Balance and the Spring Rain

Yes, I know it's almost summer...but not here. Today, we returned to much cooler spring weather. It was just barely in the 70s when I headed out to Yogawood for today's class. Carrie mostly had us run through basic vinyasa and some shoulder stand and back bends. Nothing too hard, but she's a quick one and I was sweating keeping up with her.

My next stop was the Collingswood Library. There was a nice pile of DVDs to put away when I arrived. When I finished, I went upstairs, put a book away, and took a look at a couple of books they have on movie musicals.

After I left the Collingswood Library, I went straight to the Oaklyn Library. I decided that, since I have other things to do for the rest of the week, I'd get all of my library volunteering done today. I'm glad I did. Their DVD section and their kids' book section were messes. (Who keeps putting the regular fiction movies in with the documentaries?) And unlike last week, the place was empty except for a few people using computers and the librarians.

Oh, and a chat with the librarians reminded me of something else. As of June 9th, the Haddon Township Library won't be reopening until mid-July. Apparently, the damage was far more extensive than originally believed. "About 32,500 square feet of walls, ceilings and floors are being repaired or replaced." That's a direct quote from the website. Yow! And they thought they'd open in a week? I have the feeling they'll be lucky to open in mid-July. Between how busy I am, the library being a bit out-of-my-way (and on a difficult-to-cross street), and that mess, it'll probably be August, or even September, before I'm able volunteer there again.

I felt like something different than the usual WaWa hoagie for lunch. Rode over the train bridge and into Audubon to hit Simply Soups and More, the awesome little soup restaurant a few doors down from Willie the Woodsman and Wife's on Pine Street. I love them. Their soups are delicious, filling, and cheaper than most local eateries. I bought their Italian Wedding Soup, a favorite of mine, a bottle of water, and breadsticks. The soup was yummy as always, filled with huge pieces of onion and spinach and tasty meatballs.

(And much to my disappointment, I've noticed Act Two Collectibles has shut down. I suspect it has less to do with the economy and more with the older couple who ran the place has had health trouble since last fall. I've barely seen it open in the past six months. It's a shame. That older couple was really nice, and I've picked up some great things from there over the years.)

The demise of Act Two wasn't the only thing I noticed as I headed home. There were big, puffy clouds in the sky all day, but by quarter of 2, they were growing heavier and darker. I did manage to fix the loose chain guard on my bike when I arrived before it started raining.

It's rained on and off for the rest of the day. I took advantage of the much cooler weather to get some baking in. I made Teen-Time Chocolate (Cookie) Squares from The Betty Crocker Cooky Book. I made granola bars. I washed the windows outside and in and dusted the ledges. Also taped the small patriotic stars on the windows, which I put off until they were clean.

The rain let up around 6, long enough for me to get a walk in. I went over to see if Dad was home. Dad wasn't home, but Uncle Ken, Dolores, and her children and grandson were. They told me that Dad was at work on another cruise ship job, but should hopefully be home next week. Jodie and Jessa are in Cape May. Jessa is working down there three times a week; Jodie's visiting old friends who live in West Cape May. Uncle Ken and Dolores will be joining his daughter Samantha and their family in Ocean City, Maryland for their annual trip next week.

It was raining by the time I headed home again. No matter. I didn't mind getting a little wet. It was even chillier after the rain came through. I think it barely got into the 70s. Perfect night for making Noodles and (Chicken) Meatballs and Persian Cucumber Salad for dinner and watching movies.

I ran The Muppet Movie this afternoon. This was the first of (to date) six theatrical films based around the "Muppet Show" Jim Henson creations. "Is this really how the Muppets got together?" little Robin asks his Uncle Kermit before the movie-within-the-movie begins. "Well, it's kind of approximately how it happened," his uncle admits. Which means no, but it's still a really cute movie. Kermit the Frog is living in a swamp in Florida when a talent scout (Dom DeLuise) encourages him to try his luck in Hollywood. Kermit hits the road, picking up various Muppets on the way as he dodges the owner of a frog-legs franchise (Charles Durning) who is determined to have him as his spokes-frog...at any cost.

Some wonderful moments here - check out Kermit and Piggy's romance number, Piggy rescuing Kermit, Kermit on that bike, and the famous "Rainbow Connection" opening. Great guest cast, too. Can you spot Milton Berle, Richard Pryor, Bob Hope, Telly Savalvas, Madeline Khan, Elliot Gould, Carol Kane, Paul Williams, Orson Welles, Cloris Leachman, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Austin Pendleton, and, in their last film appearances, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy?

The Bowery Boys' adventure was far scarier, in fact one of their more effective horror-oriented tales. Master Minds starts as one of the goofier "Sach suddenly has a special power" episodes. Sach Jones develops the ability to predict the future when he gets a sugar-induced toothache. Naturally, his best friend Slip Mahoney and their buddies turn this into a carnival mind-reading act where he tells fair-goers their futures. The Boys' futures looks bright...until a mad scientist kidnaps Sach in order to swap his amazing mind with the mind of his superhuman ape-like creation.

The later sequences in the supposedly "haunted" house are genuinely freaky. The guy who played Atlas really did great with Huntz Hall's mannerisms...and Huntz Hall wasn't a bad monster, either. This is the only time in the entire Bowery Boys/East Side Kids run that a mad scientist is actually able to pull off an experiment on the guys without them escaping first.