Riverside Frozen

I happily slept in this morning. By the time I finally headed out around 11:30, the sun was out, and it was probably into the mid-upper 30s, much warmer than it has been. This manifested itself by the considerable lack of ice on my porch. The thick icy patch near the steps was rapidly vanishing. I saw two small boxes for me, one in a rather sorry state, on my way out, but I didn't have the time to pick them up then.

I opted to cut through the park both ways. Though it was no longer cold, the waterway winding through Newton River Park was still frozen solid, as it has been for over a month. It was so solid, a bunch of teenagers were walking on it later in the day with no fear of ending up in the water. There were lots of other people out, too - dog walkers, joggers, older couples out for a stroll, Canadian geese looking for lunch.

The Haddon Township Library was busy when I arrived. There were lots of DVDs and books to shelve. I put away a huge stack of Easy Readers. One of the librarians told me she really appreciates my specializing in the children's section. For some reason, no other volunteer will tackle it. (Oddly enough, the librarians at the Oaklyn Library have complained about the same thing.) I still have a lot to read and watch at home, so I didn't take anything out.

Stopped at Wendy's for lunch. It's not my first choice, but I didn't have much money, and I figured Wendy's was cheap and close, not to mention not that bad calories-wise for fast food. I had a small Apple-Pecan Salad and an almost slider-sized Bacon Cheeseburger Jr.

Went straight home through the park. When I got in, I grabbed the two boxes and hauled them upstairs. Yay, my WebKinz order had arrived! I ordered the Silverback Gorilla and the Blufadoodle (a sparkly blue bird with a head and neck like a blue flamingo's and a body like a swan or pelican's) from Amazon when I couldn't find them around here. Slip the Silverback was perfectly fine...but the box poor Sach the Blufadoodle came in looked like someone sat on it! Good thing Sach is stuffed and was unharmed.

And by the way, Sach and Slip are the last WebKinz I intend to buy for a long time. Slip is this month's Pet of the Month; Sach is next month's. You get extra goodies for buying the Pet of the Month. After that, I won't buy another pet unless it's something I really, really want. Counting Sach, whom I won't be adding to my account until next week, I have at least 88 WebKinz. I've donated some of the actual stuffed animals to the thrift shop and will probably be giving more to Goodwill eventually, but still. 88 of anything is more than enough.

Went for a short walk after I put the WebKinz in my room. It was sunny when I came out, but there were wispy gray clouds on the horizon. Other than that, it was as nice as a day in late January in southern New Jersey can be. It was neither windy, nor that cold. I went down to the end of Goff Avenue and took a good, long look at the ice on the river there. Despite the relative warmth of the day, it was still thick enough for the Philadelphia Flyers to play hockey on.

Spent the rest of the evening inside, making chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and salmon and roasted broccoli and cauliflower for dinner and watching more Tales of the Gold Monkey. Force of Habit was the best episode in this batch as Jake, Corky, and a novice nun who also happens to be a former girlfriend of Jake's set off in search of the vaccine the nun and her Mother Superior were supposed to be transporting. High Stakes Lady, in which Jake gets involved with a beautiful blond poker player who also turns out to be a spy, was fun, too. Wasn't as crazy about the convulted God Saves the Queen, in which Jake and Corky save the Duke of Windsor from a thief seeking revenge on the Queen Mary, other than the chance to see Jake in a towel.

And yes, meet Slip the Silverback Gorilla and Sach the Blufadoodle! Slip looks like a tough goon, but he's a smart softy inside. Sach is a sweet but none-too-bright bird who loves playing with chemicals and goofing around with his big best buddy. I made a Bowery Kinz' Boarding Room for them that's an intentionally eclectic mix of the Condo, Jungle, and Farm themes.