Summer Harvest Time

Began today with cereal and cherries for breakfast while watching a country music-themed episode of The Muppet Show from the 3rd season. Country performers did turn up on the show from time to time, and none were more beloved than big and small screen veterans Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the King and Queen of the Cowboys. The two sang their hits (including favorites like "Deep In the Heart of Texas," "Happy Trails to You," and "Tumblin' Tumbleweeds") while the Muppets tried to figure out what to do with the cows they ordered for the finale.

I hit the Collingswood Farm Market pretty late, around 11. While the produce was fairly picked-over, they did still have some good stock left. The summer harvest season is in full swing - I saw peaches, eggplants, Chinese (long) beans, peppers, and celery for the first time today. I ended up buying peaches, blueberries, a green and a yellow pepper, two ears of corn, and two spring onions with their tops still on. You'd never know it was so late. The lines were still pretty deep in a few places.

Rode around for a while, looking for yard sales. I finally gave up and headed home. I still had things to do, anyway. The topping for the cupcakes for work was first. I made Cocoa Whipped Cream Frosting with cocoa, heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar. When I finished that, I swept the porch. I haven't done it in ages. It's not as bad as in the fall, but we are in the midst of pepper nut season, and the occasional branch or leaves or sticker ball leftover from the winter do end up there.

Ran An American Tail: Fivel Goes West while I worked. Fivel Mouskawitz and his family head to the wild west for what they think will be greener pastures, goaded by a seemingly-sophisticated cat who claims mice and cats are friends in the rugged new country. Fivel discovers the truth - the land is barren and difficult to conquer, and the cats are hatching a scheme that'll end with the mice all being killed at once. Meanwhile, Fivel's sister Tanya wishes her singing was more appreciated. The cats' rough saloon ends up being the chance she's been looking for. Tiger the Cat is upset that his girlfriend Miss Kitty has also gone west, looking for a tougher breed of cat. It's up to legendary law dog Wylie Burp to turn Tiger into the strongest law cat around in order to help Fivel save the day!

I'm far fonder of this follow-up to the original An American Tail than I am of the overwrought first film. This musical western has all the humor and charm that much of the depressing first movie lacks. It's also a bit of history - this was James Stewart's last onscreen performance as the voice of Wylie Burp. If you love westerns or want to see the lighter side of 80's-early 90's animation or Fivel and his family, this is highly recommended.

I left for work a little early to enjoy our Summer Barbecue. There was tons of food when I arrived. I saw deviled eggs, two kinds of pasta salad (one with vegetables and a vinegar-based dressing, one with a mayo-based dressing), potato salad from the deli, Waldorf (apple-celery) Salad, a broccoli-cauliflower salad with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds, grilled hot dogs, ambrosia, chili, baked beans, and shredded barbecue chicken. Desserts included two cakes (one chocolate, one carrot cake), thumbprint cookies, cheesecake, and my cupcakes. I had the deviled eggs, vinegar veggie pasta salad, broccoli-cauliflower salad, and shredded barbecue chicken on a roll for a late lunch. Dinner included more of the tasty veggie salad, ambrosia, and two hot dogs. Had two slices of carrot cake and a slice of chocolate cake for dessert.

Work was the same it's been all week - on-and-off busy but mostly dead. I did agree to stay an extra hour because several of the just-hired high school kids called out sick. I spent most of that hour standing around, until they finally let me do returns. Needless to say, there were no major problems, and I got in and out just fine.

When I got home, I had time for a nice, relaxing bath before I went online. Lauren's not going to be online until late - she went to see a Weird Al Yankovitz concert in Albany. (She's a big Weird Al fan.) That felt sooo nice. I listened to George Winston's piano versions of Vince Guaraldi's music (including many from the Peanuts specials) and read books on musicals.

Whip-Crack Away!

I was delighted to awaken to a bright, sunny summer morning. It was hot, but breezy, and with no humidity. It was the perfect weather to make Chocolate Cupcakes for the summer party the Acme is having tomorrow. I have a great one-bowl recipe I got out of that Hershey's baking cookbook I found at a yard sale a few years ago. It's absolutely delicious, one of my very favorite cupcake recipes. I threw in the last of the dark chocolate chips for extra flavor.

Ran Calamity Jane as I baked. This musical western takes us to Deadwood in Dakota Territory, where Calamity, a boisterous tomboy (Doris Day), is a sharpshooter and stagecoach driver who has all kinds of crazy stories about fighting Indians. The guys at Deadwood consider her to be one of them...and when she tells them she'll bring the actress from Chicago that they're all crazy about to Deadwood, they know she's as good as her word. Trouble is, Calamity can't tell one bustle-wearin' female from another. She ends up bringing back the actress' maid, Katie Brown (Allyn Ann MacLerie). The men of Deadwood are initially angry when they discover the deception, but Calamity convinces them to give Katie a chance. She even invites Katie to live with her. Calamity's not very happy when both her best guy friend Wild Bill Hickcock (Howard Keel) and the Calvary officer she has her eye on (Phillip Carey) fight over Katie...and it turns out that Katie likes the Calvary officer.

Doris Day's most famous musical is a rousing cross between Oklahoma! and Annie Get Your Gun. What I really like is the surprising twist - this is one time "taming" the tomboy doesn't work. Calamity's just as tough in a fancy gingham dress as she is in dirty buckskins. Indeed, she performs the film's most famous number, the Oscar-winning "Secret Love," in a clean and well-made fringed suit. If you're a fan of Day or musical westerns, I highly recommend this fun tale.

Work was once again mostly dead. It did get a little busy around 2. I guess everyone got out early to head to the Shore. By rush hour, it was dead again. My relief was actually early for a change. Other than a few annoying customers, there were no major problems.

It was too nice to eat anywhere but Sonic for dinner. There were several pairs already enjoying sundaes and sandwiches on the patio when I arrived. I ordered the same thing I had when Lauren visited, a Grilled Chicken Sandwich with tater tots and a cherry limeade. Alas, I spilled half my cherry limeade as I was preparing to head back to the Acme. Most of it ended up on the table, though some splashed on my work pants. Good thing I was going to put those pants in the laundry basket tonight anyway.

I cleaned up the bottom of my pants in the back lounge room at work. I had grocery shopping to do, anyway. I needed to restock sugar - white, brown, and powdered. Meat sales continue. I bought boneless thighs and more of those tasty fish cakes. Picked up heavy cream for the icing I'll make for the cupcakes tomorrow and foil cupcake tins to carry them to work in. Thankfully found boxes of organic Earl Gray and black tea on the clearance shelves, the latter in a very nice tin. (There were no tea sales this week, and I'm just about out.) Grabbed milk and chocolate chips. My Pledge dust cleaner is just about empty, and I needed sponges and bubble bath.

My schedule for next week is almost exactly the same as last week, only I work slightly later on Sunday. Otherwise, it's all late morning and afternoon work, with Monday and Tuesday off again, perfectly normal for this time of year.

Out West With Backyard Kids, Mice, and Baritones

Began a hazy, humid morning with one of my favorite Backyardigans episodes, "Blazing Paddles." Uniqua is the sheriff in Ping Pong Mesa, a town where everyone loves to play ping pong. Tasha, Tyrone, and Austin are its citizens. This little town is a peaceful place...until Bandit Pablo rolls in! He wins all of the kids' paddles, including Uniqua's. She has to hone her ping pong skills in the desert in order to defeat Pablo's "Bandit Slam-It" move and get her job back.

Mickey and Minnie are also heading out west in one of the last black-and-white Mickey shorts, "Two-Gun Mickey." Mickey's a cheeky cowboy who tries to flirt with tough-minded cowgirl Minnie, but she's having none of it. For once, she has the sense to fight with, then run from, nasty bandit Big Pete. When he finally outruns her, Mickey comes to her rescue.

Work was only slightly busier than yesterday. Everyone was worried about a huge storm coming our way. Once again, I stood around quite a bit. I did get a compliment from a very sweet older woman earlier in the day...but I had trouble with WIC checks again. A couple hadn't looked in the right place for the pasta they just started to include on the checks. We had to look three times to find it. And then the check-cashing machine, which hadn't been working that well all day, decided to crash. Taking the plug out and putting it back in helped. My relief was late - I barely got out on time.

I spent the rest of the evening at my apartment, avoiding the smothering humidity. Made a tasty meal of poached salmon on withered spinach and cucumber and tomato salad for dinner. Not bad. I messed up the spinach and put it in at the wrong time, but it still tasted pretty good.

Ran Let Freedom Ring while making dinner. Nelson Eddy steps out of traditional operetta territory for this rousing western tale. He's Steve Logan, a lawyer who returns west to find that his father Tom (Lionel Barrymore) is being run off his land by a corrupt railroad owner (Edward Arnold) and his henchman (Victor MacLaglahn). He seemingly goes along with the railroad owner...but is really posing as The Wasp, who writes newspapers that attack the railroads for being cruel to their immigrant workers. Now Steve has to find a way to get his papers to the public and avoid the railroad men, or they'll put his presses to bed for good!

Gets a little too preachy about Americans' rights at times, but otherwise, not a bad western. If you're a fan of Eddy or Scarlet Pimpernel/Zorro-style secret identity stories are willing to try something a little different out west, check this one out at the Warner Archives.

Oh, and we finally did get a thunderstorm...around 8:30, by which time I was long at home and online. Looks like that'll clear out the precipitation for the rest of the weekend. It may rain a bit early next week - we'll see what happens.

Quiet Day In the Rain

I spent most of a humid, gloomy day at work. Work was very boring. We were stone-cold dead for most of the day. The manager kept trying to get us to do stuff...but there was nothing to do. None of the displays on the front end really needed to be organized, and one can only clean so often before there's nothing left to clean. I worked on story ideas, but I got fussed at by the manager for standing there. I wasn't standing there! I was writing. It did pick up slightly later in the afternoon as we got closer to rush hour, enough that I was almost late signing off with no relief. I'm guessing people were either avoiding the rainy weather or still down at the Shore.

A couple of customers had complained about rain, and it was spitting when I came to work. By the time I got out, it was just down to spitting again. It did rain one more time, long after I got online. To my knowledge, it hasn't rained since then.

Spent the rest of the evening having a quick dinner of spinach, eggs, cheese, and mushrooms and vacuuming the apartment and airing the rag rug in my bedroom and the rug in the kitchen. I put this off, too - it drives my nose crazy - but it really did have to be done. I haven't done it since the day Lauren visited.

Ran a quick Bowery Boys movie while I worked and ate. The boys are thrilled when Sach finds a rolled-up newspaper filled with 50,000 dollars. It turns out to be Jinx Money when they discover it was the pay out from an illegal poker game. Now all the gamblers at the game are after the money! Someone carrying an umbrella is bumping the gangsters off one by one. Sach keeps seeing an umbrella with a hand, but no one believes him, including the exasperated cop who is keeping an eye on the case and the Boys.

Summertime Ride

I got a call from Mrs. Stahl around 10 when I was finishing  up my offline journal. She said she wanted to see me at 2, rather than 3. That was fine, too. I asked for today off, and counseling was my only really big plan besides library volunteering.

Since I now had extra time, I spent the morning finally cleaning the kitchen. It was almost as grungy as the bathroom. There was dirt specks in the cabinets - I think the carpenter ants get in there. I'll need to buy more ant traps on Friday, when I do my grocery shopping.

Watched Fairie Tale Theatre's version of "Beauty and the Beast" while cleaning. This lovely episode is unusual in several ways. The sequences with Beauty and her family are the only ones in the show shot on regular film, giving it a different, less soft look than the video-shot portions at the Beast's castle. The story sticks closer to the original French tale than Disney's. Here, Beauty (Susan Sarandon) lives with her two obnoxious and vain sisters (one is Angelica Huston) and her father in a small cottage in the woods. Her father, a merchant, picks one rose from an enchanted garden for his youngest daughter. The rose turns out to be a beast (Klaus Kinski), who will let him go...if Beauty comes to stay with him.

I headed out to run today's errands as soon as I finished the kitchen. First stop was the Oaklyn Library. They, too, were fairly busy for them. There were a couple of people on the computers. A woman and her kids were playing and watching cartoons in the kids' area. I just organized DVDs and moved on.

It was nearly 1 PM by that point. I had to get moving to Haddonfield. Stopped at WaWa first for a large bottle of water (it was humid and very hot, in the lower 90's), then rode to Haddonfield. I just took the road past the Haddon Township Library to Crystal Lake Road, and then Park Avenue into the back roads of Haddonfield. It was lunch hour, and pretty busy. I saw a large group of kids at the bridge between Westmont and Haddonfield - they must have just come from the pool on the other end of Park Avenue. They were wearing bathing suits and laughing and having a grand time.

I got into Haddonfield by 1:30. I needed something fast and decent for lunch. The Indian restaurant Cross Cultures has a lunch buffet that's only $9.98 on weekdays. I thought I'd give it a shot. The main dining area was small but tasteful, with beige walls covered in beautiful Indian tapestries. The "lunch buffet" consisted of silver containers of Indian foods with basmati rice and a salad. I don't remember the names, but I know I tried a chicken curry, and something green with what seemed like chicken or tofu in it. I also had the salad and rice. The bright red chicken was much too hot, but the curry wasn't horrible, and the green stuff was surprisingly tasty. I don't normally like tofu, but that came out pretty well. Ate the four slices of well-buttered naan bread, too.

Counseling was next. I actually ran into Mrs. Stahl as I was crossing King's Highway to her office! She was getting coffee. I looked over a book on folk lore in her lobby while I waited for her. Once she got in, we mostly discussed my busy month. I told her about Lauren's visit, work, my enjoyable 4th of July, and my plans for the summer. While I do want to make my annual day trip to Atlantic City and will probably take a mall trip here and there, I mainly want to concentrate on writing and getting ready to visit Lauren in New England in mid-October. I need new, smaller luggage that rolls and can be carried around bus terminals and train stations, and I'll need to get the tickets soon. I want to take another online writing course, too, since the one I took in the winter and early spring was a big help.

It was still hot as heck when I got out, though windier. I went straight to Primo's Water Ice in Westmont. Needless to say, on a day when the digital sign at the Westmont Fire Company said it was 90 degrees, the place was packed with kids and parents getting a cool treat. I got lucky - the mom said she had a big group of kids and let me go on ahead. I bought a medium tutti frutti water ice. I wasn't that impressed. It tasted more like bubble gum than fruit. I originally ate it in "The Ice Box," the big back room where they keep video games and board games for the kids who come for movie night and birthday parties. It got too cold (and too noisy) back there. I finally finished it outside.

Made two more quick stops in Westmont. They didn't have what I wanted at Walgreens. Had more luck at MacMillian's Bakery across Haddon Avenue. It's going to be too hot to bake this week. I bought a loaf of Viennese Bread to make sandwiches for work instead. I also bought a big crab-shaped cookie with red and blue sugar crystals for a treat at home. Cut through Collingswood going home to avoid the worst of the traffic on Cuthbert.

When I got in, I got right to working on my WENN fanfiction. In addition to the fairy tales I have listed on the New Fanfiction page at my website, I finally came up with a story for Hilary, via the story Lauren and I are working on right now. Hilary and Betty are not happy campers the day after the disasters of "You've Met Your Match." Hilary is angry with Jeff for flirting with Betty and marrying Pavla in the first place. Betty wishes Scott had been more upfront about his relationship with Maple and is still annoyed about the whole embezzlement/Victor mess. Hilary complains that she feels like she's dealing with a couple of wild beasts.

This turns into the tale of a pair of sisters - one older and more dramatic, the other younger and more sensitive - who are ordered to the castle of a horrible beast when their father (Mackie) stole a rose for the younger one. It turns out there's two beasts in this castle. One is younger and taller, but angry and bitter. The elder is smaller and stockier, with darker fur, but stupid and simple...but is that really their true natures, any more than the fur on their bodies is their true forms? Two handsome princes come to them in their dreams to encourage them to listen to their hearts...but a wicked Eastern European fairy wants them for herself...

Went into making dinner after I ended writing for the day. I opted for a simple meal of turkey meatballs in a tasty gravy made of Worcestershire sauce, the last of the chicken stock, lemon juice, and the ground turkey drippings, whole wheat noodles, and a cucumber-tomato salad. Oooh, the meatballs came out sooo well, soft and savory. I may have to try that again sometime.

Ran Summer Holiday during dinner. This sweet 1948 musical is the tale of Richard Miller (Mickey Rooney), a teenager in a small-town in Conneticut during the early 1900's with a lot of big ideas about the evils of capitalism. All his high-falutin' talk is annoying his father Nat (Walter Huston) and scaring his girlfriend Muriel (Gloria De Haven) to death. Meanwhile, his uncle Sid (Frank Morgan) tries to court his long-time girlfriend Lily (Agnes Moorehead), but she wishes he'd quit drinking. When Richard breaks up with Muriel and ends up in a bar with a floozy (Marilyn Maxwell), he learns that he may not quite be ready for adulthood just yet.

A lovely coming-of-age story (based after the non-musical stage comedy Ah Wilderness!), this isn't a masterpiece but does have some nice moments. I'm especially fond of the opening number, with its dialogue that flows naturally from song to speech and back, and Maxwell's number in the bar that experiments with color filters. Rooney overacts (and was too old for the role); Huston's much better as his supportive father.

If you love other musical coming-of-age tales set around this time period like Meet Me In St. Louis, t this is an interesting tale of summer that's worth checking out at the Warner Archives.

Anywhere I Wander

Began a humid, hazy morning with some Backyardigans. Tyrone thinks he has to "Escape From Fairy Tale Village" when a witch (Uniqua), a wolf (Austin), and the cutest giant ever (Pablo) seem to be after him. But it turns out that he may have misinterpreted their requests...

Austin's an Inspector Poirot-type detective on the trail of Pablo, "Le Master of Disguise." His chase leads him to the Orient Express. Inspector Austin is determined to find the crafty penguin. It won't be easy with suspects like Cowboy Tyrone, Circus Performer Tasha, and Conductor Uniqua around!

Headed out around quarter of 11 to get the laundry done. Not only was it busy there, but the road next to the laundromat was flooded. I forget what one of the women there said was going on, but it apparently effected the water pressure in the washers. It didn't effect my clothes getting clean. Good thing, too - I had a lot to get done, including towels. The weather may have been part of the reason for it being busy. There was a heavy rain shower while I was there. Thankfully, it disappeared pretty quickly, and it hasn't rained the rest of the day.

I had a bit of a scare as I was leaving. A woman was backing her van out of the parking lot...at least, I think that's what she was doing. I just barely jumped out of the way before her car went rolling out of the parking lot and onto the curb on the other side of the street! She almost hit the wall of the dentist's office on the next block. Luckily, I don't think anyone was hurt, including her or the car. I have no idea what happened there. And my clothes kept falling out of the bag - I just barely scooped them up and got them into the plastic bag to go home.

When I got home, I put my clothes away, then went right back out. I needed a nice, simple, quiet lunch after all the excitement this morning. I enjoyed a slice of bacon and scallion quiche and that wonderful spicy-sweet iced tea at Common Grounds Coffee House. And I got a nice bit of news. According to a sign on the window, someone finally bought the Dorias' abandoned deli. I did see Mr. Doria talking to a couple a few weeks ago. I hope they bought it - they looked nice.

Stopped very quickly at WaWa for money, then took Newton Lake Park down to Haddon Township. It may have been hot and humid, but that didn't stop people from enjoying their lunch outside. I saw kids and their parents having a picnic at the playgrounds. A group of boys fished on the Haddon Township side; a Hispanic family enjoyed a fishing trip near the Haddon Township entrance.

Haddon Township Library was booming when I arrived. The DVD return cart was overflowing so much, they had to find another cart for them all! For once, I had no problems getting all but a few B adult titles on the shelves. Even all the kids' titles fit. I also shelved new releases, a pile of audio books and CDs, and a bunch of kids' nonfiction titles.

Ran a few quick errands after leaving the library. Needed sponges at Dollar Tree. Grabbed generic strawberry and apple bars, too. It sounds like it'll be too hot for baking this week. Was briefly at Rite Aid, but I didn't like the price of their eggs. I ended up getting them back at WaWa instead, along with a Cherry Limeade Sparkling Ice and a Peanut Butter Twix Bar.

When I got in, I worked on my current Remember WENN fanfiction for a while. Scott White has been forced to work as a ranch hand by Rollie Pruitt, the nasty financier who married his late mother to gain her lands. Scott thinks Pruitt killed his mother to get the ranch, which is why he's stuck around. Betty Prince, a determined reporter, believes Pruitt is involved in a land-grabbing scheme. Pruitt just caught the two snooping around in his office. He takes Betty off the story, claiming there's nothing more to learn. He's also now suspicious of Scott. He calls in a bounty hunter to kill off his handsome, too-curious stepson. That bounty hunter, however, happens to be a familiar red-head named Maple who is friendly with Scott...

I got off around quarter after 5. I took down the 4th of July decorations, then had leftovers for dinner while watching Hans Christian Anderson. My personal favorite of Danny Kaye's vehicles is a charming "fairy tale about a spinner of fairy tales." Anderson (Kaye) is a gentle cobbler in a small Danish village who loves telling the local kids stories. Their teachers and parents don't love it - it's interfering with their children's schooling and Hans' real job as a cobbler. Anderson and his apprentice finally take off for Copenhagen. Hans falls in love with a beautiful ballerina (Jeanmarie) whose shoes he repaired, and who turns his most romantic story, "The Little Mermaid," into a ballet. Thing is, she's married...and despite their Hilary-and-Jeff quarrels, she and her husband really do love each other. But Hans will always have his stories, and his bountiful imagination.

I'm rather glad the local independent TV stations used to run this a lot during the afternoons in the 80's. This movie gave me my first taste of ballet outside of The Nutcracker, not to mention my first taste of Kaye. If you love Kaye, ballet, or Frank Loesseur (who also wrote the music for Guys and Dolls and The Most Happy Fella, among others), this charming tale is worth tracking down on DVD.

Bath Sunday

Began a hot, sunny day with Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes and my America the Beautiful LP set. I picked up this two-disc Reader's Digest collection about five years or so ago, I think from a thrift shop. It's pretty much instrumental patriotic-themed music like "On the Trail" from The Grand Canyon Suite and "American Patrol," though we also have a vocal "This Land Is Your Land" and Kate Smith's famous version of "God Bless America." My personal favorite number is a medley of George M. Cohan songs performed by the Boston Pops. I'm not the only one who liked it, either. You can hear people singing along with the more famous tunes in the background.

Work was very busy for most of today, much busier than yesterday. We're normally busy on Sundays anyway, and it's still the beginning of the month. People who weren't able to have barbecues yesterday may have been having them today, too. I had a short shift that went quickly, with no major problems. My relief was a college girl who is usually on time.

I took the long way home down Nicholson Road. I saw firetrucks just a block from the Acme on Nicholson. There had been a car crash - one truck was nothing but dents on its driver side. Yikes! I hope everyone got out ok.

When I got home, I relaxed in the bath. I needed one after a very long week. I read fairy tales and stories from the Walt Disney Storybookland anthology book and listened to my CD of various interpretations of George Gershwin's music. It was mostly jazz and vocals, but it does include the Janis Joplin version of "Summertime."

Spent the rest of the evening having shrimp and steamed peas for dinner while listening to By the Beautiful Sea. This 1953 vehicle for Shirley Booth was the tale of a vaudevillian on vacation at Coney Island who falls for a singer while living at her father's boarding house. The story's nothing special, to the point where the liner notes for my 90's Angel CD indicate that the book kept getting re-written prior to Broadway. In fact, most of the numbers are random chorus routines that, while cute, having nothing to do with the story. The solo numbers are much better. I like Booth's comic song "I'd Rather Wake Up By Myself," the jaunty "Happy Habit" for her maid, and the lovely ballad "Alone Too Long" for her singer love interest. I think this is currently out of print on CD; not really worth going out of your way for unless you're a huge fan of Booth or the Broadway musicals of the 50's.

Saturday In the Park, I Think It Was the 4th of July...

I began a cloudy, cool Independence Day at work. Work was surprisingly on-and-off busy for most of the afternoon. It was fairly crowded when I arrived at 10, but the crowds vanished when the parades started. A shower in the middle of the afternoon may have scared some folks off as well. There were no major problems, and my relief, one of the college boys, was right on time.

I hurried home as soon as I finished. I ran a few cartoons while making whipped cream icing for my cake. I added blueberries and the last of the farm market strawberries in a flag pattern. It came out very nice, and certainly very patriotic. I've seen it done in a hundred magazines and online sites and have always wanted to try it.

The Looney Tunes did a couple of shorts based around American history. Bugs Bunny defends his fort against Hessian soldier Sam in "Bunker Hill Bunny." Porky learns why the Pledge of Allegiance is important in the more stirring "Old Glory."

The Pink Panther also takes part in the American Revolution in "Pinky Doodle." He's on a certain midnight ride, handing out pamphlets to the citizens of Philadelphia...or would be, if the red coat horse he's riding would let him!

I took the bike to Dad's party around quarter of 5. Hit the pool the moment I got in. I was delighted to see my cousin Amber, her current boyfriend, and her two daughters Ella and Lily there, along with my sister Rose, her boyfriend Craig, and their son Khai, Jodie and Dad, an aunt of Jodie's, Jodie's son Jesse and his girlfriend Dana, and a couple of neighbors. I swam with Khai, Lily, Ella, and one of the neighbors' kids, Chloe, for about an hour. We played with a huge red vinyl ball and at least eight different flotation devices. (I loved the big yellow one with the cup holders and the wide back. So comfy!) The water was relatively warm, in the 80's. It was the air that was chilly. Lily had been in the pool for so long, her teeth were chattering...and yet, she was the last one dragged out when it was time to eat.

Jodie was firing up the grill as we were swimming. Everything was ready when we came out. There were cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and Jodie's famous ribs from the grill. Rose provided very fresh crabs that she, Craig, and Khai picked up with our sister Anny and her family on vacation in the Wildwood bays. There was cucumber salad, Caesar salad, macaroni salad, corn on the cob, and baked beans with sliced hot dogs for the kids. I had a little of everything but the baked beans - I never was a fan of beans and weenies. In addition to my cake, there was a chocolate Bundt cake and a large decorated cookie for dessert. (Not to mention the kids talked their folks into money for the Mr. Softee truck again.)

I finally walked home around quarter after 7. When I got in, I changed into dry clothes and did some chores around the apartment. Ran a few more cartoons while I worked. Donald just wants to have a nice picnic while watching fireworks with Daisy in "Donald's Failed Fourth." Everything from the blanket to the chairs keeps giving him trouble.

Popeye's having his own problems with his nephews in "Patriotic Popeye." They want to set off fireworks. Popeye's worried that they'll set themselves off along with the rockets. He tries to show them how to play safe on the Fourth.

Ruby and Louise are are also excited about seeing fireworks. Max is more interested in "Max's Fire Flies." While the girls prepare for the fireworks, Max tries to catch his new glowing friends.

Tom and Jerry set off some fireworks of their own in "The Yankee Doodle Mouse." Their battle in a fireworks factory gets heated when Jerry defends his "cat raid shelter" from Tom's arsenal.

I headed out as soon as Tom and Jerry ended, around quarter after 8. Even then, there was already a long line of people making their way down West Clinton and the White Horse Pike to Newton Lake Park. The new parking lot was finished last fall, and that did help a bit with traffic. I cut across the parking lot and finally settled down in the field across from the high-rise condos. I lay on my blanket, wrote down fanfic ideas, and laughed as I watched families chatter and kids chase each other with glow sticks in many colors all around me.

The fireworks began around 9:15. They were spectacular, as always. My favorites were the double-hearts (including one that was upside-down), the heart in the center of the red sparkles, and the triple-rings, like a three-ring circus. I enjoyed the show, listening to adults ooh and ahh and kids complain about how scary the loud noises were.

Thankfully, it didn't take me as long to cross the White Horse Pike going home this time. I was able to go with a couple of families who were crossing at the same time at CVS. I waved to Diane, one of the cashiers at the Acme, sitting in the back of a truck as I made my way up to Newton Drive.

My favorite part of the Fourth of July are the fireworks and walking home afterwards. There's still fireworks and parties going on all around me...but Manor at 10 PM on the Fourth of July is quiet and peaceful. Most of the residents are at the Shore or still partying. You can hear the wind rustling in the leaves and see the soft glow of the fireflies, like the ones Max caught for his sister. It's a lovely way to end a holiday.

I hope you had an equally noisy Fourth of July (and that our neighbors to the north enjoyed their Canada Day on July 1st).

Hot Time In the Parking Lot

Began a sunny morning with Looney Tunes fairy tale spoofs. "Foney Fables" is a spoof revue of several famous stories, including a running gag with the Boy Who Cried Wolf. "Goldimouse and the Three Cats" has Sylvester chasing a blond mouse who shows up and eats their porridge. "Little Red Rodent Hood" and "Little Red Walking Hood" are more-or-less the same story, with a mouse taking the little girl in the hood role in the former. "Senorella and the Glass Hurache" takes the story of Cinderella to Mexico, where Cindy is attending a fiesta, and her prince is a bullfighter.

Work was on-and-off busy for most of the day. Though a sunny, breezy day meant that a lot of people were probably doing outdoor errands, we had quite a few obnoxious people who wouldn't bag or bought about eight times more than they could pay for. By the time I was returning carts, it was far hotter and more humid....and a lot busier. I spent over an hour doing carts, mostly on my own. I was hot as heck and beyond sore when I was done.

My schedule went a long way to making me feel better. I have a far more typical schedule for this time of year than I did this week. I work at 11 or 12 almost every day this week except next Saturday, when I'm starting at 2. Monday and Tuesday are off, Tuesday for counseling. Good. That'll give me plenty of time to get a lot of things I put off this week done, including cleaning and working on my next WENN fanfic, Scott White and the Seven Actors.

The crowds were thinning as I did my own grocery shopping. Some good seafood sales allowed me to buy a pack of salmon fillets for $3.99 with a manager's coupon and a container of steamed shrimp for $3.20. Found ground turkey for $2.99, the cheapest I've ever seen it. Jiff Peanut Butter was $1.50 - I don't badly need it, but that was too good of a sale to ignore. Restocked canned crushed pineapple, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, milk, and cereal (nothing on sale, so I went with Acme's generic Multi-Grain Cheerios). Since I won't be getting to the farm market tomorrow, I bought peaches, cherries, and strawberries today - the strawberries were $1.50 each. Picked up generic whipped topping, Jello's cookies and cream pudding, and a graham cracker crust to make a pudding pie for me and heavy cream to make icing for Dad and Jodie's party tomorrow.

When I got in, I put everything away, then made myself the Cookies n' Cream Pudding Pie. I pulled out that Spring Velvets Cake Mix I picked up a while back. It became Pink and Yellow Marble cake, with the yellow batter swirled into the pink batter. I'll make the icing before work tomorrow.

Ran 1776 as I worked, and later as I had fish cakes and steamed snap peas for dinner. The story of the signing of the Declaration of Independence comes alive in this rousing musical tale. John Adams and Benjamin Franklin are determined to get the rest of the Continental Congress to side with them and vote for America's independence from England. There's a lot they have to do to make this happen - Congress is constantly sniping at one another, and half of them would prefer to stay with England. Thomas Jefferson is convinced to write a declaration of their intentions...but only when they bring his wife to inspire them. Even then, there's no certainty that they'll get a unanimous agreement...

One of my favorites of the big Broadway adaptations of the 60's and early 70's makes history fun and stirring in a way history textbooks and Wikipedia never could. Rousing and enjoyable for fans of American history or big epic musicals.

I could only find one Fourth of July special on YouTube, but it's pretty cute. We learn how a cat, a cricket, and a mouse supposedly helped shape American history in Yankee Doodle Cricket.

Yankee Doodle Cricket

Linda Young and I wrote two Remember WENN fanfics set around the Fourth of July. Linda Young's is set during the third season, shortly after "Mr. and Mrs. Singer." Hilary's reluctant to join the others on a "Picnic" after Pavla's revelations, but even she can't resist the spirit of the day...

Picnic

Mine is set in the universe of my post-fourth-season series, On the Edge of the Precipice. Scott and Betty's daughter Agatha relates a typical Fourth of July for her family in 1957.

Agatha's Fourth of July

For those of you who won't be able to get online tomorrow, I hope you all enjoy your holiday!

Yankee Doodle Rain

It was raining when I got up this morning. It continued as I cleaned the bathroom. I put it off last week to write, but I couldn't put it off any longer. The whole room was really grungy. I'll see if I can get the kitchen, which is also a mess, done tomorrow.

The rain ended around 10; it was just starting again when I arrived at work. Needless to say, between the weather, some huge sales, and this being the beginning of the month, we were busy all day. Thankfully, the upcoming holiday had generally put people in decent moods. There were no major problems, and my relief was one of the few older women who work late and is usually dependable.

As soon as I got home, I went straight in the bath. Ahhhhh. I badly needed a bath. I haven't had a bath in a while. I know this is going to be a busy weekend. I won't be having my next day off until at least Tuesday, and that for counseling. I listened to my Rosemary Clooney 16 Most Requested Songs CD I bought last month and looked over cake decorating books for ideas for the Fourth of July.

When I got out of the bath, I made scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms, cheese, and the last chicken sausage while finishing Yankee Doodle Dandy, which I started this morning. James Cagney won an Oscar as George M. Cohan, stage star of the early 20th century who acted, produced, directed, and wrote plays and musicals. Today, he's best known for writing frequently patriotic-flavored songs that are still beloved today, including "Over There," "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Harrigan," "Mary's a Grand Old Name," and the title number.

What I like about this movie is, even though the biography is far from accurate (Cohan was still alive at the time and had the final ok on what could and couldn't be discussed), the musical numbers do capture the flavor and essence of the early 1900's. The "Little Johnny Jones" medley are my favorites - I feel like this is the closest I'll ever get to seeing a real musical from Cohan's time. If you're a fan of Cagney, Cohan's music, or theatrical history, this one is a stirring bit of musical patriotism that's highly recommended.

Tales of A Cat, a Dog, and a Barnyard Crew

Started the day with a couple of Garfield and Friends episodes. This show loved to parody fairy and folk tales, especially in its later seasons. The two-part U.S Acres story "Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs" somehow casts Wade as Snow White, Lanolin as the Queen, Roy as the Prince, and Orson and the chicks as the hunts-animals. Roy, however, refuses to kiss Snow Wade. Garfield becomes "The Pie-Eyed Piper" when a lazy king makes Jon try to rid Hamlin of its rats problem. When the king won't pay Jon or Garfield, Garfield takes matters into his own paws. "Jon the Barbarian" falls in love with a nasty barbarian's lady. Garfield just wants his lunch. After Jon can't become a barbarian, Garfield figures out a way to trick the gluttonous warrior.

My original plan for today was to volunteer at Studio LuLoo. They weren't open when I arrived around 11:30. I wonder if it had anything to do with the sewer department working on the water pipes on my end of Manor? Phillies Phatties looked like they were open. It was too nice of a day to go home right away, though. While it was warmer and a little more humid than yesterday, it still wasn't out of line for the first day of July. I went for a ride around the neighborhood, then picked up contact lens solution at CVS.

I had just enough time for a really quick lunch when I got in, along with one more Garfield and Friends U.S Acres episode. "Once Upon a Time Warp" gives us a weird lesson in world history when Orson reads about great moments in history to Wade to inspire him to ask Roy for the five dollars he owes him. Roy doesn't want to give up the cash and sabotages Orson's efforts.

(Thankfully, the water seemed to be back on at this point as well. Everyone in the neighborhood got a paper yesterday that it would be off for four hours while they worked on the pipes.)

I was surprised that work was only on-and-off steady. Between huge sales and this being the first day of the month, I thought it would be a lot busier. I guess people are waiting for the holiday weekend. A lot of folks may have taken advantage of the nice weather and left for the Shore early, too. At any rate, other than some grouchy customers (and grouchy managers), there were no major problems, and I was able to get out quickly again without a relief.

When I got home, I did a quick Looney Tunes short that had fun with fairy tales while having leftovers for dinner. Bugs rescues Hansel and Gretel from being eaten by Witch Hazel in "Broomstick Bunny." Undaunted, Hazel decides that rabbit stew would taste even better! At least until the prince tries to kiss Bugs awake...