Shopping With My Sister

I was reading in bed this morning when I got a phone call. Rose got out of the hospital yesterday, and she was apparently well enough to look for a new rug and kitchen supplies in Cherry Hill. Told her to give me an hour. I hadn't dressed, written in my journal, or had breakfast yet.

Blockbusters was on by the time I finally got to eating. The young teacher not only handily beat the twins, but after a slow start, she finally won the Gold Rush round. She was starting a new round with a brother-sister team when the episode ended.

Rose picked me up around quarter after 11. She got out of the hospital yesterday afternoon, much to her delight. Her throat is sore, she'll be on a liquid diet for a few days, and she's tired after not being able to sleep in the hospital, but she claimed she felt well enough to shop. She and Jodie were chipping in 100 for me as a housewarming gift, enough to allow me to pick up some of the many things I still need.

The train station in Cherry Hill is behind a large big-box shopping center that includes Jo Ann's, Shop Rite, Gabe's, and Burlington Coat Factory. I'd never heard of Gabe's, but apparently it's the same type of discount department store as Ross (which is also in that mall) and Marshalls. We had no luck with anything there. Did much better at Burlington Coat Factory. Decided on a plush rug in neutral stripes for the under the box spring and long shelves in the bedroom, a nifty stacked dish rack for the kitchen, and the softest gray bath mat I ever felt.

When we got in, she helped me set up the rug in my bedroom. It actually looked pretty decent, its neutral colors contrasting with the red rag rug and working with the summer quilt I got from Mom last year, too. The bath rug went nicely in front of my tub. It took a few minutes to set up the dish rack. Truth be told, it's a tad big for the space, but I may end up doing some rearranging in the kitchen. I may also get one of those rolling carts for spaces on either side of the antique dresser.

After she left, I had a mocha-banana smoothie for lunch while watching Match Game. In the episode I saw from 1976, Gene danced with a contestant during the Audience Match, while the others dealt with an audience that was rowdy, even for this show.

Charlie called as I was finishing the bed. I got mail at Manor Avenue I needed to take home. That was fine. I wanted to get a walk in, anyway. It rained while Rose and I were at the stores, but by the time I strolled down Manheim, it was merely cloudy, humid, and in the upper 70's, far cooler than it has been lately. The threat of more rain (and it being a weekday) must have kept everyone at home. The only people I saw were two kids playing basketball on my way back. As it turned out, the mail was junk mail, but I'm glad I got the walk in anyway. It's been too hot to go for walks lately.

Put on two original Strawberry Shortcake specials from the 80's that are on YouTube while I did the dishes and made the bed. I'm not the only one who moved recently. Housewarming Surprise has the other residents of Strawberryland helping her settle into a new larger house. They invite the friends she met on a trip from around the world as a surprise...but the Peculiar Purple Pie Man and Sour Grapes are determined to spoil their fun and steal those international recipes.

The original versions of Angel Cake and Sour Grapes are introduced in Pets On Parade, the third special. Strawberry is the judge of kids' pet show, but The Purple Pie Man and his old partner Sour Grapes accuse her of cheating. It takes help from super-polite Angel Cake and a cute lavender skunk to remind Strawberry that she can stand up to bullies.

I'd no sooner settled down to write than I heard squealing and bumping in the other side of the house. Rose did say she was bringing the kids over to visit Jodie. I showed Finley the stuffed animals on my bed while her brother played with Little Tykes waffle-shaped building blocks in the den. Finley was especially fond of Luna, my black cat Webkinz. Luna looks a lot like Finley's black cat Toothless. Finley happily cuddled her before we returned to the main house.

She was even more delighted when Jessa came in with Midnight in tow. Finley squealed and chased Midnight around the kitchen while Jodie ordered us an early dinner from Phillies Phatties. I had a cheesesteak with fried onions that was so big, half of it is now in my refrigerator for lunch tomorrow.

Jodie mainly wanted to discuss Dad's finances with us. Evidently, we're all inheriting something, and there's a lot of paperwork that'll be done next week. Rose wants Jessa and me to talk to her financial planner to help decide what to do with that money, too.

After Jessa left and Rose started to encourage the kids to clean up their messes, I went back to my side of the house and did some writing. Fannie lands herself and Charles amid trolls. While Charles recovers from his ride in a cloud, Fannie blows the trolls out the hole left by Orson's sudden entrance. Richard sees her and wants to talk to her...but she knows she has to tell him the truth...

Broke to have leftover ratatouille to go with my cheesesteak from earlier at 6:30. On the 1977 edition of Match Game, Gene joked about someone losing a high heel on the stage, while Richard found himself being the only one who had to match the contestant. For some odd reason, Sale of the Century traded "True Romance" for Varsity Week. Three teens played against each other to win major prizes. A volleyball player dominated the main rounds, chose one of the two Instant Bargains, won the Instant Cash, and even beat the bonus round in more than enough time.

Finished the night with cartoons on Disney Plus and YouTube. Minnie plays Sherlock Holmes in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as "Minnie's Mystery" takes the gang around the park to find out who ate more than half of her blueberry muffins. The creepy Land Without Feelings was the first Care Bears special. The bears and an upset girl rescue a little boy who is angry that his parents are moving from Professor ColdHeart, who has been giving kids a potion that turns them into frog-like slaves.