Great Day Of The WebKinz

Thankfully, whatever thunderstorm we had last night (and if the boom I heard around 1:30AM was any indication, we had a doozy) was long gone by the time I awoke. I ate chocolate chip pancakes while watching Care Bears. Strawberry Shortcake was a re-run, so I headed out on todays errand run a little early. It was windy, cloudy, damp, and relatively chilly compared to the last few weeks, but there was no rain. By the time I left, there weren't even any puddles.

After I went to the bank and took a quick peek at The House of Fun on the White Horse Pike (nothing good today), I went for a bike ride down to Willie the Woodsman Gift Shop in Audubon, the store I bought Stuffy the Rabbit at on my birthday. They were the only place anywhere near me taking part in the "WebKinz Extravaganza," a weekend of events the Ganz company is holding to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of their debut. I walked out with the just-released White Mouse, a Yellow Labrador, a Panda (they're the pet of the month for next month), and as my free choice for buying $10 or more, a White Poodle. I also bought a silver chain bracelet for the mouse to wear and got a free bookmark (it has the polar bear, panda, and black bear on it) and a pack of Series 1 trading cards.

There were yard sales EVERYWHERE today! I must have stopped at 10 or 15 in the three hours I was out and about. Alas, most were selling boring knick-knacks or baby items. I picked up a copy of the book version of Molly's Pilgrim, five records, and a small wreath trimmed with fake sunflowers to hang in my apartment during the summer. I also picked up a Led Zeppelin record from Act Two Collectibles next-door to Willie's.

I stopped at Abbie Road on Market Street in Audubon on my way home. Bob was mega-busy, for once. You could barely walk around the store! I did get in time to have a short chat with him and buy four used CDs. I also said "hi" to the friendly owner at Desserts By Design two blocks down and got two sample sugar cookies.

There was a message waiting for me when I finally got home. Marlene, one of the managers, wanted to know if I could come in early, around 2:30PM. Uh, no. It was quarter of 2 when I finally got in! I ended up coming in at 3:30. As it turned out, the extra time was nice for my wallet but not entirely necessary. It was steady but not incredibly busy for the entire night. We had more problem finding cashiers than helping customers. One kid called out, and a lot of employees are still on vacation. (And will continue to be on vacation for at least the next week, if my full slate of hours are any indication, including 6AM-2PM on Monday!)

Oh yes, and meet Miss Bianca the White Mouse! The refined, elegant former ambassador from HungariKinz now brings her diplomatic abilities to running a small but elegant Wine and Cheese Tasting Shop. She's named for Miss Bianca from the book and movie The Rescuers. Miss Bianca always wore a silver chain in the book. I'm glad the owner of Willie's suggested the Silver Charm Bracelet for Miss B. It looks perfect on her!