What A Glorious Feeling

I began today at work, my first morning shift in weeks. It wasn't too bad, other than a fair assortment of grouchy people. That gets annoying after a while. I feel like I'm handling a heard of Grumpy Bears...and the grouchiness is MUCH cuter on a blue bear with a rain cloud on its stomach.

I was looking forward to getting off of work. It was a gorgeous day, and I had more than two days to enjoy it. At press time, I don't work again until 2:30PM Saturday. I'd just changed my shirt and was taking out the trash when I saw my landlady, Miss Ellie, coming home from work. She said she had some epoxy she wanted to use on the leaky bathtub, but couldn't corral her nephew to do it. I told her I'd try it; how hard could it be? Besides, it wouldn't hurt for me to learn how to do house-hold repairs myself.

I went for a long walk in Newton River Park after I put the epoxy in my apartment. This was the same park I saw the Fourth of July fireworks in, and it's just as spectacular in the fall. Though most of the trees are just beginning to turn colors, some are already stunning shades of flame orange, golden yellow, coppery brown, and brick red. I made a brief stop at the playgrounds near the stump I rested on while watching the fireworks last summer. I wish I could have gotten to play on them then; they're fun. The set has an especially cool slide with a ramp made of rollers instead of plastic or metal. They're bumpy, but they go very, very fast! I had an enjoyable trip down, even if it was a little hard on my rear.

I continued on my walk, down the pathway and around to Beechwood Avenue, across a little stone bridge and over a few flagstone steps. The river flowed to my right; the Collingswood High School football and soccer teams practiced on the fields to my left. People walking dogs and their children passed by, all enjoying the weather as much as I was.

I'd often passed by a little path between two of the houses on Beechwood Avenue on my way to somewhere else, but I'd never seen where it went to. I decided to check it out. It turned out to be a green, grassy, unpaved passageway that wound around the other side of the river. There were no streets on this path, no high schoolers or dog walkers. This path wound between the river and several houses. It lead to two green fields, one larger than the other, separated from the houses by fences, high cliffs, and more stone stairways. One field was surrounded by woods, with only a glimpse of houses. I may have to return there for a picnic sometime. The other one was greener, almost slick...but it was also behind a row of townhouses and was likely their backyard area. I kept going on the path until it finally came to an end at a clump of high weeds, then climbed another steep stone staircase and walked home (stopping quickly at Dad and Uncle Ken's for the pan that held the chocolate cake on Sunday - oh, and he did fix the dryer).

I applied the epoxy, a putty-like substance you "mixed" in your hands, after I got home. I hope it works. I don't really know much about cauking a bathtub. Miss Ellie told me I could rake the leaves tomorrow, too - they're getting really bad. I spent the rest of the evening having pain-fried Flounder with Herbs, sweet potatoes, and tomato-basil salad for dinner while finally watching the Singin' In the Rain DVD I bought last month.

Oh, and at press time, the Philadelphia Phillies seem to be on their way to their first NL Pennant in 15 years, beating the LA Dodgers 5-1. Philly was crazy enough when the Flyers went to their National Conference Finals in the spring; I can only imagine what it'll be like if they go to the World Series!