All Work and No Play Makes for a Frustrated Emma

Figures. I was looking forward to having today off...and I got called in, of course. Someone called out, they needed help with big Saturday orders, could I come in at 11:30? No. I wanted to run to the bank and the farm market this morning. I went in at 12:30. They said I didn't have to do it...but I really can't turn down the extra hours. I need money. My rent is going to be late.

This, of course, meant I had to rush my morning chores. The bank was my first stop. I vented my frustration at a sympathetic teller, who kindly suggested I look into gettin a cat - she was single and owned one - and start putting myself out more and be more approachable. I didn't realize I wasn't approachable. It's easy for someone to say that when they're not painfully shy.

The farm market was as busy as ever this morning. It was perfect weather for the first appearance of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes, blustery, cool, and partly sunny. I actually didn't need a whole lot today. Just picked up cheddar cheese, corn (loved the corn I had last week), peaches, tiny apples no bigger than my fist, a cucumber, and tomatoes.

There were yard sales everywhere today! One street, East Haddon Avenue, had a whole side filled with yard sales. I made some pretty sweet deals, too. Picked up two Disney Golden Books that retained their 50s-era illustrations, Peter Pan and Alice In Wonderland Meets the White Rabbit, for 50 cents each, and two Disney videos, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and Fantasia 2000 for $2 each. (The DVDs for both films are long out-of-print. I also saw the video for Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving, but I read that's supposed to be re-released on DVD next week.)

Rode over to the area behind the Oaklyn Public School next. Picked up two records at a sale on West Holly Avenue, the soundtrack to the Doris Day movie Love Me or Leave Me and a Johnny Mathis album. The records were $1 each.

I made my best finds on Kendall Boulevard as I headed home. A middle-aged couple had a nifty spread of items ranging from toys to trinkets to stuffed animals. I dug around in the toys and came up with...a WebKinz Chocolate Lab, complete with her tag! I'd seen other WebKinz for sale that morning, but none that still had their tags on. There was also a lovely shelf that looked like the heart one I picked up at another yard sale two weeks ago, only darker-stained, heavier, and a bit wider. The owners were saying "make us an offer." I picked up the shelf for $3 (same I bought the other shelf for) and the Lab for 37 cents, all the change I had on me.

I barely had time to enjoy everything when I finally got home. I quickly gulped down a lunch of yogurt, tomato slices, and home-made corn bread (I was still eating the corn bread as I dressed!), grabbed an apple and a granola bar for a snack, and hurried out to work.

Work was on-and-off busy. There were a ton of huge orders, some numbering into the $400s. If there's one thing people are still paying money for, it's food. You can cut electronics and cars and houses out of the budget, but people have to eat.

I finished at 4:30. It had quieted down enough by then for me to leave with no problems and no relief. I looked for a few more yard sales in the development across from the Acme known as Audubon Park, then went home. Spent the rest of the evening setting up the new shelf. I moved all my holiday DVDs and any videos that fit to the shelf, which I put between the baker's rack and the coat hanger. Moved children's videos I didn't watch as much to the 80s video shelves where some of the holiday videos were, then moved the animated DVDs, sets and movies, to the big rack. That freed up a LOT of room.

My day was not helped by the return of my toothache. I haven't called for a root canal because my tooth hasn't hurt in a long time. Today, of course, it had to start again. I'll have to see if I can get in this week and if my insurance will cover the whole thing. I really don't have the money in the bank for extra anything right now.

Oh, and meet my Chocolate Lab! The last of the three retired Labradors, she'll move in the Lab House with Nelson the Yellow Lab and Max the Lil' Black Lab. Haven't decided what to call her yet, though.