FROM MY PHOTO ALBUM -- OLDE CITY PHILADELPHIA

 

Hello, friends.  Hope you had a good Friday.  I have been spending much of my time in the hospital having tests.  Had two more yesterday and now have to go see a specialist next week.  It goes on and on.  But today I didn't have to go anywhere and it was nice.  I actually got to read about 4 chapters in my book.  Only 10 more chapters and the epilogue to go and then I will share it with you.

Today I thought I would go back in my old photo albums again and show you some pictures from August 5, 1979.  That's 41 years ago.  Wow!  I don't know where that time went because it sure doesn't seem that long ago.  I went to Olde City with some friends.  Unfortunately I used to keep these pictures in one of those magnetic photo albums and the color has drained away.  They are now in an album with just paper pages but the damage is done.  You can still see the pictures though.

This first one is the Second National Bank of the United States.  It opened in 1816 and was a bank until 1836.  Its main duty was to regulate public credit and to establish a sound and stable national currency.  Today it is a portrait gallery.  I have spent many hours in there looking at the paintings.  The one of Washington is huge and a spectacular painting.

Here is a horse and buggy ride.  There are still these kinds of rides in center city.

Of course this is the Liberty Bell.  It is in its old building.  A new state of the art larger building was erected two blocks from this site.  Everything is now climate controlled and there is an interactive space to tell you all about the bell.

Across the street from the Liberty Bell is Independence Hall.  It's been quite a while since I was in there.  I have to make sure I visit it once things open again.

This is the Betsey Ross House where the first flag was made.  Or so the story goes.  It is really interesting inside.  You can see how people lived in the 18th century.  I remember how tiny the stairs are in the house.  I could not get my entire foot on them.  People must have been much smaller in those days.

Elfreth's Alley is the oldest constantly inhabited street in the United States.  Since 1703 there has always been someone living in these houses.  In fact, the son of a lady I used to work with lived on this street.  One of the houses is a museum.  I must go see it sometimes.  I've been outside, but never inside.  It is so narrow that no traffic can go through it.  If you are having something like furniture delivered, the truck has to park on another street and the people carry the furniture to your house.

And finally a fife and drum corp that was performing on Independence Mall.  I always enjoy listening to the fife and drums.

Hope you enjoyed this trip through the past.  I have to find some more photos to share with you.

Have a good night and I HOPE to be back tomorrow.

Kathy

FROM MY PHOTO ALBUM -- THE STATUE OF LIBERTY TORCH

Hello, friends!  It's a beautiful day here today.  So warm and sunny.  I'm sitting here listening to the sound of lawn mowers and thinking that I need to fix the weed whacker today so I can run over the lawn tomorrow morning before the rain comes.  I do want to get out there sometime today and do a little planting.

I grabbed a picture from our local news station of the Commodore Barry Bridge this morning.  One reason I like living in Philly is because we are between two rivers and there is always something pretty to look at.  I love the way the sun is shining on the Delaware River.

We were given some pansies at church and they were giving out the left overs.  I was able to get three pots.  Here's a picture I took of the flowers around the sign in front of the church.  They are so colorful and pretty.

Today I thought I would open up my photo album again and take you into the past.  April 5, 1986 to be exact.  The Statue of Liberty was being refurbished and the flame from the torch was being toured around the country to raise money for the work being done.  When I found out about it, I went down Center City on a Saturday to see it.  Even back then I always had a camera with me.  If I remember correctly, this was taken with one of those little pocket cameras that took 110 film.

Here are the four pictures I have.  I think the first one is the best of the bunch.

Here's another shot from a slightly different angle.  There is a lot of glare on the glass surrounding the flame.

You can see the truck it was on is surrounded by a stage which is surrounded by barricades.  There was no way anyone could get near it.

And that building in back of the torch?  It's Independence Hall.  What a great place to display it, in Independence Square.

Thanks for coming with me on this trip back to 1986.  It was a different world back then for sure.

Hope you are all surviving the lock down.  It is the end of week #9 for us with a partial opening scheduled for June 4.  We'll see.  The governor keeps moving the date later and later.  But I do see some things beginning to let up.  I just hope the barber opens soon before Joe's hair is down past his shoulders.

Take care and I will see you soon.

Kathy

FROM MY PHOTO ALBUM -- THE PHILADELPHIA ZOO

Hello, friends.  How has your Saturday been?  Not much going on here.  I actually spent a great deal of time going through my knitting patterns and trying to decide what to make to use up some of this yarn I have.  I ended up with patterns for two summer tops.  I also ordered new knitting needles in the sizes I needed, and a cake of yarn.  They are coming on the 26th so I am holding off starting these patterns until I get them.  Can't wait to show you the yarn!

It is not as if I have nothing else to do.  I am still working on my temperature blanket which is coming along beautifully.  I really love it this year.  I am also making a stole which is so pretty.  I will be showing you pictures soon.

But the pictures I want to show you today are from August 1985.  So long ago.  It is from a trip I took to the Philadelphia Zoo.  This is before I had a car.  I used to hop onto two buses and be there in about an hour.  I did it quite a bit because I love the Zoo.  But these days, the neighborhood has become changed and the fee for parking and the entrance to the Zoo is so expensive.  I haven't been there in years.

Let me show you these old photos.  I found so many old photos and I will be showing them to you now and then.  It is so interesting to look back on things.

Can you see the peacocks by the fence?

Such a lovely lake they have.

Here is an otter.

Another picture of the otter.

Camels.  They are saddled because you can ride on them.

My favorite animal is the polar bear.  They are in an enclosure that has windows below the water where you can watch them swim.

Another shot of the polar bear.

Flamingos.

A wolf.

Here's a rhinoceros.

Giraffes.  It's hard to see, but they are there.

Here are some crocodiles.

A Galapagos tortoise.  This is always a popular spot at the Zoo.

And finally a llama.

I have a hard time believing these were taken 35 years ago.  Really?  And they turned out so much better when I made a digital copy of them than the originals are.

There were a few other photos too that I didn't put up.  My friend Debbie was with me that day.  I have a picture of her that I took and a picture of me that she took.  They will never see the light of day.  I will say, though, that at 31 years old we were both much thinner than we are now.

Hope you enjoyed your trip through the Zoo.  Maybe you can visit in person sometime.  It's much different these days, but still a wonderful place to go.

Kathy