Trying Something Different

First of all, Happy Columbus Day! Here's hoping that you did some exploring of your own today.

I was up very late with Lauren last night. She's off today (she works for a bank in Pittsfield, and they were closed for the holiday) and I didn't work until 5. I wasn't up and about until 10:30! Didn't get to the laundromat until 12:30. That ended up working out rather well. There were a bunch of people leaving as I was coming in...and more came in as my drier was on its last few minutes. Mostly, it was me, the older woman who manages the building, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and The Chew on ABC.

When I got home, I put everything away, then had a quick lunch of leftovers. Since I still had some time left, I decided I'd do some rearranging. I never liked how I had the two large wooden shelves that held the children's paperbacks, comic books, American Girl books, and the file folders with various paper notions, directions, and other paper necessities. They blocked the two windows between my desk and my dresser.

I moved the shelves on top of each other. The narrow wooden shelf with the heart cut-outs that held the Care Bears was moved into the entertainment section of the living room. It and the wider, darker heart cut-out shelves that held the Christmas DVDs were moved where the small table that the lamp sat on was. That table was moved into my bedroom to hold the printer and the file folders. The boxy 80s video shelves that were next to the small table were put out with the recycling. I've cleared out so many videos, I really don't need them anymore.

I'm still not satisfied with the results. That little table isn't big enough to hold the printer, which juts out awkwardly and blocks the entrance to my bedroom. The shelves now don't have enough room for my Care Bears. The narrow heart shelf is too narrow for DVDs. I want to get another DVD rack for the living room and move the heart shelf back in the bed room for the Care Bears. I also want a table that fits the printer better.

Finished The King's Speech as I organized. This is one of the sweetest films to ever win an Oscar. It's the 1930s, and the Depression is raging in England. George, Duke of York, known as "Bertie" to his friends and family, is a shy man with a chronic stammer (Colin Firth). He's also one of the heirs to the title of King of England, a fact that brings him no amount of frustration. His wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) hires an elocution coach (Geofrey Rush) to help him with his speech impediment. Lionel becomes both a friend and confidant to Bertie, but their friendship is tested when Bertie's brother abdicates the throne to marry a divorcee. Can the timid Bertie find the courage to be king...and the voice to lead England into war?

I thoroughly enjoyed this real-life tale of an unusual friendship. As someone who also has difficulty with speech, I could understand why Bertie was so reticent to take the throne...but I could also see Lionel's point about the common man and how Bertie had to reach out to them to be a truly effective ruler. Firth and Rush both did well as the title reluctant monarch and the would-be actor who helps him find the self-confidence to pull England through some of their darkest days.

Went to work shortly after the movie ended. Work was busy when I came in (not surprising on a holiday), dead when I left.

No Winged Victory

I slept until 10:30 and thus, didn't get to my apples and cinnamon pancakes until more than an hour later. Brunch With the Beatles was honoring John Lennon with some of his best songs. Among the Lennon solo tunes were "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," "Woman," and "Just Like Starting Over." Lennon's songs with the Beatles included "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Revolution," "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," "No Reply," "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," "Ticket to Ride," "Come Together," and the early "Ain't She Sweet."

It was nearly 1 before I got over to Uncle Ken's to visit the family for an hour before work. Though Dad and Jodie are away, there was still quite a crowd there. Most of Dolores' children and grandchildren were there when I came. Samantha, David, and their brood showed up later. I left just as Dolores and the kids were starting to make ice cream.

Not surprisingly, on such a gorgeous day, the Acme was dead all evening. We had plenty of help and no problems whatsoever. I grabbed a few things I didn't get on Friday on my way out - lemon juice, whole wheat flour, yogurt, more of those new Nestle Dark Chocolate chips on sale, and the last discounted Duracell hard drive.

Called Mom when I got in. Mom was just washing the dishes from dinner. She was in a much better mood than last week, partially because of the improved weather. She confirmed my suspicions as to why the Acme was so quiet. Everyone is in Cape May County for Columbus Day Weekend! Mom said it was packed when she went for a walk in Cape May yesterday.

And alas, the Eagles did lose to the Bills, 31-24.

Keep On Tryin'

Started today with the American Top 40. Casey went back to 1976, this time moving to the fall of that year. Among the hits from early October were the Bay City Rollers' cover of "I Only Wanna Be With You," "Say That You Love Me" by Fleetwood Mac, and "Rockin' Me" by the Steve Miller Band. That week's #1 hit was, according to Casey Kasem, 170 years in the making - "A Fifth of Beethoven," the disco version of "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony" by the Walter Schuman Orchestra.

I had a very long morning. I made a few yard sale stops in Oaklyn and Collingswood, but I didn't do nearly as well there as I did last week. All I found was a copy of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre that I'll probably dub next week. (And that'll be the last dubbing for myself that I intend to do for a while. I've been dubbing things since early August! I want to do a disc for Lauren's birthday in a few weeks, and Mom and Rose have asked for a few things, but I won't be doing any more mass-dubbing until I do the holiday videos in November. After that, I probably won't do anything until the yard sales start up again in the spring.)

Next stop was the Collingswood Farm Market. It was busy but not too bad when I got there, maybe because I was there a little earlier than the past few weeks. I picked up the first New Jersey cranberries and broccoli of the season. Also needed apples (I got the sweetest, tartest little Gala apples!), pears, Colby cheese from the dairy booth, honey from the honey booth, and red Romaine lettuce from the organic booth.

I made a long ride up to Haddon Heights for their town-wide yard sale after I left the farm market (after a few fruitless stops in Collingswood). I didn't get up there until past 11, but the town was hopping. I made all my best finds there.

Picked up nine records:

Two Disney kids' LPs, Mousercise (complete with the original booklet detailing all the exercise moves to do to the songs) and Mickey Mouse Disco. My family had Mousercise for years in the 80s. My favorite song was always "Get the Money (Uncle Scrooge's Money)," miming the Beagle Boys trying to raid Uncle Scrooge's bin!

Neil Diamond - Tap Root Manuscript

Billy Joel - Streetlife Serenade

Hall & Oates - H2O

An RCA Vintage series LP of rare songs from 10s and 20s performers Fannie Brice and Helen Morgan

The soundtrack for the movie version of Cabaret

The Mary Martin original cast album for The Sound of Music (I already have the movie soundtrack on CD.)

A CD of winter/Christmas-themed jazz-New Age music, On a Winter's Night.

The two-disc DVD set for the movie The Aviator, with Leonard DiCaprio as Howard Hughes and Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn. I'm not normally fond of DiCaprio, but the movie is set during the 20s and 30s and sounds like it's right up my alley.

Two books, the 80s Wuzzles story Eleroo's Big Surprise and the paperback novelization of Superman Returns.

A woman in Haddon Heights was selling off her daughters' old dance costumes. Amid the ruffles and spangles was a red cape in nice condition that fit me. I decided it would be perfect for a Little Red Riding Hood costume. I could provide a basket, a blouse, and a stuffed wolf myself, and I could probably find red shoes and a red skirt somewhere. (I need new good winter shoes anyway.)

By 1:30, my bad knee was getting sore and my foot was killing me. It was time to call it a day and grab lunch. Since it was on my way, I stopped at Simply Soups in Audubon for a nice, filling meal. I had a cup of creamy Turkey Pumpkin Soup with Wild Rice, two breadsticks, and a can of Diet Root Beer. It was tasty, just like all Simply Soups meals are, and it went a long way towards refilling the gas tank after riding around three towns for four and a half hours.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the apartment. I was too pooped to go anywhere else! I hung out online until around 5:30. After that, I baked brownies and made Honey Whole Wheat Bread, the first bread I've made in months. I had salmon, Sweet and Sour Swiss Chard, and an apple for dinner while watching the very strange Rankin-Bass movie Mad Monster Party? and the Bowery Boys horror comedy Spook Busters.

What a Wonderful World

I've had a rather pleasant couple of days. Yesterday, I slept in and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes. Adventures in the great outdoors was the theme of this set. My favorite episodes were Minnie and Mickey's search for a rare tropical flower (with a little help from Jungle Pete's elephant friends) and Mickey and Donald's attempt to rescue the girls and Pluto when they get a little too carried away by a pile of balloons.

It was so gorgeous yesterday, I just had to get out and do something. I finally swept the porch after letting it go for almost a month because of the rain. It needed it. The leaves are just starting to show the first tinge of autumn colors here, and they're falling at a much faster rate.

Work was pretty much the same as Wednesday. It was steady when I arrived right on time for the usual 4-6 rush hour. By the time I left at 10, I was just doing candy. Once again, there were no real problems, and I was in and out.

After a shower, I spent most of last night and this morning dubbing a pile of home movies for Dad-Bruce to DVD. He said he did it himself years ago, but he wanted to take advantage of the improvement in technology since then. I wasn't sure about doing it for him, but I'm glad I did it. The tapes were mostly of my stepsister Jessa, from her adoption from China by Dad and my stepmother Kaye in August 1993 through Jessa's 9th birthday in 1999, two years after Kaye's death from cancer. In between, I saw everything from Jessa's first Halloween in the US (I can't believe my sister dressed as a Pink Power Ranger) to Dad's 50th birthday party (I didn't know he and Kaye were such great dancers) to Jessa's First Communion (she looks stunning in white).

I finished up the tapes this morning while waiting for the Comcast technician to arrive. I got some other things done around the apartment, too. I changed the Cabbies into fall clothes. I cleared out the piles of papers on the table and junk drawer dresser. I dusted the living room.

After the Comcast technician left and the tape I was dubbing ended, I headed out to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. I picked up my paycheck, then went out to lunch. My first thought was Tu Se Bella, but I finally decided it was far too nice to eat inside and opted for a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, Onion Rings, and an iced tea at Sonic.

It was another gorgeous day here. The weather just doesn't get much more perfect than this. It was sunny, breezy, and dry, warm but not above the average for early October in Southern New Jersey. It was great for an outdoor lunch. There were other people eating on the patio at Sonic with me, too, a group of teenage boys, a family, and a middle-aged couple.

Went back to the Acme after lunch for this week's grocery shopping. With the holiday baking season upon us, now was the time to stock up on essentials like brown sugar, white sugar, cake mixes (99 cents for Duncan Hines this week - I got Fudge Marble for family parties), vanilla, peanut butter, and cooking spray. I was almost out of oatmeal, and I found beef stew meat and chicken cutlets for good prices. Also got two of the dollar single packs of fish.

Headed home next. I finished dubbing Dad's videos while putting away my groceries. Went right back out again to run a few errands. I wanted to get the videos and DVD to Dad before he goes on a work trip starting tomorrow. I did catch him and Jodie watching Law & Order at Uncle Ken's house. I delivered the videos and DVD to him, and he showed me his lovely collection of exotic plants outside and gave me a sprig from his and Uncle Ken's huge rosemary bush.

My next stop was a quick run to the bank. After that, I went straight back to my apartment. I dusted and listened to records, then ran Summer Magic while making Chicken Legs Poached in Rosemary-White Wine Sauce with carrots and leeks, steamed Swiss chard, and Sweet Potatoes with Vanilla and Cinnamon for dinner. Baked that yummy Rosemary-Lemon Cake from the day after Hurricane Irene again, too.

And I don't have a bad schedule next week. A couple of late days, but nothing quite as bad as Thursday, and Tuesday and next Friday off. (And I work late next Saturday, so I won't have to rush the farm market-yard sale run tomorrow or next week. Great! This is the prime fall yard sale season in South Jersey.)

Back In Business

Hi, everyone! The Comcast guy just left. I'm back online! Comcast is cable-based, rather than phone-wire based, and their modem is MUCH heavier. I'm just hoping they don't go down every time there's a storm or every college and high school student has homework to do online. I'm dubbing some home movies of my stepsister Jessa for my dad, then I'm going to head to work, have lunch, and run errands. I'll give more details later tonight!

Caring Is What Counts

I normally try to avoid doing the Haddon Township Library run on work days, but I had DVDs due and I really couldn't wait for my next day off, which is Friday. As it happened, I'm glad I did. For one thing, the ride to and from the library was utterly gorgeous. It was sunny, breezy, and warm but not hot or humid when I headed out on the bike late this morning. Newton River Park was just gorgeous. There were so many people out walking, biking, and jogging, I ended up riding on the street.

There was plenty to do at the library, too. I shelved piles and piles of DVDs. The children's DVDs badly needed to be re-organized. There were lots of kids' books to put away, too. I ended up taking out another Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD Mickey's Great Outdoors, another Care Bears Team "movie" Share Bear Shines, and the first live-action movies I've rented from the library in ages, The King's Speech and The Social Network.

Made a brief stop at Super Fresh on the way home. I desperately need gel inserts for my work sneakers. I'm hoping they'll help my poor, hurting feet. They had cupcake papers for 50 cents, so I got those, too.

I got home with enough time to have leftovers for lunch and watch Share Bear Shines. Actually, I wish I'd found this one first, before The Giving Festival Movie and Care Bears to the Rescue, since it introduces the character of Princess Starglo and the Care Team concept. Share Bear is upset when the other Care Bears claim to not believe in the story of Princess Starglo or how she transforms twinklets into full-fledged stars. Share Bear takes off with her new twinklet friend Glimmer to prove the others wrong. She does find the princess and Glitter City, but the Princess, who is losing power now that no one believes in her, brushes her off.

Meanwhile, Bedtime Bear has noticed that the sun and stars no longer seem to be shining in Care-a-Lot, and the night is never-ending. He sends Cheer, Funshine, and Grumpy off in search of Share, the Princess, and the answer to the mystery of the disappearing stars.

Frankly, I'm still not sold on the Care Team idea. Princess Starglo was nothing but obnoxious to Share until she and the others finally convinced her to see her problems from a different perspective. I don't think the Care Bears really work as superheroes, either. American Greetings probably should have just revamped the entire franchise in 2009 after it became obvious that Adventures In Care-a-Lot was finished its run.

(And as I mentioned, it looks like this one is set well before either The Giving Festival or Care Bears to the Rescue. Try to get this one first if you or your kids are interested in the Care Team movies.)

Work went quite smoothly this evening, despite working late. It was steady until about 8PM, after which it died very quickly. I was in and out with no problems.

I'm not sure if I'll be online or not. My Verizon internet is ending tomorrow, but I forget when. Comcast is supposed to be in on Friday morning to set up my new Internet. If I'm not in tomorrow, have a great one!

Rock and Roll, Candy and Gnomes

I slept in, then spent most of a sunny, breezy fall morning watching Gmomeo and Juliet. An unusual version of the famous Shakespearean tragedy set to the music of Sir Elton John, this animated film from England depicts a running feud between garden gnomes and red hats and in blue hats. When red-hatted Juliet (Emily Blunt) falls for blue Gnomeo (Jim McAvoy), they set off a chain of events that include a wild lawn-mower race, the discovery of an abandoned garden and a lost flamingo (Jim Cummings), and an advice-offering statue of the Bard himself (Patrick Stewart)...all to the tune of some of Sir Elton John's most famous music.

I thought it was one of the cutest animated movies I've seen in years. The cast has a blast with the Romeo and Juliet spoof. Elton John produced, as well as weaving his own music into the story and doing a new duet with Lady Gaga, "Hello Hello," and his showmanship is in evidence throughout the film. There's a surprisingly moving sequence depicting how the flamingo's original owners abandoned their home and garden that was well done, too.

Switched to Felix the Cat: The Movie as I made my bed and vacuumed the apartment. If Gnomeo and Juliet is a little weird, then this one is off-the-charts bizarre. Felix and his Magic Bag of Tricks, along with 50s and 90s villains the Professor and Poindexter, find themselves in the Kingdom of Oriana. The Kingdom and its lovely princess have been overtaken by her evil uncle the Duke of Zill, who wants to turn it into an industrial wasteland.

This is one of the oddest animated films of an era known for some pretty crazy cartoons. Felix and his friends' 20s-style animation doesn't mix at all with the realistically-drawn Princess or the fantastic creatures. Her uncle looks like something out of the Transformers cartoons of the era. For all the strangeness, though, there's moments that work. Felix's first act for the creatures of Oriana is pretty funny (even if they're right and his jokes don't land), and some of action sequences are fairly well-done, including the finale. Fun if you can handle 80s fantasy campiness and/or are a major Felix fan. It's very out of print and expensive online; check used DVD/video stores and yard sales.

I had yogurt and grapes lunch as the movie was ending. I headed out right as it finished. Dropped a bag of clothes and shoes into the donations box behind the Acme, then went to work. Work was on-and-off busy for most of the night. Other than some annoying beginning-of-the-month people, there were no major problems and plenty of help.

When I got in, I heated up leftover Chicken Therese for dinner and did the last of the video to DVD dubbing for myself I'm going to do for a while. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the first of two versions of one of Roald Dahl's classic children's fantasy novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Poor-but-honest Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) finds a golden ticket that allows him and his beloved, cantankerous Grandpa Joe (Jack Albertson) to enter the mysterious candy maker Willy Wonka's (Gene Wilder) long-closed factory, along with four other kids and their parents who aren't nearly as kind-hearted as the impoverished Charlie. The five kids and their parents discover that having a sweet tooth isn't nearly as important as a sweet heart, that being rich doesn't mean you have it all...and that the sweetest love of all is forgiveness.

A classic musical with some real heart amid the darkness and wacky stuff, this is a long-time childhood favorite of mine. When we bought our first VCR, this was the movie we rented (from a long-gone video store in Rio Grande). Gene Wilder gave what many consider to be his best performance as the whimsical king of confections, and Jack Albertson is wonderful as Grandpa Joe. It looks like this one is going to be re-released in a few weeks for its 40th anniversary - look for new two-disc DVD and three-disc Blu-Ray sets.

Eddie and the Cruisers is another beloved childhood memory. It's even more important to me than Willy Wonka in some ways, because...well, it's set almost literally in my backyard. Cruisers is based after the book of the same title. A reporter (Ellen Barkin) interviews the members of an early 60s Jersey Shore bar band who had one hit album before their leader (Michael Pare of The Greatest American Hero) disappeared after a car accident. Eddie made tapes of a second album that he claimed would revolutionize the industry...but the tapes disappeared after Eddie did. Can the Cruisers' former lyracist (Tom Bergener) learn to let go of the past and maybe find out what happened to the legacy of Eddie Wilson?

Like Xanadu, this is another 80s movie where the soundtrack did better than the actual film. The music by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band is phenomenal. My family wore out our soundtrack LP well before the 80s (and the popularity of LPs) ended. I bought a CD copy of the soundtrack the weekend after 9/11 as comfort food, and I've had that CD ever since. My alternate online moniker, "boardwalkangel," comes from the title of my favorite song from the score. Most of the movie was filmed in actual locations across the South and Central Jersey Shore area, including Ocean City, Atlantic City, and Wildwood, and it brings back as many memories for me as it probably does for the Cruisers.

There was a sequel, Eddie Lives!, in 1989. It's cheesy and cheap, and didn't do nearly as well as the original. I'm dubbing it for archival purposes and to go with the first movie, but it's really not recommended. To my knowledge, both movies are currently out of print on video and DVD (and the book is out of print as well), but you could probably find them used pretty easily.

It's Finally Fall

It finally felt like fall today, in fact more than it probably should have. It didn't even get into the 60s. I wore a sweater and long pants for the first time since May. It was cloudy and windy all day, but it has yet to rain or do anything worse than look gloomy.

Did the laundry around 10:30. It wasn't bad at all. All of the washers were open, and a lot of people were half-done with the driers. Even with a much larger load than I've had recently, I was in and out in no time.

There was a reason I wanted to get to the laundry early. I wanted the time to pull out and sort through my winter clothes and shoes. I was able to get everything in the right drawer and switch my summer and winter purses in just over twenty minutes. I don't have that many clothes. I do need some new things for winter, though. I've gotten rid of most of my sweaters over the years, some of which date back to high school, when my mom first became a fan of the Lands End and LL Bean catalogs. I need a winter dress (like the teal sundress I picked up from Lane Bryant a few weeks ago), and almost every winter shoe but snow boots, slippers, and fleece-lined clogs. Most of my winter pajamas are starting to get pretty worn, too.

I had leftovers for lunch, then headed to work. Work was busy for most of the night, right up until I left. It's the beginning of the month, so we had lots of big orders, though the cooler weather seemed to have put people in decent moods. (Anything's better than the warm, humid, rainy weather we've had for the past few weeks.) There was a call-out, so we were short on help for a lot of the night, too.

I needed milk after work. I also checked on gel pads for my poor, hurting feet, but they cost more than I had on me.

That's the Way that Oaklyn Had It's Picnic

I awoke to a cloudy, windy, nicely fall-ish day. Ran Brunch With the Beatles while making Gingerbread Pancakes for breakfast. The album Revolver was in the spotlight. This was one of the Beatles first excursions into wacky 60s psychedelic sounds, with songs like "And Your Bird Can Sing," "Yellow Submarine," "Tomorrow Never Knows," and "Love You To." The big hits were "Eleanor Rigby" and "Good Day Sunshine." Tried to get a hold of Mom, but I got the answering machine.

Watched some Backyardigans, then headed out to this year's annual Oaklyn Town Picnic. Oaklyn has free food, crafts, a bounce house, live music, and fire truck rides in the grassy area behind the Oaklyn School. There wasn't as much food as last year, no bake sale and not a lot of barbecue. There was enough for me, though. I had a burger, cole slaw, a Cherry Coke Zero, and a slice of store-bought cake.

I still had fun, though. I picked up free Sonic the Hedgehog and Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers/Darkwing Duck comics from the Oaklyn Library's table. I put stickers on a tin can filled with beans at Studio LuLoo's craft booth. (Some of the kids were covering glass bottles with glitter, glue, and pieces of colored tissue paper. Very pretty - I loved the one that was all red glitter - but I never would have been able to carry it on the bike with me.) I listened to the local band cover Beatles and Bruce Springsteen songs. I watched the kids gather around two clowns making balloon objects. Little kids got animals. Older boys had swords. Girls had flowers or wands with heart tops. Pre-teens sported wacky balloon hats.

Went straight to work after the picnic. Work was busy for most of the night, right up until 6, after which it died very quickly. So did the Eagles game, from what I heard. The Eagles were apparently winning for the first half, but it fell apart quickly and they eventually lost to the 49ers, 24-23.

Went straight home after work. I made tilapia with mushrooms and onions and a salad for dinner and finished up my new Backyardigans DVD. Of the four episodes on The Snow Fort, the title show and "The Yeti" are new to me. Both revolve around Tasha, Pablo, Uniqua, and Tyrone chasing each other around snowy settings. "The Snow Fort" has the boys as Mounties guarding a giant snowball in the aforementioned fort. The girls are ski patrollers who think the boys need rescuing. In "The Yeti," Tasha, Tyrone, and Uniqua explore the Artic while chasing what they think is a Yeti...but is really Pablo gobbling raisins and goofing around.

I did finally get a hold of Mom right after dinner. She was tired and not in the best mood. There's a lot going on at my parents' house right now. She did suggest getting my foot looked at. I was hoping it would just heal on its own...but the heel and just above it continue to be sore. My feet will hurt so badly when I get home from work, I can barely stand on it. She suggested getting gel inserts for the heel and maybe seeing a doctor.

Perfect Strangers Fanfiction Posted

I finally got around to posting my completed PS stories that weren't already up at the "Balki and Larry's Office" page at my site, including a few that aren't up at the PS site at Lauren's page. Enjoy!

Balki and Larry's Office

More Yard Sales Than There are In the Heavens

It was cloudy and cool when I first turned on the American Top 40 this morning. As Casey Kasem made his way through early October 1977, the sun broke through, though not enough to make it as warm and humid as it was earlier in the week. Hits from this week include "You Light Up My Life" by Debbie Boone, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon, "I Got Love" by Donna Summer, "Swayin' to the Music" by Johnny Rivers, "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac, and "On & On" by Steven Bishop.

The week's #1 hit also corresponds to that summer's blockbuster movie. The original Star Wars (now generally known as Star Wars: A New Hope) energized the box office in a big way during the summer of 1977, becoming one of the major phenomenons of the late 70s and reviving the popularity of sci-fi and fantasy. What else could be more appropriate at the top of the charts that Meego's disco-tinged medley of the theme song and the music from the Mos Eisley Cantina sequence?

I'm glad I went to the bank yesterday. Perhaps because of the weather last week, there were yard sales all over the place. I hit six in Oaklyn alone before I even went to the farm market. There were more yard sales in Audubon today than there were when they were having their town-wide yard sales last week!

I eventually picked up four records in Oaklyn, around the corner from PNC Bank:

Blondie - Blondie

Helen Reddy - I am Woman

Sing the Hit Songs of Sesame Street

A Disney book and record for the Grimm's Fairy Tale Hansel and Gretel

Found two CDs in Audubon:

Anne Murray - Croonin'

Perry Como - All Time Greatest Hits

I picked up videos of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree at a yard sale on Harding Avenue in Oaklyn and a WebKinz Warm-Up Suit for 50 cents a few blocks down. Grabbed Dark Horse reprints of the original Star Wars and Return of the Jedi comic books and a copy of one of the early Backyardigans DVDs I haven't seen, The Snow Fort, for a dollar each on Landis Avenue.

A yard sale in Audubon on Merchant Avenue had 80s collectables for sale. I found a near-mint Lady Lovely Locks doll among the piles of toys. Her long blond hair was in such a huge, thick braid on the top of her head, it made her head loose! Other than that and a dirty face, she was fine. Her limbs and face paint was all there. Her pink ruffled dress wasn't frayed or ripped. There were none of the white spots on her legs that my Maiden Curly Crown has. She even came with her original three Pixietails, pearly pastel clips with long curly tails, and her little pink shoes.

My best find of the day came from my very first stop. A sale on Eden Avenue near the Oaklyn ramp had Star Wars items for very good prices. I bought a never-used, still-in-the-plastic two-disc DVD copy of The Phantom Menace for a quarter! Phantom Menace was the only Star Wars movie I didn't have on DVD until today. (And I got the remaining two movies I needed for $1.25. Come to think of it, I picked up Revenge of the Sith on DVD for about $10 from Target shortly after it was released. That means I spent a grand total of $11.25 for the prequel films. ;) )

The Farm Market was busy as well, despite some missing vendors. The weather has been wrecking havoc on crops, but there was still plenty to choose from. I didn't need a whole lot today myself. I ended up with deep purple Concord grapes, Bartlett pears, the last cucumbers of the season, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and a jar of pumpkin butter. Found a lovely, just-right pumpkin for my apartment. I don't carve my big pumpkin. It's used as a decoration in my living room until Thanksgiving or it goes bad, whichever comes first.

Collingswood held it's annual Book Festival today, too. I wish I had more time to stroll around. I peered at the tables of authors showing off their wares and browsed through the used tables, but I ultimately didn't buy anything. It was really busy there, too, with people looking for bargains and enjoying the lovely fall day. Clouds were moving in by then, but it still wasn't as bad as most of the week was.

After all that, I barely had enough time to put everything away, change into my uniform, have lunch, pack dinner, and head out to work! I did make it on time, thankfully. Good thing. We were on-and-off busy all day long. Other than some annoying beginning-of-the-month people, there were no problems. I needed cereal after work. (I would have gotten it yesterday, but I forgot the coupon.) Went straight home after I finished shopping.

Good news on my schedule - next Friday and Saturday off, some decent hours (including 2-6 on Tuesday). Bad news - late days on Wednesday and Thursday (including until 10 on Thursday again), and won't have a day off until Friday. I'll hit the Haddon Township Library on Wednesday morning and try to get the rest of the cleaning done Tuesday and Thursday morning.