Saturday, June 13, 2020

Lovely Day for a Farm Market

I was so excited about going to the Collingswood Farm Market this morning, I woke up earlier than planned. Not to mention, the weather felt much better. It was actually cool in my bedroom for the first time in over a week. Felt so nice to linger over Penny from Heaven and my journal!

When I did roll out of bed, I had breakfast while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Lunch" is egg salad his dad made, and he's excited to eat it, until Miss Elaina says she doesn't like it. Teacher Harriet reminds the two that we can like different things, but you should be kind in saying so. Prince Wednesday thinks "Daniel's Toy," a pull-string duck, is boring. His mother Queen Sarah encourages him to try to find something good about it anyway.

Switched to the public domain shorts channel I have on Roku for something different. Felix the Cat owns "The Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs," but a pirate is after her golden rear, too. Felix has to blast himself to the pirate ship in order to rescue his friend. Betty Boop is the most beloved doll in the toy shop in "March of the Toy Soldiers." When a gorilla kidnaps her, the entire shop leaps to her defense! It's a "Point of Honor" in a Gumby cartoon from 1968 when Prickle hands Goo her handkerchief before Gumby can, and the two get into a duel over her with toy trains.

Headed out shortly after Gumby ended. There couldn't have have been a nicer day for a long walk. Cool winds and a deep blue sky replaced the haze and humidity from earlier in the week. I don't think it even got out of the 70's. The trees are lush and green now, and the gardens are filled with flowers in every color of the rainbow. Kids rode their bikes together, while adults jogged, fished off the side of the bridge over Newton Lake, and strolled in twos.

The Collingswood Farm Market opened to pedestrian traffic today. They have been open, but only for people who made orders in cars. On one hand, it looked pretty lonely. There were no musicians playing classic rock and folk songs, no families enjoying brunch at outdoor cafes, no one tugging dogs  on leashes or petting alpacas in pens. The booths were set far apart, and for the most part, they were pretty empty. (Although that might have been due to it being fairly late when I got there.) You couldn't just give them money, either. You had to go to a cashier's tent and have them make change for you, which they gave out in envelopes. And yes, masks are still required.

Still, it was the Farm Market, and I could now buy really fresh produce. Strawberries were expensive, but they seemed to be the only fruit anyone had. Grabbed snap peas while they were in season. Also picked up red romaine lettuce from the organic booth, a patty pan (flat ruffled) squash, and a zucchini. Bought a block of cheddar cheese from the dairy booth in the hope that it would be better for me and less salt-laden than its commercial counterparts.

(And the social distancing wasn't all bad. There's finally room for everyone to walk around and not bump elbows or push people out of the way.)

Took the long way back to Oaklyn down Newton Lake Park. I wasn't the only one who had that idea. The lake was just glorious today, sparkling like green glass washed up on the beach. There were lots of people riding bikes down the path, going for walks, or walking their dogs. I dodged them as best I could.

CVS was busy, too. I was hoping to find a wrap for my elbow there, or at least good bandages that close with Velcro. Nope. All they had were the sticky bandages that are supposed to stick to close (but become useless after you sweat), or the ones that close with clips. The one elbow wrap they had was much too expensive. I did end up buying sponges, low-salt peanuts for a snack, sparkling water, and a Hershey's Special Dark bar for a treat.

Since it's only a few blocks away, I thought I'd stop by Dad and Jodie's house next and see how my new apartment is coming. Jodie herself was outside when I walked by. She insisted that I go in now and check it out, before I move in.

In good news, it has a decent-sized kitchen, with lots of counter space and a stove with new burners. The bedroom is also a good size, and the bathroom is twice the size of my current one. There's four closets, all of them large, and a narrow hall that runs from the front door to the living room/kitchen area.

However, the living room is not only attached to the kitchen, but it's tiny. It could probably fill the music area in my current apartment. On the other hand, it also has one of the two walk-in closets. I could probably fit a lot of my media and a few shelves in there and still have room for my winter coat and rain jacket. Still, I am likely going to have to get rid of some of the shelves I have now. Not to mention, while I do have central air and heating, the heaters run the length of the room in the living room/kitchen. It'll be hard to put shelves up there. (No wonder Jodie complains about it being so hot in there.)

After I got home, I put everything away, then had salad and nuts for lunch while watching The Jungle Book. I go further into the original animated version of one of Disney's most beloved films at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Jungle Book (1967)

After lunch, I thought it was time to do some baking. Three of my bananas were very squishy. Used a recipe from a low-fat cookbook Mom gave me years ago to make Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread. Oh yummm. It came out perfectly, nice and chewy, and smelled glorious in the oven.

Ran two Garfield specials while I worked on the bread. Garfield In the Rough has Jon taking Garfield and Odie camping, much to Garfield's dismay. Garfield would rather be at a place with lasagna. The woods turn out to hold more than trees and strange noises when they discover there's a panther on the loose, and it's been seen near-by. Garfield In Paradise takes Jon and his pets to Paradise World, where the natives worship 50's surfer culture and the hotel owners spout Jack Benny jokes. They're delighted when their vintage car takes them to the natives' village, but not so much when the island's volcano suddenly starts rumbling!

Went online around 3:30. Though I mainly watched the new Defunctland episode on the long and wild history of Coney Island in New York, I did get some writing in. Maid Lee tells Richard as they dance that he knows who he is, and that he came with Queen Betty. She's in danger. They have to find her, then release the others. She's Fannie's contact; as Queen Malade's head lady-in-waiting, she's in the perfect place to spy on her. Malade, however, may be catching on...but the perfect distraction is on its way...

Broke for turkey burgers, steamed snap peas, and baked patty pan squash at quarter of 7, then finished up the night with Buzzr. They've advertised their "Birthday Bash" for weeks. In honor of their 5th anniversary, all episodes tonight mentioned birthdays or revolved around birthday parties.

There were cakes and balloons for the first anniversary of Classic Concentration and for Bert Convy's birthday on Super Password. Marcia Wallace got a pie for her birthday on Password Plus. Everyone made jokes about it being Betty White's birthday on Match Game (and what her actual age was at that point). Peter Tomarken, the host of Press Your Luck, celebrated his birthday with a big win from a hilariously expressive contestant that included a stereo and a trip to the Bahamas. Jamie Widdoes of National Lampoon's Animal House also got to celebrate his birthday with a big win on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour as a very nervous Marty Cohen helped a gentleman become the show's first 30,000-dollar winner.

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