More Yard Sales Than There are In the Heavens

It was cloudy and cool when I first turned on the American Top 40 this morning. As Casey Kasem made his way through early October 1977, the sun broke through, though not enough to make it as warm and humid as it was earlier in the week. Hits from this week include "You Light Up My Life" by Debbie Boone, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon, "I Got Love" by Donna Summer, "Swayin' to the Music" by Johnny Rivers, "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac, and "On & On" by Steven Bishop.

The week's #1 hit also corresponds to that summer's blockbuster movie. The original Star Wars (now generally known as Star Wars: A New Hope) energized the box office in a big way during the summer of 1977, becoming one of the major phenomenons of the late 70s and reviving the popularity of sci-fi and fantasy. What else could be more appropriate at the top of the charts that Meego's disco-tinged medley of the theme song and the music from the Mos Eisley Cantina sequence?

I'm glad I went to the bank yesterday. Perhaps because of the weather last week, there were yard sales all over the place. I hit six in Oaklyn alone before I even went to the farm market. There were more yard sales in Audubon today than there were when they were having their town-wide yard sales last week!

I eventually picked up four records in Oaklyn, around the corner from PNC Bank:

Blondie - Blondie

Helen Reddy - I am Woman

Sing the Hit Songs of Sesame Street

A Disney book and record for the Grimm's Fairy Tale Hansel and Gretel

Found two CDs in Audubon:

Anne Murray - Croonin'

Perry Como - All Time Greatest Hits

I picked up videos of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree at a yard sale on Harding Avenue in Oaklyn and a WebKinz Warm-Up Suit for 50 cents a few blocks down. Grabbed Dark Horse reprints of the original Star Wars and Return of the Jedi comic books and a copy of one of the early Backyardigans DVDs I haven't seen, The Snow Fort, for a dollar each on Landis Avenue.

A yard sale in Audubon on Merchant Avenue had 80s collectables for sale. I found a near-mint Lady Lovely Locks doll among the piles of toys. Her long blond hair was in such a huge, thick braid on the top of her head, it made her head loose! Other than that and a dirty face, she was fine. Her limbs and face paint was all there. Her pink ruffled dress wasn't frayed or ripped. There were none of the white spots on her legs that my Maiden Curly Crown has. She even came with her original three Pixietails, pearly pastel clips with long curly tails, and her little pink shoes.

My best find of the day came from my very first stop. A sale on Eden Avenue near the Oaklyn ramp had Star Wars items for very good prices. I bought a never-used, still-in-the-plastic two-disc DVD copy of The Phantom Menace for a quarter! Phantom Menace was the only Star Wars movie I didn't have on DVD until today. (And I got the remaining two movies I needed for $1.25. Come to think of it, I picked up Revenge of the Sith on DVD for about $10 from Target shortly after it was released. That means I spent a grand total of $11.25 for the prequel films. ;) )

The Farm Market was busy as well, despite some missing vendors. The weather has been wrecking havoc on crops, but there was still plenty to choose from. I didn't need a whole lot today myself. I ended up with deep purple Concord grapes, Bartlett pears, the last cucumbers of the season, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and a jar of pumpkin butter. Found a lovely, just-right pumpkin for my apartment. I don't carve my big pumpkin. It's used as a decoration in my living room until Thanksgiving or it goes bad, whichever comes first.

Collingswood held it's annual Book Festival today, too. I wish I had more time to stroll around. I peered at the tables of authors showing off their wares and browsed through the used tables, but I ultimately didn't buy anything. It was really busy there, too, with people looking for bargains and enjoying the lovely fall day. Clouds were moving in by then, but it still wasn't as bad as most of the week was.

After all that, I barely had enough time to put everything away, change into my uniform, have lunch, pack dinner, and head out to work! I did make it on time, thankfully. Good thing. We were on-and-off busy all day long. Other than some annoying beginning-of-the-month people, there were no problems. I needed cereal after work. (I would have gotten it yesterday, but I forgot the coupon.) Went straight home after I finished shopping.

Good news on my schedule - next Friday and Saturday off, some decent hours (including 2-6 on Tuesday). Bad news - late days on Wednesday and Thursday (including until 10 on Thursday again), and won't have a day off until Friday. I'll hit the Haddon Township Library on Wednesday morning and try to get the rest of the cleaning done Tuesday and Thursday morning.