Thanksgiving Rehearsal

I'm thankful that I awoke to a lovely, sunny morning. It was the perfect day for making my last Collingswood Farm Market run of the year. Ran today's American Top 40 re-run as I ate oatmeal with bananas and fruit concentrate and a pear for breakfast. We disco danced our way into late November 1978 as uptempo synthesizer dance tunes and dramatic ballads found their way into the spotlight. Hits from this time period include "Our Love - Don't Throw It All Away" by Andy Gibb, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond, "Sharing the Night Together" by Dr. Hook, and "Ready to Take a Chance Again" by Barry Manilow.

The #1 hit of the week was one of the hottest songs of that year, Donna Summer's lengthy smash tale of "MacArthur Park."

I did look around for a yard sale, but I couldn't find it and just went straight to the Farm Market and back. Despite the wind and chilly temperatures, the booths were packed elbow-to-elbow with people buying their Thanksgiving fruit and vegetables. I managed to find my way through the crowds long enough to pick up honey, Brussels sprouts, pears, small Empire apples, bananas, cranberries for Cranberry Bread for Thanksgiving, spinach, an onion, and an acorn squash.

I ran into a friend while I was at the Farm Market. I hadn't seen Pattie at Yogawood in a long time, even before I took a few months off from yoga. She said she'd found Thursday evening classes to be easier with her schedule at her massage therapy business. She suggested getting together sometime soon; she even had a friend she wanted me to meet.

There was one other yard sale listed on Craigslist, but it was cold and windy, and I didn't feel like running around. I just went straight home. I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon working on editing the Bowery Boys fanfiction we have backlogged from as far back as the middle of the summer. I posted a Halloween story and a story about the Boys apple-picking on a farm, and there's more coming in the next week or so, including this year's NaNoWrite novel-length fanfic:

Bowery Boys Fanfiction - The Haunted Theater and She's the Apple of My Pie

I left for work a little early so I could pick up my contacts before my shift. (I worked until 6:30, and America's Best is only open until 6.) I should have left a little earlier. The place was packed with people trying to get their prescriptions before the holidays. It took me almost ten minutes to pick up my contacts, which normally takes about two seconds to two minutes.

Work was busy all day long and filled with some really grouchy people. I don't know why so many customers were in a bad mood. Maybe they hit long lines at other stores, too. People fussed at me. I couldn't bag anything right. They growled at each other, too. I heard a noisy fight in the line behind me at one point.

Thank goodness the employees were in far better moods. The Acme had a Thanksgiving Employee Luncheon in the back room all afternoon and evening. They'd started at 11, and there was still tons of food when I arrived. It felt like a dress rehearsal for Thursday! I had turkey (not much of it - by the time I got to it, it was really dry), baked ziti (pasta), a pile of sliced fresh broccoli and green peppers, chunks of fruit, a slice of carrot cake, and a slice of red velvet cake with thick cream cheese frosting from the bakery that was too rich for me to finish. I was so stuffed after eating a second plateful of veggies and meat that I had no need to go out to eat after my shift was over.

The hit of the party was one of the head front end manager's "white trash" - ie, Rice Chex mixed with powdered sugar, peanut butter, peanuts, and I believe M&Ms. Chex has a variation on this recipe (sans the peanuts and M&Ms) called "Muddy Buddies" at their site. Everyone kept eating tons of it, including me! The manager really turned a few customer's heads when she told people on the front end what she made for the luncheon, though! ;)

And speaking of Thursday, I did get Thanksgiving off. I also got Tuesday off, which is a very good thing. I'll have a lot to do that day, including returning DVDs and books to the Haddon Township Library and getting the Christmas cleaning started.