The Farm Market's Back

I had to get out of the apartment after yesterday. I just couldn't stay there. I got a late start and spent the morning and afternoon running errands. My first stop was the bank. I deposited my paycheck and talked to the tellers. It was 11 by then, so the bank was fairly busy. Made a quick stop at the post office to deliver Mom's Mother's Day card while I was on the White Horse Pike, then headed for Collingswood and the Farm Market in the parking lot behind Haddon Avenue.

I still love the Farm Market. The Collingswood Farm Market happens every Saturday, rain or shine, between the first Saturday in May and the last Saturday before Thanksgiving. Most of the same booths were there, and the tables were surprisingly full, given I didn't arrive until 11:30. I bought strawberries, a bunch of carrots, leeks, garlic, Swiss chard, asparagus, peach butter from the fruit orchard, and raspberry-flavored honey from the honey seller.

After what happened yesterday, I felt like I needed to talk to someone and be around people. I tried calling Mom in the park, but Dad said she was at work. I rode back to Oaklyn and tried visiting Jodie, but she wasn't home, either. I ended up at the Oaklyn Library instead. I told the whole story to the kindly old lady who is the morning librarian there. She was very sweet and told me I could stay at least until the library closed at 2. I organized the childrens' books and DVDs, then headed out at 1:30 when my stomach started growling.

Had lunch at that nice little soup restaurant on Pine Street between Willie the Woodsman's and Wife and Act Two Collectibles. Today's soup was a tasty cup of Chicken Orzo (rice-shaped noodles). I paired it with a can of Coke Zero and a mini-loaf of corn bread.

Willie the Woodsman and Wife had no new WebKinz, but I did have some luck at Act Two. I found the most darling little blue sailor's outfit for my Cabbage Patch Kid doll Carrie. Had a nice chat about yesterday with the proprietor, too, who told me about how happy she was to have met her second husband after difficulties with the first.

I rode around Audubon for a little while after that. Went down Pine Street, then over to the section of Newton River Park in Mt. Ephram. It was a nice day for it, too, very windy, but sunny and warm. I rode down the Black Horse Pike and over to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center.

I made my way around the traffic to FYE. They didn't have the new WebKinz, either, but I did get the first That's Entertainment movie used for $7.38 with my membership card. Also made a quick stop at the Acme for milk and my schedule, both of which I forgot yesterday.

Finally headed home after that. I baked a Lemon-Pineapple Cake from scratch with Lemon Buttercream Icing and watched That's Entertainment. Mom called during the segment on Judy Garland. She basically said what Lauren told me last night - nothing that happened yesterday was my fault, don't be hard on yourself, you're an adult, it's a learning experience. She said she was proud of me for handling things like I did. Rose would more-or-less say the same things about an hour later, backed up by the coos and gurgles of her new son. (She's apparently done with finals and is now spending some quality time with her recent arrival.)

And I'm glad I did finally buy That's Entertainment. A collection of the most famous musical numbers and sequences from MGM movies, this makes for a great pick-me-up when you're feeling down, or for cool background music when you're busy but still feel like having a movie on. Is it necessary if you already have a lot of these movies? Well, yes. Beyond what I said, a lot of these movies either aren't available on DVD yet (the MacDonald/Eddy Rose Marie...PLEASE, MGM/Sony?) or are difficult to find on DVD. (Small Town Girl, for instance, is only to be found as part of the Warner Archives series on TCM's site.)

Plus, ironically, there's now reasons to be nostalgic for one of the movies that helped kick off the 70s nostalgia craze. Most of the "host" stars have since passed away, and the massive MGM lot was destroyed shortly after the movie was made. Besides, the "Golden Era of Hollywood" that these movies represent is fading even more into the past...