August 19, 2013
Last summer (I can't believe it's been a year!), I said to the Beaner, "it's time for music lessons. Would you like to do piano, guitar, or vocals?" He replied, "I want to play the drums." This I found interesting, as I, too, had wanted to play the drums as a child. Well, actually I wanted to play the flute when we were offered the opportunity to choose band instruments in fourth grade, but back in the olden days,...
August 5, 2009
I've got a bunch of half-written posts in "draft" status, including the next installment of the Disney trip (yes, a MONTH later), but I'm going to post a few random small things rather than letting the longer posts clog up the pipe....
November 10, 2008
Can somebody tell me why this is my most-viewed Flickr photo of all time? It consistently gets 5-8 views a day, and almost all references to it are from within Flickr, not from outside sites or search engines. Is it coming up in Flickr photo searches? Do the members of the Graffiti group dive that deeply into the pool? I have no idea. Do you?...
December 31, 2007
In the tradition of other Guess Where? groups on Flickr (most notably Guess Where SF, to which my friend Kristin is an occasional contributor), I've started a group called Guess Where Philadelphia (Center City/West Philly). I'm sort of bummed about the long name, but Greater Philadelphia is rather large and encompasses places like Manayunk, Chestnut Hill, and NE Philly—places I'm not nearly as familiar with—and I wanted to limit the group to my stomping grounds. (I'm selfish that way.)...
September 18, 2007
It's a beautiful early fall day here in Philadelphia, with cool temperatures and dry air. No need for A/C, so I've had the windows open for the past few days to clear out the stuffiness. About 30 minutes ago, however, the noise became unbearable, and I had to shut the ones in the front of the house at least. At the same time, I took at look out the window to see where all that racket was coming from,...
August 29, 2007
I was almost hit by a car this morning. I've had near misses before, but this was the nearest, scariest miss ever. I'd been out for a morning walk and was on my way back from a stop at Whole Foods when I reached the northernmost side of the Ben Franklin Parkway while walking south on 21st Street....
April 28, 2007
About once or twice a year, something will happen that makes Al and me consider moving back to San Francisco. Maybe not seriously, but enough to check the housing prices and to start having theoretical discussions about what would be lost and what would be gained by moving....
April 13, 2007
That sound you just heard, if you live in the vicinity of 21st and Cherry Streets in Philadelphia, was an asshole honking at me to get out of the crosswalk so he could floor it across 21st Street. Out of the way, <sneer>pedestrian</sneer>, I need to get on with the business of scaring the wits out of all the parents of young children who live on this block of Cherry Street!...
February 13, 2007
It's snowing today in Philadelphia. For some reason I'm not thinking of coziness and cocoa, probably because my mind is firmly in March, not February. I did appreciate the near-silent hush of my boots in the snow as I walked to Trader Joe's to pick up some essentials this morning, however, and I'm appreciating the snowy view outside my window right now. In fact, I've raised the somewhat-transparent sunshade on the window for the first time in months so...
February 5, 2007
Did y'all know that Daylight Saving Time is being extended this year? Instead of starting on the first Sunday in April and ending on the last Sunday in October, it'll now start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November. In other words, DST will start on March 11 this year instead of April 1, and it'll end on November 4 instead of October 28....
January 25, 2007
I submitted a photo to JPG Magazine's issue 9, in the Street category, and they've suggested that I might want to "pimp" my submission on my site. I'm not much for pimping, but this *is* one of my favorite photos, so I'll present it for your consideration. If you think it's a good fit for the theme of "Street", please give it the thumbs up!...
December 21, 2006
Overheard in the Starbucks yesterday, a conversation between two professional-looking women who were probably in their late 20s or early 30s:...
December 12, 2006
I can't believe how fast I slipped back into my usual mode of having tons of things to write about, but not making the time to write about them. (Notice I said making the time and not having the time; I obviously made the time in November.) Before the backlog becomes crushing and I stop writing for weeks on end (er, too late), I wanted to write about three really great evenings we had last week. When you read...
November 10, 2006
I was all set to write about the new coffeehouse that opened up in the former art gallery space next to the Please Touch Museum recently—I even had photos!—but we ended up taking Hannah out for dinner tonight after work, and I feel like writing about that now instead....
September 14, 2006
I have a little list of things I've been wanting to write about, but which I haven't had time to address as of yet (and yes, I'm still behind on my e-mail—if I owe you one, hopefully you'll hear from me soon). Part of the problem—which isn't really a problem at all, given that usually we're homebodies who don't do much of anything—is that we're too busy DOING THINGS and HAVING FUN for me to keep up with, well,...
August 30, 2006
The Beaner turns 21 months old today, and there WILL be an update later. I'm throwing down the gauntlet right now and declaring that I will not go to bed without posting one. (That's some incentive, because I seem to running on a sleep deficit that rivals the early days of parenthood. Well, maybe not THAT bad, but boy, is my ass dragging.)...
August 10, 2006
Last Friday morning I stopped, as I sometimes do while out on my morning walk, at the Metropolitan Bakery. I noticed a small quiche in the 1/2 price basket, inspected it carefully to try to determine its exact ingredients, and finally decided I'd have to ask. Hmmm, I thought to myself, what if they consider this a tart and not a quiche? Wouldn't want to offend anyone by using such a common term as quiche....
August 2, 2006
July 18, 2006
Exhibit A: Scorching sunbeams...
June 17, 2006
This morning Al and I had brunch at Cafe Lift for the second Saturday in a row. Al had stopped in for lunch there after a meeting in the warehouse district a couple weeks ago, and he fell in love. It reminded him of the kind of place that's common in South Park, San Francisco—in other words, an industrial, arty, high-ceilinged-yet-homey space where you can get upscale salads and panini—but much rarer in Philadelphia....
June 16, 2006
As I wrote back in 2003, shortly before moving to Philadelphia, I used to welcome each amazingly beautiful day that occurred between May and November in the Bay Area (and those beautiful days occurred, well, DAILY) with an exclamation of "it's another beautiful day in California!" as I pulled back the curtains in the morning. Believe it or not, I've had reason lately to do that here....
May 23, 2006
Have you tried Out of the Blue @ 20th and Rittenhouse? If so, how's the food? The space looks modern and sparse yet somehow cozy, though not at all child-friendly. Al and I have been thinking about it as a possible date-night destination, and since date nights are rare, we don't want to waste one on a sub-par dining experience....
May 8, 2006
Austen is getting his molars. We noticed the little white prongs sticking up when he opened his mouth (probably to laugh) about a week ago, and they've been coming in fast ever since. At least one on either side of his mouth is totally above the surface now. We don't know if the molars are the reason Austen's been waking up screaming at 5:45 lately (instead of 6:00, 6:15, or 6:45, as usual); it might also be the extra...
March 30, 2006
Austen and I went out for a walk this morning before work, and we totally dawdled on the way back because it's SUCH A GLORIOUS DAY. Spring has sprung in Philadelphia, yay!!...
March 3, 2006
I just ate a Dove Promises square (milk chocolate, because that's all that's left here on my desk, and I'm too lazy to go downstairs and raid the cupboard with the dark chocolate ones in it). The text on the inside of the wrapper said, "Feel the promise of a warm day."...
February 5, 2006
When I left the house for my usual weekend-morning walk with the Beaner, he was wearing a bib. Sadly, not the Korean bunny bib with the two snaps that he can't get off, but a disposable Pampers bib on which it's frustratingly easy for a toddler to pop the velcro. It wasn't until he started begging for the cream-cheese brownie I'd bought at the Metropolitan Bakery just south of Rittenhouse Square that I noticed that the bib was missing....
January 25, 2006
As I walked up 21st Street this morning on my way back from a doctor's appointment, I could see a Streets Department truck parked at our intersection. Two workers were straightening out the Stop sign on Cherry, which had apparently been run down by a driver eager to get his accident over with. (The guy who hit the owner of this grille on Friday evening around 7:30 was probably the impatient motorist in question.)...
December 18, 2005
Al and I started our weekend right with "date night", our third since the Boopster was born. (The first was in February when my parents were here, and we went out to see Sideways; the second was in October, when we went to see a New Jersey Devils game for my birthday.) This time we went to dinner at Washington Square, a Stephen Starr restaurant that's located, as the name implies, on Washington Square, and afterwards to a movie....
November 18, 2005
Today, as it was yesterday, it is cold here in Philadelphia. On Tuesday (which was decidedly warm) I had taken my bicycle in to Trophy Bikes on Walnut to get a baby seat installed on the back, knowing full well that doing so would cause a cold snap that would mean the end of bicycling season. Ah well, at least I'll be ready for spring. Anyway, having taken Austen out in the frigid weather yesterday, I knew it was...
August 29, 2005
The very day that Michele commented about Quaker schools on my Independent Study post, and I responded that the nearby Friends Select School would be at the top of our list, cost permitting, I noticed that the cover story in this month's Philadelphia Magazine was a ranking of the area's top public and private schools. (This is probably no coincidence; what better time of year to write stories about education?) Since I'd failed to find any mention of tuition...
August 22, 2005
A few weeks ago, I walked Al to work and then continued walking southeast toward Society Hill. I was on my way to check out a place my babysitter recommended called Homemade Goodies (on 5th between Lombard and South), but I figured that on the way I'd stop at The Inn on Locust and ask to see the bathrooms. I practiced my speech as I walked: "I know this is going to sound insane, but we're thinking about remodeling...
August 19, 2005
My brother-in-law forwarded us an article from Sunday's New York Times called Philadelphia Story: The Next Borough, and I finally got around to reading it. It's fairly upbeat about Philly's hipness, though it ends on a rather snarky note. (Why they asked a Soho gallery owner what he thought of Philly, I have no idea.) Anyway, the takeaway is that the artists and hipsters are coming, and that's a good thing for all of us....
July 30, 2005
Most cars approaching 21st Street on Cherry do one of two things: (1) Assume that the cross traffic also has a Stop sign, pause, and go; or (2) Actually stop, wait for the slightest opening in the cross traffic, and then gun it across the intersection. This car apparently chose option #1. Click the photo to see a slideshow of the aftermath on Flickr. Incidentally, while cars choosing option #1 do more damage to themselves, the cars they broadside,...
July 27, 2005
July 13, 2005
All kinds of food items to share today, from the gastronomical delights of our last hours in New York this weekend to local Philadelphia finds. First, New York: Al and I got up early again on Sunday (though not quite as early as on Saturday) and made it out for another morning walk, this time with Al's brother Carl for company. We walked down Broadway to the Starbucks at 81st, where I ordered a cappucino and (as usual) got...
May 21, 2005
Last Tuesday I had my first dentist appointment since moving to Philadelphia (I need a crown and two fillings, gah). The dentist's office is in Al's building, and you have to check in at the security desk and get a pass before you can go up. When I arrived at the desk, there were two security guards, one of which was helping a man who couldn't remember the phone number of the person he was there to see, and...
April 21, 2005
February 18, 2005
Herewith, some random observations that have been on my mind for a while and which I have not managed to blog about before now: Reading Material I don't know what I was thinking when I stopped at the library the other day; I'm still not done with Founding Brothers, I haven't finished the February issue of Martha Stewart Living (although like all good porn, MSL is pretty timeless), and I'm drowning in Wall Street Journals (I find those crazy...
February 15, 2005
When I was a kid growing up in Massachusetts, we'd always look forward to the day when you could finally go outside without your coat after a long winter. Usually that day would be in the 50s, a temperature that would cause you to don your coat in fall but that in spring felt wonderfully warm. Today was that day here in Philadelphia. I managed to get outside for no less than *three* walks today, which probably accounts for...
February 10, 2005
I was just outside walking the baby around my neighborhood so I'd have a break from nursing, and as I walked down 21st Street toward Cherry, a girl hung out the window of a school bus—A SCHOOL BUS!—and screamed "WHITEY!" at me. A very large, seemingly very angry boy hung out the adjacent window and screamed, "FUCKING CRACKER!" At me, a woman pushing a stroller. Out the window of a school bus. I'm still shaking my head over it....
January 19, 2005
While at the Reading Terminal Market this morning afternoon (I keep thinking I'm getting out in the morning, but really it's usually around noon), I stopped at the Metropolitan Bakery stall in hopes of getting a cream cheese brownie for later. It's an intensely chocolate confection, and the closest thing to an Andronico's Adult Brownie that I've found out here. Anyway, the tops of the cream cheese brownies looked a bit brown to me, so I opted not to...
January 14, 2005
I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago that the weather in Philadelphia had been quite balmy lately, but in the past few days, it's been positively screwy. On Wednesday Austen and I left the house at 10:24am (I was timing us) en route to my six-week post-partum checkup (I'm fine, all systems are go). I was wearing my fuzzy-collared winter coat, but I didn't bother donning my hat and gloves. Soon I even had to unbutton the...
December 19, 2004
It's snowing. For the first time this winter. Yay! WHITE CHRISTMAS! WHITE CHRISTMAS! COME ON, WHITE CHRISTMAS!!...
November 2, 2004
We're back from the childbirth class, and I've finished posting the remainder of the election day photos. A thumbnail sampling of a few of the shots:...
I'm posting the photos I took between about 11am and 12:30pm today over at about town II. I have a few more to add (including two more of Bush supporters), but we have to leave for our childbirth class now. I'll add them when I get home tonight. One important thing to note when you look at the photos: I didn't photograph every Kerry sign I saw, but I did photograph every Bush sign I saw. (If I had...
November 1, 2004
Happy All Saints' Day, aka Day of the Dead, aka November 1st! We experienced our first Philadelphia Halloween last night, and while fairly different from our Mountain View Halloween experiences, it was a great success. Several friends and relatives outside of Philly have asked to see my Patrick Starfish costume, so here it is (click on the photos to see larger versions): The original prototype, aka The Pink Klansman. The shirt is from the maternity department at Target, the...
October 31, 2004
Last night Al took me to the Rotunda in the Ritz Carlton Philadelphia to partake of its Friday and Saturday night Chocolate Dessert Buffet (a fabulous birthday present, I must say; if you go, be sure to try the bread pudding with the chocolate sauce). Of course, having walked there while 8 months pregnant and having drunk (decaf) coffee white snarfing down yummy desserts, it wasn't long before I had to pee. I made my way to the bathrooms...
October 28, 2004
When we lived in California, we got an official Voter Guide for every election—one that listed every candidate and every proposition on the ballot, including arguments for and against each. It also listed our polling place on the back, and usually included an application for an absentee ballot (handy if you knew you'd be travelling on election day). I've been waiting patiently for such a book to show up at my house in Philly, but so far, none has...
October 26, 2004
Yesterday Bill Clinton, and later John Kerry himself, were here campaigning for the Kerry/Edwards ticket. There was a big rally in and around Love Plaza, which I usually walk through to get to Al's office; yesterday I was turned away by the crowds at 17th Street, about a block and a half away. It was good to see so many supporters of the Democratic ticket earnestly doing their parts to cheer on the nominee and the former President. In...
September 29, 2004
I wanted to mention a couple tasty items I've come across in the past few months and that I've enjoyed again recently. The rootbeer floats at Taylor's Automatic Refresher in the Ferry Building in San Francisco are the best I think I've ever had. The rootbeer is delicious, with a nice peppery finish, and the ice cream is smooth and creamy and has a fresh, authentic vanilla flavor. Best of all, the proportions of rootbeer and ice cream are...
September 23, 2004
I was complaining yesterday about the seeming obliviousness of the city to idiots on bicycles—the fuckers who can't seem to obey simple traffic laws—but today I have hope. On the way back from our pre-natal visit this morning, we saw an electronic sign in the road adjacent to the Penn Bookstore. It read: BIKES Use Bike Lane Ride With Traffic Violators Will Be Fined Alright Philly! (Or UPenn, at least. :)...
September 22, 2004
I'm starting to feel sluggish and slug-like these days, kinda like I did during the first trimester—I want to exercise so I don't feel like such a blob, but my energy level is pretty low. Yesterday I resolved to go out for a long walk first thing in the morning, before my energy dropped off to the point where I could barely get up the stairs or lace up my shoes. Since I haven't been on a photography trek...
September 15, 2004
Another bathroom review, as observed on two recent visits to Strawbridge's. Strawbridge's Department Store Location: 801 Market Street Shortest route to restroom: Take the elevator to the 4th floor and turn toward women's shoes. Turn left in the shoe department and follow the aisle to the end. Women's room is on your left. Ease of access: Good. No one ever looks askance at you for using a department store bathroom, so no need to sneak in. However, the location...
September 14, 2004
I've decided to start reviewing bathrooms around Philadelphia (and probably further afield, if we travel in the next three months), mainly because I've been seeing so many of them lately, and I've noticed that I review them mentally anyway. Since I'm starting a new category for these reviews, and it's conceivable that a new reader could happen upon it without having read any of my other posts, let me explain what makes me uniquely qualified to judge public restrooms...
August 23, 2004
My husband is no fan of blogs, blogging, or bloggers. He loves me, of course, but he tries to forget that I blog. Despite this aversion to blogging—and because of the connection I feel to certain bloggers and their chosen subjects, and my penchant for telling him what I read that day—he knows who Mightygirl, Defective Yeti, Chez Miscarriage Woman, and Rittenhouse Guy are. Ladies and gentlemen, Rittenhouse Guy has moved into the neighborhood. He's literally right around the...
May 11, 2004
I just related this story to Al over the phone, and he remarked that it was a good Philly story, so I decided to repeat it here. Two things are necessary to know before I start my story: (1) We live in a relatively safe neighborhood in Center City, but we assumed that the house came with an alarm system and the sliding glass door to the deck had a broom handle wedged into it for a reason (namely,...
April 19, 2004
I haven't felt many strong urges to update this site lately (except during the Presidential press conference the other night); mostly I've been writing for myself, not for public consumption. I'm still recovering from a nasty bout of bronchitis, and it's left me a bit tired and listless. The good news is that after a week of rain, spring has finally sprung in Philadelphia. I've managed to get out of the house and walk a bit over the past...
March 25, 2004
I was out walking and taking photos yesterday, and as I passed through Washington Square, a tiny old woman asked if she could take my arm as we crossed the street. In the block and a half that we walked together, she told me about her Parkinson's (incurable), the strangers who clean her house and do her shopping (because all her friends and relatives have died), and all the doctor's visits she'd had in the past week ("if I...
March 16, 2004
January 5, 2004
On the day before we moved into our new house (aka My Sister's Birthday), I started compiling a list of the Top 10 Things That Will Take Some Getting Used to About Philly. I only ended up with six items; I figured that I'd come up with the remaining four over the next few days or weeks. A funny thing happened on the way to number ten, however: Philly started to grow on me. It's partly because I *am*...
December 5, 2003
While walking to the K-Mart at lunch on Tuesday I experienced a snow squall. From the description of lake-effect snow on the Weather Channel that morning, I'd have sworn that's what it was—except that we don't live near the Great Lakes. Is it possible it was river-effect snow, since we live between the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers? In any case, that little squall—bounded on both sides by sunshine—was only an appetizer. It's now snowing for real outside. The forecast...
September 29, 2003
In between all the football games and season premiers yesterday, the local news affliates kept telling us that the temperatures would be dropping. "It's time to get out your sweaters, folks! Details at 11!" I purposely watched the 11 o'clock news to find out just HOW COLD it was going to get. I, for one, have been dying for fall to get here. Finally, here was some news of its arrival. Sweater weather! Yippee! So how cold is cold...
September 25, 2003
I checked online, and sure enough, the Starbucks at which I am sitting (at 1201 Market Street in Philadelphia) is participating in One Unwired Day. I can't find any catches or caveats, so theoretically all this wonderful, glorious Internet time—which I have been spending chatting with my former boss and my husband, reading the New York Times online, and catching up with some of my favorite blogs—has been wonderfully, gloriously free. Lest you think that I have chosen the...
I totally forgot that today was a free wireless day at T-Mobile hotspots around the country, so I signed off after my usual hour this morning. I'll have to go back down to Borders to post this—and then spend the afternoon surfing the web. :) I was going to write about how I was a bit sad that my scrapbooking materials weren't here yet, because if they were, I'd spend the day scrapbooking. "Even though it's a nice day...
September 22, 2003
Greetings from the Borders at Chestnut and Broad in Philadelphia, where I've stopped to check e-mail and upload a couple about town II photos. (Speaking of photos, one of my photos of some interesting urban textures I noticed at the San Carlos Caltrain station was posted on Lalaland on Saturday. Fitting, as it was our last day in California!) Al, Annie, and I all survived the move intact, though for Annie especially it was a bit stressful. She'd never...
September 17, 2003
I am very excited that we've finally found a house in Philly, but I'm a bit bummed that we won't be moving in until late November or December. Why? Because we won't have a place to decorate for Halloween, of course! I've set aside our orange napkins with the black cats on them so that we can celebrate Halloween inside the apartment, but there won't be much to make the exterior very scary. I imagine we'll get a few...
September 13, 2003
We put an offer on a house in Philadelphia today. I don't want to say much about it here yet, for fear of jinxing it, but we're very excited. I'm really glad I came out for this little house-hunting trip prior to the move (especially as it ended in us making an offer), but now that I'm here, I wish I could stay. I know that there's a bunch of stuff yet to be done in California, and Annie...