It's a Wonderful Harvest

I love fall. It makes the whole world one big pot of gold. The first things I often see in the morning are the golden oak leaves just outside my bedroom windows, blowing gently in the wind. The squirrels chase each other, trying to save nuts and acorns for the winter. The birds chirp as they prepare for their long journey south.

The American Top 40 re-run warmed up things nicely this morning. We remained in the 80s, but moved ahead to 1985. Among the songs gracing the charts in mid-November were Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love For You," the ballad "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin, Ah-Ha's "Take On Me," Aretha Franklin's "Who's Zoomin' Who?" (I actually have that LP), Freddy Jackson's "You Are My Lady," and two numbers from the massively successful soundtrack to the stylish TV cop show Miami Vice, it's instrumental theme song and "You Belong to the City" by Glen Frey.

The song that knocked the Miami Vice music into the number #3 and #2 spots was one of my very favorite songs from my childhood, the energetic "We Built This City" by Starship. This was apparently the first #1 hit for the group that had started out as Jefferson Airplane in the 60s, switched to Jefferson Starship a decade later, then removed the "Jefferson" a year before the song came out.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day when I headed out after the show ended. The wind remained, but it was warmer than yesterday, and there wasn't a cloud in the deep blue sky. Perhaps due to fears over the extreme cold earlier in the week, there were far fewer yard sales this week. In fact, I went to the farm market first this time. They were bustling, even at quarter of 10. There were even more hand-made gift booths this week than last week, including the wool yarn booth with the live alpacas. (I loved the big, fluffy chocolate brown one with the huge brown eyes.) I ended up buying small Empire apples, pears, broccoli, a small organic cauliflower from the organic booth, bananas from the wholesaler, molasses, and cheddar cheese from the dairy booth.

Checked out two yard sales in Collingswood and Westmont near Cooper River Park next. Didn't find anything I liked at Westmont, but I picked up five records and a blank journal at the one in Collingswood. The records are:

Two LPs of Scott Joplin ragtime music by The New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble.

Colors of the Day - The Very Best of Judy Collins

Linda Rondstat - Linda Rondstat

Lena Horne - Lena Lovely and Alive (Apparently, this is a rare German pressing.)

The soundtrack from Breakfast at Tiffany's

I went straight home after leaving Westmont. Had leftover beef stew for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon working on a baked pumpkin pudding from Felicity's Cooking Studio and watching holiday DVDs. Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving is a direct-to-DVD combination of two winter-oriented episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the sweet Pooh Thanksgiving special. The Very Merry Christmas Songs DVD is basically an expansion of the Disney Sing-Along video of the same name, with additional songs utilizing footage from various Disney holiday TV and direct-to-DVD shows. The Mayflower Voyagers is a Peanuts special on the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.

Went to work as soon as The Mayflower Voyagers ended. Work was off-and-on busy, nothing out of line for the day, time of year, or beautiful weather. There were no major problems (from me or the customers), and I was in and out with little fuss.

Went behind the Acme for dinner. I couldn't remember the last time I had pizza, so I opted for Tu Se Bella's. Had two delicious slices of vegetable and plain cheese and a bottle of Diet Coke. I ate my meal while listening to people pick up their orders and enjoy the warm room that smelled like garlic butter and watching the college football games on the TV over the soda machines.

When I got home, I began my holiday Video to DVD dubbing with It's a Wonderful Life. I've had a public domain video copy of the beloved tale of how one man's life touches so many others for several years. I've been wanting to replace it, but most of the Wonderful Life DVDs I've seen have been two-disc sets that are out of my price range for a movie I only watch a few months a year. Besides, I've heard and read so much about this movie, most of the extras would likely be redundant anyway.