Rainy Day In the Library

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Sleepwalking Bear" who wandered out of its cave during a snow sculpture contest. They have to figure out how to get it home without waking it up again. "Pups Save Dude Ranch Danny" have Skye and Chase going after Daring Danny X when he accidentally takes off on a metal horse made by the dude ranch's owner.

Checked my e-mail next and e-mailed Bryanna. She sent me the e-mail of my case worker at the DVR Josh Phillips, but couldn't find his phone number. I e-mailed him and will call her back tomorrow or next week to see if she can get through to him. I really want to talk about buying a condo as soon as possible.

After I did a few things online, I watched Song O' My Heart on YouTube. I go further into the only major vehicle for beloved Irish tenor John McCormack at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! - Song O' My Heart

Ate a quick lunch, then did some writing. C.J, Sir Scott Sherwood's squire, meets them mournfully at the gates. Hilary demands to know what's going on. Scott and King Jeffery are dead, C.J tells them. Killed by Pruitt himself. Victor opened the gates and let Pruitt and his snake men in without a struggle and is now right-hand man to Pruitt himself. Hilary demands to see Pruitt and find out what happened. Good, C.J tells her, Pruitt wanted the ladies brought to him the moment they returned anyway.

Listened to fantasy-oriented soundtracks from the 80's while I worked and as I had lunch. Labyrinth is one of two major fantasy films Jim Henson made during the mid-80's that went on to become cult favorites. David Bowie is the Goblin King and gets the lion's share of the songs, notably the gorgeous ballad "As the World Falls Down" and "Magic Dance." There's also a couple of excellent instrumental numbers - my favorites are "Into the Labyrinth" and "Home at Last."

The Princess Bride is a bit more folksy, as per its comic opera-esque fairy tale story. The ballad "Storybook Love" is the only vocal number, but some of the background score is worth hearing as well. Check out "The Friends' Song," "The Swordfight," and "Revenge."

Considering it was pouring when I called Uber and had been all day, I'm surprised I had no trouble getting drivers. The one going to work arrived in 4 minutes! I ended up being a little early. The one going home only took 10 minutes, despite it being raining and snowing by then.

I think you can guess from the weather that there was no going outside today for anyone. It was cold, wet, and dreary for the entire afternoon. The 9 kids at my table were able to clean up quickly and were only a little rowdy in the bathrooms. Things are a lot crazier in the library. On one hand, at least they finally got the hint about not tearing the paper set out for them to scribble and use animal stencils. In fact, as the head teacher pointed out, they made some rather nice abstract art. Three of the boys kept throwing the rubber food around, even as the other kids were dancing to "Pink Pony Club," "I'm Still Standing," and music from Bluey, Tangled, Frozen, and KPop Demon Hunters. The remaining six kids were still pretty wild with the older kids in the cafeteria when I left.

Took out the trash and recycling and took a shower, then went upstairs with a quick dinner for Match Game Syndicated. Brett found herself caught between her two favorite drinking buddies Charles and David "Bosley" Doyle for the first week of 1981. Paul Williams had more fun with Joyce Bullifant and Edie McClurg (the latter in her debut on the show) on the lower tier.

Went back to Tubi for Storybook International after Match Game. The Hungarian folk tale "Five Loaves" is more of a math problem than a fairy tale. Two neighbors share their five bread loaves with an old man who was going hungry. The man gives them five coins, which one neighbor thinks he deserves more of than he gets. A judge in the near-by town explains why he actually deserves less than he thinks.

Finished the night with Sinatra while working on the review for Song O' My Heart. Come Fly With Me is probably one of his most iconic albums, with its jaunty title number and songs about far away places like "Isle of Capri," "Moonlight In Vermont," and "April In Paris." Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely gets into darker territory, with deep bluesy ballads like "What's New?," "Blues In the Night," "Spring Is Here," and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)." 

A Little Bit of a Marshmallow World

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Poor Little Bear has "A Flu." He's supposed to stay in bed, but Duck, Hen, and Cat all come in with remedies. Mama Bear knows that the best remedy for any illness is rest. Mama tells Little Bear, Cat, and Duck about a certain tree with a rock in it that she and Father Bear carved their initials into. The trio goes "Exploring" to find it, but find a cave instead. "Fishing With Father Bear" proves to be a lot of fun for Little Bear, especially as it's his first time in a boat. They end up in the water with the fish before they make their first big catch!

Called Uber soon as the episode ended. Thankfully, the one going to the Acme got there in 7 minutes, and I got there right on time. I didn't have nearly as much luck the rest of the day. The guy who picked me up after lunch had to go to the bathroom, and I forgot to tell him they put locks on the Acme bathrooms and you have to get an associate to tap in the password to unlock it. I was five minutes late to Thomas Sharp School. Got one going  home in 10 minutes, not bad for rush hour.

No problems at the Acme today. In fact, we were dead quiet for almost the entire morning. It snowed a little bit last night. The streets were fine. It was just enough to put a little frosting on the cars and roofs.  In fact, by the time I finished and it started picking up, the sun had come out, and it was much warmer. Even the snow that came down this weekend was melting. Not to mention, it's the end of the month, and we're well away from any major holidays.

I had lunch at Applebee's. I wasn't up to a long walk anywhere else. I enjoyed a mug of nice, hot tea, a Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Sandwich, and crispy, salty fries. It was quiet there, with only a few people enjoying a late lunch. After that, I went back to the Acme to get a donut, get money, and pick up the Uber there.

It was a lot busier at the school today. On one hand, we had 25 kids, 7 of them at my table. On the other hand, the other two teachers were back. This time, the kids were fine in the bathroom, though I did have to help one little girl there. It was the library where they were crazy. I sat with a couple of the boys and drew scenes from Legends of WENN while most of the kids danced to "Ghostbusters," kid-ized versions of "I'm Still Standing" and "Pink Pony Club," and songs from Moana. They wanted to hold hands and dance, but that just ended up with them running into each other and flinging each other around. 

They kept making a mess with the magnetic tiles and Duplos, too. They build these tall, tall towers that get too tall for them to finish without standing on something and either letting them fall everywhere, or hurting themselves. It took us so long to clean up the mess, I left almost as soon as we got back to the cafeteria.

Watched Match Game Syndicated on Buzzr when I got home. This was the wild week with the episode where Gene and Charles argue over the merits of the original Shogun miniseries and Charles hits Gene with his card. Gene collapses onto ingenue Jonnelle Allen, prompting McLean to take over hosting for two questions. (And he didn't do badly, either.) Gene comes out in the next episode with his face wrapped in bandages, supposedly due to the paper cut on his lip from the episode before.

Let it continue into Card Sharks. They were running two episodes from that hilarious celebrity tournament they did in 1980. Vicki Lawrence had to deal with a squirrel-y Bill Daily in the first episode and goofy Avery Schriberer in the second. In both cases, she beat them handily and made big bucks at the Money Cards. When she wasn't wondering what was going on in those goofballs' heads, she was yelling at the audience for not being helpful. 

Finished the night at Tubi with the last two episodes of Good Times' first season. James won't take "The Checkup," even when his children suspect he has hypertension. In fact, he throws a fit (and a chair) when they even just mention their suspicions. Florida finally talks him into it when she points out how badly he's scaring them. Turns out, there isn't that much to fear, and James learns that being vulnerable and checking up on your health isn't a bad thing.

"My Son, the Lover" has J.J head over heels for Marcy, the prettiest girl in school, who asked him to paint her portrait. J.J is drooling all over and insisting they're practically engaged. James is equally smitten, but Thelma and Florida think there's something more to Marcy's request. 

And that's that. Good Times originally debuted as a mid-season replacement and was a hit right out of the gates. I can understand why. Everyone is hilarious (even annoying Jimmie Walker), but it's Esther Rolle and John Amos who get the lion's share of the good lines and great moments here. They're so warm and believable together! Jan'et DuBois as Florida's friend Willnona has a few great moments as well. 

(Incidentally, the next show I'll be watching will be the fourth season of Laverne and Shirley for Women's History Month.) 

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

I went to sleep as the snow continued to come down heavily. When I awoke the next morning, it was...still coming down, though not as heavily. In fact, it was hard to tell if it was snowing, or just blowing around. I tried to figure it out while eating breakfast and watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Tiny Penguin" when it's stranded with Alex and Everest on a bridge made of canoes and snowboards. They first have to save them from a whirlpool, then get them to shore. "Pups Save a Cat Show" when the robot kitty Mayor Humdinger made goes out of control and makes all of the real cats scatter.

Switched to Frozen: The Musical on Disney Plus next. This is a recording of the English cast of the stage version of the show. It's pretty much the same as the film with a new prologue showing Anna and Elsa as children with their parents at a summer festival ("Let the Sun Shine On"), a random Act Two chorus number for the owner of the trading post where Anna buys her winter clothes ("Hygge"), a duet after Kristoff first meets Anna where Kristoff points out that her engagement is pretty unrealistic ("What Do You Know About Love?"), a number for Kristoff where he finally admits his feelings about Anna ("Kristoff's Lullaby"), a second song for the sisters where Anna confronts Elsa at her ice castle ("I Can't Lose You"), and a second song for Elsa when she realizes she has to return to Arendelle ("Monster"). 

The adorable "What Do You Know About Love?" is probably the best of the new songs, but most of them aren't as good as the ones from the original film. Though there are some decent lead performances from Laura Dawkes as Anna and Samantha Banks as Elsa, the film isn't really enhanced by stage effects and light shows. The pandemic killed this after two years on Broadway, and Disney saw no reason to reopen it. It did a little better in London, running three years. Honestly, it's not bad, but I suspect it's mainly for stage musical nuts or those with little girls who can't get enough of Frozen and don't mind that it isn't the original.

Moved to Tubi for Good Times during lunch. James and Florida are worried that J.J won't make it his senior year of high school. He focuses entirely on art and girls and has never been seen to crack open a school book. They're surprised when "Junior the Senior" passes anyway. Turns out the principal just wanted to move him along because they're overcrowded and underfunded and can't afford to keep him there. Junior agrees to it at first...but then decides that if he's going to move to the next grade, maybe he'd actually start learning about something along the way.

"The Visitor" is a man from the Chicago Housing Commission who comes in response to an angry letter Michael wrote about conditions in the housing development to his local newspaper. The plump little fellow has obviously rarely left his office, and he gets an eye-opener when he's stranded at the apartment building and learns about the real-life conditions that the Evans and their neighbors live in.

After Good Times ended, I started my next Remember WENN fanfiction. It's over a year and a half after "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Betty Roberts is waiting for Scott Sherwood to come home from North Africa, even though she's still trying to convince herself that they're only friends. Hilary Booth is furious that Jeff Singer is walking out on her and their shows to seek a correspondent job in London. She was hoping they could remarry and become queen and king of Pittsburgh radio again now that she's gotten her divorce from Scott. Maple LaMarsh is frustrated that Victor Comstock has gone to Washington to deal with W.E.N.N business and has been constantly breaking dates again. 

Maple wonders why it's the men who always run off to war. Why can't the women be the ones who get to run off and leave the men behind? Betty thinks this is a brilliant idea, and the perfect catalyst for a story the head of the Pittsburgh Public School District, the new sponsors for A Book at Bedtime, asked for. They requested an original, slightly dark fairy tale to make the younger children shiver and the older ones cheer. Hilary suggests, of course, that she is the Queen of Pittsburghia, returning home with her scribe and music magician, to find all isn't well in WENN Castle...

Tentatively titled Legends of WENN, this is intended to be a much shorter 80's-style fantasy story than my ongoing Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN, less Game of Thrones and more Willow or darker Princess Bride. I'm hoping I can actually finish this one. I love the idea, and not only is it not tied to a holiday, it's a fully-new idea, not something I came up with years ago. 

Listened to a couple of my recent record acquisitions while I worked. We Are was one of Quincy Jones' last collaborations, this one with jazz fusion artist Jon Batiste. The opening title song smacks of gospel. "Tell the Truth" and "Show Me the Way" get more into the rock, while "Whatchutalkinbout," "Boy Hood," and "Freedom" lean more on the soul side of things. Recommended if you love Batiste or are looking for something that moves out beyond the traditional jazz. 

Despite being listed as the soundtrack from A Boy Named Charlie Brown, what I picked up at Barnes and Noble last week is actually a reprint of the non-special Peanuts Vince Guaraldi album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. As such, there's some really good performances here. Along with "Linus and Lucy," we have "Oh Good Grief," "Blue Charlie Brown," "Baseball Theme," and "Happiness Theme (Happiness Is)." (I am going to keep looking for the real soundtrack to A Boy Named Charlie Brown, though.)

Moved to the first disc of that Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II set next. "Lay Lady Lay" is my favorite number here, and possibly the best-known number on this half of the set. "Watching the River Flow," "Maggie's Farm," and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" are other stand-outs.

The snow had long vanished by 4:30, and the roads were largely clear. It wasn't even that windy anymore. I figured it was ok to run errands and use up the last WaWa gift card I got from the kids for Christmas. I had been right about the snow. There was a lot of it, true, at least 9 inches, but it was wet, heavy, and fluffy. In fact, most of it was melting even as I dodged unshoveled sidewalks and huge piles of icy slush. I did drop off two books in one of the library kiosks, but I decided the sidewalks on the back roads were too messy to take them home.

WaWa wasn't that busy, despite it being one of the few places open on a snowy Monday. I got money for a friend, then used the last of my gift card on a soft pretzel and a Chocolate Coconut Smoothie. I tasted more chocolate than coconut, but it was still sweet and wet, which was really all that mattered at that point. 

Maybe I should have done the back roads again instead. The sidewalks on the White Horse Pike were only slightly less messy than the ones in the neighborhood. No one had shoveled or plowed around Family Dollar at all, not even their parking lot. I hope they weren't open. At least it wasn't that cold, either, probably in the perfectly normal upper 30's-lower 40's. 

Put on Match Game Syndicated while I had dinner. Bob Donner, former beauty queen Marjorie Wallace, Bill Daily, and Marcia Wallace figured into this week. Marcia spent the week joking about how much she and Marjorie looked alike (they didn't) and trying to rein in Bill Daily's perpetual nervousness. Bob Donner spent it writing unique artwork for his cards.

Finished the night at YouTube with more Match Game, this time at YouTube, in honor of Black History Month. The second African-American panelist to appear on the new Match Game after Della Reece was comedian Stu Gilliam early in 1973. No wonder he never came back. He spent most of the week trying to meditate between Jack Klugman and Brett Somers and their perpetual battles. Mannix's secretary Gail Parker had more luck joining the panel in dealing with overly excited contestant Dorothy the day after New Year's 1974. Comedian and impressionist George Kirby appeared later that year, just in time to see Richard literally throw Brett's shoe out when she asked him to fix it. 

Isobel Sanford of The Jeffersons turned up on the show twice, most memorably early in 1976. She helped win big money for a very sweet contestant who was such a doll, Marvin Hamlisch and Charles Nelson Reilly wrote a song about her. 

Nipsey Russell and Scoey Mitchelll probably appeared the most of any black panelist and got the most out of their appearance on the show. Nipsey appeared off and on from 1973 through 1979. Scoey first turned up in 1974 and would appear through early in 1982. I have a typical episode with Nipsey and his famous poems from 1978, and Scoey's last appearance in 1982 (that also included a brief but memorable striptease from Betty White). 

Arsenio Hall was probably the most memorable of the black panelists to appear exclusively on The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour. His quips and jokes really made that show, and he was frankly one of the best things about a wildly uneven format. Jimmie Walker of Good Times first turned up in 1974, when the show was just starting its five-year run. He became so associated with the show, he would appear throughout the original run and turn up on Match Game-Hollywood Squares and Match Game '90 as well. Like Marcia Wallace and Vicki Lawrence, Jimmie probably did his best work in the 90's show, where he was slightly more subdued and less obnoxious. I have his first episode (and Mary Wickes') here, where he ogles a very pretty contestant.

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the most memorable panelists ever on Match Game!

Stu Gilliam (1973)

Gail Parker (1974)

George Kirby (1974)

Isobel Sanford (1976)

Nipsey Russell (1978)

Scoey Mitchelll (1982)

Arsenio Hall (1983)

Jimmie Walker (1990)

Super Snow Day Matches

I woke up around 9:30 to see rain coming down in heavy buckets...but I knew the rain wouldn't last. I debated and debated for another half-hour, but I finally called out of the Acme. I didn't want to lose the money, but if it was going to snow later, I would never get a ride home at 6 PM. I had a hard enough time getting an Uber ride home at 6PM yesterday when the weather was perfectly normal. I called out reluctantly, then went back to sleep until past 1. 

It was still raining cats, dogs, and chickens when I did finally roll out of bed. I got up so late, the very early Match Game marathon was already on. This extra-long marathon was themed around superheroes and superhero questions. Superheros were on a downward spiral in the early 70's after the enormous popularity of Batman and other candy-colored pop art wonders of the 60's. They'd make a comeback later in the decade with the success of the TV versions of Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk and the first Superman movie. 

I came in for the second half of the hilarious Halloween episode from the 1990-1991 revival where Charles Nelson Reilly dressed as Superman, complete with inflatable muscles. ("No one picks Superman anymore!" he wailed later in the episode when he wasn't chosen for the Match-Up mini game.) No one else would dress the part, but questions about superheroes, especially Superman, abounded during the entire 1973-1979 run of the show. They were ironically less common in syndication, but they did still turn up occasionally. Usually, they came in the form of what Superman would do if he got old, what he did with Lois Lane and his X-Ray vision, what he ran into while he was flying, and whether he could really bend iron bars and leap tall buildings in a single bound.

There was a Superman question the week with Robert Morse in 1974 when the little red-headed male contestant kept winning and chasing all the female panelists. Sweet Janet Finn in 1974 and good-natured Carolyn in 1979 both had Superman questions on the day they won big money (with Charles and Brianne Leary respectively). The lady with the nifty pink butterfly-shaped glasses who was on in 1975 had a Superman question. So did the lady with 10 children who proudly said she'd spend the money on herself. There was one during the only week in 1973 that Gene's old boss and mentor Steve Allen appeared, and one during the only appearance of Oscar-winner Shelley Winters. 

Batman turned up more rarely, usually in questions that joked about his relationship with Robin. One such question in 1973 had such a sexually-charged answer - from the contestant and the panelists - that the episode is now banned from regular television. There was a similar question later in 1974, with slightly more delicate answers. 

It's up, up, and away with the Match Game panel as we celebrate Superman, Batman, and all kinds of superheroic matching!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Super Hero Marathon

Oh, and the snow finally started coming down around 3:15 and hasn't stopped since. If anything, I think it's even heavier now. The streets are only clear because Oaklyn is really good at cleaning up its streets, but most of the local towns aren't usually as on the ball. All local schools are closed tomorrow, the Collingswood School District included, and I was off of the Acme already anyway. I won't be going anywhere tomorrow but home. 

Olympic Winds

The wind woke me up around 8:30 AM. It was fierce, shaking the pine trees outside and rattling the house to its core. My knee was still pretty sore, too. Between the wind, the extreme cold, my knee, and the snow on the street, there was no way I was going to work. I rang up the Acme and called out, then went back to sleep.

The wind continued to blow hard when I did finally roll out of bed. It must have blown the snow off the street, because Johnson was clear by noon. I hurried downstairs to move the recycling canister closer to the house and empty that...and it was so biting cold, that was the only time I even remotely went outside today.

Warmed up while eating breakfast and watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Three members of the Horde, Kyle, Lonnie, and lizard kid Rogelio, have been sent to pick up supplies by Catra. When their transport is damaged by an acid spore shower, they have to breach "Protocol" and figure out who should be the one to repair it. The same spore shower has also damaged Light Hope and the Crystal Castle while Adora is training there. Light Hope is far sweeter when she's rebooting, showing Adora how much she cared about the previous She-Ra, Mara, before Mara went rogue.

Switched to winter and winter-sports themed specials next. I go further into Frosty's Winter Wonderland, the sequel to the original Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Frosty's Winter Wonderland

Did the winter sports-themed specials next in honor of the Winter Olympics, which began yesterday. Peppermint Patty is hoping to become the next figure skating diva in She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown. Snoopy is her relentless manager. Peppermint Patty has to fight local hockey players to get ice time and is convinced Marcie will make her a costume. Marcie can't sew, and Snoopy ends up doing that, too. We learn what Snoopy can't do when the tape for her music gets tangled, and Woodstock ends up bailing her out.

The Pink Panther is off to Lake Placid for the Olym-Pinks in this 1980 special. He's the star of the ski team, to the frustration and resentment of his long-nosed rival with the mustache. His rival constantly attempts to one-up Pink and only ends up with a cold and second place for his troubles. Meanwhile, Pink has his own problems dodging a piano that is determined to follow him everywhere, even onto a live wire.

Put up the Valentine's Day decorations as well as I could with my knee next. I put off putting them up because of my knee, but I really wanted to get them up before the actual holiday. I have two thick red and white tinsel garlands, one of which went in front of the TV on the media center. There were also two heart-shaped candy boxes that were too pretty to throw away, a pink bear-shaped tin, two vintage cut-outs from the 70's and 80's depicting a bear holding a heart and a Holly Hobbie-type pioneer girl whose puppy is giving her kittens, a giant cut-out cardboard heart, and three stuffed animals. Valentina the Love Penguin and Amoura the Love Frog are leftover from the WebKinz fad of the 2000's and early 2010's. Valentino is a Valentine's Beanie Bear. 

Switched to Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle at YouTube next. Drawing the WENN superhero artwork with the kids got me thinking of my ideas for my (hopefully) upcoming WENN superhero story Captain Victor, Man of Power. This three-part PBS documentary covers the origins of superheroes during the Great Depression, how they flourished during World War II, then vanished in the 50's once the threat was over and all comics became suspect to high-minded intellectuals. They made a comeback in the pop-art 60's when the Batman TV show became a sensation, and superhero comics began to embrace stronger themes and more diverse characters.

Finished the night at YouTube with the Match Game marathon. Match Game is also celebrating sports this weekend with the first of two sports-themed marathons. This one revolves around questions on Olympic sports like skating, track and field, and gymnastics. The vast majority of these questions occurred in 1976, when the Montreal Olympics were running, or in 1980 during the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. There were jokes about what Pinocchio used his nose for, about a warden who lamented that he shouldn't have let his prisoners do Olympic sports that involved jumping over walls, and involving the things gymnasts do. We heard sports questions during the week in late 1975 where Richard Dawson's then-girlfriend Jodie Donovan appeared, when Fannie sat in for Brett during the last week of 1977, when Brett Somers came in wearing a West Hollywood Olympics shirt, prompting jokes from her best female friend Marcia Wallace about what she actually won at said Olympics.

Celebrate the Winter Olympics with this hilarious Wide World of Game Show Sports!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Olympics Games Marathon

Before the Snow Came

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora wishes the Rebellion felt a "Pulse." The keep attacking empty transports. After Bow is hurt by a new, more powerful robot, Adora takes Spinerella and Netossa to destroy it. Frustrated at being left behind, Glimmer takes her magic out to help. Adora isn't happy that Shadow Weaver is teaching her magic...but Catra and Double Trouble are thrilled with their unraveling friendship.

Called Uber right after breakfast. I had trouble with them for most of the day. They took 10 minutes arriving this morning, and I was almost late to work. They took 17 minutes to get to the Acme at 2:20, and I was five minutes late to Thomas Sharp. I was surprised I didn't have any trouble getting home. I got a ride at quarter after 5 in 7 minutes.

It wasn't bad at the Acme when I arrived. In fact, I was entirely outside today. The head bagger did the sweeping and other indoor work. I even got to see men drop green salt on the sidewalks to keep them from getting too messy later when it starts to snow. Thankfully, it was just cloudy and cold when I was at work. It didn't start picking up until I was just about ready to leave.

Got my schedule at this point, too. It's pretty much the same schedule as this week with earlier hours on Sunday and next Saturday...but it's also easier than this week. I took Thursday off because the kids have a half-day then. The Collingswood School District is closed next Friday for a staff meeting, which means I'll only be working at the Acme next Friday. 

I found something on the bakery clearance rack called "celebration cookies" (M&Ms, white chocolate chips, sprinkles) I wanted to try. Changed, grabbed them, made my way through a rut in the snow across the street to Rexy's Bar and Grill. They were still pretty busy, despite it being quarter after 1 when I arrived. I had hot tea, a warm fried fish sandwich with Asian slaw, and crunchy onion rings for lunch. Picked up the Uber at the Acme after I ate.

The head teacher took today off, and the replacement ended up working with the older kids. We had the older woman who usually works with the older kids working with us, but she doesn't know our rhythm, and she certainly didn't have any music on her cell phone for dance parties. None of this was good. We had 25 kids today, all of them wild with cabin fever from being inside the last two weeks. At least my group of 7 was helpful cleaning up their own toys and not bad at the bathrooms.

The trouble started after snack time. Since reading The Gingerbread Man and one more book to the kids while they were playing before we went to the library seemed to calm them down a little (they kept coming at me with books they wanted me to read), I replaced the dance party with me reading The Bernstein Bears and Too Much TV and half of If I Ran the Zoo. When they were too noisy, I stopped reading to talk to them and ask them their feelings on the head teacher being missing and point out that, just because she wasn't there, didn't mean they shouldn't respect the teachers who were around. The kids spent so much time ripping the paper taped down for them to stencil on, I finally gave them regular paper to color on. There was arguing over books, too, including ones the kids could not have read at their ages. At least by 5 PM, it had cleared out enough that those who remained were big helps bringing everything back to the cafeteria.

(Oh, and it started to snow lightly when I was waiting for Uber at the school. It's snowed lightly off and on ever since.)

Watched Match Game Syndicated and had dinner when I got home. The first hour finished out the Robert Walden/Judy Landers week. The second hour brought in Gary Crosby, David Doyle, and the delightful Rita Moreno. I really wish Rita could have been on the show more often. She brought a spicy Caribbean flair to the show and was hilarious flirting with Gene. Down-to-earth Gary is a lot of fun, too.

Finished the night with Remember WENN after a shower. Frustrated when her agent Brian Wilburforce (Heath Lamberts) won't get her the lead role in a local production of Antony and Cleopatra, she fires him and becomes her own agent. Rex Noble (Daniel Benzali), who is producing the show, is so impressed, he wants to meet her agent. She literally plays "Hilary's Agent" to get the part, but ends up driving Betty crazy with her demands. The others try to make Hilary see that honesty is the best policy...but as Eugenia points out, Hilary does make a lovely couple.

"The Birth of a Station" was controversial online when it first debuted. A very pregnant young woman (Debra Wiseman) wanders dazedly into the station during a public transportation strike and promptly goes into labor, begging to see Young Doctor Talbot. Trouble is, he's a character on their big hospital drama. While Jeff plays him to keep her calm, we get a glimpse of Mackie on the road when he calls.

There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow

Slept in this morning. Had a very quick breakfast while watching Pac Man. Mezmeron finally gets his wish when the Ghosts make Pac Man and his army giggle so hard, they can't defend the Power Pellet Forest. Pac Man has to stop "The Day the Forest Disappeared" and rescue them. The Ghosts are sent back in time to stop Pac Man from defending the forest, but they end up encountering his ancestor "Sir Chomps A Lot" and his Pac Dragon instead.

I was just going to hang around online again, but...ehh. Snow or no snow, I was bored. I had a little time before the after-school program started. They went in two hours late this time instead of closing. I grabbed a heavy coat, wrapped up, and headed out.

On one hand, the day was beautiful, sunny, and not windy at all. It was also literally Antarctic, barely in the 20's. Though Johnson and the White Horse Pike had been cleared and cleared well, East Clinton still had ice on it. Most sidewalks had been cleared, but some of them were still icy, and some of the sidewalks on the Pike were still covered in snow. I had to pick my way carefully, especially since my knee continues to be sore.

I'd never seen Dunkin's have so many donuts in the middle of the day. It was past 2 by the time I got there, but the donut racks were almost full. I'm guessing most people are either staying inside or just getting hot drinks at the drive-through. I still have the gift cards I got from the kids for Christmas, so I got a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, bacon, and "bacon jam," a cream donut, a vanilla-frosted donut, and a hot chocolate. Yum. The croissant the sandwich was on was a little burned, but it was edible. The hot chocolate was great, warm, chocolatey, and sweet. The vanilla frosted was ok, but the chocolate-frosted cream was tasty.

I picked up the Uber at Dunkin's. They arrived in 9 minutes, not bad for the state the roads are still in. No traffic anywhere, not even at the corner of the White Horse Pike and Collingswood. I was slightly late to the Thomas Sharp School, but nothing outrageous.

The kids must have spent the last three days running themselves ragged outside in the snow, because they honestly could have been worse. My group gave me no trouble in the bathroom. To keep them from running around in the hall, I did poses for them to imitate. They loved it, especially the flexible young ladies who take ballet and dance. They did start to get rowdy when we moved them to the library. Some of them thought it would be funny to hide under the tables, but the head teacher quickly ended that idea. I sat in the back with the kids working on Duplo towers. By the time I finished, we were down to three younger kids. I helped them move them and their toys and art supplies back to the cafeteria before I headed out.

Hit the bathroom fast, then called Uber. They arrived in 11 minutes, not bad for rush hour on a day when many roads are icy. And unlike Oaklyn, all but Collings and the area around the Thomas Sharp School did seem to be in pretty bad shape in West Collingswood. No wonder the kids had that delay. It took a tiny bit longer to get home than it had been to get there, but not that much.

I watched Sunny and had dinner after I managed to get the trash and recycling out in the ice-covered snow. I go further into this charming early talkie about a bareback rider in an English circus who follows her crush to the US on a cruise ship at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Sunny (1930)

Switched to Remember WENN after a shower. It's "Two for the Price of One" when Pruitt's secretary Miss Cosgrave (Audrie Neenan) signs a contract requiring Betty and the actors to create shows for radio station WEEP and their own. Though Gertie the receptionist (Margaret Hall) enjoys doing her gardening show, it proves to be too much for the staff and for CJ the engineer (CJ Byrnes). Mr. Crawley (Lee Wilkof), the owner of WEEP, is so impressed, he takes all their shows for his own. It's Scott who finally comes up with the idea of mixing the shows and the broadcasts, so no one knows which station is which.

Hilary's having her own problems in "Mr. and Mrs. Singer." Jeff keeps trying to call her and warn her about something, but he just can't get through to her. As it turns out, he has good reason to worry. Czech refugee Pavla Nemcova (Karen Travis) claims Jeff married her in London and even brings a letter backing up her statement. Hilary's devastated, until Scott, Betty, Mr. Foley, and CJ turn the tables and show Pavla for the gold-digger she truly is.

Finished the night working on the Sunny review while listening to the Disney Legacy Collection Disneyland CDs. This is especially fascinating for me. I went to Disney World twice in the 80's and early 90's, but I've never been to the original Disneyland. I've never even been to California. Some of these songs and rides - The Country Bears, the Tiki Room, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion with its "Grim Grinning Ghosts," "Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me" - I know very well, as they can still be found in many of the parks to this day. Others, like the theme from The Twilight Zone and the music from Star Tours, are based on familiar properties Disney borrowed or owns. 

Others are from older versions or rides that no longer exist. "Miracles from Molecules" is from Adventures Thru Inner Space, which closed in the 80's. "Nation On Wheels" is from the Peoplemover, which hasn't moved anyone at Disneyland since the early 2000's. (They attempted to turn it into a roller coaster and abandoned the tracks when that didn't work. It's apparently still at Disney World, though.) The dreamy "Rainbow Caverns" would be replaced by the more dynamic Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the 70's. The "Swisskapolka" was the music heard in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, until Disney gave it a only-in-Disneyland Tarzan theme...which was replaced in 2022 by a variation on the original. 

If you love Disney Parks history or theme park history, or have actually been to Disneyland between 1955 and 2015, you'll absolutely want to look around for this collection of songs from some of the most beloved properties, shows, and rides to ever grace the "Happiest Place On Earth." 

Winter and Taxes

First of all, I awoke to a white world. Everything was covered with shiny whiteness...but the street. Though the street was cleared here, it's more than likely it hasn't been elsewhere. Oaklyn is the best local town at cleaning up the streets after a major weather disaster. The Collingswood School District was closed today, and I was already off the Acme until Wednesday. I went nowhere but home today.

Started things off with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Millie and Melody want their Aunt Minnie to play with them, but she's too busy setting up "Minnie's Winter Bow Show." They accidentally make a mess of the decorations, then run out. Minnie follows them into the Glove Balloon, which ends up taking them to the top of Mistletoe Mountain. They have to help Snow Fairy Clarabelle find her snowflakes, then retrieve her reindeer to pull a sleigh that will take them back to Minnie's show. On the way, they help a family of yeti get across a frozen pond.

Moved to Remember WENN after breakfast. Betty's left wondering "Who's Scott Sherwood?" after Victor's major revelations during "In the WENN Small Hours." So is Rollie Pruitt, who has caught wind of Scott's memorial scheme and fired him. The others rise to Scott's defense and end their shows. Betty's not sure he's worth defending, especially after Scott finally confesses how he really got his station manager job.

Betty and Mackie are dealing with the fallout in "The New Actor." While Betty tries to negotiate with Pruitt to get Mackie a raise, Jeff insists on returning to London after hearing one of Jonathan Arnold's (Victor) broadcasts. Now WENN is so short on help, Mackie's playing roles with himself. They're desperate to hire anyone...but Betty's not sure the very familiar former con-artist they end up hiring is worth a second chance. 

After breakfast, I moved to Turbo Tax to get that done. This is slightly more complicated with two jobs, but still nothing that takes more than an hour. I still own no property and have no dependents. Thanks to that second job, I'll only be getting about $470 back from Federal and $40 from the state. That's nowhere near what I usually get, but any kind of money is better than none. 

Switched to Tubi for a double feature of two wacky winter comedies from the 80's and early 90's after I took my laundry downstairs. Ski Patrol  is a pretty typical slobs vs snobs teen comedy from 1990. The ski patrollers are in charge of the mountain run at Pop's (Ray Walston) resort. The land is coveted by a smarmy developer (Martin Mull) who wants to build a much larger and more lavish resort. He hires a group of jealous ski instructors to sabotage the ski patrol and make the resort look bad to the local Forest Ranger (Deborah Rose). After they're stretched too thin and the Ranger sees their mistakes, the Forest Service is ready to shut them down...unless they can find a way to prove that they're not the ones wrecking havoc on the mountain. Meanwhile, the patrollers have to deal with a very strange hard rock nut named Suicide (Sean Gregory Sullivan) who wears two masks to represent his dual-sided personality and the short head of the patrol (Leslie Jordan) they're constantly making fun of.

I'm not surprised this came from the creators of the Police Academy franchise. It's basically a less raunchy Police Academy on skis with a great cast. In addition to Walston, Jordan, and Mull, we have comedian T.K Carter as resident singer and karaoke-machine owner Iceman, George Lopez as the Hispanic explosions expert Eddie Martinez, and future director Paul Feig as hapless Stanley, who tried and failed seven times to get on the Ski Patrol. My sisters and I used to love this when it turned up a lot on cable in the early 90's. It's still a lot of fun if you're looking for something goofy and not much else or are a fan of Police Academy-style slapstick ensemble comedies.

Hot Dog - The Movie has a little of the authentic ski bum flavor that Ski Patrol lacks. In this case, the focus switches from the ski patrol to skiing competitions. Harkin Banks (Patrick Houser) is on his way to Squaw Valley, California for a major ski festival when he picks up 17-year-old runaway Sunny (Tracy Smith). They're both disgusted with Rudi Garmisch (John Patrick Reger), a spoiled hot shot European skier who has won all the major awards. Despite excellent performances by Harlin and veteran skier and bar-owner Dan O'Callahan (David Naughton), it looks like he might take this one too...until Dan challenges him and his entourage to a winner-takes-all free-for-all downhill race. Now Dan, Harlin, and their friends have to avoid Rudi and his cheating to prove who the real "hog dogs" on the mountain are.

This movie is way better than it has any right to be. Naughton, Reger, and Shannon Tweed steal the movie as the veteran skier who joins the Championship for one more day in the sun, the spoiled European champ, and the (slightly) older woman who seduces Harlin at first. The Japanese skier (James Saito) is pretty stereotypical, but he's also portrayed as a member of the gang who takes part in most of the same antics as the others. The ladies, especially Smith, don't always come off the best either. Ski culture, on the other hand, is portrayed so authentically, this was a surprise hit in 1984 and remains a favorite of a lot of real skiers to this day. If you're also a skiing fan and can handle more sex than usual for one of these teen comedies, this is definitely worth checking out the competition for.

Switched to Buzzr for Match Game Syndicated next after I finally brought my laundry upstairs and put it away. We had a first for game shows in these episodes as blind contestant Glenn and his beautiful service dog Princess competed. Betty White adored Princess and helped take good care of her. Meanwhile, Eva Gabor was a trooper when she talked about how another contestant had accidentally kicked her toe and taken off her toenail, and she said she now had a cheaper pedicure.

Listened to the Wicked: For Good soundtrack after dinner while working on Once Upon a Time in the Land of WENN. I haven't a single clue as to why this got such horrible reviews. The performances are still fabulous, especially from Ariana Grande as Glinda. The mix of practical and CGI effects still look gorgeous. The show's big ballad, "As Long as You're Mine," can be found here, and we have two decent new songs, "The Girl In the Bubble" and "There's No Place Like Home." I'm wondering if the critics were expecting it be just as lighthearted as the first half...and were shocked to find it most definitely isn't. If you're a fan of the show or of The Wizard of Oz and don't mind the darker take on this franchise, or you loved the first movie, this is absolutely worth checking out too.

I finally got further on Land of WENN. Duchess Hilary Booth's husband Duke Jeffrey Singer just returned to Londchester to help with the war against the Shadow Realm there. Not only does she miss him terribly, but she's upset that Elizabeth (Betty) Roberts and her acting troupe are moving on the Parched Mountains too to find the Earth Talisman and staff. She's even more shocked when a woman dressed in an icing-colored dress arrives at the Bedside Manor stage, claiming she's Pavla Nemcova, Jeff's new wife. Scott Sherwood, the shadowy head of the Rebel Society, knows Pavla is really an evil Candy Witch who may have harmed Jeff, and he knows what she really wants...an audition with a major producer. 

Finished the night at YouTube with spelling and word games after I made the bed. Two of the major champs in this genre remain Password and Match Game. They're simple, addictive, and a lot of fun to play along with. We have three examples here, with Password Plus from 1981 and Super Password from 1987 and one of the funniest episodes from the first year of the revived Match Game in 1973. 

Another word and spelling game champ is Scrabble, and it's another one that's seen a recent revival. Chuck Woolery is the host of the original version from 1986 that had people calling for letters and unscrambling words. The Pyramids are a bit simpler. Celebrities help contestants guess a certain category by naming object or people in that category. I have a rather infamous episode of $100,000 Pyramid from 1991 where soap star Stuart Damon has to figure out what to say for "Things That are Stiff" that won't get them taken off the air. John Davidson is the amiable host here.

Not all word games are massive hits. Smush debuted on USA in 2001 and didn't even last a year. This game is so simple, the contestants play in a set that resembles a living room of the time, and the audience is mostly on the floor or couches. Three contestants have to decide what smushed phrase two clues make, like "Karen Allen Ludden." Ken Ober is certainly no stranger to casual pop-culture based games and has a lot of fun with the material, but it might be a little too casual and low-budget to make much of an impression.

Have fun describing words, guessing phrases, and describing the category with these heart-pounding and hilarious word and spelling games!

Match Game (1973)

Password Plus (1981)

Scrabble (1986)

Super Password (1987)

$100,000 Pyramid (1991)

Smush (2001)

Winter Wonderland Matches

I awoke at 7 to a winter wonderland. Everything was white, including the street. Normally, Oaklyn is the best town in the area at clearing the streets. If the streets here weren't clear, none of them in the area were passable, period. I called Acme, told them there was no way I'd be able to get an Uber today even if my knee was up to pushing carts in deep snow, and went back to sleep.

It was still coming down when I got up again, and the dark gray sky basically said that it would continue to come down for a long time. I think you can guess that no one went anywhere or did anything today. I spent most of the day in front of my laptop, listening to records and going through Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN, seeing what needs to be edited and where I left off. 

In fact, I spent a lot of the afternoon putting a dent in the records I've bought in the last few months. Soundwaves is a K-Tel release from 1980. There's some really great stuff here, some of the biggest hits of the early 80's - "Upside Down" by Diana Ross, "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc, "I Wanna Be Your Lover" by Prince, "I Was Made for Lovin' You" by Kiss, "Lost In Love" by Air Supply - but my favorite is one I didn't even know existed until I bought this. I know Meco did a Star Wars: New Hope disco instrumental medley (it still turns up on the radio from time to time), but I had no idea he did one for Empire Strikes Back, too. It's pretty awesome. You've never lived until you've heard an electronic version of "The Imperial March."

I thought two Rupert Holmes records from the early 1980's suited both the snowy weather and the story I was working on. Anyone who's seen Remember WENN or heard the cast albums for Curtains and The Mystery of Edwin Drood knows Rupert loves playing with masks and hidden identities, and that's the theme of Adventure from 1980. "The Mask" sounds like Victor in the third season, "Blackjack" might as well be Scott Sherwood's anthem, and Betty certainly was "Cold" to him during much of the third and fourth seasons. "Adventure" is what Scott wanted with Betty, and "You'll Love Me Again" and "I Don't Need You" have a lot of Hilary and Jeff in them.

Full Circle from a year later is somewhat similar. Things are a bit more romantic here. "You Remind Me of You" has a title from the Marx Brothers, but is honestly very sweet. There's also "Loved By the One You Love," "Love at Second Sight" (Hilary and Jeff again), "My Lover's Keeper," and the title song.

The Moody Blues' The Present wasn't nearly as big of a hit as Long Distance Voyager, their previous album, had been, but that doesn't mean it lacks merit. "Sitting at the Wheel" and "Blue World" were minor hits at the time, and there's the dreamy "Running Water" and "Under My Feet." In fact, it made for rather nice reflection music on an afternoon that kept switching between snow, frozen rain, and sleet.

Finished the night with dinner, a shower, and the Sunday Match Game marathon. There were quite a few panelists named Robert or Bob who appeared on the 1973 - 1982 run of the show. The first and most prominent was Price Is Right host Bob Barker. He turned up on the second week and would appear sporadically through 1980, usually to promote Price. He had some of his most memorable episodes in the late CBS run and early syndication, including the time he protested Gene covering the slit skirt of a pretty casting coordinator and when his chair broke and sunk below the desks. 

Bobby Van was the other regular "Bob" during the 70's run. He was usually seen with his dancer wife Elaine Joyce, but he did make occasional appearances on his own from 1973 through 1977. His first appearance on the show was sitting next to Elaine on the top row in 1973...and one of their answers to a question was so sexually-charged, that episode is now banned from the airwaves. 

Three Roberts and Bobs were semi-regulars during the later and syndicated years. Robert Walden of Lou Grant, a former student of Charles Nelson Reilly, turned heads and made hearts flutter from 1979 through 1981. Robert Pine, the only actor to last through the entire six seasons of CHIPs, was a genial "dad" presence from 1978 through 1980. Character actor Bob Donner of Mork and Mindy started off in 1980 and would last through the end of the syndicated series in 1982, making occasional appearances on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour as well.

There were other guys named Bob or Robert who only appeared for one or two weeks. Robert Vaughn of The Man From U.N.C.L.E appeared twice, in a memorable week in 1973 with Nancy Dussault and McLean Stevenson, and again in 1975. Comedian and game show host Robert Q. Lewis and Robert Culp of I Spy and The Greatest American Hero made their only appearances early on in 1973. Broadway star Robert Morse did a hilarious week in 1974 where he imitated an ape and accidentally blurted out an answer. Brett was more than happy to kiss action star Robert Urich during his only week in 1975. Robert Mandan of Soap did incredibly well in 1978, probably the best of any star who only played one week. 

Get to know a lot of guys named Bob in this hilarious and happily snow-free marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - The BOB Marathon 

Oh, and you've probably already guessed that the Collingswood School District, including the Thomas Sharp School, is closed tomorrow. I checked their website around 3 PM. Good thing I'm already off of the Acme on Monday (and Tuesday) anyway. I'm not going anywhere tomorrow but here. 

It's a Marshmallow World In the Winter

Didn't have the time this morning to start with anything but breakfast! I overslept. It was 20 after 8 when I woke up, and I had work at 9. Thank heavens I was able to get an Uber driver in 4 minutes and arrived at work right on time. It was snowing hard, but the snow was only sticking to the grass. The roads and sidewalks were clear. The driver going home only took 7 minutes to come. There were no problems or traffic either way, and I got where I was going in the usual 5 minutes.

Maybe that's why it was so busy today. The morning Uber driver said it would probably be dead, due to the weather and the holiday weekend, but he couldn't have been more wrong. We were off and on crazy for a lot of the day. Everyone must have come out once they saw that the snow wasn't sticking to the streets. I was alone during the morning, but by the time I went on break around 11:30, one of the college-age boys had taken over sweeping and helped me with carts. 

Unlike yesterday, however, the snow only stopped briefly once before it started up again. It never stuck to the street or sidewalks while I was at work, or even the parking lot. Like I told one of the managers who also waited for an Uber driver later, it amounted to not much more than very pretty rain. I did help figure out what to do about a ceiling leak in the women's bathroom. I remembered the purple bins used when the back storage area had a leak in the ceiling and grabbed one of those. 

After I got home, I changed and did a few quick chores, then decided it was the perfect day for cooking and baking. I still had that Scone Goddess scone mix Amanda gave me in late November that I hadn't used and a bag of fresh cranberries waiting to be made into sauce. I bought the heavy cream for the scones, but didn't have the chance to make them until today. Oh yum! I added a little too much cream to the chocolate chocolate chip scones and made them into drop scones instead of rolling them out, but they still came out tasty. The cranberry sauce was edible, if too soupy. 

And...for some reason, there were a couple of guys playing football outside as I worked on the scones. This despite East Clinton being a block from the White Horse Pike and the snow continuing to come down. It finally started to stick to the road later in the afternoon, too. Thankfully, they'd finally fled by the time the cranberry sauce was as done as it was going to get.

Listened to recently-acquired records while I worked on yesterday's blog entry. The live-action Disney Little Mermaid has its good points (Melissa McCarthy was a hilarious Ursula, Eric had a lot more spirit, Ariel was somewhat more proactive), but its songs are a mixed bag, to say the least. I actually like the slower tempo on "Under the Sea." I can finally catch all the words to that one! "Kiss the Girl" is just as much fun here as it is in the original, and McCarthy has a blast with "Poor Unfortunate Souls." Of the new songs, my favorite is Eric's "Wild Uncharted Waters," which perfectly outlines his adventurous personality and desire to find that elusive voice that rescued him. "The Scuttlebutt," a rather ridiculous rap for comedienne Awkwafina as Scuttle, works far less well. Ariel's "For the First Time," as she describes the wonders of the land in her head, is a bit better. 

Ehh, the original animated Little Mermaid was never my favorite Disney movie either, and this one isn't going to change my mind. Fine if your kids loved the movie. Everyone else is better off looking for "Wild Uncharted Waters" as a single somewhere. 

The Spinners were at the top of their careers when their self-titled album debuted in 1973. As the album cover mentions, "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" and "I'll Be Around" were the million-selling hits here. We also have one of my favorites of their songs, the charming "One of Kind Love Affair," along with "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You" and "We Belong Together." 

Finished the night with more classic Betty White episodes. Betty appeared on pretty much the entire run of Match Game, on every version from 1961 through 1991 except Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. She joined Charles Nelson Reilly in the character actress seat in 1990 and got to hear Vicki Lawrence answer a question in her "Mama" voice and Joe Alasky do Porky Pig in front of Ross's "That's All, Folks!" entrance. She strutted her stuff in 1981, wearing a gorgeous red dress a friend of Sharon Farrell's made, then watched Sharon land on Richard Paul during a question about mud wrestling. Betty loved strutting her stuff. She stripped earlier in 1980 (or at least, took off her jacket) and in 1978, too. 

She could be even funnier on nighttime episodes. She appeared on one of my personal favorite PM episodes of all time when she saw Richard Dawson bet Gene Rayburn that "Color TV" wouldn't be on the "Admiral ___" Audience Match. Gene should know better than to ever bet against Richard, who always knew. Betty spent the episode tossing out quips with an on-fire Brett. Her last appearance on the show with Allen Ludden was a few months before his death in 1981. Though the full week with them sitting next to each other in the bottom row is currently unavailable, the PM is in circulation. Jimmie Walker and Jonnelle Allen look on as Betty appreciates that her beloved hubby is still thinking about sexual matters and teaches him a lesson in comedy sounds. 

Betty's love of animals also turned up on syndication. Gene brought along his daughter's dog Trotter for an episode and a PM in 1980. Betty adored the dear old mutt and took good care of her. Charles kept calling her a vicious dog, but she was really a sweetheart who was probably prettier, smarter, and better-behaved than most of the panelists that week. There was also the time in 1977 when she "borrowed" Charles' glasses and pipe and imitated him in his seat next to Brett. (And regretted it later, complaining about how awful Charles' pipe tobacco tasted.) 

There's lots more Betty in this hilarious and heartfelt tribute to the Queen of Game Shows!

Match Game Sunday Classics - A Celebration of Life: Betty White "Best Episodes on Match Game" (Part 2)

Golden Girl Matches

Began the late morning with breakfast and Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll. I go further into this 1987 documentary covering the life and career of Chuck Berry on his 60th birthday at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musical Documentaries - Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll

By the time the movie ended, it was cloudy and chilly, but not snowing. It was supposed to snow later, and I wasn't taking chances. I called Uber. The driver going there took only five minutes, despite the snow starting even as he pulled up to the curb. The one going home took 10 minutes, but it was also 6 PM, after dark, and much colder.

Actually, work could have been a lot worse. We were busy, but nothing abnormal for a Saturday. It stopped snowing about an hour after I arrived and never started again. The snow never stuck to the street, or anything but the grass. In fact, by the time I finished, the clouds were taking a brief leave of absence. In fact, I spent most of the day pushing carts. The head bagger did the sweeping and indoor chores before she'd come out and help me with the carts. There were no problems whatsoever other than long lines. 

I spent the rest of the night after a much-needed shower eating dinner and watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Match Game Productions is celebrating what would have been Betty White's birthday this weekend with two marathons totally devoted to her. Betty was already a seasoned panelist on game shows when she appeared on the Match Game '73 pilot episode. She first appeared on the show proper in the third week, making her debut along with Charles, Brett, and Bert Convy. Her reaction to Brett's insistence that Charles wasn't wearing socks - "I didn't know Brett Somers was an ankle man!" was a hint of things to come. She, Charles, and Brett would become close friends over the years, tossing out quips and teasing each other in the ways that only the closest of drinking buddies can. 

There were other people she loved teasing on the show. Her other gag was to roll down host Gene Rayburn's socks and roll up his pants legs when he lingered in front of Charles. (Sometimes, Richard Dawson and the ingenue in the 4th chair - Lee Merriweather one week - would help out.) She loved stripping routines, shaking her stuff to David Rose's "The Stripper" and removing scarves and jackets, to the delight of the audience (and some folks on the panel). She also adored animals up until the very end, and would noisily protest whenever a joke suggesting harm to an animal - especially dogs - came up in the rotation.

The other person she adored was her husband Allen. She did manage to get into the right spirit when a question joked about what she'd do if he was on fire (she has plenty of chicken), but she usually looked painted whenever the questions teased how staid he was. She was happier on the famous week in 1975 when they appeared together. Oh, and Allen...yes, Betty rolls down Gene's pants legs when you're not there. 

Celebrate the life of the Queen of Game Shows with this hilarious and heartfelt marathon! (And look for the second half tomorrow night!)

Match Game Saturday Classics - A Celebration of Life: Betty White "Best Episodes On Match Game" (Part 1)

Of Mummers and Muppets

Began the first day of 2026 with stories from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays. My favorite is the charming tale of a group of kids in a small town who ring the church bell for an elderly neighbor to celebrate the New Year. "A Disastrous New Year" from Hitty: Her First Hundred Years depicts how wooden doll Hitty was stolen on New Year's Day by a group of New York street toughs who attacked her child owner. "Dobry's New Year" focuses on Bulgarian New Year's customs, including reading the buds on a dram bush to see how your year will go. There's also several poems on New Year's festivities and changes in the New Year.

I thought I was running late when I ate a quick breakfast and waited for Jessa outside just after 10 AM. She didn't turn up until past 10:30 with her boyfriend Mike. He's a cheerful fellow, a bit on the chatty side. To my surprise, it snowed a little bit last night, enough that the ground was frosted white like a New Year's cake. Unfortunately, while the roads in Oaklyn had been cleared, the ones in Collingswood had not. Jessa skidded a few times before she finally pulled into the PATCO parking lot. 

We took a barely-full PATCO into Philly and made it to Broad Street by 11:30. It was a beautiful, if fridgid, day for a parade. The sky was a full-bodied, brilliant blue that almost hurt to look at, without a cloud in it. The wind, however, remained icy and so strong, some of the fancier string bands had to leave behind their props. It didn't dampen anyone's spirits. The Mummers strutted just as wildly as ever, and the crowds were even more enthusiastic, cheering, dancing along, and calling out the Eagles victory cheer.

The first group I saw as we made our way through the crowds were one of the Wench Brigades, this one wearing candy-print outfits and pulling a small "gingerbread house." The next group in red and blue were pirates, complete with a huge wooden "ship." Another had black and white outfits with an eye test print of large and small letters. Freddy Kruger wenches had red and green striped dress outfits, wore green tinsel garlands and Freddy's hat, and had clawed gloves. There were at least two Revolutionary War wench brigades in honor of America's 250th anniversary this year. A local used car dealership tossed its bear mascot in with characters representing Philly sports mascots and the Liberty Bell. Magician wenches wore red, black, and white and sported cards and long scarves. A yellow and black wench group were bees pulling cardboard hives.

I loved the comic Toy Story group, with a dad and mom Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a male Little Bo Peep, Buzz Lightyear, teen aliens, and the most adorable kid Trixie and Rex. A group of animals included eagles "soaring" on roller blades who got quite a reaction from the crowd! The first fancy brigade had a garden theme, with massive pink and green flowers and enormous Venus fly traps fluttering in the wind. The next was an amusement park. There were kids dressed as a roller coaster, a ticket booth, and even a giant ice cream swirl cone. Guys and girls twirled in fluffy cotton candy dresses. 

During a gap in the program, I got cold and bored standing there and headed down Broad Street to see what else was there. The wind and cold had scared off many people. There weren't quite as many people watching the parade live as there usually is. It was still fun to watch all of the drunk college kids screaming and (trying to) dance and the kids handing their parents beads while their parents taught them the Mummers Strut.

There's a Dunkin' Donuts further up Broad Street near the Sprouts Market and the Philadelphia High School for the Performing and Creative Arts. Though it was busy inside, the line surprisingly wasn't long. I made use of those gift cards from the kids to get a medium hot chocolate and a blueberry donut. There wasn't as much going on down by the school, so after I finished my donut, I followed the crowds back to Locust Street.

We finally decided by quarter of 12 that we'd seen enough and were too cold to stick around for the rest of the fancy groups. We took a largely empty PATCO (except for one really loud and drunk guy in a pink bunny outfit who thankfully got off at Broadway in Camden) back to Collingswood, getting in by just after 1. 

I usually have my first meal out of the year at the Westmont Diner. With the Westmont Diner still under renovations, I suggested the Haddon Diner on the border of Westmont and Haddonfield instead. Jessa had a hard time parking in the tiny, full lot, but they weren't that busy when we got in. The Haddon Diner is a lovely little spot with hand-stenciled wooden booths and reasonable prices. Mike had a huge chicken wrap. Jessa's turkey club sandwich was so big, she could only finish half of it. She and Mike both had chicken soup. Mike ordered mozzarella sticks and chicken quesadillas with curly fries. I had apple-raisin pancakes that were smaller, more moist, and more manageable than the ones at the Silver Diner on Tuesday, along with bacon and hot tea. Everything was so tasty, and the other two seemed to really enjoy theirs.

After they dropped me off at home, I went straight into Holiday Inn. I went further into this classic 1942 musical that introduced "White Christmas," "Happy Holiday," and "Let's Start the New Year Right" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back on New Year's Day 2019.

Happy New Year! - Holiday Inn

Moved on to Sesame Street Stays Up Late after the movie ended. I also go further into this charming special on how different cultures celebrate the New Year at my musical review blog.

Happy New Year! - Sesame Street Stays Up Late 

Switched to the Match Game New Year's Day Celebration Party marathon after dinner and a shower. The first episode of 1974 began with the arrival of Dorothy Zinni, an overly enthusiastic contestant who was so excited, she accidentally hit the laid-back guy next to her and scared the panelists to death. Even Richard was too terrified of her to kiss her! Richard's girlfriend Jodie proved to be far more palatable for him in 1976. Dick Martin kicked off 1976 by getting an answer right for the first time. Fannie Flagg enjoyed sitting in Brett's seat while she was out doing a play on the first day of 1978. Gene stumbled into the first day of 1979 draped with streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Jon "Bowser" Bauman played with rubber chains on the first episode of 1980, while McLean Stevenson had permanently taken over Richard's spot by 1981.

Dick Martin carried over to The Match Game-Hollywood Square Hour's first episode of 1984. Alison Arngrin showed off her stylish black dress and hat, Vic Dunlop dodged fat jokes, Arsenio Hall tossed out quips, and we have a young David Ruprecht when he was hosting Real People. Brad Garrett continued to imitate the on-vacation Charles Nelson Reilly on the first Match Game episode of 1991. Bruce Baum showed he could do more than create goofy and slightly disturbing "inventions" by actually doing pretty darn well at Match Up. 

Party on in the new year with Match Game in these hilarious episodes!

Match Game New Year's Celebration Party

Wait, there's more! We also have bonus episodes of Family Feud, Password Plus, Super Password, and a repeat of the Match Game '77 New Year's Eve episode. It's more bang for your game show buck in the New Year!

Family Feud (1980)

Family Feud (1980)

Match Game (1977)

Password Plus (1981)

Super Password (1987)

Finished the night working on the Sesame Street review while listening to My Favorite Things. John Coltrane digs into songs by three masters of American standards, starting with the Rodgers and Hammerstein title song. There's two gorgeous renditions of Gershwin brothers numbers, "But Not for Me" and "Summertime," and a darker Cole Porter "Every Time We Say Goodbye." 

Winter Wonderland Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and True Value Happy Holidays CDs. My original cassette version of Volume 28 was the first Happy Holidays collection I bought, way back in 1993 when it was the only Christmas music I could afford. Jim Croce headlines with "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way," while Clint Black has the hilarious "Till Santa's Gone, I Just Can't Wait (Milk and Cookies)." We also get a lovely "Blue Christmas" from K.T Oslin, Elvis Prestley's version of "Here Comes Santa Claus," and Alabama's "A Candle In the Window."

Volume 30 kicks off with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by "Orchestra True Value," aka True Value's attempt at doing Manheim Steamroller. Barry Manilow follows with his own "Because It's Christmas." George Strait celebrates "When It's Christmastime In Texas," while Air Supply gives us "Winter Wonderland" and Carnie and Wendy Wilson sing a charming medley of "We Three Kings," "Silent Night," and "The First Noel."

Volume 31 was the first Happy Holidays CD I bought. This was the first time I'd heard the Eartha Kitt "Santa Baby" or Frank Sinatra's "I'll Be Home For Christmas." "Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen has everyone's favorite beagle pilot fighting the Red Baron. We also have Dean Martin's version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," Donna Summer's "White Christmas," Amy Grant's short but charming "Santa's Reindeer Ride," the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick," and Andy Williams' classic version of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

Switched to the Eagles game on my little scan radio during lunch. They've been playing badly lately...but the Las Vegas Raiders is one of the worst teams in the NFL. They almost literally ran rings around them. In fact, from what I gathered later, the Raiders never got anywhere near the end zone. The Eagles creamed the heck out of them 31-0.

And yes, it did snow last night. I think we may have gotten five inches. I awoke to the most Christmassy scene possible. I felt like Ralphie in A Christmas Story waking up on Christmas morning. The bare trees and backyards were frosted with a thick layer of white. Fortunately, the Oaklyn Public Works is good at making sure the streets are plowed. The streets were perfectly clear by 1:30. I had a harder time getting an Uber driver. Two canceled on me before one finally stuck. They took almost 20 minutes to arrive, which meant I was late getting to work.

Thankfully, that was the worst that happened all day. The Acme wasn't really that busy. Though the snow was ending by the time I arrived, it was bitter cold. Not all of the parking lot had been plowed, making pulling carts treacherous. They ended up sending one of the male cashiers out to help me. At least there were no major problems, and I was in and out.

Good thing, since I had to pick up a few things I forgot yesterday. I gave a friend the last of my vanilla, I'm low on brown sugar, and I need coconut for Cherry Coconut Bars. Wasn't sure how much parchment paper I had, either. It took a little longer to find an Uber to take me home, but when I did connect, they arrived in less than the listed 7 minutes.

Finished the night after dinner and a shower with tonight's Match Game marathon. Cars, vehicles, and transportation turned up fairly frequently in questions, and more rarely in Audience Matches like "Volkswagon __." There was one the day Rita Moreno really got into Gene's new-kid-on-the-block kiss and revealed her answer too early in syndication and on the 1978 episode that ended with Brett and Jack Klugman's mock wedding. An episode during Steve Allen's only week on the show had one, too, and on the episode before Gene wore his infamous plaid suit in 1973. Susan Richardson and Gary Collins were the for the nighttime episode with the Audience Match "__ Mobile."

Baby you can drive my car and make matches in this marathon on the go!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Start Your Engines (Cars & Automobiles)

I've Got My Matches To Keep Me Warm

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Mickey Saves Santa" when the jolly old man in red is stranded on Mistletoe Mountain and only Mickey and Donald can help him get off. Donald is upset that he loses his Christmas list before he can get it to Santa, and Mrs. Claus has to constantly admonish him to be nice, but there's a big surprise for him and the others at the Clubhouse when they do figure out how to help Santa.

Hurried off to work the moment the cartoon ended. The head bagger was actually sweeping and pushing carts instead of cashiering today, freeing me up to focus entirely on the carts and returning cold items. It did get busy later, but with the head bagger there, we didn't have much trouble keeping up with the carts. Nice weather helped here, too. It was chilly but not nearly as cold as it had been the past few days, windy and off-and on cloudy. I had no trouble whatsoever and was in and out quickly. 

Which was a very good thing, because today was the Acme's employee holiday buffet. My gingerbread bars couldn't have come out better. They were perfectly moist and spicy and just sweet enough. They were joined by home-made marshmallows dusted with powdered sugar that vanished quickly, an enormous pound cake, a fruit tray from the produce department, bagels, and huge donuts. I had a roast beef sandwich, and there were meatballs, tacos, hot dogs, and spicy sausage, too. Sides included real macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and pasta salad. 

Since I had planned on lingering at the Acme for lunch, I did my grocery shopping there. Mainly needed to restock apples, clementines, granola, soda, and yogurt. Got butter and eggs for cookies this week (and because eggs were on a good sale). Grabbed granola bars and found Welch's Berry fruit strips on clearance. Picked up sugar cookies from the bakery clearance racks. They had the Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite Zero and Diet Coke With Lime, too.

Rode home after that. Changed when I got in and put everything away, then watched The Nutcracker on Tubi. I go further into this low-budget, direct-to-video 1995 retelling of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Nutcracker (1995)

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. I got my Swiss Colony box from Mom yesterday, with small cake torte sticks and little cheeses, sausages, and a container of cheese spread. My gift from Lauren was the full series of The Rockford Files, an old favorite of mine. I'll start in on it the week after Christmas.

Finished the night with a reprise of last week's Star Wheel Marathon. Match Game Productions was able to fix the glitches and edits that had plagued the original version. There's even more fun stuff here, from the very first episode featuring the Star Wheel where everyone, including Richard, walks off the stage when the Star Wheel lands on him to the first episode with the new set to the classic PM episode where Joyce Bulifant helps a gentleman all in blue figure out "Mill __" to win $20,000.

Check out more from the era where contestants could win big money in the improved version of this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Star Wheel "Special Moments" Replay (1978 - 1982) 

Oh, and I peered out the window about an hour ago...and yes, it is snowing. Not heavily, at least, not right now, but it is sticking to the streets. We'll see what it's like tomorrow. If there's a lot on the street by 12:30-1 PM, I might stay home. 

Sculptures In the Snow

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Backyardigans. Tasha, Pablo, and Uniqua are the Do-Gooders, a band of nice bikers who like the help people. This includes mail-moose Tyrone when he loses his "Special Delivery" Valentine's Day mail. He believes all the cliches about biker gangs and tries to outrun them, but they're determined to stay on his trail and get the mail back to him. 

Took Uber this morning, partially due to concerns about the weather, and partially because Jessa was picking me up later. It only took five seconds for me to get a ride and five minutes for the gentleman to arrive, confirming my suspicions that it was just too darn busy yesterday to get any kind of public transportation.

Work went perfectly fine. I spent the morning sweeping and gathering carts. I did end up behind on the carts when they kept getting me to put cold items away. Unless it's meat, the cold stuff can go in freezers or coolers until I have time for it. The carts kept emptying. They needed to be done first. 

After work, I changed into a normal shirt, then grabbed a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero to get money for the Girl Scouts. I tried to get cookies from them last week, but forgot the money. I always buy cookies from the Girl Scouts. I remember when my sisters were Girl Scouts in the late 80's and early 90's and had a hard time selling cookies to the few people who were actually living on the northern end of Cape May in January. I got peanut butter sandwiches, Lemonades, and Caramel Delights. 

Jessa was already there when I was buying the cookies. We went straight out to the sculpture garden in Hamilton from the Acme. The drive was mostly on highways until we hit Hamilton, a suburb of Trenton. One of the premiere attractions in the area is Grounds for Sculpture, an enormous sculpture garden featuring works by many different modern artists. We stopped and bought the tickets and used the bathroom at the sprawling modern visitors center, but we'd explore it more extensively later.

Grounds for Sculpture is a rambling sculpture park, featuring many types of statues in a natural, woodsy setting. We followed paths under arbors, through random small doors, and over Monet-style wooden bridges. Statues of artists painted by a gurgling waterfall. A statue of a woman in red flaunted her gown on the placid pond. More provocative and less family-friendly statues and house-art could be found wandering around in the woods and on the path around the lake. We ended up at their restaurant Rat's at one point, but it would seem they were closed for the season.

In addition to the realistic artists, my favorite statues outside were the duo in the courtyard. One reclined on a bench. The other reached to the heavens. Snow began to fall as we arrived in Hamilton, allowing a strange, magical hush to fall on the area and giving the statues an otherworldly air. I was actually grateful for the snow. It made the place seem even more supernatural and gave the statues a unique perspective that was far different than a sunny day. The tangle of woods and house-like "scream" buildings with bodies popping out of every corner looked even weirder with a frosting of white.

We were going to have lunch at the cafe, but they were only selling drinks and small snacks. The cafe that sold meals was also closed for the winter. The gift shop wasn't terribly interesting, either. We did admire a huge gallery of the work from Seward Johnson, the artist who founded the park. My favorite indoor statues was the realistic jazz band "playing" in the gallery. Apparently, Johnson had been a huge jazz fan in his youth, which explained the jazz music piped in around Rat's, too. The statue "house," complete with furniture you could walk in and look at, was neat too.

Here's the link. It's worth checking out if you're ever in Central Jersey and are interested in learning more about sculptures or modern art, or just want a nice, relaxing walk in a tranquil setting. 

Grounds for Sculpture

Our next stop after we left the Grounds for Sculpture was a huge thrift shop a few blocks away. We thought the place looked intriguing. It was, and it did have a lot of neat stuff...but it was either having a sale, or the residents of Hamilton had nowhere else to go on a snowy Saturday. The place was so mobbed, there was a line half-way around the store. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth the long wait and left with nothing.

Jessa recommended a diner not far from where she lives for a late lunch/dinner. The Piston Diner was a small but nicely remodeled local watering hole with great prices. Soup and sandwiches are their specialty. We both had iced tea and Italian wedding soup. She had a tuna melt and strawberry shortcake. I had a crab melt and peanut butter cake. Yum! The sandwiches were tasty and used real seafood, the fries were crispy and perfect, and the cakes were huge. My still-settling stomach regretted the indulgence later, but it sure felt good going down.

By the time Jess dropped me off at home, the snow in Hamilton had given way to all rain. It looks like it'll stay rain all through tomorrow. Not even snow here this time.

Watched Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale while changing and getting organized. I go further into this independent family film from 2010 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale

Finished the night with the Saturday Match Game Classics marathon at YouTube. We celebrated Black History Month with some of the most beloved black stars to appear on the show. Later angel Della Reece was the first to appear on the second week in 1973. She'd turn up sporadically through 1977, usually sitting in the fourth ingenue seat. Comedian Stu Gilliam also appeared on two memorable weeks in 1973. Nipsey Russell was one of the most popular semi-regulars, tossing out his poetry on and off from 1973 through 1979. He even turned up in the week with Valernie Bertanelli that was rediscovered a few years ago. Isobel Sanford was a calming, motherly presence on two weeks in 1976. Her first screen son Michael Evans had his only appearance on the show in 1974. Round and jolly Johnny Brown had a lot of fun on his only week in 1974. 

His Good Times cast mate Jimmie Walker got far more out of the show. Walker was a semi-regular from 1974 straight through into the 1990-1991 run. I honestly thought he was at his best in the 90's, where he was a bit more subdued and less annoying. Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosely also had fun on the 1990-1991 series. Arsenio Hall and his wild antics was one of the best things about The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. You never knew what he'd do, including jump into what Gene dubbed "the canal" in the area behind the risers. 

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the best African-American panelists around!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Celebrating Black History Months with Special Celebrity Moments

Night of the Floral Panic

Began the morning with breakfast and Sheriff Callie's Wild West. It's "The Heartless Valentine's Day" when bandits steal the town's Valentines. Sheriff Callie has to track them down and rescue them, then convince Farmer Stinky that he wasn't forgotten on his favorite holiday. Dirty Dan and Dusty have their eyes on a pair of attractive young lady pigs, until they all find the same gold boulder at once. They say "Mine, All Mine" and refuse to share, until they almost end up going over a cliff in the mine with it.

Though the streets were perfectly clear by quarter of 9 AM, I wasn't taking chances. Plus, my stomach is still off. I called Uber. No problems here. The driver going there arrived in 9 minutes. The one going home got there in 4. No traffic, no trouble anywhere.

The trouble was at work. I began the day sweeping and pushing carts, since this is the head bagger's day off. I was supposed to help the floral department manager when the afternoon bagger arrived at 1. First of all, the floral department manager is in panic mode. We're desperately trying to get as many bouquets and bags of flowers and plants up front as we can before Valentine's Day. 

Second, they kept trying to get me to do cold returns, even with the afternoon bagger there. They did that before when I was in the floral department. When I'm in the floral department, I'm working for that manager, not up front. They had someone to help them. I watered plants, cleaned up spills, deflated two football goal balloons leftover from the Super Bowl, took trash in the back, and helped the college-age guy who had also been recruited for the floral department this week fill buckets with roses.

When I got home, I put on The Wild Wild West while I changed and got organized. Jim West and Artemis Gordon investigate "The Night of the Vicious Valentine" when four wealthy industrialists are murdered shortly after having married young brides. The brides were all groomed by Washington DC society woman Emma Valentine (Agnes Moorehead), who intends to take control of their late husbands' wealth and thus control the entire country. What she didn't count on was the girl she's currently grooming actually falling for the industrialist she's to marry, or Jim and Artemis interfering with her plans...

Switched to Match Game '91 while doing job hunting. I arrived just in time to see Fred Travelena doing his full-on Elvis imitation, up to and including sunglasses and a sequined jumpsuit. He stayed that way for most of the episode. The next week brought in Vicki Lawrence, who argued with Charles Nelson Reilly over her outfit being too conservative for the show. 

Finished the night with dinner and more comic looks at love. What's New Scooby Doo? features the franchise's only Valentine's Day episode to date. Mystery Inc. is happy to return to their native Coolsville, Ohio for "A Scooby Doo Valentine." Well, except for Shaggy, who is dismayed to see his ex-girlfriend is now dating a rock star. They're all intrigued when they get secret admirer Valentine's, but the holiday is a lot less fun when teenagers start disappearing and they're accused of the crime.

Moved to Amazon Prime for Night Court. "Billie's Valentine" is a tall, dark, and handsome man whose list of accomplishments is as long the courthouse. Trouble is, so is his rap sheet. Billie's in denial when he breaks up with her behind bars. Harry talks to the guy to understand why he did it.

"Valentine's Day" doesn't go much better for The Golden Girls. They're all disappointed when their dates call out, so they spend the night eating chocolates and ice cream and recalling some of their more memorable Valentine's Days. Sophia talks about when she and her husband Stan were stranded in Chicago in 1929, and the other three recall their Valentine's spent at a nudist resort and defending their right to purchase contraceptives for a cruise. 

(Oh, and it started raining somewhere around 9 PM. I think it's supposed to rain and/or snow for pretty much the entire rest of the week except for Friday.)

Pink Cookies for a Blue Lady

Began the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. Lambie gets jealous when Doc pays more attention to her new heart toy Val than her on Valentine's Day in "My Huggy Valentine." Doc assures her that she'll always be her favorite girl, no matter how many toys she gets. As a teddy bear collector with allergies, I really appreciate "Dusty Bear." Doc can't figure out why her brother Donnie won't play with his beloved bear Teddy B, until she realizes how dusty he is. A good spin in the wash eliminates the dust and keeps Donnie from sneezing.

Pluto is frustrated when no one at the garage will play with him in Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures. Mickey accidentally tosses his Frisbee into a tree in the park, knocking out a bird's nest. The three baby seagulls become attached to their "Papa Pluto." Pluto quickly learns a lesson in responsibility when  he has to keep the trio from wrecking havoc in the garage, then find their mother. The Happy Helpers are "Happy Valentine Helpers" when they roll out their trailer to make Valentines for everyone. Daisy thinks that a huge order is from Donald and uses the Super Charger to make him something incredible. They both learn it's the thought that counts when he rescues her after her gift goes out of control.

I wanted to make the strawberry-white chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's Day next, but I put too much oil in. They ended up spreading too much and looking more like strawberry pancakes. Oh well. I'd still give them to my niece and nephew, to a neighbor's daughter, and to a friend and her daughter. 

Rounded up my Valentine's cards that go out in the mail and the treat bags for Khai and Finley (along with the pet treats for their dogs and cats I forgot at Christmas) and headed out for a short walk. Dropped the cards in the mail box, then strolled down West Clinton to Common Grounds Coffee House. By 4 PM, they were full to capacity with college students doing homework and friends chatting over lattes. I ended up in a chair by the door. At least I was able to eat my small spinach feta pastry and most of the banana, and the Violet London Fog tea drink wasn't too sweet and did indeed taste of violet. 

Headed back to the White Horse Pike after I dropped the bag of goodies at Rose's front steps. I realized I'd forgotten three cards, so I stopped at Family Dollar. Thankfully, there was no trouble this time, despite it being almost as busy as the coffee house. I went in, got three cards for my neighbor, my friend, and her daughter, and got out.

By the time I was back on the White Horse Pike, snow had begun to drift softly down from the slate-gray sky. Though it wasn't windy, it was very cold, barely in the 30's. Between the weather and the fact that my stomach is still off, this was no day to linger. I went straight home. 

Went online and watched the 1947 movie New Orleans next. I go further into this historical romance about Louis Armstrong and the birth of the blues in the Big Easy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

New Orleans (1947)

Watched Match Game '91 when the movie ended. The first week of 1991 brought Charles Nelson Reilly back from vacation, along with Tom Villard and Pam Stone. Sally Struthers plugs her role as the voice of businesswoman and single mom Rebecca Cunningham in one of my favorite cartoons of the early 90's, the Disney action comedy Tale Spin. 

Got a call while the show was on. It was from the JC Penney at the Cherry Hill Mall. I'd applied for a receptionist job at their hair salon. Apparently, it was already closed, but they were interested in me for a saleswoman job. No. Absolutely not. Nice of them, but I want out of retail period. I don't mind manning their desk, but I'm not selling anything. I told her to keep me in mind if another receptionist job opened. 

Switched to Lost In Boston III while working on the New Orleans review. I love the Lost In Boston CD series, which covers songs that were cut from shows that made Broadway. By far my favorite here is the hilarious "Mama's Talkin' Soft" from Gypsy, performed by two little girls as in the original concept. This fast-paced number basically says Louise and June have seen their mother seduce guys and likely will again, and it's so good, it's since been restored to several productions. Other good numbers include "Travelin' Light" from Guys and Dolls, "Older and Wiser" from Bye Bye Birdie, "Big Fat Heart" from Seesaw, and the touching "Pink Taffeta Sample Size 10" from Sweet Charity. 

Finished the night with The Very Best of Vaughan Monroe. Though Monroe and his band were active well into the 50's, they did most of their best work during and after the war years. Among his hits were his theme "Racing With the Moon," the ballad "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," "Dance, Ballerina, Dance," "Ghost Riders In the Sky," and the later "The Duckworth Chant." Today, he's probably best-known for introducing the holiday standard "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" 

Oh, and as Monroe pointed out, it has indeed continued to snow for most of the evening. I was feeling a bit blue myself about the cookie mess, my upset stomach, the job rejection, and a few other things, which made the arrival of my tax return today very welcome. I probably won't have the time to do much with it until next week, but I do need a new cell phone.

And I have no intention of seeing the Eagles parade in Philly on Friday. I've taken enough time off work lately, the floral department manager will need the help, and I'm not up to wandering around among the crowds. Not to mention, I really have no desire to get crushed, and public transportation will probably be packed to the rafters.