The Perfect Spring Day

I awoke early to an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day. The American Top 40 took us to early June 1986 this morning. As I was finishing up my last two weeks of first grade, the rest of the country was listening to jazz, ballads, dance music, R&B, and pop. Hits that late spring included "Crush On You" by the Jets, "Is It Love?" by Mr. Mister, "No One Is To Blame" by Howard Jones, "Move Away" by Culture Club, "Something About You" by Level 42, "If You Leave" by Orchestral Maneuvers In the Dark, "All I Need Is A Miracle" by Mike and the Mechanics, "On My Own" by Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle, and "The Greatest Love Of All" by Whitney Houston.

Madonna was one of the iconic stars of the mid-late 80s, and she had one of her biggest hits in the #1 spot that week, the ballad "Live To Tell."

The western Camden County area was very busy today, starting with the Collingswood Farm Market. Snap peas are out for the first time this season. I bought a pint of those, along with strawberries, organic mixed greens, and the North Carolina blueberries.

Part of the reason the Farm Market was so busy was because Collingswood was having their town-wide yard sale today. Unlike last year, when I had to work early on the day it happened, I was able to check everything out with time to spare. I actually bought the majority of my finds from the other yard sale event, East Clinton Avenue's bi-annual street-wide yard sale. There were so many yard sales out in Collingswood, I rode around for two and a half hours and didn't get to seeing a quarter of them! It didn't help that the traffic was especially bad in the neighborhood between Atlantic Avenue and Newton Lake Park. Once you crossed Haddon Avenue, the yard sales were somewhat more spaced out, and the traffic wasn't as much of a pain.

I eventually picked up a copy of The Wind In the Willows and the first Barbie special, Barbie In the Nutcracker. Also grabbed a couple of records:

Frank Sinatra - L.A Is My Lady (with Quincy Jones and Orchestra)

Steely Dan - Greatest Hits

A Very Special Christmas (the first volume)

Music From The Roaring 20s - Evidently a soundtrack recording of what seems like a pre-Boardwalk Empire TV look at the Decade of Wonderful Nonsense, with comedienne Dorothy Provine.

Heartbeat of the 80s - A collection of slow rock and ballads from K-Tel Records.

Since I was going by there on my way home, I swung by Dad and Jodie's. Told them when Lauren's arriving on Tuesday (7:40 - she likes a lot of time between trains and usually doesn't arrive until late) and asked what they were doing for Father's Day this year. Sounds like they're going to Jodie's dad's house, which means Lauren and I will likely be on our own this time.

When I got home, I had a really nice lunch of lamb chops, spinach salad, strawberries, and an onion roll while watching Barbie and the Nutcracker. The very first Barbie and/as special is an adaptation of one of my favorite Christmas stories. Barbie tells her sister Kelly the story of Clara, a young woman who wants to see the world, but is kept at home by her overprotective grandfather. Her well-traveled aunt gives her a nutcracker for Christmas...and this leads to a wonderful dream of traveling to a fantasy world with the Nutcracker and stopping the evil Mouse King (Tim Curry) from destroying the land by finding the Sugarplum Princess.

I was so unimpressed with this when it first came out in the late 90s, it was at least five or six years before I'd take a look at another Barbie movie. Actually, it's not that bad for being the first Barbie girly-princess movie. I do wish the Nutcracker wasn't so stiff (literally and figuratively), but a hammy Curry and some of the supporting cast more than make up for him. The animation is stiff as well, waxy and wooden and miles away from what Universal is doing now. It's still recommended for young girls who love Barbie (and can overlook the animation) and Nutcracker fans.

Did a few Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater princess-and-girly-themed shorts as I got ready for work. Hello Kitty is "Cinderkitty," a sweet kitten who would rather be catching forward passes than prancing in ball gowns. Her Fairy Godmother may give her the chance to do both! She's "Sleeping Kitty" when a cursed TV puts her under a spell. Will a kiss from Prince Tuxedo Sam set things right? Kitty proves to Catnip and Sam that kindness is its own reward when she rescues a very fuzzy Sam from evil witch Fangora in "Kitty and the Beast." And Kitty learns that it's not a good idea to be wandering around in someone else's bed when she finds herself in the home of three "bears" (Grinder, Catnip, and My Melody) in "Kittylocks and the Three Bears."

Work wasn't too bad. It was busy for most of the evening as people bought food for graduation celebrations and barbecues. The worst that happened wasn't in line. One older woman came in screaming that someone left two dogs in a closed car and she was going to call the cops and make them open the windows. While she was right about that being negligence, screaming bloody murder and making a big obnoxious fuss won't make things better. Telling the people in charge who can actually do something will.

Oh, and I got my schedule for next week...such as it is. I'm only working tomorrow and Monday, and then I'm on vacation! Actually, since Lauren's coming so late on Tuesday, I'm treating that like a normal day off, including a counseling session.