Put Away the Holidays

Started a beautiful, sunny day with a trip into Audubon. I had a ton of things to bring to the Logan Presbyterian Thrift Shop. There were bags filled with items I cleared out as far back as last summer, but first I got hurt, then the holidays came up and I just didn't have the time to bring them over. 

They were happy to receive my donations...and no wonder. They were in the midst of a huge after-Christmas sale. I picked up five videos, four records, and a kid's book for $1.90. The records were:

Olivia Newton John - Greatest Hits

Johnny Mathis - The Sweetheart Tree

The Music of Spring - collection of spring-related standards sung by popular vocalists (thought it could be run at Easter)

Original Broadway cast album for 1970 Lauren Bacall musical Applause

The videos were the Esther Williams vehicle Dangerous When Wet, the 1950s Stewart Granger/Elizabeth Taylor version of Beau Brummel, the original animated Watership Down, and two Richard Chamberlain vehicles based after Alexandre Dumas books - The Man In the Iron Mask and The Count of Monte Cristo. 

The book was the other Muppet Babies McDonald's picture book we had as kids, The Legend of Gimmie Gulch. Kermit imagines that he's the sheriff of a greedy western town that's falling apart because no one will share their resources with anyone else. When the Masked Bandit is due to ride through town and wreck havoc, Kermit has to find a way to teach the others the importance of sharing...and fast!

Moved onto Abbie Road down the street next. Bob said "hi" and said for me to tell Lauren he says "hi" to her, too. He was also having huge sales. I got three records and four CDs for $12. The CDs were:

Steve Winwood - Back In the High Life (Replacing an aging cassette copy)

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

The Kinks - Come Dancing With the Kinks: The Best of the Kinks 1977-1986

Original 1966 Broadway cast album for Cabaret 

The records were:

Melanie - Candles In the Rain

Led Zeppelin- Led Zeppelin

The Tommy Dorsey/Frank Sinatra Sessions Vol. 1

I rode up to Simply Soups on Pine Street for lunch. As it was just lunch time, there were several people there as I arrived, including an older couple and a college student. I had my usual cup of soup, breadsticks, and can of diet soda. Today's soup was Pumpkin-Turkey-Rice. It was scrumptious, filled with lots of rice, good-sized turkey pieces, and plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg. I enjoyed my meal while looking over my finds. It felt good sitting in the front windows, with their fabulous view of Pine Street and the railroad tracks. Almost all of the windows were open this time to allow the sunlight in and get some extra warmth.

Stopped at Desserts By Design on the way home. I bought a few cookies for a treat and chatted with the owner and her assistant. I told her about my troubled couple of months, and that I was feeling much better and hoping that the New Year would improve.

After I bought my snack, I took the bike over the train bridge and into Oaklyn. The Oaklyn Library had been almost totally reorganized since the last time I was there. The old metal shelves in the kids' section had been eliminated entirely. All of the kids's books and DVDs were now on the shelves surrounding the walls of the room. The tables that used to be squeezed into the kids' area were now pushed off to one side, leaving plenty of room for a librarian to read to the little ones, or for games and activities. I organized the adult and kids' DVDs and sorted through the picture books, but there wasn't much to do. I did pick up a mint-condition copy of the George Clooney remake of Ocean's Eleven from their book sale. 

Spent the rest of the afternoon at home, listening to rock CDs and taking the remaining Christmas decorations down. The tree came down next. I almost completely reorganized the plastic container that holds the ornaments. The plastic, wooden, or beaded ornaments went in the plastic bucket I originally bought to bring the cookies to work for our luncheon. The icicles and clothespin soldiers got new, slimmer boxes. The garland, star, and lights lost their box and were just placed in the container. I got rid of a box of plain gold glass ball ornaments that had been around for about a decade and were starting to look their ages. I bought them from Family Dollar; I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.

Finished out the night with the garlands, wreath, big plaid bow, nativity, and small items that go in the big felt Santa Sack. The garlands are so much easier to take down than they are to put up! I may put the gold garland that was around the CD rack somewhere else next Christmas. It was a pain to put on the rack where it is now. I'd also like to crochet some Christmas coasters to replace the woven ones I made for Mom when I was a pre-teen. 

After everything had been returned to the back room, I vacuumed the living room where the tree was. The tree sheds almost as much as a real tree! I then moved the crate with the disco and R&B albums to the front of the window where it usually rests. I also swept the porch. The leaves are long gone, but I get piles of sticker balls and small sticks in the winter. I like to keep the porch clear so it doesn't get to slippery if we get snow or ice.

Spent the next hour or so crocheting a birthday present for my sister Jessa as I dubbed Dangerous When Wet. Williams is the member of a farming family that prides itself on being as healthy as its products and the best swimmers around. When the farm needs a new bull, the family agrees to join a contest to swim the English Channel in order to win the money. While they're in France, the oldest daughter falls for a local playboy (Fernando Lamas), while their coach and sponsor (Jack Carson) is pursued by an amorous Frenchwoman who is one of the contestants (Denise Darcel). 

Not great, not horrible. Charlotte Greenwood, as Williams' robust mother, gets to show off her still-amazing high kicks in "Ain't Nature Grand," while Lamas serenades Williams (they were later married) with the lovely "In My Wildest Dreams." Otherwise, the numbers are rather dull. The biggest set-piece, and probably the only thing anyone remembers about this movie today, is Williams swimming into a cartoon with Tom and Jerry. It's cute enough, but not really anything special. This one is pretty much for fans of Williams or Tom & Jerry. Enjoyable enough for anyone else if you run into it on TCM, but nothing you need to see.