Where's the Rain?

Much to my surprise, it was merely cloudy and humid when I opened my eyes around 8 AM. We had some noisy storms last night, and we were supposed to have more of the same today. I put on the American Top 40 to enliven a gloomy morning. Although disco was the going genre in mid-May 1977, many of the songs in the countdown had more than dancing on their minds. Hits included "Couldn't Get It Right" by the Climax Blues Band, "Right Time of the Night" by Jennifer Warrens, "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell, "Hotel California" by the Eagles, "Got to Give It Up" by Marvin Gaye, and "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder.

While Leo Sayer had a hit earlier in the year with the disco classic "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," he slowed things down for his second #1 song of 1977, the ballad "When I Need You."

This morning was incredibly disappointing. Today was supposed to be Haddon Township's Town-Wide Yard Sale. I only saw two yard sales all morning. One was in Haddon Township, the other was in Collingswood), and neither had anything remotely of interest. The Farm Market, on the other hand, was once again packed, despite the road through and next to the parking lot where it's usually held being repaved. (It had been paved enough for the Market to go on in the usual place.) I didn't really need much, and the crowds were once again elbow-to-elbow. Just bought red potatoes and scallions. (I debated asparagus, but the Acme's having a big weekend sale on local asparagus, so I just picked it up there later.) Oaklyn's Spring Fling had been rescheduled to June, and many local festivals had been canceled or rescheduled as well in anticipation of the weekend's storms.

The storms never came. The sun even came out briefly later in the morning. The only drops of water I felt all day was when the high winds shook them off the trees. The irony of all the fussing is, everything probably could have gone on as planned with the application of tarps to cover wet ground or high tables. All the storms must have passed us. (And my later chat with Lauren revealed where they ended up at. She got rain in Pittsfield all day.)

I got home much earlier than usual and spent the rest of the morning cleaning. I'm putting off a lot of my major spring cleaning until Lauren's visit next month...and because I simply don't have the time for it right now. I did manage to vacuum the entire apartment and wash the windows inside and (as much as possible) out. I also had a decent lunch of home-made bean vegetable soup while watching Sailor Moon episodes.

Work was tiring, even at just four hours. While it wasn't as busy as last weekend, it was still rough on someone who was up late last night and early this morning and didn't have a great week. I was very happy when the manager said I could shut down without a relief.

Went straight home after that. I made salmon, red potatoes, and scallions with rosemary in olive oil with a spinach and radish salad for dinner while watching Monterey Pop. Despite the DVD booklet's insistence that this is a movie musical, it's really a concert documentary on the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. The predecessor of Woodstock has some really amazing performances, including Big Brother and the Holding Company (with an incredible Janis Joplin), Otis Redding really working the crowd into a frenzy, Jimi Hendrix's guitar-flaming "Wild Thing," and The Who's "smashing" version of "My Generation." It all ends with Ravi Shankar, bringing World Music to the fore and revealing why he was much admired by many musicians in this era, including George Harrison.

Along with Woodstock and Gimmie Shelter, this is a must-see film for fans of classic rock, the late 60s in general, or any of the artists in particular. While the library's copy is Criterion's later one-disc version, there's a three-disc set out there that apparently includes even more acts that didn't make it into the main film. Who fans who enjoy this will probably want to move on to the documentary on them made over a decade later, The Kids are Alright.

And I just went and checked, and yes, it's finally raining...in a nice, steady shower. I thought I heard thunder earlier, but it doesn't seem to have done anything at press time.

You Can Always Be Number One

I slept in this morning and didn't get to this week's grocery shopping until 11:30. Thankfully, the Acme wasn't too busy when I arrived. I didn't have that big of an order, anyway. Fruit won't be plentiful at the Farm Market for at least a month, so I bought bananas, strawberries (on sale), melon slices, and blood oranges (the clementines look like they're done for the season). I needed Drano for the bathroom sink, which has been running slow for weeks now. Restocked canola oil, wheat germ, wraps, white cake mix (good Betty Crocker sale this week), and chocolate chips. Found a can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes and a bottle of good bubble bath soap on the clearance rack.

When I got home, I briefly went online to check and see if my paycheck was in my account yet. I also took a look at eBay to see what was available for Josefina there. Disappointingly, not much. Josefina has never had a lot the way of clothes. She's my only AG doll who isn't retired and is in no immediate danger of retirement, and unlike most of the 80s and 90s dolls, the majority of her wardrobe is easily accessible on AG's site. I did get her Summer Outfit for $23 with shipping, far cheaper than AG's current price of $28 without shipping, and I may try to get her Indigo Skirt and Camisa (dark blue striped skirt and white shift), "Meet" skirt and camisa, and yellow Christmas Dress there. Anything else, along with a few things from fellow AG Regency character Caroline, I'll get directly from the source during AG's occasional free shipping sales.

Ran cartoons on track, sports events, and being a good winner or loser as I unpacked and made a spinach, asparagus, and smoked cheddar cheese omelet for lunch. You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown pits Chuck against Marcie, Freddie Fabulous from Fremont, and the Masked Marvel (Snoopy) in the decathalon. Chuck and Marcie may both have a chance of winning...if Peppermint Patty's intensive training hasn't worn Chuck down.

Gentle Hotoru has her eye on a local athlete who has worked his way up from childhood illness in a third season episode of Sailor Moon. She too is plagued by illness and hopes to be like him when she's older. She writes him a letter, but is too shy to give it to him. Mimtete of the Witches Five is a fan of his, too...but she'd rather take his pure heart than give him letters!

The next episode also involves games, but of a somewhat less strenuous sort. Mimtete messing around with the evil Professor's chemicals results in a space warp being created in his mansion! He's shocked when he has to turn to the Sailor Soldiers to get rid of the time warp and get Rini and Hotoru out alive. The head of the alternate dimension is a game-playing monster that cheats to keep the Soldiers there. Hotoru hopes she has enough luck of the draw to win this game for everyone.

Work was on-and-off busy, with no really major problems, pretty much the same it has been all week. I wonder if some people may have gone down to the Shore to dodge the rain we're supposed to get here all weekend. The day managers had called me earlier and asked me to stay until 10. There was a call-out. I said I'd stay until 8 if they needed me. As it turned out, I had a relief, and there were plenty of baggers and younger cashiers to help. I went home at the original time.

And the rain didn't finally arrive until around 10PM. I hope it doesn't really continue through tomorrow. I at least want to get to the farm market before work.

Ladies and Balance

The morning did not begin well. I overslept and was late heading out for yoga class. As I hurried down Manor Avenue, I went over a huge bump! My basket flew off, and I rode over my purse before I could stop. Thank goodness nothing was hurt, but I realized I'd forgotten my cell phone. Oh well. I wasn't planning on needing it.

As it turned out, that wasn't the only trouble the bump caused. I realized as I made my way through Collingswood that it was getting harder and harder to ride my bike. There was something wrong with the front tire. Yes, it was deflating. It was especially infuriating because the tire is new, only a year old, and my neighbor just inflated the darn thing on Sunday! I was very upset when I finally made it to class.

I didn't have an easy time concentrating. The class being another challenging series of back-bends didn't help. I just can't lift myself off the floor easily, like so many other people can. I can't keep up with most of the class, either. And I still can't get on my head or shoulders. It's frustrating.

I was still angry after class. I was so upset, I was in tears. I know, it's childish, but I was disappointed with how badly things had gone. A kindly classmate ended up driving me home. She was a nice older woman from near Boston who was visiting her mother in Collingswood. I told her my best friend was from Pittsfield; she mentioned knowing someone who owned a costume store there.

I liked her suggestion of having a nice cup of tea and taking an hour or so to calm down when I got in. I did just that, dubbing the Lady Lovely Locks video I won on eBay to make myself feel better. This very girly fantasy show was based after the popular doll line from the mid-late 80s. I've found the episodes on YouTube, but I wanted to have copies of my own. What I found was the first two episodes, bookended by introductions with a breathy live-action Lady with extremely 80s hair. In the first, Lady Lovely Locks has to take back her kingdom after evil Duchess Raven Waves has tricked her. In the second, the Lady learns that not everyone she meets is a friend when a handsome baron isn't what he seems.

Here's the second story on YouTube:

Cruel Pretender

I lead the bike down to the Dorias to see if they could help. As it turned out, no, they couldn't. Mr. Doria wasn't in, and Mrs. Doria didn't know how to work on bikes. I did buy a Diet Pepsi and sugar for her trouble, though.

Yes, I did finally end up fixing the flat tire myself. No one else was around. Most of my neighbors work during the day. That's part of why I have a hard time relying on them. It's nice to offer, but they're usually only around on weekends and during the evening. Actually, I think I did a rather good job on the tire. At the very least, it only took me a half hour to do, as opposed to the hour it used to take me to fix flat tires. (And actually, it was a deflated inner tube. I couldn't see anything wrong with it, but I changed it anyway.)

When I got back in, I made Chocolate Chip-Coconut Muffins while watching two more 80s programs about girl power and the trouble jealousy can cause. In the later Tales of the Gold Monkey episode "Naka Jima Kill," Sarah White's old college roommate Whitney Bunting, now a newsreel reporter, wrecks havoc when she inadvertently brings an assassin to the Asian-esque island of Nakoma. And in the second season Sailor Moon episode "Jealousy's Just Reward," evil Dark Moon witch Emerald learns a rough lesson when she begs the Wise Man for the power to make Diamond notice her, instead of Sailor Moon.

Thankfully, after all the earlier disasters, work was no problem whatsoever. It was a little busier, otherwise, it was pretty much the same as yesterday, quiet when I came and left, and only really busy during rush hour. There was plenty of help and no real problems.

Oh, and speaking of girl cartoons based after toys, here's a shorter-lived girl fantasy tale from the early 90s. I was too old for Peppermint Rose when it debuted around 1992, but it seems to be something of a cross between Lady Lovely Locks and Rose Petal Place. (Very early 90s - get a load of the rap number in part 2.)

Peppermint Rose Part 1
Peppermint Rose Part 2

The To-Do Lists

When I opened my eyes around 8:30, it was pouring. I could hear it plink-plunk on my roof. I closed my eyes and didn't open them again until quarter after 10. When I did finally get up, I read the first Donna Parker novel, At Cherrydale. I have to admit, only a few chapters in, and I find myself very much relating to Donna and her best gal pal Ricky. Yeah, I used to wait until the end of the year to clear out my locker, too. My mom is also a stickler for a good breakfast, and while I never had problems with that (breakfast is my favorite meal of the day) and my brother will eat anything anytime, my sisters did occasionally complain. Mom's an excellent seamstress. She said something almost similar to what Donna's mother did about doing better than ready-to-wear clothes just a few weeks ago. She made us clothes for years, not to mention several beautiful quilts.

I didn't do much for the rest of the morning. I made the bed. I ran cartoons. I did the dishes. I ran two Huey Lewis and the News CDs (Fore! and Four Score and Several Chords Ago) and Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook while I did a project I've been putting off. My "Reading List" has gone so well, I decided to apply the same concept to the remaining media in my household. It took me an hour to list all the records I haven't listened to yet! The problems with records is, I buy them insanely cheap at yard sales and thrift shops, sometimes for literal pennies...and then I put them away without actually listening to them. There must be at least a hundred records on my list. There's twice as many records as anything else. They took up three and a half pages of a notebook...both sides. The CDs, cassettes, and DVDs took barely 2 and a half. I need to get crackin'.

Making the lists took so long, I barely had enough time to eat lunch, pack dinner, change into my uniform, and hurry off to work. As it turns out, it was barely worth the effort. Work was only busy during rush hour, otherwise off-and-on steady. I spent a lot of the night shelving candy.

There was another storm somewhere around 5:30. I could see the buckets of rain out the front lobby windows. Thankfully, by the time I got home, it was just damp and cloudy. It started to sprinkle a bit as I was walking in the door, but I don't think it's doing anything now.

An Evening With the Bath 

It was cloudy and cool when I finally headed out the door late this morning for this week's Haddon Township Library run. Despite the iffy weather, Newton River Park was busy with dog walkers, joggers, and even other bikers (and one lone Canadian goose). While the river is starting to get a little green around the gills, the park itself is beautiful, lush and colorful. The flowers are largely gone from the trees, but the leaves are bigger and greener now.

The Haddon Township Library was rather busy when I arrived. I didn't have much luck organizing the DVDs. Once again, both kids' and adult titles were overflowing, to the point where I couldn't get any more kids discs on the shelves. I did better with the children's picture books, which are fairly easy to shelve when you know what goes where.

I did take out three movies this week. I've wanted to see the 60s-set Moonrise Kingdom since I first heard about it last summer; it sounds kind of sweet. As a classic rock fan, I've always wanted to see Monterey Pop. And the Library finally got the most recent installment of the Ice Age series, Continental Drift, in. I also took out four of Josefina's books that I don't have, plus her short stories collection.

With the skies darkening, money lacking, and other things to do at home, I opted not to eat lunch out today. I first stopped really quick at Dollar Tree for sugar, coconut, and vinegar, then at WaWa for a small roast beef hoagie and milk. Surprisingly, neither place was terribly busy, and the traffic on Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike wasn't too bad. It actually started to shower a little on the way back to Oaklyn, but it stopped shortly after I arrived.

I wasn't going to take chances. I spent the rest of the afternoon at the apartment. I first dubbed the last Laurel and Hardy video while cleaning the kitchen. This one consisted entirely of four classic shorts with mild horror themes. The Laurel and Hardy Murder Case has Ollie pushing Stan into accepting an inheritance, but it proves to be more difficult than they expected when it turns out Stan's uncle was bumped off. The  two are forced to work aboard a ship that's supposedly haunted in The Live Ghost. Ollie almost loses his head to a woman who has killed seven men named Oliver and intends for Oliver the Eighth to be her next victim. The less gruesome Busy Work has the two employed as chimney sweepers for a mad scientist who is looking for a formula to reverse aging.

Since I'm low on flour, I decided to try something. I made Vanilla Coconut Cookies using coconut, white cake mix, egg whites, and canola oil, leaving out the water the cake mix calls for. They came out pretty well, delicate and crunchy. While I made the cookies, I ran an episode of Perfect Strangers from the seventh season. In "The Gazebo," Balki and Larry attempt to put together the title building from scratch. Their efforts are literally turned into a latter-day Laurel and Hardy short, including the "Time of the Cuckoos" theme, the black-and-white film, and the two in perfect costumes. (Bronson Pinchot made such a convincing Stan, he played him in a TV movie several years later.)

After the cookies were out of the oven, I went straight into the bath. Oh, did that feel good. I hadn't had a bath since my last day off. I read Josefina's short stories and Peace and Plenty while listening to one of my jazz CDs. I really needed the relaxation.

Made a black bean "Santa Fe" sauce for my seared chicken, along with asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes, while watching Yolanda and the Thief. This odd MGM musical from the late 40s has Fred Astaire and Frank Morgan as con-artists out to bilk naive heiress Lucile Bremer of her considerable fortune. Astaire pretends to be her guardian angel in order to get her to sign, but has second thoughts when he begins to see her as more than just a mark.

This unusual musical fantasy was a flop on first release and continues to divide audiences today. Vincent Minellei had a field day with the colorful, lavish designs and dance numbers here. I especially love Bremer and Astaire's jazzy "Coffee Time." Those of you expecting a more straightforward musical or Astaire vehicle may not jive with the fantasy, and Bremer doesn't really make much of an heiress. If you're a fan of Astaire or more adventurous musicals, look it up at the Warner Archive and give it a whirl sometime.

Two Guys at School 

Started out a cloudy, cool day with a walk to the laundromat. I had a really big load to wash, including towels. Thankfully, there was only one other person and a couple there when I arrived. By the time I left and Jeff Probst was nattering away on the TV, the building was quiet. I pushed the cart home, admiring the brilliant spring flowers and soft green trees.

When I got in, I started A Chump In Oxford while putting everything away, and then while having a spinach-mushroom omelet for lunch. This time, Laurel and Hardy are street sweepers who inadvertently rescue a banker from a robber. To thank them, the banker sends them to Oxford University in England for "the best education money can buy." The boys seem to be out of their depths among the rather obnoxious students who think they're good for a prank...until Stan turns out to be Lord Paddington, one of the most famous students ever at Oxford. When a clonk on the head makes Stan into the nobleman, he ends up making a very annoyed Ollie his butler.

I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as Way Out West. Though Stan had fun as the pompous British lord (check out him taking on a mob of angry students!), the story takes much too long to get going (the opening with the boys employed as a maid and a butler has nothing to do with the rest of the movie), and the way those students treat Stan and Ollie would get them into more trouble than the scolding they got from the Dean today. Cute enough if you run into it, but not my favorite of their vehicles.

They had more fun in the short included on the video, the 1932 Helpmates. It's pretty simple. Ollie had a wild shindig while his wife was out of town. When the Mrs. says she's coming home by noon, he enlists his best pal Stan to help clean the house. Naturally, it looks worse than when they began by the time Mrs. Hardy does finally arrive.

Switched to more Lois & Clark while I brushed Josefina's very long hair, using lots of detangler. In "Witness," Lois is the only one who sees the murder of a prominent, if odd, scientist. She's not concerned at first when she's targeted for murder as well...until Superman has to rescue her several times. She, Clark, and Jimmy do research on what the scientist was trying to do while Clark tries to keep Lois alive.

Josefina is in gorgeous shape. Her hair will probably need to be washed and de-frizzed, but it came out well enough for now. I put it in a much neater ponytail until I have the time to play with it. I gave her a quick magic sponge bath. I'm guessing she's one of the more recent dolls made by Mattel. She's thinner and lighter than my older dolls, whom were released before Mattel bought the original Pleasant Company. She was a little dirty, but not horrible, with no spots or markings anywhere that I could see.

Since I was giving Josefina so much attention, I decided it was time to change all of my dolls. Molly wears her Birthday Pinafore. Jessa sports her original "meet" striped t-shirt, a pair of plain jean capris I picked up on eBay, and Springfield Collection socks and sneakers. Felicity was dressed in a pretty blue and white floral gown I found at a booth in the Deptford Mall one Christmas season. Samantha wears a hand-made turquoise dress with a white sash and white lace trim that was also an eBay find.

Headed to work shortly after I finished with the dolls. Thankfully, work wasn't anything resembling as crazy as it was yesterday. We were busy during rush hour, on-and-off steady thereafter.

South America, Take Me Away!

I wish I could have been in South America today...or anywhere but here. I started a sunny, slightly cooler day with Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes. In honor of Cinco Del Mayo, I pre-empted the Beatles show and ran the "Donald Duck In Latin America" movies, starting with The Three Caballeros. Oh boy, where do I begin with this one? Donald receives several Latin-American-themed presents for his birthday. The film opens normally enough with three shorts, the first about a penguin who wants to find a warmer home, the second on birds of the Amazon (including the nutty Aracuan), and the third about a little gaucho who races a flying donkey.

The movie picks up - and gets seriously strange - when Donald opens the Brazilian gift and his old buddy Jose Carioca appears. They first encounter a (real life) cookie seller who leads them on a wild mixed-media romp, then meet noisy Mexican rooster Panchito when they open his pinata present. Donald's been lusting after women throughout the film, and after the ladies of Acapulco get his libido going (and he and the other two sing the famous title number), he has a lunatic "surreal reverie" that takes in South American floral designs, dancing cacti, and live-action women dancing with three very lusty animated birds.

If you're a big Donald fan like me or are a fan of Jose Carioca (I've heard he's very popular in his native South and Latin America), this one of Disney's wildest and most creative films. Don't come here looking for a standard plot or anything that makes sense, though. This isn't for folks who like a lot of story in their animation.

I quickly called Mom before I headed off to work. Though our short discussion mostly went well, we did disagree over my job. Again. While I'm obviously not leaving the Acme job any time soon (or as quickly as I wish I could), Mom insists that because it's a union job, it'll keep supplying me and providing health insurance in my old age. At this point, I don't think about half the companies in the country right now are going to be around for my old age, whether they're union or not. A union can't stop companies from closing or changing. I'm sick of waiting for the ground to drop out from under me. I'd rather make companies come to me, instead of me going for them. I also don't see why I have to wait until retirement to make decent money or enjoy my life. What's wrong with making decent money and enjoying your life now, instead of in 20 years?

On the other hand, I do understand her concern. Mom and Dad-Bill have never had steady employment, except for the two years Mom worked for Michael's...which she hated. Dad-Bill has always worked as a commercial fishing boat captain, sometimes making a good check if the fish were out, sometimes not. Mom ran her own boat-cleaning business and worked for several small bakeries and restaurants in Cape May on and off through the 80s and 90s. None of these, including Michael's, offered retirement packages or benefits. They don't have any money put aside, and Mom's worried.

I was already in a bad mood when I finally hurried off to work, and work just made things worse. The Acme was almost as crazy as Donald and his buddies all day long. This is a very busy weekend. In addition to the beginning of the month, we had Cinco Del Mayo, local spring festivals and events, a Phillies game (they got run over by the Marlins, 14-2), Kentucky Derby Weekend, and weather that was perfect for impromptu barbecues. People were obnoxious and rude. The lines were long, even with extra help. People wouldn't help bag, despite holding up long lines. Two customers in a row put back a quarter of their order because it came out to far more than they assumed. I was tired and angry and ready to tear out my hair when it finally slowed down enough for me to close with no relief.

I was half-way down Kendall Boulevard when I heard a strange sound...and my bike's pedals suddenly jammed. I managed to get on the sidewalk with only a scratch, but when I checked the bike, I discovered that the chain had come off. I couldn't help it. After my lousy day, this was the very last straw. I cried all the way home. I know I shouldn't have, but I was so angry and frustrated. Why did this have to happen now?

Thankfully, my neighbor Michael was at home when I arrived. I changed into regular clothes and was about to see what I could do when he saw me and came over. He ended up putting the chain back on, fixing the loose tire guard, and pumping the tires.

Spent the rest of the evening quietly watching the other Disney Latin American-themed movie, Saludos Amigos. While still not a traditional linear animated film, this one is a tad less nutty than Three Caballeros. This short film focuses on four shorts. Donald has a visit to "Lake Titicaca" that goes astray when he ends up in a high place with a skittish llama. "Pedro" is the little mail plane whose first flight over the Andes almost turns disastrous when he encounters rough weather. Goofy takes his "How to" series to the Argentine Pampas as he demonstrates how an Argentine gaucho differs from an American cowboy. The film ends with "Aqualia De Brazil," a lush, surreal watercolor tone poem that brings Donald back in and introduces Jose Carioca.

This one is a bit more family-oriented than the lusty Caballeros, and somewhat less weird. In fact, if your younger kids are Donald fans, I'd start them off with this one before moving on to the sequel. (Also note that the Goofy cartoon has been slightly edited to remove smoking content.) Otherwise, same caveats apply here - for fans of Donald, Jose, and adventurous animation.

Finished the night with a related episode of Get Smart. In the early third season episode "Viva Smart," Max and 99 dress as fandango dancers in order to rescue the deposed president of a fictional South American nation. When the current dictator who overthrew him figures out what they're up to, he has them both thrown in jail. It's up to Max to get them all out...and out of the reach of the firing squad.

Cinco Del Mayo Girl 

Started a lovely May morning with this week's American Top 40. We stayed in the 80s, but hopped back a few years to 1983. Hits during early May of that year included "What a Feeling!" by Irene Cara from that spring's blockbuster musical Flashdance, "Come On Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Let's Dance" by David Bowie, "Little Red Corvette" by Prince, "Der Komissar" by After the Fire, "Even Now" by Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band, "Solitare" by Laura Brannigan, "I Won't Hold You Back" by Toto, and two numbers likely inspired by the 80s' obsession with technology, "Mr. Roboto" by Styx and "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby.

That week's number one song also came from the year's biggest album. Eddie Van Halen contributed some hot guitar licks to one of the most popular tunes from Michael Jackson's smash Thriller album, "Beat It."

I was out the door as soon as the show ended. It was a gorgeous day for the first yard sale/farm market run of the year. East Clinton Avenue in Oaklyn was having its annual two-day street-wide yard sale. I was a little disappointed that many people seemed to be waiting for tomorrow for their sales. I did finally turn up four of the most recent Maisie Dobbs books, An Incomplete Revenge, The Mapping of Love and Death, Pardonable Lies, and A Lesson In Secrets for two dollars for the lot. (Lesson In Secrets was a hardback that appeared to have come from a library in Florida.)

I heard what sounded like someone singing "For Once In My Life" coming from somewhere in the distance, behind Oaklawn Avenue. I lead the bike slowly down the steep stone steps to Newton River Park. It looked like some sort of fair or event going on across the river. I rode around to the other side to discover people preparing for some kind of walkathon to benefit cancer research. I made my way through throngs of parents, children, and lots of dog walkers listening to live musicians and putting tickets in for basket raffles.

I made my best yard sale find at a series of sales on Mansion Avenue, across the street from the Westmont Acme. Didn't see anything at the first sale, but the second had some collectible toys...including a beautiful, near-mint American Girl Josefina doll for $25! She was wearing her Party Dress without the black "Spencer" jacket and the light tan fringed boots and tan socks from her Shoes and Socks collection. Her long, silky black hair had been thrown up into a very messy ponytail, and her limbs were a little loose. Otherwise, she was fine, relatively clean and with no markings anywhere. Josefina is AG's hispanic historical character, a shy, sweet girl living with her father and sisters in 1824 New Mexico. I can't say she's my favorite character, but the doll is lovely, and her books are enjoyable. She's my only AG doll with earrings or with her particular face mold.

I placed Josefina in my tote bag and moved on to the first Collingswood Farm Market of the year. Boy, were they busy! The place was literally elbow-to-elbow in some spots. I could barely move around. There's a lot going on this weekend - Cinco Del Mayo, the Kentucky Derby, the beginning of the month, weather that's perfect for birthdays and barbecues. I finally managed to squeeze between customers long enough to pick up Smoked Cheddar Cheese from the dairy booth, as well as asparagus, spinach, radishes, carrots, and mushrooms.

Found one more yard sale in Collingswood on the way home. They were mostly selling children's clothes and toys, but I saw a table spread with pamphlets and magazines from the 70s and 80s filled with craft ideas and a pile of blue, white, and orange yarn. I bought one of the pamphlets with some nice shawl designs for a quarter and the yarn for $1.50.

I didn't have much money left by that point, so I just headed back to Oaklyn. I stopped by Dad's house on the way to say "hi" to whomever was around. Dad is away on a cruise ship job, but Jodie was in. David, my cousin Samantha's husband, was cleaning up Uncle Ken's gorgeous pale-blue vintage 50s car. They'd finally found someone who wanted to look at it. They couldn't afford to keep it after Uncle Ken's death last fall.

When I got in, I spent a quiet hour announcing my find to the AG Playthings Board for adult doll collectors and looking up Josefina's outfits. I don't have the money to buy lots of stuff for her right away, but I'll keep checking eBay and yard sales for her.

For once, I could understand why I was asked to come into work today. We were busy all afternoon long. If people weren't preparing for birthday parties or barbecues, they were having southern Kentucky Derby feasts or Mexican meals for Cinco Del Mayo. There were a few annoying customers later in the afternoon (including two women who held up the Express line with far more than they should have had and ended up returning a quarter of their orders). Otherwise, there were no major problems. My relief was an older woman (one of the few who works late) who was right on time. I grabbed strawberries (they won't be at the farm market for another week or so), bananas, and honey before heading home.

Superman and the Rival Reporters

I was working on my journal this morning when I got a call from the Acme. They wanted me to come in at 12:30. Uh, no. I'd slept in and needed to go grocery shopping. Not to mention, the last couple of times I've come in early, it was dead as a doornail. I stood around doing nothing and wasting the company's and my time. I would go in a little early at 2PM. (Makes more sense than 2:30 to 9 anyway.)

Finally made it to the grocery store by quarter of noon. As it turned out, I was right. It wasn't that busy, no more so than it has been all week. I didn't have that big of an order, anyhow. I ran out of laundry detergent and dryer sheets on Monday; the small bottles of Acme's generic laundry detergent was on a good sale, and they have a box of 40 dryer sheets for a dollar. Chicken breasts were on a really good sale separate from the 4 meats for 19.99 promotion (which I never take part in - all that meat wouldn't fit in my freezer). Many Post and Quaker cereals were $1.88. Alas, not Oatmeal Squares this time; I went with Life instead. Restocked brown sugar and fruit concentrate.

After I got in, I had just enough time to run a Lois & Clark episode while having tortilla-crusted salmon and melon slices from the Acme and the last of the spinach and cherry tomatoes for lunch. In the first season episode "The Rival," Perry White is  hot under the collar because a rival newspaper keeps scooping the Daily Planet. Lois is upset that their top reporter is Linda King, a former friend who is now her main competition, for men and for stories. While Lois fumes over Linda constantly snatching stories from her, Clark tries to figure out how King gets to the stories first...and how to stop Linda's boss from wrecking even more havoc in the name of news.

Once again, I probably could have gone in at the original time and been fine. We were off-and-on steady all night, and only really busy during rush hour. Other than some annoying customers common for this time of the month, there were no major problems, and I was in and out.

My schedule for next week isn't bad, and in fact, is much better than what I was getting at this time last year. Two late days (Monday and Wednesday), one rather surprisingly early day on Sunday. Otherwise, nothing too horrible, and Tuesday and Saturday off again. And I picked up extra hours tomorrow, 1-7, which is no big deal either. I'll still get all my errands in.

Balance and Those Two Guys

Started off an absolutely gorgeous spring day with yoga class. It was a little full, but not as much as it was last week. Even so, I have some rather sore joints, including my knees and knuckles, and decided I wasn't up to a lot of pushing. I did what I could with the back bends and balance poses that were being emphasized today.

I made a quick stop at WaWa after class for a bottle of Perrier, then rode home. I worked on budgeting and updating my inventories on the computer for a while, including adding Belle to the collectibles spreadsheet. I finally got off the computer to have lunch and watch Way Out West. This time, Laurel and Hardy take a recalcitrant mule out to a small gold rush town, where they have to give a young woman the deed to a mine she's inherited. The lass' guardian and his girlfriend want that deed for themselves and pass the girlfriend off as the real owner. When the duo discover their mistake, they try to break into the guardian's safe to retrieve it.

Very cute, and generally regarded as one of their better movies from the height of their talkie popularity in the early-mid 30s. I especially like their adorable rendition of "Trail of the Lonesome Pine." (And the end, when they're talking to the girl as they take her back to her hometown, provides some real life trivia. Oliver Hardy really was from the south - Georgia, to be exact - and Stan Laurel was from South London.)

Despite the nice weather, I was asked to stay later at work - there was a call-out. I told them I'd stay until 9, which makes more sense than 3 to 8:30 anyway. As it turned out, I probably could have left at the original 8:30. As with yesterday, we were busy during rush hour, but otherwise on-and-off steady.

April Showers Brings May Day Flowers

I slept in...and awoke to a blue sky and a cool wind. Despite the breeze, it was warm and sunny, just about the most perfect weather you can get in early May. I headed out to the Oaklyn Library after breakfast to return the DVDs and do volunteering.

Despite the nice day, there was plenty to do when I arrived. I walked into the tail end of this week's Storybook Hour with the local day care kids. While they selected books, I organized the adult DVDs and removed more stickers from the tops. (I really wish they'd be more careful about that.) When the kids left, I organized the children's DVDs and shelved kids' books.

I went for a short walk after leaving the library. It was a glorious day for it. I strolled past what's now Rose and Craig's new home. It looks far better than it did on St. Patrick's Day. The exterior has been painted, and the brick steps to the enclosed front porch repaired. I saw their van, but didn't see either of them, and a truck with what were probably workers was just about to pull in. I just kept going.

I wasn't the only one out and about. I saw kids playing during what I assumed to be their recess time on the front lawn of the Oaklyn School. People took younger kids for walks or bike rides. Lots of people worked in their lawns, mowing grass that had grown almost overnight, thanks to the storms. The "fuzzies" are out now, which means so is the pollen. I saw quite a few folks attempting to wash their cars.

Did my own cleaning when I got in. I scrubbed the bathroom while dubbing the first of three Laurel and Hardy videos I picked up a few weeks ago, Blockheads. This is probably the simplest and the shortest of the three "feature-length" movies I found. Ollie is planning on a nice anniversary dinner for his wife...until he finds out that his buddy Stan was brought home from Europe, after thinking World War I was still on. Ollie decides to bring his best friend home to his best girl, which leads to a series of complications ranging from them destroying Ollie's wife's car to their neighbor's (Billy Gilbert) wife ending up in Ollie's pajamas.

Two of the three tapes include classic Laurel and Hardy shorts as bonuses...and they don't get any more famous than The Music Box, the first short subject to win the Oscar in 1932. The boys have to deliver a piano up a steep flight of stairs, and then get it into a house. And yes, Gilbert is here, too, this time as a stuffy music professor.

Headed to work as soon as The Music Box ended. Between the nice day and this being the middle of the week, we weren't that busy. A lot of beginning-of-the-month people may be waiting for the weekend to shop. Busy during rush hour, steady-to-quiet the rest of the night.

I also just realized that today marks the 10-year anniversary of this blog. I technically started it on May 1st, 2003, though I didn't start writing regularly until 2007. Here's the first year's worth of entries, including the one that launched the blog.