Day In the Sunshine

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's "Pompeii and Circumstances" when Mystery Inc's vacation in Italy is disrupted by a spectral gladiator and chariot guarding Pompeii. Worse yet, the long-dormant volcano seems to be belching smoke and ready to blow its top! The kids head to the volcano itself to check it out, while Velma wonders what a garbage scow and a grouchy security guard have to do with it.

Headed out soon as I finished eating. I had a lot to do today, starting with a brief stop at the Acme. I needed to change my weekday availability. Not that they really use me that often on the weekdays anyhow, but I needed to tell them that I really won't be there in the afternoons now. I can still work mornings and weekends. 

My next stop was the Goodwill in Audubon Crossings. I mainly needed to drop off a bag of donations, including the old CD player. (I put the old CD/cassette player on the curb for anyone who wanted it, since the CD part didn't work.) Made some of the best finds in the front I have there in ages. Came up with the book Life Reimagined by Barbara Bradley Hagerty on weathering changes in midlife, five records, and two CDs. The five records were:

Judy Garland - Judy at Carnegie Hall 

Studio cast recording of The Desert Song and Roberta featuring Gordon MacRae and Lucille Norman and the original cast of I Can Get It For You Wholesale with Elliot Gould, Lillian Roth, and in her first major role, Barbra Streisand

Tinkerbell/Peter Pan Records double feature of Thumbelina and The Ugly Duckling

A musical Cinderella made for the Columbia Children's Library of Recorded Books. (The back indicates even more tiles in this series of interest, including one with Curious George and others that feature such beloved kids' stories as Make Way For Ducklings, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and Caps for Sale.)

The two CDs were:

Train - Train

Have Yourself a Looney Tunes Christmas! (I don't know if I'll keep this one. It lacks the "Christmas Chopsticks" with Elmer from the cassette version.)

I wasn't that hungry, so I just had a quick late slice of mushroom pizza and a bottle of Diet Pepsi at Tu Se Bella's before moving down to Lane Bryant. I really needed to replace some of my underwear. It's been a while. (I need to replace the bras too, but those can wait for vacation.) There wasn't much in the way of briefs, so it took me a while to dig out 5 for the 5 for $25 sale. (And ended up getting one more when I found a pair that was $4.99.)

(And at least it was a glorious day for the running around! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was breezy, sunny, dry, and in the upper 70's.)

After I got home, I put everything away, then put on Mr. Music. I go further into this Bing Crosby vehicle featuring him as a songwriter who would rather be on the golf course and Nancy Olsen as the collegiate secretary who goads him into working at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Mr. Music

Jessa picked me up around 6. We had dinner at the Pub, a local steakhouse and bar that's been an institution in Pennsauken for over 70 years. The Pub is an enormous, elegant wood-paneled square barn with soft orange rings of lights overhead and heavy wooden furniture. It reminds me so much of a bigger version of the equally dark and dim older bars in Cape May and Wildwood. I felt right at home there. I wasn't the only one, either. Jessa told me this had been one of our Uncle Ken's favorite restaurants, and our cousin Amber had worked as a waitress there for several years before moving to Wisconsin. 

We started things off with iced tea and tasty, crusty bread. Jessa had a gigantic steak and a twice-baked potato. I had baked shrimp and scallops on a square pancake soaked in butter sauce, green beans, and fries. We both enjoyed salads and breads from their salad bar. It was all amazing...and huge. We both took parts of our meals home this time. Even their bathrooms were huge. I played the Ghostbusters pinball machine while waiting for Jessa. 

Our last stop before we went back to Oaklyn was 2nd Avenue Thrift, which is right next door to the Pub. I really did well with thrift shopping today. I've been looking for CD books that cost far less than the $15 to 25 the larger ones usually go for online. Picked up three big ones for $3.99 each and one smaller one for $2.99 at 2nd Avenue thrift, along with three books: 

High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels

The Anybodys by N.E Bode

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

And 3 CDs: 

The Moody Blues - Long Distance Traveler

Mariah Carey - #1s

Buddy Holly - The Best of Buddy Holly - The Millennium Collection

Oh, and I heard from Healthy Kids Programs when I was in Lane Bryant. Called them back when I got home. They want to do another virtual interview at 11 AM on Friday morning to go over and complete my paperwork. I'll be starting with them May 12th.