Good Byes are the Hardest Words

Started out a cloudy, cold day with a late run to the Acme for my paycheck. This will probably be my last week cashing my check at work. I switched to direct deposit last week; it should be kicking in by next week or the week after. Had a lot of grocery shopping to do, too. There were a lot of great sales, some only for this weekend - strawberries, tuna, packs of fish (salmon this week), Acme generic "Essential Everyday" toasted oat cereal and shredded wheat (I had a coupon for two, and the oat cereal was on sale), brown sugar, and chicken legs. Needed to replace white cooking wine, apple cider vinegar, and evaporated milk. Restocked apples, eggs, and blood oranges. The clearance racks have been laden with leftovers from Christmas and discontinued items - I found my favorite small packs of Land O'Lakes flavored hot chocolate for a mere quarter each! I ended up with eight of them. Smart Balance put out their "blended butter" in a smaller package. It was probably a gyp to buy two butter sticks for $3.29, but I missed their original sticks and wanted to try this.

When I got home, I ran Sailor Moon episodes while putting everything away, then made "Wonderful Tuna Salad" for lunch to use up the last of the crushed pineapple. Had the pack of French Vanilla Land O'Lakes Hot Chocolate with lunch. I wish it wasn't the only pack they had left - it was really tasty.

I headed out after lunch to quickly sweep the porch and for my last bank run. The Oaklyn branch of PNC Bank closed for good at 3PM this afternoon. I just made it in. I still don't like that they're closing it to begin with. There's only one other bank in Oaklyn (TD Bank down the White Horse Pike), and at least four other banks in Collingswood. Not to mention, I discovered that most of the tellers weren't moved to other branches and are out of a job. That isn't fair. The Oaklyn PNC branch won awards for excellent customer service. They had a plate of cookies, but I wasn't that hungry. I did take a few last Jolly Ranchers from a bowl, though. I'll always think of the Oaklyn PNC branch and how nice the tellers were to me whenever I see Jolly Ranchers.

Strolled home after that, passing lines and packs of kids and parents on their way home from the Oaklyn School. I even waved to a few kids whose parents I knew. When I got in, I ran the original cast of Annie to cheer me up and packed up bags of stuffed animals I don't really need anymore. I'm getting rid of most of my WebKinz, except for the ones that are unique in design (like the Rockerz or the dragons and Pegasus) or a type of animal that isn't often seen in stuffed form (like wombats, American eagles, and possums). There's two coming in March that look interesting, including an awesome hard-rock-themed female Rockerz Fox. After that, I don't think I need more WebKinz, or stuffed animals, for that matter. The Riverside Rest now has no vacancies.

Work was a bit busier than last night, but ended the same way - so quiet, I spent an hour puttering around up front and ultimately left a few minutes early. I found out why we were busier when I walked out onto a wet parking lot. It flurried briefly and lightly right after I got in from the bank, but was doing nothing but looking gloomy when I left for work. Whatever rain or snow we got was done by 10. It was sprinkling lightly, just barely enough to get me damp. There was a dusting of snow on my porch and on the ground, but the streets were completely clear. I didn't even see any ice.