The Farm Market's Back In Town

Busy, busy day today. I awoke to cloudy, warm, humid skies and a low, misty gray fog. No matter; I had things to do, beginning with lots of yard sales and the annual return of the Collingswood Farm Market.

Started off with Chocolate Mint Muffins and a tangelo for breakfast as I listened to this week's American Top 40 re-run. Casey took us to early May 1985 with an explosion of pop, soul, power ballads, and synthesizer music. Among the songs on the hit parade this week were "I'm On Fire" by Bruce Springsteen, "Crazy for You" by Madonna, "Smooth Operator" by Charday, "Some Like It Hot" by Power Station, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds, "Night Shift" by the Commodores, and "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" by Don Henley.

The number #1 hit that week was one of several popular 80s singles created for a charitable cause. "We are the World" was recorded by a group of 45 major artists; the money from the single was donated to ending world hunger. I was 6 years old when this came out, and I remember how huge it was. The radio played it constantly, and the video got a lot of airplay on MTV, too.

Headed out around 9:30. My first stop was East Clinton Avenue a few blocks from PNC Bank in Oaklyn. They're having their twice-a-year street-wide yard sale today. I found two DVDs and three CDs at four different sales. The movies were Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (I've seen it - not great, but I own the doll, and it is a cute semi-Christmas-related tale) and the 1999 version of The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Bronsonan and Renee Russo. (Also seen it - I rented it on a boring afternoon in the summer of 2000 - and I did enjoy it. It's one of those things I'd been meaning to pick up but just hadn't gotten around to.) Thomas Crown Affair was still in its plastic! The lady who sold it said she just hadn't gotten around to watching it and figured she never would.
The CDs were:

Rod Stewart - The Great American Songbook III (Which, for some reason, was in the case for the second volume)

Classic Crooners Vol. II (Collection of songs from 30s and 40s "crooners" like Bing Crosby and Perry Como)

Tony Orlando & Dawn - Candida/Knock Three Times

Stopped at a few more yard sales after leaving East Clinton, but I didn't find anything interesting and moved on to the Farm Market. Calling the Farm Market "packed" was a tremendous understatement. I could barely move on those two blocks, they were so busy! People were elbow-to-elbow, buying fruit, vegetables, dairy, and bread for their barbecues and sports and birthday parties. Alas, there isn't much fruit out right now...but thanks to our warm winter, the vegetables are nice and green. I ended up with strawberries, spinach, garlic, the little brown mushrooms I like from the mushroom sellers, fat green beans, a jar of Strawberry-Raspberry Fruit Butter from the orchard booth, and Colby cheese from the dairy farm. I also bought a small jar of Plum Butter for a birthday present for my Uncle Ken.

I rode up to Mansion Avenue, near the Haddon Township High School, to look at two more yard sales. One had nothing of interest...but the other had a pile of vintage young adult books for a mere 50 cents each! In addition to a few adult titles like When Knighthood Was In Flower and Monsieur Beaucaire, there were all kinds of books from kids' series like The Campfire Girls and The Rover Boys. I chose a series I knew from my friend Linda, who had enjoyed it as a child - the tales of typical 50s teen Donna Parker. According to Linda's site on Donna, I found the first four books in the series - At Cherrydale, On Her Own, A Spring to Remember, and Special Agent.

I rode back to Oaklyn, my backpack now heavy with CDs and musty books. Shortly after I got home last night, Jodie called me and invited me to Dad's brother Ken's 75th birthday party. It was to begin at 1, so I stopped in around noon to see if I could help out. Dad, Jodie, and Uncle Ken were the only ones at home at that point, though, and they seemed to be doing fine. I figured I'd haul my finds and farm market wares home, change into my uniform, and spend an hour at Uncle Ken's before work.

There was another yard sale a few blocks down from Uncle Ken's on Reading. I couldn't resist taking a look, especially when I saw the large sign on the beautiful wood-and-brass ends of a daybed. I've always wanted a daybed, and the sign said it cost 75 dollars! Actually, I need a new bed, period. Right now, I sleep on the same mattress and box spring I've had since I was about 10 years old, with no frame. The woman said they had the whole bed, including mattress, and it had barely been used. I hardly had 75 dollars on me at that point. I rode over to PNC to get the money. Thank heavens they now close at 1PM on Saturday, instead of noon! I was able to quickly retrieve the cash from a teller. The woman said she'd deliver it to my front porch as soon as her yard sale ended around 2:30. I'd pick it up when I got home from work.

After all that, I hurried home, put everything away, changed into my work pants (I'd put on my uniform shirt later), and returned to Uncle Ken's. There were plenty of things to eat, huge platters of chocolate covered pretzels, soft pretzel sticks, chicken nuggets with ranch dressing, a bowl of chips, small hoagies in every flavor imaginable, including vegetable, a fruit basket from Edible Arrangements (the same people Lauren bought a fruit basket for me from a few Christmases ago), and at least six or seven different kinds of dip. I brought some farm-market fresh strawberries and cut them up for guests, too.

I wish I didn't have to leave just as many of the guests, including Dolores' grandchildren and my new landpeople Andrew and Linda, were arriving, but I had work. I changed into my uniform shirt and hurried out. I wasn't watching where I was going on the turn onto the ramp that leads into Oaklyn and had to stop fast to avoid a car. The handlebars of the bike jammed into my stomach. Ouch! Nothing's permanently damaged, but I have such a nasty red-and-purple bruise on my stomach now, I couldn't lean on it all evening.

Work was very busy up until about 6:30, which was hardly surprising. First and foremost, it's the beginning of the month. Second, there's all those barbecues and birthday parties I mentioned earlier. Third, today is Cinco Del Mayo. Fourth, there's a lot of sports going on this weekend, too. The Kentucky Derby was this afternoon (they were running it in the back room), the Sixers have a playoff game today, and the Flyers play tomorrow. Thank heavens the kid who works in the back came in for me. I needed to buy all the fruit I couldn't find at the Farm Market - grapefruit, pears, and bananas, plus the onion I forgot.

There were shadowy, boxy forms sitting on the porch when I got back. Yes, the new daybed had been delivered, mattress, frame, and all! I did have to drag the whole thing upstairs myself. I didn't know how heavy a wood-and-brass bed could be. I've never bought a bed for myself in my entire life! I've slept on a mattress and box spring on the floor for seven years. Before that, I borrowed a simple metal frame from my landlady in Wildwood. Just dragging that whole thing upstairs wore me out! Whew! I'll put it together tomorrow before work.