What People Do On A Rainy Day

It was cool and cloudy when I headed to work around 10 for today's shift. Work was steady until about half-way through, when the dark clouds burst and cleared everyone out. It rained off and on for the rest of the day. I got very lucky and managed to get home during an "off" period, waiting for just a few minutes after buying ice cream, celery, and carrots. (I ran out of carrot and celery sticks. I bring those to work as part of my work meal, and they're great snacks at home, too. The ice cream was to use to top the brownies I made on Friday.)

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Get Smart episodes (I'm now on the beginning of the fourth disk), calling Mom, and making bread. I wasn't able to call Mom in the morning and did it right after I got home. She, Dad, and Keefe were in the midst of playing the new Mario Kart Wii game...and Dad and Keefe were in the midst of one of their eternal macho posturing battles. Poor Mom. She'd been listening to them all afternoon, since they had the same off-and-on weather we did.

(Lauren later revealed during a chat that she was having the off-and-on rain in New England, too.)

I haven't been able to make bread since May. I didn't want to turn my apartment into a sauna. It was so cool today I thought I might be able to get away with a simple recipe...and I was right. I made the Wheat, Molasses, and Oat loaf tonight, without it getting to hot in here. The loaf is cooling on the table in the dining section of my living room now.

Cool In August...And Loving It!

I awoke to quite a shock this morning. It was...cool. At least 65 degrees. In the morning. In August. I didn't need an air conditioner in the morning in August. It's August, and I didn't need an air conditioner. Or even a fan, really.

I was quite a happy woman. And a tired one. I was up a little too late last night, making work more of a pain than it should have been. I was really down on myself today. I didn't mean to be, but it gets worse when I'm tired. I don't think well when I'm tired. I'm sick of feeling like the last 29-year-old left in the entire South Jersey area who lives by herself, isn't married, has no real family of her own and no friends nearby, and went to college and is still stuck in a job she hates.

I went to a craft fair in Collingswood to cheer myself up after work. The weather was almost exactly the same as yesterday (sunny with occasional clouds), but cooler...and no rain this time. Unlike the fair on Memorial Day weekend, it was just crafts and food this time, no rides or games or classic cars. I didn't have the money to buy anything but a soft pretzel, but I looked at doll beds (my poor Samantha needs a new bed - the old baby doll bed I've used for her for years is falling apart) and gorgeous paintings. Some of them looked so much like my native Cape May at this time of year, I found myself feeling homesick.

I have fond memories of seeing painters sitting on the rocks on the end of the promenade in Cape May, on the edge of Cape May and Cape May Point. I'd pass them on my way to the Cape May Point State Park for a long walk on a nice summer day, or to gather "Cape May Diamonds," shiny pieces of quartz buffeted for years by the waves.

I spent the rest of the afternoon after I came back watching Get Smart episodes and editing the role play. I finally posted the new Monkees story and several short stories at our site - look for them tonight!

Would You Believe...Sun and Rain At the Same Time?

It was an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous day today, sunny, windy, and in the lower 80s when I got up this morning. I slept in again and headed over to the Acme for my paycheck and to run some errands in the late morning and early afternoon. I went quickly to the Audubon Post Office branch to deliver the inadvertent extra copy of Yankee Doodle Dandy that Amazon.com sent me to Lauren, and then went over to FYE, trying to avoid looking at the former International House of Pancakes being demolished in between. (I ate in that place about two years ago and I didn't see anything wrong with it then...) I didn't like the price of Get Smart: Season 1 at FYE, so I went to see if Wal-Mart had it. They did, and I ended up with Get Smart and some other things I really needed. I stopped at Acme for this week's grocery shopping, then headed home.

After lunch, putting the groceries away, and finishing The Pirate Movie, which I'd put on last night, I went back out again for a long bike ride. I had to go to the bank anyway, so I just continued on after I deposited my paycheck. I finally ended up in Barrington, a town a few miles away. Like Audubon, Collingswood, and Haddon Heights, it's a lovely little small town with an attractive historic district. I went to a little coffee shop for a Pumpkin smoothie and half of a chocolate-walnut blondie, then went exploring. I found this awesome, huge antique store near the White Horse Pike. Geeze, that place was a labrynth! It was an awesome one, though. It had two floors, and both floors were crammed with everything from Victorian furniture to 80s Happy Meal toys. After I finally found my way back to the first floor (the second floor being a hive of tiny, barely-move-around-in-them, jammed-to-the-gills rooms), I ended up with a Golden Book my sisters and I had when we were little, Mickey Mouse: The Kitten Sitters, and a book for a Nancy Drew-esque 30s Stratemeyer series called the Dana Girls, The Secret of One Tree Cottage.

Heavy black clouds had gathered while I was in the Antique Center, and they finally burst as I made my way home. And I mean, really burst. It poured in huge drops. I had to stop not once, but twice to avoid the squall, once under an awning at the shops on Pine Street, another time under a huge old tree between Audubon and Haddon Heights. At one point, it was even pouring and sunny at the same time! By then, I'd finally said "what the heck" and headed on my way. I made another brief stop at Doria's Deli for brown sugar (theirs is cheaper than the Acme's), and headed on my way home. (Incidentally, despite seeing more clouds, it hasn't rained again. That must have just been a freak summer shower.)

I spent the rest of the evening having tilapia for dinner and watching Get Smart. Good old Max. Somethings NEVER change...like spy spoof still being funny. It was a bit of a surprise seeing the black and white pilot - it actually made this frequently over-the-top show seem a bit more realistic, but on the other hand, made it look a tad bland (and like other 60s shows) as well.

Summertime, and the Livin' Is Easy

I had a nice, quiet day off. I slept in this morning and worked on editing this month's Monkees Role Play. I didn't spend a lot of time in Collingswood before or after counseling. I don't have a lot of money left. I briefly visited Erica at the thrift shop and browsed the Collingswood Variety Store (which now has Toucans and Crocodiles for those of you who may be looking for those rare, just-released WebKinz). At Genesis Counseling, I mostly chatted with Scott about joining Yogawood, Mom's problems with Skylar, Dad, and Anny, and looking into library science. Scott said he mentioned my interest in library work to friend of his who are librarians, and they said it's actually fairly popular right now.

It was truly a gorgeous day, sunny, 85 degrees, and not humid at all. After my counseling session and a quick stop at the Collingswood WaWa for a treat (they have the soda fountain with the flavored syrups now), I rode home, had lunch, and went over to Uncle Ken's to do the laundry and have a swim. Uncle Ken and Dolores are home; they were resting and watching TV when I came in. Jessa was watching The Suite Life of Zach and Cody and eventually joined me in the pool after I put my laundry in the drier. The pool felt really, really good today, as warm as bath water and twice as therapeutic. I'm glad Jess joined me for once, too. We had a nice chat about the great weather we've had this summer, the upcoming Olympics, and our families. (Dad and Jodie are in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for a music festival and some Campbell's business on Jodie's part.)

I'm hoping for more days like this for the rest of the month. I'm going to do some research and see if I can find some other cheap or free things going on near-by that I can go to. There's a Craft Show and Fair in Collingswood on Saturday. I may see if I can get there after work.

Oh, and Lauren and I finished the latest Monkees Role Play tonight! It started shaky, but we really had fun with it once we figured out where the plot was going. Look for it sometime this weekend!

As We Go Along

Spent the morning of this hot but lovely day at work. Work was on-and-off busy, nothing unusual. It rained overnight, and it was still a little bit humid when I left for work at 10:30. By 3PM, it remained hot, but the humidity was gone and there was a pleasant wind on the Black Horse Pike.

It was so nice, I decided to go for a walk and run a few errands in the neighborhood. I'm so glad I was off early today. The biggest advantage to early work is having the rest of the day to yourself. I headed down Manor Avenue and over to the White Horse Pike Family Dollar for a bag of sponges and another of pot scrubbers, both of which I can never find at the Dollar Tree for some reason. I then walked down the White Horse Pike to the CVS on the other end of Oaklyn. Eggs are cheaper there than they are anywhere else. I nearly asked the cashier if she made a mistake when they came up $1.69! (The only other places that are anywhere near as cheap are the eggs at Doria's Deli and the Acme for $2.29.) I spent the rest of the afternoon doing last month's budget and working on editing the Monkees role play.

Disney's Treasures

Speaking of animation, Disney just put this year's Walt Disney Treasures on pre-order at Amazon.com. The final Chronological Donald set and Dr. Syn are being joined by the last and one of the most popular of the original Mickey Mouse Club serials, Annette, featuring eldest Mousketeer Annette Funicello as a country lass who moves to the city and finds adventure. (Annette would seem to be replacing the announced Destino, the Disney/Salvador Dali film - maybe that's for next year?)

Candy Sweet

Began the day at work. I had one of my two early shifts today. That's fine with me. I was in at 8:30 and out by 1:30. I don't mind working in the morning as long as I do it consistently and not TOO early...and I've pretty much just been working in the mornings and afternoons lately. (Also fine by me, but not likely to last when employees start coming back from vacation.) It was quiet when I came in, busy when I left. We did have several annoying beginning-of-the-month people, including one obnoxious old woman who fussed when she complained about the packs of Boost energy drinks she wanted being $14.97 all together...after two coupons AND I gave her the sale, even though they weren't coming up on sale! I'm sorry lady, but those stupid energy drinks are just expensive! Buy real water if you want something cheap and good for you. I was much happier helping the other employees on the early shift restock the candy bar and gum shelves on the registers.

I had a snack after I got in, changed, grabbed my books that were due, and went right back out again to return my books and do this week's library volunteering. I just organized the children's DVDs and helped kids find DVDs today. All the librarians were busy. After I finished, I renewed The Bloody Tower (which I still haven't gotten to) and took out two more books, the early 20th century-set novel The Temple of Music and another American Girls History Mystery, Mystery of the Dark Tower, set in 1928 Harlem.

I also finished off the Tiny Toons set as I ate home-made beef stir-fry for dinner. They could have done a better job with the set - it's obvious the print hasn't been cleaned up, there's one so-so featurette, and the packaging stinks...but the show is still funny if you get all of the jokes. Mom's right. Some of the "Tiny Toons" humor IS fairly adult and occasionally off-color, and there's a few episodes (like one spoofing early 90s Jazzy Prince-style rap and another about 90s fads) that haven't dated well. I also noticed something that never occurred to me as a kid. For all the hip humor, this show can be surprisingly preachy, maybe because of the intended audience. There's a couple of episodes on environmental concerns, one about two snotty rats smoking and annoying Babs, and then there's Elmyra and her her poor treatment of just about everything around her.

On the other hand, there's also some surprisingly strong character development for a kids' show. You can relate to the Tiny Toons in ways you weren't able to relate to the original Looney Tunes or the stars of the next big WB show, Animaniacs. They may be tiny, toony, and more than a little loony, but even after 35 episodes, you really get to feel that they're friends. They even occasionally give villains Elmyra and (more rarely) Montana Max a little sympathy.

Trying to Balance

I started off the day and the week with a Vinyasa class at Yogawood. Things went much better today than they did the last time I went to Yogawood on a Monday. Maybe it had to do with my good mood coming off of a busy weekend, or maybe it was due to there being more beginners in the very full class. (I wasn't the only one who couldn't do the standing balance poses this time, and I saw people struggle with other moves, too.) This time, I left class feeling light-hearted and glad that I'd tried something new. So my balance isn't terrific. I'm good at other poses. I can lift my legs and down a downward dog (lean on your hands and toes and lift your back and buttocks) like nobody's business.

I got in with enough time to have lunch, change, and head to work. Work was on-and-off busy today, pretty much the same as yesterday, with no problems other than some mildly annoying customers - you really can't avoid those during the beginning of the month rush.

Talkin' 'Bout Friends

I didn't work until 12:30 today, so I was able to sleep in for once on a Sunday. I had blueberry pancakes for breakfast and talked to Mom. Same old down there. Dad and Anny had to have a birthday party for Skylar, despite Mom claiming they weren't going to have a birthday party for Skylar this year. They had it at Mom and Dad's house this year and left a mess.

Work was on-and-off busy today, not as much as yesterday. This was a bit of a surprise. Sunday is usually one of our busiest days of the week, especially at the beginning of the month! I guess everyone's still on vacation.

I went out to dinner with my friend Erica afterwards. We just went to the Oaklyn Manor Bar down the street. She had original suggested the TapRoom Bar and Grill, but the Manor is closer and cheaper. I haven't seen her in a while. She often works at the Thrift Shop when I'm at work these days! We chatted. She caught me calling myself stupid again. I just can't help it. It's a bad habit. Sometimes I feel so embarrassed and dumb when I do silly things, I just panic, even around people I know don't think I'm dumb. I wonder if I could catch her for a movie again. We haven't gone to see one together in a while.

In the Swim

It was raining when I got up this morning, but that passed quick enough that I was able to make it to the Farm Market for the first time in two weeks. (And the last time for the next two weeks - I work too early to make it next Saturday.) I might have skipped it if I hadn't needed so much. I bought bread, blueberries, peaches, green leaf lettuce, leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms, a red onion, fresh Colby cheese from a dairy booth, and the first New Jersey blackberries of the season. I then raced home, put everything away, threw together lunch, changed, and went to work.

(It's probably just as well that I only saw one yard sale today on the way to work and there wasn't anything interesting at it. I didn't really have the time.)

Work was busy, probably due to it being the beginning of the month, but we had plenty of help, my relief was on time, and there were no problems.

Jodie came through my line while I was at work and invited me over to Dad's for a small family barbecue. I'd wanted a swim anyway, so I accepted her invitation. After slicing the carrots into sticks and watching a few episodes of Tiny Toons, I changed into my bathing suit and walked over. Our cousin Jim and his son C.J were already there, keeping an eye on C.J as he practiced his favorite pastime - golf! He doesn't have a bad swing for a just-two-year-old.

I was the only one in the pool today, though Jessa sat on the side and chatted with me for a while. I don't know why. The pool was a little bit cooler than the last time I went in, but it still felt great, especially since today wasn't quite as hot but still really humid. It was cloudy on and off all day and actually rained a little bit while I was in the pool, but hasn't rained since then, as far as I know.

Jodie got the grill going and cooked up steak, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, cole slaw, corn on the cob, cucumber salad, and baked beans for all of us and two friends of Jodie's and Dad's. We ate and watched the Pixar film Cars with C.J. (Apparently, cars are his other obsession.)

Big Girl Adventures

Got up late and spent the early afternoon running errands. I rode to work and got my paycheck, then went to FYE and bought the just-released Tiny Toon Adventures Season 1 Volume 1 and headed down the Black Horse Pike. On the way to the Mt. Ephram Walgreens, I discovered there was a PNC Bank branch on the Black Horse Pike just a few blocks down from the Acme and deposited my paycheck. I finally found the other two WCares WebKinz of the Month at Walgreens, the Lil'Kinz Horse and the Lil'Kinz St. Bernard. I got the Horse for myself and bought the St. Bernard as a thank-you gift for Lauren when I visit her in September. I went for a brief ride through Mt. Ephram before heading back to the Acme for the few groceries I needed, then home.

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Tiny Toon Adventures. For those who weren't around in the early 90s, Tiny Toons was Warner Bros.' answer to the syndicated Disney Afternoon cartoons...but far hipper. Rather than being "babyfied" versions of classic characters, the Tiny Toons are essentially pre-teen versions. Bugs, in fact, technically gets two characters, laid-back Buster and mile-a-minute-impressionist Babs Bunny (no relation). We also have Elmyra Duff (who literally loves her cutie-pie buddies to pieces), Fifi the Lavender Skunk, Sweetie Pie, Shirley McLoon the new-age psychic, hapless Furball, bratty rich boy Montana Max, Hampton Pig, and my personal favorite, eternally mercenary Plucky Duck. Like the later Freakazoid! and Animaniacs, the show is a potpourri of 90s spoofs and manic comedy, with some of the best writing ever in any animated program. Any cartoon whose second episode is a bang-on spoof of Star Wars heroics (Spielburg taking a jab at his buddy George Lucas?) will get my attention.

I did end up going to the ball game tonight. I joined Dad, Jodie, Jessa, and Jessa's friends Alexis and Brittany at Campbell's Stadium for a Camden Riversharks game. The game wasn't very good or very full (the Riversharks were just starting to catch up when we left), but it was still worth the trip. The team may be terrible, but Campbell's Stadium is a beaut. It's on the Camden Waterfront and has a stunning view of the Philadelphia skyline. (You should have seen it as the sun was going down.) I spent a few innings just strolling along the second level, watching the people and the game, admiring the skyline, and checking out the merry-go-round and the souvenir shop. I didn't buy any actual souvenirs (as with most athletic venues, they were overpriced, and I'm saving for my vacation), but I did do one of those pressed-penny machines.

When I wasn't strolling, I was sitting in the Executive Box, having dinner or chatting with Dad and watching the game just outside the box. The night was a Campbell's outing for employees and families. There was a small buffet of barbecue foods - chicken, ribs, roast beef, corn bread, baked beans, cole slaw, and watermelon. The girls spent the night chatting and playing with a kid who brought his Pokemon card collection. Jodie mostly talked to her fellow employees and played with their kids.

We had a bit of a scare going home. Despite the map system in the van Dad borrowed from Uncle Ken for tonight, Jodie and Dad got lost going home. Jodie wanted to use the way she takes home from work; Dad wanted to go a different route. They weren't lost for too long, but it was a little scary, given Camden's reputation as one of the nastiest cities in the US.

Oh, and meet Ramses the Lil'Kinz Horse! Named for the son of Amelia and Radcliffe Emerson in Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series, this talkative, taciturn little fellow lives with his mama and papa Amelia the Brown Arabian and Emerson the Gray Arabian in their Explorer's Room, which will be made up of parts of different Curio Shop ancient world themes when I finally buy them.