Better Shop Around

Today is my only day off, which means I had a lot I wanted to get done! I started around quarter of 10 with a quick run to the laundromat. Much to my surprise, it was very busy. I had a harder time getting a drier than a washer. There were families and college students running all over the place. I read the Han Solo Adventures novel collection and ignored them.

When I got home, I quickly put everything away, grabbed the books, DVDs, and records I intended to donate to the Haddon Township Library, and headed out again. Stopped at Capitol Pizza for lunch. I had my usual slice of cheese and slice of mushroom with a can of Fresca. (They're the only ones who sell Fresca in single cans or bottles.) I listened to The Jeff Probst Show and all the lunchtime orders they were taking.

Went straight to the Haddon Township Library after lunch. I dropped the heavy bag of donations next to their head librarian's office, then worked on organizing and shelving DVDs. While I was able to do the kids' section (barely), the adults' shelves were overflowing. The M titles were stuffed in so tight, there were at least ten DVDs I couldn't get in there. I was able to help some people, including an adorable little girl toting a Rapunzel bride doll who was looking for Dora the Explorer.

As it happens, one of the buses to the Cherry Hill Mall goes right by the Haddon Township Library. I left my bike locked there, then picked up the bus to the mall around 2PM. The mall wasn't too bad for a Monday. I did see a lot of parents picking up back-to-school clothes for the kids, and teenagers who were probably somewhere between school shopping and bored.

The problem with the Cherry Hill Mall is those upscale clothes stores carry very little in my size and style. While fashions are a bit simpler than they were a few years ago and the waistlines are lower (pants and skirts sit on the waist; dresses aren't quite there but aren't empire-waisted, either), I'm still pretty picky about what I wear. The neon colors I saw in many stores, especially on sneakers, were ridiculous. What is this, 1986? I like my neon to be on marquees, not people.

Macy's had nothing I liked. Ashley Stewart had a few cute skirts, but I decided I'd rather get the work pants I needed badly first. Layne Bryant had some tops, but the prices weren't great. Most of the regular shoe stores had wedge-heeled dress sandals or the ones with the stiletto heels. I have never fathomed how women can wear those really high heels. Don't they kill their feet? The wedges were a tad more practical, but not what I was looking for. I really need sport sandals that can stand up to rain and weather.

The Cherry Hill JC Penney's is in the middle of remodeling. It took me forever to find their women's plus size clothing. I couldn't find it with the other women's clothing...because they moved it and the women's underclothes department to the closed-off area where their furniture once was! Not only does that make no sense whatsoever, but the place was unfinished and unpainted, with metal beams exposed. The clothes were at least organized and on racks, and perhaps to make up for the mess, there were tons of sales. I ended up with a pair of khaki Levis for new work pants and a red tank top for $30 all together.

I ended up getting my sneakers downstairs at Modell's Sporting Goods. I'm not entirely happy with the New Balance pair I bought for work, but they were the only ones I even remotely liked that weren't shocking pink or chartreuse or brilliant royal blue. They have some neon blue trim, but nothing offensive. My "errand" sneakers wound up being a simple pair of white Reebox Classics. Mom had a black pair like those when I was a kid. I borrowed them from her all the time.

Speaking of childhood memories, there's a Dairy Queen (paired with an Orange Julius) in the mall's food court. I haven't been to a DQ since I lived in Wildwood. Rose and Anny and I loved the Dairy Queen on the Washington Street Mall in Cape May. (Which apparently is still there, BTW.) Mom and Dad-Bill would give us money to spend at Dairy Queen on a summer's afternoon when they were spending time at The Ugly Mug a block away. My favorite treat was a Blizzard. Anny liked peanut butter sundaes. Rose would get hot fudge sundaes. In honor of those memories, I bought a Tropical Blizzard - soft-serve ice cream mixed with bananas, pineapple, and toasted coconut. Yum. Expensive, but very tasty, especially the creamy real banana pieces.

Took the 5:30 bus back to the Haddon Township Library, where I picked up my bike and rode straight home. I went right into baking as I arrived. I made a crustless Coconut-Lime Pie, then Dark Cocoa Brownies. Had Italian Chicken with Tomatoes and Chinese Beans for a quick, delicious dinner.

Lauren started watching Get Smart episodes to cheer her up after having her wisdom teeth removed. She's talked about them so much, I thought I'd put on a few from the second season myself tonight. Max finds himself cracking safes - or thinks he does - when he's "Maxwell Smart, Alias Jimmy Ballentine." While guests are killed one by one at a tropical resort, Max and Charlie Chan imitation Harry Hoo find themselves wondering "Hoo Done It?" And when KAOS steals a water-drying formula, Max goes after it and tries to keep his informant alive in the 3-part season finale "A Man Called Smart."