Let the Sunshine In

Awoke to another glorious sunny spring day. Good thing, because I had a lot to do before Lauren's arrival, starting with breakfast. Ran Strawberry Shortcake In Big Apple City while I ate. Strawberry's on her way to the Big Bake-Off in the title city. The Peculiar Purple Pie Man is the other contestant, and he'll do anything to make sure Strawberry doesn't win the fancy gazebo that's the big prize. Good thing Strawberry makes a lot of friends in Spinach Village who help her out, including eventual series regulars Orange Marmalade and Lemon Meringue.

Spent the rest of the morning tidying and cleaning. I made the bed. I vacuumed. I did the windows. I ran a dust cloth over anything that showed. Signed a "thanks for coming" card for Lauren and a get well card for Willa. Fluffed pillows and moved dolls so Lauren could sleep on the couch.

Watched One Crazy Summer while I cleaned. Hoops McCann (John Cusack) is hoping his trip to Nantucket with his buddy George will teach him enough about life and love to be able to illustrate a romance comic and win an art scholarship. He gets a real eye-opener from Cassandra (Demi Moore), a young singer whose beachfront home is threatened by a rich seafood restaurant owner and his spoiled son. Hoops finds himself falling for Cassandra while he and his strange buddies try to figure out how to help her save her home.

Wacky comedy benefits from "Savage" Steve Holland's nutty direction and the oddball cast, including Bob Golthwait as the wilder half of a pair of unalike twins. If you love the cast or 80's "slobs vs snobs" comedies, this one is worth checking out.

Moved to one of the three Garfield vacation-themed specials while eating a quick lunch. Garfield In Paradise takes Jon, Garfield, and Odie to a tropical tourist trap where the sleazy hotel owners spout Jack Benny jokes. Their trip takes a turn for the bizarre when their classic 50's rental car takes them to a village filled with doo-wop loving natives (including Wolfman Jack as their chief) and a volcano that's about to go off.

Tossed on a few Mickey Mouse black and white shorts while getting organized. It's Mickey to the rescue when Minnie's caught in some "Wild Waves." The duo take Pluto (then Rover) on "The Picnic," but a rain storm brings an end to their fun. Mickey and Pluto are "Fishin' Around" when they hit a pond for an afternoon. A cop isn't as pleased with their choice of fishing spots.

Headed out around quarter of 1 to run errands and hit counseling. First on the agenda was volunteering at the Oaklyn Library. Once again, it was too nice for them to be busy. It was just me, the librarian, an old woman on the computers, and CNN blathering about the choices for CIA director in the background. I organized DVDs and took a look at the kids' books for 20 minutes.

After a short stop at WaWa for money, I dodged traffic on Cuthbert and Crystal Lake Road and took the back roads into Haddonfield. At least it was a nice day for a long ride. It was even nicer than yesterday. The wind had diminished considerably, and it was warmer, probably into the mid-upper 70's. Once again, I got into counseling a little early and just messed around on my new phone until she was ready.

I told her how excited I was to be on vacation and what Lauren and I have planned for this week and next. I also told her about the baby shower and everyone being here. We discussed Rose's lecture to me on Saturday. Basically, she said don't be so hard on yourself, and work on your stories so you can eventually sell them.

Though I mostly want to save my money for later in the week, I did stop at Primo's Water Ice for a treat. Their small size is only about $1.50. I wasn't the only one. School was out by then, and there was a whole gaggle of little boys ordering water ices, and two little girls behind me who wanted gelatis. I tried the small Oreo cookie dough flavor. Vanilla water ice with Oreo bits and big cookie dough pieces. Very sweet and very yummy.

Took Newton Lake Park home to avoid traffic on Cuthbert. Between the nice day and school being out by 3:30, they were very busy with people fishing, sunning themselves, walking dogs, strolling, riding bikes, and jogging. I ended up carrying my bike (as well as I could) up one of the sets of stone steps to the neighborhoods in Haddon Township to avoid the crowds.

When I got home, I did the last work on my story I'll get to until next Wednesday. Even as Luke and Rusty are leaving the swamps (to Yoda's dismay), Leia's beginning to realize she and Han have been snookered. Cedric turns up beaten to a pulp, and Langdon is nervous as a cat under his charming smile. She realizes why Langdon is so upset when he brings them to a fancy dinner party...occupied only by Baron Vader, his men, and bounty hunter Bob "Boba" Fettson. Henry's attempts to shoot Vader ends when Vader takes and destroys his gun.

Lauren and I had been keeping abreast of each other via texting since around 11;30. By 6:30, she was in Philly. Dad invited me over to his house instead of picking me up there. Sure, I said. Why not? It was too nice to hang around inside all day. I walked over to Hillcrest, passing kids in yards and parents working on gardens.

Spent the next hour kind of bored. Dad didn't tell me he and Jodie had guests over, old friends of theirs. The women talked about politics and their families. The men talked about high school reunions. I ate cheese and crackers, texted Lauren, and wished I knew what to say.

Dad and I finally drove out to Cherry Hill at 7:30. We got there right on time. The train arrived just a minute after I stepped up to the platform. Lauren had no troubles anywhere on the road. New York was a little busy. Otherwise, all the trains were on time, and she was able to get onto them without a fuss.

We're both too tired from our busy days to do much more than eat dinner (in my case - Lauren ate at the 30th Street Station) and go online. Tomorrow, we're going to sleep in, then rest our brains with a relaxing stroll through Oaklyn and Audubon.