Saturday, June 03, 2023

Farm Markets and Yard Sales

I overslept this morning and got moving later than I'd hoped. There was a lot going on today, and I didn't want to miss it. I changed, ate breakfast quickly, grabbed my bags, and hurried out.

Started off at the Collingswood Bike Share next to the Farm Market. This fenced-in area is filled with bikes for rental or selling to Collingswood residents...but it's also where volunteer bike mechanics fix everyone's bike problems. I was very tired of my loose chain coming off. It happened three times in two weeks. I left the mechanic there to tighten it as I went across the street.

The Farm Market was mobbed with people shopping for barbecues, birthday parties, and family get-togethers, or taking time-out from the Collingswood Town-Wide Yard Sale. Saw zucchini, yellow squash, scallions, and cucumbers for the first time this season. I bought those amazing ruby-red strawberries and beautiful cherry tomatoes in many different colors.

Rode around Collingswood for a while after I retrieved my bike. It was cool, cloudy, and damp, all of which were welcome after the dry heat we've had lately. My ride ended up being rather pleasant. Found the children's book version of Christmas Eve On Sesame Street at one house across from Knight Park, along with a hot dog bought from a boy cooking them on an indoor grill. Another sale a few blocks down had four books for a dollar. I bought The Swiss Family Robinson, a collection of adventure stores, a cookbook with recipes for one or two people, and The Taste of Home Baking Book, along with a two-disc CD collection of music by the Mamas and the Papas and "Mama" Cass Elliot solo. 

Made my best finds riding back to Oaklyn down Collings Avenue. One house on Collings near the high school had several lovely 60's and 70's-style home made doll outfits on a blanket. I picked up two long-sleeved coats or dresses for Barbara Jean, one in red corduroy trimmed with lace and ribbon, the other in woolen green plaid. There was also a flowered sundress that will go to Ariel or Whitney. A house on a side street yielded Timeless Tales Volume 3, a collection of Disney shorts. Four of them - Ben & Me, Morris the Midge Moose, Casey at the Bat, and Little Hiawatha - aren't currently on Disney Plus. (In fact, I bought the disc to have Ben & Me for the 4th of July.) 

Didn't have as much luck in Oaklyn. For one thing, it was past 12:30 by that point. I briefly rode down Hillcrest, then across West Clinton and down to Kendall. I didn't see Rose and her family around, but I did buy a lemonade from a family who was earning money to help another family's beloved dog have surgery and got a free water and soft pretzel from the new tae kwon do studio that moved in next to the soft pretzel shop.

Went home and changed quickly while watching What's My Line on Buzzr. I arrived just in time for this black and white episode's charming Mystery Guest. It was a very young and adorable bespectacled Sammy Davis Jr. Arlene Francis guessed him right. She'd seen his nightclub act. Francis carried over to the early Password episode with Sandy Bergman that was on as I was leaving for work.

Made a brief stop at Common Grounds Coffee House before I went to the Acme. I wanted lunch, but ended up buying a French Vanilla Chip muffin for later, along with a Vitamin Water lemonade. It was too busy to sit down or wait around in a long line.

Work was busy for most of the night. In addition to all those barbecues and get-togethers I mentioned, it's the beginning of the month and the end of baseball and softball season for local Little League teams. If people weren't buying barbecue fixings or huge beginning of the month orders, they were stocking Little League concession stands. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 6 that I was able to leave with no relief and no need for one.

Had dinner while watching Journey Back to Oz on YouTube. I go further into this Filmation adaptation of the Wizard of Oz sequel The Marvelous Land of Oz on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 


Finished the night on YouTube with the Match Game Classics Saturday Marathon. Tonight's was a tribute to MASH actors who appeared on the show. Energetic Gary Burghoff (who replaced Charles Nelson Reilly in the third seat from late 1974 to mid-1975), wacky McLean Stevenson, and sarcastic Loretta Swit were the most commonly seen MASH stars on the 1970's and syndicated version of the show. Stevenson, in fact, took over Richard Dawson's "smart guy" seat late in the Syndicated run. Stevenson and Burghoff also appeared on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983 and '83, along with William Christopher and Larry Linville. 

See your favorite members of the 4077th have a crazy good time, whether they're in Korea or Burbank!

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