No Swimming

Last night didn't go as well as my midnight shift did last week. We were busy all night - we still has big orders at midnight! - and I was dead tired.

I slept in and went somewhat late to Uncle Ken's to do the laundry. It may have been just as well. It rained on and off all morning, sometimes heavily. I spent the whole morning inside. It was strange. Uncle Ken was outside (when it wasn't pouring) closing down and covering the pool area. Dad was at work (where he'll be for 2 1/2 weeks), and Jessa was at school. Uncle Ken's girlfriend Dolores came by briefly with her grandson Blake, but for the most part, it was me, the book I'm reading, and the TV.

I got lucky and caught some good shows today. TCM was having a morning Broadway movie musicals marathon; caught the last 20 minutes or so of My Fair Lady (from "Get Me To The Church On Time" onwards) and parts of Guys And Dolls. Neither are the best adaptations of a Broadway musical ever (Lady tends to be long and ponderous; Dolls lost some music and has casting problems), but they're both a lot of fun in their own right, and I got to see some of the best parts. I've always loved Lady's uproarious music hall numbers for Eliza's dad, and when's the next time I'll get to see Jean Simmons more than hold her own in a bar room brawl in Havana (and doing better than Marlon Brando)?

Uniqua, the pink bug-like tomboy of The Backyardigans, also wanted to prove her mettle this morning. In a big band/swing-fueled medieval fantasy, Queen Tasha sends Uniqua the Pink on a mission to bring a letter to King Austin. On the way, she meets Tyrone of the Misty Woods and Guardian Of The Gate Pablo, who aid and abet her on her way to King Austin's castle. The story was cute, and I LOVED the swing, not to mention admired Miss Uniqua's pluck and her encouragement of her male companions. (A scene in a "stinky swamp" did go on too long, but that may have to do with the main audience's fondness for jokes about nasty smells.)

(And interestingly, I discovered from Amazon.com that this was The Backyardigans's pilot episode.)

The Dora The Explorer episode was more typical - Dora and her monkey buddy Boots help an adorable little crab get a seashell necklace to his mother. Nothing you haven't seen in the show before, but it WAS fun to pretend to "move like a crab," and that baby crab was just such a cutie!

Go Diego Go! tried for something a little more out-of-the-ordinary. Instead of profiling one jungle animal, Diego covered four very different ones as he crosses various terrain in order to help his big sister with some sick penguins. Diego tends to be more action-oriented than Dora, and it succeeds in this episode - the ride over the mountain by llama was my favorite!

And yes, I was correct in thinking my swim last week would be my last of the year. As I mentioned, Uncle Ken started closing the pool area yesterday. It'll be warm here probably well into November, but not warm enough at night to keep the pool temperature bearable. With the kids in school and many adults concentrating more heavily on work or other pursuits, there's less time for lounging around the pool, too. It's a shame...but life and seasons roll on. The pool will be open again next June. I'll just find other ways to work out and other things to do while the laundry's going.

I waited a while after I got back from doing the laundry before heading over to the library to finally do my first day's volunteering at the Haddon Township Branch. The rain had stopped only an hour before, and the library was surprisingly quiet. I organized the travel books section and the mysteries, ironically some of the books I know the most about. I don't know why Pat, the woman in charge of the volunteers, said the job could be tiring; I would have stuck around longer if I hadn't wanted to drop by Super Fresh really quick and get dinner!

There's three options for dinner in the area around the Library besides the two fast food joints. I opted for the only one I'd never tried before, Nick and Joe's Pizzeria in the Westmont Plaza across from the Library, next to Friendly's. I had a Chicken Broccoli Wrap, Raspberry Iced Tea, and French fries, and boy, were they all good! They were delivered hot and fresh, and they tasted soooo delicious, warm and toasty and dripping with spicy teriyaki sauce. The waitress seemed a bit tired, but her smile was wide when I praised the food. I'll definitely be going back there.