Sunshine Before the Storm

I slept in this morning. It was past 11:30 when I finally took off for the Haddon Township Library. It was a glorious day for a ride in Newton River Park. The sun was shining warmly, and there was none of the wind that made yesterday so chilly. It was probably in the mid-upper 40s, perfectly normal for this time of the year. The fine weather was reflected in the busy park. I dodged dog-walkers, people out for a stroll, and a flock of Canadian geese poking around for an early lunch.

The library was surprisingly busy for a nice day. I guess a lot of people wanted to take out materials before the weather turns on us tomorrow. The children's DVDs were particularly messy. I had to do a lot of rearranging to get everything on the shelves. The side of the adult DVD bin that houses titles under the letters M through Z and foreign titles are starting to overflow, too. Clearing out a big pile of titles shelved in the wrong side of the bin or under the wrong letter or that were really kids' titles helped a little.

Didn't take out any books this week, but I did find some DVDs of interest. The library had a new CGI Angelina Ballerina disc themed around world dance. They'd just gotten last summer's remake of Sparkle in. Thought I'd try the Robert Alton British mystery Gosford Park. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief has a sequel coming later this year. I've enjoyed the last three sci-fi movies I've seen and thought I'd give this one a chance.

It was getting a bit late by the time I finished checking out. I decided on a simple lunch down the hill at Wendy's. I opted for just my favorite Apple Pecan Chicken Salad in a half-size and a soda. The cheap salad meal that included extras like potatoes is no longer available; I just had a diet soda on the side.

Went straight into Haddonfield for my counseling appointment after lunch. I arrived in plenty of time, over 20 minutes early. I took a look at a Time-Life book on the 20th century sitting in a pile on the front window with the book on classic toys and the big teddy bear before Mrs. Stahl said she was ready for me.

We had a lively, very interesting chat. She said that yes, she and her husband enjoyed my writing, and yes, it was good...but the freelance writing market is saturated and very, very hard to get into. I'd be better off trying to find something else I can do with my writing skills besides freelancing. I would like to take some online computer courses and upgrade my skills...but not right now. I want to find out what my real interests and skills are before I attempt more expensive college courses that might not help me anyway.

The most important thing I need to do is build up my self-esteem, which has been battered for decades by school troubles and feelings of inadequacy and not fitting in. Her suggestions were pretty much "lose weight and look for new hobbies." I've tried on and off since the late 80s to lose weight. It'll work for a while, like with Weight Watchers...but then I'll lose interest or it'll get too hard, and I'll just want cookies again.

Simply getting out of winter will be a help. Though we're supposed to get snow tomorrow, by next week, I'm hearing 50s. I'll be able to get out more and go on more walks and longer bike rides. I'm going to return to my Saturday farm market/yard sale errands, too, when the Collingswood Farm Market starts in May. I know Rose complained about the farm market being expensive...but she's buying food for three people (one a toddler), two dogs, and a cat. I'm buying food for one person. I'd rather give money back to the community, too, and have it as fresh as possible.

She said my assignment this time is to brainstorm ideas for new hobbies that won't break the bank. I'm still trying not to buy a lot of junk. Disney's putting out several movies this month that are on my birthday list,  notably the Oscar-nominated Wreck It Ralph, and I want to add the Animator's Collection Toddler Belle to my girls and the WebKinz Rockerz Fox (a female fox with a mohawk - love it), but that's it. I don't want to go as overboard as I did last year.

It was too nice of a day to go right home. I took a leisurely ride back down Haddon Avenue to Westmont. I saw a new thrift shop, Salvation Thrift, on my way to Mrs. Stahl's office. It turned out to be a tiny, elegant storefront next-door to the party store. It had some of the same things as the thrift shop in Collingswood used to, like clothes, purses, shoes, books, frames, and toys, but it was less junky and overstuffed and more elegant. I ended up with a lovely little journal with a paste-jewel lock.

Salvation Thrift is across the street from Primo Water Ice, so I went there next for a treat. This time, I tried Chocolate Peanut Butter. The chocolate wasn't all that chocolaty, but they made up for it for small but plentiful peanut butter chunks. I heard noises in the back of the building. Turned out to be "the Ice Box," a large room with games, lots of chairs, and a huge TV. A bunch of boys were playing what looked like Wii NBA Basketball.

It was too beautiful to be hanging around playing video games. I took the long way through Collingswood and back into Newton River Park, this time passing The Heights apartment complex and CVS to take the back way into Oaklyn.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped at Dad's house on my way home. I haven't said "hi" to them in a while. Dad and Jodie are busy moving Dad into Uncle Ken's old master bedroom and setting up Dad's old bedroom for guests. They're also clearing out the basement and various closets in the house. Dad gave me a lovely Anne of Green Gables doll made of what felt like paper mache and cloth he bought at the real Anne of Green Gables store on Prince Edward Island.

I even got to see my sister and her boys. Rose and Craig are looking for a house. They currently live in an apartment in Audubon, but it's too small for a toddler, two frisky dogs, and a cat. Khai was going to spend some time with his grandparents while they looked at another house. I got to watch a little Team Umizoomi with him before I realized it was getting late and I really wanted to head home.

My original plan for tonight's dinner was Merlin's Magic Chicken...but I forgot to take out the chicken before I left for the library. Oh well. I substituted home-made Italian Bean Soup with Winter Vegetables while watching the Angelina Ballerina disc. Angelina and her friends celebrated dances and music from other cultures, from Irish jigs to a French "round" performance of "Frere Jacques."

My two favorite stories celebrated Asian traditions. Angelina and her friends are excited over the Japanese holiday Children's Day, but nothing seems to go right. When Angelina finds a leaf in the shape of a carp, she's reminded of the resilience of kids...and how to find strength even when things are at their worst. Vicki's upset when Angelina and Alice won't listen to her suggestion that they do a Chinese dragon dance for their project on creating a dance around mythical creatures. When they have trouble trying to create an elegant, flowing dance around unicorns, they decide to give her ideas a chance...and end up having a lot of fun making their own version of the famous Chinese New Year Dragon float.