I awoke to a blustery, slightly cloudy first day of fall. No wonder the air conditioner was off, and hadn't run all night. It was cool, probably in the 60's by 10. I celebrated with breakfast and a couple of black-and-white Silly Symphonies. "Autumn" is the simplest, just animals putting away food for the coming winter. "The Cat's Out" takes us into the nightmare of a naughty feline in which every bird he ever picked on attacks him. "Hell's Bells" is even spookier, giving us a look at devils dancing in the underworld.
Since I work early tomorrow, I had my pancakes today. Inspired by that tasty gingerbread we had at the Bryant House last week, I made Gingerbread Pancakes. Other than I burned the side of the second one, they came out very well, moist and flavorful.
Did a couple of mildly spooky episodes of Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater as I cleaned up from breakfast and got organized. "The Phantom of the Theater" has stolen My Melody's teddy and Catnip's candy stash and chewed a rope on the curtain. The rest of the cast head under the stage to investigate. Catnip's not happy when she's playing the creator of "Frankencat," a robot created from spare parts who befriends Melody. She prefers the more glamorous "Catula," a milk-sucking vampire who terrorizes Kitty and the others at her castle in Transylvania.
Finally headed out around 11. After making quick stops at a yard sale in Oaklyn and at WaWa to get money, I headed for Collingswood. Due to checking more yard sales on the way, I didn't get to the Farm Market until 11:30. They were still mobbed with people buying produce for fall parties and barbecues, despite it being close to closing. The fall produce is slowly rolling out. I saw the first winter squash, decorative gourds, and pumpkins of the season. I just opted for small apples, juicy purple grapes, and a head of organic red-leaf lettuce.
I was hoping to find a new record needle offline, but I had no luck. I went to a busy GrooveGround in Collingswood and bought a Limonade (Lemon-Lime) cooler in order to wait for Collingswood Music to open. I got three records there, a K-Tel 80's set, a Motown collection, and a set of old-time radio shows, but no needle. Walked around in a new local grocery store that just opened today, but their wares were way too pricey. Didn't do any better at InnerGroove Records down the street. He says he doesn't sell needles.
(That makes no sense whatsoever. If you sell records, you should sell a way to play them. Needles break. It happens. And these store owners wonder why more and more people prefer to shop online?)
Rode over to Haddon Township next. Their big fall Block Party is just off Crystal Lake Road near Westmont. No car show this year, but they did have many bounce houses, a mini-Ferris wheel, food trucks and booths, a ring toss game to win a goldfish, and lots of tables showcasing local businesses or crafts. The food was too expensive, and there really wasn't much else for me to see there, so I moved on.
Made another quick stop at Target to see if they had any record needles. Nope, nothing like them. Not even a CD player. Headed a few blocks down for a fast pizza and Coke lunch at Genova's.
Since I was already out and about, I figured I'd head to Audubon and get my Acme shopping done. As I was cutting through the mall parking lot, I noticed two more stores that will be opening soon. One is the discounter Five Below. The other is a small Goodwill branch. I'm so thrilled with the Goodwill in particular. The closest branches are in Cherry Hill and Bellmawr; the former is on a major highway, while the latter is a long slog by bike.
I didn't really need much at work. I was mostly there to buy skim milk and use online coupons for butter and organic fruit spread. I also restocked canned pineapple, granola bars (there as a good sale on the Kashi bars), cereal (went with the store's generic Honey Bunches of Oats and Almonds again), tomato sauce, two jars of peanut butter (a good sale on Skippy coupled with a coupon on the jar lids), yogurt, and cooking oil.
My schedule is pretty typical of the time of year and what I have been getting. I mostly work in the mornings and early afternoon, with Monday, Tuesday, and Friday off. In good news, that means I'll have time for writing, doing the laundry, and to figure out what to do next. However, I won't be able to get to the farm market next week, and I really could have used more hours.
Ran the remaining Hello Kitty episodes on the set as I got home and got organized. Tuxedo Sam is "The Pawed Piper," leader of a rock band whose music leads fleas away. Mayor Catnip hires him to eliminate these pests, but won't give him his reward...but you know what they say about paying the Piper. Grinder is "Rumpledogskin," who offers to spin straw into gold for Kitty if she gives up her first-born child (My Melody). She comes to regret her rash decision and desperately tries to find a way to keep her baby.
Put on an episode of Good Eats while I cleaned up from breakfast. Two cowboys show how to make a real bowl of "big red" in "The Big Chili." Ehh, I prefer Kit's Cincinatti Chili. I like the added cocoa, and there's no need to mess around with a pressure cooker or Dutch oven.
Worked on writing for a little bit. Yoda wants Luke and Leia to confront Vader. Neither relishes the idea. Luke wants to reform him, not kill him. Leia wants nothing to do with him and wishes he'd vanish off the face of the planet.
Had leftovers for a fast dinner while watching shorts from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Piglet is "A Knight to Remember" when he dreams that his friends are a king, wizard, and bishop who want him to fight a fierce dragon. Piglet's also having strange dreams in "Rock-a-Bye Pooh." He has a nightmare that his friends all vanish, and now he won't go to sleep. The others show him that dreams aren't real. Piglet wants "The Monster Frankenpooh" to be a not-so-scary story, but Tigger can't resist upping the scare quotient. He's also scared in "Piglet That Goes Bump In the Night" when he thinks the noise he hears is a ghost...and the others think he's the spookable. He and Pooh think they've gone to the "Pooh Moon" during a camp out, while the others are convinced they were snatched by the Grab-Me Gotcha.
Took advantage of the real maple syrup I brought home to make "The Vermont" maple-flavored sugar cookies from the recipe book Lauren gave me for my birthday last year. Watched Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin and the original half-hour version of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day while I baked, and later while I was online. I discuss the former in more detail at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog.
Animation Celebration Saturday - Pooh's Grand Adventure
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