Four girls and life goes on

For Hanukkah, my sister Rachel gave each of us a bound book of pictures of the four of  us.  I loved it… though it was hilarious to watch each of us look at the book and zero right in on all of the negatives.  Myself included.  Ew, look at that outfit. Oy, look at my weight.  Oh my god, my hair!  But my overriding feeling was… there are more photos.  And so began the never ending search for more pictures of the four Olanoff girls.

And then I found a couple.  I love these pictures.  They are period pieces at their very best.

This first one is taken in my living room, my father taking the photo.  Where my ruffly princess nightgown came from, I can only guess. Check out… well, everything!

This next one is sort of classic from my childhood.  My dad worked for the city of Philadelphia and we were often able to meet celebrities visiting Philadelphia.  Clearly Prince Charming, Winnie the Pooh and  -- and who is that other character – are clearly celebrities, in our eyes at least.  I do love my sister Rachel’s cheek curls.  You just know she spent some time on that hair do. 

Then there’s this gem.  Clearly in our back yard in the old house in Mt. Airy.  One of my favorite things about old photos is what else you see in the photo.  In the background (white blob, upper right) you can see an old boat that had once been seaworthy but had been in our backyard all of my life. The Pearlie May. My sister and I used to play on it as a playhouse – when we dared, and were clearly slightly younger than this photo.  Also, see that orange car?  That could be my brother in law's car -- and the one on which he taught me to drive.  Could be. It's the right color.

This is a great one.  This is outside the Academy of Music after my high school graduation.  See any family resemblances?

And this one I add in just because I’m adorable.  

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane. I sure did.  No sisters were harmed in the publishing of theses photos.... right?

A Walk in the City

I am a slacker or I was last weekend.  My elevator wasn’t working.  Saturday night when I went out, I found out the bad news.  Five flights isn’t really that bad as long as I pace myself.  It’s when I forget who I am that I get into trouble.   I go bounding up the stairs… first floor, second floor, everything is going well. Third floor is fine. It is always four that just kicks my butt.  Heading toward five can leave me wheezing and thoroughly embarrassed if there’s anyone else in the stairwell. So slow and steady wins the race, unless there is no race.  And that’s how I did it Sunday.  To make up for my lack of ambition, I did chores.  I did all the regular things, even unpacked a box, hung a picture and cooked.

I’ve been trying to cook on the weekends so I have food for the week, as well as taking a little something for my mom to have some home cooked meals.  Last weekend was Tuscan Chicken.  The weekend before was meatloaf.  Sometimes there are creations out of the slow cooker.  Once it was Mango Chicken with actual mangoes that I brought from Miami and peeled and chopped myself.  A million of them. Mom said it was good, once she got past the mangoes.  Everyone is a critic.

This weekend was different. I was up early today so I started baking even before George Stephanopolis was a thought on the TV.  I made Hamentashen, a traditional Purim treat. Here is my first batch right from the oven.  My mom likes poppy seed, so those are the dark ones.  The others are apricot preserves.  I still have dough left, so when I make more, I think I’ll do a chocolate one too.  Not traditional, but what could be bad.

Then it was off to brunch with the family.  We tried a new spot, El Vez.  Mexican brunch.  The guac was awesome and the Huevos Rancheros were pretty good.  The salsa was excellent.  The Bloody Mary even better!  Then off to Macy’s for some President’s Day sale browsing.

I decided I would home to walk off those chips.  I love walking in the city because you see things that just fly by unnoticed when you’re in a car or on the bus.  Sometimes when I’m on the bus, I’m too busy watching the drama inside, to see as much outside!

It was cold out there today, with a strong wind.  My mom and my granny before her were always complaining of the wind downtown.  Well, I get it now.  Those cross streets are like wind tunnels. As I was wandering along, I decided to note some of my landmarks.  Now mind you, it was cold, windy, I had on mittens and a drink.  There’s a lot going on here.

I was walking down Arch Street, some snow flurries accompanying me when I saw this.  What the heck is this?  I’m pretty sure this is the window of a club.  Interesting.  I haven’t seen a Barbie diorama in a long time… or maybe ever.

Recently, I bought my mom a book about Fading Ads of Philadelphia.  It is a collection of old painted wall advertisements of stores and businesses, most of which are long gone.  It has made me much more aware.  Here is one for the department store, Lit Brothers.  I can remember when they were open on Market Street. A little investigation and it turns out they opened in 1893 and closed down in 1977.

Here’s another sign I passed along the way home.  This one is actually right across the street from my apartment, the former Thomas Scientific Company building. Their first headquarters was at 12^th and Walnut Streets, but the company moved to their new seven story headquarters building in 1956, on a property once owned by the father of Betsy Ross.

Backing up a little bit on my walk, I walked through Chinatown.  That’s where the club with the freaky dolls is located.  But they also have some cool dragon statures. They stand guard at the entrance to a parking lot.

One of my favorite architectural details in my neighborhood is the Ben Franklin bridge that connects Philly to NJ.  It is a suspension bridge that was completed in 1926.  I walk underneath the spans every day to get to and from work

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This long view is from the south side of the bridge, I live just north.  This is the view as I walked along the span to get home today.  Usually I'm going under, not alongside.

As you come into Philly off the bridge, there is a circle with a cool stature.  It is a key at the bottom, bolt of electricity and a kite at the top.  We are nothing if not a city in homage to our favorite father, Ben Franklin.  The artist, Isamu Noguchi, first submitted the design in 1933, but it was rejected as it was far too radical for the time.  The idea resurfaced in 1979 when a drawing was seen in a retrospective of the artist’s work.  The 79 year old Noguchi came to Philadelphia and when he saw the spot at the foot of the bridge, he knew it would be perfect.

Well, there you have it, today's walking tour.  Come visit and I’ll show you the sites in person!