Summertime Harvest

Did a few random cartoon shorts from my public domain set as I got ready to head out this morning. "The Fresh Vegetable Mystery" is the root-napping of a mother carrot and her babies by a mysterious figure with pincer horns. Honestly, between the stereotypical Irish potato cops and their not-at-all funny methods of "interrogating" food they suspect to be criminals, this one is more than a little tough to swallow (pun intended).

"The Golden State" is easier to take today. It's just one of Paramount's later Screen Songs follow-the-bouncing-ball shorts, this one for "California, Here I Come." Raggedy Ann joins in to show a little blind girl how wonderful the imagination can be in "The Enchanted Square."

Headed out as soon as Raggedy Ann ended. First stop was the only yard sale I saw listed today. I actually did see some really interesting vintage novels. Thing is, not only did I just buy a ton of books, but I wanted to save money for later in the day. I moved on.

The Collingswood Farm Market was still bustling, even at 11:30. I had to elbow my way through crowds to check out the mid-summer produce. Everything you can imagine is out now, from greens to watermelons to apples. I went with red potatoes, white peaches, blueberries, and a small cantaloupe.

I completely forgot that Collingswood's big craft show was today. It's pretty much the same deal as the May Fair, only focusing on crafts without the extra car show and midway. I browsed around for about an hour, admiring the beaded jewelry, carved wooden furniture, glittering tile mosaics, beautiful paintings, colorful dresses and linens, and tasty-looking cheese and herb dips. The woodcarver who made those nifty mushrooms a few years ago was back, this time carving vegetables with unique faces on them.

Headed out around 12:30 when it got too hot to be walking around on Haddon Avenue. I headed home across Newton Lake Park. It was still hot, sunny, and killer humid at that point, without a cloud in the sky. I dodged more than a few people out riding their bikes or walking their dogs.

As soon as I got home, I changed into lighter shorts (the ones I had on were too heavy and were falling off of me), put everything away, and headed back out. I wanted to catch the 1:29 bus to Cherry Hill. I waited...and waited...and waited. I waited for at least 20 minutes, but the bus never came. Checking my phone revealed that the next bus wasn't until 2:30, and the previous one had been at 1:14! How could that be? My schedule said 1:29!

I finally gave up in frustration and headed around the corner and down Cuthbert to Genova Pizza. Maybe it's just as well that I was late. I hadn't had lunch let, and the two cheese slices and llama-print can of Dr. Pepper were just as good as any of the franchise restaurants in Cherry Hill...and a lot cheaper. I ate outside on their patio to enjoy the errant breezes.

Picked up the bus about a block from Genova's. There were no problems once I did get on the road, no traffic anywhere, not even on the Cooper River Bridge. I got off at Market Place shortly before 3.

I was originally going to do the toy convention across the highway today, but it costs 10 dollars to get in the door. Browsing at Bed Bath and Beyond is free. I didn't see what I wanted there - a backpack - but I did buy scrub sponges for the tub, a laundry bag backpack (might be easier to use on my bike), and a plastic and fabric shoe container that can be slid under the bed.

Had no luck anywhere else. No backpacks at the Christmas Tree Shops, either. (They did have tons of fall and Halloween stuff out, though.) I just bought muffin cups there. Was only at Barnes and Noble to use the bathroom. I'm going to save major book shopping for vacation. Ducked into Wegman's to avoid a nasty thunderstorm that almost literally popped up just as I was leaving Barnes and Noble. They did have backpacks, but they were all kind of cheap. I bought lime-flavored water and waited with a big group of other shoppers on the patio for the storm to end.

The moment the rain started to slow down, I dashed across the busy parking lot to the front buildings. There were quite a few other people who were waiting to take the bus as well, including two chatty waiters from The Cheesecake Factory at the Towne Center. The bus was about ten minutes late, probably a miracle at rush hour in Cherry Hill. Once again, the traffic going home was fine, and there were no problems getting into Oaklyn.

As soon as I arrived, I pulled out my new shoe holder. I left my sneakers and walking sandals on the wooden shelves in the closet in my bedroom. Any shoes I didn't use often or that were out of season went in the container, along with my good silk purse that Dad-Bruce brought from China and a leather purse a friend of Mom's who owned a leather store in the 80's made for me when I was a child.

Left the unused shelves in the closet. I got them from the Vermont Country Store, but they've never stayed in properly, and I was afraid they'd fall over. I'll find another use for them.

That went so well, I decided to organize my important papers, like bills and medical papers. I pretty much just shove everything into my leather binder and one of my accordion folders. I had to go through the leather binder to find the lease and the other paperwork for the apartment. Eventually, I separated medical paperwork, bills, taxes, bank statements, paperwork for my college loans, and anything related to work and the Acme into four folders. Important letters, papers, and certificates (like my birth certificate) stayed in the leather binder. Dropped any previous greeting cards I wanted to keep into a now-empty plastic shoe box. (The other holds extra extension cords.)

(If nothing else, I found my original birth certificate. Mom must have sent it a few years ago, and I never took it out of the envelope it came in. Oops. Boy, do I feel silly. At least I have two copies now, just in case something really does happen to one.)

I had a quick pineapple-ginger smoothie dinner before hitting the shower. Watched the animated Disney Alice In Wonderland as I went online. I review this one for my new Animation Celebration Saturday feature at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog.

Alice In Wonderland (Animated 1951)