Balance Gets Hotter

It didn't start out that way. It was still cloudy, windy, and relatively cool when I headed to yoga class this morning. It was a bit more full than last week, but not nearly as bad as the spring and fall classes. We worked on hip-openers and shoulder stands. I did the best variations I could. My back and thumb have been sore, and that heel spur has been acting up, too.

There was absolutely nothing to do at the Collingswood Library afterwards. They had several volunteers shelving books and DVDs already. They'd moved the children's DVDs and the Wii games and I couldn't even find them. No non-fiction needed to be shelved, either. I was there for a little over a half-hour.

Rode down Haddon Avenue. Stopped at Walgreens first. I needed money to get through the rest of the afternoon. They were having their first back-to-school sales. I picked up a 7-pocket folder for $3.99 (one of my older ones got stretched out). Also bought a sketchbook with stencils that allow you to design your own clothes. It's a kids' art project, but I despite my lack of fondness for fashion, I remember using something similar for hours to design "costumes" for characters in stories as a child and young teen.

I had a quick lunch at Central Park Bagel Shop, a small bagel/sandwich store in the same shopping center as the Yogo Factory. It's the same idea as the bagel shop in the Westmont Plaza, in a much smaller store and staffed by a pair of friendly Asian ladies. I had a turkey club sandwich on a pumpernickel bagel, and it was very tasty.

Headed up to Haddonfield next. By this time, the sun had come out...and the humidity and high heat that had been predicted all week came with it. I was grateful to hop into the Haddonfield Library. It's a lovely older building situated on a triangle of land between two major streets. There's a statue, a park, and a beautiful fountain in front of it. The interior isn't quite as fancy. The lobby and main meeting and DVD areas are lovely, but the back area where the non-fiction stacks are is gray and plain, with a hard tile floor. The basement children's area is huge, though, with twice as many books as any other kids' section in the area, a small puppet theater, and even a fish tank with several large specimens.

The difference between exploring libraries here and in Cape May County is, most of the libraries down there belong to the county library system. Here, every library but Haddon Township and Ferry Avenue is independent. While I'm sure they get more money that way, that also means I have to pay big bucks for a card at any of them but County Library branches. Needless to say, I didn't take anything out.

I went for a bike ride around Westmont after leaving the library. I didn't really have the money for the usual browsing in Haddonfield. While the temperature had risen to likely the mid-90s, the nice, cool wind remained and made things a little more tolerable. I did have enough money for an Icee from WaWa when I got into Oaklyn to cool me off a bit.

Spent some time resting when I got home. I organized my file folders, moved papers to my new one, and ran Puss In Boots. This spin-off from the Shrek franchise gives us the back history of that series' feline mercenary. Puss started life in an orphanage. His only friend was an egg named Humpty (Zach Galifinki), but Humpty went rotten and turned on him. He's now back with a mission - get the Magic Beans from outlaws Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedarkis) and find the Golden Goose, with and without the help of thief Kitty Softpaws (Selma Hayek).

Pretty standard fare if you're a fan of the Shrek series. There's some nice moments, including the dancing duel in a litter box and the finale as Humpty and Puss try to evade the wrath of a very angry Golden Goose. There's enough that can stand on its own, and while not great, it is better than the last few Shrek films.

I rode over to Dad's for a swim as soon as the movie ended. It was still hot and humid, but the wind had gotten heavier. The water was surprisingly cooler than I figured it would be, only about 82. I still had a very nice and quiet solo swim. I was the only one there. Dad, Jodie, Dolores, and Uncle Ken were all watching TV and doing things on their computers indoors, avoiding the heat. I did talk to Dad and Jodie a little bit later, before I left.

I made Italian Chicken, stewed summer veggies, and pasta for dinner while watching another sports-related TV episode in honor of the Olympics. This time, I moved to Tales of the Gold Monkey for "The Sultan of Swat." Jake Cutter is delighted when his childhood idol, Arnold "Gamble Rogers, a retired baseball player, comes to Boragora on a goodwill tour of Asia. The beloved home-run hitter winds up over his head when he's accused of killing a native girl. Only Jake believes he didn't do it, and he's determined to find out who did.

Oh, and we finally got that much-needed rain. I'd just gotten out of the shower when I realized that the wind had picked up even more. I'd been online for a while when the storm finally started, though. That was a few hours ago, and as far as I can tell, it's been on and off ever since.