Philadelphia Freedom

Last week was my birthday and on Saturday, JT, T and I set off for a little adventure in Philadelphia.  We listened to a soundtrack of Elton John songs on the way, arriving at Philadelphia Freedom just in time.  Bam!

Though we live less than two hours from the city and I’ve lived in this corner of the world for more than 10 years, I’ve never taken the time explore the well-known historical sights of Philadelphia.  Last weekend’s adventure was an effort to remedy that oversight.  We had a look at the Liberty Bell, which JT declared to be awfully small.  We were too late to get tickets to see Independence Hall but we could peer in the windows.

We did have the chance to walk through the door of Carpenter’s Hall, where the First Continental Congress was held.  That was awfully thrilling for the history geek in me.  Independence Hall is important, of course, but at Carpenter’s Hall, the whole business of revolution got started.  I enjoyed the thought of the rebels walking through the doorway to a whole new future.

We saw the Ben Franklin Museum and dropped by the Reading Terminal Market for an early supper.  JT tried his hand at Rocky-like feats as preparation for the coming wrestling season.

All in all, it was a lovely adventure.  There is still plenty of the city left for us to see, so Philadelphia, consider yourself on notice.  We’ll be back.

Real Life Conversations with T: Sweater Weather edition

The backstory: I like sweaters and have many more than I need.  That doesn’t necessarily slow my sweater acquisition plans, though I know that it should.  T tolerates this closet of madness, though she’s been known to offer an honest assessment of the excess.

Me (turning the pages of a catalog and sighting a pleasing sweater):  How many fair isle sweaters does one woman need?

T:  Apparently one more than she already has.

It’s like she can read my mind.

Morning Coffee

Each evening before I take to my bed, I make sure my coffee service is set up for the next day.  I grind coffee beans and prepare the coffee pot, which has a handy automatic timer.  I set out a coffee cup and creamer for the next morning.  Everything is arranged so that when I come downstairs in the early dawn the smell of fresh-brewed coffee fills the kitchen.  I have favorite coffee mugs and an assortment of creamers that make my morning welcoming.

Some mugs serve coffee all year; some are set out seasonally.  The collection shown here are the mugs I use in the Fall and Winter.  Some are many years old and have made the journey with me from Tennessee to Nebraska and now New Jersey.

Some are handmade.

Sometimes I want my coffee cup and creamer to match, as if Martha Stewart was in the kitchen (she’d judge, as well she should).

Some are recent acquisitions that make me smile, though I’m well aware that I’ve no more space 

(or need!) for coffee mugs.

All of them make my morning brighter.  That’s happy!

Unseasonal and Unkind: Week 2

My neighbor’s Halloween flag continues to fly.

Day Off

One of the things I love best is a lazy, long morning.  Though I am an early riser, I am slow to start up.  A little quiet in my morning makes my day happier.   I try to find a few minutes of that solitude every day.   But given the treat of two hours of the morning to myself, I can easily fill the time with cup after cup of coffee, Morning Edition on the radio, time to read a few chapters of a good book, and time to write down some idle thoughts.  These days, such time is typically a luxury beyond measure.

But today we have the day off from school.  I tucked into bed last night glad of the knowledge that the next day would bring time to pause and enjoy the blessing of a lazy, leisurely morning.  Adding to my pleasure is the fact that the day stretches before me blissfully unscheduled.  I plan to run a few errands and tidy up my closet, but otherwise I will enjoy a day off.  We’ve nearly six weeks of very full days between now and the blissful quiet of winter break.  Today I will pause to appreciate my many blessings.

I expect that the day will refuel me for the busy weeks that stretch ahead.  That’s happy!

4-8

When JT was born, I remember thinking that when he graduated from high school, I would be 50 years old.  Those notions — an 18 year old son; a 50 year old me — both seemed so far off in my future.  But life has a way of passing time much more quickly than you expect and the cosmos certainly has a sense of humor when it comes to middle age, where the years don’t just pass quickly, they fly by.  So here I am with 50 in my sights.

Today is my 48th birthday.  Earlier this week, in a conversation with my 7th graders I revealed my age and student A said, “adults don’t tell their age…..you shouldn’t do that,” and I laughed and said some adults keep that information private but that I don’t think it matters.  Being 48 gives me the confidence to make my own rules.

That is my wisdom about the world: I’m finally getting to a good sense of what matters to me.  48 brings wrinkles and grey hair; it brings sore knees and crummy eyesight.  But it also brings self-awareness and the ability to laugh a little more often; it brings knowledge about which problems are real and which ones are just really annoying.  48 seems to come with a reminder to stop live in the moment.

I sometimes joke that if I had this knowledge when I was 12 I would have enjoyed the 7th grade a hell of a lot more.  Instead, I try to give my 7th graders and my 15 year old son a little perspective, aware that their journey is theirs to travel.  I embrace my many blessings in life and say “yes” as often as I can.  And I look in the mirror and marvel that I’m a grown up.

5-0, here I come.

Unseasonal and Unkind: Week One

One of my neighbors puts out a Halloween flag and then leaves it out well-beyond October 31st.  Last year, the witch flag hung right through Christmas.  This year, it came out around October 1st and still flies proud.  T and I have a bet about how long the flag will stay out.  T says past New Year’s but I pick December 15.  Winner buys dinner and enjoys endless bragging rights.

Let the contest begin.

November Front Porch

My front porch Halloween decorations are among my favorite, but November’s decorations also have their charms.  This year, November 1st was nearly 70 degrees and though I knew an early sunset and cool evening were in store, sitting on the front porch in flip flops felt pretty dang nice.  I swapped out the jack-o-lantern table cloth for something more in the spirit of Thanksgiving.  The mums and pumpkins remain because this is the month of pumpkin pie, a favorite in my home.

The Halloween flag has been folded up and set aside in favor of the busy squirrel, T’s favorite flag by far.

Though my neighbors have started leaf collection, I’m not in any hurry to begin my raking and leaf collecting chores  For starters, there are still many more leaves yet to fall to the ground.  Plus, I like the look and sound of crunchy leaves scattered about the lawn and sidewalk.  It sounds like fall when I walk through the yard.

That’s happy!

Dogwood Monday

Last Monday I predicted that the dogwood tree wouldn’t retain its leaves for long.  I was right.

A storm blew through on Wednesday and Thursday and the rain and wind made quick work of the dogwood’s leaves, which now cover the lawn in the backyard.  The tree is ready for Winter now.

Old man tree lost quite a few of his leaves as well, though the red leaves of the poison ivy vine running up the tree remain.  That vine is going to be removed this winter when we also plan to trim out the ivy.  

As the leaves fall to the lawn, my Fall chores begin to stack up.  I like that element of seasonal change and look forward to setting things to rights later on this month.

November 1: Peach Tree

Plenty of leaves have fallen in the backyard, though the peach tree isn’t quite ready to let go.

The trees behind the garage ---- a mulberry, two apple trees, and a pear tree still have plenty of leaves and the raking chore can hold off for now.

We’ve had a warm fall, with days determined to hold on to the 70s.  The coming week promises more of the same, so perhaps it’s fitting that while Mother Nature stubbornly holds on to the warmth, the peach tree keeps it leaves.  Even so, daylight is shrinking and the sun is now setting an hour earlier.  Warm November days feel like a treat that won’t last.