Saturday, June 10, 2023

Farm Markets In the Sunshine

Started off the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Mickey's Big Surprise" is the finale of the second season. Mickey has something special he wants the others to see at the Clubhouse...but only if they and the audience at home can solve his five big puzzles first!

Headed out after the cartoon ended and I fixed my broken basket with zip ties. Most of the smoke has finally vanished, leaving blue skies, cool winds, and gorgeous sunlight. I didn't get going until past 11, and didn't get to the farm market until almost 11:30. And of course, I realized once I got there that I forgot the money I took out yesterday and my debit card. I had just enough to buy the first cherries and spring peas of the season. 

Went looking for a yard sale next. I thought it was on one side of Stokes Avenue, but it turns out it was on the other side closer to the Acme. Ironically, after I spent ten minutes looking for it, it turned out to have nothing of interest besides some unique dishes and wall decorations I couldn't afford anyway.

The Westmont Acme was only two blocks away, so I rode there next. Mainly wanted coconut milk. Grabbed strawberries too, since I wasn't able to get them at the farm market. Had an online coupon for the Made Good granola bars. Needed Jiff peanut butter, too. Grabbed a Propel for the way home.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park, then went over the hill and past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Center. It was surprisingly quiet out, despite the sunlight that sparkled on the green waters. Maybe everyone took advantage of the nice weekend to head down to the Shore.

Had a quick lunch and put everything away when I got home. Watched Supermarket Sweep while I ate. This was another one from the mid-90's. The ladies still have pretty big hair, David Ruprecht wears weird ties, and there's a second Mini Sweep after the first commercial. The mother and daughter #2 pair just barely won the Big Sweep, and then went on to do well in the Bonus Sweep, too. 

Called Uber after the show ended to take me to the Berlin Farmers Market. Though the car arrived in 7 minutes, there was more trouble on the road. He hit a long line of traffic in Audubon and Haddon Heights on the White Horse Pike. I suspect the guys collecting money for the local fire department on the road were at least partly to blame for the slow cars. After we got to Barrington, there were no more delays. He pulled into Berlin about a half-hour later. 

The Berlin Farmers Market and Flea Market is gigantic. They sell every toy, tool, hat, bit of junk and piece of media that ever existed...and that's just outside! The flea market features sprawling lines of wooden tables holding piles of records, DVDs, old dolls, new stuffed animals, cheap clothing, tools, and car parts. I found a seller with bins of records clearing them out six for five dollars. I picked my six, then headed inside.

The "Farmers Market" is more like a mall specializing in local stores and goods, and it's even longer and more overwhelming than the outdoor tables. The mini-stores sell everything from used records to new housewares to dollar store junk, often at discount prices. Their record store was a little pricier than the sellers outside, but I did fish two interesting titles out of the 99 cent bins and dug up a Broadway cast album I'd been after for years that was $10.

Didn't find much of interest in the book store, either...except they had three racks with every American Girl book that ever existed, from the original tan parchment-like covers to the current cut-down versions with pictures. I went with two BeForever releases, the Rebecca mystery The Showstopper and the original version of Maryellen's first story, The One and Only

(And my time in the book store was marred by an older man who kept loudly ranting and ranting to the owner how terrible he thought everyone in South Jersey was. Everyone near where he lived was terrible. Everyone in Gloucester County is terrible. Everyone who lives further south in Cape May and Atlantic County are horrible, ignorant roughnecks. So what makes him so special? I have no idea why he felt the need to go on and on to that poor man. If he doesn't like where he is, he should move.)

The Farmers Market has a small arcade near the book store. Unlike RAM Arcade or Round 1, this one still requires you to feed dollar bills to a machine and get tokens to play the games. On one hand, some of the games were kind of expensive for their age. On the other hand, you're not going to see a brand-new LCD screen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pinball game around the corner from a vintage 70's roller skating-themed table that often.

After peeking at two junk stores, a collectibles store, and a DVD, Blu-Ray, and games store, I decided it was time to pack it in. Made my last stop at the Amish bakery. They were having a buy one, get one free sale. It was hard to choose from luscious pies, huge cookies, crispy crackers, massive buttery cakes, and bins of candy, but I eventually went with a loaf of apple cinnamon bread for me and a loaf of blueberry bread for a friend. Couldn't resist a pumpkin whoopee pie - two soft cakes with cream in the middle.

Made my way to the end of the Market closest to the street and called Uber once I got outside. He arrived in seven minutes, surprising for 5 PM. I was even more surprised when we ran into no traffic anywhere. He got me home in no time at all.

Oh, and in addition to the bread, whoopee pie, American Girl books, and a copy of Elizabeth Peters' The Ape Who Guards the Balance from one of the junk stores, I picked up these records: 

The original cast album for A Day In Hollywood/A Night In the Ukraine - This is the one I've been after for years. This spoof of old movie musicals and Marx Brothers movies was a minor hit on Broadway in 1981. The Hollywood segment spoofs everything from MacDonald/Eddy movies to Fred and Ginger; the Marx Brothers segment is a slapstick version of the Russian comedy The Bear

The George Shearing Quintet - Blue Chiffon

Vivian Blaine - Songs from the Ziegfeld Follies

Two double soundtrack albums, for the Fred and Ginger movies Flying Down to Rio and Carefree and the 50's MGM musicals Les Girls and Lili

Another Tale Spinners for Children, this one The Pied Piper and The Tinder Box

Summertime Gold - A 4-disc Warners collection of songs from the 60's and 70's relating to summer

Worked on writing for a while when I got home. Brett comes in, sober for once. She teases Joyce about already making a mess in the dressing room before she sees the dog. The dog doesn't bother her, but she suspects it may bother Ira, their producer...and it'll certainly bother the guards.

Watched The Wizard of Oz while I worked. I go further into this English-dubbed Japanese animated version from 1982 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.


Had dinner while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel and Margaret Play School," but Margaret is less than a year old, and her attention wanders easily. Mrs. Tiger encourages Daniel to find a way to play school and play with his sister, too. Chrissy wants to go on a "Treasure Hunt at the Castle," but Dan and Wednesday want to play dinosaur. The boys finally let her have her Treasure Hunt first...and learn even more about compromise when they all find rocks the others want and end up doing some trading.

Finished the night online after a shower at YouTube, celebrating Pride Month at Match Game Productions. Charles Nelson Reilly and Fannie Flagg are probably the most famous gay panelists to appear on the show, but they're far from the only ones. From tough Nancy Kulp in 1976 to hilariously elegant Leonard Frey on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983, Match Game has always embraced panelists of every stripe. Ken Olfson was one of the best things about an otherwise notoriously bad week in 1978. Goofy Jm J. Bullock livened up Hollywood Squares Hour and Match Game '90. Rip Taylor and his toupee and confetti made their initial appearance in 1974, but wouldn't turn up again until he memorably covered for Charles during Christmas week 1990. Grumpy Richard Deacon was a semi-regular from 1974 straight through to one of his last TV appearances on the Leave It to Beaver week of Hollywood Squares Hour. 

Show your pride and honor people of all sexualities with this hilarious marathon! 

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