Halloween Recap!

Yes, I know... this post is a few days late, but I hope everyone had a fantastically fun filled Halloween out there. Despite the evening getting off on the wrong foot ( E didn't want to wear his costume! ) we got to enjoy a night filled with tricks or treats...well, really just the treats.

I spent the Thursday before baking lots of candy corn cupcakes, making chocolate covered pretzels, and filling treat bags with all kinds of goodies for Eamon's annual school party and putting the finishing touches on his costume. With a child who hates wearing anything on his head, I needed to make a few adjustments to what was to be the chain mail ( I think it is called a coif )and crown in order for it to fit just right. Come Friday morning, however, we chose not to send him to school in his "special" costume for fear of it getting ruined. Instead, he simply revisited his Doctor Who hat an scarf for the day, which was fine because it is still absolutely adorable.



Although he was totally into wearing his hat and scarf all weekend, come Halloween night it took lots of coercing to get Eamon into becoming a knight. After promises that he would be seeing his friends trick or treating and mommy putting together a last minutes costume for herself (I was an old-time bandit like the ones Ralphie shoots in the Christmas story with his Red Rider BB gun - which is probably Eamon's favorite movie) he finally set up in his costume and we headed out for tricks or treats and a few visits to see friends and neighbors. We covered about seven or eight city blocks before his little feet tired out and he was tired of wearing his outfit. Even though the only candy he eats are plain chocolate bars (he has never actually cared for anything sweet), he was excited to dump his pumpkin of candy onto the floor and show off his treats.


 I was pleased at how the costume came out over all. The crocheted coif was a bit difficult to eyeball without a pattern, but when you're trying to save money for more important things, spending $30 on etsy for a similar hat just wasn't warranted since I could easily make it myself. The crown was actually made from the leftover fabric from the curtains I made for Eamon's room a little while back, so I lucked out having to but any more material.

The next few hours were sparingly filled with kids looking for something sweet. I made close to 200 treat bags and since Halloween was on a Saturday I though we would get swarmed with kids all evening. It was quite the opposite. Before sunset most of the young kids came out and by about seven o'clock the trick or treating was pretty much over (except for the ignorant teenagers demanding candy without costume). I was really disappointed in the lack of children and their obvious lack of enthusiasm in the whole holiday. Few kids really seemed "into it" and even fewer parents showed any effort. Lots of last minutes Spidermans and Batmans with very little in between. I feel really sad about this. Maybe it's living in the city that has turned kids away from the uniqueness and individuality of the holiday; maybe its lazy parents; maybe its a generation of entitlists being raised to expect heaping rewards with little to no work involved; either way, I hope that the rest of the world's Halloween doesn't become like this. You see lots of  creativity in online posts and blogs, but sadly the reality of the holiday feels like quite the opposite. But enough of feeling like a Negative Nelly...it's time to start brainstorming for next year's costumes!

Things I Found Friday: #3

Five new finds from this week:



Chalkboard paint under an overpass with some inspirational wishes from nearby students.



Still loving this mural and community garden along side one of my favorite coffee shops.



Iron butterflies in an artistically designed planter box.



This mural panel installation on the SEPTA Substation East Passyunk in Philadelphia from Donna Backhues, which depicts the progress of South Philadelphia from the 1700s to today. Personally, I think it is more of a reflection of immigration to the city from then 'till now. There are supposed to be five panels, but only four have been installed. Funding problems as usual.



And this adorable/creepy cherub with two fish? I passed this before and was always a bit confused about it. It is part of a concrete staircase that must have had some meaning before and got lost in transition.

My Morning Ride - Photo Series

Every once in a while I like to break from my normal morning gym routine and go for a nice bike ride throughout the city. Despite the fact that city riding is stop and go, I can usually cover around 7 - 10 miles in a 45-minute (give or take) time frame. Although this is quite slow, I spend a lot of time trying to take in the scenery, grab some photos, take note of places I want to come back and visit (is there a new mural being painted somewhere, a new museum being built, those sort of things) and do come calm prep time for the day ahead of me at work. You wouldn't think that there are so many splendors in a cold, concrete city, but I do my best to try and find the little specs of natural beauty among the garbage and skyscrapers.

Tuesday was such a lovely morning that I decided to take a little ride in a different direction in search of some sights along the water. So, I grabbed my bike and headed out. The temperature has had a nice little drop lately and you could tell fall is in the air.



I was able to grab a few photos as the sun was finishing its rise along the river. I love the colors of sunrise and sunset and I was lucky enough that there was not a lot of fog over the water this am.



My favorite photo is this one which was taken very close to the Sugar House Casino here in Philadelphia. What I didn't show you is the big pile of trash and sludge that was directly under the rail where I took the photos. There were literally car parts, household construction waste, and foodstuffs either dumped or washed up from the river. The way people treat their land is absolutely deplorable. I really don't understand how people can't graps that our Earth is a gift to us and it is our duty to take care of it and treat it with respect.


Anyway, I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Things I Found: Friday #2

Five new finds from this week...

This install from Joe Boruchow in front of one of my favorite fabric shops.


An adorable little mural on a side street/alley in Center City.


This tile art on an abandoned lot...


The Consulate of Romania (because who doesn't need to know that!)...

An this dainty lady...

Tuscan Philadelphia: Part I

While I was home doing some work on the house the other day I was outside painting my front railing and chatting with my neighbors, something that, despite the annoyance they can be sometimes, I relish. Living in a decaying urban area of Philadelphia filled with social breakdown and blight, I am so happy to have the majority of houses that surround me inhabited by the same people I have been growing up with since childhood. I have lived in my home now for about 28 years of my life. It belonged to my grandmother and then my mother and father, and, upon their divorce, I secured its rights. But that's another story...

So in our conversation she remarked about how nice the house was looking and said that she wants to be the "Tuscany of Beulah Street." I didn't quite know what she meant by this. "Oh you've never looked at pictures from Tuscany? I love it, everything has paint chipping and is covered in flowers. Things are hundreds of years old and covered in flowers," she said pointing to the paint chipping on her railing and posts....and watering her dozens of flowers. But she got me thinking. There's a difference between aging and dilapidation. The problem is that, considering where I live in respect to other places in the city...and the world...when things start to age, people simply leave it to fall apart hoping that the city of their landlord will fork the cost out to repair instead of taking an initiative to make a change. Sad. A chipping wall will turn into a broken window and a building covered in graffiti in a matter of days. But not everywhere. There are place in the city where a crack in the wall is beautifully accented by ivy, an aging statue and terracotta pots - just like Tuscany. My neighbor's house might have flaking paint, but she cleans her porch every day and tends to the little things that she can.

This has me setting out to find the little bits of elegant decay in the city. I had an idea where I might find a little bit of this but I only had time to pick a few shots in a little alleyway behind some nice brownstone-style homes along Spruce street. I am hoping to document more as I now have a different view on these little things. Enjoy!

9/11

It seems like forever ago but yet everyone has that one memory. Generations back it was where you were when Pearl Harbor was attacked?; when we landed on the moon?; when JFK was shot? For this generation the question is: where were you when the towers fell? For me I was cutting class to go to the diner with an old friend. When the plane heading over Pennsylvania went missing the radio stations were making everyone in Philadelphia paranoid that we were next, so we rushed home where I spent a good part of my day consoling my elderly Jewish neighbor who was certain that they were coming to "kill all the Jews again." She passed away recently, and, honestly, that was probably the only day I ever saw her break down emotionally like that.

A few years back I visited New York for the first time since the year 2000. We had a trip planned to see Jerry Lee Lewis and decided to wander around Manhattan and Tribeca for the day (bar hopping mostly). They were almost half way through building the new tower at that point so, like any tourist, we had to stop for a few solemn moments just to take it all in. Maybe it was all of the hustle with the construction going on, but it wasn't as eerie as I had anticipated.


We haven't made it back to NYC since, although a trip is hopeful for the near future. We did, however, recently ride up towards Newtown (think the place they filmed Signs) and swung through Yardley where there is a substantial 9/11 memorial called the "Garden of Reflection". You never think that so many people outside of New York City were present and/or affected by the tragedies that took place that day. The majority of the local names etched into the glass at the memorial were employees in the towers or medics/firemen/police present that day. In addition, many were on one of the four planes that went down that day.

The memorial has an amazing twin fountain (symbolic of the towers) that lights up the park at night, a plaque solely with the victims' names who resided in Bucks County, a remembrance walk all 2793 names on a glass panel, and an actual piece of the rubble from WTC that is covered in trinkets hung by families of the victims. We didn't get to spend much time and were told that the park is more awe-inspiring come the night time when the fountain lights up and the tiny luminaries (representing the children who lost a parent) come to life.

For anyone interested in visiting the memorial, it is a short trip from Center City Philadelphia via I-95. It is not too far from Tyler State Park and there are always events going on in Newtown and Yardley that are worth the trip.

Labor Day Weekend: Volkfest

Every Labor Day weekend, without fail, we attend the Oktoberfest festivities at Canstatter's Volkfest Verin in Northeast Philly. This past holiday weekend was no different. Miniature in scale to the Volkfests in Germany, there was still plenty of authentic German food, beer, and festivities to enjoy including a German band, Mummers String Band, games, and rides for kids (and adults still the size of kids). The three-day festival is the oldest German Volksfest in the United States, with this year being the 143rd annual festival. It is one of the first in a series of Oktoberfest festivities in the tri-state area.



The Cannstatter Volksfest Verein is a German-American benevolent society founded in Philadelphia in 1873. It was started by a group of German-American businessmen whose stated goals of the group were to uphold German culture, sociability, and charity through having a yearly festival and using the funds raised to donate to needy institutions and individuals. As German immigration has all but come to an end in the United States, the activities are more about preserving German culture in the community now. They host an assortment of themed festivals, concerts, and weekly dinners/dances reminiscent of Lawrence Welk reruns.

We began going to the festival about three years ago when the Pea was just a little baby...a little pudgy baby who was not yet able to run and bounce and pull mommy and daddy in every direction. Terry's father is a member of the organization and with a friend visiting from out of town that year we decided to try something different that the usual bbq and fireworks. Despite the fact that it is always 90-something degrees out and incredibly humid every year, Eamon absolutely loves the music where as Terry & I mostly enjoy the plates of bauernwurst and endless pitchers of Warsteiner. We usually end up hooking up with friends and/or family at the event, a few of which have kids of their own, and, as usual, I spend a lot of time chasing them about camera in hand trying to grab a few moments to share. Being that Eamon is three now, I have been spending more time with the chasing aspect rather than the photography part, leaving me a little bit rusty at times in my shots. Nevertheless, there were still a few great snaps I was able to get while the kids danced about. I had an amazing idea that morning to grab a bag of balloons I picked up at the dollar store and throw them in my backpack for the trip. I think that day I blew up about 50 balloons giving them to just about every kid at the festival. I felt like a party clown without the hideous makeup giving toddlers balloons while their parents tried to figure out why I was doing what I was doing but all in all happy for their kid to have something to play with while they sat and ate.



The bands are one of my favorite parts of the festival. There is always an authentic German brass band with lots of polka-playing and traditional tunes. And being that we are in Philadelphia, there is always a Mummers string band. After all, the word "mummer" is German for "one who makes diversion in disguise; a masker; a buffon." My other favorite of the festival is the centerpiece Fruchtsaule, or fruit column, composed of layers of dried fruits and vegetables out of which a tower formation is created. Each layer graphically represents some significant aspect of German culture or history. The characters painted with the foods are just like illustrations out of Hansel and Gretel and other German classics. They have so much life and color to them you cannot help to be drawn into their stories. At the base of this column, people dance and children play. A reenactment supposedly takes place every year, but I have yet to witness it.



In addition to the festivities, there are also vendors selling handmade German items such as hats, clothing, clocks, wood figurines, baskets and more. Aside from the Christmas Villiage, it is probably the biggest gathering of German culture in the Greater Philadelphia area and certainly worth a visit should you be in the neighborhood next Labor Day.

Things I Found: Friday

Just some of the lovely things I found this week:


This wonderful street art installation.


This hungry fella.


This lady hanging by a string.


And this neat new architecture.

If you'd to know more about these places to see for yourself send me a message.

Olde Pine Cemetery

Photography is so cliche' anymore. It is quite disappointing in its own way how everyone sees themselves as a photographer thanks to affordable SLRs, I-Phones, and Instagram. I never claimed to be an expert as I can barely maneuver my SLR in manual mode, yet, I still find myself thoroughly enjoying a quite ride in the morning searching for a spot to snap a few photos.

One such recent morning I decided to forgo my morning session at the gym for a quiet bike ride into Olde City. I wandered into the Olde Pine Cemetery early enough to take it all in without the sounds of traffic and kids heading to school for the day. It was quite nice. Peaceful. Inspiring.




There are so many cemeteries in Philadelphia, many of which have been holding their dead since the 1700s. Olde Pine is one of the such. Burials began in 1764 as soon as Thomas and Richard Penn (the sons of William Penn) deeded property at 4th and Pine Streets to a group of Presbyterians. The Church that sits to the corner of the lot had yet to even be built before plots were dug and graves were filled. The site holds over 200 Revolutionary War soldiers, masons, doctors, lawyers, tradesmen and even signers of the Constitution. Unfortunately, many simply remark on how the film National Treasure was filmed there and disregard the number of thirteen star flags peering up at them.



The site is beautifully kept with flowers adorning areas around the graves and ivy neatly falling over the walls. If you are ever a visitor to the area and unfamiliar with the history, I would recommend booking one of the tours of the churchyard. Also, if you are brave, you could opt for the ghost tour of the area.