Sailing Into Matches

Began a gloomy morning with breakfast and more Let's Pretend cassettes. "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" is generally a straightforward rendition of the original Arabian Nights story. While it does use the genie in the ring that many versions tend to drop, it also just had the evil Wizard order the genie to steal the princess, rather than the entire castle. Aladdin ends up using the ring to rescue her and poisoning the wizard.

"The Donkey, the Table, and the Stick" is less well-known today. This version of the Grimm's tale has a young man named Jack working for two older people who give him a donkey that drops coins from its ears and a table that magically makes food appear. He makes the mistake of boasting about them to the head of the inn where he stays and his daughter. They steal them, then claim to Jack's father that he never had them to begin with. It's the third magical item that finally gets the duplicitous trio to confess, so Jack can marry his sweetheart.

Despite the ongoing downpour, I had no trouble with Uber today. The one arriving came in 7 minutes. Good thing, as I wanted to get there early enough to buy a plastic container of turkey cubes, mozzarella cubes, crackers, and grapes for lunch. The one going home came in 6 minutes.

I did do carts for the first hour, when the rain wasn't so bad...but once the downpour picked up around 10 AM, I had no desire to be out in it. I spent the rest of the day sweeping the store and putting unwanted items away. One of the college boys took over the carts after he arrived later. Just as well that I didn't see the Eagles game. They dropped a heartbreaker to the Jaguars in London, just barely losing 19-17. 

Finally got around to putting up the Halloween decorations when I got home. Xiomara the Squishmallow Leopard is far from my only Halloween decoration! I'm not a fan of horror, so most of my decorations are funny or cute, like the Trick-or-Sweet Bear stand-up (yes, there is a Halloween Care Bear) I found at Marshalls a few years ago, the cartoony black cat and skeleton wooden stand-ups I found at Goodwill, the stuffed witch I got from Jodie when Dad died, and the various Halloween Happy Meal toys Mom gave me when she cleared out her Halloween decorations in the late 2000's. I also collect cute stuffed bats - I have Boo the WebKinz Bat, Ophelia the Beanie Baby Bat, Scarem, a much smaller Beanie Baby bat, the adorable Belfry I found at a candy store in 2021, and a bat from the Eckards holiday Beanie Baby-type stuffed toy collection from the late 90's.

Listened to Halloween stories and music while I worked, and later as I went online. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow comes with two stories. The title story is a condensed version of the Ichabod Crane segment from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Rip Van Winkle is more interesting. It sticks to the original story up until Rip wakes up...to discover that he's slept not through 20 years of his life, but 220. He awakens in a typical small upstate New York town of the early 60's to discover that the more things change...the more kids love to hear his stories. 

Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House is honestly a bit scary for Disney. Even they admit this album isn't for young children. The stories on Side A alone lean heavily into spooky horror, even just using sound effects and a few lines of dialogue. The screechy sound effects on side B are just slightly less spooky. 

Autumn is one of George Winston's most relaxing albums. The first song "Colors/Dance" is my favorite from side one, "September." "October" gets appropriately moodier, with "Road," "Sea," and "Stars." 

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown probably has the second best-regarded soundtrack of the Peanuts specials after the one for the first Christmas show. I have the second version, released after they found the master tapes for the special in 2020. "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" is probably the best-known new-to-this-special song here, but I also like the charming "Snoopy and the Leaf" and spooky "Graveyard Theme."

Finished the night with today's Match Game YouTube marathon. Jokes about Christopher Columbus abounded on this show, especially as it became better-known that he was, frankly, a lousy sailor and a worse explorer. They generally either covered what he missed at sea, why his men thought he was crazy, or what his love life was like. (And I have no idea why Gene kept giving him an Italian accent. He was Portuguese.) 

There was a Christopher Columbus reference on the episode where a charming and funny old man who ran a junk yard won the game, and another on the PM episode that had Gene and Brett showing off their dueling push-ups. Lee Meredith of the original 1967 The Producers had a Christopher Columbus question on her first day, and Alejandro Rey on his last. There was one during the week with a very fussy Don Adams, too, and the one where Gene announced that Richard would be hosting a new show called Family Feud in the fall. Charles Nelson Reilly was an avid sailor who counted a captain's hat among his many chapeau worn on the show. 

Discover some truly hilarious episodes with Gene and his wacky panelists! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Ships Ahoy & Columbus Day Marathon

(And yes, it has continued to rain, sometimes heavily, for the entire day.) 

Tales of a Rainy Day

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man. "Evil-Lynn's Plot" is to turn herself into a sweet young woman to trick the elf-like residents of Widget into giving up their Cordite mineral. Skeletor wants to make a sword that's even more powerful than He-Man's. The Widgets learn a lesson about not believing everything you see when they end up being the ones who help He-Man out after Evil-Lynn reveals her true intentions.

Took down the summer decorations and put up the fall decorations while the cartoon finished. Not only is today the first day of fall, but for once, it feels like it. It was cloudy and rainy and barely in the 60's. The stuffed owl with the book and the candy corn candles and the stuffed pumpkins and apples and raffia bow wreath and wooden leaf, pumpkin, and acorn hanging went up today. The Halloween decorations will go out in about two weeks. 

Spent the rest of the morning looking up the basics on Habit for Humanity and finishing yesterday's blog entry. On one hand, I wasn't looking to have a home built for me, but they apparently do build condos, too, and they can help with finding homes for low-income families. I'll do further research on this and the waiting lists when I get back from vacation.

Listened to CDs and cassettes while I worked. 20 #1 Hits of the '20's does feature a few songs that are still well-known today, like "St. Louis Blues" by Marion Harris, "Singin' In the Rain" performed by Cliff Edwards, and Van & Schenck turning "Ain't We Got Fun?" into a comedy novelty number. Others here are far more obscure. "Charmaine" is a graceful waltz from the rowdy silent comedy What Price Glory. Eddie Cantor has fun with "No, No Nora," while Al Jolson brays about his "Swanee." The patter from "Two Black Crows" has dated far less well today.

Switched to Let's Pretend while eating a quick chicken-Swiss wrap for lunch. "Faithful John" is a servant tasked with keeping watch over the handsome young prince in his care. He discovers a conspiracy to kill the king, but can't tell him why he has to shoot a horse or remove drops of blood from his wife, or he'll turn to stone. The fairy who cast the stone spell claims the prince can only free John by killing his own son. Fortunately, just threatening the child here is enough to release John. In the actual fairy tale, the prince does kill his children and use their blood to free John, but John returns them to life. 

"The Little Mermaid" is probably the least-changed of the stories I listened to today. It's pretty much the story as Hans Christian Anderson wrote it, up to and including the dark ending where the mermaid dies and comes back as a spirit. "Why the Sea Is Salty" is more obscure today, and a lot more fun. A young peasant brings a salt grinder out of the sea, but is delighted to discover it can grind a lot more than rocks when it creates instant wealth for him and his wife. His greedy brother buys it, but can't control it. Nor can the captain who also buys it, but creates so much salt, it goes into the sea...

"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is the most changed. The original story is just a poor shoemaker who is helped by elves who make shoes he can sell. Some versions of the story do give the shoemaker a wife. Here, he has a wife, a son, and a pretty daughter. The last is coveted by the miserly old man who owns the store and will throw them out if she doesn't marry him. Of course, the person who bought the most shoes from the Shoemaker just happens to be the head of the town. 

I hurried out at around 2:25. It rained for most of the morning, but the rain was long gone by 2 PM. It was cloudy and cool, but not raining. I figured I was all right to take the bike to Thomas Sharp. Maybe it's just as well that we only had 16 younger kids today, 5 in my group. It started raining harder while they were eating their snacks. There could be no thought of anyone at any age going outside. 

Things did get noisy when the older kids came in the cafeteria to eat their own snacks. By the time we left, the head teacher settled the kids down with an art project. She cut out paper ice cream scoops, cones, bowls, cherries, and whipped cream topping and glued them to sheets of construction paper. The kids could decorate them however they wanted. One girl went with a rainbow sherbet cone. Another did what she called her "Superman cone," a red cone with blue and red ice cream scoops and a red cherry. When I didn't admire artwork and sharpen colored pencils, I built apartment buildings and space stations with the boys at the magnetic tile tables. By the time I left, there were only two girls and a boy remaining, and one of the girls went when I did. 

Thank heavens it wasn't raining when I got back out, even though my bike was soaked. Given it was still cloudy, cool, and humid, I went straight home. Hit the shower when I got in, then had dinner while watching Match Game '76. Most of tonight finished out the week with Susan Sullivan and Gary Burghoff. By the end of the night, they'd skipped ahead slightly again as everyone welcomed Orson Bean back to the show. 

Finished the night with a more recent episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Emily became the first female host to interact with the 'bots as they tried to figure out the treasure-hunt adventure film Beyond Atlantis. This story of boat owner Vic (Patrick Wayne) who has to deal with sleazy hustlers and falls for an anthropologist Dr. Katherine Vernon (Lenore Stevens) while searching for massive pearls around a remote island is both creepy and pretty darn dumb. The only normal-looking humans on the island are of course the king (George Nader) and his gorgeous daughter Syrene (Leigh Christian), whom he wants to produce an heir who is a heck of a lot more attractive the the bug-eyed, in-bred inhabitants of the island. She chooses Vic, but despite her grabbing him and doing things in coral underwater, he's already in love with Katherine. The rest of the gritters just care about the enormous pearls they've dragged up from the sea.

Um, yeah. On one hand, this does have its fun points, including them looking for pearls and just how tough East Eddie (Sid Haig) is. There's also some pretty decent cinematography on and around the island, when they're on land. All that swimming underwater looks murky and dull, and likely was there because underwater photography was still pretty new in 1973. Wayne and live wire Haig are the only people who come off as even remotely interesting. The ping-pong-eyed natives are more likely to give you nightmares than make you long for the wonders of the South Seas, the sets are minimal, the story silly and cliched. Honestly, it's for aficionados of bad B-action and horror films and major camp lovers only. 

(Oh, and to my knowledge, the rain has not returned since I got home. It's stayed cloudy, windy, and cool the rest of the night.)

Where No Harvests Have Gone Before

Began the morning with breakfast and the Monchichhis. "Moncho's Gift" is what he thinks is a beautiful bracelet for Kyla. The bracelet is really magic and grants the wish of the wearer. It belongs to a sand witch, who turns herself into a Monchichhi and Wizzar into a frog to get it back.

Headed off to the farm market soon as I finished eating. It was still sunny, breezy, and a bit humid at this point. The fall harvest is out at the Collingswood Farm Market. The tables were laden with pumpkins, winter squash, pumpkin and squash blossoms, peppers, Chinese beans, eggplants, grapes, pears, and apples. It was teeming with people buying produce and meat for their weekend barbecues and picnics. I even ran into two of the kids from the after-school program and their parents enjoying lemon popcicles from the Bubba's Creamery cart. I picked up tiny, sweet Gala apples, seedless Concord grapes, a spinach and feta empanada for lunch, and my own strawberries and cream popcicle from Bubba's Creamery.

Hurried home and spent the remaining hour before work eating lunch and listening to more Let's Pretend. "The Yellow Dwarf" is a new one on me. A queen is forced to promise her daughter's hand in marriage to the repulsive title character. An evil fairy helps him claim his bride, while she claims the daughter's prince suitor. The prince makes his way back to the princess, only for both of them to die. A mermaid who had befriended them convinces a good fairy to turn them into two palm trees entwined with each other. 

"The Goose Girl" is a princess who is forced to trade places with a treacherous lady-in-waiting. While her servant marries the prince, the princess becomes the title character and her beloved horse is killed. The male servant who chases her isn't too happy when she keeps making his hat fly away. The prince knows something's up, but he has to put her in a room by herself to get a confession.

Headed to work after "The Goose Girl" ended. I spent the entire time pushing carts. The head bagger was sweeping and doing inside work. There was a college boy doing the trash and pushing carts. In all honesty, we probably didn't need the extra help. It wasn't really that busy. Everyone must be waiting until tomorrow before the Eagles game. I was in and out with no trouble.

Listened to records after I got home. The "Musical Repertory Theatre" Guys and Dolls isn't technically a cast album in the traditional sense. It's more a collection of songs from the musical sung by some of the most popular performers at Reprise Records. In fact, only Frank Sinatra, would actually appear in the film version of Guys and Dolls. Debbie Reynolds tries too hard and just sounds annoying on "Adelaide's Lament," "Take Back Your Mink," and joining Allan Sherman for "Sue Me." Sinatra does better by "Luck Be a Lady" and "I've Never Been In Love Before" and joins Bing Crosby and Dean Martin for "The Oldest Established" and "Fugue For Tinhorns." The McGuire Sisters have fun with "A Bushel and a Peck," while Sammy Davis Jr. really throws himself into "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat." If you love Guys and Dolls or any of the singers in question, this is worth hearing at least once for some decent performances. 

My sisters and I had Raggedy Ann and Andy's Happiness Album when we were really little in the early 80's, and we used to listen to it a lot. It's a rainy day, but Raggedy Ann and Andy find ways to cheer everyone up, including dancing to a number from the Hansel and Gretel opera. In fact, their "Brother, Come and Dance With Me" is the highlight of the album, and just too adorable. The original song "Happy Is" and a jaunty version of "This Old Man" are basically there to pad out the album, but they're so catchy you don't mind a bit.

Finished out the day with dinner, a shower, and today's Match Game Marathon. Today, we honored the 60th anniversary of Star Trek with the two weeks featuring William Shatner and questions revolving around Star Trek or space. Shatner first appeared on the show in 1974, when he'd just done the controversial TV movie The Tenth Level. He found himself dealing with a slightly flustered Anne Meara next to him, while Brett sat in the ingenue seat next to Richard Dawson for the last time. 

By the time Shatner turned up again in mid-1975, he was starring on the short-lived spy western Barbary Coast. His second week also featured soft-spoken Broadway star Julie Harris, a close friend of Charles Nelson Reilly. One of the contestants that week jumped around so much, Gene claimed she actually broke the set. There was also the lady who cheerfully gave a point-blank answer as to what everyone was excited about Lola the stripper getting prints for. 

There were occasional references to Star Trek later in the series, too. Nipsey Russell nearly took off his clothes to show that he was hardly unattractive in one episode. Another friend of Charles, Elizabeth Allen, made her only appearance on another. There was also the 1979 episode with Darryl Anderson of Lou Grant, Donna Pescow of Angie and Out of This World, and a question about what came to a point on Spock's sister.

Space, the final game show frontier. It's your mission to boldly go where no game show has gone before with these hilarious out-of-this-world episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - William Shatner & Star Trek Marathon on Match Game

Hot Weather Harts

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. "Little Bear Sing a Song" has Little Bear and all of his friends singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." After they exhaust that, they make up their own song with very silly lyrics until Mother Bear calls Little Bear to bed. They want to build "A House For Mitzi" in the treetops, but Mitzi would rather sleep in the branches. "Up a Tree" has monkey Mitzi teaching Little Bear the fine art of tree-climbing and jumping into fall leaves.

Called Uber next. Today was my first double shift of the school year, and my heel simply wasn't up to three long rides. Fortunately, no trouble with my rides. The one going to work came in 10 minutes and got me there literally with no time to spare. The one going to Thomas Sharp came in 8 minutes. I had a harder time getting a ride home from Thomas Sharp at rush hour, but they eventually came in 10 minutes as well.

The Acme was dead as a doornail for almost the entire morning. Once we get past Labor Day and the kids go back to school, the only thing going on until mid-October is Eagles football on Sundays. One of the managers did fuss at me to try to figure out how to make the women's bathroom smell better. This may be nearly impossible. It's a bathroom with no ventilation in a 60's era building. I sprayed it with Glade and hoped for the best. Otherwise, I spent the day just sweeping and putting cold items away and gathering the few carts. It was finally starting to pick up just as I left.

Changed shirts quickly, then went around the corner to Applebee's. I hadn't eaten at the one near the Acme in ages. They were even quieter than the Acme when I arrived, despite it being just past 1. I think I saw a few people eating on the other side of the room, closer to the bar. I got a cheeseburger, salty fries, and Diet Pepsi as part of a $10.99 lunch offer where you could buy certain items with fries or bread sticks and a soda for a fixed price. 

After lunch, I quickly returned to the Acme. Needed to use the bathroom, and I forgot to bring a snack to eat with the kids. Grabbed mouthwash, too. Perodontax was on sale. Called Uber a little early. I just sat at the tiny circle garden outside of the school before it was time to join them.

On one hand, we were a lot busier. There were 20 younger kids all together, 7 at my table. I only had trouble in the bathroom with that one pokey girl again. We didn't give them much chance to misbehave in the cafeteria after snack time. We ended up taking them out early, but...that might have been a mistake. It was dry and sunny but much hotter, in the upper 80's. They spent most of the time looking for ladybugs under the shady tree and begging to ride the swings, then arguing when they got on them. It's probably just as well that we decided it was too hot to keep them out and brought them in early.

I think they actually had more fun inside. The head teacher cut out apples, leaves, and stems. They glued the leaves and stems on the apples, then colored them any way they wanted. There was even cut-out shapes and feathers to decorate them with. Some kids just colored a red apple. Some made rainbow apples. Some forwent the coloring and covered them in bits of tissue paper and cut-out hearts and stars and feathers. Even I got to join in. My apple was a rainbow of fall colors - red, red-orange, orange, yellow. I glued the little heart and star cut-outs on the border.

When I got home, I went right into The Price Is Right. A young lady and a sailor had made it to some peculiar Showcases. The "regular" showcase started off with the usual furniture, but ended with a car, rare for the non-story Showcases. The models as "Prize Busters" turning Johnny Olsen's ugly old furniture into a lavish TV and couch and his house into a brand-new trailer puts this episode firmly in late '84-early 85. 

Match Game '76 got even goofier. Scoey Mitchelll spent the week encouraging and ogling a pretty, plump contestant. At one point, he even got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of a round. He returned riding on the turntable before the Audience Match! He also pointed out to the audience when they booed him that he could be doing much worse things with his time. 

Switched to Hart to Hart after dinner. Jennifer gets caught up in "The Shooting" when a very particular British commercials director insists on her being the perfect model for his latest opus. She objects at first, but enjoys being the center of attention...until the casting director is killed and a model who resembled Jennifer is nearly run over. Jonathan is the one who discovers that a man Jennifer put in prison is out for blood, and isn't adverse to blowing up the entire production if it'll take out Jennifer, too. 

Moved to Let's Pretend next. "The Six Swans" is pretty much a standard retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson story. "Thumbelina" gets slightly more creative. The frogs and beetles who find her in the story are replaced by bumblebees in the version on the cassette - I guess bees come across better on radio than frogs or beetles. The rest of the story goes as usual. (Although I never did like how quick Thumbelina is to throw off her name or the woman who raised her.) 

Finished the night with a few Hungarian Folk Tales at YouTube. A young girl will buy "The Cursed Castle" if she can make enough money after a year. She gets help from a friendly black cat who is definitely not what he seems. "Martin and the Cursed Princess" is "The Enchanted Frog or Cat" elsewhere, up to and including him working for the frog for three years and her giving him beautiful clothes and embroidery. "A Talking Vine, a Smiling Apple, and a Jingling, Tingling Peach" is a variation on "The Singing, Springing Lark." This time, it's the title objects that a father cannot find for his daughter and a pig who insists on marrying her. As with "The Cursed Castle," this little piggy is a lot more pleasant than what he seems.

All Quiet On the Oaklyn Front

Started off the morning with breakfast and Monchhichis. Moncho and the others visit "Cloud City" when it arrives over Monchia and won't stop raining. An old magician friend of Wizzar's was accused of stealing the magical key that drives Cloudy City and produces its weather. The real thief is the owl king's buzzard prime minister, but he keeps saying everyone else did it. The Monchhichis have to rescue their magician friend, then find the key and convince the king that they're no thieves.

Headed out on my bike after Monchhichis ended. It was a gorgeous day for a ride up to Haddon Heights. I did have to dodge some sidewalk and street repair in between Audubon and Haddon Heights, but otherwise, it was a lovely ride. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It remains sunny, breezy, and dry, probably in the lower 80's. 

My first stop was the Haddon Heights Library. I've been there a few times, but I've never really explored them for very long. Their non-fiction books are in a loft-like area upstairs. I found a book written in 1991 on the Broadway musicals of the previous decade, including long-forgotten flops like Tintypes, Rags, and Dance a Little Closer. 

I dug up another Images of America book in the history section that proved to be even more interesting. I didn't know the Coast Guard base at Cape May went so far back. It started as a Naval base during World War I and would be one again in World War II. In between, the Coast Guard used it to catch rum runners and train recruits. In fact, Cape May is the recruit training ground for new Coast Guard trainees. No wonder I have fond childhood memories of seeing young guys in Coast Guard sweatsuits jogging down Ocean Avenue, past the Beach Theater, chanting sea shanties as they followed their sergeant. (The houses where most of my friends on the base in the 80's lived are brand new, though. In fact, they'd just been built when my friends moved into them.) 

I had lunch a block down the street at Ralph's Pizza. I made it there just in time. I no sooner ordered a brownie, an unsweetened iced tea, and two mini stromboli (pepperoni and cheese steak), than a pack of elementary school-age boys came barreling in behind me. All six of them managed to slide into one booth with their pizza while I enjoyed my meal at a smaller one. Honestly, far from being offensive, they were really funny (other than they did block the sidewalk with their bikes as I was trying to leave).

Stopped at the big CVS down the White Horse Pike on my way home. They didn't have the Listerine Gum Protection mouth wash that I wanted. I had more luck buying those Nature's Valley vitamins buy one, get one, and bags of small toys for my Trick-or-Treat Mystery Bags next month. 

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. I ordered one of those Radio Spirits clamshell sets of a specific old-time radio show from the 90's on eBay, in this case Let's Pretend. I know it's a kids' show, but it does retell fairy tales that don't often turn up elsewhere, like "The Yellow Dwarf," "Princess Moonbeam," and "The Donkey, the Table, and the Stick." I started off with something better-known. Their version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" starts off pretty normal, with a slightly older Jack climbing that stalk and taking his father's hen and gold back from the giant. Where this one diverges is in the end. Jack has to rescue kid cousins of his who were taken by the giant, too. 

Headed off to Thomas Sharp after "Jack" ended. We all started off in the library, due to the first music class of the year in the cafeteria. This time, we had 19 younger kids, 6 at what would normally have been my table. Other than one young lady being pokey, I had no trouble with them in the bathroom. In fact, it ended up being a rather pleasant afternoon. They drew on a paper taped to a table and played with Barbies and magnetic tiles after lunch, then went outside. I was able to get them to wait long enough this time that there was less arguing about the swings. They all took their turns while running around and dancing to "Zoo" from Zootopia 2 and songs from The Lion King, Encanto, Trolls, Moana, and Frozen 2. 

When we got back inside, the remaining five kids had new toys to play with. The older kids came in from the blacktop as they set up atom-shaped building toys and plastic farm animals with a fenced enclosure, a tractor, and hay. There were only two younger kids and five older kids left by the time I went home, and one of the younger kids headed out at the same time I did.

Took a shower when I got home, then had dinner while watching Match Game '76. Tonight finished out the week with Dick Gautier, Fannie Flagg, and Della Reece. There was a lot of joking about Dick's artwork on his cards, including a really nice caricature of the champ he gave to her. Fannie's attempt at artwork wasn't quite that...developed. There was also Richard hugging another contestant after she won and refusing to let go, even when Gene tried to separate them.

Moved to the final three episodes of Remember WENN next. Gertie's writing again in "The Sunset Also Rises." This time, it's a TV script about a fading radio star (Hilary) who wants a writer (Scott) to create one last big show for her...but the others butt in with their own ideas. Hilary would rather play the ingenue, Eugenia and Mr. Eldridge think they'd make great divas, and Victor...is there, too.

"At Cross Purposes" starts with a woman walking in...who turns out to be Jeff in costume for Charley's Aunt. Jeff's outfit ends up inspiring everyone at the station to jump into drag in order to avoid process server Cribby Menlow (Ray Ianncelli), who has marriage papers for Jeff and is familiar with Scott and Maple, too. It's newsgirl Betty, however, who runs in with the real "big, big news" - Pearl Harbor was bombed. The US has just entered World War II.

Which takes us into the series finale "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Victor claims there's a "captain" coming to take care of military business at WENN, but it's not likely to be the lunatic in camouflage gear (J.K Simmons) who thinks he's Amazon Andy. Scott, who has enlisted, and Victor get Betty up against the wall about who she really loves, Eugenia asks Mr. Foley to marry her, and Hilary claims she's married to someone else...

And that, sadly, is that. The show was supposed to get a fifth and final season, but was canceled instead when the new head of AMC wanted to focus on movies instead. The abrupt ending of the series still hurts, even after 30 years. At least AMC is acknowledging its existence now. It can be found in full on AMC Plus. The first two seasons are free on Plex, and most of the first two seasons and a few scattered episodes of the fourth are currently on the Internet Archive. Even with the truncated ending and off-and-on 4th season, I still recommend this for fans of period shows or sitcoms that go way outside the box. 

Finished the night with I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat. Surprisingly, the Looney Tunes songs are actually really good. The title song, as you can guess, is on Sylvester and Tweety's relationship. "Daffy's Rhapsody" shows how he feels about being the resident miser and oddball. "Yosemite Sam" tells us why he loves his guns and chasing after Bugs. "That's All Folks" is a charming ballad for Petunia Pig as she wishes Porky would pay more attention to her. Too bad the other side is given over to songs about Bozo the Clown, whom I have no interest in whatsoever, and frankly gets annoying. The Tunes' numbers are honestly pretty fun, especially Porky and Petunia's sweet "That's All" number. 

Change of Heart

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mickey and Minnie hide six eggs, and the rest of the gang has to find them in order to reveal "Mickey's Springtime Surprise." Funny Bunny Pete plays all the tricks he can in order to keep the others from finding those eggs!

Headed off to the Haddon Township Library to meet Bryanna around quarter of 11. Got there just in time...to learn that she was late and wouldn't arrive until 12:30. Figured I'd get my grocery shopping done and went across the street to Target. My cell phone went off while I was in the snack food aisle. Seems she meant 11:30, not 12:30. I just grabbed brownie mix (which was on sale), granola bars, and an Orange Cream Coke Zero and rushed back across the street.

Bryanna was there when I arrived. She had applications for the Gloucester Township Libraries to sign. On one hand, they were only for part-time summer work, one as a regular library assistant, the other as a youth library assistant. I thought I wanted a real full-time job, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm up for that big of a change. As badly as I want out of the Acme (and I want out very badly), it might be better to do something smaller and see what I'm really interested in and what I can handle.

Explored the library a bit before I finally headed out to finish running errands at the Westmont Plaza. I couldn't find the treat bags I thought I picked up for the kids' Easter gifts, so I bought larger ones at Dollar Tree. Also grabbed two last Easter cards there. Picked up golden raisins, coconut milk, soda, sparkling water, sprinkles, poppy seeds, brown sugar, and bananas at a quiet Sprouts. 

At least it was a gorgeous day for all the running around! The sun was finally out, without a hint of cloud anywhere. Though it remained windy, it was also much warmer, into the lower 60's. It was so nice, I stopped at the Hispanic ice cream parlor on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike on the way home. The lime and cookies ice cream I had was delicious, crunchy and sweet all at once, with just enough hint of lime.

Went straight home after I got out of Sprouts. Watched The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town while I ate lunch and moved the new CD/cassette player to the top of one of the low book shelves in the bedroom. (The stuffed animals that had been there went on top of the record crate where I originally had the cassette player.) I went further into this and Here Comes Peter Cottontail at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in April 2019.

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town

After that ended, I went downstairs to make Pastel M&M Brownie Cookies. The original recipe called for the brownie cookies to be topped with Cadbury pastel eggs, but I already had the M&Ms. I mixed the M&Ms and sprinkles in with the brownie mix and added cocoa and more flour for extra richness. Yum! I'm giving these away and didn't taste them, but they sure smelled chocolate-y in the oven!

Listened to the Wicked soundtrack on my new CD player while I made the cookies. I almost didn't buy this. I've had the original cast album for years, and the song list is identical to the first half of the show. However, it does have fabulous performances from its two witches. Adriana Grande's "Popular" and her part of "Dancing Through Life" is adorable. Cynthia Erivo does equally well by gentle ballads like "I'm Not That Girl" and big belting numbers like the finale "Defying Gravity." Honestly, if you loved the movie, you'll probably want this, too. 

Tested the cassette player while the cookies were in the oven. It almost immediately ate my original copy of the Beach Boys' Still Crusin', but the soundtrack from the 1945 State Fair worked just fine. State Fair isn't regarded as one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best works, but it does have some decent songs. "It Might As Well Be Spring" won an Oscar, and I'm also fond of the ballad "That's for Me" and the chorus number "It's a Grand Night for Singing." 

My Jack Benny Show cassette played fine, too, and I've run this to death since I bought it in college. "Phil Harris Goes to War" with his band in the episode I listened to. More specifically, they joined the Merchant Marines. Jack is more interested in the trip to New York they'll be taking in the next episode, including the ultra-cheap Acme Arms Hotel. (Wonder if he ran into any Looney Tunes there?) Meanwhile, Mary Livingstone prefers to think of her husband as a mother duck, Rochester explains to Jack that he got the wrong pajamas back from the cleaners, and youthful singer Kenny Baker hasn't gotten around to seeing his boss' then-new movie yet. 

Did Sunday School Musical when I went back upstairs. I go further into this religious B-movie imitation of High School Musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Sunday School Musical

Switched to Match Game '77 during dinner. Buzzr took a flying leap into the week with Patty Duke and Nipsey Russell. Thankfully, Richard was still in a decent mood here, surprising considering this was the week after the infamous School Riot and he couldn't have been happy with the show or producer and judge Ira Skutch at that point.

Wink and Gene are only doing slightly better mid-way through their Password Plus week. Wink finally got to an Alphabetics and did well on it. Gene, however, keeps using long words that no one understands or have to be explained. 

Finished the night with the two children's Easter albums I've dug up in the last few weeks. Disney's Peter Cottontail has a too-sweet choral version of the title song, but also includes a retelling of the short story "Grandpa Bunny" from Storybookland. Songs about Thumper and the White Rabbit are just ok.

I found Peter Cottontail: The First Easter Record for Children to be vastly more enjoyable. Gene Autry has a lot more fun with the title song, along with the western-themed "Bunny Round-Up Time." Rosemary Clooney gets the cute "Eggbert, the Easter Egg" and "My Choc'late Rabbit." Art Carney gives us two goofy story-songs, the retelling of Peter Rabbit as "Flop, Mop, Cotton, and Pete," and the description of bunnies as "A Thump, A Twinkle, and a Twitch, or How to Make a Rabbit." 

Brave New Worlds

Got a quick start with breakfast and "Mr. Duck Steps Out." Donald wants to go on a date with Daisy, but his nephews want to go, too. He tries to distract them with ice cream, but they'd rather send a popping corn cob in his beak. Good thing this makes him a heck of a jitterbugger and Daisy thinks he's just creating a new dance. 

I got up early because a friend was helping me clear out that storage room in Lawnside and bring my remaining things here, and she could only get a truck from the Home Depot across from Extra Storage at 8 in the morning. We went in. I put in the deposit on the truck when they could get me to a card machine that worked. We went outside, climbed into a nice little truck, and drove across the street. 

It was so early, the office wasn't open yet. I'd talk to them later. For now, we removed everything that remained in the room, including the cassettes, the Star Wars action figures and shelf they hung on, my cookbooks and cake decorating books, the old dresser I used to use for storing small items like tape, and my pots and pans. I also finally found the fall wreath I'd been looking for. Clearing the entire room out and bringing it all home took a little over an hour. 

After we dropped off the truck, she drove me to Collingswood so I could take money out of PNC Bank to pay her. At least we could do that quick, too. There was no trouble on the road, no traffic anywhere, even in Lawnside. I was home by quarter of 10.

Spent the next hour shelving cookbooks while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Jodi is upset when her mother goes away in "Jodi's Mama Travels for Work," like my sisters and I were when Dad had to go on long fishing trips in the 80's and 90's. Jodi is reminded that grown-ups will come back to you, just like we were. In this case, her mother left her a paper chain with links that lead to special surprises. "The Tiger Family Babysits" when Nana goes to the store. Jodi's toddler brothers Teddy and Leo are scared, but Daniel knows how to distract them.

Switched to The Busy World of Richard Scarry next. Huckle and Hilda are supposed to be "King and Queen for a Day" in the big parade. Hilda isn't happy with the rocket ship float Mr. Fix It insists on, and Huckle doesn't want to be caught in the middle. When he gets sick, it's Lowly who has to  show them how to compromise. A young pig is determined to show she can be a good cowgirl and lead "The Piggy Express" through rain, sleet, and heat. The hobos who live in town teach the kids that "Practice Makes Perfect" when they dig out their own records and find music they want to rehearse for the school recital.

Headed out shortly after 11. Took Uber to my first stop of the afternoon. I wanted to make sure everything was good at Extra Storage and they knew we were out. The cheerful girl at the counter in the main building said they figured it out when they saw I left the door to the storage room open as requested online and ended my account shortly after. I even got to keep the lock I used for the room. 

Thought it would be easier to let Uber pick me up at the Shop-Rite across the street, especially since I was going that way anyhow. Grabbed two bottles of Pepsi Wild Cherry and Cream Zero, then called the driver. The driver going to Somerdale came in 2 minutes; the one going to Lawnside arrived in 4. Once again, no trouble on the road. We were at Amy's Omlette House in 5 minutes.

They were a little busier, but it didn't take me long to get a seat. I enjoyed the "lite bites" pancakes so much the last time I had them, I tried another type of "lite bites" pancakes. Caramel Apple Pancakes were topped with sliced apples and drizzled with caramel. Think I tasted walnuts in the pancakes. Not bad. The apples were just sweet and tart enough, and their tartness helped make the caramel less overwhelmingly sweet. 

Hurried down the White Horse Pike back towards Magnolia after I ate. I mainly came that way to finally see Captain America: Brave New World. I wanted to last week when it came out, but I just didn't have the time. I slid into a full theater just as the commercials ended. I won't go into spoilers, but I did enjoy it. I always liked the Captain America films, and this one was no exception. Harrison Ford did especially well as the tough-guy president who is trying to make a peace treaty with Japan and get his hands on a new type of alien metal that has fallen to Earth, and he plays well off Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America. The politics may be murky and the plot is overly complicated and smacks of 70's-80's arms race paranoia, but this isn't bad, and is certainly better than the action film I saw last February, Argylle. 

I didn't figure it out until a teacher told me after the movie ended, but the reason the theater was full on a Tuesday afternoon was a middle school were there on a school trip. That was annoying. They talked noisily, left a mess all over, and the boys made inappropriate noises and jokes during quiet times. The kids were so obnoxious, three of the people sitting next to me got up and left with almost a half-hour before the movie ended. (And why the heck were they seeing a Marvel movie on a school day? Black History Month?)

Made a brief stop at Dollar Tree to buy a new comb (and make change for the bus), then went up the hill to Walmart. Didn't find a whole lot there. The TV sets that interested me had security locks on them, and there were almost no records left. I bought probiotic soda, Junkless granola bars, and disinfectant wipes. Went down to the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus after I finished. They were a little over 10 minutes late, not bad for the height of rush hour. I got home within 15 minutes. 

Soon as I got home, I went through more of the boxes, upstairs and down, trying to figure out what worked upstairs and what didn't. Cleared out a lot of stuff, from cassettes I'd since bought on CD or record to now-expired tea and spices. Moved the cassette shelves downstairs when the remaining cassettes and the player worked fine on one of the record crates. Moved pots and pans to a bin and brought the crate they were in upstairs to hold records. 

Watched Double Platinum while I worked. I go further into this TV movie from 1999 featuring Diana Ross and Brandy as an estranged mother and daughter at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - Double Platinum 

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. I don't think putting Bob Barker next to Charlene Tilton was a smart move. He and Gene spent most of the week drooling over her. Meanwhile, Richard Deacon is more than happy to throw a little shade at Bob, while everyone else tosses it Gene and Brett's way.

Finished the night testing the cassette player with one of my last finds before I moved. I fished a 12-tape collection of oldies from 1993 out of the trash pile at Jodi's house. I don't know why she was throwing it away. Only the first tape is missing, and the rest work just fine. I went with Tape 7, which features lively dance numbers like "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors and sweeter ballads like "Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby Vee and "Since I Don't Have You" by the Skyliners. (Oh, and the cassette player works just fine.) 

Happy Holidays Dolls

Began a sunny, windy morning with breakfast and Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales. The most recent Peanuts holiday special is another series of skits, this one intended to be shown as part of an hour-long broadcast with A Charlie Brown Christmas. It has some cute material in its own right, including Snoopy as a street-corner Santa and Sally writing to "Samantha Claus" and how she gets a Christmas tree.

Rushed out to run a few quick errands after the Peanuts ended. First stop was the PNC Bank in Collingswood to pick up a check for the rent. Since it was on my way home anyway, I stopped at the Oaklyn Library to volunteer. The head librarians were decorating the main room when I walked in. They were the only ones I saw the whole half-hour I was there. I looked at the DVDs and organized the board books in the kids' area.

As soon as I dropped the rent next-door, I headed inside to start the dusting in my bedroom. There's a reason I only do heavy dusting in the late fall and early spring. It takes a long time to thoroughly dust in there. That's where I keep the majority of my books and collections. Some of those things, especially the tiny six-inch Star Wars action figures, are a pain to clean under, and that's when I'm not reading the books.

Listened to my True Value Happy Holidays cassettes and CDs while I worked. I've had most of these for a long time. I started collecting them from the True Value Hardware store off just off Cape May's downtown area in 1993. I bought Volumes 28, 29, and 30 as cassettes. (I've since replaced 30 on CD.) I finally had a CD player by the time Volume 31 came out in 1996 and have 31 through 34 on CD. I only have 35 on cassette because the Cape May True Value was out of the CDs by the time I came home from college. The True Value became an Ace Hardware in 2001, which put an end to my collecting. I did find 39 at a yard sale in Audubon a few years ago. (There's a small True Value on a side street in Audubon.)

Of the True Value collections I own, my favorite by far is my first CD, Volume 31. There's a lot of classics there, including the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick," Frank Sinatra's version of "I'll Be Home For Christmas," "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt (the first time I ever heard that version!), "Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen, and the rollicking Andy Williams "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." My favorite of the cassettes is Volume 28, with "A Candle In the Window" by Alabama, Jim Croce's "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way," "The Holly and the Ivy" by Roger Whittaker, and the adorable "Til Santa's Gone (I Just Can't Wait)" by Clint Black.

(And wouldn't you know it, Volume 28 broke almost as soon as I finished listening to it. Well, I have run it every year for the last 25 years. I'm going to have to check around for a replacement for that one.)

Here's more details on the Happy Holidays series - this forum lists every single volume, including some oddities like the two done by a piano team or the 2-disc 20th anniversary set.

It took me so long, I broke for lunch about half-way through. Watched Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey while making a Banana-Cranberry Smoothie for lunch. Nestor is a cute donkey colt with excessively long ears. They're always getting in his way, until a sweet cherub named Tilly leads him to the desert. He's purchased by a certain couple named Joseph and Mary, who need a donkey to take them to Bethlehem. Those ears prove to be literal lifesavers when they allow him to hear his way through a sandstorm.

Dressed the dolls for the holidays after I finally finished dusting the bedroom. I had no idea what to put Ariel in. I finally went with the Sweet Spring Outfit, a cream-colored knitted sweater dress with silver threads that looks glittery enough to pass for the holidays, despite the pink flower and ribbon trim. Borrowed Molly's white t-strap shoes and the ruffly Springfield Collection sweater, as the dress is short-sleeved. Whitney wears a black felt Springfield Collection shrug over her Snowflake Ball Gown from 2010 with the black velvet strap shoes from Ivy's Chinese New Year Dress. (They fit her better than Jessa.) Jessa wears Josefina's black mules with the modern Chinese New Year Outfit from the mid-90's. Samantha's in her Cranberry Christmas Dress with the red shoes from her green Spring Dress. Molly gets her green velvet dress with the strap shoes from Sam's current "meet" outfit. Felicity's wearing her blue Colonial Ballgown with the choker from Josefina's Feast Day accessories. Josefina looks like a Spanish princess in her yellow-striped Regency dress and black mantilla. I threw in the black fan from her Feast Day accessories for added elegance.

Did some writing next. The Ghost finally returns Scrooge to his parlor room where they started. Scrooge wants him to stay, but his time is growing short. He warns Scrooge against staying on his course, showing him two ragged children who represent the ills of man. He and the children finally vanish, leaving Scrooge to fall into a troubled sleep in his chair.

Had a very quick dinner of canned Italian Wedding soup around 6:30, then pulled out the Santa Bag. This huge red felt bag holds the decorations I always put up first and put away last, like the nativity, the wreath, the crocheted cup holders, the mistletoe, and the garlands. The garlands tend to be a bit of a pain to hang up and tack to the wooden walls. Mom gave them to me specifically because she'd gotten tired of trying to get them to hang right. The effect looks so good around the windows, though, that it's worth the effort. (I've got a secret to hanging them that Mom didn't have. I use twist-ties and tie most of them to the unused curtain rods on the windows.)

Ran Mame while I worked. I go into further detail on this bright and brassy vehicle for Lucille Ball at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog:

Mame

Finished the night online after a shower chatting with Lauren and watching more MS3K on YouTube. San Francisco International looks like it's from not long after Mike came in. The guys make fun of a TV movie that was a pilot for a short-lived series in the 1970's. This standard 70's melodrama is so dull, it needs the guys' wisecracks. (What it doesn't need is Mike's bizarre and dated Urkel imitations in the skits.)

San Francisco International

The Shadow Knows

I awoke to rain that lingered in one form or another through most of the morning. Brightened the gloom with Lemon Blueberry Pancakes and The Boy Friend. Julie Andrews was a winning Polly in the original Broadway cast. "Won't You Charleston With Me?" sounds much better here, and "A Room In Bloomsbury" is especially sweet.

Did a tiny bit of writing before I left for work. Added some details about Yasmin Hutt's late husband, a grotesquely obese gangster who recently died from what was believed to be cardiac arrest...though some claim it was poisoning. Leia is trying to figure out how to get the Sword from Yasmin's ill-gotten antiquities collection when one of her pig-like goons comes up and tells her they've taken one of the chorus girls for questioning...

It had rained hard while I was writing. The rain had slowed to a mild shower by the time I headed to work, which allowed me to take my bike. Despite the ongoing showers, I spent most of the day outside, rounding up carts. I also gathered baskets, gave the bathrooms a look, and did returns and the indoor trash. We were really busy today, especially early-on. People are starting to prepare for Labor Day and kids going back to school. Others may have canceled or curtailed weekend vacation plans due to the weather.

The rain was down to a soft mist when I headed home. I was so sore from doing carts all day, I could barely move. I settled for leftovers and some episodes of The Shadow. This radio show from the 30's and 40's is kind of a cross between a superhero comic and a pulp horror mystery. Lamont Cranston (performed by Orson Welles in these early episodes) picked up the ability to cloud men's minds and appear invisible on a trip to India. Agnes Moorehead was originally his girlfriend, Margo Lane. Naturally, he uses these abilities to fight crime. I figured the chilly, damp weather was appropriate for these fairly dark mysteries.

Of the three episodes I listened to tonight, my favorite is "The Bride of Death," the spooky tale of Lamont and Margo rescuing a young girl from being sacrificed by an Indian cult. "The Temple Bells of Nibun" has an Indian woman who has been drugging the son of a rich man threaten to eliminated the Shadow's invisibility powers if he tries to stop her. "Poison Death" is a cat-and-mouse game that pits Lamont and Margo against a madman who is using poisons in the city's water to kill off innocent victims. Killing the head of the sanitation department clues Lamont in to who he is and what he has planned.

If you're a fan of pulp fiction and unique superheroes like I am, all three episodes (and many more) can be found on YouTube.

The Bride of Death
The Poison Death
The Temple Bells of Nibun

I've had these episodes on cassette for a long time. I bought a set of four cassettes, each holding two episodes, from Borders during my college years, probably sometime in the late 90's. (I also have an additional cassette with two shows from one of the later non-Welles seasons. I forget where I got it from. It was possibly a yard sale or thrift shop find.) When we lived together with three other girls in around 1999-2000, Amanda and I used to lay in our shared bedroom and shiver during cold night while listening to The Shadow to drown out the party noises above us. Oh, how we wished we could send away for that trial ton of Blue Coal! I've never been able to listen to these recordings without fondly remembering those nights we spent huddled in our beds, drifting off to sleep while The Shadow cackled in the background.

Preparing for the Holidays

It was raining when I got up this morning. By the time I got to breakfast, the rain was gone and the sun was starting to emerge. Ran Santa Claus Is Coming to Town while I ate. Another Rankin-Bass stop-motion classic, this one is their version of the origins of everyone's favorite holiday gift-giver. Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney) is an orphan raised by a group of toy-making elves in the mountains. He tries to bring their wares to Sombertown in the valley below them, but the cranky Burgomeister Meister Burger has outlawed toys. When Kris insists on ignoring the town's rules, he's declared an outlaw...but time has a way of making outlaws into legends. Kris' legacy will outlast the burgomeister and become one of the most beloved of all time.

Made my bed, then dusted the entertainment area for the next hour and a half. This is where the TV, DVD player, Wii, DVDs, video games, and non-fiction books on media are. (The CD player is also in here, mainly so I can listen to the radio on it.) I'm doing a thorough dusting, which means moving everything and dusting under it. I also cleared out a bunch of items I hadn't read or listened to or looked at in ages, mainly books, CDs, and cassettes. (I just cleared out the DVDs not long ago.)

Put on a couple of dubbed specials as I worked. Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus tell the tale of the little girl who wrote to the New York Sun asking about the existence of Santa, and the editor's touching answer.

Papa Bear and the cubs are determined to find The Bernstein Bears' Christmas Tree, come heck or high snow. Unfortunately, every tree they decide on is already the home to woodland critters. The animals whose homes they spared have a surprise waiting for them at their tree house!

Bugs Bunny's Christmas Tales is a Chuck Jones anthology of three original Looney Tunes holiday shorts. The first is a condensed Christmas Carol, with Yosemite Sam as Scrooge and Bugs as Nephew Fred. The second has Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner chasing each other through the snow. Taz and Bugs headline the third, which has Bugs mistaking Taz for Santa when he accidentally ends up in the big guy's red suit.

Headed out around 1 to run a quick errand. I wanted to get to the Oaklyn Library to do some volunteering and drop off my donation. They were busy for them, with a couple of older women on the computers and CNN on the TV. I organized DVDs and took a look at the board books. My donation was appreciated. The librarian said one of those ladies grabbed a book before she could even organize it.

When I got home, I had a quick lunch while watching Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales. The fourth and final (to date) Peanuts holiday show was really just created to fill out airspace with Charlie Brown Christmas. That said, there is some cute material here, including Sally writing to "Samantha Claus" and how she gets a tree and Snoopy dressed as a corner Santa.

Spent the next hour and a half cleaning the bedroom. The bedroom takes forever to dust. This is where I keep most of my collections - my toys, stuffed animals, dolls, action figures, and fiction and children's books. All of those things have to be moved in order to clean under them. It can take a while, and that's when I don't stop to read the books! Listened to instrumental holiday albums while I worked, including three Manheim Steamroller cassettes, my two Glenn Miller Orchestra "In the Christmas Mood" cassettes, and the last Happy Holidays CD I didn't do yesterday, which has a mostly classical selection.

After I finally finished, it was time to put up the first Christmas decorations of the season. I keep anything that needs to go out first - the garlands, nativity, wreath, mistletoe, placemats, linens, box of New Year's party items, and poinsettia magnet. Most of these are pretty easy to figure out, except the garlands. They get draped over all the windows in the house. Trouble is, it's hard to tack them into the wooden panels on the walls in most of the apartment. The majority of them are twist-tied to unused curtain rods.

Once the decorations were up, I did some writing. Chewbacca and Rey free Han. She sends the duo to rescue Leia. To her horror, Ben has gotten the Nutcracker on the ground. He's already sliced his arm and back and is close to hacking him into splinters.

To her surprise, she manages to call the blue rock candy sword to her hand. When it does, it changes her into a beautiful fairy princess, the Dewdrop Fairy. She's now ready to take on Ben head - and wings - on.

Broke for dinner around 6:30. Made a fried egg and cheese wrap and Cranberry Flummery while watching Frosty the Snowman. We return to Rankin-Bass for the tale of a snowman who comes to life, thanks to a magician's hat. When it starts to get warmer, a little girl and a rabbit vow to return him to the North Pole...but the lousy magician who once owned that hat wants it back and is on their trail.

Finished the night with Lego Star Wars. I like Indiana Jones. His blaster has stronger bullets than the lasers used by most of the characters, and the whip makes him useful as a long-range fighter. He's also got this nifty metalic sheen on him. I tried "Secret Plans," "Falcon Flight," "Betrayal Over Bespin," and "Jedi Battle" and managed to complete the latter two.

Dusting and Disappointments

It was still quite sunny when I awoke this morning. I celebrated my vacation with Banana Pancakes. Yum. They came out perfectly - not overcooked, not undercooked, just sweet enough. Best pancakes I've had in ages.

Worked on a collage for the next few hours. I know I just made one not long ago, but I've been flooded with catalogs in the past few weeks. There were too many to fit in the basket in the bathroom. Plus I had to get a 5 dollars off coupon from an older Bed Bath & Beyond flyer. Not to mention, I've never done one with a specific holiday theme before. I think it came out very well. The Vermont Country Store catalog in particular was a treasure trove of holiday memorabilia.

It took me far longer than I'd originally planned to cut out all those photos! It was past noon when I got started on dusting the dining and music areas. My living room is so big, I break it into three "areas." The dining area is where the table is. CDs, records, and the record player (along with my big chair) are in the music area. Everything else - books, DVDs, the TV, the DVD player, the CD player (which also has the radio) - are in the entertainment area. (That's where I'm typing this now.)

Before I start decorating for Christmas, I always do as much dusting as I can. I dust under everything I can move. That's why it takes me so long...and why I put it off. It was past 1:30 when I finally finished doing the dining and music areas. I decided I'd do the rest tomorrow. I pulled on a jacket and boots and headed to Dad and Jodie's house to watch the Eagles-Bengals game.

Or that was the plan. When I arrived, no one was home. I thought I'd make a trip to CVS and see if they were back later. Nope. I returned after about an hour with conditioner and Peanuts and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-themed hot chocolate packets for a friend, and they still weren't home. I was really disappointed. I was looking forward to spending time with them today.

(Maybe it's just as well. The Eagles played terribly today, losing to the not-much-better Bangles 32-14.)

Cheered myself up with writing when I got home. Snoke has taken Leia prisoner. The guards hold Rey back. The Nutcracker has vanished. Rey's hoping he went to get help. Poe's also gone; Kylo Ren turns the rest of the Candy Army into wooden statues. The real Han is dragged onto the platform and forced onto his knees. He begs for his son to come home, but Kylo refuses.

The fairy-turned-mouse warrior about to chop off his father's wings when a blue rock candy blade stops him. The Nutcracker has appeared with the sword that once belonged to Anakin of the Skywalking Fairies. He holds him back while Rey frees herself from the guards and Poe and Chewbacca get Han off the platform.

But the Nutcracker seems to be tiring...

Broke at 6 for leftovers for dinner and to make Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies. I used my favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies recipe. Replaced the vanilla extract with mint extract (far less than called for - peppermint extract is powerful stuff) and the chocolate chunks with the Nestle "winter" mint and dark chocolate chips. Yum. Very minty and just sweet enough.

My True Value Happy Holidays CDs and cassettes were probably the first Christmas music - and some of the first music, period - I bought for myself after I finally got my own stereo in the mid-late 90's. There was a True Value just off downtown Cape May where I bought every edition from Volume 28 through Volume 35, even after I went away to college. The Cape May True Value converted to an Ace Hardware after about 2001 (and remains so to this day), which ended my collecting. I was able to find Vol 39 at a yard sale in Audubon. (There's a tiny True Value hidden on one of the residential side streets, just over the railroad tracks from Simply Soups and Willie the Woodsman and Wife.)

Too bad I heard they ended the series in 2005. I love my True Value collections. I discovered so many wonderful songs I'd either never heard of (The Roches' lovely "Christmas Passing Through," two fun country numbers from Clint Black, "Milk and Cookies" and "Christmas For Every Boy and Girl," Perry Como's "Christmas Dream"), or had never heard in that particular version (Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby," the Boston Pops' spirited instrumental "Sleigh Ride," Dion's rollicking "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus") from my collections.

Finished out the night with Lego Star Wars. I wasn't able to get past any of the challenges I tried tonight, but the hour wasn't entirely wasted. I'd looked up how to unlock the last character I didn't have - Indiana Jones! Turns out all you need to do is watch the trailer for the first Lego Indiana Jones game in the bonus area, then buy him like the regular characters. I can't wait to see what you can do with him in the Star Wars universe, especially his whip.

Winds of Fall

Began a cloudy morning with my Sunday pancakes. The pumpkin spice chip oatmeal cookies came out so nicely, I thought I'd recreate the flavors in a cookie and make Pumpkin Spice Chip Oatmeal Pancakes. They were ok. I probably should have added a little brown sugar along with the chips.

Ran one of my favorite Christmas CDs as I ate. A Broadway Christmas is a collection of holiday songs from various shows. A few are well-known, such as "We Need a Little Christmas" from Mame or "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me In St. Louis (which turned up on Broadway as a stage show in the late 80's). Others were from lesser-known shows ("Christmas Child" from Irma La Douce), Broadway flops ("Be A Santa" from Subways are For Sleeping), taken from stage shows that haven't made Broadway ("Christmas Gifts" from a musical version of It's a Wonderful Life), or were cut numbers (the lovely "Christmas Eve" was dropped from the operetta She Loves Me). There was even an older song that had just then been rediscovered, Irving Berlin's "The Happy New Year Blues."

Did some writing after I cleaned up from breakfast. Queen Leia is ready to greet them when they arrive at the Ribbon Candy Village. Leia is a lovely older fairy, dressed in a lavender and plum-colored gown, with soft purple wings. She praises Rey and the Nutcracker for their bravery and reveals that she knows where her husband is being held. They're connected. He's in Starkiller Castle at the Kingdom of the First Order, over Dark Chocolate Mountain.

Put on a holiday cassette as I ate lunch and got ready for work. I think I like the second Disney Christmas Collection far better than the first. The strange number here is a very odd Little Mermaid version of "Deck the Halls." Otherwise, there's a lot of fun material here. I love the Disney characters' attempt at "The 12 Days of Christmas," and the not-bad original choral number "Celebrate."

Work was pretty much the same as yesterday, busy when I came in, quiet when I left. Once again, other than cleaning up a coffee spill in aisle 4, I was outside rounding up carts most of the night. This was complicated by weather that was very changed from yesterday. While we thankfully didn't get the foot of snow Lauren ended up with in Massachusetts, we did have a huge storm last night and some very heavy gale-force winds. The winds continued all throughout work (and are still continuing as I write this). It was cold and cloudy and grey. At least I had plenty of help. At one point, there were two other baggers helping me, and there was always one other person out there with me.

When I finally made it home, I made the last of the leftover Chicken Soup wit Lemon and Orzo while playing more Lego Star Wars. Finally got the last pieces I needed for "Speeder Showdown" and "Dagobah," which finished out Free Play. Tried Super Story, which is a cross between Story Mode and the Challenges. You play all six rounds one after the other, trying to finish them in under an hour and gather 100,000 studs. I did The Phantom Menace levels. I was able to gather the studs easily, but I missed the hour mark by 15 minutes. Oh well. We'll see if I do better on Attack of the Clones next time.

Winds of Spring

Began a sunny morning with Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes and two original cast albums of lesser-known musicals from the 1950's. Destry Rides Again was a musical version of a western that had twice been made into a movie (most memorably in 1939 with James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich). Here, Andy Griffith, fresh off his success in No Time For Sergeants, was the soft-spoken title character who refuses to carry a gun or resort to violence. Dolores Gray was Frenchy, the dance hall girl who woos and (eventually) falls for him. This was ok, not anything spectacular, but with some nice numbers, especially for belter Gray.

Plain and Fancy has a bit of a local connection. A typical 50's city couple has inherited a farm in the real-life Lancaster town of Bird-In-the-Hand and wants to see it. They find themselves involved in a love triangle between two Amish boys and the girl one is supposed to marry and the other wants to marry. Another Amish girl (Barbara Cook) falls for the male half of the city couple, but he just thinks she's a nice kid. Unique look at a culture that doesn't frequently turn up in musicals. This is also one of the earliest roles for long-time stage and caberet favorite Barbara Cook. She plays the Amish girl who falls for the city guy. Someone in the show recognized her talent - her character has a lot to do for one that barely figures into the plot.

Work was on-and-off busy, actually not as bad as I thought it would be. A lot of folks may be just on their way back from vacation. It should get a little busier once everyone settles in from Easter break. There were no major problems, and my relief was actually early.

When I got home from work, I went right into writing. Han and Leia, along with the Ghost crew, bring their remaining spoils back to the Rebels' camp. Han tells General Rieekian he has to pay off King Jabba, before he takes the money out of his hide. Leia wants him to stay. So does he, but he can't get her to admit she might have feelings for him.

Finished the night with leftovers for dinner while listening to that Johnny Mathis The Hollywood Musicals cassette I bought a while back. There's some interesting numbers from fairly obscure musicals on that one, including "Time After Time" from the little-known MGM movie It Happened In Brooklyn and two songs from Julie Andrews musicals, "Whistling In the Dark" from Darling Lili and Crazy World from Victor/Victoria.

Looney Tunes Holidays

I slept far longer than I'd originally planned. I barely had the time to eat breakfast and listen to Christmas With the Looney Tunes. I found this cassette at the Wildwood CVS around 2003. The later voices of the Tunes characters perform both original numbers and goofy versions of classic holiday songs. Of the originals, Daffy's "All I Want For Christmas Is More, More, More" is my favorite - it's a riot, and very Daffy. "The Halle-Looney Chorus," a medley of traditional holiday songs, and Bugs and Taz's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" are the funniest of the covers.

Work was very busy, far busier than it has been all week. It was so busy, my break was almost an hour late. Otherwise, there were no really major problems, and my relief was right on time.

It did clear out a bit later in the afternoon. While some of this may have been due to the increasingly cloudy and breezy weather, I suspect most of it was because of the Eagles game. I saw a little bit of the end of the first half in the back room during my break. Joined a couple of guys in the back for a little bit of the end. The Buffalo Bills lack the Patriots' sterling record, and are really closer to them statistics-wise. As it turned out, the most ballyhooed aspect of this game - the return of star LeShaun "Shady" McCoy to Philadelphia after being turned over to the Bills - wasn't that big of a deal. McCoy didn't make too many big plays. I saw the Eagles get one last field goal right before heading home. It was enough to let them win by the skin of their beaks, 23-20.

As soon as I got home, I went into writing. Scott and the kids let the toy soldiers and an airplane chase Pruitt Barnaby into the garbage chute. They think they've gotten rid of him, but he turns back up in the main work area, trying to ask Betty to the Christmas Festival. Scott, the kids, Mr. Eldridge, and two toy soldiers show up to cool off Barnaby's ardor. Barnaby asks Scott how he got his job when he was a known pig thief. Scott said he promised Victor Be Nimble, who was the original factory manager, that he'd reform.

Turned leftovers into Tomato-Chicken Soup for dinner while listening to more holiday Looney Tunes tales. Holi-Daze is a Peter Pan kids' LP with four stories on it. The title story tells how Bugs and Granny went to Holly, Arizona to avoid the snow and were mistaken for bank robbers by Sheriff Yosemite Sam. "'Twas a Sight Before Christmas" has Bugs interviewing several Toons in an attempt to prove to his nephew that Santa is real. "Bugs, the Red-Nosed Bunny" has Bugs taking Rudolph's place when he comes down with the flu. My favorite is the cute "Santa Claus-trophobia." Daffy and Bugs play psychiatrist and nurse for millionaire Elmer, who is upset because he thinks he's Santa. While Elmer flirts with nurse Daffy, Bugs comes up with a more positive use of Elmer's "affliction."

Garlands of Holiday Memories

It was nice to be able to sleep in for the first time on a Sunday in weeks. When I did get going, I made Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pancakes. Yummy. The last of the peanut butter and baking cocoa with a little brown sugar in my regular mix. I burned a bit of the second one; they were so dark from the cocoa, it was hard to tell when they were cooked.

As soon as I finished breakfast, I headed for the back room. I had to sort through the piles of donations I have before I could even get to the Christmas boxes. I have a bag to go to Studio LuLoo for their kids and to help them with their organization, a bag of books and videos to go to the Oaklyn Library, a bag of records to go to the Haddon Township Library, and a bag of donations that'll go to the Logan Presbyterian Church Thrift Shop eventually when I remember and have the time to get there. I tidied up around the dolls' things and put Carrie and Dulcie the Cabbage Patch dolls in their Christmas dresses. (Dulcie, the more girlish red-head, wears a fancy Build-a-Bear gold and white outfit. Tomboyish Carrie with the short blond "curls" gets a soft vintage flannel Christmas nightgown.)

After all that was organized, I could finally put up the things in the Santa Bag. The big red felt Santa Bag with the white yarn tie was originally the wrapping for my heavy winter coat. It was so big, I decided it could be put to other uses as well. It now holds all the Christmas items that I either put out first (the placemats, coasters, table runner, garlands, mistletoe, wreath) or just don't fit anywhere else (the nativity, the needlepoint poinsettia magnet, the box with the New Year's party supplies, the big bow that goes on the door of my bedroom).

It took me a while to figure out where to put some things. I wanted to find another place for the nativity besides the coffee table in the music area...but it's so big, there really isn't any other place it fits. After struggling to find room for the big gold tinsel garland that used to be on the CD rack, I came to the conclusion I really didn't have a place for it anymore. Twisting it around the CD rack was too much of a pain. I ditched the gold garland and the twist-tie poinsettias (I've had them since college), but kept the smaller white and gold garland. It's draped over one of the DVD shelves right now - I'll find a better place for it later. The mistletoe went above the front door; the linens went on the table and scattered around the room for hot drinks.

Did the garlands next. They take a while to get right. There are five fake greenery garlands. The largest, which goes around the two windows across from the living room table, used to be the garland Mom used for the upstairs banister in the house at North Cape May. The smaller one with the velvet book hanging off the center that goes over the two windows in my bedroom was used in my bedroom (later Mom's office) in the North Cape May house. The remaining three for the kitchen window and the windows that overlook the park and the pathway to my side of the house are all the same and were originally used for doorways. I mostly twist-tie them to unused curtain rods nowadays. I tack them where I have to, but the wood used for the walls in this apartment is so hard, it kills my fingers.

Finished the decorating just in time to have leftover soup for lunch, prepare my rent, and get ready for work. My True Value Hardware Christmas Collection cassettes and CDs accompanied me while I decorated and ate. There was a True Value Hardware just off Cape May's downtown for many years. Mom bought one of the collections there in 1988. It probably wasn't a surprise that I eventually would as well.

Volume 28 was one of the first cassettes I ever bought for myself with my own money, and my first Christmas album. I loved it so much, I bought every Christmas collection they sold after that. Even after we moved off Cape Island and I went to college, I continued to buy my annual True Value Hardware Christmas collection when I was home for the holidays. It was a tradition. To my disappointment, in 2001, the Cape May True Value became an Ace Hardware (which they remain to this day), which brought an abrupt end to my collecting. I still have all of the collections from 28 through 35, along with 39, which I found at a yard sale in Audubon a few years ago. (Not terribly surprising, since there is a small True Value Hardware store there.)

Work was, once again, on-and-off steady. It got a little busy later in the day, which was a problem. We really didn't have enough people to handle even mild crowds. Thankfully, by the time I was done, it was quieting down. I didn't have a relief. I was able to leave quickly with no problems.

The Shadow Knows

Started off a cloudy, cool morning with Chocolate Chip Pancakes and my old Monster Mash Party Music Halloween cassette. I picked this up from I think the CVS in Wildwood around 2002. Until the last few years, it was the only even remotely Halloween-oriented music I owned. It's your basic covers of mildly horror-oriented pop and rock songs like "Monster Mash," "Spooky," "Bad Moon Rising," and "Abracadabra." (Along with "Macho Man" and for some reason "Batdance.")

Work was busy all afternoon. The sun was coming out, and though it was windy and cool, it was also an increasingly nice day. There were lots of things going on today, including hay rides, fall fairs, and the Eagles-Panthers game tonight. And I accidentally dropped one of the 6-packs of soda cans that are on sale this week. It sprayed all over the register, mostly on me. And of course, it was diet orange soda, one of the hardest to get out of clothes. I'm glad I was wearing my older Eagles jersey that I bought from a thrift shop for five dollars. I cleaned the register and me as best I could, but I still felt sticky.

As soon as I got home, I dumped my wet clothes in the laundry basket and went right in the shower. Normally, I would have waited on the shower until later in the evening, but I still felt sticky, even after washing my arms and wiping off my jersey in the back lounge room at work. I do feel better now, especially my arms.

Went on the computer to do some writing for a little while. Maple LaMarsh is a witch. She's not a very good witch. Her concoctions are notorious for never doing what they're supposed to do. She tends to accidentally turn people into rabbits and give them mustaches when she wants to cure sniffles or make soup.

I made pasta and turkey meatballs with spinach salad and (canned) "red gravy" (tomato sauce) while listening to episodes of The Shadow. Orson Welles was the original star of this long-running pulp fiction radio show. The title character is Lamont Cranston, a playboy who learned the secret of "clouding men's minds" in the Orient and now uses it to appear invisible to criminals as "The Shadow." Margo Lane is his devoted girlfriend who (unlike many other superhero love interests) is very much in on his secret and is as tough as he is.

The first story I did, starting it before I went to work, was "Poison Death." Innocent citizens are turning up poisoned all over town...and someone is leaving notes saying that The Shadow is the cause. Lamont sets out to clear himself and find out who's really behind the poisonings.

"The Bride of Death" is a personal favorite. This time, Lamont and Margo are visiting a seaside village where a priest and four members of his congregation were killed by a bomb. The late priest's daughter is being held prisoner by the head of a cult who is trying to convince an old woman to give up her fortune.

Bret Morrison had taken over the Shadow role by the time of "The Cat That Killed." Lamont and Margo are on a scavenger hunt when they see a huge cat leaping over rooftops. That "cat" has killed at least three watch men at a warehouse owned by a young man. The youth is in despair of finding anyone to replace them. Lamont dresses as an old man to find out who this "cat" is what they're really after.

And...darn it. The Panthers remain undefeated. They out-ran the Eagles 27-16.

Summertime for Dads

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all dads, including my own two and those with children who are four-legged and feathered.

We had some pretty noisy storms overnight. The clouds were just subsiding as I finally got up around 10. Made Blueberry Coconut Pancakes and enjoyed the air conditioning as I listened to one of the two cassettes I picked up from the yard sales last week. The Hollywood Musicals features Johnny Mathis with help from Henry Mancini. I like that there's a few obscure titles, including "It Could Happen to You" (from the little-known And the Angels Sing) and "Crazy World" (from Victor/Victoria).

Work was, surprisingly for a holiday, not as busy as I thought it would be. For one thing, it got sunnier and hotter as the day went on. I suspect a lot of people may have headed off to the Shore once it became apparent that the weather wasn't going to be anywhere near as bad as the local newscasts claimed. Other than some fussy customers, there were no major problems, and my relief was on time.

It sure felt like the first day of summer when I got out of work. It actually wasn't that hot, probably in the mid-80's and a bit windy, but it was humid as heck. I hurried home the short way down the Black Horse Pike.

When I got in, I called the family in Cape May County to wish Dad-Bill a happy Father's Day. To my surprise, he answered the phone. He apparently ripped a tendon on a knee a while back and had just had surgery on it. He was at home, resting. I'm glad I got to talk to him. He's usually out working on Father's Day. Talked to Mom, too. She was let go from the Ferry earlier than expected, thanks to an error, and is now at loose ends. My nephew Skylar will be spending the night at her house to celebrate the end of the school year. I can't believe he'll be going into sixth grade in the fall!

(I'll go to Dad-Bruce's house and deliver his card tomorrow or Tuesday. I think he and Jodie may have gone away for the weekend.)

I listened to my other yard sale cassette find while having leftover chicken sausages with a farm-market fresh spinach salad for dinner. I took Barbara Streisand's Back to Broadway album out of the library a few times a while back, but I don't think I ever owned it. My favorite song on this one is the touching "Children Will Listen," from Into the Woods. I also like "Luck Be a Lady" from Guys and Dolls.

Dolly Holidays

I spent most of the morning reading The Great Santa Search and didn't get to banana pancakes for breakfast until about 40 minutes before I left for work. The Great Santa Search is the last of the Santa Chronicles trilogy. This volume mainly forgoes the history for the tale of Santa joining a reality show that's supposedly going to find the real Santa...and have him become the spokesman for a line of shoddy toys. Santa's hoping to be the winner, but the nasty sponsor is backing an especially well-liked mall Santa who is only in it for the money.

Work was steady when I came in, but it picked up later in the afternoon as people began to come out of the malls and head for football and holiday parties. By the time I was just about done, the lines were down the aisles. No one ever told if if I had a relief or not. Since none ever came in, I just shut down and left.

Since I really had no other plans for today and the Eagles-Cowboys game wasn't until 8:30, I decided I'd get the photos of my dolls and Christmas displays done. I love how they look when they're finished, but they can be a pain to pose at times. Most of my AG dolls are older, and their legs are loose and don't stand very well anymore. That's why several of them are sitting or leaning on something in the later solo shots. At any rate, here's this year's Riverside Rest holiday photos:

Christmas at the Riverside Rest 2014

Listened to the Dorothy Provine album I picked up during breakfast this morning. Oh You Kid! is pretty much the same thing as The Roaring 20's soundtrack, but this time, Provine is singing the music of the 1890s through 1910s and is backed by a male combo rather than a female one. Same deal as with The Roaring 20s soundtrack - if you like Provine or the music of the early 20th Century, these are worth looking for.

Ran children's holiday albums for the rest of the afternoon while taking the photos. I liked the second Disney's Christmas Collection even better than the first. The song "Celebrate" is fun, and the Disney characters' "Twelve Days of Christmas" is hilarious.

I have two Looney Tunes Christmas collections. Holli-Daze is four Christmas-related stories on a Peter Pan LP. "Bugs the Red-Nosed Bunny" has the rabbit taking over for Rudolph when he gets the flu. The title story takes Granny and Bugs to a small western town, where Sheriff Yosemite Sam mistakes them for bandits. "Santa Claus-strophobia" has Bugs and Daffy trying to cure millionaire Elmer of his believe that he's Santa. In the last story, Bugs interviews the other Tunes about Santa in order to prove to his nephew Clyde that the jolly old man in red does exist.

I picked up my Christmas With the Looney Tunes cassette from the Wildwood CVS somewhere around 2003. Though this more recent release doesn't use any of the original voices, some of the material is still pretty cute. I'm especially fond of Daffy's "All I Want For Christmas Is More, More, More," Bugs and Taz's take on "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and "The Halle-Looney Chorus."

Peter Pan also provides a nice, condensed half-hour Christmas Carol. This one goes the fairly unusual route by having the opening sequence with Scrooge and Bob Cratchit and Fred in the counting house as short flashbacks, heard whenever Scrooge relates what the ghosts are telling him to how he treats the people in his life.

Christmas With the Chipmunks came from a yard sale about three years ago or so. I have a soft spot in my heart for "The Chipmunks' Christmas Song (Please Christmas, Don't Be Late)." When I was in third grade, this is the song my class sang for Cape May Elementary's annual school assembly the week before Christmas break. Two kids each were chosen to solo as Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. I wasn't one of the kids chosen, but I enjoyed learning the song and can still sing the whole thing to this day.

Switched to more family-oriented programming as I made baked rosemary chicken breasts in lemon sauce and roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner. I've had the CD for The Judy Garland Christmas Album since high school. In the early 90s, the Staples in Rio Grande had a display of inexpensive Laserlight holiday CDs and cassettes every year in the front of the store. I'd always poke around in there while Mom was present shopping. That's where my Glenn Miller Orchestra Christmas cassettes came from, too.

This is actually the soundtrack to Judy's Christmas special. If you're a fan of Garland (or of Jack Jones, Mel Torme, and Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli), this is worth seeking out. There's some nice moments - Liza does "Steam Heat" and "Alice Blue Gown." Garland duets with Torme on his "Christmas Song" and bobbles the lyrics (she was feuding with him at the time). Garland and her younger children Lorna and Joey do a cute "Consider Yourself" in the opening, and Lorna talks Jack Jones into "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."

Oh, and darn it. The Eagles started poorly, but came back in the second half. Though the played better than the awful first quarter, they still couldn't get past the Cowboys 38-27.

Football Birds of Prey

Started out a sunny, chilly morning with Banana Pancakes and my two In the Christmas Mood cassettes. These are Laserlight recordings of "The Glenn Miller Orchestra" playing jazz and swing versions of favorite holiday tunes, plus an original title song on the first cassette. I've had these cassettes for at least 20 years now, since the mid-90s. They were some of the first holiday music I bought for myself with my own money besides the Happy Holidays series. They're nothing really great, but they make for fun holiday background music when you're baking or wrapping presents.

Work was busy off-and-on all afternoon. Not only was it a nice day (something we haven't had a lot of lately), but the Eagles were playing the Seattle Seahawks at 4:30, and it's still the beginning of the month. It went quickly, and the only major problem was one of those people who think they can buy a 100 dollars worth of groceries with 60 dollars. My relief was on time, but I was still almost late getting out.

I briefly went home to change into regular pants (I was already wearing my Eagles jersey - we're allowed to wear Eagles jerseys to work on game days) before heading to Dad's. Jodie, Dad, Mark, and Vanessa were already watching the game when I arrived. Jodie ordered pizza and hot wings from Phillies Phatties on West Clinton for dinner. The mushroom and pepperoni pies arrived just fine, but for some reason, the guy gave us a bag of fries instead of a bag of hot wings. Not only did Jodie finally get her wings, they let us keep the fries, too. We feasted on pizza, hot wings, and plain and bacon and cheese fries.

The Eagles didn't get as lucky as Jodie did. They played pretty well in the first half. Their defense was a match for Seattle's storied "Legion of Boom." The score was just 7-7 after the first half. Unfortunately, once the Eagles' offense came out, they fell apart. I got tired of Dad's fussing and left after Seattle scored a field goal and pulled ahead.

I made a quick stop at CVS after leaving Dad's. I needed eggs and to make change for the laundromat tomorrow. I treated myself to a carton of Hood's Pumpkin Eggnog, too. I've never seen Pumpkin Eggnog before. I was shocked at the high price of the eggs - $3.79! And everyone is always whining about how expensive the Acme's basic staples are. CVS used to have really cheap eggs. I bought them because I needed them, but I won't be doing it again.

I quickly switched on the game when I got home and put the eggs and eggnog away. Alas, the Eagles' offense just couldn't get anything going. They finally lost 24-14.

Holly Dazed

Started out a sunny, chilly morning with this week's Brunch With the Beatles. "The Beatles In 1966" was the theme today. Along with live songs from their final concerts as a group, we heard "Nowhere Man," "Good Day Sunshine," "In My Life," "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," "Paperback Writer," "Rain," and "Yellow Submarine."

I called Mom as soon as I was finished with my Banana Corn Pancakes. Not only was Mom in a far better mood than when I talked to her last week, she had good news. She's finally decided that she's going to come up for Rose's party on Christmas Day, whether Dad and Anny and the boys do or not. She's not done with her shopping, as she and Dad have been concentrating on remodeling the former garage and don't have a lot of money, but she was baking cookies when we were on the phone.

After Mom got off and the show ended, I put on Christmas records and started my own baking. I always make five kinds of cookies to give to adults, families, and groups during the holidays. I started with the Peanut Butter Cookies, which are the simplest. I found this recipe for New-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies last year on Betty Crocker.com. It starts with a yellow cake mix. Since I was broke at the time, I thought it would be a great way to save flour for the more difficult cookies. They came out so well, I decided that would be my permanent Peanut Butter Cookie recipe.

I ran Christmas music and records while I baked. Holli-Daze is a Peter Pan LP from 1974 featuring four Christmas-themed Looney Tunes stories. Mel Blanc does all of the voices (even the ones normally done by other actors, like Granny and Elmer).  "'Twas a Sight Before Christmas" has Bugs getting interviews from the Toons on their opinion of Santa when his own nephew claims he doesn't believe in the jolly old man in red anymore. "Bugs the Red-Nose Bunny" is also Santa-themed. Bugs, Porky, and Speedy Gonzoles head to the North Pole to help Santa out when they hear that Rudolph has come down with the flu. "Holli-Daze" takes Bugs and Granny to the western town of Holly, where Sheriff Yosemite Sam mistakes them for bank robbers. (This seems to be one of the few times in any Looney Tunes media Sam's played as a good guy.)

My favorite segment is "Santa Claus-strophobia." Millionaire Elmer has a big problem. He thinks he's Santa Claus. He offers his entire fortune to anyone who can cure him of this belief. Bugs overhears him and passes himself off as a psychologist and Daffy as his nurse in order to get to Elmer and his millions. After many couch-side gags (and a couple of attemps by Elmer to make passes at Nurse Daffy), Bugs finally comes up with a suggestion that makes all three of them happy.

Christmas With the Looney Tunes is from the early 2000s. I picked this cassette up from the Wildwood CVS around 2002 and have listened to it at least once a holiday season since then. While none of the voice actors here are the originals, there's some rather cute material, including "The Halle-Looney Chorus," Taz and Bugs' version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and Daffy's "All I Want For Christmas Is More, More, More."

The Eagles game wasn't nearly that fun. Though the Minnesota Vikings don't have nearly the sterling statistics they do, the Eagles were a bundle of mistakes and penalties, including one for Nick Foles that ruined a possible touchdown. They were down 10-6 when I left for work, and would go on to lose 48-30.

Work was even more of a pain. It was busy when I came in, quiet when I left. A lot of my customers were grouchy, grumpy, cranky, or just plain obnoxious. I don't know if it was the full moon, they were upset about the game, or they all just came in from the malls. It's probably just as well that we were quiet when I finished. I was ready to tear out my hair when I finally shut down without a relief.