April Showers Brings May Day Flowers

I slept in...and awoke to a blue sky and a cool wind. Despite the breeze, it was warm and sunny, just about the most perfect weather you can get in early May. I headed out to the Oaklyn Library after breakfast to return the DVDs and do volunteering.

Despite the nice day, there was plenty to do when I arrived. I walked into the tail end of this week's Storybook Hour with the local day care kids. While they selected books, I organized the adult DVDs and removed more stickers from the tops. (I really wish they'd be more careful about that.) When the kids left, I organized the children's DVDs and shelved kids' books.

I went for a short walk after leaving the library. It was a glorious day for it. I strolled past what's now Rose and Craig's new home. It looks far better than it did on St. Patrick's Day. The exterior has been painted, and the brick steps to the enclosed front porch repaired. I saw their van, but didn't see either of them, and a truck with what were probably workers was just about to pull in. I just kept going.

I wasn't the only one out and about. I saw kids playing during what I assumed to be their recess time on the front lawn of the Oaklyn School. People took younger kids for walks or bike rides. Lots of people worked in their lawns, mowing grass that had grown almost overnight, thanks to the storms. The "fuzzies" are out now, which means so is the pollen. I saw quite a few folks attempting to wash their cars.

Did my own cleaning when I got in. I scrubbed the bathroom while dubbing the first of three Laurel and Hardy videos I picked up a few weeks ago, Blockheads. This is probably the simplest and the shortest of the three "feature-length" movies I found. Ollie is planning on a nice anniversary dinner for his wife...until he finds out that his buddy Stan was brought home from Europe, after thinking World War I was still on. Ollie decides to bring his best friend home to his best girl, which leads to a series of complications ranging from them destroying Ollie's wife's car to their neighbor's (Billy Gilbert) wife ending up in Ollie's pajamas.

Two of the three tapes include classic Laurel and Hardy shorts as bonuses...and they don't get any more famous than The Music Box, the first short subject to win the Oscar in 1932. The boys have to deliver a piano up a steep flight of stairs, and then get it into a house. And yes, Gilbert is here, too, this time as a stuffy music professor.

Headed to work as soon as The Music Box ended. Between the nice day and this being the middle of the week, we weren't that busy. A lot of beginning-of-the-month people may be waiting for the weekend to shop. Busy during rush hour, steady-to-quiet the rest of the night.

I also just realized that today marks the 10-year anniversary of this blog. I technically started it on May 1st, 2003, though I didn't start writing regularly until 2007. Here's the first year's worth of entries, including the one that launched the blog. 

There's Snow Place Like Home for the Holidays

Actually, more like sleet and rain, but it didn't sound as good in the title. Anyway, it did snow a little today while I was at work. It mostly sleeted and rained, though. I think it's raining now. It doesn't sound like sleet.

Other than the odd weather, not a whole lot happened today...although today generally went better than yesterday did. I started the morning after breakfast with this week's laundry session. I had a little trouble getting Uncle Ken's TV working (he has so many remote controls, I get confused as to which one goes to which device), and by the time I finally did, it was time to put the laundry in the dryer. I returned the Christmas books I took out a couple of weeks ago to the Oaklyn Library, then went back to Uncle Ken's house and watched The Backyardigans. I've only seen a few minutes of "The Swamp Monster" before. Uniqua and Pablo are tour guides eager to show off their boat and their swamp home. They lure a skeptical Tasha and Austin with the promise of a "Swamp Monster" lurking beneath the surface of the murky water...and get quite a shock when they discover just what IS under the swamp!

It started sleeting while The Backyardigans were on. I walked the short way home, managing to get up my steps despite the ice gathering on them. The rest of the time before work was spent editing this month's Monkees role play and a few random holiday stories we've written in the past week and eating a quick lunch. (Look for the main story in the next few days!)

Work was steady to busy, with some annoying people but nothing like last night. And it looks like we're getting more help for the holidays. Three new baggers started tonight, and Sue, the head of the cashiers, was training four new cashiers this evening. Riding home from work wasn't as fun. It was raining lightly when I arrived at work, and had sleeted and snowed on and off for the rest of the evening. It was sleeting lightly when I rode home. The sleet and snow isn't sticking to the ground (it's still too warm), but it IS sticking to my porch and steps. It took me forever just to get upstairs.

Oh, and I called Mom this morning to wish her and Daddy a happy 24th anniversary! Mom was home. Daddy wasn't; he was out fishing. Mom was on her way to doing the laundry and in a very good mood (understandable - she just became a grandmother again last week). She, Anny, and Skylar were going to see my brother Keefe play the drums in Lower Cape May Regional High School's Christmas Concert. He's a really good drummer who's won awards for his work. Anny's boyfriend Mike is taking care of the new baby Colin while they're out.