Really Wild West

Began the day with a couple of Disney cartoons while I had a late breakfast. "Autumn" is what it says on the tin, an early black-and-white Silly Symphony short. Animals gather food, avoid predators, and dance together as they prepare for the winter.

The other two I did were Donald/Chip & Dale romps. "Donald Applecore" has Donald attempting to gather his apple crop...but Chip and Dale want it, too. "Out of Scale" may be the only time these three ever came to an agreement on something. Chip and Dale's tree is taking up space in Donald's outdoor model railroad. The duo finally find a way for it to fit in, without destroying Don's hard work or their home.

Headed out for my first run around 11:30. I had to get the laundry done. I shouldn't have put it off yesterday...but then again, maybe it's a good thing. It was dead when I came in, and didn't get much busier. I didn't have a huge load anyway. I was out in less than an hour.

I put everything away, then went right back out. Stopped at Capitol Pizza really quick for lunch around 1:30. I ordered a slice of cheese, a slice of mushroom, and a can of Diet Pepsi. Enjoyed my meal while watching The Chew. I wish I'd been able to stay for the whole thing. Alton Brown was one of their guests. I still have a couple of Good Eats show sets and cookbooks from when Lauren was crazy about him around 2009. (Evidently, he's going to have Broadway's first cooking show in November, which is awesome.)

Made a quick stop at Dollar Tree for tissues. I forgot to pick them up at the Acme yesterday. Thank goodness the line was short, which is rare at Dollar Tree. I was in and out in five minutes.

Got into Haddonfield just in time for counseling. We discussed my quiet month, how well the Eagles have been doing...and my shopping habits. I've realized the past month that I don't actually shop that much. I generally stay out of malls unless I need something from them, and even then, I often end up in discount retailers like Target. (It doesn't help that getting to the malls requires a hike to a bus stop, and then anything from a 20 minute to an hour ride on a bus.) Every stick of furniture in my apartment either came with the house, was given to me by a relative, was bought with money given to me by a relative for a holiday or my birthday, or came from a yard sale. I'd rather buy most things used. My overspending on vacation last month is fairly rare. (And even then, we did do some shopping at Christmas Tree Shops and Target.)

Work has really been stressing me out. I hate it when three or four managers will give me orders at once...and usually not let me finish what I was doing before! We're supposed to be getting remodeled in a few weeks, too. While we'll apparently be getting new freezers out of the deal, we'll also be getting that completely unnecessary Starbucks. There's been a lot of grumbling about the timing, too. We're going into our busy season. It'll be a mess in there during the year's major food holidays.

On the other hand, we're now officially in my favorite time of the year. I love fall. The weather is perfect. Everything tastes of apple, pumpkin, or spices. There's so many events going on - book sales, fairs, festivals, block parties, flea markets, farm markets, bazaars, hay rides. The Collingswood Book Festival is this Saturday; the Voorhees Library book sale will likely be the weekend before Columbus Day. I'm very much looking forward to both.

Halloween has grown on me over the last few decade or so. It used to be one of my least-favorite holidays as a kid. Trick-or-treating never really caught on with me. I'm not into horror movies or partying, which is what most single adults do for this holiday. I do enjoy dressing up and taking part in Oaklyn's town parade. I love giving out candy at Dad's when I'm not working.

This is also one of the few holidays that's relatively singles-friendly. You don't need a crowd to throw together a costume, hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, or march in a parade. It's really easier for me to do all these things on my own.

By the time I got out, the clouds and rain from early this morning had long been replaced by blue skies. Though it remained a bit humid, decent 78-degree temperatures (according to that digital sign at the Westmont Fire House) kept it from feeling overwhelming. I celebrated the fall weather with a medium chocolate-peanut butter water ice at Primo's. Timed it well, too. A few minutes after I sat down on the black metal bench outside with my treat, the place was swarming with teens just out of school.

Went home via Newton Lake Park. It was a gorgeous day for a ride in the park...and I wasn't the only one who thought so! I dodged tons of joggers, bikers, couples out for a stroll, and families pushing strollers. Teens sat at picnic tables and chatted; elementary schoolers relaxed in the grass while doing homework. It got so busy, I just ended up taking a shortcut, hauling my bike over one of the stone staircases.

Worked on writing for the rest of the evening. Luke's not impressed with Hank's beloved, dilapidated fishing boat the Millennium Falcon. Hank insists she's the fastest fishing boat there is. He's installed a special engine in her for smuggling trips. They'll get to the island in no time. Too bad poor Chip isn't handling the journey well. He's rather sea-sick.

Tried a new recipe for dinner. Tomatoes and White Beans with Parmesan is just that - tomatoes and white beans cooked together, with Parmesan cheese added at the last minute. I threw in bok choy, eggplant, and green peppers for more vitamins (and to replace the fresh basil I don't have). Yum. A nice, simple, fairly fast blending of flavors. I'll have to make this more often. I could probably used canned diced tomatoes in the winter.

Ran Blazing Saddles as I ate. Local attorney general Hedley Lamaar (Harvey Korman) wants to direct the railroad right through the little town of Rock Ridge. He hopes to drive out the citizens by sending them Bart, a black man (Cleavon Little) as their sheriff. Needless to say, the citizens aren't happy about it at first...except the alcoholic former gunslinger The Waco Kid (Gene Wilder) and German chanteuse Lilli Von Shutup (Madeline Khan). When Lamaar gets tired of waiting and hires more gunmen to clear out Rock Ridge, Bart convinces everyone to fight back, in a battle that eventually takes over the entire Warners back lot!

One of Brooks' most popular spoofs takes on western cliches and racism - and both are more relevant today than ever. (Richard Pryor worked on the script for this, which explains a lot about the jokes.) I had this on in honor of Gene Wilder's passing a few weeks ago. I always liked his odd, soft-spoken Waco Kid.

Rainy Day Balance

It rained overnight, but it was merely cloudy when I headed to Yogawood for this week's class. It was a big one, too, 16 people including the teacher Micki. Good thing she just concentrated on squats, stretches, and Warrior type poses. I can do most of that except for the squats. I just can't lift myself. I'm too big.

There were two Amazon.com boxes waiting for me when I got in. Lauren sent me two small presents. The first is a cord that'll allow me to connect my old printer to my new laptop until I can afford a new printer. (The printer was Mom's for many years and has to be at least four or five years old.) The other is Alton Brown's baking book, I'm Just Here For More Food. Lauren's a big Good Eats fan. She knew I was looking for More Food after I found his first, cooking-oriented book at the thrift shop earlier this year.

The weather behaved long enough for me to head over to the Acme to pick up this week's paycheck and browse at FYE. I was going to get the new Pete's Dragon 2-disc set, but I found something even better. I've seen the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 2 on sale for weeks now, but I never got around to buying it until today. (This means I now have the original 3 Golden Collection sets. The next three don't have quite as many cartoons I really want beyond old favorite Ali Baba Bunny and a couple of specials. I probably won't pick them up until their prices come down, the way the earlier ones have.)

That Sonic that was being built behind the Chick Fil 'A looked like it had finally opened. I considered going there...but then I saw the long lines and full outdoor tables after I got out of FYE. I decided pizza would probably be cheaper and a lot faster. I ended up with slices of pineapple-canadian bacon and tomato-basil.

I was finishing up the pineapple when it started showering. Hard. It was light at first, but it came down faster and faster, until it was pouring heavily. I waited out the shower under an awning next to FYE, watching all the cars pass through Sonic and the waitresses in yellow raincoats bring orders to customers. I felt sorry for the waitresses and was suddenly glad I hadn't opted for Sonic.

The moment the weather looked like it was letting up, I hurried over to the Acme to do this week's grocery shopping. I didn't really need much. I bought chicken breasts, two packs of ground turkey that were on sale, small eye round beef steaks, Acme and Breyers light yogurt, whole wheat flour, and peanut butter (I ended up with Acme's Wild Harvest Organic Chunky).

Went home, put everything away, and headed out to the PNC Bank branch at the White Horse Pike on foot. I received a nasty shock there. I don't have as much money in the bank as I thought I did. I must have mixed up the amount in my savings account with the amount in my checking account. I'll have to take some out of my savings account. My rent will be late, but not as much as it would be if I just waited for my next paycheck.

It started pouring again as I walked home from the bank. This time, I did get wet, despite bringing an umbrella. I could take a hint. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Looney Tunes and baking chocolate chip "Old School Muffins" from Alton's book. (They came out very well, BTW, chewy but not too sweet.)

While not quite as good as the first or third Golden Collections, there were a couple of bona-fide classics in Volume 2, notably One Froggy Evening and What's Opera, Doc? Other favorites of mine in this set include the live-action/animation You Ought to Be In Pictures in it's original black-and-white, the Bugs vs. rodent classic Rhapsody Rabbit, and a personal favorite from Mom and Dad's old yellow public domain tapes from the North Cape May Acme, A Corny Concerto. (How many times are you gonna see Bugs Bunny in a bra and tutu today?)

(And the rain ended sometime around dinner. It's not raining now, but it's supposed to do the on-off thing for the rest of the weekend.)

The Day Is Just Packed

Woke up late and had a quick cereal-and-grapefruit breakfast before heading out for this week's library volunteering. I'd planned on spending a lot of time there today to make up for skimping last week and skipping the week before. The children's DVDs were looking pretty good, so I shelved children's books and DVDs for adults and kids.

I did a little exploring on my own later. It always takes me forever to decide on books! I've read a lot of mysteries lately, so I kept it down to one of the newest Amanda Pepper stories, A Hole In Juan, by Gillian Roberts. Amanda Pepper is a teacher at a fictional school in Philadelphia who often sniffs out clues among Delware Valley's high-society. I also found a trio of X-Men novels (not of the graphic variety - I prefer to imagine the characters myself when I read) and a really cool-looking novel about what might have happened if two real-life pulp fiction novelists examined the mysterious death of a third, The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, by Paul Malmont. I also took out a Calvin and Hobbes comic book, The Days are Just Packed, and a cookbook on making light desserts with real butter and sugar.

It was still cloudy and cool when I left for the library around 11, but by the time I finally got out at around quarter after 2, it was mostly sunny and into the lower 60s, a perfect spring day if there ever was one. I ran to Dollar Tree for cleaner, sponges, and soap, then stopped at the Westmont Bagel Cafe next to Friendly's for a very late lunch. I had "nova" (which looked like uncooked salmon) very thin on a toasted salt bagel with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a Diet Pepsi. I took the long way home across Newton River Park, since the weather had gotten so nice, passing many kids on the way home from the five or six schools in the area.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at home, baking cookies, making dinner, and finishing up the Tiny Toons set. It's worth buying just for two classic pieces of Toons lunacy, Tiny Toons Music Television and The Return of the Acme Acres Zone. The spoofs of early 90s Madonna and "Downtown" Julie Brown on the former are dated, but it includes the inspired videos for a pair of hits by real-life rock group They Might Be Giants, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man."

Acme Acres Zone may be the single weirdest episode the Tiny Toons ever did. How many kids' shows include takes on Blade Runner, old haunted house movies, and end-of-the-universe sci-fi? (The last named is the only episode of the entire series to reference "Duck Dodgers" and feature Marvin the Martian and his protege Marsha.)

I also watched three more Good Eats episodes, all on maligned veggies - broccoli, celery, and Brussels sprouts. I've never tried the last named, not because it's bad, but because it ain't cheap, either. The other two are long-time favorites of mine. I eat a lot of celery in particular, especially in the winter, when it's often one of the few affordable fresh vegetables one can find in the supermarket. Alton's braised celery dish came out quite nicely and made for a great dinner with a turkey burger and Roasted Apples and Honey.

"They've All Gone to Look For America..."

Spent this morning vacuuming, airing out rugs, and watching Feasting on Asphault. This is another Alton Brown/Food Network show, although it's really more like a mini-series. In this four-part special, Alton and a crew of bikers and trucks drive across the US, looking for fabulous, little-known road-side good eats. They visit all kinds of places, from diners to lunch counters, ice cream shops to high school gyms, and even people's homes and under their own vehicles.

I enjoyed this more than even Good Eats in some ways. I've always been fascinated with the history of America's tourism past, from the elaborate hotels of the 18th century to the roadside diners of the 20th. Probably comes from growing up in Cape May, America's oldest seaside resort. Here, they discussed the creation of Kentucky Fried Chicken (and the real Colonel Sanders), Duncan Hines (who started as a restaurant critic, not a cake mix guru), some of the now-well-known foods that first stepped into the limelight at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, the Harvey House restaurant chain, and authentic Navajo foods, among other things. It was well worth poor Alton's broken arm in the last part - a wonderful journey into the heart of American cuisine and culture.

Work wasn't nearly as interesting. In fact, it was steady-to-dead for most of the night, with no major problems.