Started off an amazingly sunny, breezy morning with breakfast and a birthday-themed episode of Max & Ruby. Ruby's waiting for her friends to give her a surprise birthday party in "Surprise Ruby." Max grabs her birthday tiara and leads her on a merry chase to a real surprise. "Ruby's Birthday Party" is full of laughter and typical party games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Max just wants to eat cake. He has no idea what to give his sister in "Ruby's Birthday Present," but her wrapping paper gives him a very creative idea.
Spent the next few hours writing. Leia quickly joins Luke as the two try to fight off the demons abusing Han. The cloaked man attacks them with familiar purple lightning, claiming that they can't release Han's memories. Only he can do that. Finally angry enough to stand up for the duo who had been so kind to him. Han breaks free of the rack he was bound to and goes after the demons himself.
Got off at 10:20 to get ready for work. Ran one more short as I packed my lunch and changed into work clothes. "Mickey's Birthday Party" is the first of three birthday cartoons Disney did for their top mouse, and the only one in black and white. Mickey's delighted with his big party, even when his new xylophone takes on a life of it's own. (If you ever catch this one, it's worth seeing for Mickey and Minnie's adorable rendition of "I Can't Give You Anything but Love.")
Work wasn't really much of a problem. In fact, I spent a lot of it bored. We once again were only busy during rush hours. I mopped the bathrooms (twice), shelved items, did inside and outside trash, gathered baskets, and bagged a lot. We had plenty of help inside and out and no need for me to do carts. (And one of my co-workers gave me a wonderful compliment when she said I looked like I'd lost some weight. All the walking and Wii Sports is paying off.)
My schedule next week is really strange. While there's no 8 and 1/2 hour days this time, I work two 7 hour days in a row and one that's 6 and 1/2. Not to mention, my first day off isn't until Thursday, though I do have Thursday, Friday, and next Saturday off. That may be just as well. I have a telephone appointment with Camden County to check up on my food stamps on Thursday morning, and Audubon's spring town-wide yard sale is next Saturday.
Once again, I didn't have a really huge grocery load. I was mostly picking up produce. Grapefruit were fairly expensive, and they were still cheaper than the bags of oranges. Also got broccoli, a red potato, and bananas. Restocked cereal (Acme generic brand was on sale - got their generic Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds), whole-wheat pancake mix, eggs (the regular Acme eggs were so expensive, I just ended up buying good cage-free eggs for the same price), skim milk, mandarin oranges, honey, cheddar cheese, peanut butter, and tissues. Grabbed a slice of ham for dinner.
As soon as I got home, I changed into regular clothes, then put everything away. Returned to Yogi Bear while I got organized and made Bourbon BBQ ham with sauteed red potatoes and boiled cabbage for dinner. The series finale of The Yogi Bear Show was a special that revolved around Yogi's birthday. Kellogg's (the show's real-life sponsor) tells Ranger Smith that they want Yogi to have a surprise birthday party on TV. To keep it a surprise, Smith tells Yogi he's going to be on a variety show. Yogi tries to avoid it when it turns out he has no musical talents...but it's really a reunion of him with all the Hanna-Barbara funny animals that had been created at that point.
It was such a nice day, I went outside for a walk after dinner. I was originally going to get dessert at Common Grounds Coffee House down the street from me. They were so packed when I arrived, I could barely get in the door! Turns out they had a local folk trio playing tonight. I strolled further down Manor to a less-busy WaWa instead for a tasty Peach Cream Smoothie.
The weather was absolutely amazing for it. It's hard to believe now that it was sleeting and in the 40's the day after Easter. We were in the lower 80's, even with the stiff breeze, and dry as a bone. And even when it drops into the 50's next week, it doesn't sound like it's going to stay there. Spring is here for good.
As soon as I got home, I jumped in the shower, then finished off the night with some spooky Bowery Boys in honor of Friday the 13th. They're Spook Busters when they're called to exterminate a scary old mansion that used to belong to a magician. Not only did he leave many of his tricks behind, but the house is now occupied by a mad scientist. He wants to exchange a human brain for that of a gorilla...and decides that Sach is the perfect vessel for his experiments! While Slip makes sure his buddy doesn't lose what little brainpower he has, the others try to help a newly-arrived Gabe find his French bride, who has also vanished.
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Showing posts with label WaWa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WaWa. Show all posts
Friday, April 13, 2018
Thursday, September 22, 2016
The Perfect Start to Fall
Kicked off the first morning of the fall with my second early work day in a row. I did round up a few carts when I first got in and shelved most of a cart of groceries. Spent the second half of my shift trying to haul the soaked sandbags from the leaking freezers outside. This would have been easier if the keys to the back door hadn't mysteriously vanished right before my last round. I was lucky a manager was in the back and was able to unlock the door. They were still looking for the keys when I finished for the day. Good thing it was dead as a doornail all day. The sandbags were really saturated and made a mess when I loaded them into a bag.
It was absolutely gorgeous out when I finished work. I took the long way home down Nicholson Road to enjoy the weather a little longer. They weren't much busier than the Acme had been. I dodged a few cars on Nicholson, but otherwise, I had no problems.
As soon as I got home, I changed into regular shorts and my turquoise tank top. Had the last of the zucchini-carrot muffins for lunch watching more Star Wars: Rebels. Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper are sent to meet a Rebel data carrier...who turns out to be an old droid. The droid is coveted by a bounty hunter who had once been a friend of Sabine's. The two find themselves having to work together (with Chopper's help) when the Imperials attack.
It was way too nice to stay inside all day. I headed out for a walk around 2. I hadn't seen such a nice day in ages. It was still hot, probably in the mid-80's, but not humid at all. The sky was a rich blue. A soft breeze rustled the dry, crackling leaves on the trees. Gardens are bursting with the brilliant fall colors of marigolds, asters, sunflowers, and impatiens. The grass, though, remains a straw-like beige. Most people won't be decorating for Halloween until next month - the only decorations out were a few fall, summer, Eagles, or Phillies-related banners.
I was originally going to volunteer at Studio LuLoo, but they weren't open again. I just haven't been able to catch them lately. I ended up at WaWa instead. I got a flyer in the mail a few days ago with a stack of coupons in honor of the remodeling. WaWa can now do hand-made milkshakes behind the deli counter. One of the coupons was for a $1.99 milkshake. I took advantage of that coupon to try the Pumpkin Spice shake. Oooh, that was yummy, very flavorful and spicy. Not very ice-creamy, though. It tasted more like a cold pumpkin spice eggnog, which was cool too. I like eggnog, but it's usually too expensive for me to buy often.
Spent the rest of the afternoon working on my fanfic. I may end up re-writing this part. Originally, Jyn and Cassian give Leia a recording of Palapatine's plans to tear down the Cottages, the part of the boardwalk near-by, and most of the surrounding area and build a huge Empire Star Resort and Amusement Park. I think I might return to the source material and have them just give Leia the actual plans to get to Senator Mothma instead.
I wanted a real sit-down dinner tonight. I've had a package of boneless chicken thighs in the freezer forever. I finally defrosted them, rubbed them with Brown Sugar Bourbon spices, and wrapped them around thin slices of cheese. They were cooked in a molasses-chicken stock sauce. Added corn-on-the-cob and Cucumber-Tomato Salad for vegetables. Yummm. The chicken came out so moist and flavorful! I had to have two.
Continued Rebels as I ate. Rex and Kanan have to work together in one episode to rescue Ezra and the Rebel Commander Sato after they're attacked by an Imperial ship that can pull other ships out of hyperspace. Another has the entire group coming to the aid of a ship filled with Force-sensitive infants. Another episode has Ezra following a Force-vision he had about his parents to Lothal, where a former Imperial prisoner finally reveals their whereabouts.
A young Princess Leia helps them out in another story when her home planet of Alderaan gives the Rebels ships...but at this point, no one knows Alderaan is involved, and Leia and the guys have to make it look like a kidnapping. Meanwhile, Leia, who is also taking on massive responsibility at a young age, helps Ezra with the fall-out from finding out about his parents.
It was absolutely gorgeous out when I finished work. I took the long way home down Nicholson Road to enjoy the weather a little longer. They weren't much busier than the Acme had been. I dodged a few cars on Nicholson, but otherwise, I had no problems.
As soon as I got home, I changed into regular shorts and my turquoise tank top. Had the last of the zucchini-carrot muffins for lunch watching more Star Wars: Rebels. Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper are sent to meet a Rebel data carrier...who turns out to be an old droid. The droid is coveted by a bounty hunter who had once been a friend of Sabine's. The two find themselves having to work together (with Chopper's help) when the Imperials attack.
It was way too nice to stay inside all day. I headed out for a walk around 2. I hadn't seen such a nice day in ages. It was still hot, probably in the mid-80's, but not humid at all. The sky was a rich blue. A soft breeze rustled the dry, crackling leaves on the trees. Gardens are bursting with the brilliant fall colors of marigolds, asters, sunflowers, and impatiens. The grass, though, remains a straw-like beige. Most people won't be decorating for Halloween until next month - the only decorations out were a few fall, summer, Eagles, or Phillies-related banners.
I was originally going to volunteer at Studio LuLoo, but they weren't open again. I just haven't been able to catch them lately. I ended up at WaWa instead. I got a flyer in the mail a few days ago with a stack of coupons in honor of the remodeling. WaWa can now do hand-made milkshakes behind the deli counter. One of the coupons was for a $1.99 milkshake. I took advantage of that coupon to try the Pumpkin Spice shake. Oooh, that was yummy, very flavorful and spicy. Not very ice-creamy, though. It tasted more like a cold pumpkin spice eggnog, which was cool too. I like eggnog, but it's usually too expensive for me to buy often.
Spent the rest of the afternoon working on my fanfic. I may end up re-writing this part. Originally, Jyn and Cassian give Leia a recording of Palapatine's plans to tear down the Cottages, the part of the boardwalk near-by, and most of the surrounding area and build a huge Empire Star Resort and Amusement Park. I think I might return to the source material and have them just give Leia the actual plans to get to Senator Mothma instead.
I wanted a real sit-down dinner tonight. I've had a package of boneless chicken thighs in the freezer forever. I finally defrosted them, rubbed them with Brown Sugar Bourbon spices, and wrapped them around thin slices of cheese. They were cooked in a molasses-chicken stock sauce. Added corn-on-the-cob and Cucumber-Tomato Salad for vegetables. Yummm. The chicken came out so moist and flavorful! I had to have two.
Continued Rebels as I ate. Rex and Kanan have to work together in one episode to rescue Ezra and the Rebel Commander Sato after they're attacked by an Imperial ship that can pull other ships out of hyperspace. Another has the entire group coming to the aid of a ship filled with Force-sensitive infants. Another episode has Ezra following a Force-vision he had about his parents to Lothal, where a former Imperial prisoner finally reveals their whereabouts.
A young Princess Leia helps them out in another story when her home planet of Alderaan gives the Rebels ships...but at this point, no one knows Alderaan is involved, and Leia and the guys have to make it look like a kidnapping. Meanwhile, Leia, who is also taking on massive responsibility at a young age, helps Ezra with the fall-out from finding out about his parents.
Saturday, September 03, 2016
Farm Market Fantasy
Began a cloudy and cool morning with breakfast and Sailor Moon. Chibi-Usa is in the spotlight in an unusual episode from the second season. The Guardians and the cats have joined Rei, who is on a tropical island to work on spiritual training. Chibi-Usa gets upset with the others and drifts out too far on her inner tube. She's rescued from sharks by a baby dinosaur and makes friends with it. The dinosaur's mother finally comes for her baby...just as the volcano on the island they've ended up on is about to go off...
Headed out to the Collingswood Farm Market around 10:30. Despite the chilly, windy morning, the place was packed. I couldn't move without hitting an elbow. Everyone wanted produce, meat, cheese, and honey for their Labor Day barbecues. The tables are still spilling over with the summer harvest. The fall harvest is slowly debuting, too. I saw acorn squash and pears for the first time today. I ended up with three little onions (one red, two white), Gala apples, a sugar baby (small dark green) watermelon, a tomato, a zucchini, and one of the acorn squash.
Next stop was WaWa for skim milk. Wow. The Collingswood WaWa had really changed since the last time I was in there. It's now all wood-grained paneling and rough boxy siding. It looks really great, almost warmer, even. I really need to check and see if Oaklyn got that same upgrade when they were remodeled a few weeks ago.
Headed home via Newton River Park, passing through the parking lot at the CVS on the border of Oaklyn and Collingswood. There was some kind of party or fair going on at the park, but by then, it was quarter of noon and looked like it was ending. I saw a colorful bounce house and the tops of white tents flapping in the wind. Got to say "hi" to Dad-Bruce briefly as I made my way up the hill to Newton Avenue. He was in his car, probably on his way home from running errands.
I was at home long enough to put everything away before heading right back out. I wanted to hit the Oaklyn Library today. They were pretty quiet, with just two old ladies gossiping about everything they were reading online the only people there besides the librarian. It was probably just as well. I had a lot to do. The kids' DVDs weren't bad, but the adult ones were a mess. The kids' books weren't much better. I need to totally re-organize the graphic novels. (Which basically amounts to "anything related to a comic book, sci-fi, or cartoon franchise that isn't Disney fairy tales.") In the meantime, I gave the picture books and board books a good combing-through.
Debated having lunch at the Oaklyn Manor Bar. I heard live music coming from their outside patio, but it did seem kind of noisy up there. I decided I'd rather have a nice quiet lunch. I enjoyed a slice of spinach, tomato, and feta quiche and a Deb's Spicy-Sweet Iced Tea at Common Grounds Coffee House instead. They were dead, with only one other guy there.
Though the clouds were disappearing by 1:30, it remained windy and very cool. I spent the rest of the afternoon inside, working on my story. Jyn says her dad once worked for Empire Industries. Leia says she'll be the one who checks it out.
Had leftovers for dinner, then baked chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Watched The Nutcracker Sweet while I worked. This CGI rendition of the beloved Christmas story from last year has Marie Stalhbaum and her brother Fritz constantly at odds. Marie doesn't tell him when she sees her beloved Nutcracker doll come to life and fight the Mouse King. Her parents and godparents laugh at her ideas, and she thinks he will, too. She eventually follows the Nutcracker to the Land of Toys to help restore his human form and stop the Mouse King from taking over. Fritz, tired of his sister not sharing, follows. The two learn just how important teamwork is when they have to band together to end the Mouse King's reign.
This was...odd. Very odd. The animation is simplistic and kind of ugly, but some of it is well-done. There's some really strange ideas - the tree-creatures that throw characters around in the climatic battle look like they belong in Lord of the Rings, and the toy designs of some characters after they end up in the fantasy world is downright disturbing.
On the other hand, I do like the emphasis on Marie and Fritz's relationship. In the ballet and E.A Hoffman's original story, Fritz is prominent during the first third of the tale, during the ball, where he breaks the Nutcracker. He disappears thereafter, not to be seen again. Here, Fritz is equally as important as Marie, and in fact, it's their love for each other that ends up saving the Nutcracker.
This is cute, but not that great. Not too bad if you run into it, but not really worth tracking down unless you have to see every version of The Nutcracker.
Finished out the night in a nice, warm bath. Ahhh. I needed that badly after the stressful and often frustrating couple of weeks I've had. I soaked in peppermint-scented bath water and looked over Christmas craft books for gift ideas while listening to one of my jazz CDs.
Headed out to the Collingswood Farm Market around 10:30. Despite the chilly, windy morning, the place was packed. I couldn't move without hitting an elbow. Everyone wanted produce, meat, cheese, and honey for their Labor Day barbecues. The tables are still spilling over with the summer harvest. The fall harvest is slowly debuting, too. I saw acorn squash and pears for the first time today. I ended up with three little onions (one red, two white), Gala apples, a sugar baby (small dark green) watermelon, a tomato, a zucchini, and one of the acorn squash.
Next stop was WaWa for skim milk. Wow. The Collingswood WaWa had really changed since the last time I was in there. It's now all wood-grained paneling and rough boxy siding. It looks really great, almost warmer, even. I really need to check and see if Oaklyn got that same upgrade when they were remodeled a few weeks ago.
Headed home via Newton River Park, passing through the parking lot at the CVS on the border of Oaklyn and Collingswood. There was some kind of party or fair going on at the park, but by then, it was quarter of noon and looked like it was ending. I saw a colorful bounce house and the tops of white tents flapping in the wind. Got to say "hi" to Dad-Bruce briefly as I made my way up the hill to Newton Avenue. He was in his car, probably on his way home from running errands.
I was at home long enough to put everything away before heading right back out. I wanted to hit the Oaklyn Library today. They were pretty quiet, with just two old ladies gossiping about everything they were reading online the only people there besides the librarian. It was probably just as well. I had a lot to do. The kids' DVDs weren't bad, but the adult ones were a mess. The kids' books weren't much better. I need to totally re-organize the graphic novels. (Which basically amounts to "anything related to a comic book, sci-fi, or cartoon franchise that isn't Disney fairy tales.") In the meantime, I gave the picture books and board books a good combing-through.
Debated having lunch at the Oaklyn Manor Bar. I heard live music coming from their outside patio, but it did seem kind of noisy up there. I decided I'd rather have a nice quiet lunch. I enjoyed a slice of spinach, tomato, and feta quiche and a Deb's Spicy-Sweet Iced Tea at Common Grounds Coffee House instead. They were dead, with only one other guy there.
Though the clouds were disappearing by 1:30, it remained windy and very cool. I spent the rest of the afternoon inside, working on my story. Jyn says her dad once worked for Empire Industries. Leia says she'll be the one who checks it out.
Had leftovers for dinner, then baked chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Watched The Nutcracker Sweet while I worked. This CGI rendition of the beloved Christmas story from last year has Marie Stalhbaum and her brother Fritz constantly at odds. Marie doesn't tell him when she sees her beloved Nutcracker doll come to life and fight the Mouse King. Her parents and godparents laugh at her ideas, and she thinks he will, too. She eventually follows the Nutcracker to the Land of Toys to help restore his human form and stop the Mouse King from taking over. Fritz, tired of his sister not sharing, follows. The two learn just how important teamwork is when they have to band together to end the Mouse King's reign.
This was...odd. Very odd. The animation is simplistic and kind of ugly, but some of it is well-done. There's some really strange ideas - the tree-creatures that throw characters around in the climatic battle look like they belong in Lord of the Rings, and the toy designs of some characters after they end up in the fantasy world is downright disturbing.
On the other hand, I do like the emphasis on Marie and Fritz's relationship. In the ballet and E.A Hoffman's original story, Fritz is prominent during the first third of the tale, during the ball, where he breaks the Nutcracker. He disappears thereafter, not to be seen again. Here, Fritz is equally as important as Marie, and in fact, it's their love for each other that ends up saving the Nutcracker.
This is cute, but not that great. Not too bad if you run into it, but not really worth tracking down unless you have to see every version of The Nutcracker.
Finished out the night in a nice, warm bath. Ahhh. I needed that badly after the stressful and often frustrating couple of weeks I've had. I soaked in peppermint-scented bath water and looked over Christmas craft books for gift ideas while listening to one of my jazz CDs.
Saturday, May 03, 2014
A Little Bit of Rest
Started out a partly cloudy, cool morning with this week's American Top 40. I was 4 in late April 1983, when pop, New Wave, hard rock, and country were at the top of the charts, and I remember many of these songs well. Hits that spring included "Even Now" by Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band, "Solitaire" by Laura Branigan, "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Let's Dance" by David Bowie, "I Won't Hold You Back" by Toto, "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, and two numbers about the 80s' obsession with technology, "Mr. Roboto" by Styx and "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby.
Michael Jackson's album Thriller was the hottest-selling album in years. At least three numbers from that LP were rocketing up the charts that week, including "Billie Jean" and that week's number one (and the number one for the two weeks afterwards), "Beat It."
Today was the opening of the Collingswood Farm Market. They were packed like sardines, despite the blustery and semi-cloudy weather and the lack of produce. The weather over the winter and last week's rain took it's toll on the farmers' wares. Most tables were selling plants, flowers, or crafts. There was enough food around that I did get some vegetables - carrots, radishes, spinach, and asparagus.
I spent most of the morning riding around to a couple of yard sales in Oaklyn, Collingswood, and Haddon Township. The only one with anything interesting was on the White Horse Pike in Oaklyn, between the former Taco Bell and Little Bear Daycare. I picked up a couple of decent records:
Rod Stewart - Blonds Have More Fun
Dolly Pardon - Greatest Hits
Johnny Mathis - Love Story
Gold Rush '79 (One of those K-Tel random hits collections I keep finding everywhere, this one a two-disc set.)
Since I was out and about, I swung by the Acme on my way home to pick up my schedule and get some callus remover. The calluses I got from my last pair of work sneakers are still pretty sore. I got lucky - the Acme's callus removal pads and a couple of varieties of Dr. Scholl's were on the clearance rack, the Acme's for 49 cents each! Grabbed more clearance sponges, too.
My schedule for next week is actually pretty decent. I start much later than I have been, at 2 or 3 every work day, and end between 7 and 9. Only Monday is longer than 6 hours. Tuesday and Thursday are my off days (Tuesday for counseling). I have slightly fewer hours and absolutely no problems with it. I wanted to concentrate on starting spring cleaning and finishing my communications course this week anyway.
When I got home, I put all my finds away, then had chicken soup and Apple-Strawberry Muffins for lunch while watching more Backyardigans. "Sinbad Sails Alone" in one of the best episodes of the second season. Tyrone is Sinbad, who is determined to make it to the end of the rainbow all by himself. Pablo wants to help, but he does nothing but get them into trouble and lose their water and food. Both boys will have to visit Siren Uniqua and Medusa Tasha and win at their games if they want to complete their mission!
Headed out to the laundromat as soon as I was done with lunch. I didn't have a really big load...but for once, I wished I did. The other people there were the manager and a mom, a little boy, and the little boy's tiny, adorable puppy. She was an adorable little critter with curly black fur, just two weeks old. She squirmed in anyone's arms but the little boy's. Boy and puppy were just so cute to watch.
I put away my laundry the moment I got home. After that, I just took a nap. I was up late last night, got up early this morning, and didn't have any other major plans for today. I feel like I've been going non-stop since late January. I've barely had the time to think, much less rest. I went to bed at 3:30, opened my eyes briefly around 4:15, then slept until 20 after 5.
I read the Nora Roberts book Hot Ice in bed for a little while (one of the only books of hers I ever liked), then made dinner while listening to that Gold Rush set. I brushed butter on flounder fillets and asparagus. Sprinkled cheap imitation Old Bay on the flounder and dried herbs on the asparagus and baked both. Sauteed spinach and mushrooms in home-made chicken stock while everything else was cooking. Oh, yum yum. It all came out great, very moist and flavorful. The farm market asparagus was delicious and tender.
By quarter of 7, the earlier clouds were at bay, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and the wind had died down. It had turned into such a nice day, I had to go for a walk to celebrate it. I wasn't the only one. There were tons of people out enjoying themselves, playing in their front lawns with their children, riding bikes, walking dogs, pushing strollers, or on a stroll of their own. It's beautiful here. It's gotten so green. The daffodils are gone, but the tulips are up, and the irises are on their way.
There was a huge crowd in the parking lot outside of the Oaklyn Manor Bar. They mostly just seemed to be talking and drinking beer. I had no idea what was going on until I walked further down Manor and saw a co-worker, Diane, on her front lawn with her dog and two daughters. According to her, the crowds were celebrating Derby Day. I totally forgot today was the Kentucky Derby - I'm not really into horses or horse races.
I bought a Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake at WaWa, then headed back home. Got right into the shower when I made it in, ignoring the crowds at the VFW coming from a Derby party. The clouds I saw on the horizon earlier didn't make it here until about an hour ago, when we had a massive thunderstorm. Doesn't seem to have lasted, though. It's quiet now, just planes overhead.
Michael Jackson's album Thriller was the hottest-selling album in years. At least three numbers from that LP were rocketing up the charts that week, including "Billie Jean" and that week's number one (and the number one for the two weeks afterwards), "Beat It."
Today was the opening of the Collingswood Farm Market. They were packed like sardines, despite the blustery and semi-cloudy weather and the lack of produce. The weather over the winter and last week's rain took it's toll on the farmers' wares. Most tables were selling plants, flowers, or crafts. There was enough food around that I did get some vegetables - carrots, radishes, spinach, and asparagus.
I spent most of the morning riding around to a couple of yard sales in Oaklyn, Collingswood, and Haddon Township. The only one with anything interesting was on the White Horse Pike in Oaklyn, between the former Taco Bell and Little Bear Daycare. I picked up a couple of decent records:
Rod Stewart - Blonds Have More Fun
Dolly Pardon - Greatest Hits
Johnny Mathis - Love Story
Gold Rush '79 (One of those K-Tel random hits collections I keep finding everywhere, this one a two-disc set.)
Since I was out and about, I swung by the Acme on my way home to pick up my schedule and get some callus remover. The calluses I got from my last pair of work sneakers are still pretty sore. I got lucky - the Acme's callus removal pads and a couple of varieties of Dr. Scholl's were on the clearance rack, the Acme's for 49 cents each! Grabbed more clearance sponges, too.
My schedule for next week is actually pretty decent. I start much later than I have been, at 2 or 3 every work day, and end between 7 and 9. Only Monday is longer than 6 hours. Tuesday and Thursday are my off days (Tuesday for counseling). I have slightly fewer hours and absolutely no problems with it. I wanted to concentrate on starting spring cleaning and finishing my communications course this week anyway.
When I got home, I put all my finds away, then had chicken soup and Apple-Strawberry Muffins for lunch while watching more Backyardigans. "Sinbad Sails Alone" in one of the best episodes of the second season. Tyrone is Sinbad, who is determined to make it to the end of the rainbow all by himself. Pablo wants to help, but he does nothing but get them into trouble and lose their water and food. Both boys will have to visit Siren Uniqua and Medusa Tasha and win at their games if they want to complete their mission!
Headed out to the laundromat as soon as I was done with lunch. I didn't have a really big load...but for once, I wished I did. The other people there were the manager and a mom, a little boy, and the little boy's tiny, adorable puppy. She was an adorable little critter with curly black fur, just two weeks old. She squirmed in anyone's arms but the little boy's. Boy and puppy were just so cute to watch.
I put away my laundry the moment I got home. After that, I just took a nap. I was up late last night, got up early this morning, and didn't have any other major plans for today. I feel like I've been going non-stop since late January. I've barely had the time to think, much less rest. I went to bed at 3:30, opened my eyes briefly around 4:15, then slept until 20 after 5.
I read the Nora Roberts book Hot Ice in bed for a little while (one of the only books of hers I ever liked), then made dinner while listening to that Gold Rush set. I brushed butter on flounder fillets and asparagus. Sprinkled cheap imitation Old Bay on the flounder and dried herbs on the asparagus and baked both. Sauteed spinach and mushrooms in home-made chicken stock while everything else was cooking. Oh, yum yum. It all came out great, very moist and flavorful. The farm market asparagus was delicious and tender.
By quarter of 7, the earlier clouds were at bay, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and the wind had died down. It had turned into such a nice day, I had to go for a walk to celebrate it. I wasn't the only one. There were tons of people out enjoying themselves, playing in their front lawns with their children, riding bikes, walking dogs, pushing strollers, or on a stroll of their own. It's beautiful here. It's gotten so green. The daffodils are gone, but the tulips are up, and the irises are on their way.
There was a huge crowd in the parking lot outside of the Oaklyn Manor Bar. They mostly just seemed to be talking and drinking beer. I had no idea what was going on until I walked further down Manor and saw a co-worker, Diane, on her front lawn with her dog and two daughters. According to her, the crowds were celebrating Derby Day. I totally forgot today was the Kentucky Derby - I'm not really into horses or horse races.
I bought a Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake at WaWa, then headed back home. Got right into the shower when I made it in, ignoring the crowds at the VFW coming from a Derby party. The clouds I saw on the horizon earlier didn't make it here until about an hour ago, when we had a massive thunderstorm. Doesn't seem to have lasted, though. It's quiet now, just planes overhead.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Chilled Harvest
Brrr! I awoke to 40-degree temperatures as I turned on this week's American Top 40. They stayed in the 80s but jumped back a few years to 1983. Popular songs from early November '83 included "True," by Spandau Ballet, "Say, Say, Say" by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney (their second collaboration), "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel (which has been a favorite of mine ever since), "Delirious" by Prince, "Telephone" by Sheena Easton, and "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" by Air Supply.
That week's #1 hit was a reflection of the popularity of country music in the early 80s, as it was also that week's top country song - the duet "Islands In the Stream," by two of the 80s' favorite country music stars, Dolly Pardon and Kenny Rogers.
Other than the cold, it was sunny, windy, and a perfect day for a farm market/yard sale run. There weren't too many yard sales around this week, probably because of the chilly weather. My first stop was a sale on Merrick Avenue, near the Westmont Acme and CVS. The proprietor was annoying, with his nasal voice, dumb jokes, and attempts to make people walk away with items, whether they wanted to or not. Most of his records were singles from the 80s, but I did find a record that interested me:
Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim
The Collingswood Farm Market was next. It was fairly busy despite the brisk weather and the distinct lack of food booths. All of the flower stands were gone, replaced by craft salespeople. The honey seller told me she's on her last week, too. I found everything on my long list that I needed, though, including mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, carrots, apple butter, spinach (for the first time since the spring), pears, little Fuji apples, the honey, cauliflower, and broccoli. I needed to do some major restocking after the weather was too messy to get to the Farm Market last week!
I made my best finds today at indoor sales. An antique store in Collingswood was having a big used book sale, with paperbacks for a dollar and hardbacks for two dollars. I bought a Rachel Ray cookbook for a Christmas present, and a Disney Wonderful World of Reading Christmas-themed hardback, a hardback copy of the Old West-set mystery Holmes on the Range, and a lovely 50s-era book of fairy tales for myself.
Rode around Collingswood for a while, looking for another yard sale. When I couldn't find it, I decided to try the thrift shop at the Logan Presbyterian Church on the corner of Market Street and the White Horse Pike in Audubon instead. They hold the thrift shop every other Saturday. I've often ridden by when they've been open, but I was usually on the way to or from a yard sale and had never tried them. With few options, I was willing to check them out today.
The thrift shop was in the basement of the pale-green house in the back of the main church. It was basically the same thing as the now-closed thrift shop in Collingswood - clothes, toys, records, videos, knick-knacks. Here, though, everything had it's own room. There was a room for clothes, a room for toys and kids' videos, and a room for everything else, including adult records, videos, and decorative items. (Like the Collingswood thrift shop, they don't have the room for furniture.)
I made my best finds here. Among their children's videos were a fourth Muppet Babies Video Storybook I'd never heard of and a copy of The Flinstone's Christmas Carol, both of which I could add onto the end of dubbed DVDs.
There were two boxes with records off to the right in the large knick-knacks room. I found some great cast albums and sountracks there:
The original cast of the 1965 Broadway musical Do I Hear a Waltz?
The soundtrack to something called 'S, Wonderful, 'S, Marvelous, 'S Gershwin - the back cover says it's a TV "Super Special" from 1971 with a great cast, including Larry Kert, Fred Astaire, Leslie Uggams, Robert Guillaume, Peter Nero, Linda Bennett, and Jack Lemmon.
The soundtrack to the original film version of Gigi
The massive 3-disc 1956 original cast album to Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella
The lady at the front table where I made my purchases said they'd be open again on November the 19th, which also happens to be the last day of the farm market. If I'm not too busy and the weather's good, I might have to try to get back there and see if they have any more great records.
Rode over to an estate sale on Wyoming Avenue in Audubon after leaving the church. When I found nothing good there, I went back up Market Street to the TreeHouse Cafe. It was almost 12:30 by then, and the coffee house/meeting place for mothers was very busy. I was lucky to find a seat! A cup of hot chocolate and very spicy turkey chili helped me warm up after riding around outside all day.
By the time I left there, it was past 1PM. Time to head home. I gave Miss Ellie my rent before I left, including a letter that stated my intention to do the raking today. Miss Ellie had a message for me on my answering machine. That wouldn't be necessary. Her grandson would be coming over in a few hours to do the raking.
Well, that left me at loose ends. Raking was my big plan for today. I opted for a walk to WaWa for a snack instead. Since it remained in the middle 40s, I threw a coat on over my thickest sweater and grabbed ear muffs and gloves. I wasn't the only one out and about, either. I saw lots of kids in strollers being pushed by bundled-up parents, joggers enjoying the fresh breeze, and teenagers in packs heading to WaWa for hot drinks. I grabbed a pretzel and a hot chai and headed home.
Spent the rest of the afternoon at my apartment, doing things online. I also finally made the first ad for my editing business. I'm going to put up ads in local libraries and coffee houses, and maybe businesses that kids might frequent, like the comic books shop. I'll work on online advertising and advertising in colleges next week, when I can drum up the courage. It took me long enough just to make a flyer!
Ran The Mikado while making shrimp, mashed acorn squash, and Curried Cauliflower for dinner. This is the 1939 British version of the 1885 Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. I figured that if I could enjoy the equally stagey 1983 Pirates of Penzance, I would get a kick out of this...and I did. American singer Kenny Baker is Nanki-Poo (ok, so the names are weird - work with me here), a minstrel who falls for pretty school maid Yum-Yum. Trouble is, she's to be married to Ko-Ko, the new Lord High Executioner, and he's under the thumb of the pretentious Pooh Bah. Nanki-Poo has his own secrets to dish out, too...and when it all comes out in the open, it may take all of Ko-Ko's skills in clowning and persuasion to keep everyone's heads on their shoulders, including his!
If you love theatrical-style musicals or Gilbert and Sullivan, this is really cute, despite all the talk about beheading and punishments. The production is gorgeous, too, with the usual bold palette of Technicolor replaced by more delicate pastel shades, and the soundstage sets looking exquisite. The D'Oyly Carte Players have a ball with the material, and Kenny Baker looks and sounds far more at ease here than he did playing ringmaster to the Marx Brothers in At the Circus.
A few caveats. First of all, this is apparently a severely truncated version of the show, slimmed down to 91 minutes. While it all moves fairly quickly (moreso than the Pirates of Penzance film), purists probably won't be thrilled with the missing scenes and songs, and the plot is hard to follow at times. There's also the matter of obvious Brits (and one American) playing Asians. Not to mention, this is not the place to come to for heavy opera. This is about as fluffy as you can get and still talk about executions.
Brrr! I awoke to 40-degree temperatures as I turned on this week's American Top 40. They stayed in the 80s but jumped back a few years to 1983. Popular songs from early November '83 included "True," by Spandau Ballet, "Say, Say, Say" by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney (their second collaboration), "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel (which has been a favorite of mine ever since), "Delirious" by Prince, "Telephone" by Sheena Easton, and "Making Love Out of Nothing At All" by Air Supply.
That week's #1 hit was a reflection of the popularity of country music in the early 80s, as it was also that week's top country song - the duet "Islands In the Stream," by two of the 80s' favorite country music stars, Dolly Pardon and Kenny Rogers.
Other than the cold, it was sunny, windy, and a perfect day for a farm market/yard sale run. There weren't too many yard sales around this week, probably because of the chilly weather. My first stop was a sale on Merrick Avenue, near the Westmont Acme and CVS. The proprietor was annoying, with his nasal voice, dumb jokes, and attempts to make people walk away with items, whether they wanted to or not. Most of his records were singles from the 80s, but I did find a record that interested me:
Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim
The Collingswood Farm Market was next. It was fairly busy despite the brisk weather and the distinct lack of food booths. All of the flower stands were gone, replaced by craft salespeople. The honey seller told me she's on her last week, too. I found everything on my long list that I needed, though, including mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, carrots, apple butter, spinach (for the first time since the spring), pears, little Fuji apples, the honey, cauliflower, and broccoli. I needed to do some major restocking after the weather was too messy to get to the Farm Market last week!
I made my best finds today at indoor sales. An antique store in Collingswood was having a big used book sale, with paperbacks for a dollar and hardbacks for two dollars. I bought a Rachel Ray cookbook for a Christmas present, and a Disney Wonderful World of Reading Christmas-themed hardback, a hardback copy of the Old West-set mystery Holmes on the Range, and a lovely 50s-era book of fairy tales for myself.
Rode around Collingswood for a while, looking for another yard sale. When I couldn't find it, I decided to try the thrift shop at the Logan Presbyterian Church on the corner of Market Street and the White Horse Pike in Audubon instead. They hold the thrift shop every other Saturday. I've often ridden by when they've been open, but I was usually on the way to or from a yard sale and had never tried them. With few options, I was willing to check them out today.
The thrift shop was in the basement of the pale-green house in the back of the main church. It was basically the same thing as the now-closed thrift shop in Collingswood - clothes, toys, records, videos, knick-knacks. Here, though, everything had it's own room. There was a room for clothes, a room for toys and kids' videos, and a room for everything else, including adult records, videos, and decorative items. (Like the Collingswood thrift shop, they don't have the room for furniture.)
I made my best finds here. Among their children's videos were a fourth Muppet Babies Video Storybook I'd never heard of and a copy of The Flinstone's Christmas Carol, both of which I could add onto the end of dubbed DVDs.
There were two boxes with records off to the right in the large knick-knacks room. I found some great cast albums and sountracks there:
The original cast of the 1965 Broadway musical Do I Hear a Waltz?
The soundtrack to something called 'S, Wonderful, 'S, Marvelous, 'S Gershwin - the back cover says it's a TV "Super Special" from 1971 with a great cast, including Larry Kert, Fred Astaire, Leslie Uggams, Robert Guillaume, Peter Nero, Linda Bennett, and Jack Lemmon.
The soundtrack to the original film version of Gigi
The massive 3-disc 1956 original cast album to Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella
The lady at the front table where I made my purchases said they'd be open again on November the 19th, which also happens to be the last day of the farm market. If I'm not too busy and the weather's good, I might have to try to get back there and see if they have any more great records.
Rode over to an estate sale on Wyoming Avenue in Audubon after leaving the church. When I found nothing good there, I went back up Market Street to the TreeHouse Cafe. It was almost 12:30 by then, and the coffee house/meeting place for mothers was very busy. I was lucky to find a seat! A cup of hot chocolate and very spicy turkey chili helped me warm up after riding around outside all day.
By the time I left there, it was past 1PM. Time to head home. I gave Miss Ellie my rent before I left, including a letter that stated my intention to do the raking today. Miss Ellie had a message for me on my answering machine. That wouldn't be necessary. Her grandson would be coming over in a few hours to do the raking.
Well, that left me at loose ends. Raking was my big plan for today. I opted for a walk to WaWa for a snack instead. Since it remained in the middle 40s, I threw a coat on over my thickest sweater and grabbed ear muffs and gloves. I wasn't the only one out and about, either. I saw lots of kids in strollers being pushed by bundled-up parents, joggers enjoying the fresh breeze, and teenagers in packs heading to WaWa for hot drinks. I grabbed a pretzel and a hot chai and headed home.
Spent the rest of the afternoon at my apartment, doing things online. I also finally made the first ad for my editing business. I'm going to put up ads in local libraries and coffee houses, and maybe businesses that kids might frequent, like the comic books shop. I'll work on online advertising and advertising in colleges next week, when I can drum up the courage. It took me long enough just to make a flyer!
Ran The Mikado while making shrimp, mashed acorn squash, and Curried Cauliflower for dinner. This is the 1939 British version of the 1885 Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. I figured that if I could enjoy the equally stagey 1983 Pirates of Penzance, I would get a kick out of this...and I did. American singer Kenny Baker is Nanki-Poo (ok, so the names are weird - work with me here), a minstrel who falls for pretty school maid Yum-Yum. Trouble is, she's to be married to Ko-Ko, the new Lord High Executioner, and he's under the thumb of the pretentious Pooh Bah. Nanki-Poo has his own secrets to dish out, too...and when it all comes out in the open, it may take all of Ko-Ko's skills in clowning and persuasion to keep everyone's heads on their shoulders, including his!
If you love theatrical-style musicals or Gilbert and Sullivan, this is really cute, despite all the talk about beheading and punishments. The production is gorgeous, too, with the usual bold palette of Technicolor replaced by more delicate pastel shades, and the soundstage sets looking exquisite. The D'Oyly Carte Players have a ball with the material, and Kenny Baker looks and sounds far more at ease here than he did playing ringmaster to the Marx Brothers in At the Circus.
A few caveats. First of all, this is apparently a severely truncated version of the show, slimmed down to 91 minutes. While it all moves fairly quickly (moreso than the Pirates of Penzance film), purists probably won't be thrilled with the missing scenes and songs, and the plot is hard to follow at times. There's also the matter of obvious Brits (and one American) playing Asians. Not to mention, this is not the place to come to for heavy opera. This is about as fluffy as you can get and still talk about executions.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Fruits of Summer
When I awoke, the storm had swept away yesterday's heat and humidity for the second Saturday in a row. It was hot, in the upper 80s, neither as hot nor as humid as the past few days. I turned off the air conditioner and opened the windows.
Ran American Top 40 while eating breakfast. Late July 1976 was in the spotlight. Despite this being the beginning of the disco era, most of the songs on the chart that summer were jazz, R&B, or basic pop. They included the Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," Queen's "You're My Best Friend," the Bee Gees' "You Should Be Dancing," Paul McCartney and Wings' "Let Them In," Starbuck's "Moonlight Feels Right," Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," Elton John and Kiki Dee's classic uptempo duet "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," and George Benson's "This Masquerade." (The album that song comes from, Breezin', was the number one album that week. Good choice - there's just something about that album that says "breezy summer afternoon.")
I headed out as soon as the show was over. Made a quick-stop at the bank first, then went looking for yard sales. It took me a while, but I found the first one on Merrick Avenue in Collingswood. Alas, it was all baby toys and items and turned out to not be worth the effort. I moved on.
The Farm Market was the next stop. It was a lovely day for it. There were more dogs out than there had been last week. I saw a handsome labradoodle, a cute black pug puppy, a tiny black-and-white terrier, and a grouchy-looking dachshund who belonged to a snooty lady in a fancy suit, hat, and sunglasses.
The summer crops are out in full force now. Yellow squash is gone, but there's tons of everything else. I bought peaches, tomatoes, blueberries, small yellow apples, an ear of corn, a head of Boston lettuce, a red onion, a small Italian eggplant (the regular ones take forever for me to eat), a green pepper, honey, and the first Italian plums of the season. (I saw blackberries, too, but I thought I'd try something different this week.)
Rode around for a few hours after that, looking for more yard sales. Since I had more time and yard sales are harder to come by in the summer months, I went further afield than usual. A sale on Taylor Avenue near Collingswood's Theater District didn't yield anything of interest. Nor did a flea market at the Auction House on Market Street in Audubon. (Though I did stop across the street at Desserts By Design for a cupcake and a chat with the owner.)
I finally made a nice little score at a sale on Princeton Avenue in Audubon. A lady was selling, among other things, a huge container filled with bags of various yarn remenants. She told me she was a long-time crocheter and wanted to get rid of the ends and balls leftover from various projects over the years, like Mom did when she sent that big bag of yarn to me last winter. I bought a few bags of yarn balls ranging from a quarter to $1.50 and two Cooking Light cookbooks for 50 cents each. I had a nice chat with the lady about crocheting and getting around in the area, too. She was really sweet.
After I got home, I ran the first disc of the last Danger Mouse set while having a Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich and a salad with farm-market tomatoes, cucumbers, and Boston lettuce for lunch. Lengthening Danger Mouse's adventures from 15 to 30 minutes only makes them weirder. We've seen everything from an ink well that gives you wishes when you throw in a copper coin to a spoof of Murder On the Orient Express that starts with the Venice Grand Canal being paved over! And that doesn't even count the whole strange episode involving Count Duckula and a Dr. Frankenstoat, who has created a machine that can unleash a hoard of maniacal vampire bats on the world...cricket bats, that is.
And what's with all the really bad puns in this set? They're pretty lame, even by this show's standards. Even Danger Mouse and Penfold are starting to notice the constantly repeated jokes and stealing each other's lines.
I spent two hours after lunch trying to get both sound and picture on the DVD recorder again. It just would not work, no matter how hard I tried or what I plugged in. I went online for another half-hour to see if anyone had any suggestions. Tomorrow, I'm just going to try unplugging the VCR from the TV and let it play through the DVD recorder and see what happens.
I really needed a nice walk after all that. It was a very pleasant late afternoon when I finally headed out, this time on foot. I needed milk at WaWa. I treated myself to a fountain Coke Zero with vanilla and raspberry syrups and a pretzel to try to feel better after the incident with the electronics as well.
I was so thoroughly fed up with the DVD recorder, I thought I'd try something different during dinner. I ran The Lone Ranger and Let's Pretend old-time radio CDs while I made pepper steak and green beans for my meal, instead of watching anything. It was so nice. Felt like a real, old-fashioned summer late evening.
When I awoke, the storm had swept away yesterday's heat and humidity for the second Saturday in a row. It was hot, in the upper 80s, neither as hot nor as humid as the past few days. I turned off the air conditioner and opened the windows.
Ran American Top 40 while eating breakfast. Late July 1976 was in the spotlight. Despite this being the beginning of the disco era, most of the songs on the chart that summer were jazz, R&B, or basic pop. They included the Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," Queen's "You're My Best Friend," the Bee Gees' "You Should Be Dancing," Paul McCartney and Wings' "Let Them In," Starbuck's "Moonlight Feels Right," Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," Elton John and Kiki Dee's classic uptempo duet "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," and George Benson's "This Masquerade." (The album that song comes from, Breezin', was the number one album that week. Good choice - there's just something about that album that says "breezy summer afternoon.")
I headed out as soon as the show was over. Made a quick-stop at the bank first, then went looking for yard sales. It took me a while, but I found the first one on Merrick Avenue in Collingswood. Alas, it was all baby toys and items and turned out to not be worth the effort. I moved on.
The Farm Market was the next stop. It was a lovely day for it. There were more dogs out than there had been last week. I saw a handsome labradoodle, a cute black pug puppy, a tiny black-and-white terrier, and a grouchy-looking dachshund who belonged to a snooty lady in a fancy suit, hat, and sunglasses.
The summer crops are out in full force now. Yellow squash is gone, but there's tons of everything else. I bought peaches, tomatoes, blueberries, small yellow apples, an ear of corn, a head of Boston lettuce, a red onion, a small Italian eggplant (the regular ones take forever for me to eat), a green pepper, honey, and the first Italian plums of the season. (I saw blackberries, too, but I thought I'd try something different this week.)
Rode around for a few hours after that, looking for more yard sales. Since I had more time and yard sales are harder to come by in the summer months, I went further afield than usual. A sale on Taylor Avenue near Collingswood's Theater District didn't yield anything of interest. Nor did a flea market at the Auction House on Market Street in Audubon. (Though I did stop across the street at Desserts By Design for a cupcake and a chat with the owner.)
I finally made a nice little score at a sale on Princeton Avenue in Audubon. A lady was selling, among other things, a huge container filled with bags of various yarn remenants. She told me she was a long-time crocheter and wanted to get rid of the ends and balls leftover from various projects over the years, like Mom did when she sent that big bag of yarn to me last winter. I bought a few bags of yarn balls ranging from a quarter to $1.50 and two Cooking Light cookbooks for 50 cents each. I had a nice chat with the lady about crocheting and getting around in the area, too. She was really sweet.
After I got home, I ran the first disc of the last Danger Mouse set while having a Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich and a salad with farm-market tomatoes, cucumbers, and Boston lettuce for lunch. Lengthening Danger Mouse's adventures from 15 to 30 minutes only makes them weirder. We've seen everything from an ink well that gives you wishes when you throw in a copper coin to a spoof of Murder On the Orient Express that starts with the Venice Grand Canal being paved over! And that doesn't even count the whole strange episode involving Count Duckula and a Dr. Frankenstoat, who has created a machine that can unleash a hoard of maniacal vampire bats on the world...cricket bats, that is.
And what's with all the really bad puns in this set? They're pretty lame, even by this show's standards. Even Danger Mouse and Penfold are starting to notice the constantly repeated jokes and stealing each other's lines.
I spent two hours after lunch trying to get both sound and picture on the DVD recorder again. It just would not work, no matter how hard I tried or what I plugged in. I went online for another half-hour to see if anyone had any suggestions. Tomorrow, I'm just going to try unplugging the VCR from the TV and let it play through the DVD recorder and see what happens.
I really needed a nice walk after all that. It was a very pleasant late afternoon when I finally headed out, this time on foot. I needed milk at WaWa. I treated myself to a fountain Coke Zero with vanilla and raspberry syrups and a pretzel to try to feel better after the incident with the electronics as well.
I was so thoroughly fed up with the DVD recorder, I thought I'd try something different during dinner. I ran The Lone Ranger and Let's Pretend old-time radio CDs while I made pepper steak and green beans for my meal, instead of watching anything. It was so nice. Felt like a real, old-fashioned summer late evening.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Last Harvest
It was sunny and windy when I awoke this morning. I listened to American Top 40 re runs as I ate breakfast and planned my day. (It was a good one, too, from 1975. Hits from mid-November '75 include Elton John's "Island Girl," KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way I Like It," and my favorite John Denver song, "Calypso.")
The bank was my first stop. Depositing my paycheck was only part of the reason I wanted to get there today. Thanks to their location on the White Horse Pike, across from Oaklyn's City Hall, the tellers at the PNC Bank I frequent are a rich source of information about goings-on in town.
According to the tellers, a man had come in earlier in the week saying that he was laying carpet for the Oaklyn Library. Apparently, that's why it had closed, not anything to do with any police investigation.
On one hand, that does make sense. The Oaklyn Library has been in the midst of remodeling lately. They were painting the interior a few weeks ago. I couldn't organize the kids' books one week because of the painting.
When I talked to the police receptionist on Thursday, though, she called it an "ongoing investigation" and made it sound like the Library would be closed until the investigation closed, too. And I didn't see anyone laying anything when I went over there on Wednesday or Thursday. The building was just dark.
Headed for the Collingswood Farm Market after leaving the bank. Today was the last day of the Farm Market. They always end on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Once again, there were more craft booths than food booths, but I still found plenty of good things to eat. I picked up Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, an organic onion, sweet potatoes, apples, green peppers, cheddar cheese from the dairy farm, a small jar of blueberry butter for a present, broccoli, and bananas and grapefruit from the wholesalers.
Try though I might, I couldn't find a single yard sale today. I rode around Collingswood and Oaklyn for a while before finally giving up and heading home around quarter of 11.
I hadn't planned on being home so early. I was at loose ends until I came up with an idea. I've been wanting to figure out what to do with those recipes I cut out of Prevention Magazine during my vacation in March for ages...and stuffing them in a recipe box just made a disorganized mess. I borrowed an idea from the previous owner of that Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book and pasted the recipes on paper, then hole-punched them and put them in the Sailor Moon binder I found a few years ago. It took me almost two hours to get it all done, but it looked much better when I did.
I ran more Bowery Boys while I worked on my recipe project. Jungle Gents is one of the goofy, slightly bizarre movies they made in the later 50s. As you can guess from the title, it's a spoof of the African adventure stories that were popular in the 40s and 50s. Sach's new sinus pills give him the ability to smell diamonds. Slip once again takes advantage of his friend's new talents and takes him, their friends Chuck and Butch, and Louie the soda shop owner to the African jungles. There, they encounter lions, both friendly and unfriendly natives, a doctor with designs on Sach's "super sniffer"...and a jungle wild woman who has a crush on Sach and isn't taking "no" for an answer!
Headed out for a walk after the Boys ended. It was a nice day for a walk, too, mid-50s, sunny, and windy but not too bad. I hiked down Manor Avenue and over the train tracks to WaWa. Picked up a hot chocolate there, then continued down the White Horse Pike and over to Uncle Ken's. Didn't look like there was anyone at home at their house, so I moved on. Said "hi" to Dolores' granddaughter Mercedes and a friend of hers, then went home.
I spent the rest of the evening inside, cleaning the kitchen and the bathroom. My rule is I don't pull out the Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving and the entire house is spotless. Since I didn't have anything else planned today, I decided to get some of the cleaning done early. As usual, the bathroom was particularly bad...but I really wanted to get the kitchen spotless, too, in time for holiday baking.
Doing all that scrubbing really tired me out. I made a quick dinner of home-made chicken fingers with cornmeal and whole wheat coating, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potato fries with rosemary, and a baguette slice with farm-market fresh honey.
Ran The Naked Gun during dinner. This classic 1988 comedy is my favorite of the three movies that came in the Laugh Or I'll Shoot! set. Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielson) finds himself investigating a plot to assassinate the visiting Queen of England that his partner (O.J Simpson...yes, that O.J Simpson) uncovered. He's thrown a curveball by the owner of the pier where his partner was found (Ricardo Montalban) and his gorgeous, yet klutzy secretary (Priscilla Prestley) who want him off the mystery for good.
The plot is just a skeleton to hang some great jokes on. Running gags abound, from Drebin's inability to keep a car in working order to people spending more time on their faces than on their feet. This is what my mother used to call an "ouch" movie - slapstick, in its purest form, is all over the place. If you're not a fan of slapstick or the Abrahams/Zucker style of madness, you probably won't get into this. For the rest of us, we can enjoy every moment of that "I Love LA" baseball montage and every explosion, not to mention O.J Simpson getting harmed in various ways long before half the country wanted to do the same.
It was sunny and windy when I awoke this morning. I listened to American Top 40 re runs as I ate breakfast and planned my day. (It was a good one, too, from 1975. Hits from mid-November '75 include Elton John's "Island Girl," KC and the Sunshine Band's "That's the Way I Like It," and my favorite John Denver song, "Calypso.")
The bank was my first stop. Depositing my paycheck was only part of the reason I wanted to get there today. Thanks to their location on the White Horse Pike, across from Oaklyn's City Hall, the tellers at the PNC Bank I frequent are a rich source of information about goings-on in town.
According to the tellers, a man had come in earlier in the week saying that he was laying carpet for the Oaklyn Library. Apparently, that's why it had closed, not anything to do with any police investigation.
On one hand, that does make sense. The Oaklyn Library has been in the midst of remodeling lately. They were painting the interior a few weeks ago. I couldn't organize the kids' books one week because of the painting.
When I talked to the police receptionist on Thursday, though, she called it an "ongoing investigation" and made it sound like the Library would be closed until the investigation closed, too. And I didn't see anyone laying anything when I went over there on Wednesday or Thursday. The building was just dark.
Headed for the Collingswood Farm Market after leaving the bank. Today was the last day of the Farm Market. They always end on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Once again, there were more craft booths than food booths, but I still found plenty of good things to eat. I picked up Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, an organic onion, sweet potatoes, apples, green peppers, cheddar cheese from the dairy farm, a small jar of blueberry butter for a present, broccoli, and bananas and grapefruit from the wholesalers.
Try though I might, I couldn't find a single yard sale today. I rode around Collingswood and Oaklyn for a while before finally giving up and heading home around quarter of 11.
I hadn't planned on being home so early. I was at loose ends until I came up with an idea. I've been wanting to figure out what to do with those recipes I cut out of Prevention Magazine during my vacation in March for ages...and stuffing them in a recipe box just made a disorganized mess. I borrowed an idea from the previous owner of that Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book and pasted the recipes on paper, then hole-punched them and put them in the Sailor Moon binder I found a few years ago. It took me almost two hours to get it all done, but it looked much better when I did.
I ran more Bowery Boys while I worked on my recipe project. Jungle Gents is one of the goofy, slightly bizarre movies they made in the later 50s. As you can guess from the title, it's a spoof of the African adventure stories that were popular in the 40s and 50s. Sach's new sinus pills give him the ability to smell diamonds. Slip once again takes advantage of his friend's new talents and takes him, their friends Chuck and Butch, and Louie the soda shop owner to the African jungles. There, they encounter lions, both friendly and unfriendly natives, a doctor with designs on Sach's "super sniffer"...and a jungle wild woman who has a crush on Sach and isn't taking "no" for an answer!
Headed out for a walk after the Boys ended. It was a nice day for a walk, too, mid-50s, sunny, and windy but not too bad. I hiked down Manor Avenue and over the train tracks to WaWa. Picked up a hot chocolate there, then continued down the White Horse Pike and over to Uncle Ken's. Didn't look like there was anyone at home at their house, so I moved on. Said "hi" to Dolores' granddaughter Mercedes and a friend of hers, then went home.
I spent the rest of the evening inside, cleaning the kitchen and the bathroom. My rule is I don't pull out the Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving and the entire house is spotless. Since I didn't have anything else planned today, I decided to get some of the cleaning done early. As usual, the bathroom was particularly bad...but I really wanted to get the kitchen spotless, too, in time for holiday baking.
Doing all that scrubbing really tired me out. I made a quick dinner of home-made chicken fingers with cornmeal and whole wheat coating, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potato fries with rosemary, and a baguette slice with farm-market fresh honey.
Ran The Naked Gun during dinner. This classic 1988 comedy is my favorite of the three movies that came in the Laugh Or I'll Shoot! set. Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielson) finds himself investigating a plot to assassinate the visiting Queen of England that his partner (O.J Simpson...yes, that O.J Simpson) uncovered. He's thrown a curveball by the owner of the pier where his partner was found (Ricardo Montalban) and his gorgeous, yet klutzy secretary (Priscilla Prestley) who want him off the mystery for good.
The plot is just a skeleton to hang some great jokes on. Running gags abound, from Drebin's inability to keep a car in working order to people spending more time on their faces than on their feet. This is what my mother used to call an "ouch" movie - slapstick, in its purest form, is all over the place. If you're not a fan of slapstick or the Abrahams/Zucker style of madness, you probably won't get into this. For the rest of us, we can enjoy every moment of that "I Love LA" baseball montage and every explosion, not to mention O.J Simpson getting harmed in various ways long before half the country wanted to do the same.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Breezin'
It remained hot, sunny, and dry today, but there was a wonderful wind that kept it from feeling as hot as yesterday. It felt so nice as enjoyed my Corn-Cheese Muffins and plum for breakfast this morning.
I actually managed to sleep in this time and didn't make it to the Oaklyn Library until past 11:30. I mostly spent the time organizing the DVDs and videos again. I pulled teen movies from the kids' section and organized the teen and adult sections. They were really bad, especially the adult section. I also took a quick look at the kids' picture books.
Went for a walk after I left the library. Stopped at WaWa and bought a soft pretzel and a Light Cherry Lemonade fountain drink. WaWa's soft pretzels used to be terrible, doughy and tasteless, but their signs claim to have improved them. It wasn't false advertising. They're still a little too doughy, but they actually have some flavor now and they do taste better.
I strolled down the White Horse Pike to WaWa, then headed over the hill, past Dad's and Uncle Ken's house, and across the tracks back to my place. I had a really quick lunch of tomatoes, yogurt, and the last Persian Cucumber Salad of the year (cucumbers are now out of season at the Farm Market) and watched the last East Side Kids movie I'm going to run right now, Docks of New York. Even with all the rushing, I was still almost late to work!
I did finally make it in barely on time. Not that it turned out to matter. It was dead, and apparently had been dead all day. Other than it being off-and-on around the usual 4-6 rush hour, it stayed dead. There were some annoying beginning-of-the-month people, but other than that, no problems.
It remained hot, sunny, and dry today, but there was a wonderful wind that kept it from feeling as hot as yesterday. It felt so nice as enjoyed my Corn-Cheese Muffins and plum for breakfast this morning.
I actually managed to sleep in this time and didn't make it to the Oaklyn Library until past 11:30. I mostly spent the time organizing the DVDs and videos again. I pulled teen movies from the kids' section and organized the teen and adult sections. They were really bad, especially the adult section. I also took a quick look at the kids' picture books.
Went for a walk after I left the library. Stopped at WaWa and bought a soft pretzel and a Light Cherry Lemonade fountain drink. WaWa's soft pretzels used to be terrible, doughy and tasteless, but their signs claim to have improved them. It wasn't false advertising. They're still a little too doughy, but they actually have some flavor now and they do taste better.
I strolled down the White Horse Pike to WaWa, then headed over the hill, past Dad's and Uncle Ken's house, and across the tracks back to my place. I had a really quick lunch of tomatoes, yogurt, and the last Persian Cucumber Salad of the year (cucumbers are now out of season at the Farm Market) and watched the last East Side Kids movie I'm going to run right now, Docks of New York. Even with all the rushing, I was still almost late to work!
I did finally make it in barely on time. Not that it turned out to matter. It was dead, and apparently had been dead all day. Other than it being off-and-on around the usual 4-6 rush hour, it stayed dead. There were some annoying beginning-of-the-month people, but other than that, no problems.
Monday, September 06, 2010
No Laboring On Labor Day
It was nice to not have to work on Labor Day for the first time in over ten years. If I wasn't working on the Acme, I was working on getting ready for classes! Well, no really major work today. I was off the Acme, and all the libraries are closed.
I slept in and decided, since it was so nice, I'd spend the late morning and early afternoon in Newton River Park. I went for a long walk from CVS to just past the green and yellow playground, and then back around to Greenwood Avenue in Oaklyn. Not surprisingly, given the gorgeous, 80-degree weather, everyone was out in the park. People walked their dogs. They had picnics with their children next to the playground. They fished. They jogged. They strolled in ones and twos and threes. They rode bikes.
Turned the other direction when I got half-way through. I stayed on the path for a while, but then I saw a steep dirt path branching upwards to the houses overlooking the hill. I thought...why not? I'd never tried them before. I felt like an explorer as I hiked up the hill...and ran into the back of several yards. I had to squeeze around construction equipment working on the back roads in Haddon Township and Oaklyn to make it back to Greenwood.
The neighborhoods were busy, too. I saw people mowing their lawns and weeding their gardens. They chatted on their porches, and practiced guitars on their patios. They stopped their cars to talk to friends. Kids walked in groups, relishing their last day of freedom before school starts again.
I had considered Capitol Pizza for lunch, but like most of the small businesses on the White Horse Pike, they were closed for the holiday. I ended up getting a Roast Beef and Swiss Ciabatta Melt, Dark Chocolate Reeses Cups, and a 16 oz Chocolate-Cherry Coke Zero from the fountain for lunch. I headed home to enjoy my treats and another East Side Kids movie, Smart Alecs
Headed for the laundromat after that for my only real "laboring" of the day. It took me a little longer than usual to do the laundry this week. I had piles of linen and the baby blanket I used for the doll story last Tuesday in addition to the usual things. It was busy again, but I was able to get a washer and a dryer with no problems this time. I read Wild Ride in peace while the other customers watched golf.
After I came home, I put the laundry away. When that was done, I made tilapia, steamed green beans, and pan-fried red potatoes with rosemary for dinner, listened to Bruce Springsteen, and watched Journey to the Center of the Earth.
I hope all of my US readers had an equally enjoyable - and restful - Labor Day!
It was nice to not have to work on Labor Day for the first time in over ten years. If I wasn't working on the Acme, I was working on getting ready for classes! Well, no really major work today. I was off the Acme, and all the libraries are closed.
I slept in and decided, since it was so nice, I'd spend the late morning and early afternoon in Newton River Park. I went for a long walk from CVS to just past the green and yellow playground, and then back around to Greenwood Avenue in Oaklyn. Not surprisingly, given the gorgeous, 80-degree weather, everyone was out in the park. People walked their dogs. They had picnics with their children next to the playground. They fished. They jogged. They strolled in ones and twos and threes. They rode bikes.
Turned the other direction when I got half-way through. I stayed on the path for a while, but then I saw a steep dirt path branching upwards to the houses overlooking the hill. I thought...why not? I'd never tried them before. I felt like an explorer as I hiked up the hill...and ran into the back of several yards. I had to squeeze around construction equipment working on the back roads in Haddon Township and Oaklyn to make it back to Greenwood.
The neighborhoods were busy, too. I saw people mowing their lawns and weeding their gardens. They chatted on their porches, and practiced guitars on their patios. They stopped their cars to talk to friends. Kids walked in groups, relishing their last day of freedom before school starts again.
I had considered Capitol Pizza for lunch, but like most of the small businesses on the White Horse Pike, they were closed for the holiday. I ended up getting a Roast Beef and Swiss Ciabatta Melt, Dark Chocolate Reeses Cups, and a 16 oz Chocolate-Cherry Coke Zero from the fountain for lunch. I headed home to enjoy my treats and another East Side Kids movie, Smart Alecs
Headed for the laundromat after that for my only real "laboring" of the day. It took me a little longer than usual to do the laundry this week. I had piles of linen and the baby blanket I used for the doll story last Tuesday in addition to the usual things. It was busy again, but I was able to get a washer and a dryer with no problems this time. I read Wild Ride in peace while the other customers watched golf.
After I came home, I put the laundry away. When that was done, I made tilapia, steamed green beans, and pan-fried red potatoes with rosemary for dinner, listened to Bruce Springsteen, and watched Journey to the Center of the Earth.
I hope all of my US readers had an equally enjoyable - and restful - Labor Day!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Free As A Bird
The weather couldn't have been more perfect today. I threw my windows open to a bright, sunny spring morning that was already in the upper 60s at quarter after 9. I made Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Pancakes for breakfast and turned on the WOGL Brunch With the Beatles show. "Award-winning songs" was the them today. The last one played was the Beatles song released in the late 90s, "Free As A Bird," that I remember hearing on the radio a lot then.
Called Mom after breakfast. She was looking up other ways to get up here on Google Maps. She was fine. My brother slept in after helping with security at Lower Cape May Regional High's spring musical; my stepfather was (understandably) out riding on his motorcycle. We talked about the baby shower yesterday and her frustration with Craig's odd but well-meaning mother (who seems reluctant to cut the apron strings with her sons), and about my mixed feelings on being an aunt.
We also had a nice, long talk about sewing and crocheting doll clothes. I'd love to make simple shorts, skirts, sweaters, and pants for Molly and Jessa, modern tights for Jessa, and muffs, hats, and gloves for all of the girls. It'll probably be a long time before I can make elaborate Victorian and Colonial outfits for Samantha and Felicity, though I may crochet or sew them capes and cloaks. I have a pattern book for Samantha that I bought forever ago, but never really used. I may have to break that out again. I don't care if the clothes match the books. I've seen some wonderfully creative doll outfit designs online. As long as the clothes look even vaguely right for the time period and good on the dolls, that's what matters.
And they aren't the only ones who need clothes. While I've had no problem finding clothes for the fashion-doll sized Sailor Soldiers, the Cabbies are a somewhat tougher find. Carrie in particular needs a new outfit badly. The Velcro on her original yellow dress from 1984 no longer wants to close, and the green overalls I bought for her a few years ago don't really fit. Dulcie's missing her original tights, too.
Mom and I talked for so long, we were on the phone for over an hour! The Beatles show was more than half-over by the time she finally said she had to do some chores. I did the breakfast dishes, then started dinner. The slow-cooker beef stew I made a few Sundays ago was so tasty, I decided to do it again. I tossed beef chunks, a sliced red potato, a carrot, two stalks of celery, some onion, water, a can of fat-free, low-sodium beef broth, and some pepper and spices into the Crock Pot.
Rose called as I was slicing celery. She said yesterday that she'd like to come visit me and return a book on bread baking she'd borrowed a few weeks ago. Mom had said that she would probably be tired after the baby shower yesterday, and it turns out Mother really does know best. Rose said she badly wanted to take a nap, could she come later in the afternoon? Sure! I rarely make major plans on a Sunday, even on days when I work.
I finally left the the Crock Pot and my dinner simmering away and went for a nice, long walk around Newton River Park. There was never a nicer spring day. By the time I was swinging at the first, red-and-yellow playground across from the Parks of Collingswood condos, it was in the mid-to-upper 70s. A beautiful breeze drifted across the river, cooling the kids running around slides and riding their bikes. I hadn't seen so many boats on the river since the 4th of July! Men fished on the docks. Teenagers jogged with pals or threw Frisbees. People walked their dogs and pushed strollers with sleepy babies.
I walked a little longer this time than I did a few weeks ago. Though the snow is long gone, there's still some muddy spots in places that show the effects of last week's storms and flooding. I ducked around bikers, fishermen, and really big mud puddles as I headed to the narrow, steep stone steps that lead to East Oakland Avenue.
From there, I went back up to the White Horse Pike for lunch. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, pretty much my only lunch choices on the Pike on a Sunday are Taco Bell, WaWa, or a diner. I didn't feel like a big sit-down lunch, and I definitely didn't want Mexican fast-food. I opted for a 4-inch hoagie, a soda, and a bag of the new Coconut-flavored M&Ms from WaWa instead.
Headed home after that. Said "hi" to Miss Ellie, who was organizing recycling and various gardening tools on her front porch. Even she couldn't bring herself to sit inside all day when it was so nice outside! Waved to my neighbor Michael on the way in. He was blowing leaves in his backyard, and I don't know if he saw me.
After lunch, I went right back out again. It was still too nice to be inside! I tossed my red Frisbee around Veteran's Park next-door for about a half-hour. Alas, this wasn't as good of an idea as my walk. Half the park is still really muddy and swampy from the storms last weekend. I slipped and slid a lot. I was only out for about 20 minutes to a half-hour.
Decided when I got in that I needed a rest after all that running around, so I worked on crocheting for an hour and listened to some of my old rock cassettes from the 80s. Rose finally arrived around 4. I showed her the two chain stitch rows and one chain/single crochet row that I'd made into collars for some of my WebKinz. She enjoyed my home-brewed Raspberry Herbal Iced Tea. We discussed her delight over her impending child, our worries about our sister Anny and her ongoing troubles with her sons and being a single parent, how well the baby shower went yesterday, and her exasperation with her boyfriend's mother.
(And yes, she did finally bring that bread book back. Good. I need to make bread rather badly this week.)
My cookie tin was empty again, but I haven't had time to fill it. I finally made Lemon-Wine Sugar Cookies. Used the basic low-fat "Stir and Drop Sugar Cookie" recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookie Book and replaced some of the oil and the vanilla with lemon juice and white cooking wine. Alas, it still tasted more like sugar than lemon or wine; maybe I'll cut a little sugar next time.
I had a delicious dinner of Peppered Beef Stew, a banana, and a Cranberry-Orange Muffin while listening to Broadway cast albums. "The Dress Circle," the other radio show I listen to on Sundays, was on after dinner. The theme was "An All-Star 42nd Street." Most of the selections came from the 1980 original or 2007 revival casts, but they mixed in vintage recordings of Al Jolson singing "About a Quarter to Nine" (which was from his 1935 vehicle Go Into Your Dance) and Bing Crosby singing "You're Getting to Be A Habit With Me."
The weather couldn't have been more perfect today. I threw my windows open to a bright, sunny spring morning that was already in the upper 60s at quarter after 9. I made Chocolate Chip-Peanut Butter Pancakes for breakfast and turned on the WOGL Brunch With the Beatles show. "Award-winning songs" was the them today. The last one played was the Beatles song released in the late 90s, "Free As A Bird," that I remember hearing on the radio a lot then.
Called Mom after breakfast. She was looking up other ways to get up here on Google Maps. She was fine. My brother slept in after helping with security at Lower Cape May Regional High's spring musical; my stepfather was (understandably) out riding on his motorcycle. We talked about the baby shower yesterday and her frustration with Craig's odd but well-meaning mother (who seems reluctant to cut the apron strings with her sons), and about my mixed feelings on being an aunt.
We also had a nice, long talk about sewing and crocheting doll clothes. I'd love to make simple shorts, skirts, sweaters, and pants for Molly and Jessa, modern tights for Jessa, and muffs, hats, and gloves for all of the girls. It'll probably be a long time before I can make elaborate Victorian and Colonial outfits for Samantha and Felicity, though I may crochet or sew them capes and cloaks. I have a pattern book for Samantha that I bought forever ago, but never really used. I may have to break that out again. I don't care if the clothes match the books. I've seen some wonderfully creative doll outfit designs online. As long as the clothes look even vaguely right for the time period and good on the dolls, that's what matters.
And they aren't the only ones who need clothes. While I've had no problem finding clothes for the fashion-doll sized Sailor Soldiers, the Cabbies are a somewhat tougher find. Carrie in particular needs a new outfit badly. The Velcro on her original yellow dress from 1984 no longer wants to close, and the green overalls I bought for her a few years ago don't really fit. Dulcie's missing her original tights, too.
Mom and I talked for so long, we were on the phone for over an hour! The Beatles show was more than half-over by the time she finally said she had to do some chores. I did the breakfast dishes, then started dinner. The slow-cooker beef stew I made a few Sundays ago was so tasty, I decided to do it again. I tossed beef chunks, a sliced red potato, a carrot, two stalks of celery, some onion, water, a can of fat-free, low-sodium beef broth, and some pepper and spices into the Crock Pot.
Rose called as I was slicing celery. She said yesterday that she'd like to come visit me and return a book on bread baking she'd borrowed a few weeks ago. Mom had said that she would probably be tired after the baby shower yesterday, and it turns out Mother really does know best. Rose said she badly wanted to take a nap, could she come later in the afternoon? Sure! I rarely make major plans on a Sunday, even on days when I work.
I finally left the the Crock Pot and my dinner simmering away and went for a nice, long walk around Newton River Park. There was never a nicer spring day. By the time I was swinging at the first, red-and-yellow playground across from the Parks of Collingswood condos, it was in the mid-to-upper 70s. A beautiful breeze drifted across the river, cooling the kids running around slides and riding their bikes. I hadn't seen so many boats on the river since the 4th of July! Men fished on the docks. Teenagers jogged with pals or threw Frisbees. People walked their dogs and pushed strollers with sleepy babies.
I walked a little longer this time than I did a few weeks ago. Though the snow is long gone, there's still some muddy spots in places that show the effects of last week's storms and flooding. I ducked around bikers, fishermen, and really big mud puddles as I headed to the narrow, steep stone steps that lead to East Oakland Avenue.
From there, I went back up to the White Horse Pike for lunch. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, pretty much my only lunch choices on the Pike on a Sunday are Taco Bell, WaWa, or a diner. I didn't feel like a big sit-down lunch, and I definitely didn't want Mexican fast-food. I opted for a 4-inch hoagie, a soda, and a bag of the new Coconut-flavored M&Ms from WaWa instead.
Headed home after that. Said "hi" to Miss Ellie, who was organizing recycling and various gardening tools on her front porch. Even she couldn't bring herself to sit inside all day when it was so nice outside! Waved to my neighbor Michael on the way in. He was blowing leaves in his backyard, and I don't know if he saw me.
After lunch, I went right back out again. It was still too nice to be inside! I tossed my red Frisbee around Veteran's Park next-door for about a half-hour. Alas, this wasn't as good of an idea as my walk. Half the park is still really muddy and swampy from the storms last weekend. I slipped and slid a lot. I was only out for about 20 minutes to a half-hour.
Decided when I got in that I needed a rest after all that running around, so I worked on crocheting for an hour and listened to some of my old rock cassettes from the 80s. Rose finally arrived around 4. I showed her the two chain stitch rows and one chain/single crochet row that I'd made into collars for some of my WebKinz. She enjoyed my home-brewed Raspberry Herbal Iced Tea. We discussed her delight over her impending child, our worries about our sister Anny and her ongoing troubles with her sons and being a single parent, how well the baby shower went yesterday, and her exasperation with her boyfriend's mother.
(And yes, she did finally bring that bread book back. Good. I need to make bread rather badly this week.)
My cookie tin was empty again, but I haven't had time to fill it. I finally made Lemon-Wine Sugar Cookies. Used the basic low-fat "Stir and Drop Sugar Cookie" recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookie Book and replaced some of the oil and the vanilla with lemon juice and white cooking wine. Alas, it still tasted more like sugar than lemon or wine; maybe I'll cut a little sugar next time.
I had a delicious dinner of Peppered Beef Stew, a banana, and a Cranberry-Orange Muffin while listening to Broadway cast albums. "The Dress Circle," the other radio show I listen to on Sundays, was on after dinner. The theme was "An All-Star 42nd Street." Most of the selections came from the 1980 original or 2007 revival casts, but they mixed in vintage recordings of Al Jolson singing "About a Quarter to Nine" (which was from his 1935 vehicle Go Into Your Dance) and Bing Crosby singing "You're Getting to Be A Habit With Me."
Friday, August 21, 2009
Balanced Heat
Started today with my first Yogawood class in over two weeks. As always on Fridays, it was fairly full, too, 14 people with the teacher Micki. We worked on heart-openers - stretches, balancing, handstands. I don't think I'll ever be able to stand on my hands or do a full wheel. I just am not coordinated or flexible at all.
I ran the usual day-off errands after class. Stopped very briefly at the thrift shop, but they weren't open yet. I just left my small bag of donations at the door. I stopped at the Collingswood Library next to take a look at a book they had. Had a pretzel and water at the 7-11 on Cuthbert Road, then went down to the Haddon Township Library.
I spent a few hours in there, but I was mostly browsing. For the first time in months, there wasn't much for me to do. They must have really gotten caught up on book and DVD returns last week. I eventually took out four non-fiction books. One was on writing and publishing children's books, one on general job-hunting, one on copywriting, and one on how to get a job after completing college. (I want to figure out what I did wrong after I got out of college.)
Stopped at Super Fresh (they were having a $1.99 for 12 packs of English muffins sale, but they didn't have the whole wheat) and at WaWa (for a Junior roast beef hoagie and Coke Cherry Zero) before heading home. I spent the rest of the evening working on editing this month's Monkees role play main story and making Tex-Mex scrambled eggs for dinner.
It's just as well that I got home when I did. It was sunny when I went out this morning, but dark clouds had been gathering all day, and it was still really hot and humid. They'd reached critical mass around 4:30, and by the time I was editing, it was thundering and lightning and pouring in droves. It didn't last long, but it did make everything very wet (again).
Started today with my first Yogawood class in over two weeks. As always on Fridays, it was fairly full, too, 14 people with the teacher Micki. We worked on heart-openers - stretches, balancing, handstands. I don't think I'll ever be able to stand on my hands or do a full wheel. I just am not coordinated or flexible at all.
I ran the usual day-off errands after class. Stopped very briefly at the thrift shop, but they weren't open yet. I just left my small bag of donations at the door. I stopped at the Collingswood Library next to take a look at a book they had. Had a pretzel and water at the 7-11 on Cuthbert Road, then went down to the Haddon Township Library.
I spent a few hours in there, but I was mostly browsing. For the first time in months, there wasn't much for me to do. They must have really gotten caught up on book and DVD returns last week. I eventually took out four non-fiction books. One was on writing and publishing children's books, one on general job-hunting, one on copywriting, and one on how to get a job after completing college. (I want to figure out what I did wrong after I got out of college.)
Stopped at Super Fresh (they were having a $1.99 for 12 packs of English muffins sale, but they didn't have the whole wheat) and at WaWa (for a Junior roast beef hoagie and Coke Cherry Zero) before heading home. I spent the rest of the evening working on editing this month's Monkees role play main story and making Tex-Mex scrambled eggs for dinner.
It's just as well that I got home when I did. It was sunny when I went out this morning, but dark clouds had been gathering all day, and it was still really hot and humid. They'd reached critical mass around 4:30, and by the time I was editing, it was thundering and lightning and pouring in droves. It didn't last long, but it did make everything very wet (again).
Saturday, February 14, 2009
My Chilly Valentine
First of all, a very happy Valentine's Day to all of those who celebrate it! I wish I could celebrate Valentine's more, but alas, I have no one to give me candy and flowers but me. I compensated with two romantic Sailor Moon S episodes this morning and a Tiny Toons Adventure episode about the Tiny Toons' junior prom.
I also caught Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears - seems CBS moved them back an hour and put Strawberry first. Strawberry's episode fit in with Valentine's Day. She and her friends filled time on a rainy day by putting on a performance of "Cinderella"...and learning a lesson about beauty being only skin deep in the process.
The Care Bears were less lovey-dovey. Grumpy Bear reluctantly learns to ride a bike with the help of his friends and a human girl, MacKenna, in the first story. The second story revolved around True Heart and Love-A-Lot's attempt to start an online newspaper.
The Acme called while I was running the second Sailor Moon episode. Marlene wanted me to come in as soon as possible. Ok...but I really needed to get my errands done first. My first stop was Dad's house to drop of Jessa's birthday present and everyone's Valentines. The door was open but no one seemed to be home, so I just dropped them on the kitchen counter and left. Maybe they went to visit Uncle Ken in the hospital.
Next it was off to the White Horse Pike to buy stamps and send off my bills. The dentist's office is a block from the post office, so I quickly left her bill in her mailbox. The bank is on the next block after the dentist, so that was my next destination. As it turns out, they'd need $1,000 to open a CD. Sorry, I need that $1,000 in the bank to pay bills and my rent. I just put the full amount in my account, paycheck and tax return. Maybe I'll open a savings account in the spring.
I made another quick stop at WaWa for milk before heading home. I grabbed lunch and carrot sticks for a snack, then went to work. I got in a little early, around 1. It makes more sense anyway, since I worked until 6. It was even crazier than yesterday, but I slept better and was in a better mood, as were most of my customers. Most people bought the candy and flowers yesterday - today, we sold surf-and-turf dinners, with lots of fillet Mignon and shrimp. It was so busy, there were still long lines when I had to pick up a few things I'd forgotten - oatmeal, corn meal, sugar, and the $1.00 toothbrush sale - after work and took me twice as long as it should have.
It was generally cloudy and chilly all day, though thankfully not nearly as windy as a few days ago. It started sprinkling slightly on my way home. Much to my surprise, when I peeked out my windows about an hour or so later, it was snowing - not heavily, but it was still there. I don't think it's doing anything now.
First of all, a very happy Valentine's Day to all of those who celebrate it! I wish I could celebrate Valentine's more, but alas, I have no one to give me candy and flowers but me. I compensated with two romantic Sailor Moon S episodes this morning and a Tiny Toons Adventure episode about the Tiny Toons' junior prom.
I also caught Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears - seems CBS moved them back an hour and put Strawberry first. Strawberry's episode fit in with Valentine's Day. She and her friends filled time on a rainy day by putting on a performance of "Cinderella"...and learning a lesson about beauty being only skin deep in the process.
The Care Bears were less lovey-dovey. Grumpy Bear reluctantly learns to ride a bike with the help of his friends and a human girl, MacKenna, in the first story. The second story revolved around True Heart and Love-A-Lot's attempt to start an online newspaper.
The Acme called while I was running the second Sailor Moon episode. Marlene wanted me to come in as soon as possible. Ok...but I really needed to get my errands done first. My first stop was Dad's house to drop of Jessa's birthday present and everyone's Valentines. The door was open but no one seemed to be home, so I just dropped them on the kitchen counter and left. Maybe they went to visit Uncle Ken in the hospital.
Next it was off to the White Horse Pike to buy stamps and send off my bills. The dentist's office is a block from the post office, so I quickly left her bill in her mailbox. The bank is on the next block after the dentist, so that was my next destination. As it turns out, they'd need $1,000 to open a CD. Sorry, I need that $1,000 in the bank to pay bills and my rent. I just put the full amount in my account, paycheck and tax return. Maybe I'll open a savings account in the spring.
I made another quick stop at WaWa for milk before heading home. I grabbed lunch and carrot sticks for a snack, then went to work. I got in a little early, around 1. It makes more sense anyway, since I worked until 6. It was even crazier than yesterday, but I slept better and was in a better mood, as were most of my customers. Most people bought the candy and flowers yesterday - today, we sold surf-and-turf dinners, with lots of fillet Mignon and shrimp. It was so busy, there were still long lines when I had to pick up a few things I'd forgotten - oatmeal, corn meal, sugar, and the $1.00 toothbrush sale - after work and took me twice as long as it should have.
It was generally cloudy and chilly all day, though thankfully not nearly as windy as a few days ago. It started sprinkling slightly on my way home. Much to my surprise, when I peeked out my windows about an hour or so later, it was snowing - not heavily, but it was still there. I don't think it's doing anything now.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Between Snow and a Cold Place
There was some snow on the ground when I got up this morning. It wasn't really much, certainly not enough to warrant yesterday's fuss. The sky, however, remained pale gray all day, almost white, a good indication that more snow is on the way. I did my laundry this morning and ran to WaWa for skim milk and Doria's Deli for brown sugar while the laundry was in the dryer. Dad, Uncle Ken, and Dolores were all home. Dad was puttering around on the computer, as always. The other two were doing chores. Dad had The Weather Channel on when I got in from my errands. He said things may get very messy tomorrow, with freezing rain and sleet in addition to snow here. Swell. Tomorrow WOULD be one of my two early work days this week.
Speaking of work, that was a bit crazy when I came in. Not only was it busy, thanks to the weather reports, but one of the morning cashiers had called out and they were short-handed. There were no call-outs in the evening and we gradually got more help as the night went on. Good thing, too, because it remained busy. It was STILL busy when I left, mostly people hoping to grab one last item before the storm hits.
I rode to and from work with no problems. By the time I went to work, almost all of the snow from last night was gone, and while I felt tiny drops of SOMETHING on my way home, at press time everything is still dry here.
There was some snow on the ground when I got up this morning. It wasn't really much, certainly not enough to warrant yesterday's fuss. The sky, however, remained pale gray all day, almost white, a good indication that more snow is on the way. I did my laundry this morning and ran to WaWa for skim milk and Doria's Deli for brown sugar while the laundry was in the dryer. Dad, Uncle Ken, and Dolores were all home. Dad was puttering around on the computer, as always. The other two were doing chores. Dad had The Weather Channel on when I got in from my errands. He said things may get very messy tomorrow, with freezing rain and sleet in addition to snow here. Swell. Tomorrow WOULD be one of my two early work days this week.
Speaking of work, that was a bit crazy when I came in. Not only was it busy, thanks to the weather reports, but one of the morning cashiers had called out and they were short-handed. There were no call-outs in the evening and we gradually got more help as the night went on. Good thing, too, because it remained busy. It was STILL busy when I left, mostly people hoping to grab one last item before the storm hits.
I rode to and from work with no problems. By the time I went to work, almost all of the snow from last night was gone, and while I felt tiny drops of SOMETHING on my way home, at press time everything is still dry here.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Keeping Things Balanced
This morning was this week's Yogawood class. It was the fullest class I'd seen in a while, with at least fifteen women or more, not counting the teacher, Jill. It was a good, solid class. I tried the "crow" pose, which requires a lot of squatting and leaning on one's hands to lift one's squatted knees and rear end. Needless to say, I didn't get very far, but I tried.
I went straight home after class and did the laundry. Unlike last week, the laundry went just fine. Dad was the only one home, no one else was doing laundry, and the dryer behaved. Dad received an American Girls catalog that he let me keep. I haven't seen one of those in years, since Mom stopped getting them in the late 90s. It confirmed that yes, they're retiring Samantha after the holiday season. I know Linda's right and they're probably hoping to triple the value on Sam's collection, but I'm also hoping this means we'll get a new Victorian-era American Girl. I agree with Linda. I'd love to see a Jewish tenement-dweller, or the spirited daughter of a suffragette, or maybe go a decade or so ahead and see a Miranda and the Movies-style child star on the stage...and in that daring new medium of motion pictures.
Ran errands while the laundry was in the dryer. It was a wonderful day for a walk, sunny but not windy like over the weekend and in the lower 60s, just right for this time of the year. The air really smells like fall now, spicy and smoky and crisp. I went in one direction down the White Horse Pike to the CVS on the border of Collingswood and Oaklyn and bought Herbal Essences shampoo, then went in the other direction towards Audubon and bought the cheaper milk from WaWa and a little Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino. I dropped the shampoo and the milk off at my apartment, then went back to Dad's for my laundry, which came out just fine. (I didn't have nearly as much laundry to do this week, either.)
I spent the remaining afternoon working on my DVD inventory. Work was on-and-off steady, with a few cranky customers (and one elderly couple whose bickering just ended up confusing me and messing up their order), but otherwise no problems. I had no relief and was in and out without a fuss. The ride home was in the dark, but it was nice anyway. The air had that crisp, clear scent night air gets in the fall and winter, and the night sky was velvety navy, with barely a moon to keep it from falling to the earth.
This morning was this week's Yogawood class. It was the fullest class I'd seen in a while, with at least fifteen women or more, not counting the teacher, Jill. It was a good, solid class. I tried the "crow" pose, which requires a lot of squatting and leaning on one's hands to lift one's squatted knees and rear end. Needless to say, I didn't get very far, but I tried.
I went straight home after class and did the laundry. Unlike last week, the laundry went just fine. Dad was the only one home, no one else was doing laundry, and the dryer behaved. Dad received an American Girls catalog that he let me keep. I haven't seen one of those in years, since Mom stopped getting them in the late 90s. It confirmed that yes, they're retiring Samantha after the holiday season. I know Linda's right and they're probably hoping to triple the value on Sam's collection, but I'm also hoping this means we'll get a new Victorian-era American Girl. I agree with Linda. I'd love to see a Jewish tenement-dweller, or the spirited daughter of a suffragette, or maybe go a decade or so ahead and see a Miranda and the Movies-style child star on the stage...and in that daring new medium of motion pictures.
Ran errands while the laundry was in the dryer. It was a wonderful day for a walk, sunny but not windy like over the weekend and in the lower 60s, just right for this time of the year. The air really smells like fall now, spicy and smoky and crisp. I went in one direction down the White Horse Pike to the CVS on the border of Collingswood and Oaklyn and bought Herbal Essences shampoo, then went in the other direction towards Audubon and bought the cheaper milk from WaWa and a little Pumpkin Spice Cappuccino. I dropped the shampoo and the milk off at my apartment, then went back to Dad's for my laundry, which came out just fine. (I didn't have nearly as much laundry to do this week, either.)
I spent the remaining afternoon working on my DVD inventory. Work was on-and-off steady, with a few cranky customers (and one elderly couple whose bickering just ended up confusing me and messing up their order), but otherwise no problems. I had no relief and was in and out without a fuss. The ride home was in the dark, but it was nice anyway. The air had that crisp, clear scent night air gets in the fall and winter, and the night sky was velvety navy, with barely a moon to keep it from falling to the earth.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Summer Breeze
The weather was just perfect again, with a slightly stiffer breeze this time. My day began went well. I didn't get up in time to make the farm market (I had to work reletively early), but I did get to the bank and checked out a few yard sales. (Nothing interesting.)
I was ready to tear my hair out at work. It began all right, steady but not crazy...but by three o'clock, the lines were growing, and so was my frustration. Doesn't anyone EVER read signs? I can understand it if you got it out of the jumbled clearance section, but the buy one-get one free sales clearly state what's on sale. You won't get the item for free unless it's the right item! I was mad as heck by the time I got out and home - mad at my obnoxious customers, mad at myself for not having found a better job away from these stupid people and not pleasing them, mad at whomever puts up the damn signs for not making better ones people can read.
Another walk, this time just to the WaWa on the White Horse Pike and back, proved to be the tonic I needed after my stressful day. The Oaklyn WaWa (convience store, for those of you who aren't from New Jersey and don't have a WaWa on every other block) is a little over a year old, and has one really cool feature. The soda fountain has flavored syrups, so you can kind of make your own soda flavor, like in the old-fashioned soda shoppes and drug stores my mom often talks about. I made Raspberry-Chocolate Diet Coke. I put more chocolate than raspberry in, and it tasted a bit like a fizzy Tootsie Roll.
My older friend Erica stopped by around 6:30 for a chat and the surprise I'd prepared for her birthday last week - the last of the Summer White Wine Fruit Cake and a cute little card. We talked about her birthday (apparently, she recieved lots of congrats and hugs from her customers at the thrift shop, then went out to dinner with her family) and our upcoming vacations. She's going on a trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to visit some friends of hers and may want me to cat-sit for a few days. Sweet. I like her cat, Honey, and he likes me.
I'll have to remember that WaWa again the next time it's a nice day and I've had a rough time at work. The walk and the soda did make me feel better.
The weather was just perfect again, with a slightly stiffer breeze this time. My day began went well. I didn't get up in time to make the farm market (I had to work reletively early), but I did get to the bank and checked out a few yard sales. (Nothing interesting.)
I was ready to tear my hair out at work. It began all right, steady but not crazy...but by three o'clock, the lines were growing, and so was my frustration. Doesn't anyone EVER read signs? I can understand it if you got it out of the jumbled clearance section, but the buy one-get one free sales clearly state what's on sale. You won't get the item for free unless it's the right item! I was mad as heck by the time I got out and home - mad at my obnoxious customers, mad at myself for not having found a better job away from these stupid people and not pleasing them, mad at whomever puts up the damn signs for not making better ones people can read.
Another walk, this time just to the WaWa on the White Horse Pike and back, proved to be the tonic I needed after my stressful day. The Oaklyn WaWa (convience store, for those of you who aren't from New Jersey and don't have a WaWa on every other block) is a little over a year old, and has one really cool feature. The soda fountain has flavored syrups, so you can kind of make your own soda flavor, like in the old-fashioned soda shoppes and drug stores my mom often talks about. I made Raspberry-Chocolate Diet Coke. I put more chocolate than raspberry in, and it tasted a bit like a fizzy Tootsie Roll.
My older friend Erica stopped by around 6:30 for a chat and the surprise I'd prepared for her birthday last week - the last of the Summer White Wine Fruit Cake and a cute little card. We talked about her birthday (apparently, she recieved lots of congrats and hugs from her customers at the thrift shop, then went out to dinner with her family) and our upcoming vacations. She's going on a trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to visit some friends of hers and may want me to cat-sit for a few days. Sweet. I like her cat, Honey, and he likes me.
I'll have to remember that WaWa again the next time it's a nice day and I've had a rough time at work. The walk and the soda did make me feel better.
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