Spring at the Library

Began the day with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Explores Nature" when he and his family have a picnic outside and see cardinals building their nest. "Daniel's Nature Walk" shows Dan, O the Owl, and his uncle X all the wonders of nature in the rain as they go for a stroll outside.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. To my surprise, the car going to the Cherry Hill Library arrived in 5 minutes. It only took 7 minutes going home. There was a little traffic on Cuthbert going home, but otherwise, it wasn't bad.

Today was the start of the first Cherry Hill Library book sale of the year. The basement level was bursting with boxes of DVDs, CDs, and records, the meeting room had humor books and children's literature, and the larger meeting room had the adult literature and non-fiction. No record finds this time around, but I did pick up four books, five CDs (one a two-disc set), and two DVD sets. The DVD sets were:

The Adventures of Superman: Seasons 3 and 4

The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Volume 2

The CDs were:

Springtime Favorites - A Disney Easter and spring-themed kids' album from 1999 

James Taylor - The Best of James Taylor

Hall & Oates - Greatest Hits: Rock N' Soul Part I

The original Broadway cast albums for The Color Purple and Sunset Boulevard (I had Boulevard on cassette in the early 90's, but I got rid of it ages ago.) 

The books were:

The White Lady by Jacqueline Windspear

Miracle On 34th Street by Valentine Davies 

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerald Jones (I think I've taken this one out of the Haddon Township Library before, but it's been a while.)

American Cooking: The Eastern Heartland (They had all of the early 70's Time-Life cookbooks, including the ones for French, Japanese, and Chinese cooking. I went with the one closest to home, so to speak.)

(At least I didn't argue over whether they could just buy CD cases, like one guy did. If my haul seems big, there were people buying dozens of CDs to sell on line and piles and piles of books for their friends who owned a store to sell.)

Put on The Pirates of Dark Water and had a quick leftover pizza lunch after I got home. "Panacea" is the land where the next treasure can be found, but it's guarded by an enormous crustacean. There's a certain flower that can heal most people, but kill the monster. A shady "bio-transmuter" who combines animals into new species offers a small half-fish, half-mammal to be their guide to finding the flower. The little fellow is annoying, sarcastic, and offends everyone, until Ren figures out what he really wants.

Headed to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoon ended. I forgot that today is also Take Your Child to Work Day. Most of the kids went to work with their parents. We had 16 younger children, 5 at my table. The kids wouldn't help clean up, and they were noisy in the bathroom...and noisier in the cafeteria after snack! The head teacher finally put on a video about making a "cake" from rainbow slime to distract them from the daughter of one of those working mothers who was watching movies on her iPad.

By the time we got them outside, we were down to 10 kids. Those that remained were allowed to go on the swings from the outset. Despite some squabbling, I did enjoy pushing them. As I pointed out, Moana and her crew couldn't have been more right. What could be better than a perfectly sunny, gorgeous, breezy April day in the lower 70's, not too hot or cold? The kids danced to "I Like to Move It," "Pink Pony Club," "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, the theme from Bluey, and songs from Moana and Moana 2 when they weren't drawing with chalk or arguing over the swings. The head teacher was just moving the remaining 3 kids to the blacktop to play with the 6 remaining older kids as I left. 

Made a quick stop at CVS on the way home. In addition to a pit stop, the Native shampoo and conditioner I bought still isn't helping my itchy perimenopause scalp. I hope the CereVe works better.

Had dinner and watched Daddy Long Legs when I got in. I go further into this charming 1955 dance musical with Leslie Caron and Fred Astaire at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Finished the night with the second disc from the Pisces, Aquarius Monkees set. Truth be told, there's far less of interest here. There's a few songs on the original mono album that sound slightly different from their stereo counterparts, notably the addition of Mike's patter on "Salesman." Most of the other songs are remixes of ones that are already on the album or been heard elsewhere. We do get the unedited version of "Goin' Down" used on the TV show and some alternate vocals for "Door Into Summer." 

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemon Bars

Started off the morning with breakfast and Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo on Tubi. You can't get much more late 70's than "The Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco." Mystery Inc is visiting LA when an electricity-sucking being cuts off power at the Hollywood Bowl. The trail leads the kids to a roller disco that wants to expand, but now can't, due to the loss of power at their main venue. While Velma, Fred, and Daphne try to figure out what the tar footprints and electrical equipment around means, Shaggy and the dogs dodge the glowing light being. 

Went straight into Match Game '75 after Scooby ended. In the first episode, the contestant was so excited, her jumping around put a crack in the floor! Richard was more nervous about helping her with "Mouse __" in the Head-to-Head.

In the second, Fannie Flagg tried flirting with a handsome contestant, only to discover he really wasn't interested. Brett kept trying even after he said "no," though, and she and Charles made jokes even when they matched the guy. The others tried to help him figure out "Banjo __" in the Audience Match.

Called Mom while the show was on. She sent me a text saying she got my package and was delighted with the card and with having Downton Abbey back. She seems to have mixed feelings on moving back down to Virginia with my brother. They're going to have four people (one a newborn) and two large dogs in a small apartment, and even with my brother's job building boats for the Navy, they still don't have the money for a house. I don't think she's happy with having to drive down there, either. She doesn't handle traffic well.

On the other hand, I think it'll be good for her. She gets along well with Keefe and his wife Julia, and she won't be alone anymore. Plus, as I've mentioned, a lot of her family still lives down there. I did decide I'd be better off not going to his baby shower. It doesn't sound like my sisters are going, either. It's just too much to handle at this time of year. I haven't booked a hotel room in 20 years. It's a lot easier to organize train trips when you're just staying at your best friend's house. 

And no, Rose still hasn't spoken to Mom or me. I've had it up to here with her immature and silly behavior. She's not only hurting herself by cutting us off, she's hurting her family as well. It's not fair that we can't see Finley and Khai - not to them, not to us, and not to Rose, either. She's got to learn that she can't always have control over everything and everybody. Cutting yourself off from people who could help you makes things worse, not better. She's bossed me around practically since she was born. I've had enough of it, thank you. I'm going to do things my way and live my life the way I want to, and if she doesn't like that, I don't care anymore. I still love her as a sister, but I don't love the way she's treating her family.

Soon as I got off with Mom, I called Uber for a ride to Marlton. I wanted to check out that American Girl resale shop on their Main Street. Surprisingly, considering it was past 1 on a killer hot day, I got a driver in under two minutes. The man had to dodge quite a bit of traffic on the Expressway, going past rows upon rows of franchise hotels, chain restaurants, car dealerships, and medical offices.

The Cottage Resale Shoppe turned out to be on Marlton's Main Street, a charming thoroughfare that made a delightfully lovely contrast to the endless big box shopping centers surrounding it. I went up to the entrance...but it wouldn't open. Turns out the shop is only open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Oh well. There were lots of other things to see on Main Street. I strolled past beautiful old homes and offices. Some dated as far back as the 1830's, according to the plaques on the sidewalks in front of them. Admired a sweet little white gazebo in a sliver of a park that seemed to be sized just for me. Even did a little tap dance in it, like my sisters and I used to do in Cape May's larger Rotary Gazebo.

Crossed the street to have lunch at Sal's Pizzaworks, a hole-in-wall nestled in a tiny shopping center between older homes. Not only were their thin, crispy slices tasty, they were cheap, too. Two slices of cheese and mushroom pizza and a 12-ounce Ginger Lemon Diet Coke from their Coke Freestyle machine cost me $4.27. Two younger friend pairs were enjoying sandwiches when I came in. I left just as a mother and her children came to order pizza.

Made my way down to the very end of Main Street. I saw what looked like a thrift shop from the Uber car as it headed down the road. Among Other Things was an antique/vintage store not far removed from a slightly smaller Barrington Antique Center, settled in what I suspect was a former garage. One room held nothing but holiday decorations from the 30's through the 90's. Another was nothing but genuine vintage clothing. I even saw a real ruffly 50's prom gown and two big net crinolines, the type that Mom and Linda Young said were itchy when they were kids. 

I made my best find in a room that was wall-to-wall vintage toys, children's furniture, and boxes of kids' books. Mom picked up Alpha Bakery as a promo from Gold Medal Flour in the late 90's. It's a simple baking book for children with recipes corresponding to each letter of the alphabet, from Apple Crisp to Zebra (chocolate and vanilla striped) Cookies. Mom complained it was too simple, and the "Delicious Drumsticks" baked chicken recipe couldn't hold a candle to Merlin's. I do remember some of the recipes coming out well, especially the Chocolate Chip and Honey Bee Cookies. 

Other finds at Among Other Things included three homemade masks to replace the now-worn ones Mom made me over two years ago and three records from the same room as Alpha Bakery: 

Andre Previn and David Rose & His Orchestra - Like Young

The George Shearing Quintet - The Best of George Shearing

The Golden Treasury of Fairy Tales

The sweet older lady who ran the store (and her tiny fluffy dog) said she always had 20 % off all items sales. Between that and everything I picked being a dollar each, I spent $5.97 on the whole lot. 

Among Other Things was the last building before Main Street turned onto Highway 73. Checking Google Maps there revealed that, not only was The Promenade at Sagemore, the largest shopping center in the area, within walking distance, but there were other stores in between. I thought I'd give it a go. 

Huddled next to Starbucks across the street from Among Other Things was Carlo's Bakery. It was a gleaming white and chrome storefront with beautiful little cakes and massive cupcakes and cookies. I opted to try something I never heard of before. A "lobster tail" turned out to be a crispy pulled pastry filled with vanilla custard. It wasn't bad, if a little too crispy and sweet for someone who generally prefers her baked goods on the chewy side.

Was in and out of Chico's at the next shopping center before discovering they had a Trader Joe's. Picked up more of that salt-free peanut butter, along with spicy candied ginger and cranberry-oatmeal-white chocolate cookies. The lady at the counter was extremely pleasant and seemed to enjoy hearing about my walk.

The next leg of my journey took a bit longer. At least I didn't have to cross the busy highway! By this point, it was past 3:30. Rush hour traffic sped by me as I hiked past TGIFriday's, a local gas station, and an empty elementary school playing field. Walgreens was perched on the edge of series of Virtua Health buildings. I went in quickly for a cold Propel Water.

Turns out Promenade at Sagemore was right across from Virtua. The sprawling brick and glass complex featured mostly high-end shops you'd normally see at an indoor mall. I checked out Ann Taylor and the Loft; was surprised to note that their Talbots was far larger and had a more extensive selection of plus sizes than most of their stores They were still all beyond my budget, though, and I walked out with nothing. 

The very modern, steel and glass L.L Bean was situated at the end of the mall. This store was even bigger, with a huge selection of everything from camping and outdoor gear to luggage to clothes. Their clothes turned out to be too expensive as well, but I had more luck with the luggage and camping gear. Bought a small travel supplies holder for my suitcase, tiny LCD lights to tie on the zipper pulls of my new purse, and a glow stick for working in the dark. 

I didn't get out until past 5. With rush hour in full swing, it took me 20 minutes to get a ride home. No trouble after that, though. We didn't really hit any terrible traffic, and the driver got me back in less than a half-hour. 

Went straight upstairs and into dinner and Match Game '77 when I got home. While the others celebrated Thanksgiving Eve, Orson Bean discusses his role as Bilbo Baggins in the original animated version of The Hobbit. (Which I really need to review one of these days.) 

Finished the night online with Honolulu at Amazon Prime. I go further into this tropical Prince and the Pauper for Robert Young and Eleanor Powell at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Honolulu

Books and Match Games

Awoke to a stunning blue and gold fall morning. Enjoyed some more Match Game along with breakfast. Once again, I skipped the '73 episodes and moved ahead two years, this time to the show's prime. Years before she became the most popular villainess on prime-time, Joan Collins added a bit of wit and elegance to an episode that also included tough guy Scoey Mitchell and loopy Patti Deustch.

As soon as the episode ended, I hurried out. Began my errands with the Collingswood Farm Market. It was just starting to wind down when I was there. Saw Brussels sprouts and pears for the first time this season, and spinach for the first time since the spring. I pears and a small bunch of spinach, plus apples.

The other reason I was in Collingswood was for their big Book Festival. While not as big or extensive as the craft show or May Fair, it's much cooler. Tents line Haddon Avenue, selling every type of book, most of which were written by local authors. There's a poetry tent, a tent for teens, and a whole side street 'Loompa Land," that's set off for the littlest readers. It does have typical food trucks and musicians. I saw an accordion player and guitarist wandering around playing songs, along with live and piped-in music, along with food trucks and tables selling pizza and ice cream.

My real interest in the Book Festival was the last block. This is where all the used books, DVDs, and other media is sold, on shelves and tables and in many boxes. It took me almost an hour and a half to decide on what to pick! I suspect by the time I got there, the shelves and boxes were a tad picked over, but I still managed to dig up some interesting items. I came up with:

The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie Flagg (been meaning to try her books anyway, even before I got into Match Game)

The original cast album for the 1952 Broadway revival of Pal Joey on CD

Waiting for Guffman on DVD (I've had a lot of luck with Christopher Guest movies lately)

Judy's Journey, Blue Ridge Billy, and Cotton In My Sack by Lois Lenski

Heart of the Home: Notes on a Vineyard Kitchen by Susan Branch

By that point, I was long past ready for lunch. My first thought was Cafe Antonio's, but their main room was a mess! I settled on two slices of cheese pizza from the vendor in front of Villa Barone and had my quick meal at a sidewalk table there. Grabbed a soft pretzel and a Pumpkin Cream Smoothie from an only slightly less-busy WaWa.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It was too nice not to! The river sparkled like jewels lapping against the greenery on the shore. I was surprised it wasn't busier. I only dodged a few folks out for a stroll. Maybe everyone was still at the Book Festival.

Finished up Match Game when I got in and organized my new finds. Feisty Debralee Scott gets very hot and bothered over a handsome contestant in a nightime game from 1980, to the point where she won't stop kissing him after she wins him an Audience Match! Everyone tries to separate them, and Bill Daily attempts to shield them from prying eyes. Elaine Joyce's ditzy tendencies come in for a lot of ribbing in a daytime 1979 show, while hotter Rita Moreno gets somewhat similar treatment in one from a month later.

Opted to skip the pilot for the original The Match Game from 1963. It's in the public domain and can be seen anywhere. I did enjoy an all-too-brief overview of the life and times of the long-time host of Match Game, Gene Rayburn. A still-sharp Brett Somers hosted this look at how Gene ended up with the job...and  how much he, she, and everyone who appeared on the show thoroughly enjoyed it. (Really wish someone could have corralled Charles Nelson Reilly for an interview, too, but I think he was busy with his one-man show at that point.)

A lot of people who have bought this set has complained about it mostly being later episodes...but that's really the reason I bought it. In the decade and a half since this was released, most of the earlier episodes have turned up online and been shown on Buzzr and Game Show Network. The later episodes aren't shown as often and are only just starting to be posted on YouTube.

I know folks said the show went downhill after Richard got fed up and decided to stick to Family Feud, but I think this set disabuses this notion. If anything, the real heart of Match Game wasn't Richard, no matter how popular he was with the ladies. It was Charles. He was the second-best player after Richard and at the center of many of the gags and jokes (including all his fussing with Brett). The show loses something when he's not there. (And I'm not the only one who figured this out. He was so connected with the show, he was retained for the 1984 hybrid The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour and the 1990 Match Game revival.)

(If nothing else, I'm glad to have this for those interviews with Brett. She and Charles died within months of each other in 2007, less than a year after this set was released.)

Overall, this is a nice overview of the show for the curious, those with fond childhood memories, or major fans like me. If you get as into the show as I have, you can find far more content online and on Buzzr, including that black-and-white 60's pilot.

After I ate, I figured it was finally time to put away the summer clothes and pull out what I have for fall. While it'll get into the 70's this week, it won't go too far above that. I think we're now done with really hot weather. I still really need a good fall skirt or dress, and those winter boots I bought last year were too small. They also just changed our dress code at the Acme to let us wear jeans. I need to get a pair or two intended strictly for work.

I tried some writing after the shows ended, but I couldn't concentrate. I made a half-hearted attempt at a spoof of ski action sequences like in the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me before I realized I just didn't have enough ideas to sustain the opening. I'm going to put this one aside for a little while, or at least until I come up with some better ideas.

I do know something I am familiar with - fairy tales. Tomorrow, I'm going to do the story I probably should have started in the first place, Fairy Tale Blank for Charles. This time, Charles is the one who's reading. Brett finds him poring over a book of fairy tales on the set. He claims he's trying to get ideas for stories that his acting classes can bring to life. She teases him, but he admits he's enjoying the darker versions. Charles admits that while he can teach and act, what he can't do is get their producer Ira Skulch and his bosses to lay off them. He feels like there's a wicked witch controlling everything. Rich is already complaining about Skulch and his choices again. He feels like an outlaw.

Charles insists that he's no hero. He's just a performer...which leads us to our story. Charles is a traveling minstrel whose services are no long encouraged in the kingdom of Columbia. A wicked quieen and her henchman Lord Skulch have taken over, capturing the king and forcing the queen and six Legendary Princesses into exile. With the help of Richard of the Hood, wizard Gene, and mysterious sorceress Brett, the quartet look to bring the royal ladies out of hiding and the queen and king back into power.

Hopefully, I'll be able to do better with this one. I'll start it tomorrow, after the Eagles game.

Finished the night with leftovers for dinner, and then online while watching Sleeping Beauty. I go more into one of Disney's loveliest and most popular "Princess" movies at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Farm Market Before the Rain

Ugh. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't sleep last night. I was still tired even after laying in bed for a while, writing and finishing Anne of Ingleside. (Incidentally, my favorite of the Anne books is still the first story of Anne's arrival in Green Gables. While I also like Anne of the Island and Anne's House of Dreams, none of the sequels can quite surpass the original. Rilla of Ingleside was by far the best of the three books about Anne's family after she's grown and married, and possibly the most tragic book in the entire series, with its World War I setting.

The original is required reading, especially for young girls. The sequels aren't necessary for anyone but Anne fans, or those who enjoyed the first and want more.)

Listened to Alice In Wonderland while I had breakfast. The Peter Pan children's album I have from the mid-70's does have some nice music, including the dreamy title song and "The Queen Has Commanded," but the most unique thing about it is the artwork for the storybook. A very modern  Alice, complete with Malibu Barbie blond hair, cavorts through a still-Victorian Wonderland that looks more like it was drawn by Marvel Comics in the mid-70's than a children's record company.

Headed out for the Collingswood Farm Market around 9:30. At that point, it was still a nice day, sunny and bright, if a bit warmer and more humid than yesterday. The fall harvest is starting to roll out in earnest now. I saw pears, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and gourds for the first time this year, and leeks for the first time since spring. Made my way through the crowds well enough to buy Bosc pears, Chinese beans, a cucumber, and small Gala apples. 

Hunted up a couple of yard sales on the way home. First stop was Everett Avenue, a few blocks down from Collingswood High School. They had a box filled with recipe books from the 50's through the 80's. Thought I'd give Better Homes and Gardens Jiffy Cooking and Sunset Cook Book of Breads a whirl. Had less luck at a sale on Woodlawn Terrace a block from my apartment in Oaklyn. It was mostly furniture and vintage appliances, nothing I really need.

Worked on writing for a while after I got in and put everything away. Leia and one of Jabba's showgirls pass a new statue being added to the lobby as they're heading for the stage. She doesn't have much time to inspect how lifelike it is...because it's showtime! As she performs with the other dancers, she catches the arrival of corpulent mob boss Jasper "the Hutt" himself...who never takes his big yellow eyes off her. She's more interested in figuring out where Hank is...

Broke at 1 for lunch, this time running Mickey Mouse Disco. Yes, it's what the title says. The Disney gang spoofs the disco dancing phenomenon of the late 70's with original comic numbers and disco covers of songs from earlier films. My favorite of the new material is "Welcome To Rio," with it's catchy tropical rhythm. "Zip a Dee Doo Dah" is the best of the covers. 

Work was an absolute pain today. It wasn't bad when I got in. I was able to get all the trash inside and out done in the first hour. It picked up considerably after that. Every time I tried to do one of the full carts of returns or get to cleaning the bathrooms, I would be called up to take the register. Neither were ever remotely finished. One manager called me right as I was going on break. I figured it would do no good trying to explain it to her and wound up being more than 20 minutes late. I wanted to take my break on time because the other bagger was leaving early. And of course, I had no help with corrals that were bulging with carts for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, it did slow down enough by 5 that I was able to fill both sides before I headed home.

Clouds were starting to creep in, even as I was going to work. They grew darker and darker the longer I was outside. It did wait until I was long home and out of a much-needed shower to start raining. 

(Ran into Richard, one of my next-door neighbors, on the way in. He'd been tinkering with my bike this afternoon. The inner tube's shot, like I figured...but so's the tire. I have an inner tube, but not a tire. I'll see if I can get somewhere to pick up a new one this week.)

I had leftovers for dinner while listening to Introducing the Care Bears, one of several recordings featuring the colorful critters in the early-mid 80's. There's a number for each of the original Care Bears who debuted when the franchise did. Most of them were unmemorable and/or marred by the fact that several of the Bears' voice actors couldn't sing. The best of a bland lot were Wish Bear's sweet "When I Grow Up" (even if her voice sounds like it's on helium) and Funshine's appropriately peppy 50's-style dance number. By far the most interesting thing about this one is the "picture album." The LP itself has some lovely artwork of the bears against a yellow background, possibly taken from the original greeting cards or Parker Brothers picture books. 

As the record was finishing, I thought I'd try something I haven't had in ages.I had four big Macintosh apples leftover from last week. The Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book has a wonderfully simple recipe for Apple Crisp that sounded perfect. Sliced two of the apples, sprinkled them with spices, salt, and added a 1/4 cup of water. Rubbed flour, sugar, and butter together, then spread it over the apples. Oh yummm. It came out flavorful and just sweet enough, and it smelled amazing in the oven. 

Ended the night online with the soundtrack from Return of the Jedi on YouTube. I still haven't been able to find the LP for this. I've seen it twice in ten years offline, and it was expensive both times. I'm guessing this one sold far less than the other two. While the music is excellent, it lacks iconic tracks like the credits music and "The Imperial March." Given my fondness for the Ewoks, I'm partial to a lot of the numbers that involve them, including "The Ewoks Parade" and the "Battle of Endor" medleys. 

Return of the Jedi Soundtrack

Battle of the Birds

Started a gorgeous, sunny, windy morning with Mint Chocolate Chip Pancakes for breakfast while listening to Witchcraft...! I found this 50s LP at a yard sale about two or three years ago. It's an instrumental collection of magic, witch, and supernatural-themed standards - "Old Devil Moon," "In the Still of the Night," the title song. It makes great background music in the fall when you're short on time, since it's not that long.

Work was very, very busy all day! Everyone must be getting ready for all the fall and Halloween parties this week, along with the Eagles-Cardinals game tonight. Thankfully, there were no major problems, and the day went quickly. My relief was one of the college boys who is always on time.

When I got home, I changed into regular clothes and listened to my Halloween cover cassette until the game came on. It was crazy. I've never seen a game with so many penalties. There was a penalty every other minute! Lots of injuries, too. I still don't know what happened to that one Cardinal player who had the nasty concussion. In the end, the Eagles made too many mistakes, including two big turnovers that cost them chances at points. The Cardinals out-ran them 24-20.

I had more luck with dinner. I made a tasty variation on the Cincinnati Chili recipe from Kit's Cooking Studio. I used the sweet spices with no cocoa (I'm out) and with green peppers and carrots added for more color and vitamins. The Apricot Honey Bread I made from the recipe in The Pooh Cook Book came out even better, perfectly moist and tender with just enough sweetness.

Sunny Day Surprise

It was still cloudy out when I awoke this morning. However, the porch was mostly dry. It looked like it hadn't rained in a long time, probably since I got home last night. It was still very windy, though. I read Anne of the Island (the fourth Anne of Green Gables book) while listening to this week's American Top 40 re-run.

We danced back five years to mid-October 1977, as R&B, country, and pop sneaked in amid the disco. Hits from that fall included "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" by Andy Gibb, "That's Rock n' Roll" by Sean Cassidy, "It Was Almost Like a Song" by Ronnie Milsap, "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer, "Break Out!" by The Commodores, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon, "Slow Dancin' (Swayin' to the Music)" by Johnny Rivers, and a disco rendition of "The Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco, from that year's biggest blockbuster movie.

Though Star Wars ruled the movie theaters that year, one of the year's biggest songs, from a much quieter film, began it's very long stay at #1 that week. "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone was such a sensational smash, it would remain in the top spot through the rest of the year and the first few weeks of 1978 and ultimately win the Oscar for Best Song.

It was still a bit cloudy and very windy as I headed out for this week's farm market/yard sale run. The clouds started to break up as I crossed the White Horse Pike in Oaklyn. By the time I was checking out a yard sale in Collingswood, the clouds were slowly disappearing. They never quite left entirely, but they weren't anywhere near as threatening as they have been for the past few days.

The surprisingly nice weather was reflected in a very busy Farm Market. The fall harvest continues to make its debut, as Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Bartlett pears, and all kinds of greens replace corn and cucumbers. I also got my first indications that the Farm Market only has about a month and a half left before it ends for the year. One booth was missing entirely (though that one may have been scared off by the weather), and the farm that specializes in corn mentioned that this was their final day. I ended up with tiny Gala apples, carrots, a tomato, cranberries, and the aforementioned Brussels sprouts and Bartlett pears.

My next stop was an estate sale in Haddon Township, in the neighborhood behind the woods on Cuthbert Boulevard. The gray 60s-era split-level house looked small from the outside, but the inside was lovely, with some beautiful wood walls and lots of levels. Alas, I saw nothing interesting. Most of it was glassware and appliances I couldn't carry on a bike, jewelry I couldn't afford, or Jewish music and memorabilia.

It took me a bit longer to get to Haddon Heights. They're the next town after Audubon, and they require crossing often traffic-laden King's Highway. I was hoping they were still having their fall Town-Wide Yard Sale. They're the only other town in the area besides Audubon that holds a town-wide yard sale in the spring and the fall.

As soon as I arrived, I saw a street filled with yard sales. Yes, it was on. And it was even busier than the farm market! I lost count of how many cars I dodged. Ironically, it wasn't quite as big as in the spring, once again likely due to the weather. Still, enough people put out tables that I was able to make a nice little haul:

Three more Backyardigans DVDs: Robin Hood the Clean, Escape From Fairy Tale Village, and The Tale of the Mighty Knights

One record, a Disney Christmas album - it comes with a book that has the lyrics and some really cute illustrations

Two books: a cookbook based around chocolate baked goods appropriately called Hershey's Best Loved Recipes, and The Adventures of Robin Hood, by Roger Lancelyn Green

Oh, the reason they were so busy only partially had to do with the yard sales. I discovered while buying a Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper at a local convenience-style store on Station Avenue that there was a Revolutionary War re-enactment going on in Haddon Lake Park. I saw the re-enactors as I was roaming around, looking for yard sales. They were just chatting with each other in the park at that point. At least now I know what those huge, noisy booms were around 11:30 - it was cannon fire! I thought King Kong was attacking the park or something.

I considered eating out, but I finally decided that I'd done enough riding over hills for one day and just went home. I put everything away after I got in. Had the last of the chicken casserole instead while watching Backyardigans episodes.

I managed to get some chores in between shows. I originally wanted to wash the trash and recycling canisters on Wednesday. Being called in derailed that...and then it rained for the next two days. I took advantage of Mother Nature's continuing and unexpected good mood to finally get it all done. Gave the bike a quick scrub and hose-down, too.

After I finished the scrubbing and the cans were drying on the porch, I decided to try a simple low-fat chocolate cupcake recipe from the Hershey's cookbook. I lowered the fat content even more by replacing some of the sugar with the agave nectar, the water with applesauce, and part of the white flour with whole wheat flour. Also added some of those huge Nestle's Dark Chocolate Chips. They're so big, you get lots of chocolate flavor without having to dump in the whole bag. Yuuuumm. They came out perfectly, moist and very chocolate-y!

My head had been stuffed-up all day, and by that point, I had a headache and a sore throat, too. I thought a bath might help. I slipped into a warm tub with soothing English Garden bath salts while reading Women Who Run With the Wolves. I was in for a little under an hour, and while it did seem to loosen my nose and certainly helped my sore joints and feet, it didn't do much for my headache. I discovered when I got out and stuck the thermometer in my mouth that I had a slight temperature, nothing outrageous but still slightly above normal.

I did make a simple but decent dinner. Had chicken breasts with diced tomatoes marinated in the last of the raspberry vinaigrette, whole-wheat elbow macaroni, and roasted Brussels sprouts. That was delicious, too. The chicken recipe is from Eat Up and Slim Down, a hard-back Prevention cookbook that's one of the best things Mom ever gave me.

I had continued running The Backyardigans all day. Some of my favorite episodes can be found on these three sets. By the time these discs came out in Season 3, the show was mainly doing some hilarious and frequently bizarre pop culture spoofs. Uniqua has fun with western/Lone Ranger cliches when she teaches Bandit Pablo that ping pong is no fun to play alone in "Blazing Paddles." "The Tale of the Mighty Knights" takes on rock opera and fantasy as Knights Uniqua and Tyrone, Grabbin' Goblin Austin, and Flighty Fairy Tasha chase after a very "runny" egg. Austin, Uniqua, and Tasha take on the final frontier and dodge Klingon trash thieves Tyrone and Pablo in "Garbage Trek." Tasha is a super-fast superhero with a secret identity as a photographer in "Front Page News." Pablo White wants her to get a story big enough to be on the front page, but she's too busy rescuing fellow heroes Uniqua and Tyrone to snap the shot. Austin plays Inspector Poirot in "Le Master of Disguise" as he follows mysterious criminal Pablo onto the Orient Express. With suspects like Circus Woman Tasha and Cowboy Tyrone around, it won't be easy for Austin to catch the quick-thinking penguin!

Spring Cleaning Days

It was absolutely gorgeous when I headed out around 10 this morning for this week's run to the Haddon Township Library. It was sunny, the sky was blue, and it was a little bit warmer than yesterday but nothing intolerable, probably in the upper 70s-lower 80s. Newton River Park was bustling with bike riders, joggers, couples out for a mid-morning stroll, and kids and their parents darting around the playground. Though the river is looking a bit mucky, the park is green and shady now.

Haddon Township Library was surprisingly busy for having only been open a half-hour when I got there. I organized the DVDs as best I could. The kids' titles and the adult titles on the side of the shelves with the M through Z and foreign movies are still full to capacity. I also shelved some children's picture books.

But the beautiful day beckoned. I headed out after about an hour. My next stop was the Rite Aid across the street from Westmont Plaza. I'm almost out of contact lens solution. They were having a half-price sale on a particular brand of photo albums. I was able to find one with magnetic pages that would work as a replacement for the recipes clippings scrapbook I found at a yard sale in Haddon Heights two months ago.

I had lunch at Capitol Pizza. It was noon by then. There were a couple of people watching the French Open when I came in. I ordered a slice of mushroom and a slice of cheese pizza and a can of Fresca and took them outside. Ok, so the view of parked cars and old buildings on the White Horse Pike isn't exactly scenic. On a beautiful day, it beats sitting inside, watching the French Open (tennis never was my sport).

Since I was back in Oaklyn earlier than I planned, I stopped at the Oaklyn Library on my way home. I just finished organizing the adult DVDs (including pulling the plastic off of a new one) when the first-graders arrived for their story hour. I listened to the head librarian read a story about a kid who kept bringing animals, from frogs to elephants, to the building, and the mess they made. I then helped her demonstrate the different parts of a library and all of the remodeling and updating that's been done in Oaklyn over the last year or so. I didn't want to disrupt the kids, so I headed out after that.

Spent the rest of the day at home. As soon as I got in, I got right into organizing that collection of recipe and food clippings. I added another small pile of recipes I'd gotten from various places over the years, too. Just sorting and cutting down the two piles to fit into the new book took almost two and a half hours. The recipe book had come with a bag of dividers, and there were already dividers in the scrapbook itself. I separated meatless main dishes from ones with meat, pasta and rice from meatless main dishes, and desserts from cakes and cookies. The remaining bits - a spice chart, a chart listing common household stains and how to get rid of them - were included in the back under "miscellaneous."

Spent the rest of the afternoon scrubbing the bathroom. I wanted to get it done last week, but I got called into the Acme. It was gross. I scrubbed everything as hard as I could, including the bathroom floor and the rectangle of linoleum between the living area and the bedroom. I normally do that in April, but I held off on it this year until closer to Lauren's visit (and because I just plain didn't have the time in April). I really need to replace the huge bath mat that's covering the linoleum in the hall with a new bath mat, or better yet, a real rug. It came with the apartment, and it's showing its age. The bottom is flaking away.

Oh, and I took down the spring decorations and put up the very few items I have for summer. I'll wait until after Lauren's visit to put up the decorations for the Fourth of July.

Ran The Muppet Movie while I had leftovers and farm market veggies for dinner and made Wacky Zucchini Cake (a variation on a recipe from the scrapbook dubbed "Wacky Cake," with added egg whites and finely chopped zucchini and no cocoa). The first Muppet film details how the original crew got together and found their way to Hollywood. On the way, they have several close encounters of the goofy kind with the Colonel Sanders-esque Charles Durning, who wants Kermit to be his spokesfrog for his chain of fried frog's legs restaurants. Kermit has a dream, however, and neither amorous pigs nor a multitude of guest stars nor nearly as many running gags are going to deter him from following it.

If you're a fan of the Muppets in general or the original Muppet Show, this is one of the best of their movies. (My personal favorite is The Muppets Take Manhattan, but some of that might be nostalgia talking.) It was huge hit in 1979 for a reason. While several of the guest stars and pop culture jokes may fly under the radar of many audience members today, the script is still fairly witty, and the Muppets themselves are as endearing as always. Highly recommended for fans of the Muppets or anyone looking for well-written family entertainment.

Recipe for a Quiet Day

Though it was sunny when I awoke, it was also rather cold for April in Southern New Jersey, probably in the mid-50s. I snuggled into bed, read the lunacy that is Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and wrote in my journal before switching on Brunch With the Beatles. "Beatles B-Sides" was the theme today, and we heard a great deal of them. Among the "B sides" of singles were such well-known hits as "I Saw Her Standing There," "Something," "I Am the Walrus," "I Should Have Known Better," and "Strawberry Fields Forever."

My breakfast didn't go as well as the show. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally burned my first Oatmeal Brown Sugar Pancake until it was tough and didn't cook the third enough. Oh well. They still tasted pretty good. I tried to call Mom, but she had my sister Anny and her son Skylar over; I'd call back after work.

Spent the rest of the afternoon doing things around the apartment. I went online to check my bank balance and see my paycheck at PNC.com. I'm going to continue to go easy on shopping. I really do need that laptop, and I don't want to spend myself into an empty account, like I did last year. (It also helps that I believe I've gotten more hours this year than I did in the winter and spring of last year.)

I also took another glance through that huge photo album of recipes. While the recipes themselves seem to largely be in good shape (especially the recent ones taken from the Internet), the album they come in is showing its age. The recipes aren't sticking to the pages any more, and the cellophane is coming off. While the clippings themselves are fairly well-organized, anything copied from a website or magazine was thrown in pell-mell. I do want to keep most of the clippings...but I'm going to find a newer album to put them in and integrate them with my recipe clippings from my own collection.

Since my Reading List is working out so well, I decided to apply the same principal to my massive collection of music. I have almost 400 records, over 270 CDs, and over 50 cassettes. I'm going to take time for the next few months to go through them on-and-off and see what I want to keep and what else can go. Of the three I listened to today, I'm going to keep the Air Supply album Now and Forever (I always did like a couple of songs on that album, especially "Even the Nights are Better"), but not Bread (the hit "Make It With You" is the only thing I like on that one, and I can get that elsewhere). Mickey Mouse Disco isn't quite as much fun as some of the later 80s "Disney has fun with fads" albums, but it does have some decent songs; my favorite is "Welcome to Rio" for Jose Carioca.

Work was crazy-busy when I got in, but that's kind of par for the course on even non-football Sundays. By the time I left at 8, it was dead. Other than a few annoying customers (including one grown man who thought he was being cute by asking for the stickers we keep for the kids; I told him no), there were no major problems, and I was in and out.

I did finally get a hold of Mom when I got in. She has Skylar over her house every other weekend. She enjoys the company, and Skylar loves visiting. His nana lets him do fun things like play with her Wii or cruise the neighborhood with her on his new bike (Mom gave him one for Christmas). Mom's glad that it sounds like Rose and Craig are settling on the house, but is worried about my brother Keefe. It sounds like he may flunk out of the Navy. He broke up with his girlfriend Vicki a few weeks ago. Without her, he has no one to support him, and Mom claims he's fallen in with a bad crowd, too. I hope he can regain some sense and pick himself up enough to do better.

Long Morning's Journey Into Haddon Heights

Started a sunny but windy and chilly morning with this week's American Top 40 re-run. I would have just been 7 years old in late April 1986, when these songs were rocketing up the charts. The tunes I heard on the radio included "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco, Janet Jackson's first Top 10 hit "What Have You Done For Me Lately?", "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys, and "I Miss You" by Klymaxx.

While Prince's second movie vehicle Under the Cherry Moon was a huge flop, the music from the film was not. That week's number one song was one of the more popular numberss from that soundtrack, "Kiss."

Left for this week's yard-sale run as soon as I could. Swung by Dad's first. I left the birthday cards I got from Rose and Khai at his house last night. Dad was working in the new flower beds around the pool. I said "hi" to him and saw how progress was coming with the pool.

After that, I headed right to Haddon Heights for their spring Town-Wide Yard Sale. While I didn't do too badly, I did run into some disappointments. A beautiful hutch that would have been perfect for my apartment was sold right before I arrived. Another sale that advertised American Girl items sold out well before I finally found them. Never found any really great collectible toys, like Butterbear last week.

I did make some good finds. Many of the sales were donating their proceeds to good causes. A sale for cancer research yielded six Wilton Cake Decorating yearbooks I didn't have (1985 to 1988, plus 2004 and a mint-condition Christmas book from the 70s). Two multi-family sales for the local Rotary Clubs on Prospect Ridge Road yielded 7 videos for dubbing - three Laurel and Hardy vehicles (Blockheads, A Chump At Oxford, and Way Out West) and a collection of spooky-oriented Laurel and Hardy shorts, the Will Smith vehicle Wild Wild West, and two animated films, The Snow Queen and The Land Before Time.

Found two records at a sale just off Prospect Ridge Road, the soundtracks for Dirty Dancing (replacing an aging cassette copy) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

My best find of the day was back at the cancer research sale. A huge, heavy photo album had been stuffed into the crate with the Wilton Cake Decorating Yearbooks. I couldn't figure out why until I flipped through the book...and saw clippings of recipes from everything from old newspapers to 80s magazines to Betty Crocker.com arranged inside! I bought it for 75 cents. I'll go through it more thoroughly sometime next week.

It was even harder to explore Haddon Heights than it was to ride around in Audubon. Haddon Heights isn't called that because it sounds pretty. It's on steeper hills than most of the surrounding area, which makes it a hard slog on a bike normally. Coupled with high winds and heavy traffic in narrow old streets that weren't meant for it, and I was worn out when I finally made it home around 12:40. I quickly browsed through the photo album cookbook and ate the pizza leftover from last night and a spinach salad while watching Disney cartoons and the Dr. Seuss 70s special The Hoober Bloob Highway. The special was just winding down when I quickly packed my dinner, pulled on my uniform shirt, and hurried off to work.

Work was busy for most of the night. Rather frustratingly, this time, we didn't have enough help to deal with the crowds. They had to call managers to help, including one to come in for me for my break. Thank heavens it was just starting to slow down when I left at 8:30.

Bad Weather Day

I'd been up for ten minutes when Mom called. She told me she'd replaced the L.L Bean jacket I got for Christmas that didn't fit and it was on its way. All I needed to do was wrap it up with the appropriate labels and bags and send it via UPS...which was a problem. I've never used UPS before. The closest store is in Haddonfield. Mom finally found a drop box in Collingswood; I'll go there tomorrow.

Ran some of the public domain shorts as I had breakfast. Surprisingly, of the shorts I watched today, the only ones I'd seen before were the Felix the Cat 30s Van Beuren shorts and the silent "Astronomeous" - and their copy of the latter was in the original black-and-white. For some reason, my copy from that public domain video my parents had for years was tinted bright pink. I don't know if this was actual tint, or a really deteriorated print. I also got to see my first Little Lulu short, a slightly surreal romp that started as a Disney-esque "good angel-bad angel" plot and ended as a music video for "Swinging On a Star."

My favorites of the shorts I watched this morning were both adaptations of fairy tales. Aladdin seemed to be a limited animation version from the 60s. It retains Aladdin's mother and the original Chinese setting, but drops the second genie in the ring. A Coach For Cinderella replaced the usual fairy godmother with a passel of elves and forest critters who make a gown and pumpkin car "coach" for the poor young maid.

It was just cloudy and cold when I rode out this morning. Stopped briefly at the bank to deposit my Christmas money. Half went in savings; the other half went in the checking account. The bank wasn't busy at all...which may be why it's closing in February, to be consolidated with the Collingswood branch. That settles it. From now on, I direct deposit all checks whenever possible, including my paycheck. No more dealing with banks or having to run to a bank to get money in my account.

There were a surprising amount of people out about in Newton River Park for such a gloomy morning. I rode past a whole flock of Canadian geese enjoying Boxing Day, several joggers, and a dog-walker. The wind was starting to pick up as I arrived at Cuthbert Road.

Despite the weather, the Haddon Township Library wasn't that busy. I organized the children's DVDs and shelved the few adult titles that had been returned. Took out a lot of DVDs, since I didn't get DVDs for Christmas - the newest titles for the 2009 Strawberry Shortcake (Jammin' With Cherry Jam) and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Mickey & Donald Have a Farm), a recent collection of Scooby Doo winter and holiday-themed episodes, the Christmas episode of The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, and two sequels (Ice Age: The Meltdown and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows). I also grabbed the first two Caroline books and took out a self-help book on overcoming negative stories.

Stopped at JoAnn's on my way home. Stores around here are dropping like flies. Like its neighbor Super Fresh, JoAnn's is shutting down. Unlike Super Fresh, it's just moving to a larger location in Cherry Hill. That does leave the immediate area without a hobby store. The yarn shop in Collingswood is expensive for regular yarn; the tiny Walmart in the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center has a lousy selection. There was a reporter for a local newspaper doing an article on the closings when I was there. He actually interviewed me.

Thank goodness for sales. I bought a plastic box for my crocheting notions and a big book of crocheting projects that was on clearance. It only cost me 11 dollars, even after I dropped my 50% off coupon somewhere and couldn't find it, no matter how hard I looked.

It started sleeting while I was in the library. By the time I got out of JoAnn's, rain had joined the mix, too. It was getting late by that point. I rode home and got wet. I did, however, end up calling Dad for a ride to work.

Put on Strawberry Shortcake while I had leftovers for lunch. Cherry Jam is the newest girl in the group. As in The Princess and the Pop Star, she's a singer who is desperate to get away from her publicity machine and be treated like a normal Strawberry Land citizen. She thinks she's found her opportunity in Berry Bitty City...but between talent shows, the girls being excited over her arrival, and the discovery of hidden talents by several members of the group, it proves to be anything but a relaxing trip!

Dad picked me up for work around quarter of 4. Needless to say, due to the weather and the lateness of the hour, we were steady when I came in, stone-cold-dead when I left. Dad dropped me off at home as well.

I found a surprise when I got in. The second item in my Barnes & Noble online order, Julie's Cooking Studio, had arrived! Another American Girl cookbook, this one emphasizes 70s cuisine. The world then was apparently split between cheaper fast options that could stretch longer for busy families, and healthier options that were good for the Earth and for the people on it.

What Casino are You Robbing New Year's Eve?

Started a sunny, chilly morning with computer work. I got a call from Shelly Stahl while I was online. She's booked until after the New Year, and then she's booked in the morning. I couldn't get an appointment until the 14th. Maybe it's just as well. I have other things on my mind right now.

One of those things is getting my Christmas presents done. I continued my current crocheting project while watching the original 1960 Ocean's 11. Same deal as the 2001 remake - Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) calls 10 of his old war buddies (among them Joey Bishop, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr., and character actors Akim Tamrioff and Richard Conte) to pull off a heist at five of Las Vegas' biggest casinos. The heist goes off without a hitch, but as in all great schemes, there's a catch. A former crook turned straight (Cesar Romero)  wants in on the take or will turn them in. One of the men died shortly after the heist, and the boys want to give his widow some of the money, too.

This is one of the few movies where the remake is genuinely better. The original Ocean's 11 is really more of a two-hour party with the Rat Pack and their assorted friends and hangers-on than a crime caper. In fact, you don't really see much of the actual caper; the movie is too busy onstage with Sinatra, Martin, and the others. It's a tad bit campy, some of the dialogue is a bit corny, and the treatment of Davis and all the female characters is far from politically correct.

There's only two reasons to see this today, besides a glimpse of Sinatra at the height of his "Chairman of the Board" powers. First of all, it's a snapshot of a very different Vegas when it was the center of all things classy. In fact, of the five casinos featured in this movie, only two are still standing and in operation on the Strip at press time. The second is for the atmosphere. Like the remake, this movie oozes cool. You feel just a little bit more hip having watched it. There's also a nice variety of cameos, from Shirley MacLaine as a drunk girl who gives Martin a surprise kiss to Red Skelton as an irate gambler.

This is a must for fans of the Rat Pack or Vegas in all its 60s glory. Anyone looking for more action (or a more recent view of Vegas) will want to sign up with George Clooney and his 11 first.

Went for a walk after the movie ended. It was just a quick one down Manor and back around to West Clinton, going past the school. I was surprised to see so many kids already out at 1PM. Turns out the Oaklyn School got off early today, for some reason. It was a nice day to get off early. There was a blue sky and a nip in the air; it felt far nicer than it has for the past week.

When I got home, I had leftover lentil soup for lunch, ran the last of the Tom & Jerry Tales shorts, and headed out to work. Work was off and on busy through about 7PM, after which it died very quickly. I was in and out with no problems.

Yet another package had arrived when I got home. This time, it was from Lauren. She mainly gave me Three Stooges-related books, including two biographies on Larry Fine and The Three Stooges Cookbook. (The Stooges are her big thing this year.) Also in the package were gift cards for Barnes & Noble and Macy's and the new WebKinz Sapphire Pegasus. I thought she'd be a perfect mate for my Golden Pegasus, Helios. I named her Diana; she was moved into Heilos' World Cup Soccer room and will share it with him.

The End of the Holiday Season

Spent the morning and early afternoon taking down the last of the Christmas decorations. Did the garlands first. They're going into the Santa Bag this year to save some room, instead of a crate. The wreath for the front door and the plaid ribbon that hangs on the door to my bedroom also go in the Santa Bag, as do small items that go out first, like the mistletoe and holiday-themed linens. (The poinsettia placemats need to be washed and will be put away next week.)

When the Santa Bag had been returned to the back room, it was time to change the dolls into their winter clothes. Samantha now wears her Gray Flannel "Buster Brown" School Dress with black flats and her thick black stockings from her "Meet" outfit. Molly wears her "Meet" argyle sweater and blue felt skirt with her saddle shoes and Springfield Collection white stockings. Felicity's now in her green military-inspired Riding Outfit and tri-cornered hat. I got more creative with Jessa. She wears the thick black corduroys from the 1996 First Day Meet Outfit, the hi-top sneakers from the original mid-90s "Blue Jean Basics," the reversible magenta and blue vest and magenta scrunchie from the 1995 Mix-and-Match Meet outfit, the white socks from Molly's Polka-Dot Outfit, and an eBay find navy turtleneck. The Sailor Soldiers were all put back in their regular uniforms and dresses.

It took me longer to do all that than I thought it would. I ate a quick lunch of leftovers and barely got to work on time! Work was busy during the usual 4-6 rush hour, but it faded very quickly after that. It was a bit of a pain, too. Lots of annoying beginning-of-the-month customers. I was so happy when I finally finished and headed home.

There was a surprise waiting for me when I got in. The new American Girl catalog that shows off this year's "Girl of the Year" doll McKenna and one of my two online Barnes and Noble orders, Samantha's Cooking Studio, had arrived. McKenna's theme is gymnastics. The doll isn't different enough for me to buy, but some of her outfits are cute. And I can't wait to make the delicious gingerbread recipe!

Merry Almost Christmas

Started a clear, sunny, and thankfully cold Christmas Eve with a stroll to the bank to deposit my paycheck. It felt nice to be out and about on such a lovely day. It wasn't even that windy. The bank was a little busy when I got in, but it wasn't as bad as I figured they would be; the line was short, and I was in and out. (I figured it would be much worse, since Monday is counted as a government holiday and the banks won't be open.)

When I got in, I organized the presents for the Cape May County side of the family and watched The Bishop's Wife. One of four popular holiday movies released in 1946-1947, Bishop's Wife is the sweet tale of Dudley, an angel (Cary Grant) sent to earth to help a frazzled man-of-the-cloth (David Niven) figure out what's really important in life - the love of his daughter and his beautiful wife Julia (Loretta Young). I enjoy this one, and may look around for the remake with an equally debonair Denzel Washington as well, The Preacher's Wife.

Poor Rose finally picked me up around quarter after 11. She'd spent the morning rushing around, trying to buy last-minute gifts and food for both the get-together at Mom's and the dinner she, her boyfriend Craig, and their son Khai are attending at Craig's mother's house in Camden tomorrow. It took us ten minutes to find a parking spot on Haddon Avenue in Collingswood so Rose could pick up a cheese basket for Dad and Jodie.

After a brief stop at Rose and Craig's apartment, we were finally off to Erma around noon. As at Thanksgiving, there were no problems on the way there. The weather was beautiful, the traffic was minimal, and Khai got a nice little nap in.

We made another brief stop at Winterwood, the Christmas shop on Route 9 in Rio Grande. I'm glad we did stop there. Rose got to finish her Christmas shopping, and the rest of us got to browse in the coolest Christmas store anywhere. Not many Christmas stores can claim to be housed in the oldest farmhouse in the area. It's so old, it has its own ghost. Every bit of the house that's open to the public is jam-packed with Christmas decorations of all shapes and sizes, from glass baubles to goofy ornaments depicting Santa on vacation or driving weird vehicles, from Victorian fans and old-fashioned St. Nicks to familiar characters. I admired the various Christmas houses. Craig showed Khai the cute candles in the shape of characters from the Pixar movie Cars. A whole room was devoted to ornaments and gift items made from seashells and beach-themed ornaments (naturally, being so close to several Jersey Shore resort towns).

We finally arrived at Mom and Dad's sometime around 2. Turns out Mom also got a late start, so we showed up at the right time after all. Anny, her sons Skylar and Collyn, and Collyn's dad Mike were playing with Hot Wheels cars in the living room. Mom was putting the finishing touches on our buffet meal. We had ham, a vegetable platter with two kinds of dips (ranch and spinach), a meat and cheese tray (I loved the Garlic Monterrey Jack cheese), whole-wheat and white rolls from Shop Rite in Rio Grande, a salad with fresh green and red lettuce and onions, and gigantic shrimp with home-made cocktail sauce.

After we all finished eating, we let the little boys open presents first. When they were largely done, the rest of us did ours. Sky loved his book on space from me. He sat in Dad's big chair and read it for a good half-hour. Collyn was especially fond of the skateboard/scooter he got from his grandparents. Khai's favorite present by far was a Percy the Little Green Engine toy from Thomas the Tank Engine that his grandparents gave him. He kept pushing the button to make Percy talk and his face light up for the rest of the evening.

Us adults got some pretty nice stuff, too. Anny spent the rest of the evening paging through the coffee-table book The Art of Tim Burton that Mom gave her. (She can be a bit goth-y at times and adores his movies.) Mom was thrilled with the poetry books she got from Rose and me. She says she's been reading poetry at night, before she goes to bed. Keefe's favorites were the goofy fuzzy hats Anny gave him, especially the ones with the curved antlers. Dad gave me a big hug for his new Special Edition DVD copy of the 1983 Al Pacino Scarface.

I did pretty darn well myself. Mom and Dad gave me a soft red and green plaid robe from the Vermont Country Store and a bright red nightshirt from Land's End. Mom gave me the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Flower Drum Song on DVD. I've seen that one, but not since I was a kid, when it would run occasionally on AMC. Keefe gave me Captain America: The First Avenger, which I've wanted to see since it came out last summer. The director who made that also did the wonderful The Rocketeer, which I really enjoyed. Rose and her boys gave me a Hungry Girl cookbook. (I hope it's better than the one I took out of the library earlier in the year.) Anny and her boys gave me a Pilsbury Cookie cookbook (hey, I have a Betty Crocker cookie book - might as well be democratic) and an awesome Fozzie Bear stuffed toy that I just love. (Anny said she was dying to see the expression on my face when I opened that. She knows I love bears, and that Foz has always been my favorite Muppet, along with Miss Piggy.) Keefe's girlfriend Vicki gave me a soft fuzzy maroon blanket. Mike and Collyn gave everybody tree-shaped containers of Ferrero Rocher chocolate-and-nut candies. Mom's sister Aunt Terri gave us older girls more of that soap her friend in Virginia makes, along with tubes of all-natural lip gloss.


Later, Mom gave me a pair of Ugg-style fur-lined suede boots she had only worn once or twice. She said that the sheepskin used for the lining made her legs itch. I have no such problems. They were wonderfully soft and comfortable. I changed into them and wore them for the rest of the evening (and will probably wear them tomorrow).

Mom and Keefe set out dessert while Mike took the older boys outside to play, Anny read The Art of Tim Burton, Khai played with Percy, and the rest of us watched the Giants-Jets game. (They won 29-14, which, alas, ends the Eagles' playoff hopes.) Dessert started around the same time Fox switched to the Eagles-Cowboys showdown. Mom had her own famous peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. (Khai actually sneaked up to the peanut butter cookies and snitched one when everyone was paying attention to the TV!) A neighbor had dropped off a divine carrot cake. Rose brought a rich chocolate mousse bombe (a frequent request of Keefe's) and a fruit tart. There was the big Currier and Ives tin of cookies I gave Mom and Dad, too.

We finally left around quarter after 5. Khai needed to get to bed, and Rose and Craig still had to prepare for tomorrow's festivities. Other than hitting some mild traffic around the Deptford Mall (which is hardly a surprise on Christmas Eve), there was once again no trouble. Once Khai got tired of making Percy light up, he passed out for the rest of the ride home.

When I got in, I put everything away and ran A Disney Channel Christmas while taking a look at that Pilsbury cookie cookbook, then went online. Oh, and the Eagles did wallop the Cowboys, 20-7, which makes me happy no matter what they do in the post-season.

And speaking of Disney Channel Christmas, I think Jiminy Cricket says it all in the finale. From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas and a very happy holiday season!

Fruits of Labor

Started out a cloudy, cool, humid morning with most of the American Top 40. We couldn't be much more 80s than today's Top 40, early September 1985. Among the songs that delighted the US during Labor Day Weekend that year were were "Invincible" by Pat Benetar, "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin, "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams, "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" by Billy Joel, "We Don't Need Another Hero" by Tina Turner, and "Billy Don't You Lose My Number" by Phil Collins.

There actually were some yard sales this week, which I didn't expect on a holiday weekend. I saw two in Oaklyn, one in Collingswood near Westmont, and one in Audubon. And unlike last week, I found a few items I liked. Picked up two records (Doris Day and a Fats Domino Greatest Hits two-disc set) at one of the ones in Oaklyn and a really interesting cookbook about low-fat and low-sugar baking from the Audubon sale.

I didn't need much at the farm market this week. I'll be going away for part of the week. It's definitely getting close to fall; I saw the first pumpkins, winter squash, and gourds of the season. I also saw the results of Hurricane Irene last week. At least two regular farm stands were missing because their fields were so flooded, they couldn't pick their crop. I just ended up with apples, grapes, a small organic honeydew melon (small enough for just me), and a jar of apple butter for a present.

When I got home, I had leftovers for lunch, listened to CDs, and read that cookbook. The book suggests using fruit juice concentrate as a sugar substitute. I liked that idea so much, I bought two containers of 100% frozen fruit juice tonight. It's a win-win situation. If it works, it works. If not, I'll just make it into juice.

Did the budget before heading out to work. I spent a ton last month, partially because of needing contacts and that mall trip. It shouldn't be quite as bad this month - no contacts needed, and unless there's an emergency, I don't have a mall trip planned. (I do want to go into Philly during my vacation, but it'll be a while before I really need clothes again.)

Work was on-and-off steady. Other than some annoying beginning-of-the-month customers, it wasn't too bad. I think a lot of people already went down to the Shore for their vacations, including people making up for time lost to Hurricane Irene last week. Worked on restocking candy between customers.

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.

Too Early For Summer

It wasn't that warm when I got up this morning. I poked my head out around quarter of 10 and felt a nice, fresh breeze. I wrote in my journal, then had cereal and grapefruit for breakfast and watched Angelina Ballerina.

Angelina's tendency towards scheming was spotlighted in most of these stories. She fancies herself a rodent Nancy Drew in "Angelina the Mouse Detective," but can she, Henry, and Alice find out who's been stealing garden gnomes around Chipping Cheddar? She and Alice get into a really big mess when they pass themselves off as adults to attend a fancy party in "The Costume Ball." In "The Big Performance," Miss Lilly is determined to get herself and Angelina to Queen Seraphina's big gala so Angelina can perform for royalty...no matter what they have to do to get there!

"Angelina's Baby Sister" hit rather close to home for me. Angelina is delighted when her baby sister Polly is born at first. Polly was born the day before her big end-of-the-year performance, and that means her parents can't go and miss seeing her win an award. Poor Angelina is terribly upset. She's even worse when her grandparents arrive and fuss over Polly, too. She feels neglected and frustrated...until she finds a way to make her and Polly happy.

I know exactly how Angelina feels. Mom was pregnant with Keefe when I was just getting out of the Special Services Middle School. They missed my "moving up" ceremony so Mom could get to the clinic in Atlantic City and get a check-up to make sure everything was fine. I was just as disappointed. Keefe cried the first time I held him, too. When he got older, though, I took care of him because quite a bit I was the only one who didn't do much, and we ended up being very close.

Went for a walk to the Oaklyn Library around 12. The cool of the morning had become blazing heat. It was at least 80 degrees. I was warm in my lightest pair of work pants, and I didn't need my spring jacket at all. The preschoolers who come in every Wednesday were hard at work on Easter pictures when I arrived. I worked on organizing DVDs until they left. After they headed out, I shelved kids' books. Also bought a cookbook, Southern Heritage Celebrations Cookbook. There were two other Southern Heritage cookbooks there, for sport events and entertaining, but the recipes didn't interest me as much.

Went for a short walk down Manor, then headed home for lunch. I had leftover chili, spinach salad, and a slice of home-made French bread with honey while watching The Easter Bunny Is Coming To Town. This is more-or-less Rankin-Bass's spring version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. It's my favorite of the three Rankin-Bass Easter specials, if only because it has more to do with Easter than their other two specials do.

It was so warm, I left my coat home and was perfectly fine going to and from work. Work was steady for most of the night. Many people were taking advantage of the nice weather to have parties or barbecues. Others were getting ready for Easter. There were no major problems, and I was able to shut down with a relief who is always late.

Nuts About Baking

Slept in a bit this morning, then started out the day with a ride to the Haddon Township Library. It was a little warmer today, probably in the upper 30s-lower 40s. That's more like what it should be at this time of year. The front path at Newton River Park wasn't entirely clear. I had to walk over a few patches of crunchy slush-ice. Unlike the icy patches from last month, this ice was brittle and broke easily under my feet. There were lots of people out in the park today. I saw dog-walkers, joggers, and mothers with children in strollers.

Hit the library next. I returned children's books and DVDs, including a pile of non-fiction programs. I felt a little bad, though, when a lot of people asked me questions I couldn't answer. I didn't know where they were keeping the tax books (I did mine online), or how to deal with the printers when they're out of paper.

I enjoyed the Felicity's Cooking Studio book I got from Linda Young for Christmas so much, I decided to look around for other American Girl cookbooks at the library. I'd taken out Samantha's and Kirsten's before and thought I'd try Josefina's. I also took out Knitting and Crocheting for Dummies and four DVDs - Scooby Doo and the Samurai Sword, Two Mules For Sister Sara (which I remember seeing on cable as a child), Fast Times At Ridgemont High (one of those iconic 80s movies I just never got around to), and the Christopher Guest comedy For Your Consideration.

My next stop was Super Fresh to get some things to make granola bars, including dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. After that, I went to the Bagel Shop for lunch. Had a roast beef and provolone sandwich on a 9-grain bagel for lunch.

Alas, by lunchtime, my head felt like a swollen balloon. I was stuffed up. My forehead was sore, and my neck ached. I rode home, hoping some fresh air would make me feel better.

I went for a short walk down to Goff Avenue and back, once again hoping the chilly air would do me some good. It didn't. Despite the brisk breeze, my head still felt like it was going to burst. I'm glad I went for the walk, though. The view of the river and ramp from the concrete launch on the end of Goff was spectacular today. The river was almost completely defrosted and very clear. You could see all the way to the Ben Franklin Bridge.

When I got home, my head still didn't feel much better. Oh well. I took some cold medicine and spent the next hour working on Wishcraft exercises. I made a spreadsheet of twenty things I enjoyed doing, when I did them, how much they cost, where I did them, etc. Most of the things I enjoy are free (walking, reading, writing) or only cost a minimal fee (yoga classes, making sure my bike is in good enough shape for the constant riding, browsing in stores).

I thought some baking might clear my head...but I turns out I didn't have the right butter for the Pecan Bars recipe I wanted to make. I improvised my own Peanut-Pecan Bars with pecans, chunky peanut butter, honey-nut-roasted peanuts, whole wheat flour. baking powder, baking soda, honey, brown sugar, and sea salt.

Ran Scooby Doo while doing the bars and making Baked Black Beans and Vegetables for dinner. Scooby and the gang are in Japan, where Daphne is invited to take part in an invitation-only martial arts competition. The martial arts academy where the competition is to take place is run by a princess who lives by Japan's older ways and rues how much technology has changed Japan's culture and eliminated many legends. One of those legends is the Ghost of the Black Samurai. When that ghost seems to come to life, Mystery Inc is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. But there's an even deeper mystery afoot in Japan, where it seems like legends never die...

One of the more interesting of the Scooby Doo movies I've seen. I liked the discussion of Japan's heavy embrace of technology vs. their older, more traditional ways of living. And Shaggy and Scooby made surprisingly good samurai.

And no, my head doesn't feel better, despite the cold medicine. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. If my head still wants to pound, I probably won't be going anywhere.

Rain In Toyland

I awoke to a cloudy, gloomy day and rain on the roof. I had grits and a half of a grapefruit for breakfast while watching more Bowery Boys. Angels In Disguise is one of my favorites of the comedy-dramas the Boys did from 1946 to about 1951. Slip and Sach are devastated when their friend Gabe Moreno is hurt by a local gang in a police shoot-out and another cop is killed. The two take it on themselves to flush out the gang...eventually bringing in Louie and the other Boys when they realize just how tough this gang is.

It was down to just being cloudy and damp when I rode across Newton River Park to the Haddon Township Library. The only rain I saw on the path were showers of red, gold, brown, and copper-colored leaves that swirled around my bike as I passed by. Needless to say, the park was quiet today except for one or two joggers.

The Library was hopping when I arrived. Their Children's Hour was just ending, and quite a few kids wanted DVDs. One mother was looking for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for her little girl. The library doesn't have it, though, so she settled on some Backyardigans. Another little girl wanted Disney Princesses. The mother of a boy requested Teletubbies; the library only has one Teletubbies DVD, though, and it was out. She and her son settled on Thomas the Tank Engine.

I returned a few DVDs and CDs, but I spent most of the time shelving the Easy Readers. There was a huge pile today! It took me a while to get them all together. By the time I finished them, it was getting late. I wanted lunch and to run some errands, and I didn't trust the weather. I didn't take anything out today...but I did buy what looks like a vintage 50s-60s copy of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book from the Library's book sale for a dollar. It's in a ring binder and very much resembles my reprint of The Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book.

(I later discovered the cookbook was an even better find than I had originally thought. Someone left their hand-written cooking notes in the binder, along with a folder filled with Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day recipes cut from what appears to be 60s copies of Better Homes and Gardens! There was even a vintage Safeway ad for flour tucked in. This is the second time in less than a week I made an awesome vintage find.)

My next stop was Super Fresh. My brother Keefe's birthday is Thursday. I had no idea what to buy an 18-year-old boy; Mom suggested an iTunes card, so I got him that. Also picked up cooking spray on sale and turkey cutlets for dinner.

I didn't really feel like eating out today, so I went straight home after that. I had a chicken leg, a plum, and a cranberry-orange muffin for lunch. Went for a walk when lunch was done. I forgot to buy a card for Keefe when I was out, so I did get one for him at CVS. Bought a Fat Free French Vanilla Cappuchino for myself at WaWa to ward off the damp chill.

Stopped at Doria's Deli on my way home for lunch meat and discovered I had a reason to celebrate, even between holidays. I had totally forgotten that the big Eagles-Redskins game was last night. It seems to have gone quite well. ROADKILL! the Philadelphia Daily News screamed - Eagles quarterback Michael Vick had apparently flattened the Redskins and former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb at the 'Skins' home stadium, 59-28. Had a nice chat with Mr. Doria about the game.

With the weather remaining iffy, I spent the rest of the evening at home. I paid my Nelnet bill online and got my Verizon bill together. I prepared Keefe's card and gift card to send tomorrow. I made this year's Christmas card, purchased presents, and baked goods presents list. I worked on a crocheted blanket for my dolls and made turkey cutlets with stewed apples for dinner while watching the Disney Babes In Toyland.

Released in 1961, Babes In Toyland is Disney's first live-action musical. I figure it's about as close to an English pantomime as I'm going to get without flying to England in December. Mother Goose Land residents Tom Piper (Tom Sands) and Mary Contrary (Annette Funicello) are going to be married...but wicked Barnaby (Ray Bolger) will do anything to get her money, including stealing her sheep and having him kidnapped by a Laurel-and-Hardy-like comic duo. Mary's siblings go after the sheep, and Tom and Mary eventually go after them. They all end up in Toyland, where the befuddled Toymaker and his nerdy assistant are trying to make the Christmas toy deadline. Can Tom, Mary, and the kids help...and is Barnaby far behind?

If you like old-fashioned operetta and fantasy, you'll probably get a kick out of this. Most people tend to compare this unfavorably with the Laurel and Hardy version. I think both are equally enjoyable. Some of the numbers here are really cute, including Funciello's imaginative version of "I Can't Do The Sum," Bolger's showy "Castle In Spain" dance, and the villains' hilarious "And We Won't Be Happy 'Til We Get It."

"Jack Frost Nipping At Your Nose..."

Brr, was it cold today! I don't think it made it out of the lower 30s. It was really windy, too. Good thing it was also sunny all day.

The Acme called me in early. I eventually arrived at 11:30. My only plans were working on the Christmas cards. Turns out I was right and I didn't have enough of them anyway. I'll send the cards and packages on Monday. (Not to mention, it makes more sense to work 11:30 to 5:30 than 12 to 5:30 anyway.)

I can understand why they did it. I don't know if it was because today is the first day of Hanukkah or we're just having really good sales, but we were mobbed all day long. Customers were crabby, too. We also got a bunch of those guys who buy tons and tons of the sale items to sell to chop shops in Camden, too. Thank goodness we were able to fob them off by pointing out that they can only buy so many of most of the 4-day sales.

Ran over to Chick Fil' A after work. They were busy, too. Chick Fil' A is popular with families, thanks to frequent sales and being the only one of the four fast-food chains in the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center with a playground. There was what looked like a cheerleading squad having a fund-raiser when I was there. The line wasn't too bad, though, so I was able to buy my Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich and carrot-raisin salad and eat quickly.

Stopped at the Acme for grocery shopping after that. I needed a lot this week; I'm finally running out of the last of the farm market vegetables, and I needed grapefruit, granola bars, yogurt, and butter, too. Also needed Christmas cards and more ornament hooks; I have so many ornaments now, the hooks I bought when I first moved out aren't enough.

Oh, and I received a lovely gift in the mail from my friend Jen in Washington State. She sent me a muffin cookbook that she apparently bought in St. Louis this summer. I didn't really have the time to take a good look at it tonight, but I may try something from it tomorrow.

Shine Like the Sun

What a beautiful day! There couldn't be a nicer day, 70 degrees, sunny and breezy, without a cloud in the sky. I couldn't wait to start it. I was up at quarter of 7 and out to do the laundry by 9. Dolores was just eating breakfast when I came in. Dad and Uncle Ken were doing chores. Jessa wasn't home. She left for college last Thursday and is likely enjoying her new-found freedom. I'm glad she's doing well in college, but I'm going to miss seeing her at home all the time. She's a good kid.

I ran to CVS for eggs while the laundry was in the dryer, brought them home, then went back to Uncle Ken's for the laundry. Unlike last week, there were no problems with the laundry, and it was in and out. I said "hi" to Dolores' daughter and her baby girl May, then went home with my laundry basket.

I put everything away, then had a simple lunch of carrot sticks, peanut butter, and light raspberry yogurt. I did a few chores around the house. Made my bed, prepared my rent, left the rent at Miss Ellie's side of the house, then jumped on my bed and headed to Haddon Township for this week's library volunteering session.

The adult DVDs weren't bad, but the kids' DVDs were absolutely awful. Not only were there a ton of them to return, but the new DVD case only seems to have encouraged more people to just shove items wherever they feel like it. I was able to help several children, too. One little girl was looking for princesses. She was thrilled with Little Mermaid 2 and Barbie and the Magic of the Pegasus. Another girl wanted Thomas the Tank Engine.

There weren't as many regular DVDs to put away today, which may have been just as well. It was too nice to spend all day in the library. After a quick stop at Super Fresh for English muffins (they had the $1.99 whole wheat muffins this time), I waited to get across the now-rush-hour traffic on Cuthbert, then headed for the Newton River Park for a nice, long bike ride.

The park was never so gorgeous. The river sparkled like emeralds in the sun. The leaves and grass are still the brightest green imaginable. They're usually at least a little brown by this time of years after months in the hot sun, but all this rain has had some positive results. I've never seen the trees look lovelier. All the moss and bushes in our front yard are still a vibrant shade of green, too. It's like walking through the Emerald City every time I go in my front door. I feel like Dorothy.

After I got in from my ride, I swept the porch. There was a considerable collection of nuts and parts of nuts after the storms last weekend, and I haven't gotten a chance to clean up after them until today. I don't want to encourage ants again.

After I swept, I took advantage of the unusually cool weather to do something I haven't really been able to do for a while at home - bake! I made a Blackberry-Peach Grunt from Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For More Food. The "Grunt" was basically what Betty Crocker calls a cobbler with butter instead of shortening. (Alton does have a cobbler recipe, but it uses pie crust, which I wasn't going to make.) I didn't have enough blackberries, so I added one of those big, fat farm market peaches. Good ol' Alton. It's the best thing I've made in ages, sweet and tender, yet bursting with warm summer flavor. I used to make cobblers a lot in late summer and early fall, using the season fruit after it got cool enough to bake. Cobblers are some of my favorite desserts. Easy to make, and a wonderful way to make use of bruised and/or old fruit.

Also took advantage of the nice weather to make turkey meatballs. I haven't had simple old spaghetti and meatballs in ages. It felt wonderful...a great way to end a lovely day.