Take Me Out to the Ball Game
It was a gorgeous day for a ball game. Lauren and I had tickets for the last of a three-game series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. The Phils won the last two games going in.
We were both very excited, and not just about the game. The Phils play at Citizens Bank Park, one of the two big, new stadiums that replaced Veteran's Park a couple of years ago. (The other is its football-oriented neighbor across the street, Lincoln Financial Field.) It really is a gorgeous ball park. There's a huge screen that shows the game and stats and wonderful views from all over. Lauren and I had seats at 102, right on the aisles behind center field. We arrived early, around 11:30 - Lauren's a baseball fan and wanted to see some batting practice.
We were in our seats through the 7th inning stretch. It was a very exciting game. I'm not the baseball fan Lauren is, so I'm not going to be able to give you play-by-play details. I do know the Phils were doing pretty well through the first half of the game. No one scored until someone hit a ball right at pitcher Cole Hamels' pitching hand and took him out of the game. (Someone did it earlier, but Hamels caught it...unexpectedly, from the surprised look on his face.)
By the 7th inning, my arms and knees were starting to turn a very nice shade of Jersey tomato red, and Lauren only looked slightly lighter. We went upstairs to take a look at the gift store. Lauren bought an Irish-themed Phillies hat and a big stuffed Phillies Phanatics. I just bought a simpler red Phillies hat and a program.
I briefly rejoined Lauren in the seats, but I was just too darn hot. I spent the majority of the last two innings upstairs in the main concourse, just exploring. I did see Ryan Howard's big 9th inning home run between backs. (It was literally standing room only - according to the signs, there were over 45,000 screaming, cheering fans at the game today.) Despite that last-inning effort, the Phillies ultimately lost, 5-2.
We waited just inside, then just outside the gates for Dad and Jodie. We waited about a half-hour. First of all, they were coming in through rush-hour traffic. Second, President Obama was visiting Philadelphia today, and several major roads were shut down for his arrival. It wasn't too bad going back. In fact, the worst traffic on the trip home was around the stadium.
Rose, Khai, Uncle Ken, and Dolores were all home to greet us when we arrived. Rose and Khai took us back to my place. I needed to give her that jar of apple butter I bought for her last weekend anyway. Lauren and I got cleaned up, put our things away, and watched cartoons until it was time to meet Dad and Jodie down the street at Oaklyn Manor Bar.
We had a nice chat with Dad and Jodie on the patio at the Manor Bar. Lauren and I both enjoyed iced teas. She had a chicken and peppers wrap. I had a pizza cheese steak. Jodie had a pepper cheese steak. Dad ordered his favorite Ruben, which was so big, he barely ate half of it. We all split an order of cheese fries, a favorite of Jodie's. They asked Lauren about herself and what she does in Pittsfield (she's a head teller at a small area bank).
After dinner, we said "good bye" to Dad and Jodie and went across the street to Leo's Yum Yums for dessert. I thought Yum Yums and water ice would help make our sunburns feel better. I'm glad I suggested it. My small Rainbow Yum Yum was colorful and just sweet enough. Lauren enjoyed her blueberry water ice, blue lips and all.
I went straight in the shower when we got in. Between two days of sweating and my sunburn, I needed it! Joined Lauren online afterwards. Tomorrow, Lauren heads home, and I head to the Acme to pick up my paycheck and do my weekly grocery shopping.
Life is a lazy river - no matter where you are. Movies, musicals, mysteries, pop culture, and lots of other great stuff.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Anywhere I Wander
As if making up for the humid and hot weather yesterday, Lauren and I awoke to a sky as blue as a robin's egg, soft sunshine, fresh breeze, and no clouds. Lauren wanted to stop at the post office first. Between what she's bought this week and the things I'm getting rid of that she's taking off my hands, she had way too much to carry home! In fact, it took four boxes to get it all sent out.
Since the Oaklyn Post Office was on the way, we went into Collingswood. We had a wonderful lunch at Tortilla Press, a local Mexican restaurant. I ate there last year on my second vacation week, and my friend Amanda joined me for brunch there a few weeks before Christmas. It was just as good as ever. We both had burritos. Lauren had beef and bean. I had chicken and cheese. The jicama slaw and home-made salsa and corn chips were delicious, too.
Our original plan was to wander around in Philadelphia's Old City for a few hours. The thing is, we've spent most of the week wandering around. We've done a LOT of walking. Our legs were tired, and Lauren's not the biggest fan of museums. We decided we'd rather enjoy the small stores in Collingswood and the park on such a nice day instead. Not to mention, neither of us really felt like spending more money on train tickets. We're going to be going to a Phillies game tomorrow, too, and need to rest up for that.
We just went in and out of stores instead. We peeked at an antique store across from the library. I bought a Peanuts comic book, Josefina's Surprise, and a historical action novel about a steamboat race from the Used Book Store. Lauren bought two action novels. We browsed in the little consignment shop. Lauren bought a fancy raspberry soda from the gourmet food shop; I bought a box of chocolate mint green tea. We both got fountain sodas with syrups at WaWa.
Strolling through Newton River Park on the way home was practically mandatory. I showed Lauren the mimosa tree with the long, woody bean-like pods. We ran around on the playground equipment; I went down the roller slide. We tried to swing on the new swings, but they were kind of high.
After we got in, I decided it was cool enough to bake. I made a Blueberry Coffee Cake while Lauren watched three of the Seuss specials (The Lorax, The Grinch Grinches the Cat In the Hat, and The Hoober Bloob Highway. We ran That's Entertainment while I made steamed carrots, whole-wheat macaroni, and chicken breasts marinated in tomatoes and Red Wine Vinaigrette for dinner.
Tomorrow, we are going to be doing something big - we're going out to the ball game to see the Phillies play the Red Sox.
As if making up for the humid and hot weather yesterday, Lauren and I awoke to a sky as blue as a robin's egg, soft sunshine, fresh breeze, and no clouds. Lauren wanted to stop at the post office first. Between what she's bought this week and the things I'm getting rid of that she's taking off my hands, she had way too much to carry home! In fact, it took four boxes to get it all sent out.
Since the Oaklyn Post Office was on the way, we went into Collingswood. We had a wonderful lunch at Tortilla Press, a local Mexican restaurant. I ate there last year on my second vacation week, and my friend Amanda joined me for brunch there a few weeks before Christmas. It was just as good as ever. We both had burritos. Lauren had beef and bean. I had chicken and cheese. The jicama slaw and home-made salsa and corn chips were delicious, too.
Our original plan was to wander around in Philadelphia's Old City for a few hours. The thing is, we've spent most of the week wandering around. We've done a LOT of walking. Our legs were tired, and Lauren's not the biggest fan of museums. We decided we'd rather enjoy the small stores in Collingswood and the park on such a nice day instead. Not to mention, neither of us really felt like spending more money on train tickets. We're going to be going to a Phillies game tomorrow, too, and need to rest up for that.
We just went in and out of stores instead. We peeked at an antique store across from the library. I bought a Peanuts comic book, Josefina's Surprise, and a historical action novel about a steamboat race from the Used Book Store. Lauren bought two action novels. We browsed in the little consignment shop. Lauren bought a fancy raspberry soda from the gourmet food shop; I bought a box of chocolate mint green tea. We both got fountain sodas with syrups at WaWa.
Strolling through Newton River Park on the way home was practically mandatory. I showed Lauren the mimosa tree with the long, woody bean-like pods. We ran around on the playground equipment; I went down the roller slide. We tried to swing on the new swings, but they were kind of high.
After we got in, I decided it was cool enough to bake. I made a Blueberry Coffee Cake while Lauren watched three of the Seuss specials (The Lorax, The Grinch Grinches the Cat In the Hat, and The Hoober Bloob Highway. We ran That's Entertainment while I made steamed carrots, whole-wheat macaroni, and chicken breasts marinated in tomatoes and Red Wine Vinaigrette for dinner.
Tomorrow, we are going to be doing something big - we're going out to the ball game to see the Phillies play the Red Sox.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Philadelphia Pops
We headed for Collingswood around 10:30-11. It turned out to be perfect timing. It was just cloudy and humid when we headed out. We felt the first small drops of water when we were strolling under trees on Lakeview Avenue. By the time the rain was coming down in sheets, we were nice and dry, walking across the parking lot under the train tracks on our way to the PATCO Train Station.
Our first stop after we arrived in Philadelphia was the Gallery Mall. We briefly peeked at the Hallmark and FYE there to wait out the last of the rain. Finding nothing of interest at either store, we decided to brave the weather and head down the street for lunch.
When we came off the escalator at 10th and Market Street, the rain was gone and only a few puddles gave any indication that a shower had occurred. We followed the crowds a few blocks to Reading Terminal Market, the best place in downtown Philly for lunch. It was so busy, we ended up at the only place I could find two counter seats together - Pearl's Oyster Bar, the same counter I had lunch at on my birthday. I had the deviled crab cake sandwich. She had a bowl of lobster bisque that was so big, I was surprised there were no full-grown lobsters swimming in it. She ate the whole thing and said it was delicious.
Macy's across the street was a bit less crowded. Unlike my venture into Macy's at Christmas, there were no lines and lots of help. Lauren bought some sportswear she'd been looking for upstairs. I bought a desperately-needed pair of sandals. Rose and I bought the old pair together from the Macy's in the Deptford Mall about five or six years ago, a few days after I hurt my knee the second time. They'd done their job well, but the bottoms were falling apart. A sweet shoe seller in a black suit and a lovely lace head wrap helped me find the perfect pair, an incredibly comfortable set of brown sandals with thick soles, low heels, and heavy adjustable ankle and toe straps. Buying a Godiva chocolate bar allowed me to drop the price from $50 to about $43.
We went through City Hall and over to South Broad Street and the Avenue of the Arts after Macy's. We both browsed around FYE for almost an hour. Lauren bought a couple of comedies. I found well-priced used copies of The Rocketeer and Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, along with a good sale on the two-disc animated Wonder Woman movie that came out a few years ago.
The sun was out for good as we strode briskly down the Avenue of the Arts and the clouds were down to a few lacy puffs. However, the nasty humidity not only remained, but felt much worse than it had yesterday, and there was no breeze. I took Lauren to my favorite Starbucks on Broad Street that I often visit during the Mummers Parade (mostly because it's one of the only stores on Broad Street open during parades) to grab a quick drink and bathroom break. (We also had a brief peek at the gift shop for Philadelphia International Records.)
Our last stop in Philadelphia was Russakoff's Used Books in Washington Square, one of my favorite used book stores on the planet. They sell used DVDs now, too. Lauren and I both made good finds. Lauren bought a huge pile of Christopher Pike and similar young adult horror novels from the 90s along with the 60s Producers. I picked up a paperback copy of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and two Laurel and Hardy movies, The Devil's Brother and Bonnie Scotland.
There was a reason Russakoff's was our final destination in Philly. It's just a few doors down from the 10th Street and Locust PATCO terminal. We hopped on a very full train back to Collingswood.
Lauren had asked to return to the Pop Shop sometime this week. She liked the look of my ice cream soda so much, she wanted one of her own. I wasn't going to chance it after half of my soda ended up on the counter. This time, she bought an ice cream soda made with blue raspberry syrup, chocolate ice cream, and seltzer. I made my own sundae: two scoops of butter pecan ice cream drizzled with honey, with farm market-fresh blueberries, whipped cream, and two cherries on top.
Mine was heavenly; I love honey on ice cream, and the blueberries added just the right note. Lauren loved her ice cream soda. She also bought herself a Pop Shop shirt to add to her t-shirt collection.
Once again, we were sweating buckets and tired from walking. Time to go home. We didn't go straight back to my place this time, though. Lauren wanted to pick up some soda at CVS, and I bought graham crackers to replace the Fig Newtons cookies we'd both scarfed during the week. (The crackers turned out to be on sale.)
We swung by Uncle Ken's to say hi to him and Dolores, who got home from their trip to Ocean City, Maryland yesterday. Uncle Ken was on the porch we arrived, chatting with his best friend Al, his granddaughter Amber, and Amber's five-year-old daughter Ella and eight-month-old daughter Lilly. I got to introduce Lauren to everyone. Uncle Ken agreed to drive us to the Phillies game on Thursday, and added that Dad would be home from a job in Baltimore tomorrow.
We finally made it home after that. I made Chicken Burgers on Multi-Grain Rolls, sauteed yellow squash, and steamed snap peas for dinner while we watched The Hollywood Revue of 1929. I took a much-needed shower after that.
Tomorrow, we'll be going back to Philly, this time to stroll around in Old City and Penn's Landing.
We headed for Collingswood around 10:30-11. It turned out to be perfect timing. It was just cloudy and humid when we headed out. We felt the first small drops of water when we were strolling under trees on Lakeview Avenue. By the time the rain was coming down in sheets, we were nice and dry, walking across the parking lot under the train tracks on our way to the PATCO Train Station.
Our first stop after we arrived in Philadelphia was the Gallery Mall. We briefly peeked at the Hallmark and FYE there to wait out the last of the rain. Finding nothing of interest at either store, we decided to brave the weather and head down the street for lunch.
When we came off the escalator at 10th and Market Street, the rain was gone and only a few puddles gave any indication that a shower had occurred. We followed the crowds a few blocks to Reading Terminal Market, the best place in downtown Philly for lunch. It was so busy, we ended up at the only place I could find two counter seats together - Pearl's Oyster Bar, the same counter I had lunch at on my birthday. I had the deviled crab cake sandwich. She had a bowl of lobster bisque that was so big, I was surprised there were no full-grown lobsters swimming in it. She ate the whole thing and said it was delicious.
Macy's across the street was a bit less crowded. Unlike my venture into Macy's at Christmas, there were no lines and lots of help. Lauren bought some sportswear she'd been looking for upstairs. I bought a desperately-needed pair of sandals. Rose and I bought the old pair together from the Macy's in the Deptford Mall about five or six years ago, a few days after I hurt my knee the second time. They'd done their job well, but the bottoms were falling apart. A sweet shoe seller in a black suit and a lovely lace head wrap helped me find the perfect pair, an incredibly comfortable set of brown sandals with thick soles, low heels, and heavy adjustable ankle and toe straps. Buying a Godiva chocolate bar allowed me to drop the price from $50 to about $43.
We went through City Hall and over to South Broad Street and the Avenue of the Arts after Macy's. We both browsed around FYE for almost an hour. Lauren bought a couple of comedies. I found well-priced used copies of The Rocketeer and Danger Mouse: The Complete Series, along with a good sale on the two-disc animated Wonder Woman movie that came out a few years ago.
The sun was out for good as we strode briskly down the Avenue of the Arts and the clouds were down to a few lacy puffs. However, the nasty humidity not only remained, but felt much worse than it had yesterday, and there was no breeze. I took Lauren to my favorite Starbucks on Broad Street that I often visit during the Mummers Parade (mostly because it's one of the only stores on Broad Street open during parades) to grab a quick drink and bathroom break. (We also had a brief peek at the gift shop for Philadelphia International Records.)
Our last stop in Philadelphia was Russakoff's Used Books in Washington Square, one of my favorite used book stores on the planet. They sell used DVDs now, too. Lauren and I both made good finds. Lauren bought a huge pile of Christopher Pike and similar young adult horror novels from the 90s along with the 60s Producers. I picked up a paperback copy of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and two Laurel and Hardy movies, The Devil's Brother and Bonnie Scotland.
There was a reason Russakoff's was our final destination in Philly. It's just a few doors down from the 10th Street and Locust PATCO terminal. We hopped on a very full train back to Collingswood.
Lauren had asked to return to the Pop Shop sometime this week. She liked the look of my ice cream soda so much, she wanted one of her own. I wasn't going to chance it after half of my soda ended up on the counter. This time, she bought an ice cream soda made with blue raspberry syrup, chocolate ice cream, and seltzer. I made my own sundae: two scoops of butter pecan ice cream drizzled with honey, with farm market-fresh blueberries, whipped cream, and two cherries on top.
Mine was heavenly; I love honey on ice cream, and the blueberries added just the right note. Lauren loved her ice cream soda. She also bought herself a Pop Shop shirt to add to her t-shirt collection.
Once again, we were sweating buckets and tired from walking. Time to go home. We didn't go straight back to my place this time, though. Lauren wanted to pick up some soda at CVS, and I bought graham crackers to replace the Fig Newtons cookies we'd both scarfed during the week. (The crackers turned out to be on sale.)
We swung by Uncle Ken's to say hi to him and Dolores, who got home from their trip to Ocean City, Maryland yesterday. Uncle Ken was on the porch we arrived, chatting with his best friend Al, his granddaughter Amber, and Amber's five-year-old daughter Ella and eight-month-old daughter Lilly. I got to introduce Lauren to everyone. Uncle Ken agreed to drive us to the Phillies game on Thursday, and added that Dad would be home from a job in Baltimore tomorrow.
We finally made it home after that. I made Chicken Burgers on Multi-Grain Rolls, sauteed yellow squash, and steamed snap peas for dinner while we watched The Hollywood Revue of 1929. I took a much-needed shower after that.
Tomorrow, we'll be going back to Philly, this time to stroll around in Old City and Penn's Landing.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Milkshake Mania
After not doing anything yesterday, we wanted to at the very least get up and stretch our legs. Trouble is, first of all, many of the small, locally-owned shops are closed on Mondays. Second, the weather wasn't promising. It was cloudy, cool, and humid.
Lauren requested returning to the Bagel Shop in Westmont again sometime during this trip. She really loved it when we went there last year. I decided to do something a little different and eat there for breakfast/brunch instead of lunch. I've eaten there on Mondays before, and the chain stores in the Westmont Plaza would all be open.
We arrived at the Bagel Shop around 11:30. Lauren had the Pizza Cheesesteak. I had French Toast and bacon. My French Toast was thick and tasty and just sweet enough, with a hint of garlic under the spices (I suspect it was probably cooked with sandwich breads). Lauren's Cheesesteak came on the same bread that made up my toast. It was huge. She did manage to eat most of it, but I snitched her pickles and the majority of her French fries.
There was a small Game Stop next-door. I didn't get anything there. (The only game system I own is a 1987 Nintendo that doesn't work very well.) Lauren bought two Nintendo DS cartridges filled with Atari games from the early 80s. Her older brother had an Atari when they were first popular, and she said she played with it for many years afterwards. My family wouldn't have a game system until Nintendo was a hit later in the 80s.
After that, we made brief stop at Super Fresh. I needed maple syrup, one of the very few items that's genuinely cheaper there. I also bought green beans for dinner later in the week and rolls. Lauren bought lemon soda.
On our way to Westmont, I noticed a sign next to Kayla's Custard Corner that said "$1.99 Milkshake Mondays." We stopped there on the way home for a treat. We did spend slightly more to get shakes in one of their 24 soft-serve flavors. Lauren had Black Raspberry. I had a very tasty German Chocolate. We rocked back and forth in the wooden glider booths with the bright-colored canopies while watching Elmo's World and children and their parents order ice cream.
We went home to make a pit stop and round up our laundry, then walked back to the laundromat. My luck returned. It was a little busy when we came in, but by the time we were loading our things into one huge drier, everyone was gone but the older woman who was managing today. The weather may have been one reason. Even as Channel 10 News announced storms, the clouds that had been present on and off all day were beginning to look darker.
We decided not to chance fate. The moment the drier stopped whirling, we went home and spent the rest of the evening eating leftover chicken tenders and salad and watching Bowery Boys movies. Right now, we're online, listening to Lauren's iTunes oldies playlist.
Tomorrow should be more exciting. We'll be going into Philadelphia to do some serious shopping.
After not doing anything yesterday, we wanted to at the very least get up and stretch our legs. Trouble is, first of all, many of the small, locally-owned shops are closed on Mondays. Second, the weather wasn't promising. It was cloudy, cool, and humid.
Lauren requested returning to the Bagel Shop in Westmont again sometime during this trip. She really loved it when we went there last year. I decided to do something a little different and eat there for breakfast/brunch instead of lunch. I've eaten there on Mondays before, and the chain stores in the Westmont Plaza would all be open.
We arrived at the Bagel Shop around 11:30. Lauren had the Pizza Cheesesteak. I had French Toast and bacon. My French Toast was thick and tasty and just sweet enough, with a hint of garlic under the spices (I suspect it was probably cooked with sandwich breads). Lauren's Cheesesteak came on the same bread that made up my toast. It was huge. She did manage to eat most of it, but I snitched her pickles and the majority of her French fries.
There was a small Game Stop next-door. I didn't get anything there. (The only game system I own is a 1987 Nintendo that doesn't work very well.) Lauren bought two Nintendo DS cartridges filled with Atari games from the early 80s. Her older brother had an Atari when they were first popular, and she said she played with it for many years afterwards. My family wouldn't have a game system until Nintendo was a hit later in the 80s.
After that, we made brief stop at Super Fresh. I needed maple syrup, one of the very few items that's genuinely cheaper there. I also bought green beans for dinner later in the week and rolls. Lauren bought lemon soda.
On our way to Westmont, I noticed a sign next to Kayla's Custard Corner that said "$1.99 Milkshake Mondays." We stopped there on the way home for a treat. We did spend slightly more to get shakes in one of their 24 soft-serve flavors. Lauren had Black Raspberry. I had a very tasty German Chocolate. We rocked back and forth in the wooden glider booths with the bright-colored canopies while watching Elmo's World and children and their parents order ice cream.
We went home to make a pit stop and round up our laundry, then walked back to the laundromat. My luck returned. It was a little busy when we came in, but by the time we were loading our things into one huge drier, everyone was gone but the older woman who was managing today. The weather may have been one reason. Even as Channel 10 News announced storms, the clouds that had been present on and off all day were beginning to look darker.
We decided not to chance fate. The moment the drier stopped whirling, we went home and spent the rest of the evening eating leftover chicken tenders and salad and watching Bowery Boys movies. Right now, we're online, listening to Lauren's iTunes oldies playlist.
Tomorrow should be more exciting. We'll be going into Philadelphia to do some serious shopping.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Daydream Believers
Actually, we didn't do a whole lot today but be together. I didn't get up until around 11:30. Lauren didn't awaken until nearly noon! I made whole wheat pancakes for both of us for breakfast. Lauren had raspberries and blueberries in hers; I had blueberries and chocolate chips. Other than I made a bit of a mess, we had a pleasant meal. Lauren said the pancakes were delicious. They must have been. She had two big ones and ate both!
I put on a copy of the Monkees concert from 2000 that Lauren sent me years ago. It was fun to watch Peter, Micky, and Davy (Mike doesn't like touring) be silly and play music onstage. We followed that up with a couple of episodes of the original show, including one, "Monkees Mind Their Manor," featuring Bowery Boy Billy Benedict in a cameo role as an elderly man. (He also showed up briefly in an earlier second season episode, "Monkee Mayor," as a sky writer.)
Around 4PM, we decided we were tired of sitting around. I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and Lauren made a salad. We threw bags of snap peas and cherries and a container of sliced tomatoes and apricots in my Styrofoam cooler, grabbed my umbrella, and headed next-door for a picnic.
It was a good day for just hanging out. It was cloudy and much cooler than it has been lately, barely in the 80s. There was a wonderful breeze coming off the river. Except for one woman and her big, shaggy dog, we had the whole park to ourselves. We sat on an old navy sheet of mine and enjoyed our lunch/dinner and the decent weather. Lauren prowled around the park for a while, looking for berry bushes. She never did find them, but she did enjoy the splendid view of Oaklyn and West Collingswood.
When we came back in, we switched off taking showers and getting cleaned up, then watched Bowery Boys movies before going online early. We'll be doing more tomorrow. At the very least, I need to do the laundry, so we won't be hanging around the house all day again.
Actually, we didn't do a whole lot today but be together. I didn't get up until around 11:30. Lauren didn't awaken until nearly noon! I made whole wheat pancakes for both of us for breakfast. Lauren had raspberries and blueberries in hers; I had blueberries and chocolate chips. Other than I made a bit of a mess, we had a pleasant meal. Lauren said the pancakes were delicious. They must have been. She had two big ones and ate both!
I put on a copy of the Monkees concert from 2000 that Lauren sent me years ago. It was fun to watch Peter, Micky, and Davy (Mike doesn't like touring) be silly and play music onstage. We followed that up with a couple of episodes of the original show, including one, "Monkees Mind Their Manor," featuring Bowery Boy Billy Benedict in a cameo role as an elderly man. (He also showed up briefly in an earlier second season episode, "Monkee Mayor," as a sky writer.)
Around 4PM, we decided we were tired of sitting around. I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and Lauren made a salad. We threw bags of snap peas and cherries and a container of sliced tomatoes and apricots in my Styrofoam cooler, grabbed my umbrella, and headed next-door for a picnic.
It was a good day for just hanging out. It was cloudy and much cooler than it has been lately, barely in the 80s. There was a wonderful breeze coming off the river. Except for one woman and her big, shaggy dog, we had the whole park to ourselves. We sat on an old navy sheet of mine and enjoyed our lunch/dinner and the decent weather. Lauren prowled around the park for a while, looking for berry bushes. She never did find them, but she did enjoy the splendid view of Oaklyn and West Collingswood.
When we came back in, we switched off taking showers and getting cleaned up, then watched Bowery Boys movies before going online early. We'll be doing more tomorrow. At the very least, I need to do the laundry, so we won't be hanging around the house all day again.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Pop Goes the Farm Market
I actually got Lauren out around 9:30 this morning for my weekly farm market/yard sale run. We saw a sign for a yard sale at West Park Avenue going into Audubon yesterday. Lauren didn't find anything, but I picked up two CD books and a video copy of Ducktails: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. (Ducktails is currently only available on DVD as a Disney Movie Club exclusive.) I'm hoping to make more room for my growing record collection by loading the CDs into books instead of crates. Pre-recorded DVDs will stay in their own boxes for now, but home-made ones will eventually go into books as well.
We briefly checked out one more yard sale on the way to Collingswood, but it was mostly kids' toys, nothing of interest to either of us. The Farm Market was as busy as always. Encouraged by picture-perfect, lower-80s-breezy-and-sunny weather, I imagine many people had barbecues today or held their graduation parties outdoors. Lauren got her favorite red raspberries and apple butter for her parents. I bought cherries, blueberries, honey, apricots from the wholesaler, and I picked up sugar-free apple butter for my sister Rose, who requested it yesterday.
We made a pit-stop at the Collingswood Library, then went over to the PATCO to take the train to Haddonfield. I promised Lauren I'd take her to the British Chip Shop for lunch. She loves British Invasion bands. We both had the same Chip Shop Sandwich and mountain of greens with malt vinegar and oil I had a few months ago. She had lemonade soda; I had black currant soda. (We were far too hot for tea!) The sandwiches were once again excellent, crispy and slightly sweet and made with mustard that was so spicy, it cleared our sinuses. We both agreed that we'd rather have a pile of fresh, earthy greens drizzled with vinegar and oil than greasy fries or chips!
After lunch, we made our way across Kings Highway to the Happy Hippo Toy Shop. For once, I didn't see anything I liked. Lauren bought a large set of basic Legos that were just Legos, not something belonging to a set or series. She said she'd been looking for a basic set like that for a long time. Apparently, she still has all of her childhood Legos.
There wasn't really much else in Haddonfield that interested us. We just hopped the PATCO back to Collingswood. Besides, I wanted to introduce Lauren to a special treat. The Pop Shop, a very popular 50s-style diner in Collingswood, is renown for their amazing ice cream creations. Their milkshakes have literally won awards from local magazines. They were dealing with the tail end of a noisy lunch crowd when we came in, but we did find seats at the counter. She had chocolate ice cream with marshmallow topping. I had a "Strawberry Blonde" - strawberry ice cream with strawberry syrup in seltzer. I went to the bathroom...and came out to find a glass of pink froth gushing all over the counter! It was a big mess, but a very tasty mess, sweet and cool and VERY strawberry. Lauren enjoyed her ice cream, too.
By this point, we were hot and tired and sweaty. Other than one quick peek at another yard sale with nothing of interest, we went straight home. Spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, listening to records, and watching movies at my place. I finally made that fish I was going to do yesterday for our dinner, along with mashed turnips and sauteed zucchini. Dessert was Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Pie.
We're back online in my living room again, listening to Monkees CDs. Tomorrow...we're just going to hang out at my place after two long walks in a row. I was thinking we could sleep in as long as possible and have a picnic in the park for lunch.
I actually got Lauren out around 9:30 this morning for my weekly farm market/yard sale run. We saw a sign for a yard sale at West Park Avenue going into Audubon yesterday. Lauren didn't find anything, but I picked up two CD books and a video copy of Ducktails: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. (Ducktails is currently only available on DVD as a Disney Movie Club exclusive.) I'm hoping to make more room for my growing record collection by loading the CDs into books instead of crates. Pre-recorded DVDs will stay in their own boxes for now, but home-made ones will eventually go into books as well.
We briefly checked out one more yard sale on the way to Collingswood, but it was mostly kids' toys, nothing of interest to either of us. The Farm Market was as busy as always. Encouraged by picture-perfect, lower-80s-breezy-and-sunny weather, I imagine many people had barbecues today or held their graduation parties outdoors. Lauren got her favorite red raspberries and apple butter for her parents. I bought cherries, blueberries, honey, apricots from the wholesaler, and I picked up sugar-free apple butter for my sister Rose, who requested it yesterday.
We made a pit-stop at the Collingswood Library, then went over to the PATCO to take the train to Haddonfield. I promised Lauren I'd take her to the British Chip Shop for lunch. She loves British Invasion bands. We both had the same Chip Shop Sandwich and mountain of greens with malt vinegar and oil I had a few months ago. She had lemonade soda; I had black currant soda. (We were far too hot for tea!) The sandwiches were once again excellent, crispy and slightly sweet and made with mustard that was so spicy, it cleared our sinuses. We both agreed that we'd rather have a pile of fresh, earthy greens drizzled with vinegar and oil than greasy fries or chips!
After lunch, we made our way across Kings Highway to the Happy Hippo Toy Shop. For once, I didn't see anything I liked. Lauren bought a large set of basic Legos that were just Legos, not something belonging to a set or series. She said she'd been looking for a basic set like that for a long time. Apparently, she still has all of her childhood Legos.
There wasn't really much else in Haddonfield that interested us. We just hopped the PATCO back to Collingswood. Besides, I wanted to introduce Lauren to a special treat. The Pop Shop, a very popular 50s-style diner in Collingswood, is renown for their amazing ice cream creations. Their milkshakes have literally won awards from local magazines. They were dealing with the tail end of a noisy lunch crowd when we came in, but we did find seats at the counter. She had chocolate ice cream with marshmallow topping. I had a "Strawberry Blonde" - strawberry ice cream with strawberry syrup in seltzer. I went to the bathroom...and came out to find a glass of pink froth gushing all over the counter! It was a big mess, but a very tasty mess, sweet and cool and VERY strawberry. Lauren enjoyed her ice cream, too.
By this point, we were hot and tired and sweaty. Other than one quick peek at another yard sale with nothing of interest, we went straight home. Spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, listening to records, and watching movies at my place. I finally made that fish I was going to do yesterday for our dinner, along with mashed turnips and sauteed zucchini. Dessert was Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Pie.
We're back online in my living room again, listening to Monkees CDs. Tomorrow...we're just going to hang out at my place after two long walks in a row. I was thinking we could sleep in as long as possible and have a picnic in the park for lunch.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Don't Stop Us Now
After her long trip, I let Lauren sleep in this morning. I got up around 9:30 and read and wrote in my journal in bed. She got up around 11, just after I finished breakfast. I ran the "Garfield's Travel Adventures" specials while she got dressed and ate.
It was past noon when we headed out on foot for the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. (Lauren's too small to ride both of my bikes, so we'll be either walking, asking for rides, or taking buses this week.) I stopped at the Acme really quick for my paychecks, then we headed to the shopping center proper.
With FYE gone, there wasn't much back there that interested us. Lauren owns a Wii, so we popped in the Game Stop there for a moment for her to check out the inventory. After that, we went to Tu Se Bella, the pizzeria next-door to Game Stop, for lunch. I had a slice of mushroom and a slice of white garlic broccoli. She had a slice of bruschetta (olive oil and tomatoes) and a slice of pepperoni. I bought a bottle of water; she bought a bottle of Coke. It was all delicious, as Tu Se Bella always is, and delivered quickly despite us hitting the tail end of the lunch crowd.
We went back to the Acme after lunch. She wanted more soda for the week. I needed a few other things. I was out of eggs and chicken and wanted to stock up on peanut butter. Acme was having a good sale on Wishbone salad dressing, and I had a coupon for $1.50 off three. The mousse mix was on sale, so I bought things for a mousse pie for us this week.
After we walked home, I put everything away and made a pudding pie while Lauren took her bathroom break. I took mine, then watched Looney Tunes with Lauren for about 20 minutes until we were ready to head out again.
We made a quick stop at the bank to deposit my paycheck money. Our first stop after that was The House of Fun, the collectibles store a few doors down. They weren't open when Lauren visited last year because they were busy moving into their larger current location. (Their former location now houses a tattoo parlor.) She loved it, loved the shelves filled with boxes of 70s and 80s board games, rows and rows of still-in-packaging action figures, and displays of random Hello Kitty merchandise, pop culture-print t-shirts, comic books, and obsolete video game systems going back to the earliest Atari boxes.
Lauren didn't buy anything, but I found something just sitting on one of the still-waiting-to-be-unloaded boxes. A pretty white bear with a pink saddle on her back and faded white and yellow stars around her body stood on the box and watched us with her painted pale-blue eyes. I very much remembered owning her as a child. According to the man at the desk, she was Ursa Major, one of the toys in the Hasbro mid-80s Moon Dreamers line
Yes! Moon Dreamers was one of the 15-minute "Friends" segments of My Little Pony and Friends. Hasbro marketed doll versions of all of these segments, including Moon Dreamers. Basically a cross between My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite, the Moon Dreamers made sure humans had sweet dreams via the crystals they carried. The "gimmick" with the dolls and toys was that they, their clothes, and the animals the smaller dolls could ride on glowed in the dark. Ursa was one of the two vinyl ride-on toys, a gentle white bear. We had the other one, too: Rory, the lion with the pink mane.
(This was one of the few toy lines we had a playset for. We used the Dream-Along-Drifter for years as a floating bed or ersatz RV for our smaller dolls and My Little Ponies. We also had the Crystal Starr, Whimzee, and Star Gazer dolls and the plastic "crystal" necklaces that came with them. Whimzee's plastic gem-trimmed headband and Star Gazer's silver and purple gauze robe were around for longer than the dolls themselves were.)
It was a gorgeous day, breezy and hot without being as humid as yesterday...but it was still hot. By 3:30, we both desperately needed a drink. I bought an Icee at WaWa. Lauren added raspberry syrup to Mello Yello, turning it a gorgeous shade of red. (She said it was really tasty, too.)
We went over the train bridge and into Audubon. Lauren got along so well with Bob at Abbie Road last year, I wanted to take her back again. We had a nice chat with him, and he let us pick out used CDs for two and three dollars each!
We also dropped by Desserts By Design while in Audubon. I got a chocolate coconut cupcake. Lauren bought her favorite Almond Paste Cookie. She got to meet the nice lady who works there. (One of her daughters was working the counter when I brought Lauren there last year.)
It was 6PM by this point. We headed across Nicholson Road, down Manor Avenue, and over to Hillcrest. Jodie invited us over to Dad's house to say "hi" to her, Rose, and Khai. The two women and the baby boy were still there when we arrived. They offered us the last of their cheese pizza, which we gratefully accepted. (I'll use the fish I originally pulled out tomorrow.) Lauren got to meet my sister and coo over my adorable nephew...and Khai got to show off his new walking skills!
When we finally arrived back at my place, I went straight in the shower and Lauren put on Tangled. We spent the rest of the night online, listening to CDs and looking up Ursa Minor and other 80s toys.
Tomorrow, we're hoping to hit the Collingswood Farm Market, then have lunch in Haddonfield.
After her long trip, I let Lauren sleep in this morning. I got up around 9:30 and read and wrote in my journal in bed. She got up around 11, just after I finished breakfast. I ran the "Garfield's Travel Adventures" specials while she got dressed and ate.
It was past noon when we headed out on foot for the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. (Lauren's too small to ride both of my bikes, so we'll be either walking, asking for rides, or taking buses this week.) I stopped at the Acme really quick for my paychecks, then we headed to the shopping center proper.
With FYE gone, there wasn't much back there that interested us. Lauren owns a Wii, so we popped in the Game Stop there for a moment for her to check out the inventory. After that, we went to Tu Se Bella, the pizzeria next-door to Game Stop, for lunch. I had a slice of mushroom and a slice of white garlic broccoli. She had a slice of bruschetta (olive oil and tomatoes) and a slice of pepperoni. I bought a bottle of water; she bought a bottle of Coke. It was all delicious, as Tu Se Bella always is, and delivered quickly despite us hitting the tail end of the lunch crowd.
We went back to the Acme after lunch. She wanted more soda for the week. I needed a few other things. I was out of eggs and chicken and wanted to stock up on peanut butter. Acme was having a good sale on Wishbone salad dressing, and I had a coupon for $1.50 off three. The mousse mix was on sale, so I bought things for a mousse pie for us this week.
After we walked home, I put everything away and made a pudding pie while Lauren took her bathroom break. I took mine, then watched Looney Tunes with Lauren for about 20 minutes until we were ready to head out again.
We made a quick stop at the bank to deposit my paycheck money. Our first stop after that was The House of Fun, the collectibles store a few doors down. They weren't open when Lauren visited last year because they were busy moving into their larger current location. (Their former location now houses a tattoo parlor.) She loved it, loved the shelves filled with boxes of 70s and 80s board games, rows and rows of still-in-packaging action figures, and displays of random Hello Kitty merchandise, pop culture-print t-shirts, comic books, and obsolete video game systems going back to the earliest Atari boxes.
Lauren didn't buy anything, but I found something just sitting on one of the still-waiting-to-be-unloaded boxes. A pretty white bear with a pink saddle on her back and faded white and yellow stars around her body stood on the box and watched us with her painted pale-blue eyes. I very much remembered owning her as a child. According to the man at the desk, she was Ursa Major, one of the toys in the Hasbro mid-80s Moon Dreamers line
Yes! Moon Dreamers was one of the 15-minute "Friends" segments of My Little Pony and Friends. Hasbro marketed doll versions of all of these segments, including Moon Dreamers. Basically a cross between My Little Pony and Rainbow Brite, the Moon Dreamers made sure humans had sweet dreams via the crystals they carried. The "gimmick" with the dolls and toys was that they, their clothes, and the animals the smaller dolls could ride on glowed in the dark. Ursa was one of the two vinyl ride-on toys, a gentle white bear. We had the other one, too: Rory, the lion with the pink mane.
(This was one of the few toy lines we had a playset for. We used the Dream-Along-Drifter for years as a floating bed or ersatz RV for our smaller dolls and My Little Ponies. We also had the Crystal Starr, Whimzee, and Star Gazer dolls and the plastic "crystal" necklaces that came with them. Whimzee's plastic gem-trimmed headband and Star Gazer's silver and purple gauze robe were around for longer than the dolls themselves were.)
It was a gorgeous day, breezy and hot without being as humid as yesterday...but it was still hot. By 3:30, we both desperately needed a drink. I bought an Icee at WaWa. Lauren added raspberry syrup to Mello Yello, turning it a gorgeous shade of red. (She said it was really tasty, too.)
We went over the train bridge and into Audubon. Lauren got along so well with Bob at Abbie Road last year, I wanted to take her back again. We had a nice chat with him, and he let us pick out used CDs for two and three dollars each!
We also dropped by Desserts By Design while in Audubon. I got a chocolate coconut cupcake. Lauren bought her favorite Almond Paste Cookie. She got to meet the nice lady who works there. (One of her daughters was working the counter when I brought Lauren there last year.)
It was 6PM by this point. We headed across Nicholson Road, down Manor Avenue, and over to Hillcrest. Jodie invited us over to Dad's house to say "hi" to her, Rose, and Khai. The two women and the baby boy were still there when we arrived. They offered us the last of their cheese pizza, which we gratefully accepted. (I'll use the fish I originally pulled out tomorrow.) Lauren got to meet my sister and coo over my adorable nephew...and Khai got to show off his new walking skills!
When we finally arrived back at my place, I went straight in the shower and Lauren put on Tangled. We spent the rest of the night online, listening to CDs and looking up Ursa Minor and other 80s toys.
Tomorrow, we're hoping to hit the Collingswood Farm Market, then have lunch in Haddonfield.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Balance on Vacation
With so many things to do before Lauren arrived at 6:14, I decided to get an early start and some nice meditation in. It was spitting lightly and humid when I headed out to Yogawood this morning. It wasn't even doing that when I arrived in Collingswood.
Yoga was actually quite pleasant. We concentrated on standing and balance poses to stretch the hamstrings. Most of them weren't too hard for me to do. When the others briefly did headstands, I did a child's pose. It was too humid and stuffy to try pushing things.
Went straight to the Collingswood Library after work. There was a small pile of DVDs for me to do. I spent more time trying to rearrange the kids' section, which was the usual disaster. I also shelved my first Wii disc, Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. Collingswood is the only local library I know of that rents Wii titles.
I was out of the library by 11:30. I had too much to do to linger for long. It was raining slightly harder when I rode across Newton River Park, dodging several dog walkers, but still not storming. My next stop was the CVS across from the park. I needed frames for all of the pictures of various siblings and nephews I've accrued over the past few years and allergy medicine.
Next up was my second library volunteering session of the day, this time at the Oaklyn Library. Their DVD section looked awful. They finally got rid of the last of their videos...but in attempting to move the DVDs down, they just got them out of order. The non-fiction is in with the fiction and nothing was alphabetical.
Since the Oaklyn WaWa is a few blocks from the library, I headed over there for lunch and for milk. They were a bit busy, but I got my skim milk half-gallon and turkey and Swiss junior hoagie without too much of a fuss.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at home, preparing for my visitor. I ate my hoagie and honey twist pretzels from the Acme. I gave the bathroom a quick scrub. I mounted photos of my nephews, Keefe and Jessa's senior pictures, a shot of my friend Jen in her Navy uniform, and a very nice picture of my sister Anny onto frames and set them on the antique dresser in the living room. I swept the porch. I cleaned the plastic deck chairs. I took the recycling downstairs. I sewed up my stuffed bear Bernice, whose underbelly split.
I was working on sewing Vert, another stuffed animal, when Jodie called. She'd showed up early, at 5:30, to pick up Lauren. Barely a minute after her call, I heard from Lauren. She was delayed at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia - something about power difficulties.
Thankfully, it turns out Lauren was only about ten minutes late. She arrived around 6:25, wearing a sweater and jeans. She said it was in the 60s in Albany when she left this morning! Needless to say, she changed into shorts the moment we got in.
Lauren spent the whole day on a train, and I didn't have much money left on me. We've been hanging at my apartment tonight, watching Bowery Boys movies and National Lampoon's Vacation. Tomorrow, I need to get to the Acme to pick up my paycheck and grocery shop, then we'll probably just stroll around Oaklyn and Audubon.
With so many things to do before Lauren arrived at 6:14, I decided to get an early start and some nice meditation in. It was spitting lightly and humid when I headed out to Yogawood this morning. It wasn't even doing that when I arrived in Collingswood.
Yoga was actually quite pleasant. We concentrated on standing and balance poses to stretch the hamstrings. Most of them weren't too hard for me to do. When the others briefly did headstands, I did a child's pose. It was too humid and stuffy to try pushing things.
Went straight to the Collingswood Library after work. There was a small pile of DVDs for me to do. I spent more time trying to rearrange the kids' section, which was the usual disaster. I also shelved my first Wii disc, Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. Collingswood is the only local library I know of that rents Wii titles.
I was out of the library by 11:30. I had too much to do to linger for long. It was raining slightly harder when I rode across Newton River Park, dodging several dog walkers, but still not storming. My next stop was the CVS across from the park. I needed frames for all of the pictures of various siblings and nephews I've accrued over the past few years and allergy medicine.
Next up was my second library volunteering session of the day, this time at the Oaklyn Library. Their DVD section looked awful. They finally got rid of the last of their videos...but in attempting to move the DVDs down, they just got them out of order. The non-fiction is in with the fiction and nothing was alphabetical.
Since the Oaklyn WaWa is a few blocks from the library, I headed over there for lunch and for milk. They were a bit busy, but I got my skim milk half-gallon and turkey and Swiss junior hoagie without too much of a fuss.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at home, preparing for my visitor. I ate my hoagie and honey twist pretzels from the Acme. I gave the bathroom a quick scrub. I mounted photos of my nephews, Keefe and Jessa's senior pictures, a shot of my friend Jen in her Navy uniform, and a very nice picture of my sister Anny onto frames and set them on the antique dresser in the living room. I swept the porch. I cleaned the plastic deck chairs. I took the recycling downstairs. I sewed up my stuffed bear Bernice, whose underbelly split.
I was working on sewing Vert, another stuffed animal, when Jodie called. She'd showed up early, at 5:30, to pick up Lauren. Barely a minute after her call, I heard from Lauren. She was delayed at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia - something about power difficulties.
Thankfully, it turns out Lauren was only about ten minutes late. She arrived around 6:25, wearing a sweater and jeans. She said it was in the 60s in Albany when she left this morning! Needless to say, she changed into shorts the moment we got in.
Lauren spent the whole day on a train, and I didn't have much money left on me. We've been hanging at my apartment tonight, watching Bowery Boys movies and National Lampoon's Vacation. Tomorrow, I need to get to the Acme to pick up my paycheck and grocery shop, then we'll probably just stroll around Oaklyn and Audubon.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Welcome to Vacation
Thank goodness work wasn't nearly as bad today as it was yesterday. I think working much earlier (I went in at 9) was a big help. There were a few annoying customers, but nothing too horrible. We were on-and-off busy during the noon rush, which tends to hit us hard, due to the eight restaurants in the mall behind us. Otherwise, we were fairly dead. It was hot and humid all day. I doubt anyone's in a hurry to get anywhere.
Except for me. It was quiet enough when I got off that I was able to shut down on time today and head right out for the start of my vacation! I'm off from tomorrow until July 1st. Even if Lauren wasn't coming down tomorrow evening, I think I still need it badly. I feel like I've been going non-stop for the past month and a half.
I spent my first few hours of vacation doing the last of the dusting in the bedroom. It took longer than usual because I actually dusted under all of the stuffed animals, books, and action figures. I usually dust around them. Who's gonna see it but me? I dust under them four times a year, once a season. Normally, I would have done it already, but I put it off until closer to Lauren's visit.
After I finally finished, I made a quick dinner of blueberries, mashed turnips, scrambled eggs, and toast while watching Tiny Toons Adventures. Plucky, Hampton, Babs, and Buster take a wacky tour of the Old World in "Europe in 30 Minutes." The four eventually end up in London, where they foil a plot to kidnap Princess Diana and Prince Charles. (Did I mention this episode was made around 1991? There's even fairly accurate caricatures of the royal celebrities in question.)
I went for a stroll to Leo's Yum Yums on West Clinton Avenue to stretch my legs and go for a short walk. It was still humid out by 7:30, but a bit cooler. The recent thunderstorms have been a huge help to the neighborhood gardens. Rows of lillies in brilliant oranges, golds, and whites and soft, sunny daisies bloom in profusion in front of many homes. The wind dashed through large green leaves in the shady trees.
Bought the same thing at Leo's that I did on my last excursion there, a small vanilla frozen yogurt with rainbow sprinkles. This time, there was no line, and I was able to enjoy my treat in peace.
Thank goodness work wasn't nearly as bad today as it was yesterday. I think working much earlier (I went in at 9) was a big help. There were a few annoying customers, but nothing too horrible. We were on-and-off busy during the noon rush, which tends to hit us hard, due to the eight restaurants in the mall behind us. Otherwise, we were fairly dead. It was hot and humid all day. I doubt anyone's in a hurry to get anywhere.
Except for me. It was quiet enough when I got off that I was able to shut down on time today and head right out for the start of my vacation! I'm off from tomorrow until July 1st. Even if Lauren wasn't coming down tomorrow evening, I think I still need it badly. I feel like I've been going non-stop for the past month and a half.
I spent my first few hours of vacation doing the last of the dusting in the bedroom. It took longer than usual because I actually dusted under all of the stuffed animals, books, and action figures. I usually dust around them. Who's gonna see it but me? I dust under them four times a year, once a season. Normally, I would have done it already, but I put it off until closer to Lauren's visit.
After I finally finished, I made a quick dinner of blueberries, mashed turnips, scrambled eggs, and toast while watching Tiny Toons Adventures. Plucky, Hampton, Babs, and Buster take a wacky tour of the Old World in "Europe in 30 Minutes." The four eventually end up in London, where they foil a plot to kidnap Princess Diana and Prince Charles. (Did I mention this episode was made around 1991? There's even fairly accurate caricatures of the royal celebrities in question.)
I went for a stroll to Leo's Yum Yums on West Clinton Avenue to stretch my legs and go for a short walk. It was still humid out by 7:30, but a bit cooler. The recent thunderstorms have been a huge help to the neighborhood gardens. Rows of lillies in brilliant oranges, golds, and whites and soft, sunny daisies bloom in profusion in front of many homes. The wind dashed through large green leaves in the shady trees.
Bought the same thing at Leo's that I did on my last excursion there, a small vanilla frozen yogurt with rainbow sprinkles. This time, there was no line, and I was able to enjoy my treat in peace.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Out of Time, Out of Mind
The day didn't begin too badly. I slept in after staying up late with Lauren last night. (She took a full two weeks off. I opted to save part of my second week off for visiting Mom and the family in Cape May County later in the summer or early fall.) After breakfast, I spent most of the morning and early afternoon dusting the bedroom and finishing Nick of Time.
Linda Young was right about Nick of Time - it is a "corking good adventure!" The "Nick" of the title is Nick McIver, a 12-year-old boy living in the English Channel Islands in 1939. When he and his sister Kate find a sea chest on the beach that doesn't look worn, they find themselves thrown into a wild adventure involving time travel, pirates, Nazis, and kidnapped children.
Forget whether you're a kid or not. If you're a fan of historical novels, time travel stories, swashbucklers, or World War II tales, you'll love this. The switching back and forth between two time periods is well-done, the action is just violent enough without being bloody (this is a book for pre-teens), and the characters are well-written. According to the back of the book, there's a second novel out about Nick's adventures in history, The Time Pirate. I'm absolutely going to have to look for that one, too.
I wish work was that much fun. It was a total pain in the rear end. It wasn't too bad when I came in, but the 4-6 rush hour brought large crowds. I had one older couple who kept arguing with each other while giving me orders about how to bag that were so confusing, I didn't really know what they wanted. Another woman who came through my line 20 minutes later threw a fit when I dared to bag her groceries in plastic. I thought the handles would help her carry them! "No plastic!" she snapped. Geez. I was just being nice.
And of course, my very last customer was a woman with a WIC Check who got the wrong bread. "Oh, my son grabbed the wrong one," she fussed. Um, her son didn't look any more than three years old, and I didn't see anyone else with her. I had to go back twice to get bread because she wanted Pepperidge Farm, not Arnold's. (If she wanted Pepperidge Farm, why didn't she get it in the first place? It's not like the labels are hard to read.)
On the other hand, there was a really funny guy around 5 who came through with reading glasses along with his other things. When I handed them to him so they wouldn't get broken, he said that's why he was buying this pair. He apparently sat on his old ones and broke them in half! The lady behind him laughed and said she and her co-workers just bought their supervisor three pairs for more-or-less the same reason. "We wanted to stop holding up papers so he could see them across the room!" she chuckled.
I went straight home after work. I had leftovers and watched Donald Duck cartoons. Even when Disney ended Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto's solo series in the early 50s, Donald continued doing shorts into the 60s. His last ones were all what today we would call "edutainment."
The best of these was the classic featurette Donald in Mathmagic Land from 1956. Donald wanders through a world of mathmatical ideas, discovering how they relate to real life. From the history of math and music to geometry in plants to the way math and sports go together, Donald learns that math really is more than numbers for "eggheads." As someone who has always been terrible at math, I enjoyed seeing how it could relate to real-world subjects like nature and music. I especially enjoyed seeing the live flower footage and how even Mother Nature employs geometric designs.
The other cartoons weren't quite as successful. The two How to Have an Accident shorts portray Donald in Goofy-suburban-father mode, which doesn't really suit him that well. Otherwise, they're still pretty funny, and At Home in particular remains relevant today regarding common household carelessness and how it can be avoided.
The Litterbug and Donald and the Wheel were some of the last theatrical shorts Donald would appear in until the 80s. Both rely heavily on live-action footage with the animation, showing off the lack of resources in the shorts department by then. The first is an environmentally-friendly warning against littering with Donald and his nephews as Exhibit A for the defense.
The second is a bit more fanciful. The Spirits of Progress try to persuade cave duck Donald to become the inventor of one of man (and duck) kind's greatest inventions - the wheel. Donald and the Wheel has some really catchy music, too. I always liked Papa and Junior Progress' "The Principal of the Thing."
The day didn't begin too badly. I slept in after staying up late with Lauren last night. (She took a full two weeks off. I opted to save part of my second week off for visiting Mom and the family in Cape May County later in the summer or early fall.) After breakfast, I spent most of the morning and early afternoon dusting the bedroom and finishing Nick of Time.
Linda Young was right about Nick of Time - it is a "corking good adventure!" The "Nick" of the title is Nick McIver, a 12-year-old boy living in the English Channel Islands in 1939. When he and his sister Kate find a sea chest on the beach that doesn't look worn, they find themselves thrown into a wild adventure involving time travel, pirates, Nazis, and kidnapped children.
Forget whether you're a kid or not. If you're a fan of historical novels, time travel stories, swashbucklers, or World War II tales, you'll love this. The switching back and forth between two time periods is well-done, the action is just violent enough without being bloody (this is a book for pre-teens), and the characters are well-written. According to the back of the book, there's a second novel out about Nick's adventures in history, The Time Pirate. I'm absolutely going to have to look for that one, too.
I wish work was that much fun. It was a total pain in the rear end. It wasn't too bad when I came in, but the 4-6 rush hour brought large crowds. I had one older couple who kept arguing with each other while giving me orders about how to bag that were so confusing, I didn't really know what they wanted. Another woman who came through my line 20 minutes later threw a fit when I dared to bag her groceries in plastic. I thought the handles would help her carry them! "No plastic!" she snapped. Geez. I was just being nice.
And of course, my very last customer was a woman with a WIC Check who got the wrong bread. "Oh, my son grabbed the wrong one," she fussed. Um, her son didn't look any more than three years old, and I didn't see anyone else with her. I had to go back twice to get bread because she wanted Pepperidge Farm, not Arnold's. (If she wanted Pepperidge Farm, why didn't she get it in the first place? It's not like the labels are hard to read.)
On the other hand, there was a really funny guy around 5 who came through with reading glasses along with his other things. When I handed them to him so they wouldn't get broken, he said that's why he was buying this pair. He apparently sat on his old ones and broke them in half! The lady behind him laughed and said she and her co-workers just bought their supervisor three pairs for more-or-less the same reason. "We wanted to stop holding up papers so he could see them across the room!" she chuckled.
I went straight home after work. I had leftovers and watched Donald Duck cartoons. Even when Disney ended Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto's solo series in the early 50s, Donald continued doing shorts into the 60s. His last ones were all what today we would call "edutainment."
The best of these was the classic featurette Donald in Mathmagic Land from 1956. Donald wanders through a world of mathmatical ideas, discovering how they relate to real life. From the history of math and music to geometry in plants to the way math and sports go together, Donald learns that math really is more than numbers for "eggheads." As someone who has always been terrible at math, I enjoyed seeing how it could relate to real-world subjects like nature and music. I especially enjoyed seeing the live flower footage and how even Mother Nature employs geometric designs.
The other cartoons weren't quite as successful. The two How to Have an Accident shorts portray Donald in Goofy-suburban-father mode, which doesn't really suit him that well. Otherwise, they're still pretty funny, and At Home in particular remains relevant today regarding common household carelessness and how it can be avoided.
The Litterbug and Donald and the Wheel were some of the last theatrical shorts Donald would appear in until the 80s. Both rely heavily on live-action footage with the animation, showing off the lack of resources in the shorts department by then. The first is an environmentally-friendly warning against littering with Donald and his nephews as Exhibit A for the defense.
The second is a bit more fanciful. The Spirits of Progress try to persuade cave duck Donald to become the inventor of one of man (and duck) kind's greatest inventions - the wheel. Donald and the Wheel has some really catchy music, too. I always liked Papa and Junior Progress' "The Principal of the Thing."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Baker's Delight
I have lots to do this week before Lauren arrives on Thursday. Started today with a laundry run. Alas, my luck with avoiding crowds ran out this morning. It was busy as heck when I got in. For some reason, there were at least three or four families doing their loads today. I'm thankful I was able to get a washer and dryer quickly.
Put the clothes away as soon as I got home. Returned the floral tablecloth to the coffee table in the music area. (The old 60s-era plastic table I got from a yard sale is ugly without it.) I ate a quick lunch of leftovers, then did some baking. It'll be too late later in the week to bake! I made raspberry muffins and chocolate chip bars. The bars were a little hard, but the muffins came out very well. I used another recipe from that British cookie/muffin baking book I bought a few years ago. It called for oil and buttermilk, making it one of the lower-fat recipes in the book. The muffins are moist and sweet and tangy.
While everything was baking, I dusted the entertainment area. I'm doing major dusting, which means removing all of the DVDs and videos and stuffed animals and dusting under them. It takes a while. I just barely made it out to work on time.
Work was really busy all night. Other than a few annoying people, there were no major problems, and I was in and out.
I have lots to do this week before Lauren arrives on Thursday. Started today with a laundry run. Alas, my luck with avoiding crowds ran out this morning. It was busy as heck when I got in. For some reason, there were at least three or four families doing their loads today. I'm thankful I was able to get a washer and dryer quickly.
Put the clothes away as soon as I got home. Returned the floral tablecloth to the coffee table in the music area. (The old 60s-era plastic table I got from a yard sale is ugly without it.) I ate a quick lunch of leftovers, then did some baking. It'll be too late later in the week to bake! I made raspberry muffins and chocolate chip bars. The bars were a little hard, but the muffins came out very well. I used another recipe from that British cookie/muffin baking book I bought a few years ago. It called for oil and buttermilk, making it one of the lower-fat recipes in the book. The muffins are moist and sweet and tangy.
While everything was baking, I dusted the entertainment area. I'm doing major dusting, which means removing all of the DVDs and videos and stuffed animals and dusting under them. It takes a while. I just barely made it out to work on time.
Work was really busy all night. Other than a few annoying people, there were no major problems, and I was in and out.
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