When You're Hot, You're Hot

I got quite a bit done today, despite the ongoing extreme heat and humidity. Got up early and spent the morning running the usual Saturday farm market and bank errands. The Collingswood Farm Market was really busy, but I managed to make my way through the crowd pretty quickly. Good thing, too. I needed a lot this week - peaches, an ear of corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, blueberries, blackberries, green beans, carrots, Crimini mushrooms, honey whole wheat bread, Colby cheese, and the first small yellow apples of the year. I also bought something called gray squash - lighter-colored zucchini. I thought I'd try it.

I checked out one yard sale during my ride, but it was mostly selling baby toys and had nothing of interest to me. I was home by 10:30. I had an early lunch (made a Peanut Butter and Blueberry Butter Sandwich to finish off the 9 Grain Bread), then decided to make a short mall trip. I wanted to finally return the shorts with the broken zipper that I bought from the JCPenny at the Cherry Hill Mall in mid-May. I went over to Dad's to see if Jessa wanted to join me, but she was at work. My cousin was in the pool when I was there, and Dad said his siblings would be along in a while, not to mention my sister, her son, and a couple of her friends. I told him I wouldn't be at the mall long.

And I wasn't. I took the bus to Cherry Hill that leaves from next to the Acme in Audubon and also lets off on the Black Horse Pike at Audubon Park. The bus lets off between LensCrafters and Old Navy, which is two stores down from JCPenny. I went right to the first sales desk in the store and returned my defective shorts right away. I browsed in the mall for an hour, then took the bus home and walked back to my apartment. I don't think the trip took more than three hours - an hour round-trip by bus, an hour round-trip to walk to the Black Horse Pike, and the hour in the mall.

When I got home, I changed into my bathing suit and walked over to Dad's and Uncle Ken's. I arrived to a full house. My cousin Samantha and her husband David went to Atlantic City for the night to see a concert, leaving Faith, Matt, and Ethan in the care of Uncle Ken and his girlfriend Dolores. We also had my other cousin Amber and her daughter Ella...and her announcement that she's three months pregnant with a daughter. There was another cousin and her son, and Dolores' grandson Blake.

Rose and her baby son Khai arrived a bit later. I was out swimming in the pool with the kids when they appeared. The pool felt so warm today! It was up to 86 and felt like bathwater. I swam with the kids for at least an hour, then went inside and chatted with Rose and came back outside and swam for another half-hour. After that, Uncle Ken and Dolores ordered pizza for them, the kids, their parents, and me.

Even as the kids were going home and Uncle Ken was settling down his grandchildren, Rose's friends Laura and Joey arrived. They're old buddies of hers from Lower Cape May Regional High School. Another high school pal of Rose's, Colleen, was already there. I used to love it when they all got together at our house when they were going to school together. They were so funny. They still are. I sat and listened to them while Jodie played with Khai and Dad swam in the pool for another hour. I didn't go home until they were trying to decide whether or not to buy Indian food around 8:30 - apparently, it gives Joey rather bad gas. I'd already eaten, and I needed a shower badly.