Dolls and Sisters

Started off a cloudy morning with scrambled eggs and tomatoes for breakfast and Blockbusters. A sweet teacher beat all comers, easily defeating a sister pair in the first half and holding her own against two sisters-in-law in the second. In between, she only missed one question on the Gold Run and won the money in record time. 

Dressed the dolls for September and back to school after I did the dishes. Molly wear's the original blue and white Kit's School Outfit and oxfords. I love Samantha in her current meet outfit, the pink Swiss-dotted dress with the big lace collar, burgundy velvet sash, and black strap shoes. Added the straw boater from her Hair-Styling Kit to complete the look. Ariel wears the pale blue Swiss lace mini-dress she came in with the crocheted vest and Springfield Collection espadrilles. Whitney is the picture of a nifty 50's girl in the purple and pink gingham Sweet Memories Our Generation Retro dress and magenta shrug. Felicity's in her lavender Traveling Gown (also known as her second meet outfit). Jessa's a lot simpler in a pair of jean shorts from a craft show, the magenta t-shirt from an early AG modern meet outfit, and striped socks and turquoise and white sneakers from a later "meet" outfit. Josefina wears her orange and red-striped Summer Dress with the ruffles on the bottom. 

Switched to Match Game '75 while having a quick Banana-Coffee Smoothie for lunch. Host Gene Rayburn jumped off the pedestal he enters in the opening, making it look like he would be making a far less smooth landing! Bond girl Lana Wood and goofy comic Avery Schreiber had a far less scary time helping a lovely contestant with "Mel ___" in the Audience Match. This is another one where everyone got really into celebrating a win, too, as Gene grabbed Lana for a smooch! Loved Joyce Bulifant's answer to who could fill a hot air balloon, too.

Headed out to run errands even before the show ended. First stop of the day was the Oaklyn Library; I had a book overdue. Went with the next Maisie Dobbs book after the one Linda Young gave me for Christmas, The American Agent. 

Strolled down the White Horse Pike, enjoying weather that was cloudy and humid, but also much cooler than it has been, barely in the 80's. Wanted cheaper chocolate chips at Dollar General. Grabbed lemon extract and trash bags, too. 

I put everything away when I got home, then made the bed while Hogan's Heroes went on in the background. Carter creates "The Purchasing Plan" when London demands that Hogan and his guys keep ammunition crucial to the German underground at the camp. Seems Stalag 13 is low on funds...and Carter's ideas may make Klink and Hogan happy.

Jessa arrived with her fluffy black dog Midnight in tow at 2:30. We had no idea where we wanted to go for lunch. After spending ten minutes driving around the area, trying to figure out what to do, we ended up at Sonic to eat in the car. And of course, it turns out they're only doing drive-in at the moment. We ordered a chili dog for her and a burger for me and ate them on the porch at home instead.

Turns out there's a reason I haven't seen much of Jessa recently. She apparently took a second job (though she wouldn't say what). Jodie apparently told her she'd already put the house on the market, which is why she called me. No, it isn't going up until the 14th.

There was a crowd in the pool when we finished eating. Jessa chatted with Rose, while I joined Reilly, Chloe, Finley, and Khai in the pool. Cider, Rose's big pup, chased Midnight for a while before he and Jessa headed out. I enjoyed floating on the warm water, while the kids pretended to be cats and dogs and splashed each other. 

When they got bored with swimming, they dashed down the block to see what our neighbors were up to. Sandy and her kids and some kids in the neighborhood were having mini-races on bikes and motorized scooters. One of the dads helped a little girl riding a tricycle attempt to keep up with the other two. We cheered them on briefly before I went back inside to dry off.

Worked on writing for a while after I changed into dry clothes. The Mock Turtle (Avery Schreiber) is a weepy creature who sobs about taking classes under the sea and being a real turtle. Brett's amused that he's so into it; her sons would rather play on the beach.

Did laundry between paragraphs. Rose and the next-door neighbors confirmed that Jodie is out of town again, likely until at least Friday. I took advantage of this to not only get my regular load done, but wash blankets as well. She didn't tell me she was leaving, let alone not to go on her side of the house.

Finished the night making a Rosemary-Lemon Cake while watching Three Little Girls In Blue. I go further into this tale of three sisters looking to catch wealthy husbands in turn of the 20th century Atlantic City at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Three Little Girls In Blue

Where Do I Go From Here?

Badly needed to sleep in today after the long couple of weeks I had! When I finally got rolling, I had a fried egg and tomato sandwich for breakfast while watching She-Ra. Picked up from where the set I found at the yard sale left off with "The Stone In the Sword" from the first season. When the stone in Princess Adora's sword cracks, she can't transform into She-Ra or rescue Bow from the Horde. She goes on a journey through magical caverns to repair it. 

Switched to Match Game '79 while making my grocery list and doing the dishes. In the first episode, the contestant is so thrilled when Elaine Joyce matches her unusual answer, both women jump all over the stage...and then Gary Burghoff leaps out and dances with the contestant, and everyone else jumps all over the place! Bill Daily nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to figure out an answer to the first question in the second show. 

Headed out towards the end of the second episode. Didn't really need a ton of groceries this week - I ate out of the fridge a lot, when Jodie wasn't giving me food - but I did need a few things that were on a good sale. Had online coupons for riced frozen veggies, sorbet and plant milk ice cream pints (went with passion fruit sorbet and coconut milk ice cream), peanut butter, and oatmeal. Found a small container of shrimp in the seafood section for dinner tomorrow. Restocked yogurt, cereal, milk, bananas, and hair elastics (my current ones won't hold my hair and keep sagging). 

Also found Clearly Canadian on a good sale. I used to love Clearly Canadian in the early-mid 90's. Bought it all the time from the Eckard's on Bayshore Road as I'd ride to and from the Villas Library. Too bad they're so expensive...because the tart cranberry flavor tastes as good and sparkling as I remember. 

Not nearly as happy with my schedule next week. Two days off (one for counseling) and my cashiering days are normal six hour shifts...but I have three 8 and 1/2 hour bagging days, two in a row. One of the baggers went on vacation, and a lot of people are on non-virus-related health leaves right now, or they've quit. Like everyone else who isn't an at-home job, we're just short on help. 

Put everything away when I got home, then made a Banana-Berry Smoothie while watching more She-Ra. Madame Razz explains how She-Ra came to acquire her famous home "The Crystal Castle," aka the huge pearly pink castle playset every girl in the mid-80's coveted (including us). Hoping to keep Hordak from destroying Queen Angella's home Castle Bright Moon, she befriended a group of trolls who were wary of humans to learn the secrets of the castle's magic. 

Headed out to get the laundry done after I cleaned up from lunch. It wasn't a huge load, but there were a few things I really needed to get done, including a sheet and work clothes. Sat outside and worked on story notes while my clothes were in the washer. It's still sunny, hot, and sticky humid here, but the laundromat was so busy, every chair was taken. Strolled to WaWa after I put everything in the drier for a Chips Ahoy Chocolate Smoothie (basically, Chips Ahoy bits and chocolate syrup in a smoothie - very tasty). 

Rose called while I wrote outside. Did I want to join them in the pool after I got home? Sure! As soon as I rolled in, I put the sheet back on, made the bed, then wriggled into my bathing suit and hurried out to the pool. Rose and her tribe and Reilly and her mother were already there. Jodie and her Aunt Colleen came out later to say "hi." A friend of Khai's came around later (and got into an argument with Rose over whether he could eat Doritos - apparently, he has a food allergy, and Rose wasn't sure). 

The pool water was amazingly warm, like stepping into the shower. Finley probably didn't even notice. She swam from one end of the pool to the other with me and her mother, climbing on my back and laughing when I dunked her under the waves. She's fearless in the pool, probably because she wants to keep up with the other kids. The older kids, for their part, think she's funny. The girls in particular treat her like their little sister and have no trouble playing with her and swimming with her. 

We broke up around 5 so Rose could take us home to make dinner. I dashed into my place to changed into regular clothes and finish putting away the laundry. Ran Match Game '74 as I worked. Janet Finn, who became one of the most popular and winningest contestants of the entire 70's-80's run, made her debut towards the middle of this episode. We got some jokes about whom the Three Musketeers would kiss when her initial audience match was "The Three __." Finley and Reilly came to pick me up...and it was a bit hard to shoo them away from the dolls and stuffed animals!

When we pulled into Rose's house, Finley showed me her room. Or what I could see of it under the intricate layers of toys, dolls, stuffed animals, hand-knitted blankets and sweaters, tap shoes, play food, and Disney Princess costume jewelry and ball gowns spread all over the floor. We were able to find her nifty play kitchen and see how she could open her "oven" and "refrigerator" and take care of her two little baby dolls with her doctor set. 

Rose's original plan was to use the grill for dinner, but she apparently ran out of propane. We had baked turkey tenderloin, green beans, and roasted potatoes for dinner. Yum! I loved it. The turkey tenderloin came out moist and flavorful. Rose thought she overcooked the green beans, but they tasted fine to me. Even the kids ate enough of it. 

After dinner, we looked at all the photos Jodie gave me a few months ago. Rose wants to scan ones she doesn't already have copies of, and I need to start scanning photos, too, now that I have a scanner. We showed Khai pictures of us goofing off in what's now Jodie's pool in the 1980's and feeding ducks on the bottom of the hill in her backyard where the dock now is. Finley got to see us at Disney World in 1986 and 1990, and all the photos we took in front of the giant alligator statues at the hotel we stayed at in Kissimee in 1986. They got to see the pool table and the organ Uncle Ken had in the den in the 80's and early 90's, and Rose and I with Mom visiting Dad-Bruce in Ft. Lauderdale in the early 80's. 

(Research later in the evening revealed that the Gator Motel is still there, though no word if the alligator statue survives.)

Rose also told me around this point that she lost her job as a lawyer for Camden County in March. Apparently, it was a thankless job, and not one she was entirely unhappy to let go of. While she and Craig considered remodeling their house, they came to the conclusion that it's really too small for their family. The kids want a larger backyard, and Rose wants a bigger kitchen and more room to breathe. They're thinking of moving to Hammonton, one of the small cozy suburban-style towns just outside of Atlantic City. Rose offered to find a house that either came with an attached apartment for me, or room to build one.

I have mixed feelings on that. On one hand, I've also put serious consideration into leaving the area over the past five or six years or so, since before the Manor Avenue house changed hands. As nice as my neighbors are, I never really fit in here. I'm tired of being a fifth wheel wherever I go and having no one in the area I can talk to. Even if Dad had lived, I never intended to stay at the attached apartment for more than two or three years at most while I figured out what to do next. 

I've had no luck finding apartments for rent I can afford here, either. That's the other reason I didn't move sooner. Most of the apartment buildings are situated on busy main roads or next to gas stations or car shops and often are not in the best condition. Attached apartments are not only getting expensive, they usually prefer people they know...and I don't know many people.

Trouble is...I don't know what to do next. I want to remain independent, and my needs are different than Rose's. I'm looking for people I can talk culture and do projects with, not good school districts and giant backyards. I'd rather find something near them but not next to them. I do like Rose's idea of the Atlantic City suburb area. Close enough to family and the Shore that it won't take long to see them, far enough away for the prices to be slightly more reasonable. Plus, I still know the area relatively well from going to college at Stockton and taking the train to AC. 

I also need to get away from the Acme. I'm going crazy there. I'm tired of dealing with customers, coworkers who have nothing in common with me, and the revolving door of managers. There's no chance for advancement, or doing anything besides the same thing I've done for 20 years. The only things keeping me from quitting tomorrow are my need for cheap health insurance and my fear of talking about myself. I'm still not sure how to promote myself or my writing. I don't really know myself well at all. I know what I like, but not what my values are, or what I need for my wellbeing. I'm not sure what I want or need anymore. 

Rose had one last project she wanted to do with the kids before I left. Evidently, they read either online or in a book on science projects that Mentos dropped into a bottle of soda will make fizzy liquid shoot high into the air! We stood back as the kids dropped mint candy into plastic liters of Pepsi on their front driveway. It did fizz and shoot up...a little, but not very high. Rose came to the conclusion that the bottles were too warm. They would try again after the bottles chilled. She and Finley dropped me at home shortly after.

Finished the night on The Roku Channel with The A-Team. It's a "Bad Time at the Border" when B.A encounters a little Mexican girl at a local baseball field and becomes attached to her. Turns out she fled from a truck carrying illegal immigrants into the country to be used in a slavery ring and wants to return to her mother, who is deathly ill at the compound where they keep the Mexicans. When they capture Hannibal as well, the others spring to the ready to rescue them. 

Summer In the Suburbs

Started off the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Line Leader Daniel" is absolutely hoping to get the job of being in the front of the line and leading the kids from place to place. He's upset when he's assigned to deliver everyone their lunches instead. He learns how important every job is when he forgets to bring the kids their lunches, and they aren't happy at all. He learns about "Neighborhood Jobs" when he and his father walk to the Library, and just what librarians do when they take over for an ailing X the Owl.

Hurried off to work as the episode ended. Work was just as quiet as yesterday. Only difference is I cashiered this time. Other than dealing with several WIC checks and having trouble getting online to do a survey early-on, I spent a lot of the afternoon working on story notes. It's just too hot for people to want to run anywhere or cook anything. By the time we hit rush hour and people started coming in, I was a hour from finishing.

Went straight home after work and did some writing for a while. Allen finally suggests they go into the castle, just as the Red King arrives for the party. He tries to flatter Queen Betty while simultaneously telling her that she should be following his rules. Betty's amused and Brett's about ready to throw the flamingo at him, but she's going to get some help soon...

Heard little giggles at Jodie's side of the house around quarter of 6. Rose came over to talk to Jodie about Dad's "celebration of life" party in two weeks. Finley and Khai enjoyed Paw Patrol as they chatted. Rose invited me over to dinner tomorrow at 5. I eagerly accepted, especially since Rose said she finally has the time to scan all those photos Jodie gave me a while back. Jodie also gave me a disc a friend of Dad's made that had many pictures he'd taken over the years.

Finley talked her mother into letting her join me for a few minutes while she got organized. She loves Luna, my stuffed black cat. Luna looks a lot like Finley's cat Toothless. She also got to admire my American Girl dolls. I moved Whitney to show her the dance dress, as Finley takes jazz and ballet classes...and Finley plopped Luna down in her place. I had to admit, it was pretty cute. It took me longer to shoo her back to her mother. She wanted to stay and play, but Rose was going to start dinner.

I went out to dinner myself as they headed out. I have two major milestones to celebrate today. Today is the one-year anniversary of the first night I slept in my new apartment, and it's also the day I finally finished paying off my college loans. Rose suggested Jalapeno's, a popular Mexican restaurant on the White Horse Pike. I hadn't eaten there since they moved across the Pike into what used to be a catering hall; I was overdue to give them a shot.

Despite the parking lot overflowing when I arrived, the main seating area only had a few couples chatting away or watching the enormous TVs over the bar. They used to have extremely slow service when they were on the other side of the street, but they either got new staff during the move or were able to move faster due to it being slow. I got my massive chicken burrito, cup of black beans, and salad in no time at all. Yum! The burrito was soft and savory, with tons of rice and cheese and huge shreds of chicken. Very tasty.

Match Game PM was on the last ten minutes when I rolled in. By that point, an aspiring singer was getting answers to "I Told ___" on the Audience Match. Charles got to help her on the Head-to-Head with "Turn the __."

Sale of the Century was a nail-biter for most of the game. The one lady kept getting ahead of the champ, even buying one of the Instant Bargains. He bought the other two, though, and tied her in the Speed Round. He hit the buzzer a second before she did. He ended up with 3,000 on the Match the Prizes board.

Finished off the night with a trip to Blue Hawaii at Paramount Plus. I go further into this tropical vehicle for Elvis Presley at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Blue Hawaii