Balance and the Spring Showers

Started out a wet, gloomy morning with yoga. Pattie was there for the first time in weeks; she'd been away in California. She made me feel much better as we did shoulder stands and joint-openers with the rest of the class. Thanks to her bad back, she couldn't get on her shoulders, either.

Went to the Collingswood Library next. Probably thanks to the cloudy weather, there were piles of DVDs to return - and there were piles more after the Storybook Hour let out! I was busy shelving, organizing, and filing DVDs for well over and hour and a half.

I considered going out to lunch after leaving the Library, but I decided I'd rather get to the bike shop in Haddonfield first while the weather was cooperating. It was still cloudy, but the "rain" was the barest sprinkles. Even that vanished as I headed up Westmont Avenue and past the Bus/Train Station to King's Highway.

The guys at the Freestyle Bike Shop said they were working on another bike and it would take about an hour to finish mine. Oh, that was perfect! I could go out to lunch. It's not like there aren't plenty of places to eat at in Haddonfield.

I strolled down King's Highway, checking out the prices at various restaurants. I finally decided I'd try something that was new to me - the British Chip Shop. Yes, they serve the basic British pub food - fish and chips, bangers and mash, various meat pies, Ploughman's Lunch, Scotch eggs, that sort of thing.

I eventually had the Chip Shop Sandwich. It's Irish cheddar, chicken, Granny Smith apple slices, greens, and Dijon mustard on a huge roll. It comes with a gigantic pile of spring greens drizzled with malt vinegar and oil. It was very, very tasty! I washed it all down with a pot of tea in a tea pot with the Union Jack painted on it.

The atmosphere was pretty cool, too. The walls were faux-brick. There was a fire roaring merrily in a fireplace. Pictures of British icons, from the Beatles to fox hunts to London landmarks, hung on the walls. A widescreen TV in the front of the room was tuned to a rugby match. British Invasion bands played in the background. It felt nice and cozy, especially on an afternoon that was still pretty dark.

I timed things perfectly. The two boys were just about done with my bike when I returned to the shop. And they did take a trade-in on the tire I bought months ago but couldn't use. They took half-off the chain, which brought it and the installation to a little over $20. Sweet.

Treated myself to a slice of pumpkin bread at the deli across the street. When I came out to enjoy my snack, I realized that the rain had picked up slightly. Not anywhere near monsoon levels, but it was a tiny bit heavier than before, more of a mist than a sprinkle.

Even so, I just made one more quick stop on my way home at Walgreens. I didn't find what I was looking for there, but I did pick up dollar boxes of dried fruit. They'll be great for granola bars.

Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at home. I vacuumed. I baked a Peppermint-Chocolate Chip Chiffon Cake. I watched two Duke-era Bowery Boys movies, Spook Busters and Hold That Hypnotist. I made the bed. I made a revised version of Thumper's Tuna Noodle Casserole from the Mickey Mouse Cook Book for dinner. I used defrosted frozen peas instead of canned, low-fat, low sodium cream of mushroom soup, tuna in water instead of tuna in oil, and whole-wheat noodles. I also added celery for more fiber and carrots for some color.