Have You Ever Seen the Rain

We headed out around 9:30 this time. Dark clouds lingered overhead as Lauren pulled into the lot behind the Lee Outlets. We started off with the Gap, the closest store to our entrance. Lauren picked up tank tops here. I found a gold henley shirt. I haven't had one of those in ages, and they're always so comfortable. I usually do well with shirts at the Gap. The store seemed quiet other than the employees. We may have been the first ones there. 

We were in and out of stores for the next hour and a half. Neither of us found anything at Ann Taylor, the Loft, or Eddie Bauer. I finally bought new underwire bras at Hainesbrands. They were 25% off instead of 40 because you had to buy three to get the sale and I only needed 2, but I still needed them. My underwire bras are badly stretched out. Peered around a charming little shop called DJ's Gifts that sold toys, wooden carvings and statues, and exotic items from around the world. Lauren confirmed that DJ's and Solomon's Furniture in the building across the way moved from the Berkshire Mall when they closed. 

Old Navy just opened two weeks ago in the former IZOD/Van Heusen store. Their store was a lot simpler than either of those preppy brands, bright white and boxy. I didn't get anything, but Lauren got a few shirts. We did better in another recent addition, Forever 21. Their store was even simpler. They did away with shelves all together and had everything either in cardboard boxes or hanging up along the wall. I really liked a pair of white corduroys with pretty flowered embroidery, but I couldn't find my size. Ended up with black jeans with apples embroidered on them. 

Unlike the Cumberland Outlets, the Lee Outlets has a small food court in the center building near Sketchers. They no longer had a Subway, but the other booths - Mexican, Italian, Asian, and a local sandwich shop - were open. We both went with sandwiches. I had "Thanksgiving," turkey and American cheese with greens, tomatoes, and cranberry mayo. She had a chicken-bacon club. 

The food court has a tiny "Fun Zone" arcade next to the Asian food booth. Though there was an Alien shooting game, everything else was some type of crane. I tried a couple of them in an attempt to get stuffed animals, but had no luck. Lauren didn't do any better. We headed out shortly after she gave up trying on the larger one.

After we left, we hit Famous Footwear, Aeropostale, and Chico's, but found nothing interesting. The dirty gray clouds that threatened all morning finally burst as we left Chico's. The shower got too heavy for further mall exploring. Besides, the remaining stores were all expensive upscale designers like Polo Ralph Lauren and Talbots that we can't really afford and don't usually carry my size anyway.

Since we left the Lee Outlets earlier than planned, we had time to stop at Lauren's local Goodwill. It moved into a larger store earlier this year after Big Lots also upgraded into a larger building. I thought I found a pale-blue Eddie Bauer turtleneck that looked perfect...but I didn't read the tag right, and it turned out to be a medium. I'll give it to Lauren. She came up with a whole pile of shirts. 

Our last stops of the day weren't pleasure shopping. Lauren had a list of things her parents needed at the massive WalMart in Lanesborough. She found all of it but bags of shredded potatoes for fried potatoes with cheese. Picked those up at the Target attached to the now-closed Berkshire Mall. Went to one of her local supermarkets, Stop & Shop, for diced turnip and mouthwash. Drove into Pittsfield so Lauren could pick up the dinner she ordered from the Highland, one of her parents' favorite restaurants. 

We ate with Lauren's parents after we rolled in. Lauren and her folks enjoyed veal Parmesan with spaghetti and salads. I had turkey with an odd orange-y gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (that were probably a mix but at least were warm), and slightly mushy peas. 

Joined Lauren downstairs for the fudge thumprint cookies and apple strudel we picked up at Walmart and to play Super Mario Party after I took a shower. Once again, Lauren took Mario and I took Peach. We played the jungle-themed Thwomp's Domino Ruins tonight. Even on hard, Lauren still got the most stars and won the most mini-games. I barely came in third to Boo the ghost, though.

Finished the night online with more games from various broadcast networks. Even PBS, the public broadcasting network in the US, got in on the games. Their most famous national game is probably Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego from the early-mid 90's. Three kids compete to follow a strange crook who steals a famous landmark and return it, then run to name every country on a certain continent in the bonus round. How strange was this show? In the episode I chose, Patty Larceny somehow manages to steal Williamsburg, Virginia. Lynne "The Chief" Thigpen, host Greg Lee, and group Rockapella helps the kids with the clues.

Most PBS game shows were local versions of quizzes for high schools or colleges, or educational shows. Even New Jersey had its own high school quiz show at one point in the late 80's on what was then the Camden PBS. North Jersey high schools St. Joseph and Pequannock get put through their paces here with the help of Professor Todd Hunt.

PBS wasn't always America's fourth network. DuMont began life in the early 40's as the first network on the air, and the only one not spun off from radio. They never managed to gather as many affiliates as the Big 3 and, despite developing the now-standard practice of selling commercial time to different advertisers, instead of letting one company control each show, were perpetually in the red. They did put out several popular game shows before finally succumbing to their financial difficulties in 1956. 

The episode of Down You Go seen here may be in poor shape, but it's one of the few DuMont shows still in existence today. This cross between What's My Line and Wheel of Fortune is likely DuMont's answer to the panel shows that were wildly popular on the other networks at the time. Four celebrities try to guess Hangman-style puzzles sent in by viewers. Slow-moving and not that exciting, but just the fact that it exists at all makes it interesting.

 

No one tried to create a real fourth network to rival the Big 3 again until the 90's. Fox Broadcasting became 20th Century Fox's attempt to enter the television market. Most of their early game shows were syndicated programs they picked up, like my old childhood favorite Fun House. They retooled it a little to bring it up-to-date, but it was otherwise pretty much the same Double Dare imitation it had been in syndication. 

Fox didn't get heavily into the game show genre until Who Wants to Be a Millionaire hit it big in 1999. They were the first ones out of the gate with imitations. Greed had six contestants answering numerical questions. The one with the furthest answer is eliminated; the others form a team. They can answer questions for dollar amounts up to two million. The member who gives the lowest scoring answer is eliminated by the next-lowest scorer, and so on. Chuck Woolery keeps things moving and suspenseful.

Tough quiz that's one of the better Millionaire clones of the early-mid 2000's. It actually did fairly well in the ratings and only ended because Fox's new executives didn't like game shows.  I know a lot of people who grew up in the late 90's-early 2000's who have very fond memories of the original run or its later re-runs on Game Show Network.

Warner Bros and Paramount tossed their hats into the ring with new networks in the mid-90's. The WB and UPN had some successful shows before they were merged as The CW in 2006, but their non-scripted programs weren't among them. They mostly focused on cheaper reality show competitions like Dance 360, UPN's updated hip-hop version of Dance Fever. 

The WB did make one short-lived attempt at a Millionaire clone in 2004. Studio 7 crossed the quiz show with reality programming that had college students living together for a week, quizzing each other on the material. Each appeared in six rounds, wearing a ring they gave up if they needed help. The show apparently ran for 7 weeks; I have the intense series finale here. 

Explore TV history with these rare game shows! (And yes, watch out for a bad tape on Down You Go...but as mentioned, it's one of the few DuMont programs to survive today.)

Down You Go (1950's)

New Jersey Bowl (1987)

Fun House (1991)

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego (1993)

Greed (2000)

Studio 7 (2004)

Dance 360 (2004)

Pleasant Valley Sunday

Thank heavens after yesterday the weather was gorgeous when we started out around 10:30. It was sunny and breezy, with a brilliant blue sky overhead. Lauren drove past farms laden with pumpkins and sunflowers and trees just starting to turn leaves red, gold, and sunshine yellow. It was a gorgeous day for a drive into upstate New York to check out flea markets.

Our first stop of the day was a large flea market in New Lebanon, just over the board. I've visited this place before with Lauren...and to our disappointment, it wasn't nearly as busy as usual. There were some booths selling mostly junk (and political t-shirts), but not as many, and nothing of interest in the main building. I didn't get anything, but Lauren picked up one of those t-shirts for her dad.

We did better at other sales down the road. A smaller flea market was being held about a block away. Once again, I saw nothing of interest, but Lauren picked up Piglet and vintage M&M Christmas ornaments and a small figure of Daffy Duck dressed as the Easter bunny.

We both did much better at a nearby thrift shop. It was a lot like a smaller, one-floor version of the Barrington Antique Center, lots of items in tiny rooms, but far better-organized. Things were arranged by items in nice shelves, rather than thrown in helter-skelter. The first things we found after the main room were two large shelves of DVDs and CDs and two more of books. I didn't see any books I liked, but I did find Greta Garbo's first comedy Ninotchka and the original Time Life Treasury of Christmas set (with an extra bonus CD). Lauren picked up a pile of country-western and classic CDs for herself and her parents and a cute purple vest for herself.

After leaving the thrift shop, Lauren drove us back into Massachusetts to just outside of the Berkshire Mall. There's a mini-golf course and driving range that she and her family have been playing at since she was a kid. It's a lovely little course, with the usual wooden house and windmill, bear statues, and rotating rainbow paddle traps. We had a great time, not only playing, but watching an adorable little boy and his grandparents playing ahead of us. They were so funny! The boy was so enthusiastic. He reminded me of Keefe when we used to play each other at the long-gone mini golf course next to the ice cream parlor in North Cape May in the 90's.

I won the game, incidentally, but only by two points. It was close. We both had problems on some traps. I hit my ball into a bush on the very first course, and Lauren got hers caught in a small water trap twice on a course

We wandered around in a couple of stores for the next hour or so. Target is pretty much the only thing at the Berkshire Mall that's still open, so we went there next. They were just putting out their Halloween things. Shelves were laden with candy, princess and Avengers costumes, Pillsbury Funfetti cake mixes, and stuffed dinosaurs dressed as vampires. They weren't busy, but we didn't end up buying anything.

Lauren took us back towards the area with the shopping centers we checked out yesterday. This time, we went across the street to a smaller center that features the area's only Game Stop. Lauren looked over PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch games, and I looked over Wii, but once again, we walked out with nothing. I just bought a Snickers bar at Big Lots.

The Millers were working on dinner when we rolled in. After we showed them our purchases, Lauren played something on her Nintendo Switch, and I gave Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn a shot on her Nintendo DS. The "extra" are hats that Kirby can grab that will give him special abilities, like use a sword or make yarn balls without grabbing an enemy. I got most of the way through Grass Land before dinner was called.

Dinner was a feast! Mrs. Miller made crispy tuna croquettes with tater tots, rolls, and amazing glazed carrots sauteed in real maple syrup. Lauren had cookie dough ice cream for dessert. I've had tons of ice cream lately and opted for a super-sweet watermelon fruit bar. Mrs. Miller did the same, only hers was peach.

We watched a couple of first season episodes of I Love Lucy while we ate. Lucy goes on "The Diet" when she needs to slim down in order to fit into a size 12 costume and do a dance with Ricky. She does everything possible to lose that weight, from running around the building to eating nothing but celery. It does slim her down, but it also leaves her with no energy. She joins the act anyway, to Ricky's surprise.

I'm not the only one who gets into her mystery novels. "Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Kill Her" when he jokes about killing her after she loses her murder novel out the window. She takes his joking seriously, especially after she overhears him talking about what she thinks is a plot to murder her and Ethel reads her cards and claims she's going to die. She does everything she can to hold him off.

She enters "The Quiz Show" in order to win money for household expenses. This radio game show makes female contestants do humiliating things on the air...like claiming another man is your first husband. Not only is Ricky understandably upset, but the stranger Lucy says is her first husband isn't who she thinks he is.

We played games after dinner. I won Roll With It! again by a large margin. Mr. Miller won Uno again, though this time Mrs. Miller and Lauren won rounds as well. (I'm really rusty on that one.) I did manage to win Sorry!. Mr. Miller came in second, followed by Lauren.

Lauren and I are now downstairs, chatting and enjoying skating videos and Match Game on YouTube. We were going to go to the Big E tomorrow, but the weather sounds iffy. We're going to stay inside and go to the Holyoke Mall in Springfield instead.

Cats and Kids and Festivals

It was showering heavily when I went to bed last night, but by the time I was reading and writing in my journal this morning, only clouds remained. I cheered up the gloomy day with breakfast and more Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That. It's a "Wrapper's Delight" when the Cat takes the kids to see how Gina the Giraffe Weevil wraps up her eggs, so they can learn how to wrap a statue for their moms. They learn how Penny the Pelican can "Dive! Swim! Scoop!" so they can do the same and rescue a frog stuck in their wading pool. The Cat takes the kids on a "Paper Chase" to Dr. Twiggles to see how paper is made from tree pulp and how it can be recycled.

"A Polar Adventure" was my favorite from this round. I love bears, including polar bears! Sally, Nick, and the Cat learn more about one of my favorite animals when they venture to Freeze-Your-Knees Snowland to figure out how Polly the Polar Bear stays warm.

Worked on writing for a while. Five of Vader's men appear on motorcycles while they're setting up camp. Harry tries attacking them, but they hear him and catch wind. Leia and Luke go after them. They manage to head them off, but they get separated. Leia jumps off her bike and passes out before she sees the patter of little feet...

Broke at 12:30 for a quick yogurt-and-grapes lunch. Did some more Cat while I ate. The kids want to play circus, but they're having a hard time on their balancing beam board. Zappa the Snow Leopard teaches them how he handles his own "Balancing Act" on frozen mountainsides. Glass-making is a big deal down here in Southern New Jersey, thanks to our sandy soil. Nick and Sally find out from their pirate friend how sand and older glass can be melted down to make new glass pieces in "Marvelous Marbles." The Cat introduces them to Os and Olivia, a pair of ostriches who prove that, while their fast running abilities and being the "Biggest Bird" on the planet are cool, being good parents is what they do best.

Started my errand run around 1:30. I parked my bike at the Acme and walked down to the Wal Mart. I'm not a big fan of the small one in the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. They're disorganized and messy and never have what I want, and today was no exception. They had the Solo: A Star Wars Story DVD online for $16.75...but while they had the 4K and Blu-Ray discs, they were out of the DVD. Of course. (They did have a nice selection of wrestling figures in their toy section, though, including many of the current stars I saw on that show with Lauren and her parents. I might have to ask her if there's any she doesn't have.)

While Five Below isn't supposed to open until next Friday, the Goodwill opened today. It was a LOT bigger than it looked from the outside! While not quite as large as the stand-alone stores in Cherry Hill and Bellmawr, they were still big enough to have a fair-sized furniture selection, two long shelves of DVDs and CDs, and three very long shelves of books. I'll probably explore it more thoroughly when I have more money, but for now, I'm just excited that it's there.

The Acme was pretty busy when I arrived, with long lines. (Mostly because it looked like they were short on help again.) I had a ton of my own groceries to buy. Took advantage of a 40% off chicken sale to pick up two packs of breasts and legs, along with a small container of shrimp for dinner tomorrow. Since I won't make it to the farm market this week, I bought apples, mushrooms, bananas, a bag of broccoli and cauliflower, and the first fresh cranberries of the season. Found a large container of oatmeal on the clearance shelves that was half-price due to the dent in its side. Restocked yogurt, canned diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, skim milk, cheese, molasses, brown sugar, and condensed milk.

My schedule for next week is pretty par for the course for this time of year. My hours are a little later (except for on Sunday, which works out - the Eagles have another 1 PM game this week) and a little shorter, which will allow me to start cleaning and winterizing the apartment. I work late enough next Saturday that I'll be able to take a quick look at the Farm Market and Collingswood's Book Festival. I wish I had more hours, but that probably won't happen until we get closer to the holidays.

By the time I made it home, the sun was struggling to come out, and it was pushing into the lower 70's. It was too nice to stay inside all day, as I'd originally planned. I decided to ride around and see if I could find Solo: A Star Wars Story at Target.

I couldn't find it ANYWHERE! It wasn't at Rite Aid. (Which, incidentally, is where I found The Force Awakens.) Target was out of every version of it. CVS doesn't carry home media besides magazines and books anymore. (Although I did pick up dish washing liquid at the CVS in Oaklyn.) It never made it to either Acme. I am so disappointed. I'll try Target again on Tuesday, but if it's not there by then, I'll just bite the bullet and hope it's gotten cheaper on Amazon. I didn't think anyone but me would be in a hurry to buy it after it flopped in May.

I was beyond tired and nearly in tears by the time I made it back to Oaklyn. The last Final Friday Festival of the season was in full-swing when I arrived. Their "Final Friday Festivals" mainly consist of music, food trucks, craft booths, and a booth for Studio LuLoo with crafts for kids. (Today, there were kid musical instruments for them to play with and rocks to paint.) The trucks are way too expensive. After spending 20 minutes trying to choose, I ended up buying a can of Coke and a slice of bacon and corn quiche away from the crowds at Common Grounds Coffee House.

Watched the remaining Cat In the Hat episodes after I got home. The group goes on another "fantastic voyage," this time into Thing 1's ears to learn how sound moves, in "Drum Di Drum." Nick and Sally are pretending to be super heroes, but the Cat knows a part of us with some great superpowers - our skin. Dr. Giggles shows the kids how "The Skin I'm In" can be pretty darn super. They head under the sea to learn how to clean up from Rufus the Cleaning Fish and his "Fishy Washy" Station.

Finished the night in the bath. I desperately needed one after my disappointments earlier. I played with the brown and blue rubber duck I won from a crane game at the Holyoke Mall last week and read over a couple of self-help books.

Rainy Day Women

I slept a little later than I planned...and awoke to another downpour. I was up at 9; Lauren didn't roll out until 10. That may have been a good thing. The rain was starting to slow down by the time we headed out at quarter of 11. When we made it to Collingswood, it was down to a light shower.

Our first stop was the Farm Market. Between the late hour and the weather, it was the quietest I'd ever seen it. There was barely anyone there. It's still pretty early in the growing season, too. Some tables were even packing up to leave as we arrived. I did manage to pick up asparagus and a tomato for dinner next week.

We strolled down Lee Avenue to Haddon Avenue to check out some of the stores. Started at Frugli Consignment, which is on the next block over from the Farm Market. They occasionally have interesting things, but neither of us found anything there today.

Had lunch down the street at Tortilla Press. It was quarter of noon by that point, and they were very busy. We just missed a huge party, in fact. I forgot that Tortilla Press has a popular brunch on weekends. Lauren had the brunch burritos, with black beans and mango salsa. I had the brunch quesadilla, filled with cheese, bacon, and vegetables, with salsa, sour cream, and very tasty home fries. We shared a basket of cinnamon sugar-dusted home-made tortilla chips and very much enjoyed our meal.

The rain took a temporary leave of absence after lunch, just in time for us to stroll down Haddon Avenue and check out several stores that interested us. Lauren picked up bags of Tootsie Rolls and a box of blue raspberry ring gummies at The Candy Jar; I found a bar of chocolate/vanilla/strawberry coconut candy. I ended up at InnerGroove Records to check out their dollar shelves while Lauren headed to ExtrordinaryED, a toy store a few doors down. She bought a dice and card game to play with her folks. I dug two records out of the stacks:

Linda Rondstat - Greatest Hits, Vol 2

Walt Disney Studios Presents Merry Christmas Songs - Mainly bought this for "From All of Us to All of You"

Lauren wanted to check out Rocket Fizz again - we went there last year - so we made our way down Haddon Township to Westmont around 2. Phildelity Records just opened a block from that shopping center. It's basically the same thing as InnerGroove, but in a larger, lighter store, and with CDs, Blu-Ray, and DVDs in addition to records. Lauren bought a couple of CDs for herself and one for her dad. Along with a copy of the Jennifer Lopez/George Clooney thriller Out of Sight on DVD, I found:

George Benson - In Your Eyes (record)

WOR 96.7 Studio Solid Gold - Two-disc record collection of classic rock, including some good titles I don't have elsewhere.

Original cast of Donnybrook!, a 1961 musical version of The Quiet Man. It was a major flop at the time, but I do like The Quiet Man, so I'm willing to give this rare title a try.

Rocket Fizz was our next stop. This is technically a candy store, but it specializes in practical jokes, unusual sodas and candy, and imported candy from Europe and Asia. While I found several of the British candy bars to be intriguing, most of them were expensive. Lauren found a banana nut soda with a Monkees label. (She later said it was pretty good.)

Primo's Water Ice, one of the best ice cream/water ice shops in the area, is right next door. They have unique flavors at very cheap prices. I picked up a pineapple turnover water ice (basically a creamier pineapple). Lauren had a black raspberry soft serve cone. We sat at the counter inside, avoiding the continuing humid weather and listening to the chattering young teens on the other side.

Good Samaritan Thrift Shop is across the street. They're very narrow and very busy, a jumble of clothes, knick-knacks, and some books and DVDs. I admired two lovely vintage 50's 18-inch dolls for 10 each; I would have considered buying one if I could carry it home. (Maybe next week if I have the money.) Lauren bought a shirt and a pair of shorts.

It was 3:30 by that point. Not only was it rush hour, but the day was growing more and more humid. Figured it was time to head back to Oaklyn. We dodged traffic on Cuthbert and Haddon Avenue and headed back the way we came, past Newton Lake Park and down East Clinton.

Lauren wanted to stop at Comicrypt, the comics store next-door to The House of Fun on the White Horse Pike. Turns out we picked the right time to do it. They were having a half-price sale on their older titles. I did see some Star Wars, but I'm not that into the Dark Horse titles. I prefer the ones from the 70's and 80's when the movies were originally out, or the current Marvel run, neither of which were part of the sale. I settled for petting the black and white kitty who wandered between boxes. (His white sister was napping in the window.) Lauren did much better, picking up a stack of titles that she said filled in gaps in her own collection.

It started to rain hard again when we were in Comicrypt. Thankfully, the rain was slowing down, even as we crossed the White Horse Pike to West Clinton. In fact, we noticed a Crayola-themed bounce house at the very end of the circular drive between the park and the VFW. Must have been some kind of kid party going on there.

I made us Caesar Chicken Salad (complete with home-made dressing) for dinner while we watched Tiny Toons: How I Spent My Summer Vacation. The Toons are looking forward to their time off from school, but it doesn't turn out to be what they'd hoped. Plucky finds himself on the car trip from hell when he joins Hamton's smiley-happy family on their ride to Happy World Land. Babs, Buster, and Myron spend their summer on the river, avoiding larger animals who think they're on the barbecue menu. Fifi pursues a handsome star, with little success. Elmyra terrifies the animals at a safari park. Shirley seriously regrets her movie date with Foulmouth when he talks over the film and drives everyone crazy. Fun if you're a fan of the Toons or the fast-paced, reference-filled Warners cartoons of the 90's.

Played some Wii Sports after dinner. Tried some mini-games tonight. Lauren won most of them - she beat me at the batting practice by 1 hit! - but I finally won golf Target Practice and the baseball Spin Control. We finished Raiders of the Lost Ark in Lego Indiana Jones with the long and complicated "Finding the Ark" and "Opening the Ark" rounds. Having two people really helped on these - one could jump onto things, while the other pushed levers.

Ended the night after my shower with The Last Jedi. Rey (Daisy Ridley) is determined to bring former Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to his sister Leia (Carrie Fisher) and the Resistance. Luke insists that he's retired, but he changes his mind when he sees Rey's awesome powers. Meanwhile, her buddy Finn (John Boyega) is sent to the casino planet Cantino Bight with Resistance mechanic Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) to find a master hacker who'll get them onto the First Order's ship. What they find is the disreputable DJ (Benicio Del Toro), who does as asked...but turns out to not exactly be trustworthy. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is also struggling with his dark and light sides. He reaches out to Rey in the Force, and they start a tentative relationship that's threatened by the First Order's leader, Snoke (Andy Serkis). Rey thinks she can bring Kylo back to the light...but as Luke tries to point out (and as everyone has complained about), "this is not going to go like you think."

If you're a fan of this franchise, I say ignore all the fussing and give this movie a shot. It's not for purists or for people looking for a lighter and softer version of these characters ala Force Awakens, but if you're willing to try something different with these movies, this is far better than you may have heard.

Winds of Winter

I could hear the wind chimes going next door when I awoke this morning. It was a windy day, so windy that the draft in the back room kept blowing the door open. The front door had been blown open as well. I dealt with that, then had breakfast and got organized while finishing out the Scooby Doo disk. The kids learn "Don't Fool With a Phantom" when they're attacked by a wax spook while competing in a TV dance contest and the station's manager disappears. The owner of the wax museum next door claims he made the phantom appear...but is there a more realistic explanation for the phantom's appearance?

Finally made it out around quarter after 11. It was such a nice day, I went out in my heavy coral hoodie and was only slightly chilly. Despite the blustery winds, it was sunny and fairly warm, probably in the mid-upper 50's. I had two more bags of donations to bring to the Logan Church Thrift Shop. They were pretty busy when I got in as people looked around to make their final purchases before they closed. I just ended up with Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Don't know if I'll ever buy the rest, but I do like the first one.

My next stop was originally going to be the Oaklyn Library. I arrived there at noon...just as they closed early. Moved on to Dollar General instead, then CVS. Picked up sugar, sponges, and and mandarin orange cups at Dollar General, an electric toothbrush (thought I'd try it) and an apple-cinnamon-chia bar for a snack at CVS. Neither place was remotely busy. It was too nice to be shopping.

Had a quick lunch when I got home. Did a couple of Good Eats episode while I ate and did the dishes. Alton discusses how to make your own versions of two popular snacks, pretzels and mustard in "Pretzel Logic" and popcorn in "Pop Art."

Worked on my fanfic for the rest of the afternoon. No sooner does Leia leave Luke the Fairy Scout and Chewbacca the Swallow then she encounters a group of militaristic beetles on a long flight home. They just returned from battle with their enemies, the fairies. The head of the group, a huge, shiny black beetle, reveals that they had captured King Han and turned him over to his enemies. He sweeps Leia off to his ancient old master, thinking he find find her to be a pretty mate. He doesn't. In fact, he finds her to be ugly and too sharp-tongued. She's tossed in prison, but she escapes and makes her way into the woods.

Broke at 6:30 for dinner. Tossed together an old can of Potato-Leek Soup and the leftover Italian wedding from a couple of days ago, just to get rid of both. The potato-leek soup was salt-less and tasteless. I added the last of one of my bottles of seasoning just to make it taste like something.

Played some Lego Star Wars for a while after dinner. Finished out the New Hope rounds. I did get True Jedi on "Death Star Attack" and the first level to cover Leia's rescue (the latter thanks to playing that mini-game that lets you shoot down TIE fighters.) Didn't do well anywhere else. Those Walkers literally killed me in "Mos Eisley Spaceport," not to mention that one takes forever. At least I did a little bit better with the mosaic that you have to build to proceed in the second Leia's rescue round (even if I lost quite a bit of studs doing it).

Finished the night on YouTube with something I've been hoping to find. I dubbed the first Broadway's Lost Treasures collection of numbers from the Tonys a couple of years ago and have been hoping to pick up the other two ever since. I may still see if I can buy them somewhere. For now, finding Volumes II and III online will do.

Broadway's Lost Treasures II
Broadway's Lost Treasures III 

Power of the Birds and Bears

I was glad to see sunshine streaming through my windows when I awoke this morning. There was a lot that I needed to get done, starting with breakfast. Ran two episodes of She-Ra while I ate. Adora's at "A Loss for Words" when the sorceress Shadow Weaver steals her voice and that of several other peasants who are planning to rebel. She gets help from Bow in getting it back. She wants to rescue her brother Prince Adam - aka He-Man - from the Fright Zone alone in "He Ain't Heavy," but Bow goes after her when an old man tells her about the Moon Mirror that can open portals to other dimensions.

Finally got out around 11 to run errands. I've had a couple of bags of donations in the back room for a long time. Brought the one with all the odds and ends I've cleared out or didn't need and the bag of Ever After High dolls to the thrift shop at the church in Audubon. Picked up the soundtrack for the 1968 Rex Harrison version of Dr. Doolittle and the Johnny Mathis album Swing Softly on LP, the DVDs for Brother Bear and The Inspector General (I can't find the copy of the latter Lauren sent me a while back), and a stuffed manatee.

Headed back to Oaklyn next to do some quick volunteering at the library. They were quiet as can be the entire time. In fact, it was just me and the librarian. I talked to her and took a look at the DVDs. Found the Julie Andrews vehicle Star on the for sale racks. Since there's a new Maze Runner film coming out soon, I took out the two movies in that series. (The Haddon Township Library doesn't have the first one.)

The House of Fun is three blocks from the Oaklyn Library on the White Horse Pike. Headed there next. They were surprisingly quiet for a Saturday afternoon. I think I may have seen one other person there besides the guy at the counter.

I actually made some pretty good finds there. The corner where the vintage stuffed animals had been kept had been better-organized, with most of them now in a bin. A stuffed My Little Pony, like the Bow Tie I found at a yard sale last year, lay on the top. She had a  rainbow-colored mane and tail and purple embroidered parasols against her bright pink fur. Unlike Bow-Tie, she came with her original tag, and her eyes were in perfect shape...but she was also quite dirty, and said tag looked like its previous owner had used it for a teething ring. The remains of the tag indicated that her name was Parasol, and that she loved sipping pink lemonade under the umbrella that gave her her name.

Also did well in the Star Wars department. I'd hoped to find a simple 12-inch Finn to go with my Rey and Poe. Found him hanging on the bottom shelves after some digging. Uncovered a fluffy 12-inch Chewbacca still in his box on a top shelf with other 12-inch Power of the Force collector's dolls.

I didn't get as lucky at the register. The poor kid had no idea what his boss had priced them. He called him 30 times on his cell phone while I waited. Good thing I'm generally a patient person...and his boss had episodes of Count Duckula running on their TV over the counter. I haven't seen the majority of that show in 30 years. I finally told the kid I'd give him 40 bucks for the lot. Chewie was a collector's item, he and Finn were still in their boxes, and Parasol had her tag.

Headed down West Clinton to Phillies Phatties for lunch. It was past 1 by that point, and they were fairly quiet as well. I saw a couple of people come in to pick up late lunches as I ate my slice of cheese, slice of mushroom, and sipped a Mountain Dew Ice (lemon-lime) soda while watching Perdue play Minnesota in college basketball. (Perdue eventually won 81-47.)

As soon as I got home, I pulled out Chewie and Finn. Finn was made out of the same stiff hard plastic as Cassian and Poe. Like Cassian, he was a fairly good representation of John Boyega, and unless I can find a better 12-inch doll along the line, I'll likely keep him. Chewie was held in with twist-ties and took a little longer to get out. Unlike the vinyl Power of the Force Luke, Lando, Leia, and Han, Chewie had wires under his thick fur that allowed him to hold poses. I had him give Han a "hug" to see what it could do. I don't know how well the wires will hold up over time, but I do know that I like his face better than the current Forces of Destiny Chewie, who looks too much like a monkey. I also like that he came with a real fabric pouch, though I wish his huge, thick vinyl bandoleer stayed on better.

Worked on writing for a little while after I got everything organized. Poe argues BB going into the factory alone. Not only is she only 8 years old, but she doesn't know the Factory well. Rose and Chewie go with her. Rose is small, strong, and knows the Factory. Just as they enter, they hear Sir Kylo Ren and his men outside. They're going to take the inventory and burn it in the incinerators! The girls know they have to do something, but they aren't sure what. Maybe the toy soldiers could help...

Headed out around 4:30 to watch the Eagles-Falcons playoffs game at Dad and Jodie's (after finally putting two of the LED lights that Linda Young sent on my bike). Jodie was stirring the ground beef for the tacos when I arrived. I also saw Mark, Vanessa, Jessa (Joe was working at Lincoln Financial Stadium), TJ and a friend of his, and Dana. (Rose couldn't come - Finley still has a cold.) We had the tacos around quarter after 5. There were mini-red velvet cupcakes and a small blue cake that said "Go Eagles!" for dessert.

The Eagles didn't play all that well during the first half. They did manage a touchdown that put them ahead 12-10 by halftime (though the kicker missed the extra score). By the 4th quarter, TJ and his friend were gone, and I was half-listening to the game and while playing a Paw Patrol game I've seen Khai play on Jodie's iPad. I finally got so tired of listening to Dad complain by the end of the 4th quarter, I left a little early. Besides, I badly needed a shower. (Dad had nothing to fuss over. The Falcons lost one last turnover that might have helped. In the end, the Eagles won 15-10 and advance to the NFC Championship game against whoever wins the Vikings-Saints game tomorrow.)

(Unfortunately, the Patriots ended up mauling the Titans 35-14 and also advanced. Yuck. Like they need to go again. I hope whomever wins the Jaguars-Steelers game flattens them.)

Finished out the night online after my shower, watching Brother Bear. This Disney action tale takes us to a native tribe in Canada shortly after the Ice Age. The middle of three brothers, Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix), has just received his "totem," his necklace representing what he needs to learn to become a man. Kenai is disgusted that he got a bear, who represents love. He doesn't think much of bears...and he's even less fond of them when one accidentally gets his older brother Sitka (D.B Sweeney) killed. He kills the bear in returned...but the Great Spirits of their tribe retaliate by turning him into a bear. The healer of his tribe (Joan Copeland) tells him he won't be changed back until he goes over the mountains to find "the great lights." Trouble is, he knows nothing about how to be an animal and is easy prey for traps and other bears. A chatty cub named Koda (Jeremy Suarez) ultimately agrees to take him to the lights..if he brings him to the salmon run with the other bears. Kenai doesn't want to, but he has no other way to get there. As they travel, they find themselves dodging Kenai's younger brother Denali (Jason Raize), who believes Kenai is the bear who killed his brothers. But when Kenai finally figures out who the bear was, he learns an important lesson about what it really means to be a brother and give love to others.

I actually find this Disney action comedy-drama to be underrated. I think this a very touching tale of what it means to be a sibling and have real compassion. The opening sequence in particular, as we see the brothers' daily lives, is interesting, fun, and well-handled. I'm also a big fan of the music by Phil Collins, especially "I'm On My Way" and the hit "Look Through Your Eyes." Some nice animation too, especially during the transformation sequences.

The big problems start once Kenai becomes a bear. The dialogue here is far too jokey and modern for a story set among primitive man and strains way too hard to be hip. While Koda didn't bother me (I mostly found him to be cute), many critics have sided with Kenai that he's a bit too talkative and annoying.

I love bears, so I'd probably like this under any circumstances. It's not the best movie of Disney's troubled early 2000's era, but it's not as bad as many critics claim, either. If you ever run into it, or have older kids who love action and animals and can handle the drama, it's definitely worth a look.

Downtown In the Berkshires

Started a cloudy morning with a trip to downtown Lee, about 20 minutes or so from Pittsfield. Lauren lives just outside of Pittsfield proper in a recently-built house (she says it dates to 2000) on a country lane. It's so out in the country, there's a horse farm on the other end of the lane! We were greeted by horses grazing as Lauren asked a man working on a house near the road to move his construction equipment.

Lee is one of the many lovely old small towns in the Berkshire area. The main street mainly held cafes, antique and collectible shops, local clothing stores, and a very small Goodwill. We checked out the Goodwill first. They had a decent selection for a store that wasn't even as big as my bedroom at home. We didn't end up leaving with anything, though.

Our other stop in Lee was a lovely collectibles shop. We didn't buy anything there, either, but I did enjoy browsing. Their selection was similar to the Barrington Antique Center, in a far smaller and better-organized store. For some reason, they had a lot of large Mickey Mouse items. I saw two vintage Mickey phones, one that looked like it was more recent, and a Mickey gumball holder.

Since they were near-by, we next headed to the Lee Premium Outlets. Like the ones in Atlantic City, they're outlet stores for both fancy names like Banana Republic and Calvin Klein, and mid-priced stores like the Gap and Stride Rite. The outlets are situated on a hill near Lee...and they're huge! There's tons of stores, and even a food court. Also, unlike the outlet malls at Atlantic City and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, they're all in the same area, only separated by narrow roads. The other two outlet malls are spread out across busy highways and main streets that make it a pain to get from store to store.

We explored a couple of stores today. Our first stop was Bath and Body Works. I liked their new fall soaps, but not the sales that required you to buy five items or more. Lauren bought perfume sprays for her mom. I left empty-handed.

Didn't get anything at Dress Barn, either. I need sweaters, casual pants, dress pants, and a good winter dress or skirt. While they did have plus sizes, the sweaters were mostly huge, chunky knits, not a good idea with my weight. I couldn't find any dresses or pants in my sizes, and I just didn't see any skirts I liked. Lauren bought a new pair of dress pants for work.

I did better at Eddie Bauer. This store did have plus sizes, just mixed in with the regular sizes. After some digging around, Lauren and I both bought nice light-weight knit cardigans. She got leaf green. I got teal. I like sweaters for layering on errand runs in the spring and fall, when it'll often be in the 50's and 60's when I head out...and sometimes get into the 70's by the time I make it home.

We had lunch at That's a Wrap, a sandwich shop in the food court. We got there just as the lunch hour was beginning, and they weren't too busy. Lauren had The Berkshire (turkey, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, and apples) on a grilled pannini. I had the Thanksgiving Preview - cranberry dressing, turkey, stuffing, and lettuce on a whole wheat wrap. Yum. Tasty but very messy. We both got tiny cups of pasta salad with slices of olives hiding at the bottom.

After hitting the bathroom, we headed out. The heavy, dark clouds were slowly gathering, even as we made our way to historic Lenox. They were a lot busier than the Outlets or Lee were. There was apparently an art show going on in town.

We weren't interested in art. Our main reason for visiting Lenox was The Bookstore, a small shop on a side street surrounded by art galleries and boutiques. They mostly specialized in classic literature from local authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne. They did have a fairly decent children's selection. I was finally able to find Emily's Quest, the last story in Lucy Maud Montgomery's Emily of New Moon series, which I'd been looking for all over the place in Camden County.

We mostly just walked around Lenox after that, taking in the beautiful architecture. Most of the downtown seemed to have been built between about the 1770's and the early 1900's. The library in particular was a beautiful old building, I'm guessing dating to the town's founding in the 1700's. We strolled past residential homes and a cute little park with a small playground and baseball field. We took in a little toy store, The Gifted Child, on our way back. They had a nice selection of mostly games and educational items, but I also saw Calico Critters and a few Barbies.

We timed our walk perfectly. It had just started showering lightly as we made it back to the public parking lot where Lauren had her car. As we jumped in the car and Lauren was pulling out, the shower picked up considerably. It was coming down pretty well as we headed down the road to the Chocolate Springs Cafe. This unique coffee shop mostly sold fancy chocolates in every flavor imaginable, from sea salt to pumpkin spice. Alas, the chocolate was also very expensive, and quite out of our budget.

We just dodged more heavy showers and school buses as we headed back to Pittsfield, stopping at a row of mail boxes so Lauren could get hers and her parents' mail. Lauren's parents were slicing rutabagas for dinner later in the week when we arrived. They smelled surprisingly good as they cooked.

We spent the rest of the evening playing Mario Party 8 (the computer-controlled Boo beat both of us at Captain Goomba's Boardwalk board) and Kirby's Return to Dream Land (we got through the first two worlds - I especially enjoyed playing the huge, mallet-wielding King Dedede). We watched vintage 80's wrestling featuring one of Lauren's favorites, the late "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, while eating chicken noodle soup, cottage cheese, and slices of turkey deli meat for dinner. After that, I hit the shower while Lauren listened to online big band and 20's jazz radio stations.

Right now, we've still got the station on, making pleasant background music while we chat online. Tomorrow, we'll take in a farm market at her local mall and drive into Vermont to explore the Vermont Country Store.

Thinking Outside the Box of Bricks

Started off the day with disappointment. It seems that, despite what WOGL's site says, American Top 40 is gone for good. The other show was on again. I just ready Emily Climbs instead, without music.

I had a lot to do today, anyway. My first stop was the Collingswood Farm Market. They're down to their last three weeks of the year. There's now more craft booths than food booths, but I still found everything I wanted and then some. I bought grapefruit from the tropical and citrus fruit sellers, my favorite little apples from the orchard booth, cranberries, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, a green pepper, a half-gallon of apple cider, and a bag of baby spinach.

I went straight home this time. I suspect yard sale season is done here. There were none in this area today. Yard sale season only extends into November when we have unusually warm weather. It's actually supposed to get colder next week. Besides, most people will probably be concentrating on the holidays, not clearing out their clutter, once we get past Veteran's Day. Instead of hunting down yard sales, I changed into my uniform, then finally took two huge bags of unwanted clothes and knick-knacks to the very busy Logan Presbyterian Church Thrift Shop. I took a quick look around, but I didn't really have the time to shop. I had to get to work.

(In fact, I still have one bag that didn't fit. I have no idea what to do about the bag of empty DVD cases I cleared out when I bought books for my home-made DVDs in August.)

I went to the Acme after leaving the thrift shop and arrived right on time. Good thing, too. There were long lines when I got in. We were on-and-off steady for most of the evening, though surprisingly, it could have been worse. People who had the weekend off may have taken one final trip to the Shore to close up the summer house. We're still having problems with people not reading that darn turkey coupon and holding up the line when they have to go back and get their turkey. Otherwise, the day went fine. It had calmed down enough by 5 for me to leave with a relief that had to be sent elsewhere.

When I got home, I made myself a nice dinner of turkey tenderloins baked with sweet potato and apple cider and sauteed spinach and mushrooms. Finished out the wartime shorts as I cooked. Most of Termite Terrace's wartime output consisted of war-themed stories featuring the regular characters giving the Axis the business (like Daffy's "Daffy the Commando), goofy revues on life in the barracks ("Meet John Doughboy") or on the homefront ("Wacky Blackout"), or comic allegories on how the war began and how we were hoping to win it ("Fifth Column Mouse").

Of the revues, I'm fondest of "Weakly Reporter," which depicts life in the city during wartime. I love the woman who manages to start an entire factory with her one bobby pin. My favorites of the allegories is "The Duckinators." Geese, ducks, chickens, and doves depict how the Axis rose to power, and how the US tried to stay out of it...until push came to shove and they wound up being the ones pushed.

Switched to The LEGO Movie while eating and cleaning up from dinner. Emmett (Chris Pratt) is an ordinary construction worker LEGO piece who does normal stuff and whom no one in his all-brick world looks at twice...until he sees an unusually attractive LEGO girl (Elizabeth Banks). Following her, he discovers a glowing red piece that gets stuck to his back. The girl, Wyldstyle, and an elderly blind man (Morgan Freeman), claim that the piece means he's "The Special" who will save them all from the evil President Business (Will Farrell). After he accidentally allows all of the Master Builders from almost every LEGO line to be captured, Emmett realizes that he must harness his previously buried creativity to get them out of a lot of tight jams...and that everyone around him is special, no matter what line they come from.

To paraphrase the song heard throughout, this movie is awesome. The directors had a blast gathering as many licenses and LEGO lines they could and mixing them all together. It's an enormously entertaining free-for-all on the importance of creativity and finding one's own way of being "special." All commercials should be this enjoyable and thought-provoking.

Mom took my nephews to see it when it came out back in March. She said they loved it so much, they came home bursting with ideas for new LEGO buildings and worlds. I hope it inspires other kids (and kids at heart) likewise. Highly recommended for older kids and just about anyone who appreciates creativity and excellent and unusual animation.

Record Bonanza

First of all, congratulations to my younger sister Anny and her fiancee J.J! They just learned that their child is going to be a girl, the first girl any of my siblings have had. Everyone is excited. I'll finally have a niece, and Anny will have the little girl she's always wanted.

Second, I started a gloomy, cool, humid morning with some Bowery Boys. Sach and Slip think they've bumped into a windfall when they find $50,000 in a rolled-up newspaper. The cash turns out to be Jinx Money when a group of gangsters come after the dough...and they're killed one by one by a person holding an umbrella that only Sach seems to see.

My first day back at work was pretty typical. It was steady to quiet for most of the afternoon. There were no major problems, and my relief was right on time. I grabbed milk and multi-grain bread from the bakery and hurried out.

When I got home, I changed into regular clothes, put the milk and bread away, had a quick dinner of leftovers, and went back out again. My stepsister Jessa and her boyfriend Joe picked me up around 5 PM for another thrift shop/Goodwill trip.

This time, we drove about 20 minutes, dodging rush-hour traffic to hit the large Goodwill in Maple Shade. From there, we went to a thrift shop a few minutes away, Shade Thrift. We went past the Moorestown Mall and back to Cherry Hill to finish the night at the Cherry Hill Goodwill. The Goodwills had lots of Halloween stuff out. All three stores had tons of records; Shade Thrift had a small room that was nothing but records and videos. (And for some reason, the Maple Shade Goodwill had a lot of Russian videos and DVDs.)

I had my best haul in ages! I ended up with:

The soundtracks for Pete's Dragon and Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure

The original Broadway cast albums for She Loves Me, Half a Sixpence, I Do I Do!, Here's Love, Oh Captain!, the 1960s revival of Oh Kay!, the 1950s revival of The Threepenny Opera, and Promises, Promises

The original British cast albums for the 80s revival of Me and My Girl and Tommy Steele's stage version of Singin' In the Rain

Paperback "storybook" versions of The Great Muppet Caper and the 1982 film version of Annie

A Halloween costume! A red nylon dress with a floaty skirt and top trimmed in black lace and bows, with a wide-brimmed hat. The skirt is tight around the waist but passable; the top just doesn't work over my bosom. I think I can get away with tucking it in around my waist to make it look more like a Victorian skirt, which is kind of what I was going for. Either that, or a princess.

Thankfully, the heavy rain they'd been predicting all day held off until just about an hour ago. I hope it'll slow down by morning. I'm not going to be able to get a ride; everyone's working.

Finding Hoppo

Began a beautiful, sunny morning with a bagel with raspberry preserves and two slices of fresh farm market cantaloupe for breakfast. Ran a couple of episodes of Max & Ruby while eating. "Max's Froggy Friend" may delight Max with his jumping, but Ruby insists that frogs have no place at tea parties! Max keeps trying to sneak the frog home anyway. "Ruby's Hiccups" may prevent her from rehearsing for the big Bunny Scout concert unless she and Louise can find a cure, and fast! Meanwhile, Max just wants to find his monster mask. Ruby wants to get Max in "The Big Picture" for Grandma, but Max keeps getting dirty. "Max Gets Wet" when Ruby insists on him watering her plants, but he keeps trying to fill his kiddie pool. And "Ruby's Stage Show" gets more complicated than the participants planned when Ruby wants Max to play a prince, but he'd rather be a dragon!

It was just gorgeous outside today. The sky was a brilliant blue. The breeze was nice and cool. It couldn't have been more than the mid-70s. It was the perfect day for a long bike ride. I started at the House of Fun up on the White Horse Pike, which hadn't been open when I was there yesterday. Not only were they open this morning, but they had a whole display of 80s girls' stuffed animals and dolls in the middle of the main room, most still in their original packaging. Among them was one I had as a child - Hoppopotamus, the blue rabbit-eared diva who was my favorite character in the 1985 Disney cartoon The Wuzzles. I had my original Hoppo for over a decade. The one I found was in mint condition, still fuzzy and with perfect eyes and ears. The picture book she came with was mint, too. Her box was a mess, but at least it was there. She cost me $34 with tax, but I was thrilled to find her again. She's one of the few childhood stuffed animals I ever really regret letting go of.

Hoppo's box was a little awkward to carry in my bike basket. I took her home, then headed back out again. Stopped at Simply Soups in Audubon for lunch. Despite the nice day and it being about 1 when I arrived, I was the only diner. I guess everyone was ordering out. I had my usual small cup of soup (turkey pumpkin wild rice), breadsticks, and can of soda (Diet A&W) while watching the traffic and a train chug by.

I spent the rest of the afternoon checking out thrift shops and Goodwills. Barrington Antiques was actually a bit busy. I saw three retired American Girl dolls that aren't easy to find, the 2008 Girl of the Year modern doll Mia, Felicity's best friend Elizabeth, and Samantha's best friend Nellie. I might have considered Nellie or Elizabeth (I don't have any blond AGs) if they hadn't been between 100 and 125 each! I could buy a doll new for that. Josefina's bed, which they were all sitting on, was overpriced, too. I ended up buying nothing there and moved on.

I rode up to Lawnside originally, but decided I didn't need anything at Shop Rite or Hallmark. Headed down Clements Bridge Road to the Black Horse Pike. The Bellmawr Goodwill was a block from where I came out. I did better there than I did the last time I went there in early June. I picked up the CD of the original cast of Legally Blonde: The Musical, plus five Christmas-related items:

Christmas With Anne, a collection of short stories (and at least one chapter from Anne of Green Gables) by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

A Christmas Carol, a 50s TV movie musical version with Frederick March as Scrooge and Basil Rathbone as Jacob Marley

A box set of three FHE videos of Christmas specials from the 80s, including one I've been trying to find for years, The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas.

It was past 4:30 by the time I left Goodwill. I took the back roads home to avoid the traffic on the Black Horse Pike and Clements Bridge Road. Just a few streets down from the Goodwill, I found a nice little playground. It was surrounded by some blue and black material that seemed foamy and almost kind of bouncy. It was faded, but seemed sturdy enough; I couldn't resist trying the wavy slide.

Since I passed through Haddon Heights going home, I decided I'd wet my whistle with a treat from Cabana Water Ice. I couldn't decide between water ice or ice cream, so I got a small pumpkin-vanilla gelati and had both. The pumpkin was nice and creamy, with large pieces of gingerbread...but the water ice wasn't very good. The ice chunks were big and rocky, and it didn't really taste like vanilla. I ate it outside to enjoy the dad and observe the older women chatting on a bench and the kids getting their own treats on their way back from school.

When I got in, I headed upstairs, then made Merlin's Magic (Baked) Chicken and sauteed Chinese beans for dinner while watching the East Side Kids. Kid Dynamite is the second of three movies in the series that has Danny (Bobby Jordan) and Mugs (Leo Gorcey) at odds. Mugs thinks Danny set him up when he's kidnapped before he can take part in a big boxing match and Danny takes his place. The rest of the movie has Mugs doing whatever he can to come out ahead of Danny, ignoring the fact that his friend is innocent and only wants to be nice.

And the darn Warner Archive movies still haven't shown up. If they aren't in by tomorrow, I'm calling the post office in Camden to see what the hold up is.

What to Do When You're Bored

I hadn't been awake for very long before the phone rang. Mom was getting back to me after I called yesterday. She was on her way to work (was doing the ticket booth at the Ferry today) and couldn't talk for long. She's happy that I had a good time on Lauren's vacation, but really couldn't say much more.

I only had a few errands to run today. Started at the Oaklyn Library. My current home town's library is really only one room, with no need (or space) for the formality at the Haddon Township Library. It's probably just as well that they weren't busy. There wasn't much to do with the adult DVDs, and the kids' area looked like someone was in the midst of vacuuming the curtains and ran out of time - the equipment and one set of curtains were still there. I did shelve some items and organized the board books, then headed out.

Headed to the Acme next to get a few groceries and money for the week. I was mostly restocking meat. Chicken drumsticks were on sale; also bought the single packs of tilapia and salmon and a larger coconut-crusted tilapia fillet. Got the smaller box of brown sugar (it wasn't on sale, but I was out), and chocolate chips. There were some good health and beauty products sales. I got Arm & Hammer Deodorant for 79 cents and a three pack of Dial Basic soap for a dollar. The lines were only long because there were two registers open - they must have been waiting for help.

I have a very busy week next week, the most hours I've had since the early spring and only one day off, Thursday. That's fine. After I was bored the last few days, I'd rather have the hours! I do have one relatively late night on Wednesday, but otherwise, my hours are pretty normal, including 12 to 4 on the 4th of July. That'll give me plenty of time for both Oaklyn's town parade and the parties and fireworks later in the day. (In fact, I think those are about the same hours I worked the 4th of July last year.)

When I got home, I put everything away, then had a quick lunch while finishing out the third cartoon DVD. Although I don't think any short on this set will get close to "Les Escargots" for sheer weirdness, there were a couple of oddities. "Winter Draws On," "The Golden State," and "Time for Love" are charming Screen Songs sing-a-long Paramount shorts from the late 40s. "The Story of Time" is a ponderous stop-motion history of clocks and watches that reminds me a lot of Donald In Mathmagic Land and Donald and the Wheel from the late 50s-early 60s...but without Donald's personality or those shorts' sense of humor. "Red Riding Hood" gives us the return of the imitation Minnie from "Circus Capers." This time, Miss Mouse has to rescue her red-hot Granny from a wolf who wants to marry her! "The Cob Web Hotel" is definitely no romantic honeymoon spot for flies - it's run by a spider who uses it to trap his dinner. When a pair of newlywed flies are attacked, the other prisoners in the hotel come to their rescue.

By the time the cartoons ended, I was bored stiff. I wanted to talk to someone, but most people I know are working or doing their own business. I didn't know what I felt like doing. It was too late to go on a long trip. I jumped on the bike and rode around Oaklyn for a while before I turned around. A walk around Collingswood might make me feel better.

It being a beautiful Friday evening, windy and warm but not really humid, Collingswood was rather busy when I arrived around 4PM. This time, I did catch the Twin Oaks Thrift Shop before they closed. There were quite a few people wandering around the shop, but I did manage to find The Woman's Comfort Book.

Speaking of comfort, I thought a nice fountain soda from the Pop Shop would cool me off and make me feel a little better. They were surprisingly quiet for a Friday evening, maybe because I came in at 4:30, before the dinner rush. I decided to try a "Coconut Cupcake Soda" - coconut and cupcake syrups in Diet Coke. Yummy! Sweet, but absolutely delicious, and very refreshing. It really hit the spot.

I browsed in Frugli Consignment across the street. They were busy with families looking for kids' clothes, but I saw nothing for me and moved on. The Women's Comfort Book suggested, among other things, playing at a playground to liven up flagging spirits. I wanted to go to CVS anyway, so I swung by the playground on the river in Newton River Park, across from the condos. I went as high as I dared on the swings, squeezed across the balance beam, and flew down the awesome slide with the rollers. It was really fun! The view on the river was gorgeous too, sunny and green and sparkling. (But what's with that new blacktop across from CVS? Parking for the fireworks?)

My trip to CVS didn't go well; they didn't have the shampoo I was looking for. I finally just headed home instead. I made Italian breaded chicken with steamed snap peas and sliced cucumber for dinner while watching The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

The Wind and the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow aren't the first stories I'd put in an anthology together, and indeed, the two have little in common. Mr. Toad follows the title character and his friends Rat, Badger, and Mole as Toad escapes from a fraudulent car theft charge, then wins back his home Toad Hall from the weasels who set him up with the help of the others. Basil Rathbone narrates, with the help of several charactor actors, including Pat O'Malley and Eric Blore. Bing Crosby narrates and does all the voices for Ichabod. Ichabod Crane is a schoolteacher in colonial New England who competes with local bully Brom Bones for lovely Katrina...until the night of the Halloween party, when he meets local legend the Headless Horseman face-to-jack-o-lantern!

I honestly like these two cartoons better separate. Sleepy Hollow is pretty funny until it makes a total turn around for that truly freaky chase climax! Mr. Toad's segment is more pure comedy/action. This is really only for major fans of the books in question, Disney movies, or people looking for Halloween content for grade school kids (that final chase with the Headless Horseman is a bit too much for the youngest).

Goodwill Hunting

We got a slightly earlier start today, around 10:30. It was already into the lower 80s by then, but much to my surprise, it wasn't humid at all. We had a rather nice walk to the Westmont Plaza, dodging the traffic on Cuthbert Road and waving to the pre-school kids heading down West Clinton Avenue with their teachers to the Oaklyn Library.

We mainly wanted to go to the big Game Stop at the Plaza. They have twice the room and inventory of the mall and Audubon Game Stops. Lauren did pick up the Wii game Namco Museum Megamix and Super Mario for the DS. I just grabbed Epic Mickey for $9.99. I wanted Pac Man Party, but while they had the game box on display, for some reason, they didn't have the disc.

We went right next door to the Westmont Bagel Shop for lunch. They're always busy at lunch with the secretaries and clerks from the offices in Cherry Hill and Haddonfield. We were between groups of clerks; it got kind of noisy, between them and The View and the news on Channel 6. Lauren had a huge cheesesteak sandwich (on thick slices of white bread instead of a roll); I had a Monte Cristo on the same bread cooked French toast-style.

We made a brief stop at Dollar Tree. I just bought star-print muffin cups. After that, we walked to the other side of the Plaza and hit Tuesday Morning. I wanted a basket to keep the Wii controllers and other video game equipment in. I got a big, heavy, round straw basket with handles. They had WebKinz again; I found the caterpiller.

It was hot and getting hotter by the minute. We stopped at Kayla's Ice Cream Parlor on the way back to my place. Lauren had a lemon water ice. I had a black cherry milkshake (milkshakes are on sale at Kayla's on Monday). We relaxed at the pink, yellow, and green tables under the roof and relaxed while watching the traffic on Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike go by.

We spent the rest of a very hot afternoon at my place, playing Kirby's Epic Yarn. We're just about done with that one. We got through a difficult Space Land, and found ourselves back in the beginning...then at Kirby's home Dreamland. We were just about to take on the main bad guy when we realized how late it was getting. I heard my cell phone go off; Jessa and Joe were on their way.

We went further afield than we did the last time. Joe first took us to a Goodwill in Woodbury, a half-hour from Oaklyn. Lauren had no luck there, but I picked up a record and three CDs. The record was:

Johnny Mathis - All Time Greatest Hits (a 2-disc set still in its original plastic!)

The CDs were:

Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl (a cassette replacement)

A collection of various recordings brought together to make the closest thing to an original cast album the unusual 1941 musical Lady In the Dark got, with songs from British star Gertrude Laurence and comedian Danny Kaye.

There happened to be a small mom-and-pop video game store in the same shopping center, Game Alley. They were more-or-less an independent version of GameStop, with collections of older games going back to the Atari 2600 as well as titles for newer systems and a limited selection of movies. Lauren found two original Nintendo games and another DS title. I finally got Pac Man Party.

We made one last stop at a huge Goodwill in Glassboro. Joe and Jessa didn't get anything from this one. Lauren bought a pair of purple shorts. I found of the short Disney DVD cartoon collections from the last decade, this one revolving around Mickey and Minnie.

Joe mentioned he hadn't had Leo's Yum Yums since he was a teenager, so we stopped there when we got back into Oaklyn. They were pretty busy with a mom and her two kids and their friend, but we did finally get our orders. Joe and I had cherry vanilla Yum Yum. Lauren had a cherry water ice. Jessa had a strawberry-kiwi water ice and complained that it tasted really bland.

Lauren and I considered eating at the Oaklyn Manor a block down from Leo's, but we finally decided we weren't really up for it. We went home and ate out of the fridge instead. I had the last lamb chop from not last week, but the week before. Lauren had the last of the ham. I boiled some snap peas for vegetables.

We played Pac Man Party after dinner. This is pretty much Mario Party with Pac Man characters. Characters play one of five different Monopoly-style game boards. During the games, you can play different mini-games that mostly involve shaking or swinging the Wii controller. There's a couple of other modes, including a story mode and one that involved battling the other players, but we stuck to the boards. Lauren won in both the desert-themed board and the toy-themed board. I just couldn't figure out how to work the mini-games (except for the one that involved twirling spaghetti - I'm a good twirler),

Right now, we're watching Weekend at Bernie's and hanging out online. Tomorrow, we're going to spend a very hot afternoon in the Cherry Hill Mall.

Vintage Fun

I slept in a bit today; for once, most of my plans were for the afternoon. When I did get going, my first stop was the Oaklyn Library. I had donations for their Book Sale next Saturday, and I wanted to do my volunteering session. While the adult DVDs were pretty well-set, the kids' section needed some going-over. The board books were a mess again. I'm still figuring out the new set-up for the kids' books. All books are arranged by subject matter, regardless of whether they're fiction or non-fiction - fairy tales in one section, series books in another, books for older kids, easy readers, board books, story books, and so on.

When I left the library, I rode straight to the Acme to do this week's grocery shopping. I needed a lot of meat...and it figures there weren't any good sales. I ended up with a small turkey tenderloin that was $3.99 with a manger's coupon, ground turkey, the dollar fish fillet packs, canned salmon, and lamb chops for my dinner next week. The Acme got in the Pillsbury fruit-flavored spring cake mixes. I never did get to try that Key Lime cake I made last month, so I bought that again. Restocked diced tomatoes, sugar, chocolate chips, and whole wheat bread. Bought a ham and cheese hoagie for lunch.

When I got home, I put everything away and ate my hoagie. Ran The Backyardigans and 101 Dalmatians as I ate, then as I took down the general spring decorations and put up the few small wreaths and stuffed animals I have for summer. I just started reading the original 101 Dalmatians book and as I did with The Rescuers, decided it was a good time to get the movie in. Pongo and Perdita, a pair of proud dalmatian parents, are devastated when their puppies are stolen by the fur-obsessed Cruella DiVil and her dumb lackeys Jasper and Horace. With the help of a network of animals from London to the British countryside, the two dogs travel across the country to Cruella's ancestral home to rescue their children and get them back to the city.

Along with The Rescuers and The Jungle Book, this is one of Disney's best of their more comedy/action oriented movies of the 60s and 70s. It's also one of the few times a Disney adaptation was even close to accurate - there were some changes between book and movie, but not to the degree of The Rescuers or many of the fairy tales. Cruella is one of Disney's most famous villains and may be a bit scary for the littlest audience members. For grade school kids on up, especially if they love dogs, this is quite a bit of fun.

I went for a walk after 101 Dalmatians ended. I couldn't believe what a gorgeous day it was! The heat from earlier in the week had gentled back into the mid to upper 70s, helped by a lovely breeze and some fat white cotton clouds. Lots of people were out working in the garden, or playing with their kids. I strolled up to the park behind the Oaklyn School and saw parents playing ball with their son, a girl working on her bike, and two older boys playing street hockey in the skate/basketball park.

My stepsister Jessa and her boyfriend Joe finally showed up around quarter after 5. We had a nice trip to the Cherry Hill Goodwill and Village Mart, the same stores we visited with Lauren last June. Joe only picked up some CDs at Cherry Hill, but Jessa found a real metal scooter, and I bought three of the Garfield McDonald's glass cups that were so popular in the 80s. Jessa and I didn't get anything at Village Mart, but Joe found what he really wanted - a beautiful record player, a really nice old-style one that also had a CD and cassette player.

We had a late dinner at a big Chinese buffet in Blackwood. It reminded me of a larger version of Hunan's Chinese Restaurant, my family's favorite Chinese buffet in Rio Grande in the 80s. They had everything you could imagine, from sweet and sour chicken and spicy mussels to plenty of food straight off the hibachi for Joe, and even Hood ice cream for dessert. (I had butter pecan. Jess had cookies and cream.)

Made a quick stop at the Bellmawr Goodwill on the way home, since it was closing in 20 minutes. Jessa and I split four records - she got Hooked on Classics, I picked up two of the Firestone Christmas records I didn't have and a collection of Ronald Coleman doing "A Christmas Carol" and Charles Laughton doing "A Dickens Christmas." Joe bought four cassettes for his new machine.

When we got home, I got to show Joe around my apartment and show Jessa my new AG doll Whitney. They were both very impressed - said they liked my sense of style. I wish I could have people visit more often.

Live and Let Bond

Started off with some of this week's American Top 40 episode. (For some strange reason, I think they played part of another episode around quarter of 8 - it went from #2 to #8, and from the 70s to 1981). At any rate, we were back in 1981 for another round of New Wave, early rap, R&B, pop, and the last vestiges of disco. Hits that week included "Rapture" by Blondie, "Morning Train" by Sheena Easton, "Angel Of the Morning" by Juice Newton, "Just the Two Of Us" by George Washington Jr., and "The Best Of Times" by Styx. Philly boys Hall & Oates had their second #1 hit with one of their most popular songs, "Kiss On My List."

Though I did make quick stops at the Logan Presbyterian Church Thrift Shop to drop off donations and at the PNC Bank in Haddon Heights to deposit my birthday money from Dad, I spent most of the morning cruising around Haddon Heights. This time, they really were having their town-wide yard sale. Alas, while there were plenty of sales around, I didn't have as much luck as last year. My biggest find was a huge sale with at least ten boxes of videos, some of them fairly rare older war movies, comedies, or westerns. I ended up with two Roger Moore James Bond films (The Spy Who Loved Me and Live and Let Die), the Laurel & Hardy comedy Pardon Us, the 80s action spoof Spies Like Us, and the Oscar-winning silent war drama Wings.

Other finds included:

Two Max & Ruby DVDs, Party Time With Max & Ruby and Afternoons With Max & Ruby.

A kids' video, Wakko's Wish, the Animaniacs movie.

Three Johnny Mathis records

Five records of instrumental orchestra recordings of popular songs of the late 10s and 20s.

Stopped at Simply Soups on the way home for lunch. It was around quarter after 1, and the place was busy with a big family that was trying to keep its toddlers from playing with the knick-knacks on the stairs leading to the main dining area. I had my usual soup (a spicy sweet potato puree with caramelized ham and pecans), can of soda (Diet A&W), and breadsticks.

Went straight home after that. There was a surprise waiting for me when I got in - my latest eBay find for the dolls had arrived. AG has made many different costumes for the dolls from the late 90s onwards, but one of the coolest was the flapper outfit from the mid-2000s. I got the whole outfit, including the silver fringed dress, purple heeled shoes, pink beaded necklace, and headband with the purple feather.

After I put most things away, I went right back out to get the laundry done. The laundromat was fairly busy with families getting things done when I arrived. By the time I finished my small order, almost everyone but a college girl was done. I didn't have a lot to wash, anyway. I was in and out in less than an hour.

I spent the rest of the day at home, watching cartoons and dubbing movies. Started with Max & Ruby. Ruby and Louise have a crush on (slightly) older boy Roger and want to find games to play with him. Trouble is, they keep picking girlie games. Max knows what "Roger's Choice" would really be. Max wants "Max's Dragon Shirt," but Ruby wants him to get a new pair of overalls. Max, as usual, figures out how to get what he wants. Ruby and Louise want Max to be their prince in "Ruby's Stage Show," but Max would rather be the dragon!

Switched to Wakko's Wish while making Chicken With Lemon Herb Sauce, spinach salad with lime ginger dressing, and boiled asparagus tips for dinner. The final episode of Animaniacs sets the cast in the town of Acme Acres, which has taxed within an inch of its life by an evil king and his obnoxious subordinates. The Warner siblings, Wakko, Yakko, and Dot, are homeless orphans. In need of an operation for Dot, Wakko makes a wish on a star. The star falls to Earth, and Wakko's told that whomever can reach the wishing star first will get to make that one wish. Soon, the entire vast Animaniacs cast - including the eternally scheming lab mouse pair Pinky and the Brain - are on their way across the country to find that star! But the greedy king, whom the Warner siblings have driven crazy one too many times, is also after the treasure, and will do anything to get there first.

If you're an Animaniacs fan, this one is a no-brainer. Almost the entire cast gets at least some lines (or a scene, in the case of the mime). Even kids who didn't grow up on this show might enjoy the irreverent, zany humor. Fun if you can find it (it's not currently on DVD).

Moved to James Bond as I finished up dinner and made Carrot-Oatmeal Bars for dessert. Live and Let Die was Roger Moore's first movie in the franchise. Bond is on the trail of Mr. Big, a narcotics dealer who is responsible for the lives of four people. He follows Big first to New York, then to New Orleans, then to the Carribean island of San Martinique. The "Bond Girl" is Solitare (Jane Seymour), a tarot card reader who may or may not be a voodoo priestess.

The Spy Who Loved Me is a bit more traditional. Here, Bond deals with a typical megalomaniac out to take over the world - in this case Stromberg, he of the lotus-shaped underwater hideout. Bond joins up with a female Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to find out what happened to a pair of missing Soviet and American submarines. It doesn't help that Bond just killed the Russian agent she was dating in the line of duty. And then, there's Jaws, the lackey with the metal teeth....

The Spy Who Loved Me is (along with Octopussy) my favorite of the Moore Bonds. For one thing, Jaws may be cartoonish, but he's one of the few villains of any kind who almost really damaged Bond. For another, it has some amazing action sequences, including the ski chase that opens the film. There's also the car that turns into a submarine; that's just cool. If you're a Bond fan, this is necessary; not a bad introduction to Moore's Bond movies as well.

Live and Let Die, on the other hand, hasn't dated nearly as well. "Blacksploitation" was hip at the time...but making almost all of the African-American characters bad guys doesn't exactly look great today. They apparently were trying for a gritty reboot to start Moore off (Q doesn't even appear), but voodoo ceremonies, goofy racist hillbilly sheriffs, and inflating head bad guys makes this look more like an especially violent Looney Tunes short.

Probably the best things about both these movies are their classic theme songs. "Nobody Does It Better" from Spy Who Loved Me was nominated for an Oscar; the Paul McCartney and Wings title song from Live and Let Die is considered the best theme from any Bond movie.

Went right into an even goofier spy movie, Spies Like Us, after Bond. Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd are a pair of office workers who inadvertently find themselves as real spies when government officials decide they need decoys for a major mission. The two are dropped in Pakistan without a clue and pretty much stumble around, trying to figure out what they're doing. When they finally do run across the real agents, it turns out they might be able to head off Armageddon, if they can stay alive and stay out of the Soviets' hands long enough to do it.

Not bad, not great. Reminded me a lot of Stripes, another John Landis 80s comedy about guys who don't belong in the Services saving the day anyway. Thankfully, while this one also runs out of steam towards the end, Chase and Ackroyd still manage some laughs, especially Chase being interrogated by the Russian agents. Not a bad time-waster if you run into it on cable or Netflix and you're a fan of Landis or the two lead comedians.

Never Land Balance

Started another warm, sunny day with this week's American Top 40 re-run. I would have been just a week from turning 8 in mid-April 1987, when this episode was first run. While I enjoyed a small family party at my parents' house, the rest of the US danced to pop, country, R&B, soul, ballads, and hard rock. Hits that week included "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House, "Let's Wait Awhile" by Janet Jackson, "Looking For A New Love" by Jody Watley, the remake of "Lean On Me" by Club Nouveau, "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me" by George Michael and Aretha Franklin, "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" by Genesis, "Come Go With Me" by Expose, "Walk Down Your Street" by the Bangles, "The Final Countdown" by Europe, "The Finer Things" by Steve Winwood, "Let's Go" by Wang Chung, and "Midnight Blue" by Lou Gramm.

That week's big hit was the second #1 hit for long-running super-group Starship. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" wound up one of the biggest songs of that year (and the movie it came from, Mannequin, didn't do too badly at the box office, either).

Started the Jake and the Never Land Pirates disc as I organized donations and made my grocery list for later. "Never Land Rescue" is something a bit different on the show. For once, it's Never Land itself that needs to be saved. Magical items in Never Land, including the ones belonging to the kids, are fading away. The Forever Tree that provided the magic is dying. Jake goes on a quest to win the Destiny Sword and restore the Forever Tree, while the other kids try to stop Hook from digging up all of Pirate Island in search of their treasure.

Headed out as soon as the episode ended. I had two full bags of donations I wanted to get over to the Logan Presbyterian Church in Audubon. I wish the two older woman I saw as I passed through to the Church hadn't referred to me as "that lady from the Acme." I HATE that. I wish people would stop thinking I'm chained to that darn store. I wasn't in a good mood when I brought my things downstairs. I didn't really have the time to look for much. I did find copies of The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult and the Thanksgiving short Molly's Pilgrim to dub, along with a paperback copy of the Lois Lenski book Strawberry Girl. I was born in Southern Florida, but I know very little about its history before the Roaring 20s building boom.

I was in an even less happy mood when I saw all the yard sales around. Audubon must have had their town wide yard-sale today, instead of waiting for the day before Easter. Not only did I not have the time to check them out, but I realized as I rode down Nicholson that I forgot to pack a lunch before I left. I was lucky to run into a church next-door to Wal-Mart selling hoagies on the sidewalk.

Thankfully, work wasn't nearly as bad as it has been. The beautiful weather and many events going on must have put people in good moods. Everything went fine; my relief was a little late, but nothing outrageous.

I went right into grocery shopping after changing out of my work shirt. I was almost completely out of fresh fruit and vegetables. I couldn't find the grapefruit; replaced them with buy one, get one strawberries and a bowl of pineapple chunks. Picked up the usual apples and bananas, and bought small containers of asparagus and broccoli and a bag of spinach. Replaced the canned fruit cocktail, peaches, mandarin oranges, and chicken. Needed milk and butter; grabbed I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (I couldn't see if the Smart Balance was still on sale). I'm not in desperate need of cereal, but Oatmeal Squares almost never goes on sale with the other Quaker cereals, and it's one of my favorites. At a $1.99, I could afford to wait until I finished my Cheerios.

Once again, my schedule is a little crazy. In good news, I have three days off, including Monday to celebrate my birthday. On the other hand, I have three eight and seven hour days in a row, including an eight and a half hour day on Wednesday! I do have Friday and next Saturday off as well, but I may be too worn out to enjoy them.

When I got home, I put everything away, then vacuumed and made Betty Crocker "Cotton Candy Cookie Mix" Bars (sugar cookie mix with cotton-candy flavored sprinkles - they have a "Blue Snow Cone" version, too) while finishing out the rest of Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Instead of stealing something from the kids and them chasing after it, Hook now follows them when they go to some location that he thinks has treasure. Of course, one pirate's "treasure" is another's water slide or firefly in a lantern. Most of the time, Hook just ends up discovering he's been on a wild treasure chase. The one time he almost gets it, he has to fight female pirate Beatrice "Sneaky" LeBeak for it...and ultimately loses it.

Did yoga after the bars were in the oven. I'm going to continue to try to do this at least once a week, with or without Rose. If nothing else, it'll be a big help to my back. My back has been really sore for weeks now, probably from spending half the winter hunched over a computer.

I realized after I finished that I completely forgot to have dinner. I ate leftover Corn and Chicken Soup from last night while my Best of Linda Rondstat CD wound down.

Artist's Date In Collingswood

Started a cloudy morning with this week's American Top 40. Casey skips us ahead over a decade to mid-January 1987. While the rest of the world was enjoying pop, R&B, dance, and heavy metal, I was just trying to figure out how to get along in school and deal with parents who were having problems of their own. Hits that winter included "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" by Wang Chung, "Open Your Heart" by Madonna, "Land of Confusion" by Genesis, "Control" by Janet Jackson, "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters, "Notorious" by Duran Duran, "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangles, and "Is This Love?" by Survivor. One of the biggest ballads of that year hit #1 that week, "Shake You Down" by Gregory Abbott.

I finished breakfast while watching the first two episodes on the second Scooby Doo disc. We first continued the 70s Scooby/Shaggy/Scrappy adventures. Some of these showed their age rather badly, notably "Scooby Doo 2000" (the guys are supposedly thrust into the future, but all they do is run into weird appliances) and "Punk Rock Scooby" (they mistake a Scrappy-like alien for the pugnacious puppy and join a punk rock contest). "When the Cicada Calls" from Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated (the gang has to figure out why a hoard of the title bugs are attacking the employees of a company known for their enviormentally-unsound practices) is a little better.

Headed out around 10:30. I need something to inspire my creative juices, and I thought a nice, long walk to Collingswood, the closest thing here to an artist's colony, would help. I've just been so angry at my artist for not being happier at work. Everyone keeps telling me I should be happy I'm making money. I  know I should be...but I'm not. I know I should try harder to get out. I'm not sure what's holding me back. I'm hoping that tapping my creativity will give me an outlet to figure it out.

By the time I arrived in Collingswood, the clouds were gone, the sun was shining, and it was windy and in the 30s, perfect for mid-January in Southern New Jersey. I took my time exploring Haddon Avenue, Collingswood's main drag. I tried a "samosa" icing top from Sweet Freedom Bakery. It was the top of a cupcake with toasted coconut icing drizzled with chocolate. Sweet and a little gritty (they make their baked goods with vegan, kosher, and gluten-free products) but not bad.

I hit Jubli Beads and Yarn, a craft shop that specializes in the afore-mentioned items and gives classes in crocheting, knitting, and jewelry-making, next. I didn't buy them anything, but I explained about my situation with the Acme and not being able to attend many classes. They offered personal classes; I don't know if or how'd I'd pull that off or afford it, but I told them I'd keep it in mind.

My next stop was Two Oaks Thrift Shop on the next block over. They're not nearly as big as the store Erica used to work at (which now sells mid-20th-century furniture), but they did have a few interesting items. I walked out with three records, for Herman's Hermits, Barbara Streisand, and a two-disc set for Danny Kaye.

After a quick stop at the Collingswood Used Book Trader (I bought a hardback copy of the Carol Higgins Clark book Burned for a dollar), I decided it was time for lunch. My first choice was The Pop Shop. I'd forgotten that today was Saturday, and they do a lot of kid-oriented activities like Pajamas Luncheons. There was a long line, and the place was full to the brim with noisy families. Tortilla Press wasn't really all that much quieter, but there were only a few families, and it wasn't quite as crowded. As the only solo diner, I even got that small table by the corner window that looks out onto the corner of Haddon and Collings. I had a delicious "Breakfast Burrito" from their brunch menu, with eggs, guacamole, beans, and Tortilla Press' hand-made salsa on the side.

When I finished lunch, I moved on to Fruigli, the little thrift shop across the street that mostly specializes in vintage clothes, but found nothing. I was getting tired at that point, and Collingswood was still busy with the Saturday afternoon lunch crowd. I made a quick stop at WaWa for a drink, then headed back towards Oaklyn.

I took the long way back across Newton River Park. By that point, it was a gorgeous day for it. You'd never know it was cloudy in the morning. The late afternoon sun sparkled against a soft blue sky; the wind ruffled the deep green water and the remaining brown leaves. I even stopped and watched a duck family preen their feathers at one point. I wasn't the only person going for a stroll in the park, either. I ran into joggers, bikers, and my sister Rose walking her dog Toby. Rose offered to go to yoga with me on Tuesday again. I'm not working until 2:30 that day and was able to accept without question this time.

I made one last stop, this one at CVS (I wanted eggs, but they were out of them, but I did get bath beads), before finally heading home. After my two long walks (a half-hour each), I spent most of the rest of the afternoon doing things online. I wasn't really up to much else.

Made a tuna casserole with leftover vegetables, frozen peas, and the last can of tuna for dinner while finishing out the Scooby Doo set. "Recipe For Disaster" is another What's New, Scooby Doo? episode, this one revolving around a monster made of Scooby Snack batter attacks the factory where they're made. "The Faces of Evil" is a real oddity, from possibly the strangest Scooby Doo show ever made, Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue! Like the 70s shows, this one is Shaggy and Scooby alone. They're living in a huge mansion and getting their mysteries from Shaggy's Uncle Albert, and Scooby Snacks gives Scooby powers. In this one, their regular villain Dr. Philbes has figured out a way to clone himself and wear the duo out by sending the clones all over the world. When Scooby overdoses on Snacks, how will the two get the energy to get rid of all of this guy?

Epic made slightly more sense. This animated fantasy tale from the creators of Ice Age take us from prehistory to a world that exists in a forest alongside our own. The Leaf People battle their eternal enemies who are in charge of rot to keep nature in balance. Their queen (Beyonce Knowles) is about to choose an heir. She's attacked just after she picks a flower pod that will choose her successor and keep balance in the forest. Ronin (Colin Farrell) is the head of her warriors; Nod (Josh Hutcherson) is a younger member who has chosen to leave the Leaf People rather than follow their rules.

Nod's not the only one who's tired of dealing with strict rules and guardians who treat him like a child. Human teenager Mary Katherine is dealing with the death of her mother and being sent to live with her eternally distracted scientist father, who is firmly convinced that there's little people living in the forest. His daughter thinks he's crazy, until she encounters the dying queen in the woods. When she takes the pod from her, it shrinks her down to the size and speed of the Leaf People. Now she finds herself caught up in their struggle against the evil King of Rot Mandrake as she, her father, and Nod learn a lesson in how we're all connected to one another, whether we want to be or not.

Beautifully done, and probably the most realistic depiction of shrinking I've ever seen. When Mary Katherine is shrunk, she's able to jump higher and move much faster than normal humans, who seem to be slow, clumsy giants to the Leaf People. The animation is incredible, too, especially the eye-popping colors and the detail in the forest. Alas, all this is at the service at an extremely cliched plot that manages to hit just about every fantasy and hero's journey trope in existence. None of the characters are all that memorable, including the villain, who really has no motivation for what he's doing and the slug and snail sidekicks who are supposed to keep the pod moist.

I liked it enough that I didn't mind the rental, but the cliches are a little too thick here for me to buy. If you're more of a fantasy fan than I am or are into animation, you may find more in this one than I did.