Life is Good in the Pants

Two of my online knitting friends became real life knitting friends last Sunday. Rachel (the one I'm hugging) and Amy met me at Reading Market. We had savory crepes for breakfast (mine was tasty turkey breast with pesto, broccoli, and spinach), walked around the market and the city, visited Rosie's and Loop, had more crepes (blanc fromage & honey) and tea in a lovely little cafe, and generally knit and talked and laughed ourselves silly. All three of us grabbed a skein of "goblin" sock yarn. Very curious to see how those come out. We saw a pig bunny, and a shop window done for Valentine's Day with giant golden fish sporting false eyelashes and lipstick! Our dark walk back to the train station was enhanced by snow flurries. The flakes were suspended dramatically in the air by various spotlights meant to color the ornate architecture. Bonus: My pedometer said 13,500 steps by the time I made it home. So, yes, perfect day. :)

Walking Amongst the Dead

Then Nae's tour continued on to Laurel Hill cemetery. You know those photos of old gravesites with ornate sculptures of angels and animals? A lot of them come from here. I'm not happy with most of the pics I took, but here are a few, including a shot of our lovely hostess.

An interesting headstone caught my attention as we drove around one corner... the name on it was "Adrianne Balboa." I wonder if that's where her name came from?

Bartram's Garden

Our friend Nae, a great source for local historical sites, took us to see America's oldest botanical garden. John Bartram collected plants from all over the world and built a fantastic horticultural experience. The flora here was so different from that of Europe that he and friend Linnaeus had to build a new cataloging system (remember him from Bio class?). Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin all hung out here and took tea.

Much of it is overgrown, but the parts still intact are beautiful. The architecture is pretty cool, too.

We almost saw Obama

Heather, my superawesome friend from Seattle (she appears many times in the earlier episodes of this blog) came to visit. She arrived Thursday and we (Matt and I) swept her off to South Street for a cheesesteak at Jim's and a brief foray to Rosie's. Then Friday, Heather & I railed into Center City and explored the historical district. We intended to see our next President speak, but upon hearing that 15,000 others would probably be in line ahead of us, we opted out. Betsy Ross house (the flute player was hot), the Liberty Bell, Reading Market, Chinatown... we did it all.

We spent a rolicking half hour with a hand spindler, Ruth, chatting about fiber arts and Scottish history. She had the most adorable puppets made of her handspun. Her extensive fuzzy flock included a rabbit, a sheep, and even the Nessie, who sported fringed eyelids and a tartan kilt. We chatted with another lady who was wheel-spinning linen at the Betsy Ross house. She said we could have her job when we pried it out of her cold, dead hands.

We even hit East Market for some clothes. Yay for fun stuff in bigger sizes! Then Friendly's for dinner (she's never spent time on this coast so I wanted her to taste all the local color). More tomorrow...