A Berry Sweet Morning

I got up earlier than I'd planned this morning. I tried to sleep until 7:30, but I just couldn't. I listened to the American Top 40 re-run instead. Casey remained in the 80s, moving back a year to 1983. Hit-makers included Rick Springsteen ("Affair of the Heart,"), Culture Club ("Time,"), and Men at Work ("Who Can It Be Now?").

It was still humid when I finally headed out, but the too-hot sun had been replaced by a cooling breeze and clouds. It made riding around today a lot easier. I'd heard about the possibility of more storms, but they seemed to be holding off for the time being.

My first stop was a tag sale in Collingswood. I think I ended up liking the house better than anything in it. The house was a big old Victorian barn with colorful stained-glass windows and a really nice little kitchen. Most of the contents were fancy antique furniture and expensive Oriental gewgaws. I did see some original Charlie Chan books that were tempting, but I ultimately decided it wasn't my cup of tea and moved on.

Next on the agenda was the Farm Market. They were bustling, and I could understand why. I picked up the first New Jersey cherries, blueberries, and cherry tomatoes of the season today. Also bought strawberries (last of the year, according to the farmer I bought them from), kiwi, bananas, snap peas, and yellow squash.

Rode around Oaklyn for the next hour looking for yard sales. I found three, but only one had anything good. A couple at Bryant Avenue near the Oaklyn School was selling, among other things, records, toys, and books from the 80s. They weren't always in the greatest shape, but I did make some good record finds:

The soundtracks for The Great Muppet Caper, Star Wars (A New Hope), Smokey and the Bandit, the original 1964 Disney Mary Poppins, and the 1980 Robin Williams musical Popeye.

I've had a hard time finding children's records, especially ones from my childhood. I guess, like the mother who sold me the World of Strawberry Shortcake album, most people want to hang onto them for their own kids. Today, though, I dug up:

The Muppet Musicians of Bremen

Introducing the Care Bears - One of the "picture disks," limited-edition records with pictures of popular characters printed directly on the vinyl. (I know my sisters and I had a Raggedy Ann and Andy picture disk album in the early 80s.)

Holi-Daze, a Looney Tunes Christmas album with voices by Mel Blanc.

Also grabbed 5 kids' 45s: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Bugs Bunny Get That Pet (once again with Blanc), Disney's version of Hansel and Gretel with four songs from the opera, and two Peter Pan Records renditions of popular fairy tales, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Pinocchio.

My book finds were mostly 80s related: the novelization of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the storybook version of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a collection of three Felix the Cat comics stories, and the Golden Books version of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (which Mom may still have at her place - I know the girls and I had it).

It was cool enough when I got home to use those first-of-the-season blueberries to make muffins. I've been wanting blueberry muffins for ages now, but I don't like buying most fruit out of season. Why bother? It doesn't taste right unless you get it at the right time. I can wait. I used a recipe from one of my British baking cookbooks, and they came out very well, juicy and moist and sweet.

I had leftover slow-cooker barbecue chicken legs and a salad for lunch, then worked on adding the new records to my inventory. I finished up with just enough time to change into my work uniform, pack a quick dinner, and head to the Acme.

It was spitting a little bit on my ride, nothing really big. That waited until I'd been at work for more than an hour. It was about quarter after 4 when I noticed a curtain of rain coming down outside of the main entrance. Yup, it was pouring. I was glad. As long as I wasn't out in it, it could rain as much as it liked. We really need the rain. It hasn't rained hard in weeks, and everything is looking so brown.

Work was generally not a problem tonight, other than one disorganized customer who made a mess of her coupons. The rain did end up clearing out most of our customers. It was on-and-off busy when the shower started. By the end of my shift at 7, it was dead enough for me to leave with no relief. (The boy who was supposed to have been in by then to help the night cashier was, of course, the kid who is always and without fail late coming in from his second job. He was almost an hour late as I was leaving.)