Walking On Sunshine

Thank goodness, after three days of nasty weather, I awoke to nothing but sunshine. It was a little chilly when I stuck my head out at around quarter of 9AM and still windy, but the newly emerged sun felt nice on my nose. I listened to my radio and had Cranberry-Orange Muffins for breakfast. After I finished, I did a few chores around the apartment - took out the recycling, got my college payment bill and the Census envelope together. I stuck the bill and the Census in the mailbox in front of the house, then headed for the Haddon Township Library for this week's volunteering session there.

It was very busy when I came in. Today is Storybook Day at the Haddon Township Library, and kids were seeking their favorite books and DVDs. Not only that, but the DVD rack was overloaded with returns, too. A librarian also wanted me to find the Magic School Bus DVDs, one of which had gone missing. (They're still missing. I didn't see any of them on the racks.)

I took out two new girls' specials, Barbie In a Mermaid's Tale and Strawberry Shortcake: The Berryfest Princess, along with the Woody Allen/Diane Keaton comedy Manhattan Murder Mystery. I also took out the Felicity and Molly American Girls craft books, which had simple sewing crafts I wanted to try, a book on walking for fitness, and a crochet book from the 80s with easy instructions.

Headed over to the Westmont Plaza after work to run some errands. I really needed a small wooden crate for the home-made DVDs I've picked up from various sources at JoAnn's. I also bought some felt and thread for a project and more crochet yarn. I then headed to Dollar Tree for cards for Mom's and my friend Kelly's birthdays and Rose and Craig's baby shower. Had lunch at the Bagel Shop again, this time a Chicken Salad Club on a 5-Grain Bagel with just pickles on the side, no fries or chips.

When I got home, I put everything away, did some stuff around the apartment, and headed out to Dad and Uncle Ken's for this week's laundry session. Dad had stuff in the dryer when I arrived, so I had to wait a while. I read for a while, then went for a walk.

By 4PM, you couldn't have asked for a nicer spring day. It was now in the 60s, sunny, and though still a bit breezy, the wind was nothing like the other day. I went to CVS for shampoo for me and fabric softener for Dad and Uncle Ken, then hiked around the neighborhood. Not surprisingly after the weekend, everyone was out. People walked their dogs. They washed their cars. They chatted with their neighbors and weeded their yards. Kids played catch and chased their siblings and friends. That one orange crocus I saw in front of the big house across from the Oaklyn Library had been joined by a whole platoon of pretty little purple, white, and orange flowers, all blooming.

It was after 6 before I finally got home, put everything away, and started dinner. I just tossed a can of tuna and some vegetables into the tomato-beef broth leftover from the other night and steamed the last of the collard greens.

Ran Mermaid's Tale during dinner and Berryfest Princess directly afterwards. This time, Barbie came out the better of the two with a really fun story about a young girl from Malibu, California, who discovers she's half-mermaid after her hair turns pink during a surfing contest. I liked this funny parable about being different and accepting what we are. The references to real-life California surfing speak and actual mermaid mythology kept the story far more grounded than the pure-fantasy Diamond Castle. Also, no songs here, just one amusing rock-ish number "Queen of the Waves" and a reworking of "Walking On Sunshine."

Alas, Strawberry didn't come out nearly as well. Berryfest Princess is the second outing for the third revival of the famous American Greetings characters. Strawberry and her friends find themselves taking over the duties of the Berry Princess and having to run the Berryfest Festival and Parade by themselves...but Strawberry wonders if she's in over her head when the other girls won't listen to her. While I'm glad to see more of Strawberry's friends, they all come off as rather bratty, especially towards the middle of the program. It also feels rather fragmented, like three episodes of a series strung together (badly). Not to mention, the morals about working together and making choices are very sugary and shoved down viewers' throats. Little girls will enjoy it, but mothers may want to check YouTube if they're feeling nostalgic about Strawberry.

(BTW, the Acme tried to call me in today, but they wanted me in at 2 and I didn't get home until 2:30. I'm so glad they missed me. I've gotten plenty of extra hours in, and I really wanted to get some errands done today. I'm not going to get anything done on Saturday, my other day off this week - that's the day of the baby shower. They're going to need my help at Dad and Uncle Ken's that day.)