A GLIMPSE OF PHILLY

Welcome to another glimpse of Philly.  Here's the pictures I found for you this time.

No, I don't think so.  Unless it's a warm soft pretzel with mustard!





Oh yes!  I used to love being outside on a summer night as a child watching all the lightening bugs.  Or as we said, "Lite-nin".  Ha, ha!  Because no one says firefly around here.




Isn't that the truth!  I've sat on the Schuylkill for many an hour.

Have a good day and welcome to Philly!

Kathy

A BROKEN PIPE

We had quite a day yesterday.  Late last week our bathroom sink stopped up.  Joe tried to open it, but it was really stuck.  Then the elbow started to leak.  We had to give up and call the plumber.

The plumber came on Thursday, saw what was wrong, went to take the pipe apart and the whole thing crumbled.  It had rusted inside the wall.  Yikes!  So we did not have a sink from Thursday until yesterday.

Two guys came over yesterday morning.  They figured out what needed to be done and got to work.  All of a sudden I heard tools being dropped and they ran down the stairs yelling, "Where's the turn off?"  Here the bathroom had never been put in correctly and they had cut through a pipe that was laying on top of the floor.  Oops!

So we had no water in the house for several hours.  I had just put a load of dishes in the dishwasher and was about to put in laundry.  Well, I just had to hold off on that.

I went to the post office and Rite Aid.  And then I had to go to the bathroom.  But we had no water and they were working in there.  So I called Joe and told him I was heading over to church and not to worry about me.  Thank goodness I have a key to the church!

Ah, what a relief.  Of course while I was there I picked up the mail, emptied the trash and made sure everything was OK.  Then I decided to take some pictures while no one was there to get in the way.

The church looked so pretty all decorated for Easter.

The Easter banner.  We may leave it up for one more week.

The baptismal/communion table.

The beautiful Easter lilies bloomed right on time.

The view from the pulpit.

A view of the church with our new sign.  Jim and Joe put it up on Saturday.

Unfortunately we had high winds last night.  Over 50 miles an hour.  This morning when we showed up for Tuesday Ladies (Bible Study) the banner was torn in half and flapping in the wind.  I don't know how, or if, it can be fixed.  (sigh)  We need something more substantial than a banner.

Our pipe finally got fixed and the bathroom put back together.  They did a fantastic job, as usual.  Now it's on to the next thing.  There is always something going on when you own a house.  So much to be fixed and no money to do it.

When I came home from church today I ate lunch and then laid down for a nap.  I slept the entire afternoon away.  I feel better now, but could use some more sleep.  But...  I will make dinner first.  It's a busy day tomorrow -- getting Joe to the doctor in the morning and a library event in the evening.  In fact it's a busy week!  You may not see me tomorrow, but I'll be back.

Kathy

EASTER

This has been a lovely Easter except for this morning when Joe was too sick to go to church.  His allergies are through the roof and his throat was sore.  So he stayed in bed and I went to church.

It was crowded and I was so happy to see some people I haven't in awhile.  

Genny came over to me after church and gave me a chocolate cross. 

Pastor Sean was our guest speaker today.  He had told me on Friday that his daughter loves Peeps.  So Joe and I bought her a box of Peeps Easter eggs.  She loved it and had eaten half of it by the time she left to go home.  Ah, teens who can eat anything and everything and never gains an ounce.  I remember those days in my very distant past.

Joe gave me a huge basket for Easter.

Chocolate carrots, peanut butter eggs, black jelly beans, robins eggs, a coconut buttercream egg from my favorite candy store, and, of course, the ever present Peeps.

He also gave me a hollow chocolate bunny.

And more Peeps with a stuffed Peeps bunny.  That will match the Peeps chick in a Santa hat that he gave me at Christmas.

I am limiting my Peeps eating to two a day.  Yeah, right.  We'll see how long that lasts.  I began with the yellow Peeps.

My sister sent me a box of candy too.  She had to work today so for the first time in many years we weren't together.

A chocolate bunny, Cadbury creme egg cookies, a Peeps pop, and a chocolate Jesus fish.

The Jesus fish was unique.  I like it!

The chocolate bunny was so cute.  And good!  It is now just a pleasant memory.

Joe was feeling better this afternoon so he went with me, Carole and Walt to the Country Club for dinner.  The meal was so good.  Joe had prime rib, Walt and I had veal medallions with angel hair pasta and asparagus and Carole had a patty melt.  We were all full when we left.  We ate around 3 p.m. so I knew Joe and I would be "munchy" before we went to bed so I got some beautiful butterfly and flowers sugar cookies for later.

It really was a lovely day.  The only thing marring it was the gray skies and cold temperatures.  But that's OK.  We had a beautiful sunset yesterday to make up for it.

So on that note I am going to end.  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter also.

Kathy

 

HE IS RISEN!

A blessed Easter to each of you!  I'll be back later with a full post.  In the meantime, celebrate the risen Lord.

GOOD FRIDAY

Oh, what a Savior that He died for me! 
From condemnation He hath made me free; 
“He that believeth on the Son,” said He, 
“Hath everlasting life.”

Refrain

“Verily, verily, I say unto you;
Verily, verily,” message ever new!
“He that believeth on the Son” ’tis true!
“Hath everlasting life!”

All my iniquities on Him were laid,
All my indebtedness by Him was paid;
All who believe on Him, the Lord hath said,
“Hath everlasting life.”

Refrain

Though poor and needy, I can trust my Lord;
Though weak and sinful I believe His Word;
O glad message! Every child of God
“Hath everlasting life.”

Refrain

Though all unworthy, yet I will not doubt;
For him that cometh He will not cast out:
“He that believeth,” oh, the good news shout!
“Hath everlasting life.”

Refrain

This is my very favorite hymn, "Verily, verily I say unto you"  written by James McGranahan in 1878.  NO ONE sings this anymore.  In fact there is only one church I ever attended that sang it at all and I learned it there.  But it is so appropriate for today.  I'm going to see if I can find a youtube version of it that I can share with you.

We had an evening Good Friday Service.  Pastor Sean came all the way from Reading, PA for it.  It's a 90 minute drive.  And Joe, Anne and I were the only ones who showed up.  Everyone else missed a tremendous message.  Unbelievably good that had us in tears and with lumps in our throats.  How I wish he were going to be our pastor but he and his family are going to be missionaries.

Because it was such a drive, Sean got there early.  Joe and I had dinner with him.  I made a salad, garlic bread and a ground turkey, tomato and pasta dish.  I saw him take thirds of it so he must have liked it.  I put some of the rainbow carrots in the salad and it looked really pretty.

I have been very lax with things around the house.  I am sleeping a lot during the day and not so much during the night.  My sleep is broken so I am tired constantly.  The other day I had a burst of energy in the morning but by noon I was done for the day.  I HAVE to have some energy during the next two days because I have so much to do.

You know how things go when you own your home.  No landlord to call to fix things.  Our bathroom sink was running slow.  Joe tried to fix it, but couldn't.  So he called the plumber.  Unfortunately the plumber found that the pipes were rusted out and water was running between the walls.  So now the pipe is cut out, the water is turned off to the sink and we are out big bucks.  They are coming next week to fix it.  *sigh*  It is always something.  Now I have to clean out the bathroom before they come back on Monday so there is room for them to work.

And as usual I am working on the living room.  An ongoing mess that refuses to stay clean for more than a few hours. *double sigh*

In spite of all of this, I did get some decorating done.  Not much, but some.

A Cherished Teddy pretending to be a bunny.  So cute!

Another Easter Cherished Teddy.

My Lenox bunny.  I am enamored with the mother of pearl finish.

I always put these calla lilies and Easter eggs bouquet out.  I got it at Dollar Tree about five or six years ago.  The candle is a lemon sherbet scent.

Joe got me this pretty bird's nest basket.  It was perfect to put my Easter eggs that he bought me last year.

My solar lamb.  It moves back and forth when the sun is out.

I got this cross at Rite Aid last year.  Perfect for an Easter door.

 And now it is late and I am going to try to get some sleep tonight.  Tomorrow is "attack the living room" day.  And "get ready for Easter" day.  Easter afternoon I am actually going to "attack the bathroom".  Not as much to do there.

I'll close by showing you the banner we had up in front of the church tonight.

Yes, it is finished.  But this is just the beginning....

Kathy

THE NEW LOOK

I had to take Joe to the V.A. Hospital before I went to teach Bible Study yesterday.  We stopped off at 7-11 to get something to eat and I saw the sun rising.  What a shot!  So pretty.  I'm glad I have my camera with me all the time.

I wanted to get my hair cut before Easter.  I loved my long hair, but it was getting stringy and unmanageable.  Besides with my thyroid disease making it fall out, it was discouraging.  So today I went to Mane Connection (my favorite place to get my hair done) and had Deb do a great cut for me.  Everyone there is so nice (including the other customers) and I never get a bad cut.  Ever.  No matter which stylist does it.

So here is my before picture:

Not bad.  But what a difference afterwards.

Even the color looks better.  I am so happy with it.

You can see my new glasses too.  I'm still getting used to them.

When I was finished I went across the street to Rite Aid to get my allergy medicine.  Yes, it's that time of year.  All winter I don't have to take it.  But come spring, summer and fall, well....  They were having a promotion to raise money to help Children's Hospital so I got a couple of soft pretzels for lunch to help them out.  It's been a long time since I had a pretzel.  Not working at the library anymore I'm not in on the pretzel days.  It was so good.  I put mustard on mine, but Joe is a purist.

 
And now I have to end and start dinner.  I didn't get anything out of the freezer so I will have to be creative tonight.

Have a good evening everyone.

 
Kathy

A ROCKWELL TUESDAY -- THE MARRIAGE LICENSE (1955)

THE MARRIAGE LICENSE (1955)

To this day, this illustration is the most popular with couples ready to profess their love.  The young couple was actually engaged at the time of the posing and were married soon after.  The clerk was a local business owner who had recently lost his wife.  Rockwell asked him to pose for this illustration as a way to give him something else to think about.  The scene masterfully captures the contrast between the young couple just beginning life together and the aging clerk who has seen it all.

PALM SUNDAY

It was a pretty day yesterday.  Even though it was cold, the snow held off until the evening.

The church looked very nice.  And it was a beautiful service too.  Pastor Joshua was our guest speaker and his message was great.  I have to  upload it to youtube sometime today.

The lady that came last Tuesday came back for church on Sunday.  She is so happy to have found a church to attend and says she will be back on Tuesday again for Bible study.  Anne who was in a bad car accident and hasn't been out for months was able to come.  And just as we were all leaving Natasha came with her friend.  We haven't seen her in almost a year.  She moved and she hasn't been able to get to church because she had no transportation.  But she says she will be at our Good Friday service because her friend that drove her yesterday also wants to attend Good Friday.  I can see the Lord working in a great way in the church.  If Natasha, her girls, her fiance and her friend come, that will mean we will have gained 8 people just since the new year.  Praise God!

After church Joe and I went to visit our friend Paulette.  She lives near the church so it was easy to pop around.  I don't see her very often but it's always the same as if we had just spoken the day before.  We stayed about an hour visiting her and then left to get lunch.

We decided to go to McDonald's on the way home.  We won't do that again.  We had to wait so long and then they messed up our order.  We didn't notice it until we got home, and there was nothing we could do about it then.  I got my sandwich, but they didn't give Joe his.  It seems to be this particular McD's.  It's near where I used to work and I would go there at lunch time and I had to always make sure I had the right thing before I left.  We're going to a different one next time.

After we ate Joe said he wanted to take a nap.  I thought that was a good idea so I laid down too on the sofa to watch TV.  The next thing I knew it was after 8 p.m.  Oh no!  I hadn't gotten anything out of the freezer so there was nothing for dinner.  Joe told me to call the Chinese restaurant down the street from us so that's what I did.  It was good and a nice change.  Then we went back to bed.  I have no idea why I am so tired but I must have needed the sleep.

So now I have to get some lunch and then I want to move some furniture around so I can put up the new bookshelves Joe bought.  I'd love to surprise him with that when he gets up.  I have to study for tomorrow too.  The weeks just seem to fly by.

So until later...






Kathy

THE LAST DAY OF WINTER I WENT TO THE FARM

Here it is the last day of winter and what is predicted for tomorrow? Snow!  At least the forecast has changed and the 12 or so inches that was predicted earlier has gone down to an inch or less.  The weather forecaster said that it shouldn't even stick on the pavement and street.  That is good news.  A pretty snow that is gone the next day.  I can live with that.

After I got up and going today I went to the farm.  It was a nice day to go.  The theme this week was Italian Dinner.  But they also were focused on spring and colors.  So they had things like golden beets and rainbow carrots.  Being the end of the month I didn't have a lot of money so I didn't get the Smoke Signal cheese for $6 a slice.  Even if I did have the money that's a lot for a small slice of cheese.  I know cheese is expensive but...  I also didn't buy the can of tomatoes for $4.  I did, however, go to Rite Aid afterwards and get a can for $1.49.

Let me show you what I got today:

 Pink lady apples (our favorite), rainbow carrots, and the can of tomatoes from Rite Aid.  Remember I said the farmstand theme was colors.  I can't wait to use those carrots in a nice salad.  It will be so pretty.  

Did you know that originally carrots were purple?  Before the 17th century, almost all cultivated carrots were purple.

The modern day orange carrot wasn’t cultivated until Dutch growers in the late 16th century took mutant strains of the purple carrot and gradually developed them into the sweet, plump, orange variety we have today.  Before this, pretty much all carrots were purple with mutated versions occasionally popping up including yellow and white carrots.  These were rarely cultivated and lacked the purple pigment anthocyanin.

It is thought that the modern day orange carrot was developed by crossing the mutated yellow and white rooted carrots as well as varieties of wild carrots, which are quite distinct from cultivated varieties.

Some think that the reason the orange carrot became so popular in the Netherlands was in tribute to the emblem of the House of Orange and the struggle for Dutch independence.  This could be, but it also might just be that the orange carrots that the Dutch developed were sweeter tasting and more fleshy than their purple counterparts.

Besides the farm stand there were tons of flowers for sale.  Again, I didn't have the money today but when I go back in two weeks I will buy some.  I did get pictures, though.

Gerbera daisies

This is part of the inside of the greenhouse.  Do you see the shamrocks on the bottom shelf of the stand?

There were some awesome orchids.

Primroses.  I love them but they always die on me.

Pansies

So pretty.  I hope to buy some in a couple of weeks.

I love going to the farm.  This is the first time this year the farm stand was outside of the greenhouse.  That is good news!  Summer is coming.

 I had another down day today.  I am very tired all the time and doze off almost as soon as I sit down.  I hope I can get my energy back soon.  There is so much to do.

I have to go now and print out the bulletins for Sunday morning service tomorrow.  Hope you all have a good night.

Kathy