Library Adventures

It was still cloudy and a little humid outside when I got up this morning, but it looked like the rain was long gone. Since it still felt a little spooky, I ran the Winnie the Pooh Halloween special Boo To You, Too! as I ate breakfast. Everyone in the 100 Acre Woods is gearing up for a spooky Halloween filled with tricks and treats...except Piglet. Halloween almost literally scares him silly. Pooh suggests they have a "Hallo-wasn't" and go without costumes in deference to Piglet. No one is happy with that...but after Piglet disappears, they discover that the scariest part of Halloween is worrying about their little porcine pal.

Switched to two 30s Popeye shorts as I prepared a package to be sent in the mail. "Shiver Me Timbers" has the stranded Olive, Popeye, and Wimpy picked up by a boat that's filled with ghosts! The trio have to get rid of them in order to drive the boat home. Popeye notices that "You Gotta Be a Football Hero" to get Olive's attention when she'd rather be cheering Bluto's team. He becomes his own one-man team to prove spinach can fortify the kind of heroics Nick Foles can only dream of.

I had a lot to do today, starting with a stop at the Oaklyn Post Office. My best friend Lauren's birthday is on Monday. Instead of gifts, she requested that I send cookies for her birthday this year. I'm always talking about my baked treats when we chat! Thankfully, the post office was empty and the lady at the desk was really sweet. I paid for regular shipping and headed out.

The clouds were slowly starting to break up as I rode across Newton Lake Park to Westmont. It was getting warmer, too. The trees are finally starting to turn colors here. I dodged dog walkers and joggers out enjoying the nice day.

The Haddon Township Library was the quietest I'd seen it in months when I arrived. I got in at quarter of noon. Everyone must have gone to lunch. There weren't many DVDs to shelve, but I did still organize the children's titles. (Which are still overloaded with the 800 Scooby Doo and Sesame Street collections they won't get rid of.) I had far less to do with the adult titles and the CDs. I did take out four items to watch this week - the shorts collection Toy Story of Terror, the new collection for Care Bears Welcome to Care-a-Lot The Care-a-Thon Games, and the movies Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

I dodged the lunch hour traffic, stopping at WaWa on my way home to pick up money from an ATM machine and buy a chilled cappuccino. When I got home, I put the DVDs aside, grabbed my backpack and a vinyl tote bag along with my money, and went right back out again. I locked my bike at Oaklyn's City Hall, then waited for the bus to the Voorhees Town Center. It was a few minutes late, nothing horrible. The bus was a bit full, but there was no traffic whatsoever.

I got off at the Voorhees Town Center. Though I was there mainly for the Voorhees Library Book Sale, I wanted to eat lunch first. Despite it being past 2:30, I wasn't really all that hungry. I finally went with Juicinator, who sold juices, sandwiches, and salads made with healthy ingredients for a reasonable price. I had a Caprese Wrap - fresh mozzerella, basil literally pulled right off the plant, tomatoes, olive oil, and vinegar on a whole-wheat wrap with sliced vegetables and pickles and a strawberry-banana fruit shake. It was tasty and very filling.

The Voorhees Library is directly across from the entrance to the Voorhees Town Center's food court. The Voorhees Library hosts the Camden County Library System's big spring and fall book sale. I actually did quite well there, even better than when Lauren and I went in June. Picked up two fiction hardbacks (the historical epic Dreamland by Kevin Baker and one of Carol Higgins' Clark's more recent stories, Gypped), one non-fiction hardback (The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin), a Backyardigans DVD (Escape from the Tower), and five videos, The Music Man, Down Argentine Way, The Pajama Game, The Corsican Brothers, and Red Skelton's Christmas Jollies, likely a collection of Christmas episodes from his show.

I took another hour or so in Macy's and Boscov's. Boscov's was busy. Macy's wasn't. Boscov's was having some really big sales. I bought a WebKinz Rooster for $2.99 and a new winter purse - a bright red faux leather "mini" purse with a long strap and lots of pockets - for $19.99.

I missed the first bus home. Did catch the second one, which once again, was only slightly late. I also missed the traffic, which was mostly going in the other direction. It was getting dark by the time the bus pulled up in front of the dentist's office across from 7-11 in Oaklyn. I went across the street, got my bike, and headed home. At least by this point, the weather was gorgeous, sunny, windy, and far less humid and warm.

When I got home, I put everything away, then had leftover hamburger pie and roasted Brussels sprouts while watching the Care Bears. Funshine Bear and and one of their kid friends just want to have fun at his home in "Compassion-NOT." They learn a big lesson in work before play when Grumpy gets stuck, and it takes their help to get him out. Cheer Bear helps Funshine beat Grumpy in the Care-a-Thon Games. Funshine is so boastful about his win, he becomes "Shunshine" when the others get annoyed with his big head. One of the kids learns to be brave in the dark during a "Care Campout" when she and the Bears are all out camping near a local resort and the lights go out.

Oh, and meet Brian the Rooster! I spent most of tonight setting him up in his own farm-themed room. He comes with a cute barn-shaped clock that rings reveals a mini-rooster whenever your pet touches it.