Preparing For Lauren's Arrival

Since Lauren wasn't due to get into Cherry Hill until 7:40, I did some usual day-off chores. Volunteered at the Oaklyn Library first. They were surprisingly busy for such a nice day. Quite a few older people were using the computers and chatting with the librarian. I didn't want to disrupt them, so I kept it to organizing the DVDs and doing a quick go-over on the picture books.

I mainly needed cards at Dollar Tree. Lauren just graduated college courses; my stepsister Jessa graduated the Art College of Philadelphia. Father's Day is this Sunday, too. I needed something for both dads. Also grabbed vinegar and a new laundry bag to replace the one that was damaged yesterday.

Went to the Haddon Township Library next. They weren't as busy. There were only a few people on the computers, and a few more taking out books. I organized the still-overflowing DVDs and shelved kids' books and magazines. I was out of there in less than an hour.

Newton River Park was absolutely gorgeous today. The weather was as perfect as it gets in mid-June. The sky was blue, with some fat clouds overhead. It was warm but neither too hot nor humid. There was a nice, soft wind that kept bugs and heat at bay. I saw a woman clearing the algae off the river in a huge harvester-like machine even as I rode past.

My ride ended as I left the park and was going up the hill into Oaklyn. I realized my back tire seemed to be moving a little odd. I got off and checked it. It was going flat. I wasn't that surprised. I've had that tire for a while, since the last one blew in July 2008. I was frustrated at first, but when I arrived home, I realized this was an opportunity. Lauren and I will probably hit Haddonfield sometime this week or next. Lauren loves the British Chip Shop. We'll just stop at the bike shop there, too.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at my apartment, having the last of the turkey sandwich I bought for dinner last night at the Acme for lunch. Ran a Lois & Clark episode as I ate. "Honeymoon In Metropolis" isn't what it sounds like. Our favorite reporter duo are trying to figure out why a well-known senator and a notorious arms dealer are meeting in the building across the way.

Spent the next few hours finishing the cleaning. I finally vacuumed around the edges and under furniture (at least as best I could with my pulled muscles), which I ran out of time for on Thursday. I swept the porch as best I could in the wind. I made the bed. I put away things I wouldn't need for the week and brought out towels for Lauren to use.

I then took a nice long soak in the bathtub. That felt extra yummy. I keep finding bruises in places I didn't know bruises could be. I can't really lean on my left knee because of the bruise there. Really, other than the sore arms, it could have been a lot worse. Nothing seems to be broken, not even the sore arms.

I'd just gotten dressed and was about to poke into the refrigerator to find dinner when the phone rang. Jodie wanted to know if I'd like to join her, Dad, and Jessa for ribs at Dad's house. Dad would take me to pick up Lauren from there. Sure! My only dinner plans was leftovers.

I strolled over to Dad's. Jodie greeted me on the porch. Dad and Jessa were in the kitchen, working on the rosemary baked potatoes. I congradulated Jess on her graduation. We talked about Rose and Craig moving into their house, and I told Dad about the few plans Lauren and I had. Jess asked if we'd like to hit up a couple of local Goodwills and thrift shops with her. I loved the idea and told her I'd float it by Lauren.

Dinner was delicious, as Jodie's ribs always are. We had asparagus and garlic and the tasty red potatoes with real rosemary from the big bush next to the side entrance to Dad's house. The asparagus was sweet; the ribs were succulent and tender. Jodie was worried that the potatoes hadn't cooked long enough, but I thought they were fine.

After Jodie and Jessa cleaned up the dishes, Dad and I headed to Cherry Hill to pick up Lauren. I called her as I was going to Dad's, and she called me when I was there. Not only did we hit some traffic going to Cherry Hill, but Dad took the wrong turn-off after we went over the Cooper River and had to go all the way around to the Towne Center, past Concentra Urgent Care where I had my foot looked at last year to get to the train platform.

Thankfully, we were only slightly late. Lauren had a bit of a rough ride herself. Her first train from Albany to New York ran into trouble after an hour. She had to change trains. That train was late getting in, which means she had to trade tickets to get a later train. Thankfully, she said she had no trouble after that and was in Cherry Hill on-time.

When we got home and got Lauren settled in, we decided to enjoy the nice weather and go for a walk. (Lauren said her folks mentioned spotty showers in Pittsfield, but we never saw so much as a raindrop here.) There was a huge crowd around Leo's Yum Yums; from the way they were talking and laughing, most of them probably just came out of the Oaklyn Manor. I was full of ribs and just went for a small Cotton Candy Yum Yum. Lauren had a medium orange-vanilla water ice. We strolled home, enjoying our treats and the company.

We took a look at cookbooks to make menus for the week for a while, then went online. Tomorrow, I'll call Jess and see if she's in the mood for a thrift shop excursion.

Magic To Do In Manhattan

Began the day with a laundry run. It was a big one, too. I had towels and linens to do along with my regular clothes. Thankfully, they weren't that busy at all when I got in. I listened to Let's Make a Deal, read Women Who Run With the Wolves, and watched the manager and a couple of repair men fix the larger, front-loading washing machines.

It was after I left the laundromat that it happened. I took the bike to the laundromat in order to avoid any rainy weather. My laundry bag was perched on my bike basket. Shortly after I crossed the street, the bag suddenly fell off. I rolled over it before I could stop myself. The bag got caught under the wheels. One thing lead to another...and down I and the bike went.

I got really, really lucky. My sneaker got caught in the frame of the bike, but it was the thick back sole and didn't hurt at all. I have bumps and bruises (including two dillies on my upper thighs), my left knee was skinned and bruised, and I think I might have pulled a few muscles in my front left shoulder. My other knee and feet were fine, and I was able to ride home upset and shaken but not permanently damaged.

As it turned out, the only other things that were hurt were my cargo capris (which now have small blood stains and holes in the bottom) and the laundry bag, which is a hole-filled mess and will have to be replaced. The laundry itself was unharmed, as were the book (good thing I put it in a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet in case of rain), the detergent bottle, and my bike. The box of drier sheets got squished, but the sheets themselves look all right.

When I got home, I cheered myself up with lunch, then made Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies while watching Bell, Book, and Candle. This 1958 comedy takes us to New York, where curio shop owner Gillian (Kim Novak) bewitches handsome if staid publisher Shep (James Stewart) away from his obnoxious fiancee. No, really bewitches him. She's an actual witch, as are her eccentric aunt Queenie (Elsa Lanchester) and whimsical brother Nick (Jack Lemmon). Thing is, Gillian can't fall for Shep, as much as she'd like to. If a witch falls in love, they lose their powers. Not to mention, there's the writer (Ernie Kovacs) who is determined to sniff out witches among Manhattan's underground beatnik culture...and it doesn't help that Nick is more than happy to lend a hand.

While some of this is mildly dated (including what she gives up in the end), for the most part, this is still a fun and unusual look at how underground sophistication tends to clash with "normal" morality...and how hard it can be to let one in over the other. Although Stewart isn't bad as the befuddled publisher, it's Novak and the supporting cast who really shine, especially Lemmon and Lanchester as her magical family and Hermione Gingold as a colorful older witch. Great color cinematography, too, especially in the opening sequences set during Christmas.

Stewart was far from the only normal guy to find himself up against supernatural forces. Harry Stone deals with an older woman who may or may not have clairvoyant powers and gets her to lift a "curse" on the court staff in the second season Night Court episode "The Gypsy." In the third season Perfect Strangers episode "The Horn Blows at Midnight," a female medium predicts that Larry will die that evening. Larry doesn't believe a word, but Balki does, and then strange coincidences start happening...

Animated characters had their own bouts with the supernatural. Garfield chases a magician's dog around a magic shop in "Magic Mutt" and deals with a gypsy curse of his own in "The Carnival Curse." When obnoxious witch Emerald turns her powers and her annoying laugh on a local pastry shop, the Sailor Soldiers find themselves up to their ears in icing and danger in "Emerald Bakes Up Trouble."

It started monsoon-level pouring during Bell, Book, and Candle. I called Dad for a ride again. It wasn't raining when he picked me up at 3:30, but it didn't look great out there, either. The rain continued on-and-off all night...and scared off a lot of our customers. It was steady all night, and only once during rush hour was it more than mildly busy. I did have to get a manager to take my line so I could get out, though.

Today was my last day of work until next week. As of now, I am officially on vacation! Lauren will be visiting starting tomorrow night; before that, I have a lot of things to do, including this week's library volunteering run.

Across the Apartment

It was a gorgeous day when I woke up this morning, sunny, breezy, and warmer than yesterday but not out of line for this time of year. I had Blueberry Pancakes and slices of cantaloupe while listening to Brunch With the Beatles. Let It Be, the Beatles' last album, was recorded as they were just beginning their painful break-up. Some of the discord did end up in the music, including "Get Back" and the title number. Other favorites from this album include "The Two of Us," "Across the Universe," "The Long and Winding Road," and the 50s rock-inspired "The One After 909."

Made my weekly call to Mom during the second half of the show. Not only was she at home, but she was in a far better mood than she was last week. Dad was out at sea; Anny took a day off to spend time with her sons. Mom had a rare day to herself and intended to spend it working on her garden and cleaning the house. She told me about her new Kindle and the math games she'd downloaded for Skylar (Anny's oldest son, who is almost 9). I told her about my upcoming vacation and how much I'm looking forward to it.

I had some cleaning of my own to do after I got off with Mom. I desperately needed to finish the dusting. Every couple of months, I go do a really deep dusting session and go under everything - books, DVDs, dolls, stuffed animals. I don't do it every month because it takes a while - I have a lot of those things! Even just doing the entertainment area (section of the living room where I keep the TV and DVDs) and my bedroom took two hours.

Ran a couple of Broadway cast albums as I dusted. All three were flop shows from the 60s and 70s that told tales of travel that didn't always go as planned. Do I Hear a Waltz? was the only show written by Richard Rogers and Stephan Sondheim. Pity they didn't get along, as there's some really lovely music in this adaptation of the play The Time of the Cukoo about a spinister who falls for a (married) local man on a trip to Italy.

The Grand Tour did even less well. The play that was musicalized here is Jablowsky and the Colonel, with songs by Jerry Herman. Joel Gray plays Jablowsky, the little Jew who convinces a haughty Polish colonel to drive him from Paris to England to escape the Nazis during World War II. Though it won a Best Score Tony for Herman, it's not considered to be one of his better shows and flopped rather quickly on Broadway. I don't know how this worked on stage, but there's some excellent songs in the score, including Marianne's "I Belong Here" and Jablowsky's anthem "I'll Be Here Tomorrow."

Sail Away was also a vehicle for a star and a composer, in this case comedienne Elaine Stritch and British wunderkind Noel Coward. Stritch is the activities director of a cruise ship who falls for a handsome young millionaire. She's not sure the relationship will work out on dry land, and his mother's completely disapproving of their age differences. This was the only original show of the three I listened to this afternoon, and the least successful. Critics dismissed it as old-fashioned in the early 60s, and even now, despite a good performance by Stritch and some decent material (including Stritch's big final song, "Why Do the Wrong People Travel?"), it mostly sounds rather dated and is a disappointing send-off for Coward.

Headed for work after a very quick lunch. Work was very busy all evening as people prepared for high school graduation and for other kids to be on their last weeks of school. It finally slowed down long enough by 7 for me to leave with no relief (which was a pleasant surprise, given that we were short on help with long lines for much of the evening).

Ran the 1977 New York Opera version of The Merry Widow as I had a quick dinner when I got home. This much-praised version of the venerable Austrian operetta has a translation by Broadway composer Sheldon Harnick that's considered to be one of the best English-language versions ever done. Beverly Sills shines as the Widow whose money could save her kingdom.

Berry Sweet Spring Harvest

It was still cloudy, cool, and a little humid when I awoke this morning. The American Top 40 warmed things up nicely as we skipped ahead a decade to early June 1984. While my family and I were helping Mom prepare for the new arrival in the fall (who would eventually become my sister Anny), the rest of the country brought ballads, New Wave, pop, and R&B to the fore. Hits that week included "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins from the film of that title, "Hello" by Lionel Richie, "Breakdance" by Irene Cara (1984 was the height of the breakdancing craze), "Let's Here It For the Boy" by Denise Williams from Footloose, "The Reflex" by Duran Duran, "Jump (For My Love)" by The Pointer Sisters, "Oh Sherrie" by Steve Perry, "Borderline" by Madonna, "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger, and "The Heart of Rock n' Roll" by Huey Lewis and the News. Colorful Cyndi Lauper was on top of the charts that week with the ballad "Time After Time."

I went straight to the farm market today. I didn't really have the time or money to look around for yard sales, and Oaklyn will be having their town-wide yard sales next week anyway. Despite the gathering clouds, the farm market was elbow-to-elbow packed when I arrived. Thankfully, yesterday's deluge didn't seem to have done the farmers much harm. Strawberries and asparagus have been joined by an array of late-spring vegetables, including radishes, turnips, and snap and sugar peas. I ended up with snap peas, strawberries, organic romaine lettuce (the organic lettuce bunches are much smaller...and sized right for a one-person household), four turnips with their tops, scallions, and blueberries. (The blueberries are from North Carolina, but there just isn't enough Jersey-grown fruit available at this time of year.)

I had just enough time when I got home to put everything away, check a few things online, and watch cartoons while having pan-fried turnips and turnip greens with the last of the leftover Italian Chicken for lunch. One of the most bizarre Looney Tunes prime time specials was Bugs & Daffy's Carnival of the Animals. New footage of the two trying to out-do each other with animals rhymes joins limited animation music videos representing each segment of the piece and live-action sequences of a real orchestra.

Ran a couple of classical-themed shorts after it ended that were a tad less weird. An opera singer destroys Bugs' instruments when he disrupts his rehearsals in "Long-Haired Hare." Bugs is annoyed and decides to get even on the singer at his concert...which literally brings the hall down. "The Rabbit of Seville" has Elmer and Bugs performing the famous opera, right down to the shave and a hair cut. "Baton Bunny" pits conductor Bugs against a fly that's determined to wreck havoc on his performance.

Work was very busy early on, steady later. It did slow down a little later in the afternoon, as the sun came out and it became apparent that it wasn't going to rain for the time being. There were no really huge problems, and I was in and out.

Which was a good thing, as I had my own grocery shopping to do. Not a lot of it, though. I was mainly restocking my baking ingredients, including cake mix (Betty Crocker was on sale), flour, baking cups, brown sugar, and chocolate chips. I'm almost out of cereal. The store's having a good Quaker Oats sale; I went with the Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares. Needed melon slices, cooking spray, and paper towels, too.

It was so nice by quarter after 6, I decided to eat outdoors. I had a grilled chicken sandwich, cherry limeade, and those wonderfully crunchy onion rings at Sonic. It felt wonderful. I wasn't the only one who wanted to take advantage of the pale blue sky and soft breezes, either. Several families left their cars to eat.

When I got in, I ran a few more Looney Tunes shorts. Marvin the Martian made his debut (with a slightly different voice) in "Hairdevil Hare." Bugs once again has to save the Earth from Marvin's attempt to blow it to bits. In "Hair-Raising Hare," Bugs has his first encounter with Gossamer the Monster. Goss' creator wants Bugs to be his dinner! In the end, it's the least-likely creatures that finally send Gossamer fleeing.

Miss Redmer and the Very Soggy Day

I awoke to a heavy shower, though not as bad as I figured it would be. However, the shower hadn't let up by 10:30. There was no way I was going to be able to ride to work in this weather. I ended up calling Dad for a ride. Thankfully, he'd just gotten in yesterday and was more than happy to help out. He's driven in worse weather before. He spent 30 years dealing with Florida hurricanes.

Put on The Secret of NIMH this morning while I looked over my accounts on PNC's site. Since I'm currently in the midst of reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,I thought I'd watch its film version. This is one time where they change a lot and I don't mind at all, as both versions, with or without magic, are equally enjoyable. In brief, Mrs. Frisby (Brisby in Secret to avoid legal problems) goes first to the majestic Great Owl, then to the very civilized rats who live in a rosebush to help move her family's home. The rats have a devastating secret of their own...one that also concerns Mrs. Frisby and her late husband, Johnathan.

Don Bluth's first solo feature-length film is one of the most beautiful and haunting animated films of the 80s. I'm a huge fan of Jerry Goldsmith's gorgeous score, including the ballad "Flying Dreams." As much as I love the Watership Down-esque-realism in the book, I also enjoy the sword-and-sorcery fantasy in the movie (that last duel between Justin and Jenner is a stunner). If you're a Bluth fan or a fan of animation, the movie is required viewing; if you love realistic animal stories, the book won a Newberry Medal. I do recommend both book and film for older kids, though. They deal with some dark subject matter, including death, violence, and relatively graphic depictions of animal testing.

I spent the rest of the morning dusting. I had time to do the living area table and the music section of the living area. I call it the living "area" because it's so big, it's separated into three parts. I'll dust the entertainment (TV and DVD) section tomorrow or Sunday.

It was still just showering when Dad got me to work. The showers started picking up around 5ish until they were coming down in noisy, thundering torrents. Despite the weather, the store was on-and-off busy. It's still the beginning of the month, and people still need to shop, rain or no rain. I did returns during the down times.

The thunderstorms continued when Dad took me home. Good thing he spent 30  years living in Florida and knows how to handle monsoons. When I got in and got my wet clothes off, I made an omelet for dinner while watching the Looney Tunes prime-time special Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over. While this Chuck Jones-directed show is supposed to have a mild spring/early summer theme, it's really a showcase for Jones' characters. The first short depicts a very young Bugs as he dodges young Elmer's pop gun. The second takes Bugs into outer space to be a companion for Marvin the Martian's "pet" Hugo. The third is your standard Wile E Coyote and Road Runner chase through the desert.

And the rain is still going at press time, though I haven't heard the thunder in a while. It's supposed to be gone or close to gone by tomorrow. I sure hope so. I wasn't planning on doing any yard sales anyway, but I do want to get to the farm market.

Busy at Home

I spent most of the day at home, doing a lot of spring cleaning before Lauren visits next week. Started with two Rick Steves episodes that visit parts of France scarred by the World Wars of the 20th Century. In Alsace, Steves visits Verdun, the site of one of the biggest and most costly battles of World War I. The episode on Normandy and the D-Day beach invasion turned out to be especially timely, as today is the anniversary of that history-making World War II Allied battle.

After I left Rick and France, I started the cleaning. Made the bed first. I don't often make the bed. Besides the mountain of stuffed animals I have on it, who's gonna see it? It's really a habit leftover from when I slept on a mattress and most of the stuffed animals ended up on the floor.

Andrew finally mowed the lawn sometime between yesterday afternoon and this morning. He didn't do that good of a job - I could see places where it was still fairly high - but it does look much better than it did before he mowed. While the mower seemed to have mulched most of the leaves, I did rake the ivy bed in front of the main house and the path leading to my apartment. Got really bitten up by mosquitoes doing so. I felt like one big bite.

Scrubbed the bike and the porch furniture next. While the bike was more dusty and pollen-coated than anything, the porch furniture was a mess. It's old to begin with. I've had the two plastic chairs since Wildwood, and they've seen every kind of weather possible. I'm surprised they aren't cracked and broken yet - I only bought them from Family Dollar! They were coated with dirt, spider webbing, leaves, and dust. I did most of the chairs, but I finally gave up on the blue milk-crate table.

Ran two episodes of Get Smart during a quick peanut-butter lunch. Max and 99 find themselves "Aboard the Orient Express" when they have to get a briefcase filled with pay money for undercover agents behind enemy lines and get around a KAOS assassin. In "Stakeout on Blue Mist Mountain," the trio are joined by the Chief and head invention expert Parker when they discover that a series of KAOS agents have been bringing the parts to an atomic bomb that could destroy the east coast to a cabin on the mountains of the title.

I stuck to goofy law enforcement officials as I scrubbed the refrigerator and cleaned the kitchen. The Naked Gun is a spin-off of the series Police Squad! and the first in a series of three movies about the ongoing adventures of very dedicated LA cop Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielson). In this first movie, he finds himself having to clear the name of his partner Nordberg (O.J Simpson) after he's accused of being involved with narcotics, while proving that the seemingly above suspicion Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban) is really an evil mastermind who wants to assassinate Queen Elizabeth on a trip to the US.

Nonsensical? Oh yeah. Funny as heck? Absolutely. All three films are recommended, but please start here, as Drebin meets the love of his life (Priscilla Prestley) and we see how badly Nordberg can get used for a chew toy.

After Drebin finished, I did a quick vacuuming session. I really need to do around the walls, but it was past 5 at that point. I had neither the time, nor the energy. I'll do it next week. At least I got it done. I really want to get rid of the pollen in particular.

Went straight into a much-needed bath after I finished. Boy, did that feel goooooood. I wish I could have spent more time in there, but I did need to eat. After I got out, I made Pan-Seared Turkey Cutlets, Italian zucchini, and a farm market-fresh salad for dinner while watching Recess: School's Out! T.J Detwiler is ready for a fun-filled summer vacation, until he learns that all of his friends are going to camp. While they're away, he discovers a plot being hatched in the school that involves a laser and their principal disappearing before his eyes. The others think he's crazy when he brings them back, until they see the laser. Now it'll take all their smarts and know-how, and that of the other kids at the Third Street School, to save vacation time for the whole country.

One of my favorite unsung Disney animated films. You don't have to know anything about Recess to enjoy this hilarious ode to how important summer is to kids...and those who remember being kids. Classic rock fans will get a kick out of the 60s soundtrack, including the psychedelic video in the credits to "Green Tambourine."

Oh, and it was cloudy off and on all day here, but never really  humid or warm. In fact, it was probably in the mid-to-lower 70s, pleasantly cool for this time of year here. Thankfully, the deluge we're supposed to get held off until I was long online chatting with Lauren.

Spring Cleaning Days

It was absolutely gorgeous when I headed out around 10 this morning for this week's run to the Haddon Township Library. It was sunny, the sky was blue, and it was a little bit warmer than yesterday but nothing intolerable, probably in the upper 70s-lower 80s. Newton River Park was bustling with bike riders, joggers, couples out for a mid-morning stroll, and kids and their parents darting around the playground. Though the river is looking a bit mucky, the park is green and shady now.

Haddon Township Library was surprisingly busy for having only been open a half-hour when I got there. I organized the DVDs as best I could. The kids' titles and the adult titles on the side of the shelves with the M through Z and foreign movies are still full to capacity. I also shelved some children's picture books.

But the beautiful day beckoned. I headed out after about an hour. My next stop was the Rite Aid across the street from Westmont Plaza. I'm almost out of contact lens solution. They were having a half-price sale on a particular brand of photo albums. I was able to find one with magnetic pages that would work as a replacement for the recipes clippings scrapbook I found at a yard sale in Haddon Heights two months ago.

I had lunch at Capitol Pizza. It was noon by then. There were a couple of people watching the French Open when I came in. I ordered a slice of mushroom and a slice of cheese pizza and a can of Fresca and took them outside. Ok, so the view of parked cars and old buildings on the White Horse Pike isn't exactly scenic. On a beautiful day, it beats sitting inside, watching the French Open (tennis never was my sport).

Since I was back in Oaklyn earlier than I planned, I stopped at the Oaklyn Library on my way home. I just finished organizing the adult DVDs (including pulling the plastic off of a new one) when the first-graders arrived for their story hour. I listened to the head librarian read a story about a kid who kept bringing animals, from frogs to elephants, to the building, and the mess they made. I then helped her demonstrate the different parts of a library and all of the remodeling and updating that's been done in Oaklyn over the last year or so. I didn't want to disrupt the kids, so I headed out after that.

Spent the rest of the day at home. As soon as I got in, I got right into organizing that collection of recipe and food clippings. I added another small pile of recipes I'd gotten from various places over the years, too. Just sorting and cutting down the two piles to fit into the new book took almost two and a half hours. The recipe book had come with a bag of dividers, and there were already dividers in the scrapbook itself. I separated meatless main dishes from ones with meat, pasta and rice from meatless main dishes, and desserts from cakes and cookies. The remaining bits - a spice chart, a chart listing common household stains and how to get rid of them - were included in the back under "miscellaneous."

Spent the rest of the afternoon scrubbing the bathroom. I wanted to get it done last week, but I got called into the Acme. It was gross. I scrubbed everything as hard as I could, including the bathroom floor and the rectangle of linoleum between the living area and the bedroom. I normally do that in April, but I held off on it this year until closer to Lauren's visit (and because I just plain didn't have the time in April). I really need to replace the huge bath mat that's covering the linoleum in the hall with a new bath mat, or better yet, a real rug. It came with the apartment, and it's showing its age. The bottom is flaking away.

Oh, and I took down the spring decorations and put up the very few items I have for summer. I'll wait until after Lauren's visit to put up the decorations for the Fourth of July.

Ran The Muppet Movie while I had leftovers and farm market veggies for dinner and made Wacky Zucchini Cake (a variation on a recipe from the scrapbook dubbed "Wacky Cake," with added egg whites and finely chopped zucchini and no cocoa). The first Muppet film details how the original crew got together and found their way to Hollywood. On the way, they have several close encounters of the goofy kind with the Colonel Sanders-esque Charles Durning, who wants Kermit to be his spokesfrog for his chain of fried frog's legs restaurants. Kermit has a dream, however, and neither amorous pigs nor a multitude of guest stars nor nearly as many running gags are going to deter him from following it.

If you're a fan of the Muppets in general or the original Muppet Show, this is one of the best of their movies. (My personal favorite is The Muppets Take Manhattan, but some of that might be nostalgia talking.) It was huge hit in 1979 for a reason. While several of the guest stars and pop culture jokes may fly under the radar of many audience members today, the script is still fairly witty, and the Muppets themselves are as endearing as always. Highly recommended for fans of the Muppets or anyone looking for well-written family entertainment.

A Week From Vacation

I started the day in front of the computer. I wanted to make goals for finding a job and/or starting a business. I didn't get very far. I just couldn't concentrate. I'm not very good at making goals. I know I want to get out of the Acme badly. I just don't know if I want to move to a smaller office, or start my own business. I haven't a clue of what kind of office I could work for or what type of business to start or how. I'm just feeling frustrated and tired.

Calling Mom didn't really help matters. She wasn't in the best mood when I finally got through to her. First of all, she's not happy about having to babysit my sister Anny's son again now that she has a job and he's almost out of school. She and Dad are still broke, too, and Dad in particular has lots of medical bills to pay and no insurance to help them pay it.

Finally gave up on the goal sheet around 10 and went for a walk. It was too nice to be inside all morning, anyway. The scorching heat of the past few days had given way to sunshine, cool breezes, and perfect 70-degree temperatures. I strolled to WaWa to get milk, which I ran out of yesterday. The irises are gone, but the roses are out, and it looks like the tiger lilies are getting ready to make their appearances. Everything is a brilliant shade of green that even Technicolor can't reproduce.

When I got back in, I had a quick leftover lunch while running cartoons, then headed to work. Work was, in the reverse for my usual shift, busy when I got in and dead when I left. I guess everyone went out for their lunch breaks, then went straight home to spend a nice evening with their families. The lunch rush hour was far more congested than the dinner rush hour. It's still the beginning of the month, and there were a lot of annoying people. I wasn't happy that my relief was a bit late, either.

When I finally got out, I hurried home and went straight into a much-needed bath. My knees are sore like heck, and my heel spur has been acting up earlier than usual. The bath didn't do much for my heel, but my knees do feel much better.

I made Rosemary Fish n' Chips with vinegar (a dollar flounder filet cooked in Worcestershire sauce and vinegar with rosemary, salt, and pepper) and a salad of farm market-fresh greens and radishes for dinner while watching the Garfield travel-themed specials. Garfield's not thrilled with Jon's insistence on camping in Garfield In the Rough. The trio go west after they win a pet talent contest in Garfield In Hollywood, but Garfield's desire for a more-polished act may end up cutting Jon out. They go tropical (and sneak in some Jack Benny jokes) in Garfield In Paradise, where they encounter a rather odd tribe of doo-wop worshiping natives.

Garfield wasn't the only cartoon character to encounter trouble in paradise. The Tiny Toons discover that "No Toon Is An Island" when they find a map that leads to buried treasure and learn that jealousy can be uglier than any storm, ghost, or x-creating bird.

Dodging the Rain

It was only cloudy when I got up this morning. It was humid and damp, but not as hot as it has been; it must have rained overnight. At any rate, it wasn't doing anything when I finally made it out to do this week's laundry load. It was busy when I got in, but everyone seemed to have their clothes in the dryer. By the time my clothes were going in the dryer, most everyone was gone. It was just me and The Price Is Right until I finished what little I had, loaded up my laundry bag, and left.

When I got in, I put everything away and did a few quick items on my computer and my desk. I wrote out my rent check. I updated a few inventories and did this month's budget. While I have bought several things at yard sales and for the dolls, I've also been transferring at least 20 to 40 dollars to my savings account every week. I still have far more money than I did at this time last year, when I would barely have been making 20 to 25 hours. 

I had a very quick lunch of leftovers while watching Muppet Show episodes. I honored the late Jean Stapleton with the hilarious episode she appeared in during the first half of season three. She got to duet with Fozzie on the old Irving Berlin favorite "Play a Simple Melody" and with Harry the Mad Bomber on "I'm Just Wild About Harry." Leo Sayer was a popular British singer in the late 70s who is today best known for the smash hit "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing." Miss Piggy certainly doesn't feel like dancing - or doing anything besides karate chops - when a new, younger female pig named Annie Sue joins the cast.

It was still cloudy when I rode to work (delivering the rent on the way). The rain didn't come until much later...just in time for rush hour, of course. Between the weather and this being the beginning of the month, we were slammed for most of the night. We had the usual assortment of annoying folks we get hit with at this time of the month, including one woman who first fussed over having to split her order of Poweraides to get the buy 10, get 5 free sale, and then because she didn't buy the right size of Life Cereal to get that sale. She said she found those in the displays, but customers who came in later with that sale said they found nothing but the right size. She probably just assumed that they were what she wanted without really looking. Even her teenage son looked annoyed with her. Not to mention she held up a family with a toddler and a huge order; good thing they were cool about it. 

I was so happy that the crowds not only slowed down in time for me to get off with no problems, but so did the weather. Once again, it wasn't raining when I was out. It looked like the clouds on the horizon were trying to break apart. At the very least, I haven't seen any more rain at press time. 

Working On My Own Terms

I slept in this morning, then spent an hour and a half writing in my journal and finishing Where Have All the Flowers Gone? The most recent-set story of the Dear America series takes us to working-class Boston in tumultuous 1968. Molly Flahery is worried when her beloved brother Patrick volunteers for Army duty and winds up in one of the worst war zones in Vietnam. The confusion stateside, with hippies in Harvard Square and teachers getting upset over her probing questions about the war, is both intriguing and frustrating to Molly, who believes in knowing both sides of a situation. When she volunteers in a Veteran's Hospital, she gets a full-on view of what Vietnam vets went through during that time period and learns a clear lesson in injustice and compassion.

Very interesting, especially if you have any interest at all in the late 60s and everything that went on then. Molly is one of the more fully-realized characters of the series; evidently, her brother had a companion book about his battles in Vietnam as well. I also like that her father is a long-time fireman and her description of her dangerous work. I completely relate there. My stepfather is a commercial fisherman, and I'm also used to him doing dangerous work at odd hours and worrying about him and his men. One of my best guy friends in high school was a volunteer firefighter for many years.

It's rather appropriate that Brunch With the Beatles highlighted Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band today. This was one of the first CDs I ever bought; I still have it, in fact. I know many of these songs well, including favorites like "With A Little Help From My Friends" and "A Day In the Life." "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" were intended for the album, but ultimately released as singles.

I finally made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes around 11:30. Tried calling Mom, but I didn't get her. After the show ended and I cleaned up the breakfast mess, I switched to doing computer work for the rest of the afternoon.

I went over several lists, including what I want to try to do for the next few months and my reading and DVD-watching lists. I also took a look at the list of "goals" I made back in the fall when I was at home due to that fractured ankle. I need to make some real, concrete goals. My only real goals right now are to buy a laptop and get the heck out a corporate environment that I'm hopelessly ill-suited to and desperately unhappy in.

I really wish I knew what'll get me out of the Acme faster. I'm not sure if I still would be better off starting a writing/clerical/curating at-home business of some kind, or if I should just look for a job in a smaller, less busy and traditional office, or maybe a little of both. The very notion of traditional "job hunting" terrifies me and has been of little help when I have done it. I'm too shy for networking and schmoozing and pushing myself here, there, and everywhere. I wish there was a simpler way for people to find a job.

I'm going to continue working on the goal list and the worksheets in The 9-to-5 Cure and Personal Finance For Dummies through tomorrow and Tuesday. After Tuesday, I'll return all three finance books I took out of the library and will put no more thought to anything job-related until after Lauren leaves on the 19th. I'd really like to enjoy my vacation and take some genuine time-out from my troubles.

I had a quick fried-egg lunch before dashing off to work. Work was ok, with more grouchy managers than customers for once in the beginning of the month. In fact, my customers were in surprisingly good moods for this time of the month and year, maybe because the weather held off. It was sunny this morning, but clouds began gathering as I prepared for work. It rained as I was riding down the Black Horse Pike for all of two minutes. One of my co-workers said she heard the rain was supposed to be hitting here by around 7:30. I got out at 7, and at press time, I haven't seen a rain drop yet. I think the worst of it is supposed to come early in the morning.

Ghosts, Grapes, and Grocery Store "Yard" Sales

The weather remained dry and sunny but very hot when I got up this morning. It was just as hot on the American Top 40 re-run as we boogied our way into early June 1976. Hits that sent our feet to the disco in that late spring included "Silly Love Songs" by Wings, the lovely "Misty Blue" by Dorothy Moore, "Boogie Fever" by Sylvers, "Right Back Where We Started From" by Maxine Nightingale, "Welcome Back" by John Sebastian, "Shannon" by Henry Gross, the theme from Happy Days by Pratt & McClain, Hall & Oates' first hit "Sara Smile," and "Shop Around" by The Captain & Tenille. Diana Ross continued her successful solo career with that week's number one song, "Love Hangover."

I squeezed in a few music-oriented cartoons before heading for work. One of the most famous episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures is "Toon Music Television" from the first season, which showcased classic videos for the They Might Be Giants songs "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"and the 60s rock songs "Money (That's What I Want)" and "Respect." There was also an updated spoof of the Mickey Mouse Sorcerer's Apprentice featuring Buster and Bugs.

Speaking of Mickey, he had his own encounter with pioneering music broadcasting. One of his more obscure black and white shorts is The Barnyard Broadcast from 1931. Commercial radio was in its infancy, and Mickey, Minnie, Clarabelle, and Horace were jumping onto the musical band wagon with a classical concert over the air waves. They also accidentally broadcast a mother cat and her kittens, which brings a noisy Pluto in...and brings down the house!

I worked unusually early today, but given how hot it was, maybe it was just as well. I wasn't happy about having to miss Collingswood's Town-Wide Yard Sale...but the Acme inadvertently made it up to me. The store had a "yard" sale on our front patio area to raise funds for a local family who lost relatives. I bought a widescreen DVD copy of Catch Me If You Can and a really cute stuffed purple grape. I named the grape "Fanta," after Coke's fruit soda brand. Hey, it sounds better than "Welch!"

Otherwise, work wasn't a huge problem today. It was really crazy-busy during the noon rush hour. Otherwise, it was on and off. It slowed down enough for me to leave a little bit early with no relief. I forgot cheese and fruit concentrate yesterday.

Stopped at Rose's first to see if anyone was around, then went down to Leo's Yum Yums. Yes, they were finally open. I could buy my first small cherry-vanilla Yum Yum (a grittier, creamier-tasting water ice) of the year. I even gave my change to a little boy who didn't have enough for a water ice.

When I got home, I went straight in the bath tub. Ahh, I so very needed that. My legs were sore, and my right knee hurt badly. I soaked for over an hour while listening to jazz interpretations of George Gershwin songs and reading books on being positive about making money.

After I finally climbed out of the tub, I threw together leftovers for dinner while watching Scooby Doo and the Boo Brothers. Shaggy has inherited a huge, spooky old plantation from his Uncle Beauregard. He, Scooby, and Scrappy head down south to check it out. They begin to wish they hadn't when they're spooked by a screwy sheriff, a goofy gorilla on the run from the zoo, and a pair of hillbillies who don't take kindly to strangers related to Beauregards. Shaggy hires the "Boo Brothers" to get rid of his uncle's ghost...but the Boo Brothers turn out to be not only ghosts themselves, but less than helpful. Shaggy's on his own if he wants to find out where his uncle hid a fortune in jewels and come out of the mystery alive!

Hanna-Barbara did three made-for-TV movies featuring Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy in 1988. Other than marking Scrappy's final appearances in animation, none of them were really all that popular. The irony is, for all the playing up of the Boo Brothers in the opening credits, they really don't do a whole lot besides occasional slapstick. (I have no idea why the hillbillies were there, either, other than as filler. In fact, they disappear completely by the end of the movie.)

This is Shaggy and the dogs' show, and they handle a decent mystery surprisingly well. Even Scrappy isn't nearly as annoying as usual. If you like Shaggy and Scooby or the late 70s and 80s incarnation of the show, this isn't great, but isn't as horrible as it could be, either.