Moments to Remember

The Strawberry Shortcake episode was another repeat (Strawberry visits Crepe Suzette), so I listened to Casey Kasem re-runs from the 70s on WOGL while I had a quick Kashi Autumn Harvest cereal breakfast and threw together a Cookies and Cream Pudding Pie, then headed for the usual Saturday outing. I stopped at a quiet bank and deposited my paycheck and passed by men selling soft pretzels on the White Horse Pike, I guess for the Lutheran Church across from the bank.

There were a couple of yard sales on my way to the Farm Market. I bought three Beanie Babies from one, but I didn't see anything of interest at the others. The Farm Market was jam-packed when I came in. They were so packed, they were already out of some things by 10:30. I wasn't able to get radishes or bananas, but I did get cheddar cheese, celery, strawberries, and leeks.

I rode around Collingswood for a little while longer to do some more yard-sale exploring, but I only found one with nothing of interest. I made a quick stop at WaWa for skim milk, then went home. I spent a little time enjoying some rare Saturday quiet after I got in, eating lunch, wrapping Jessa's graduation present, and listening to one of my Goodwill record finds, Billy Joel's The Nylon Curtain.

Headed over to Uncle Ken and Dad's around 1:30 to help get ready. I had to climb over a huge pile of wood chips and trees that had been moved to the path, due to a party behind the VFW. I'm just glad it didn't upset my pie.

The party ended up being pretty big. In addition to the usual family members - Samantha and her family, Karen, Jim, CJ, and Taylere, Mark, Vanessa, and Brittany, Erica and Miss Helen, Jodie and her sons, Dolores and her children and grandchildren, Dad, Uncle Ken - we also had many of Jessa's friends from school and Dad's old friends from Florida and Cape May. There were tables set up under small tents on the driveway between the house and the pool. Most of the teenagers stayed inside by the TV and the food. The adults sat and chatted at the tables. Kids swam in the pool while their parents watched them.

I had a nice time. I mostly just walked around and chatted with various groups. I had nice talks with my elderly next-door neighbor Nancy (who's a long-time friend of Uncle Ken and of my landlady Miss Ellie), with Erica, and with Mercedes, Dolores' 9-year-old granddaughter. I greeted Joyce and Brian and Diane, long-time friends of Dad's from Florida and Cape May I hadn't seen since I was a kid. It was kind of weird.

And there was tons and tons of food. Jodie cooked like crazy, and people brought their own food as well. I had baked ziti, macaroni salad, Caesar Salad, lots of pretzels, water, Diet Coke, Uncle Ken's divine Brown Sugar Ham, sausage (it was kinda spicy for me), cake, and slices of my Cookies and Cream Pie and a Strawberry Mousse Pie.

(Incidentally, for the second time this week, my pie was a big hit. Everyone complimented me on it, and there was only one slice left when I went home.)

I'm glad the weather cooperated, too. It was a gorgeous day for an outdoor party, sunny and breezy but not too cold or too hot. The water's still chilly, though. I didn't even attempt swimming this time. The kids all claimed it wasn't bad once you got used to it...but they were all shivering, even while in the pool.

Oh, and Jessa loved the dry-erase board I gave her. I used to use them in college to keep track of my classes, and I still have one to this day. I write my schedule and my weekly to-do list on a dry-erase board on my refrigerator and cross things off as they get done.