Balance In the Sun

I couldn't believe how beautiful it was when I headed out for this week's yoga class. It was just about as perfect as weather gets in mid-August in Southern New Jersey - bright, sunny, breezy, without the tiniest bit of humidity or haze, probably in the lower-mid 80s. We celebrated the magnificent day by working on twists. I'm glad we did. I had been feeling rather stiff in my lower body since my gym workout yesterday. I must have overdone the leg machine work. I felt much better and less stiff after yoga.

For once, there was a lot to do at the Collingswood Library. I put away a nice stack of DVDs and organized the rest, including the children's collection, which was recently moved where they'd originally had the audio books. Nothing going on upstairs, though. I headed out around quarter of 12.

It was too nice to eat lunch inside. I had just enough money to buy a turkey hoagie and a small bottle of water from WaWa. I rode over to Newton River Park and settled down on a metal and plastic table to enjoy my impromptu picnic. Mothers watched their children chase each other around the playground. Friends strolled across the now much greener grass. People walked their dogs and pushed strollers down the winding paths. A few boats bobbed lazily along on the green river.

When I got home, I spent a few hours doing chores and things around the apartment I'd put off. Two of my older farm market apples were developing brown spots. I sliced them, scooped out the bruises, and made Apple Muffins. I finally finished dusting the bedroom. I went through this week's supermarket and drug store flyers. I called the Foot and Ankle Center, whom I haven't heard from since last month. Apparently, the insurance center is now claiming they haven't gotten the forms, despite the fact that we sent them on July 19th! When Colleen called back, she said the woman at the insurance company rudely informed her that she would go through the papers and see if they had arrived. I'll try calling them again tomorrow to see if they've made any progress with these people.

I ran Barbie and the Magic of the Pegasus while all this was going on. I've rented this one from the Haddon Township Library before. While this Barbie action tale touts its 3-D effects, the real stand-outs are the well-drawn characters and touching story of a young girl who seeks to create a wand that will liberate her parents and sister from a wizard's evil spell. Definitely one of the best Barbie As... fantasy films; very much worth looking for if you have a little girl.

That amazing weather beckoned, though. After Magic of the Pegasus ended and I made my call to the Foot and Ankle Center, I went for a short walk. Strolled down Manor to West Clinton, then around Landis to the playground behind the school. Another set of mothers watched a group of little kids as they flew down slides and swung across monkey bars. I went down a slide myself (despite it being awfully hot), then headed across the school's field to Kendall Boulevard, and finally down Goff to Manor.

Went to work about a half-hour later. Work was surprisingly busy for a Thursday in the middle of the month. I saw a lot of mothers and teenagers with big orders. I suspect many future college students were preparing to move into their new homes for the first time. Other than some mildly annoying customers, there were no major problems. One of the college boys who had been working on putting up next week's sale tags came in for me.