Games People Play

Started off calling Uber on a breezy, cloudy morning. It took me a few minutes to get a ride, but the chatty lady came in five minutes. I think I heard rain earlier, but by 10:30, it was merely windy and a little cool. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't bad. We arrived at the Berlin Farmer's Market within a half-hour. 

The Berlin Farmer's Market is one of the oldest of its type in the area. As Lauren pointed out, their parking lot alone was larger than the one at the Big Exposition in Springfield. Every Saturday and Sunday, they hold a massive flea market outside on the grounds. Most of it is cheap toys, rusty old tools, and piles of old junk. I did manage to dig three jazz CDs for a dollar each out of bins. Shortly after that, we felt it start to sprinkle lightly. It was time to head inside.

After exploring one of the junk shops, our first stop was Mary Ann's Pizza Stand in between the rows of stores. Mary Ann herself was a pleasant older woman who quickly took our orders. The slices were small and the crust was thin, but it tasted delicious. I had cheese and mushroom. Lauren had mushroom and pepperoni. We enjoyed them with cups of Diet Coke.

We strolled around the Farmer's Market for the next two hours or so. Lauren never did find anything she wanted. I picked up The Jazzman's Trumpet by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, The Smugger's Secrets by Kathleen Ernst, and Josefina's Cookbook from the magazine store. Lauren looked at Hot Wheels at the DVD store, but I took advantage of a buy 2, get the third free sale to pick up the first two seasons of The Adventures of Superman and the Errol Flynn western Dodge City. I found the green Beanie Baby bear Erin for St. Patrick's Day and a gift for my niece Finley's birthday next month at the toy store. 

There were a few disappointments. For some reason, the record shop wasn't open. They had a stack of records and a drum set in front of the door, but the door was locked tight and the shop was dark. The Amish bakery turned out to be closed on Sunday. The Comics store that also sells records was way overpriced. 

On the other hand, the arcade was a big hit. They claim to be the oldest arcade in existence, probably opening with the original Farmer's Market. You still use tokens on the games, rather than cards. They made up for those broken pinball machines at RAM yesterday with two long rows of pinball games. The first room featured vintage games from the 70's through the 90's, some possibly from when the Arcade opened. The second had recent games from the last decade. I played Flash Gordon and the (Christopher Nolan) Batman on the vintage side and Dr. No, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy on the modern side. I also played the Lane Master bowling game. 

Since it was only 2 when we got out, we decided to try an enormous Goodwill the Uber driver passed in Stratford on our way to Berlin. It took 20 minutes for the driver to arrive after the first one canceled, and then they couldn't figure out where we were at the Farmer's Market. Thankfully, there still wasn't much traffic. It took less than 10 minutes to get back to Stratford.

The Goodwill did prove to be gigantic. The warehouse-sized building was mostly full of clothes, with rooms for other items off to the side. I immediately made a beeline for the alcove with the records, books, CDs, and DVDs. Unfortunately, it was also mobbed. The lines when we got there went half-way across the huge store. I forgot Goodwill has items with certain colored tags for a dollar on Sundays. At least the four records and the hardback copy of In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Windspear I found were the dollar colors. So was a Lands End tank top in a pretty purple flower print. The three Faded Glory shorts weren't on the dollar sale, but I still got them. 

Incidentally, the CDs are:

Cannonball Adderly - The Best of Cannonball Adderly: The Capitol Years

The Blues Brothers - The Definitive Collection

Fats Domino - My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino

The records are: 

Bing Crosby - Bing Crosby's Greatest Hits

Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra - Remembering Tommy

Melissa Manchester - Greatest Hits

The original cast album for High Button Shoes (The record and cover are not in the best shape, but I've been looking for this one for years.)

Since it was only a block away, we opted to walk to the PATCO station in Lawnside and pick up the train from there. At least it was a nice day by then. The clouds disappeared while we were in the Farmer's Market, replaced by warm sun and a pleasant breeze. 

Taking the train on a Sunday afternoon may not have been the smartest idea. It wasn't bad when we left Lawnside (other than the person blasting TLC in the car), but at every location the train stopped at, it kept picking up more and more barely-dressed, noisy, inebriated teens carrying drinks. By the time it pulled into the Collingswood station, the car was so full of giggling, yelling kids, we could barely squeeze our way off. Thankfully, Collingswood was the first station they hadn't gotten on at, allowing us to get downstairs and into town normally.

I originally suggested looking for a coffee shop for a snack, but we decided we were too tired and opted for WaWa instead. She had the same vanilla coffee she's been drinking for the past week. I had a pina colada smoothie that was so thick, I thought I got the milkshake at first. We sipped our drinks as we headed home down Lakeview Drive and Bettlewood Avenue into Oaklyn. 

Took the laundry downstairs, then got back upstairs just in time for dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. Celebrity "misfits," or who didn't really fit one way or the other on the panel, were the theme of tonight's show. Joan Collins, for instance, was clearly bored during her one week in 1975 and absolutely did not want to be there. Nor did Mabel King in 1978. Raymond Burr, everyman host Larry Blyden, and Robert Culp didn't get the comedy vibe. Peggy Cass was at sea on any game show but To Tell the Truth.

Comediennes Sydney Goldsmith and Kaye Stevens had voices and laughs that annoyed panelists and viewers alike (and Kaye had the habit of jumping into everyone else's frame). Denise DuBarry, Tudi Wiggins, and Brenda Nixon were pretty soap and drama stars who were there as eye candy, nothing more. Pat Harrington, Ronny Graham, and Marty Cohen tried too hard to be funny. (The last-named would do better on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.) Don Adams raised a ruckus and demanded special treatment, including Richard's seat, in 1974. (And he didn't play very well, either.) 

Doing comedy and playing games at the same time isn't as easy as it looks. See who worked out and who didn't in this unique marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Celebrity Misfit Edition

Farm Markets In the Sunshine

Started off the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Mickey's Big Surprise" is the finale of the second season. Mickey has something special he wants the others to see at the Clubhouse...but only if they and the audience at home can solve his five big puzzles first!

Headed out after the cartoon ended and I fixed my broken basket with zip ties. Most of the smoke has finally vanished, leaving blue skies, cool winds, and gorgeous sunlight. I didn't get going until past 11, and didn't get to the farm market until almost 11:30. And of course, I realized once I got there that I forgot the money I took out yesterday and my debit card. I had just enough to buy the first cherries and spring peas of the season. 

Went looking for a yard sale next. I thought it was on one side of Stokes Avenue, but it turns out it was on the other side closer to the Acme. Ironically, after I spent ten minutes looking for it, it turned out to have nothing of interest besides some unique dishes and wall decorations I couldn't afford anyway.

The Westmont Acme was only two blocks away, so I rode there next. Mainly wanted coconut milk. Grabbed strawberries too, since I wasn't able to get them at the farm market. Had an online coupon for the Made Good granola bars. Needed Jiff peanut butter, too. Grabbed a Propel for the way home.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park, then went over the hill and past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Center. It was surprisingly quiet out, despite the sunlight that sparkled on the green waters. Maybe everyone took advantage of the nice weekend to head down to the Shore.

Had a quick lunch and put everything away when I got home. Watched Supermarket Sweep while I ate. This was another one from the mid-90's. The ladies still have pretty big hair, David Ruprecht wears weird ties, and there's a second Mini Sweep after the first commercial. The mother and daughter #2 pair just barely won the Big Sweep, and then went on to do well in the Bonus Sweep, too. 

Called Uber after the show ended to take me to the Berlin Farmers Market. Though the car arrived in 7 minutes, there was more trouble on the road. He hit a long line of traffic in Audubon and Haddon Heights on the White Horse Pike. I suspect the guys collecting money for the local fire department on the road were at least partly to blame for the slow cars. After we got to Barrington, there were no more delays. He pulled into Berlin about a half-hour later. 

The Berlin Farmers Market and Flea Market is gigantic. They sell every toy, tool, hat, bit of junk and piece of media that ever existed...and that's just outside! The flea market features sprawling lines of wooden tables holding piles of records, DVDs, old dolls, new stuffed animals, cheap clothing, tools, and car parts. I found a seller with bins of records clearing them out six for five dollars. I picked my six, then headed inside.

The "Farmers Market" is more like a mall specializing in local stores and goods, and it's even longer and more overwhelming than the outdoor tables. The mini-stores sell everything from used records to new housewares to dollar store junk, often at discount prices. Their record store was a little pricier than the sellers outside, but I did fish two interesting titles out of the 99 cent bins and dug up a Broadway cast album I'd been after for years that was $10.

Didn't find much of interest in the book store, either...except they had three racks with every American Girl book that ever existed, from the original tan parchment-like covers to the current cut-down versions with pictures. I went with two BeForever releases, the Rebecca mystery The Showstopper and the original version of Maryellen's first story, The One and Only. 

(And my time in the book store was marred by an older man who kept loudly ranting and ranting to the owner how terrible he thought everyone in South Jersey was. Everyone near where he lived was terrible. Everyone in Gloucester County is terrible. Everyone who lives further south in Cape May and Atlantic County are horrible, ignorant roughnecks. So what makes him so special? I have no idea why he felt the need to go on and on to that poor man. If he doesn't like where he is, he should move.)

The Farmers Market has a small arcade near the book store. Unlike RAM Arcade or Round 1, this one still requires you to feed dollar bills to a machine and get tokens to play the games. On one hand, some of the games were kind of expensive for their age. On the other hand, you're not going to see a brand-new LCD screen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball game around the corner from a vintage 70's roller skating-themed table that often.

After peeking at two junk stores, a collectibles store, and a DVD, Blu-Ray, and games store, I decided it was time to pack it in. Made my last stop at the Amish bakery. They were having a buy one, get one free sale. It was hard to choose from luscious pies, huge cookies, crispy crackers, massive buttery cakes, and bins of candy, but I eventually went with a loaf of apple cinnamon bread for me and a loaf of blueberry bread for a friend. Couldn't resist a pumpkin whoopee pie - two soft cakes with cream in the middle.

Made my way to the end of the Market closest to the street and called Uber once I got outside. He arrived in seven minutes, surprising for 5 PM. I was even more surprised when we ran into no traffic anywhere. He got me home in no time at all.

Oh, and in addition to the bread, whoopee pie, American Girl books, and a copy of Elizabeth Peters' The Ape Who Guards the Balance from one of the junk stores, I picked up these records: 

The original cast album for A Day In Hollywood/A Night In the Ukraine - This is the one I've been after for years. This spoof of old movie musicals and Marx Brothers movies was a minor hit on Broadway in 1981. The Hollywood segment spoofs everything from MacDonald/Eddy movies to Fred and Ginger; the Marx Brothers segment is a slapstick version of the Russian comedy The Bear. 

The George Shearing Quintet - Blue Chiffon

Vivian Blaine - Songs from the Ziegfeld Follies

Two double soundtrack albums, for the Fred and Ginger movies Flying Down to Rio and Carefree and the 50's MGM musicals Les Girls and Lili. 

Another Tale Spinners for Children, this one The Pied Piper and The Tinder Box

Summertime Gold - A 4-disc Warners collection of songs from the 60's and 70's relating to summer

Worked on writing for a while when I got home. Brett comes in, sober for once. She teases Joyce about already making a mess in the dressing room before she sees the dog. The dog doesn't bother her, but she suspects it may bother Ira, their producer...and it'll certainly bother the guards.

Watched The Wizard of Oz while I worked. I go further into this English-dubbed Japanese animated version from 1982 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Wizard of Oz (1982)

Had dinner while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel and Margaret Play School," but Margaret is less than a year old, and her attention wanders easily. Mrs. Tiger encourages Daniel to find a way to play school and play with his sister, too. Chrissy wants to go on a "Treasure Hunt at the Castle," but Dan and Wednesday want to play dinosaur. The boys finally let her have her Treasure Hunt first...and learn even more about compromise when they all find rocks the others want and end up doing some trading.

Finished the night online after a shower at YouTube, celebrating Pride Month at Match Game Productions. Charles Nelson Reilly and Fannie Flagg are probably the most famous gay panelists to appear on the show, but they're far from the only ones. From tough Nancy Kulp in 1976 to hilariously elegant Leonard Frey on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983, Match Game has always embraced panelists of every stripe. Ken Olfson was one of the best things about an otherwise notoriously bad week in 1978. Goofy Jm J. Bullock livened up Hollywood Squares Hour and Match Game '90. Rip Taylor and his toupee and confetti made their initial appearance in 1974, but wouldn't turn up again until he memorably covered for Charles during Christmas week 1990. Grumpy Richard Deacon was a semi-regular from 1974 straight through to one of his last TV appearances on the Leave It to Beaver week of Hollywood Squares Hour. 

Show your pride and honor people of all sexualities with this hilarious marathon! 

Match Game Saturday Night Classics: Salute to Pride Month

Pleasant Valley Sunday

Thank heavens after yesterday the weather was gorgeous when we started out around 10:30. It was sunny and breezy, with a brilliant blue sky overhead. Lauren drove past farms laden with pumpkins and sunflowers and trees just starting to turn leaves red, gold, and sunshine yellow. It was a gorgeous day for a drive into upstate New York to check out flea markets.

Our first stop of the day was a large flea market in New Lebanon, just over the board. I've visited this place before with Lauren...and to our disappointment, it wasn't nearly as busy as usual. There were some booths selling mostly junk (and political t-shirts), but not as many, and nothing of interest in the main building. I didn't get anything, but Lauren picked up one of those t-shirts for her dad.

We did better at other sales down the road. A smaller flea market was being held about a block away. Once again, I saw nothing of interest, but Lauren picked up Piglet and vintage M&M Christmas ornaments and a small figure of Daffy Duck dressed as the Easter bunny.

We both did much better at a nearby thrift shop. It was a lot like a smaller, one-floor version of the Barrington Antique Center, lots of items in tiny rooms, but far better-organized. Things were arranged by items in nice shelves, rather than thrown in helter-skelter. The first things we found after the main room were two large shelves of DVDs and CDs and two more of books. I didn't see any books I liked, but I did find Greta Garbo's first comedy Ninotchka and the original Time Life Treasury of Christmas set (with an extra bonus CD). Lauren picked up a pile of country-western and classic CDs for herself and her parents and a cute purple vest for herself.

After leaving the thrift shop, Lauren drove us back into Massachusetts to just outside of the Berkshire Mall. There's a mini-golf course and driving range that she and her family have been playing at since she was a kid. It's a lovely little course, with the usual wooden house and windmill, bear statues, and rotating rainbow paddle traps. We had a great time, not only playing, but watching an adorable little boy and his grandparents playing ahead of us. They were so funny! The boy was so enthusiastic. He reminded me of Keefe when we used to play each other at the long-gone mini golf course next to the ice cream parlor in North Cape May in the 90's.

I won the game, incidentally, but only by two points. It was close. We both had problems on some traps. I hit my ball into a bush on the very first course, and Lauren got hers caught in a small water trap twice on a course

We wandered around in a couple of stores for the next hour or so. Target is pretty much the only thing at the Berkshire Mall that's still open, so we went there next. They were just putting out their Halloween things. Shelves were laden with candy, princess and Avengers costumes, Pillsbury Funfetti cake mixes, and stuffed dinosaurs dressed as vampires. They weren't busy, but we didn't end up buying anything.

Lauren took us back towards the area with the shopping centers we checked out yesterday. This time, we went across the street to a smaller center that features the area's only Game Stop. Lauren looked over PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch games, and I looked over Wii, but once again, we walked out with nothing. I just bought a Snickers bar at Big Lots.

The Millers were working on dinner when we rolled in. After we showed them our purchases, Lauren played something on her Nintendo Switch, and I gave Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn a shot on her Nintendo DS. The "extra" are hats that Kirby can grab that will give him special abilities, like use a sword or make yarn balls without grabbing an enemy. I got most of the way through Grass Land before dinner was called.

Dinner was a feast! Mrs. Miller made crispy tuna croquettes with tater tots, rolls, and amazing glazed carrots sauteed in real maple syrup. Lauren had cookie dough ice cream for dessert. I've had tons of ice cream lately and opted for a super-sweet watermelon fruit bar. Mrs. Miller did the same, only hers was peach.

We watched a couple of first season episodes of I Love Lucy while we ate. Lucy goes on "The Diet" when she needs to slim down in order to fit into a size 12 costume and do a dance with Ricky. She does everything possible to lose that weight, from running around the building to eating nothing but celery. It does slim her down, but it also leaves her with no energy. She joins the act anyway, to Ricky's surprise.

I'm not the only one who gets into her mystery novels. "Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Kill Her" when he jokes about killing her after she loses her murder novel out the window. She takes his joking seriously, especially after she overhears him talking about what she thinks is a plot to murder her and Ethel reads her cards and claims she's going to die. She does everything she can to hold him off.

She enters "The Quiz Show" in order to win money for household expenses. This radio game show makes female contestants do humiliating things on the air...like claiming another man is your first husband. Not only is Ricky understandably upset, but the stranger Lucy says is her first husband isn't who she thinks he is.

We played games after dinner. I won Roll With It! again by a large margin. Mr. Miller won Uno again, though this time Mrs. Miller and Lauren won rounds as well. (I'm really rusty on that one.) I did manage to win Sorry!. Mr. Miller came in second, followed by Lauren.

Lauren and I are now downstairs, chatting and enjoying skating videos and Match Game on YouTube. We were going to go to the Big E tomorrow, but the weather sounds iffy. We're going to stay inside and go to the Holyoke Mall in Springfield instead.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Started my first day of vacation by sleeping in. By the time Lauren got up around 10, I was dressed and ready for breakfast. Had a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios and a peach (Lauren's not a fan of eating in the morning) before heading out.

An antique center about fifteen minutes from Lauren, just over the New York State border, has a big flea market every Sunday. Lauren's not the only one who loves it. The gravel lot was so full, we ended up parking in the grass.

The grounds were crawling with tents selling everything from collectibles to comics, floral sundresses to used toys. Lauren comes here every week and is well-known by several of the sellers. We started off with one she spoke to as a friend, a man who mostly sold boxes and boxes of CDs and DVDs (along with some toys and die-cast cars). The DVDs were buy two, get one free. I ended up with a second set of Bing Crosby movies, the original 30th anniversary Bedknobs & Broomsticks DVD release (it has a few interesting extras that didn't make it to the re-release from a few years ago), and National Lampoon's Animal House. Lauren bought a season of Gomer Pyle she didn't have and some things for her parents.

We headed inside next. Lauren says they're not normally open on Sundays, only once a month. I'm glad they were. She didn't find anything, but I picked a copy of Starlog off the magazine racks on Star Wars' 25th anniversary. I'm not a fan of most paper publications. They just take up too much room. Couldn't resist this one, though, especially the Harrison Ford interview. (It was only a dollar, too!)

We browsed around for a little while longer after that. Lauren bought a bolt of teddy bear-print fleece from another seller she knows well. (He evidently also sells vintage postcards.) I bought a Star Wars: New Hope picture book, probably from the late 90's re-release. (It had a "shimmer" theme.)

We'd passed a few more outdoor antique sales on our way to the flea market. Since it was only noon when we left, we thought we'd give them a try. A smaller antique-oriented flea market mainly had ancient furniture, but Lauren found a Coca Cola polar bear glass. A booth in the front held no interest for me, but Lauren picked up Christmas tree-themed pins and earrings for her job as head teller at a local bank. Went across the street to a smaller sale, but it was mostly junk and yielded no finds.

Finally headed home around 1. Spent the next few hours snacking on trail mix variations and playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch. Unlike the previous versions of Mario Kart for the Wii and Wii U, this one uses the regular buttons, not the motion controls. (Lauren says it's an option, but they annoy her, too.) Made it much easier for us to race other players from around the world. Neither of us got further than 4th place, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

(I love some of the imaginative courses! Along with updated favorites from previous Mario Karts like Rainbow Road and Toad's Turnpike, you get the neon Blade Runner-esque New Bowser City, the colorful Toad's Harbor, the twisty Tick Tock Clock, and slippery Mount Wario, among others! There's also rounds based after other classic Nintendo games, like Animal Crossing and Excitebike.)

Around 4 PM, Mr. and Mrs. Miller called us upstairs. Did we want to toss bean bags on the porch? Sure, why not? The Millers have a huge back  yard and porch...which they seldom use. They all burn easily, and none of them are outdoor people. They don't even have any porch furniture.

The bean bag toss was a slightly better-made version of the typical game many kids probably still play in school. You throw ten yellow and blue bean-bags into targets marked 3, 2, or 1. If you miss, you have to toss it again. I came in last. I have terrible aim. (Though I did get better as we went on.) Lauren, who played softball in school and has great aim, won with 101 points. Mrs. Miller came in second, followed by her husband. (Mr. Miller did get the best points on an individual round, 18.)

We went back downstairs to Lauren's room while Mrs. Miller got dinner started. Lauren switched to Yoshi's Wooly World on the Wii U. Somewhat similar to Kirby's Epic Yarn, this one has Yoshi also finding himself in a textured universe made from knits and fabrics. He has to not only defeat villains, but find skeins of yarn to put his friends back together. We got half-way through Grass Island before Mrs. Miller called us to dinner.

The kitchen/living room area smelled wonderful when we came back upstairs! Mrs. Miller made ground veal patties, (boxed) scalloped potatoes, and amazing glazed carrots with cinnamon and maple syrup. Mr. Miller and I also had slices of bread and butter. We had Friendly's cherry chocolate chunk ice cream and Pepsi for dessert.

We watched episodes of Cheers from the 10th season as we ate. "Rich Man, Wood Man" has Woody the bartender returning from England with his sweet, wealthy girlfriend Kelly. Woody's trying to act rich, too, but it annoys the others. When Kelly realizes what's going on, she claims she'll try to get along without money. Lillith and Fraiser Crane deal with "Smotherly Love" when her mother visits and more-or-less forces them to repeat their wedding because she couldn't make it to the real one. "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" gives Sam one last shot at reviving his pitching career when he wins a spot on a minor-league team. Trouble is, most of the other players are younger than him and are acting silly and immature. Carla comes to tell him how proud they are of him, but he just wants to go home.

Finished the night back downstairs with more Wooly World. We were more than half through the second desert world when Lauren started insisting that her controller was running low on batteries. Not to mention, we did want to get online. We went on our laptops to chat around 10.

One of our major concerns this week is the weather. There's minor threats of rain all week. We'll be heading east to the Holyoke Mall in order to avoid storms here and in Upstate New York.

Block Parties and Book Sales

I was surprised at how cloudy and blah it was when I got up this morning. It was supposed to be sunny today. Brightened the dreary weather with breakfast and more Rebels. Zeb and Imperial Agent Kallus find themselves trapped together on a frigid moon of Genosis. They're understandably wary of each other at first, until Zeb discovers that Kallus as as much reason to hate his race as he does to hate Imperials. The two then find a way to work together to escape monsters and get the attention of the Ghost to rescue them.

Started out around quarter after 10 for today's errand run. The Collingswood Farm Market continues to roll out the fall produce. Peaches and Chinese beans are done, but I saw large pumpkins, pears, and broccoli for the first time today, and spinach for the first time since spring. I ended up with the pears, small gala apples, red and orange peppers, mushrooms, and an heirloom tomato.

Rode around Collingswood and Westmont for a little while, looking for yard sale. I didn't find a ton (a lot of people must have thought the weather was going to be worse), but I did run into a few. Picked up the 20th anniversary Spirit of Christmas craft/cook book and a Motown greatest hits CD collection from one in Collingswood. Checked out really big "yard" sale at a church on the other side of town. I considered the American Girl "Penny" horse for Felicity, but I didn't know how I'd carry her home.

Though it was cool, more than it should have been for the time of year, I was still thirsty from riding around. (The digital sign at the Westmont Fire House listed the temperature as 64 around quarter of noon.) I treated myself to one of those frozen blended drinks from the Rita's in Westmont. They didn't have half the flavors I wanted to try, probably because tomorrow is their last day of the season. I finally mixed pina colada and strawberry watermelon. Actually...not bad. The watermelon gave it a nice zing, and there were lots of big strawberry, watermelon, and pineapple pieces.

Crossed Haddon Avenue and headed to Crystal Lake Road for the annual Haddon Township Block Party. Every year in late September, Haddon Township holds a fair on the block alongside their park and public pool facilities. There's rides and games for the kids, food trucks, a small car show, a stage with musical acts, and crafts from Studio LuLoo. I'd never seen so many bounce houses! Themes included a stagecoach, Lightning McQueen, a merry-go-round, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

I ended up buying one of the best deals there. The Haddon Township High School rowing club was selling a bottle of water, a soft pretzels, and a plastic mug with their logo on it for two dollars. I wasn't really that hungry anyway, so the pretzel became my lunch.

My next stop was Haddonfield. Their Lions Club holds a huge flea market in the wide parking lot behind one of the office buildings on Haddon Avenue. Their prices are usually pretty high, but for once, I did consider some things. Finally picked up a Christmas present for my friend Amanda.

Normally, the Haddonfield Library's annual book sale is on the triangle island outside of the library, under a series of tents. I don't know if it's because they just finished remodeling, or they thought the tents wouldn't be enough room, but it was moved to the Haddonfield First Presbyterian Church a few blocks down on King's Highway this year. First of all, it took me forever to figure out where it was. Second, by the time I got there, there wasn't much more room than in the tents, and most of it was picked over. I did find a copy (looks like the first release, in fact) of Belles On Their Toes, the sequel to the original Cheaper By the Dozen. Also grabbed the soundtrack to Animaniacs, the original cast album for Pippin, and a bag with chocolate brownie and sesame seed cookies.

I'd had quite enough riding around by then. I rode straight home, passing by the block party on my way. The traffic wasn't too bad, which was another reason I wanted to get moving. And of course, the sun finally started coming out as I rode home. It had sprinkled slightly when I first came out, but it was mostly cloudy.

Devoted a couple of hours to writing after I got home and put everything away. Boba Fett had snitched about Leia, Jyn, Cassian, and the nerds meeting to the Imperial Gang earlier. The Imperials shove their way into Jyn and Cassian's cottage. Jyn turns the tapes and the plans over to Leia, who flees, along with the nerds. The Imperials chase them across the cottages' backyards. Leia finally turns the information over to Arturro, the closest person to her, and the only one who knows how to work the tapes. The nerds flee to the Rogues' party. Leia's not so lucky. Vader grabs her when she tries to run.

Decided to try something different after I broke for dinner. I have a couple of different types of flour in the pantry, enough to attempt Multi-Grain Muffins. Tossed in the last of the chocolate chips to get rid of them. Ohhh, not bad at all. A little sweet and crunchy - the dark chocolate adds a nice contrast to the nuttiness.

Finished out Rebels while I baked and ate dinner. Kanan's tired of the Inquisitors constantly attacking them. He and Ezra join Ashoka at a Jedi Temple. Each has a vision there, Kanan fights the former Grand Inquisitor, who warns him about Ezra and makes him a true Jedi Knight. Ezra has a chat with Yoda. Ashoka's not as thrilled with what she sees in her vision, which reveals the true identity of Darth Vader...

Chopper has his own problems on another mission. He steals a new leg and hides on an Imperial cruiser. He meets and befriends a protocol droid who had once been a navigator in the Clone Wars, but is now relegated to inventory duty and is abused by the Imperials. When he removes his restraining bolt, the other droid realizes he means what he's been told...and that he can go ahead and give the Rebels a vital piece of information that'll keep them from flying into a trap.

The season ends with Ashoka, Ezra, and Kanan off to another Jedi Temple, this one a Sith temple on Malachor. Separated from the others, Ezra meets a seemingly wise old former Sith with strange red and black markings and horns on his head. He claims he wants revenge on the Sith for dumping him and convinces Ezra to get a Sith holocron. Kanan knows who he really is...and that he's using the boy to reveal the Temple's true abilities.

The Temple's real identity is the least of their worries. The Inquisitors and Darth Vader are all there as well. Ezra's livid when Kanan is maimed during the duels. While they stop the Temple and go after the Sith holocron, Ashoka confronts the man who had once been her master...

Oh wow. Now I'm really looking forward to Season 3 (which actually began today, I believe). Seasons 1 and 2 are the only DVDs currently on my Christmas wish list. I really like this show. The writing is top-notch, the animation is colorful and well-done, the music is downright amazing, and while it's not as dark as Force Awakens (or apparently as the previous Star Wars cartoon series The Clone Wars), it's a lot of fun in its own right.

As with the first season, you'll need some working knowledge of the Star Wars universe, especially the prequels and The Clone Wars series, to really understand what's going on here. If you're a Star Wars fan (especially of the prequels), this is a fun expansion of the years between the prequels and the sequels that gets a hearty recommendation from me.

Ended my night in the bath, looking over my new Christmas book and listening to jazz. Ahh. A lovely way to end a lovely week. I really needed that after all the riding around.

Yard Sales and Flea Markets

Began a gorgeous, sunny morning with this week's American Top 40 re-run. I was 5 years old and just beginning my first weeks in kindergarten in mid-September 1984, when this episode was first run. Hits that week included "The Glamorous Life" by Sheila E., "Lights Out" by Peter Wolf, "Drive" by Cars, "If Ever You're In My Arms Again" by Peabo Bryson, "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince, "The Warrior" by Scandal, "Sunglasses at Night" by Corey Hart, "If This Is It" by Huey Lewis and the News, "She Bop" by Cyndi Lauper, and the title song from that summer's blockbuster movie, Ghostbusters, by Ray Parker Jr.

Tina Turner cemented her huge comeback in the mid-80s when her searing ballad "What's Love Got To Do With It?" hit the #1 spot for the second of three weeks.

I spent the majority of the day riding around, checking out yard sales. I haven't had a good yard sale run in months. My first stops were a couple in Haddon Township, near Cuthbert Road. I did see a Caroline American Girl doll in her box at one, but the lady wanted $175 for her! Please. She was obviously a used doll, even if she did have her box and meet outfit. Her hair was a mess. She's not even retired! The doll without her accessories is only $115 new at American Girl's website. I did get three records from her, for the far more reasonable price of a dollar each:

Louis Armstrong -  Disney Songs the Satchmo Way

Bing Crosby - Merry Christmas (cassette replacement)

The soundtrack from the 1962 version of State Fair that starred Alice Faye, Pat Boone, and Ann-Margaret

I next headed down to Kraft Avenue, near the elementary school. This was a big one - a couple who owned a thrift shop were selling off part of their store's inventory. I emerged with two books, The Five Little Peppers Midway and a Golden Book for my 4-year-old nephew Khai, Mickey Mouse Goes Christmas Shopping.

Took a look at one more yard sale on the edge of Collingswood and Haddon Township before heading to the Collingswood Farm Market. Broccoli debuted this week, just in time for people to shop for tailgating, barbecues, and sports parties. I ended up with little Gala apples, broccoli, red, yellow, and green peppers, a tomato, a cantaloupe, a red onion, and an eggplant.

Rode around Collingswood and Westmont for about an hour on my way to Haddonfield. I ran into a few more yard sales on my way. I didn't pick up anything from the one on Cuthbert Road. Did a little better in Westmont, a few doors down from Rita's Water Ice. I found the animated version of my sweet Santa Bear's First Christmas cassette on video for fifty cents.

There were three major events going on in Haddonfield today. The first one I encountered as I headed up Haddon Avenue was the Lions Club's huge Flea Market. As they did last year, people set up tables in the massive parking lot of an office building and sell much nicer junk than what I saw at the Berlin Flea Market. Most of it was still beyond my budget, though. I dodged the crowds and moved on.

I did somewhat better at the Haddonfield Library's Book Sale. Three tents and a series of tables were stuffed full of books, DVDs, records, cassettes, audio books, videos, baked goods...and people! I had a hard time moving around in the tents, they were so busy. I didn't find any interesting DVDs or CDs this time, but I did come up with a mint condition copy of Leonard Maltin's The Great Movie Comedians in hardback, A Newberry Christmas, and two dog-eared paperback copies of Emily of New Moon and Emily Climbs. I love Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series and thought I'd give some of her other characters a chance.

King's Highway was even crazier. There was a big antique car show going on there, spanning Haddonfield's entire commercial district. The crowds were enormous. I was originally going to eat at The Bistro, but they were so busy, I decided I didn't want to wait and ended up at the British Chip Shop instead. They were busy, too, but it was past 1:30 at that point, and the crowds were starting to thin a little. I had my favorite Chip Shop Sandwich (apples, Irish cheddar cheese, chicken, and greens on thick bread), the Great Mountain of Greens, and a tasty Lilt Pineapple & Grapefruit Soda.

I took the back roads in Haddonfield and Haddon Township home to avoid the traffic on Haddon Avenue. Went by a few yard sales on Cuthbert, including the one I bought the videos from last week, but I found nothing interesting. I did buy a creamy, tangy Creamsickle water ice at Kayla's Ice Cream and Garden Center. Though they're still selling frozen treats, the garden part of the store has returned. Mums and hay bales have taken over the covered dining area. I ate in one of the swinging tables, watching the traffic on Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike.

I didn't get home until quarter of 4! Needless to say, I went nowhere else. I ran a Bowery Boys movie as I put everything away and got settled down. They're Fighting Fools when a young boxer from the Bowery is killed in the ring, and they persuade his brother to return to the game. The crooked agent who original set up both brothers wants in on the action...but Slip and the others are determined that their boy will take the match honestly.

Switched to Despicable Me 2 while making Apple Spice Cupcakes With Whipped Spice Topping for the football party at Dad's house tomorrow, then while having leftover chicken-vegetable soup for dinner. Gru (Steve Carrell) is quite happy as the father of three rambunctious young girls. He's called out of retirement by a government agents that catches super villains. They pair him with energetic Lucy (Kristin Wiig), an energetic new recruit, to keep an eye on former villains working at a mall who may have stolen a formula that can mutate anything into a monster. Gru is convinced that the hearty Hispanic owner of a Mexican restaurant (Benjamin Bratt) is really El Macho, a super villain who died several years before. Lucy and the Anti-Villain League aren't convinced. Gru tries to prove otherwise, and deal with his oldest girl getting a crush on the owner's son. Meanwhile, the Minions, Gru's little yellow workers, are mysteriously disappearing...

Not great, not bad. This was a huge hit when it came out last summer, and I can mostly understand why. We get to see more of Gru's sweet relationship with the girls, learn a little more about what the Minions do, and meet Gru's neighbors as well. Some of the plot was really obvious, including who the villain turned out to be, but this was generally fun. If you loved the first movie, grab a rocket bike and hop right in. If you're new to the world of Gru and the Minions, you'll definitely want to see the first movie before coming here.

Flea Markets Are Magic

It was still sunny and bright this morning when I turned on this week's American Top 40 re-run. I was 6 during Labor Day Weekend 1985. While I prepared for first grade, the rest of the US ended the summer with hard rock, pop, ballads, R&B, and dance songs. Hits that late August included "Pop Life" by Prince and the Revolution, "Invincible" by Pat Benetar, "Cherish" by Kool and the Gang, "Don't Lose My Number" by Phil Collins, "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin, "Summer of '69" by Brian Adams, "You're Only Human" by Billy Joel, "Money For Nothing" by Dire Straits, and two numbers from big summer movies, "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and the title song from St. Elmo's Fire by John Parr.

The blockbuster movie of the summer of 1985 was the classic time-traveling action comedy Back to the Future. Its soundtrack was equally popular. Huey Lewis and the News scored their first #1 song with one of their two numbers from the soundtrack, "The Power of Love."

I finally made it back to the Collingswood Farm Market after nearly two months. It was as busy as ever with people looking for fresh produce, cheese, eggs, seafood, and meat for their Labor Day barbecues. My vegetable bin was bare, and I desperately needed quite a few things. I ended up with three yellow squash, two ears of corn, white peaches (someone took the last yellow ones right before I got there), plums, carrots, a small red pepper and a small green pepper from the organic booth, a tomato, and Chinese beans.

When I got home, I put my fruit and vegetables away and went right back out again. I wanted check out the Berlin Farm and Flea Market. I took the train from Collingswood to Lindenwauld...which just missed the bus. I went across the PATCO parking lot to the Walgreens and bought a drink. Even that didn't kill much time. Thankfully, the bus was on time, and it was only a fifteen-minute ride anyway.

The bus dropped me off near a florist's shop and a vast cemetery. It was only a block or so from the cemetery to the Farmer's Market. I could see the cars and the buildings even from the White Horse Pike. It only took a minute's walk to get there.

The Berlin Farmer's Market was ENORMOUS. It was a vast barn filled with stores selling everything from dollar store junk to Amish baked goods, often at discount prices. The first store I stopped in was a huge toy store. While there were lots of cute baby dolls and fashion dolls, I didn't see much that interested me. The book store wasn't all that interesting, either...except for it sold every kind of American Girl book that had ever existed, from the just-released BeForever novel-length, illustration-less versions of the original Historical books to the oldest historical books with the tan covers. I ended up with the first mystery for Julie the 70s girl, The Tangled Web.

The other cool store I found was a used record and CD store. They had prices as low as 49 cents! It took a lot of sifting through, but I came up with these records:

The Broadway cast albums I Had a Ball (a 60s vehicle for Buddy Hackett) and New Girl In Town (musical version of Anna Christie, with Gwen Verdon in the title role)

Soundtrack for Jumbo, with Doris Day and Martha Raye

Johnny Mathis - Feelings

And a Barbara Cook concert album

I had lunch at a pizza place at the very end of the massive building. Luigi's had what amounted to rolled-up pizza slices - bread rolls filled with sausage, pepperoni, or broccoli and cheese. I went with the sausage and the broccoli. They were quite tasty; came with marinara sauce dip, too.

After I ate, I went outside to check out the Flea Market. It was MASSIVE, covering more than three quarters of the parking lot. Alas, the sellers seemed to be either shelling out bootleg DVDs and smartphone accessories or selling ancient tools and other junk even I wouldn't touch. I explored for nearly an hour but found nothing interesting.

After I went back inside, I first hit the arcade. Unlike the arcade in Atlantic City, this was one small room filled with nothing but somewhat ancient consoles. I first tried one Atari console with at least nine different games. I went with Burgertime. I haven't played that one in ages. You have to get Peter Pepper to run across the parts of the burger, knocking them into the container below, all while avoiding the eggs and hot dogs running around! I also did Crusin' World, which is a racing game with tracks set in exotic lands; I raced in Hawaii. Did surprisingly well on that. I at least finished the track.

Made a quick stop at the Amish bakery to try an oatmeal whoopee pie on my way out. Ooh, yummy. I don't often eat those for the obvious reason that they're filled with cream. But....it was so good, nice and soft and with tons of butter cream in the middle.

It didn't take me very long to walk back over to the White Horse Pike and cross it to catch the bus home. The bus to Lindenwauld was about ten minutes late, not that surprising given it was coming from Atlantic City on Labor Day Weekend. The trip home, by bus and by train, was uneventful. There was no traffic anywhere, not even on the White Horse Pike at Oaklyn going home.

When I got in, I did more My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as I had Italian breaded chicken cutlets with leftover vegetables for dinner. Even the Ponies can't resist playing Scarlet Ponypernel in "The Mysterious Mare Do Well." Rainbow Dash loves saving other ponies, but her friends get sick of her constant bragging. When an unknown pony in a dark outfit starts saving others as well, she gets jealous and vows to be a better hero than this newcomer.

"Derring Don't" and "Read It and Weep" introduce Derring Do, Ponyville's own Indiana Jonesette. Rainbow Dash was never much of a reader, but when she's stuck in the hospital, she starts reading the action tales of Derring Do, an explorer who searches for lost treasures, and gets so caught up in the story, she tries to stay in the hospital to finish it! Then, when the author of the Derring Do books announces that her book won't be out for months, Rainbow Dash is determined to make sure that book comes out as fast as possible...and gets caught up in a wild adventure with Derring Do herself!