Dolls On a Summer Day

Ironically, after sleeping in for two days, I got up early this morning. Listened to a couple of classic rock records while I ate breakfast. Though Young Girl was Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's biggest hit, my favorites on the album of that title were their cover of "The Mighty Quinn" (how many rock songs do you know about an Eskimo?), the ballad "Kiss Me Goodbye," and "Say You Don't Need Me."

Dressed the 18-inch dolls for this hot weather we've been having after I ate. Samantha wears the second version of her dark-blue 1904 Bathing Suit with the ruffled cap. Molly's in her tropical-themed peach 1944 Bathing Suit. This year, Whitney gets the lavender Popsicle-themed bathing suit from Our Generation that Lauren sent me for Christmas. Jessa is in the American Girl Hula Outfit bathing suit and purple jelly sandals from her Birthday Outfit. I didn't have a bathing suit for Ariel, so she wears the 2012 AG Hiking Outfit with the extra-short gray shorts, tie-dye flower t-shirt, and bright yellow socks with Springfield Collection sneakers.

Felicity and Josefina grew up in eras where swimming and bathing weren't considered ladylike. Felicity wears her lavender-striped Traveling Gown (later her second "Meet" outfit) and the saucer-shaped hat from Elizabeth's Summer Gown. Josefina sports her pretty flowered Party Dress and the beige moccasins that were part of her "extra" shoes and socks set.

Did a few more chores around 11:30, then had a quick Peach-Ginger Tea Smoothie lunch. Replaced Gary Puckett with another favorite band from a decade later, Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band. Stranger In Town was Seeger's second album with the Silver Bullet Band and another back up group, and it was just as big of a hit as the first, Night Moves. "Still the Same," "Old Time Rock and Roll," and "We've Got Tonight" are rock standards; other favorites from this LP include "Hollywood Nights" and "Feel Like a Number."

Headed out for volunteering around 12:30 (after dropping the rent next-door). Hit the Oaklyn Library first. While the adult DVDs were fine, the kids' titles were a total mess. Worked on them, the board books, and the young adult novels until a family arrived to find books. Figured I'd leave the kids to the toys.

Since I'm trying to catch up on things I've put off doing, I thought I'd take a look at the new AC Moore that just opened a few weeks ago at the Westmont Plaza, next-door to the upcoming Target. They replace the Jo Ann's that was there until they moved to larger digs in Cherry Hill. For a store that AC Moore calls an "experiment," wow, were they crammed full! You'd never guess how small that store is. They had twice as much stuff as Jo Ann's did.

I easily found the doll section in with the kids' crafts and toys. Their 18-inch doll line is called Penelope and Friends. Most of the clothes basically look like rebranded outfits from the Springfield Collection, though the dolls are a lot cuter. They had some sets on clearance for $9.99. I might have to look into that when I have the money. I also checked out their yarn supplies, their wooden items, and their cake and candy decorating section. (They're also the first store I've seen in the area to have their fall items out.)

Next stop was the Haddon Township Library. They were also busy with people trying to avoid the humidity and off-and-on clouds. Apparently they had people coming in to shelve DVDs later, so I put items on the hold shelves instead. I also put away CDs and audio books and went through the DVDs to make sure everything was in order.

Only took out a few DVDs myself this week. They have two Cary Grant movies featuring him romancing an exotic foreign lady; went with Father Goose with Leslie Caron this week. Phantom Thread is another recent Oscar-nominee I've been wanting to check out. Returned to the 70's with the Warren Beatty comedy Heaven Can Wait. (I'm pretty sure I have seen that one, but not since I was a kid.) Also found a couple of books on money management and Mom, Inc., on online jobs for moms. It was one of only two books they had on starting a commercial blog, and the other one was out.

It showered briefly and lightly on my way to AC Moore. The rain was long-gone by 3:30, but the clouds were starting to build up again. Not to mention, I'd just paid my rent and didn't have much money left. Went straight home. Charlie was on his porch when I arrived. He apparently started a garden in the side yard, and likely thanks to all the rain we've had, it's flourishing. I picked two medium-sized tomatoes and a couple of grape tomatoes, including a yellow one he said was super-sweet. He also gave me a massive cucumber that had been sitting in his fridge. Not only was it decent of him, but I'll save money at the farm market this week.

Worked on writing for a while after I got in. Leia solves the problem of Fettara following them by pointing him out to the night clerk at the desk. Laurence shows up just in time to grab Fettara and assure them that he has the situation well under control. Leia's not so sure. Harry promises to leave the next day...after they've had champagne in their suite and a night of hot sex. But their tete-a-tete is about to be interrupted by unwanted guests...

Finished the night with a vegetable wrap and Tuscan Tuna Bean Salad for dinner while watching a tropical-themed Three Stooges short. The boys are tree surgeons who get "Some More of Somoa" when they head to a jungle island to find a mate for a puckerless persimmon that's dying of loneliness. Curly ends up almost being food for the (ridiculously stereotyped) natives before the guys have to figure out how to retrieve the tree from the mouth of a crocodile.