Wednesday, August 05, 2020

The Verdict Is Again...

Thank heavens after yesterday, I awoke to a gorgeous, sunny day. Watched the tail-end of Sale of the Century as I got moving. The champ here beat both of her challengers handily, especially in the speed round. This was a later 1985 episode that had a matching game as the bonus round. She ended up matching diamond earrings...and made the right choice, as they let her wear them and they looked stunning on her, especially with her short hair.

Went on my phone to check the bus schedule and where it drops off while Supermarket Sweep was on. The county offices, including the DMV where I got my non-driver's photo ID updated in 2017, were right across Route 70 from the Crowne Plaza and Cooper Orthopedics; I'd get off there. I was nervous about riding a bus in a pandemic, but I didn't have the money for Uber this time.

By the time I got off, Split Second was on. Yesterday's champ was unseated by a smart lady who also lead all the way through. She ended up taking a trip to Paris instead of the car. The teacher and the brother-sister pair were still battling it out on Blockbusters, and continued to do so even as I headed out the door.

Rushed down to the White Horse Pike and over to Cuthbert to pick up the bus...only to have to wait an hour for it to show. I thought I got there in time, but the first one must have came early. I stood there and stood there, and didn't see any bus at 10:58. It didn't show until almost noon. Thankfully, the bus was one of the newer ones with the easy-care vinyl seats and wasn't close to full. There was no traffic, even on Cuthbert, and they dropped me off at the Executive Offices in less than 10 minutes.

As it turned out, the walk wasn't long, either. Route 70 was right at the end of King Avenue between county office buildings. There was none of the trouble I had with getting lost the last time I got off in the Executive Campus area. Despite the noon lunch rush having just started, I crossed the the highway with no trouble and got in with plenty of time.

My appointment was almost exactly the same as the one I had three weeks ago - and it went even faster. I was in the x-ray room in about five minutes, and in the doctor's office in fifteen. The doctor barely took ten minutes before he came to talk to me. Other than being a little stiff and sore from all the hauling and organizing I've done in the past three weeks, the arm is still healing nicely...enough for me to start riding the bike and working again. He gave me a note for the Acme officially stating I was cleared to go back. I'll have last appointment in about six weeks.

Instead of trying to cross the busy highway again, I strolled to the quieter street behind the hotel and the medical building and past the abandoned mini golf course to the bridge over the Cooper River. Thought I'd compromise, walk to Westmont, and take the bus from there. It was too nice to spend too much time on the bus. The river was peaceful and lovely, rippling green and gold as a family of ducks bobbed on the little waves. The traffic had picked up by this point, though, and the cars behind me were a noisy reminder of civilization.

It took longer to make it into Westmont than I thought. I desperately needed a stop at the small WaWa on the corner of Cuthbert and Haddon Avenues. They were busy, but I was able to buy a chocolate-chocolate chip hot chocolate with no trouble. Gulped it on a bench by Walgreens, then headed a few blocks down Haddon to pick up the bus near Brio Pizza.

This time, the bus was only about ten minutes late, rather than a whole hour. The traffic cleared out after we left Westmont, and there was only one other person on the bus with me. The box riders feed their dollars into broke, so while I lost my quarter, I was allowed to keep the remaining two dollars for my ride (and so was the other guy).

Got off at TD Bank on the edge of Oaklyn and Haddon Township, then went back to the WaWa in Oaklyn. It was past 2:30 by then, and I hadn't had lunch and was thirsty again. Picked up a turkey hoagie and a Lemon-Lime Gatorade and headed home, enjoying the sunny, breezy day. The temperature was much hotter than yesterday, into the upper 80's, but not nearly as bad (or as humid) as it's been for almost a month.

Had lunch while watching Super Password, then made my grocery list as Tattletales ran. Jamie Widdowes and Marcia Wallace continued their week on the former. Marcia didn't have much luck on the Super Password bonus round; she did better with the puzzles. This time, the older and more experienced couples Gene and Helen Rayburn and Frank Gilbert and Amanda Blake were the big winners by a mile over youngsters Janet and Gary Burghoff. (For all his flirting on Match Game, Gene apparently adored Helen and was devastated when she died in 1996. No wonder. They were funny as heck here, joking about his ego and her dreamer nature.)

Rode my bike to the grocery store after Tattletales ended. In addition to dropping off that letter, I did genuinely have shopping to do. Treated myself to another tuna steak. The Acme's generic organic spices in glass bottles were buy one, get one. Thought I'd try pumpkin pie spice and replace the old crumbling bay leaves I tossed before I moved. Found good peach preserves and honey on the clearances shelves. Green's is a new brand of ice cream that debuted in the Acme a few months ago. I'd never heard of Unicorn Confetti ice cream before and thought I'd try it. Restocked vanilla, orange extract, butter, bananas, cucumbers, plums, ground turkey, yogurt, and brown sugar.

It was so late by the time I finally got home, I crocheted for a bit while watching Match Game before eating dinner. Jodie came in during the second episode, the one where Charles gave Richard a furry Russian hat someone in the audience gave him. Jodie admitted she'd been a big Match Game and Family Feud fan as a kid and loved seeing the show again.

We discussed Dad's death and what will happen next. First of all. I'm more than willing to help her go through Dad and Uncle Ken's things. Seems they never got rid of most of Uncle Ken's possessions after he died in 2012. Dad just didn't have the heart. They're cluttering up the basement. She doesn't want Rose to help because she feels it's too private of a matter, and she knows how I feel about privacy.

Second...I probably won't be living here for too long. Jodie's putting the house up for sale in January, after the New Year. I knew she wouldn't keep it. It's way too big for the two of us, with too much work that needs to be done. Dad was the one who cared about the pool. Jodie doesn't enjoy it enough to take care of it alone. Trouble is, that doesn't leave me too many other places I can go, especially during a pandemic.

Maybe after I pay off my remaining student loan (there isn't much left), I'll do what I've wanted to do for years and put the rest of whatever money I get from Dad into saving for a house. I'm tired of living in apartments. I want a nice little cottage of my own, with a small square of yard in the back just big enough for a shed for my bike. I don't need to be near the beach or the river, just in a place access to good internet and public transportation.

I was savoring a delicious dinner of yellowfin tuna steak cooked in lemon sauce with garden-fresh potatoes and leftover Chinese beans with tomatoes when Sale of the Century came on. Varsity Week ended with a football player sprinting past his fellow footballer and a female swimmer to win a pool table. While he didn't win the bonus money, he did end up hitting the highest number to win the major prize, a beautiful red jeep and a trip to the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

(By the way, the "Unicorn Confetti" ice cream was...interesting. Tasted like Fruity Pebbles ice cream laced with Pop Rocks, pink tutti fruiti ice cream with colorful crunchy bits. Not bad. Different. Very sweet.)

Finished the night online with some nonfiction programming. The first episode Alton Brown revisited on Good Eats: Reloaded was "Steak Your Claim." I originally skipped this episode both in its initial run and here because I don't cook big steaks at home. They're too expensive, complicated to cook, and bad for you. Alton's method of baking, then searing in a cast-iron pan didn't help that. I think I'll stick to getting my beef from the professionals at a steak house on the rare occasion I want to eat cow.

Moved to the Cooking Channel for the later-seasons Good Eats episode "Ginger: Rise of the Rizome." Now this is more like it. While I don't often see young ginger with the thin skin, the Acme sells the more mature ginger with the tougher skins. Our customers buy them all the time. I'm tempted to try the ginger snaps and making my own ginger ale.

Finished the night back at Hulu for a trip to Greece on Rick Steves' Europe. Rick Steves joined a cruise bobbing along between the islands of Santorini, Mykos, and Rhodes. Each were ringed with sparkling turquoise waters, dark sandy beaches, beautiful whitewashed seaside towns...and tons of tourists. Ruins of ancient Greece, quaint churches, and tasty-looking seaside restaurants could be found a little further off the track amid the islands' arid interiors. Everything was so lovely and picturesque, and the seafood made my mouth water, even after the tuna earlier.

2 comments:

Linda said...

Oh, dear. I was afraid of that. I don't suppose someone else in the family would buy the house? I can't believe you will have to do this all over again in January! Does Jodie have any close friends that she might want to share the house with? Also, what if you helped with the pool?

Emma said...

I need to talk to the rest of the family and see what money I can save. I think Jodie wants out - the house does need a lot of work. There's also no guarantee that it will sell right away. I think most of her friends have their own homes and families and are happy where they are.