Baking Day

I began a gorgeous, sunny, cool morning with this week's American Top 40 re-run. We jumped all the way back to late June 1974, as folk, ballads, hard rock, pop, soul, and comic novelties helped people through that year's rough news. Hits that summer included "The Loco-Motion" by Grand Funk Railroad, "Rock and Roll Heaven" by the Righteous Brothers, "Rock the Boat" by the Hues Corporation, "If You Love Me, Let Me Know" by Olivia Newton-John, "The Streak" by Ray Stevens, "Band on the Run" by Wings, "Annie's Song" by John Denver, "Billy Don't Be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, "Dancing Machine" by the Jackson 5, "Hollywood Swinging" by Kool and the Gang, "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" by Carly Simon, "The Air That I Breathe" by the Hollies, and "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae.

That week's number one song was one of my favorites from Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, "Sundown."

Headed to the Collingswood Farm Market around 9:30. It was a wonderful day for it. While it remained windy, yesterday's clouds had been replaced by a brilliant blue sky and temperatures in the lower-mid 80s. The summer harvest continues to debut. Strawberries are gone, but I saw the first Jersey green peppers, blackberries, raspberries, patty pan squash, and green, wax, and Chinese beans of the season. The small booth that has corn on a truck bed and tons of locally-made salad dressings and condiments appeared for the first time this year, too. I ended up with blueberries, a tomato, a cucumber, cherries (they've been divine this year), red romaine lettuce, and a pint of organic blackberries.

I was tired, and there wasn't much going on in the way of yard sales this weekend. I just headed home instead. Took advantage of the cool weather to make Blueberry Muffins from The Pooh Cook Book (with a touch of honey, of course) and have chicken salad over fresh farm market greens for lunch. Ran Recess: School's Out while they baked. TJ Detwillier is upset that his usual gang of pals from the Third Street School have opted for camp instead this summer. When he discovers an out-of-this-world conspiracy to eliminate summer vacation and their principal disappears, TJ calls his friends back to help save "the ultimate recess" for every kid in the world. This is a really cute movie, even if you don't know anything about Recess; especially fun for classic rock fans, who'll appreciate the soundtrack of 60s hits.

Work actually wasn't bad for most of the day, especially compared to yesterday. Things picked up later during rush hour. People got crankier, too. I was so glad that my relief was right on time.

I poached chicken legs and sauteed zucchini for dinner and made Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies while cheering myself up with two Bowery Boys movies. Slip is Mr. Hex when he uses hypnotism to turn cowardly Sach into a boxing champion. Sach is also at the heart of Bowery Bombshell. When he's accidentally photographed with stolen money, the police think he's got the loot! The others hide him while they ferret out the real crooks.