Apparently, it's a tribute to a local musician who played jazz piano in some area clubs and bed-and-breakfasts as well as on many professional studio sessions who died suddenly earlier this year. Mom's hoping to find more concerts and events in the southern Cape May County area that she can attend, with or without Dad, now that she has more free time and no longer has to take care of children or a household.

I am, too. I did get a lot of things sorted out here last summer. I cleared out old files on CD and zip disc and all those videos, and that really helped lift a lot of weight out of my soul. All that kept me inside a lot, though, as did the bad weather throughout much of August. I'd like to try to get out more this summer. I've been wanting to make a trip back to Atlantic City, if only to take a look at the Outlets, and now might be a good time to do it. I'd like to try a day trip to Wildwood, too. One of the very few things I miss about Wildwood is strolling the boardwalk in the summer. If I have some money by August, I may also attempt that day trip to New York I debated but finally opted not to do during the summer of 2010.

The other thing we discussed was my brother Keefe. Not only did he just buy his first car, a 1998 Camaro, but he'll be on leave in a few weeks. Mom wants to have a family party for him on the 19th. She's going to invite my sisters and their family and close friends, Keefe's small circle of pals, his beloved girlfriend Vicki, their neighbors in Erma, and a few family friends. It sounds like they're going to rent a tent and have a big barbecue. I just hope it doesn't get too crazy. I tried calling Rose to confirm the 19th, but I got her answering machine. I left a message; if she doesn't call back by tomorrow, I'll call her.

The Beatles show was long done when Mom and I finally got off the phone. I put on my sandals, grabbed my purse, and went for a walk to the park and to CVS. CVS was my first stop. I just needed brush picks. Also got Crest toothpaste on a really good sale for $1.99, and decided to try a bag of the new all-green Mint M&Ms.

I strolled through Newton River Park as I munched on my little chocolate goodies. There were many people out, enjoying the peaceful, pretty day. Kids and their parents ran around the playground. Teenagers skateboarded on the paths. The big mimosa tree's woody bean-like pods were now brown and falling to the ground; they crunched under my feet. I saw a robin by the mimosa who stood so stock-still, I thought he was a statue until he flew away, towards Collingswood High's sports fields across the street.

As I passed over the arched cobblestone bridge (which had new railings), I noticed dark, heavy clouds in the distance. I didn't like the look of that at all. I walked faster across the street and down the same path I did last week, hoping to avoid the oncoming storm. The leaf-laden trees made dark green arches as I passed under them. They seemed mysterious and almost spooky. It was like a world out of time, despite the houses on the hill above me.

The clouds were almost above me as I hurried up the stone steps and onto East Collingswood Avenue. Despite the weather, there were still a lot of people about. I passed a woman strolling a basket of laundry home from the laundromat on the corner as the first fat drops of rain began to fall.

My original plan was to pick up a hoagie at WaWa. The rain changed this a bit. There's a deli, Amato Bros, across the street from the laundromat. I rushed over there as the shower grew heavier. When I first moved to Oaklyn, the building was a newsstand, Oaklyn News. It shut down shortly afterwards. It's been a deli under at least three or four different names ever since. At the very least, the current owners did a much nicer job of remodeling the place than the previous owners. There were new granite counters, beverage coolers, and wire tables, along with a mounted TV playing a Phillies game. (They were losing badly to the Miami Marlins.) I ordered a turkey club wrap with mustard on a tomato-basil tortilla. The thing was so big, I ended up taking most of the second half home.

The rain slowed down as I walked home, and was gone by the time I discovered a tiny rose bush with bright magenta flowers nestled among the tangle alongside the train overpass. I couldn't resist picking one for my hair.

Though the sun eventually came out, I didn't trust the weather and stayed inside the rest of the night. I baked a basic Golden Butter Cake using fruit concentrate instead of a lot of the sugar as I ran jazz CDs and the 1948 MGM musical Summer Holiday. A reworking of the play Ah, Wilderness, Summer Holiday introduces us to the Miller family, who live in suburban Connecticut in the early 20th century. Dad (Walter Huston) owns the town newspaper and is fairly progressive-minded for the era. Uncle Sid (Frank Morgan) wants to marry his long-time girlfriend Lilly (Agnes Moorehead), but she's not crazy about his drunken behavior or broken promises. Middle son Richard (Mickey Rooney) has picked up a lot of radical notions from the books he's been reading and passes them onto his shy girlfriend (Gloria Del Haven). Her banker pop is scandalized when his daughter starts spouting Marxist theories and erotic poetry and makes her break up with Richard. The upset teen learns far more about life than he ever wanted when, in a fit of despair, he spends a drunken night with a chorus girl and learns that maybe he's not quite ready for the grown-up world yet.

This is a really sweet variation on Meet Me In St. Louis and the later On Moonlight Bay. Director Rouben Mamoulien brought many of the same trademark touches he gave to Love Me Tonight, including a song passing from one character to the next, and the natural flow of dialogue into music and back again. This is especially apparent in the opening number "In Our Home Town," as the Millers discuss their home and their places in it, and in the sequence where the gold-digging chorus girl gets Rooney drunk. Filters and fades allow him to imagine her in scantier and scantier costumes, until she's sitting in his lap and singing "I Think You're the Sweetest Kid I Ever Knew."

The rain came back as I was finishing up my shower, this time in the form of a doozy of a thunderstorm. It faded out around 8:30, but the rain's been off and on ever since.

He's In the Navy Now

I slept in a little bit this morning, not nearly as long as yesterday. I wanted to make a gym run. It was still sunny, warm, and windy when I headed over to Lucile Roberts around quarter of 11. I finally upped the time on the bike to 25 minutes. It did me good. I was nice and sweaty when I finished; went right into my leg machine work out. There were a few people on the bikes and treadmills when I got in, but by the time I left, the place was almost empty, which was fine by me.

I went straight home afterwards and did something I've been meaning to do. I wrote a letter to my brother Keefe, who is in the Navy. He's graduated from boot camp earlier this month and is now stationed near Charleston, South Carolina. Mom sent me a photo of him in uniform, and he looks incredibly handsome. She said he's already gotten stripes for being the top sharpshooter in his unit. I'm so proud of him, and I told him so in my letter. I always knew he was a brilliant kid. He's wanted to join the Navy for a couple of years now.

After I put my letter in the mailbox downstairs, I had a spinach and mushroom omelet for lunch, then messed around on the computer a bit before work. By this point, it had clouded over a bit and started showering lightly. Very lightly - it was ending even as I rode to the Acme.

The rest of the night was pretty much a repeat of most of this month - very busy during rush hour, quiet thereafter. It was so quiet by 8PM, I was able to shut down with no relief.

Winds of March

First of all, I saw on Facebook that my brother Keefe  has passed Navy boot camp! He's now on his way to Charleston, South Carolina to begin training. I'm so proud of him!

Second, I pre-empted the Beatles show today with Monkees records. Made German Chocolate Pancakes (regular whole-wheat pancake recipe with added cocoa and shredded coconut) and had a half of a grapefruit while running Headquarters (the first record the Monkees made on their own, with only a little outside assistance), and The Monkees Present (my favorite of the two records Mike, Micky, and Davy did as a trio after Peter left the group in late '68). I also did a little bit online.

Work was a total mess all day. Even with plenty of help from the new cashiers, we were backed up for most of my short shift. This time, we weren't lacking in cashiers - we were lacking in managers. There was no one to sign me out when I got out late, and I wasn't terribly happy.

After the problems and annoying customers at work, I NEEDED a long walk. The moment I got  home, I changed into regular clothes, grabbed some music, and headed outside. It was a decent day, chilly and windy, but sunny and in the mid-40s, really par for the course in early March in Southern New Jersey. I hiked down Goff Avenue to my favorite boat launch with the view of the Ben Franklin Bridge, then over to the playground behind the Oaklyn School, then back around to Manor Avenue. There were no kids in the playground, but I could hear them playing in backyards and on the baseball field near the school. People walked dogs, ignoring the wind. One kid ran his remote control car on Manor across from my apartment.

Spent the rest of a quiet evening baking Coconut Sugar Drop Cookies (a revision of my favorite Sugar Drop Cookie recipe from The Betty Crocker Cooky Book) and watching DVDs. Did some of the material from one of the Monkees DVDs I dubbed last year first, including the videos made for the 90s Monkees CD JustUs and a mid-90s interview Davy did with what was then known as TNN (now Spike TV). Ran Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation while having Roasted Brussels Sprouts, strawberries, and leftover chicken burgers for dinner.

Oh, and Lauren and I are finishing what we intend to be our final story in the Monkees Dream World series tonight. Look for it later this week!

Rumble in Indianapolis

I slept in this morning. Got up around quarter of 10. I listened to records and CDs, made Silver Dollar Corn Banana Pancakes for breakfast, and did last month's budget. Yes, I bought a lot, but I also had money and gift cards leftover from Christmas. I tried calling Mom, but I kept getting a busy signal. Her sister Terri was probably chatting with her.

You probably won't be surprised to hear that work was a massive mess all day long. Not only is today the Super Bowl, but it's still the beginning of the month. A lot of people can't do their major shopping any day but now! We had very long lines for the entire afternoon and not nearly enough help. Someone else left at the same time as me, too, and another cashier was done a half-hour before us.

After I finally got off, I rode over to Uncle Ken's to see if anything was going on for the game there. When I arrived, the house was pitch-dark, and there were no cars parked near-by. I know Dad and Jodie are still in the Florida Keys, but I guess Uncle Ken and Dolores are on vacation, too. I just went home.

I listened to the game on the radio instead. Had a pleasant dinner of leftover chicken and broccoli and spring peas. I made Samantha's Gingerbread, replacing the 1/2 cup of sugar with a 1/3 cup apple juice concentrate and slightly lowering the buttermilk and molasses content (especially as I always use dark molasses from the Farm Market). Yum! Other than I burned the edges slightly, it came out absolutely delicious.

I finally got a hold of Mom when I came in. She making her own dinner and couldn't talk long. While her teeth don't feel great, the stitches are out, and she can talk again. She heard from my brother Keefe, who is now in the Navy, this week. Apparently, he's a Section Leader and is in charge of 12 other guys! He'll be graduating from boot camp next month. Mom and Dad are going to fly out to see him. I'm so proud of him. He seems to be doing really well.

Oh, yes, and the game was pretty awesome, too. The Giants started strong, but the Patriots were (barely) winning by halftime. They kept it up through the four quarter...when the Giants got the touchdown that won them the game and the title, 21-17.

And that scream you heard from somewhere in southern Cape May County? That was probably my stepfather cheering. ;)

Surprise Fire In the Sky

Started a sunny day in the 40s with a quick run to the Acme for my paycheck and groceries. I normally do it after work on Fridays when I have a shift, but I didn't get off until 9:30 tonight. I had to restock flour, eggs, cheese (mozzarella this time), and Smart Balance Spread sticks (which Acme has on clearance). Needed lots of fruit, including tangerines, grapefruit, pears (on sale), and raspberries (for Flummery). I also grabbed a bag of Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cookie Mix. The sale wasn't great, but it was the last bag on the shelf. I may or may not see it again after the last bag is gone, so I might as well enjoy them while I can.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at my place. I had leftovers and Raspberry Flummery for lunch.  I made the bed. I aired out the rag rug in my bedroom. I vacuumed the apartment. I put all of the manuals and warranties for various electronics and collectable items in the file folder I bought earlier this week. I talked to my brother, Keefe, who will be leaving for the Navy this weekend. He was playing Wii Dance with his parents and his girlfriend Vicki.

It was rush hour when I got back to work. It was busy up through my break at quarter after 6, but it was steady to quiet thereafter. I left a tiny bit early with no relief and no need for one.

As I rode home, I saw what looked like sparkling red and blue lights on the Black Horse Pike near West Collingswood. I couldn't figure out what was going on until I heard noisy booms coming from the other side of Peter Creek, near where I'd seen the police cars. Much to my surprise, I had a perfect view on my porch of some really lovely fireworks. I have no idea why there were fireworks, but it did make for a rather nice Epiphany treat. 

Oh, and I did get my schedule tonight. On one hand, I don't have another day off until Thursday, which is going to be a pain. On the other hand, I also have Saturday off, and the latest I work is 8 on Wednesday.

Loose In Oaklyn

First of all, happy birthday to my brother Keefe, who is 19 today!

It was a gorgeous day when I awoke around 8AM. Sunny, breezy but not windy, and chilly like it's supposed to be in mid November in southern New Jersey. It was a perfect day to run a pile of errands, starting with a ride to the Acme for my paycheck and groceries.

The Acme wasn't too busy when I arrived around 11. I didn't need a lot, anyway. Found cooked and seasoned shrimp with a manager's coupon that was already on a good sale. Had a coupon for three free Shopper's Value (Acme low-cost brand) Spices with ten dollar purchase sale. All I needed of what they had was the Cayenne Pepper; I donated the Meat Tenderizer and Soul Seasoning to the box near the self-checkout lanes for a local soup kitchen. Needed to restock eggs, batteries, and yogurt, and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter was on sale and I had a coupon. Since Cool Whip and Jello Pudding were on sale, I bought things to make a pudding pie. Thanks to Cool Whip's new limited edition Sweet Cinnamon Flavor, I decided to make it a Spiced Vanilla Cream Pie.

When I got home, I made the pie and had a short lunch of muffins and Cranberry Flummery, then went out for a walk. My first stop was the Oaklyn Library. I couldn't stay there for too long. I arrived at 1:30, and they close on Fridays at 2. I did manage to drop another bag of videos off, quickly organize DVDs and some kids' books, and check out Cranberry Thanksgiving. (Which, for some reason, was listed under the title of the movie Good Will Hunting in their computer system. It took a minute for the librarian to figure everything out.)

After I left the library, I headed down the White Horse Pike. Made an in-and-out stop at PNC Bank to deposit my paycheck, then hiked a few blocks down the Pike to CVS. I mostly needed milk there, but I ended up grabbing a few Christmas presents, too.

Dropped by Dad and Uncle Ken's on the way back to my place. Dad and Jodie were at home, doing things on their laptops and watching the endless Law & Order re-runs on USA. I talked about my course options with both of them. The problem now is finding grants. There was so much information online about grants and funding, I was overwhelmed. Jodie and I checked a few sites and discovered that the Art Institute of Philadelphia, the school my sister Jessa is currently attending, seems to be the only local school offering grant money for people who want to learn web design. We sent an e-mail asking for more information.

(They were nice and called me back a bit later in the afternoon. I told them I was still browsing, but they're definitely worth considering and I would love any information on grants and on their non-credit online courses that they could provide.)

When I got home, I went right into sweeping the porch. It needed it badly. The rain and wind from yesterday and Wednesday left more piles of leaves that were getting into the house again. The leaves seem to be gone from most of the large trees now. Some of the smaller ones still have a lot of leaves, but by and large, I can see all the way to the water again...which means that should be the last time I'll need to do a lot of porch sweeping for a while.

Spent the rest of the day inside, watching Bowery Boys movies, editing fanfiction, and baking pumpkin bread for the Acme's Thanksgiving Luncheon tomorrow. I ran a couple of my favorite Bowery Boys episodes from the early 50s. Loose In London takes the Boys and soda shop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski overseas when Sach Jones is named heir to a British earl. No Holds Barred and Jalopy take us into the fast-paced worlds of wrestling and car racing respectively. Both films have more-or-less the same plot - Sach develops a special power or formula that makes the Boys successful at sports. When crooked managers start to notice their overnight stardom, they first send a woman after them who invites them to a party, then send goons after them. Naturally, the Boys wind up on top. I had a tasty dinner of Flounder in Lemon and Wine Sauce With Mushrooms and Onions, roasted Brussels sprouts, and the last of the baked pumpkin pudding for dinner as I ran Jalopy.