Stormy Weather

I awoke to more cloudy skies, heavy humidity, and temperatures in the mid-80s. It was starting to spit as I headed out for today's errand/library volunteering run. Thankfully, the heavier rain held off as I made a quick stop at Dollar Tree. I needed toothbrushes. They had a cup that's supposed to be a holder packed with six toothbrushes. I decided I could use a spare bathroom cup as well. Also grabbed a new shower curtain.

My Haddon Township Library volunteering went less well. It was busy again, probably thanks to the weather. This time, I dodged not only kids coming in for Storybook Hour, but young adults looking for serious adult "indies" and dumb comedies. The little kids were cute (one little boy played peek-a-boo with me around the revolving children's DVDs shelves). The older kids were not. They got all in a snit when I tried to get around them to shelve titles and clear out the rather large pile of foreign and kids' movies that had landed in the adult section. They shouldn't have been tossing things in anyplace or leaving movies sitting out.

I left frustrated. I usually love the library, but the young adults made me feel unwanted. The librarians and an older woman who witnessed their behavior said they were rude and I didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to be doing, but I still felt bad. I took out a few things to make myself feel better. I enjoyed Doc McStuffins so much last October with Khai, I took out a recently-released collection of episodes. I've been watching a lot of Rick Steves' Europe lately; found his episodes that explore England and Wales. Also took out two different late 70s-early 80s movies on unlikely friends who tackle the establishment, the drama All the President's Men and the comedy Trading Places. I found two of the three American Girl Historical Mysteries that were released a few months ago, Caroline's Traitor In the Shipyard and Marie-Grace and Cecile's The Haunted Opera, in the new releases section.

I decided a decent lunch at Friendly's would help make up for the trouble at the library. It was very wet when I came outside, but the sky seemed to be lighter, and the rain was back to just sprinkling. It stopped all together as I made it across the street to the Westmont Plaza.

Friendly's was surprisingly quiet for the middle of lunch hour. I just saw a few families and a  pair of older female friends. I decided to try the Cheeseburger Sliders "appetizer" for lunch instead of one of the huge burgers. I'm actually kind of glad I went small. They were very disappointing. Cheese and meat were as fake as can be, though they were grilled well enough. The fresh tomatoes and lettuce and special sauce that came with it were pretty good, though. From now on, I'll do chicken or salads when I eat at Friendly's.

The sun was going in and out as I rode home, and would continue to do so for the next couple of hours. I rested at home in front of the computer for an hour or so, then loaded my huge laundry load and the two American Girl Mysteries (I got half-way through The Haunted Opera at Friendly's) into the cart and headed for the laundromat.

The laundromat was pretty busy for 3PM, but there were a lot of people in and out. I did get a washer and drier with no problems, so I guess I timed things right. I finished The Haunted Opera, started Traitor at the Shipyard, and listened to the families and Ellen in the background.

Went straight home after my very big load of laundry was done. Though it was sunny when I arrived, there were still big, fat clouds in the sky. I took the advantage of the calmer weather to sweep my porch, which was covered with leaves, sticks, and pepper nuts leftover from the last few storms.

Not trusting the weather, I spent the rest of the evening indoors. My intuition was right. Mother Nature wasn't quite done yet. There was another downpour around 5:30, and yet another an hour later. No thunder, and they were both pretty short. In between, I baked Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Bars, made salmon with Balsamic Vinegar sauce and tomatoes and steamed snap peas for dinner, and traveled through England and Wales with Rick Steves.

While seeing London in all it's modern and Victorian glory was cool (I loved the West End and the walk through the British Museum, the setting for the Amelia Peabody book The Deeds of the Disturber), my favorite trips were to beautiful Northern England and the rugged Welsh coast. No wonder Beatrix Potter fell in love with the Lake District. Its adorable towns and deep green terrain were stunning. I enjoyed seeing the seaside towns of Brighton and Blackpool and all the castle towns in Wales, too.

(And I did finish both AG books today. I loved The Haunted Opera, by far the best of Marie-Grace and Cecile's series. It was stuffed with details of New Orleans and backstage life in 1854, with a decent mystery too. Traitor at the Shipyard also had a lot of interesting details and more action, but alas, the mystery wasn't as good. At least one villain was telegraphed a mile off.)