Home Sweet Home

When we arrived and started to unload our car, we were sad when this picture fell out onto the ground and broke apart.  We thought we might be able to fix it, but it just didn't work.  So we looked online for an identical frame and ordered another one.  It came and we have finally been able to get our Christmas gift hung up in the most prominent place in our apartment.  In case you can't see it very well, here is a close up....

What a fun family!  We love them and miss them, but they are with us now on our wall!

Our week has been filled with scanning, learning about old book bindings, some old established institutions I didn't know existed and some other institutions I am not particularly a fan of. 

The NFL took over the city last week.  Fortunately the weather cooperated and we only had to walk home in the rain one day.  The other days were more clear, but Tuesday the gridlock had already began and the shuttle bus available to us in bad weather was stuck and so slow we were better off walking even if we did get soaked on the way. At least it was heading home and not to work! 

Walking the other days we did get to see a few characters and all the advertisements.  

These notices were painted onto the sidewalk at downtown intersections

What team is this???

We decided to walk to the Franklin Institute on the way home to visit the Science Fair.  We were surprised to see all the scanners just to get into the Institute and all the police on the street in front, but figured it was something about the crowds because of the NFL Draft.  

Well, we entered and were told that the Science Fair was not at the Institute and that the NFL had taken over the building.  The owners had a special place downstairs and the lobby was filled with all the things that would be shown on TV. 

I wonder what Benjamin Franklin would think of all this? 

 I was surprised to see how many people were interested in looking at the empty seats, etc.  Even a few Amish girls were looking around! There was a dad with his children their and the little girl was way excited and was talking like she knew every player on her favorite team which happened to be the Philadelphia of course.  

We left the Franklin Institute and walked with the crowd across to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (which has been closed since last week) and watched the excitement of some of those 200,000 people who spent a lot of money to come and be a part of all this.

I wonder what the police and EMT were thinking?  It had to have been a long weekend from the sirens we have heard late into the night.

Then again, we did also enjoy the flowers and and trees that have come alive over the last few weeks. It is amazing how quickly the landscape changes as the trees leaf out. 
The parks are filled with people enjoying the surroundings and the weather; the cafes have tables set out; and City Hall  has turned on the huge splash pad for all to enjoy!  (I am told that in the winter this splashpad becomes the city's ice rink and the Christmas Village is set up all around it with a huge tree in the middle.  It will be fun to see. )

I loved watching this wonderful little church courtyard come to life.  While I was taking the photos I noticed the cat in the window.  Ed thought he was watching me, but no.....he was watching the birds in the trees!

Rittenhouse Park

Ed was grateful for a place to sit while I took a few photos of this wonderful old church and the pink trees.  The photo doesn't do it (or my sweetie) justice.

Without a doubt, the most surprising site I saw this week to prove that spring is really here was this: 

I had not seen a day care with this many .....what are they....super strollers?  It was so fun to watch them come down the street, turn and cross in front of us.  One of the little girls waved at me and of course I waved back.  

When they passed I snapped a photo of the last two little people....they were holding hands!!!  

What a great way to welcome spring!!!

Museum of the American Revolution Opens

Good morning Philadelphia! 

If you haven't already seen the Newsroom post about the Museum of the American Revolution, you can view here or connect to this link: 

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/museum-american-revolution-opens

Towards the end of this little video is a shot of a young bearded man moving some of the "stacks" and pulling a large, old book from the shelf.  That young man works at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP)and we get our work from similar stacks in another room at HSP.  

Steve Rockwood and another FamilySearch employee came to visit us at HSP after they went to the MoAR opening on Wednesday the 19th.  It was fun to see them and, because they were visiting, the Director invited us to go with them into one of the HSP vaults to view some precious documents.  

We saw the museum owned, original, hand written draft of the Constitution. Sorry I have no photo to share.  I didn't think to bring my phone into the vault.....

We also saw the first, hand written draft of the Article of Confederation, also owned by the Museum.  The vault is full of fabulous and precious finds.  I could spend many days in there; if I had the security code, the vault door combination and permission. So.....nevermind.  (Only 3 people in the world have the combination to the lock)

The museum is wonderful although admittedly we didn't see much of it because the Founders Day event before the actual opening was way too crowded. So, knowing we could return as often as we wanted, we left after a couple of rooms because we just couldn't get to the glass to see the exhibits.  But we will go again because it will be worth it. 

We did get our photos taken while we were there. 

Another cool thing we did get to see was this "tree". 

The paper tells the story: 
Touch a Piece of History
This smooth wood is a fragment of the last surviving Liberty Tree, which stood in Annapolis, Maryland until 1999.  It was one fo the numerous Liberty Trees that American colonists used as symbols and gathering places in the 1760s and 1770s.  Salvaged after the tree was blown down in a hurricane, this piece was donated to the Museum of the American Revolution by the Providence Forum.  
Please touch this wood from the Annapolis Liberty Tree.

Another fun thing to see was the docents.  This couple was happy to have their photo taken as they came through the front doors on their way to their shift.

At the top of the grand staircase in the lobby of the Museum is this wonderful painting.

This painting of General Washington, and his tent which is now housed in the Museum, also brought to mind this new YouTube video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3QiBLndU-k

I hope that anyone who views my blog will take a minute to view this video.  It is the story of British General Howe's dog.  It is a true story and every historical detail in the video was researched by our friend at HSP, Joaquin Sender.  The creators of the video wanted to be sure that everything was accurate.  I think they did a great job. Any dog lover will be touched by this story. 

Great to know that the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a great source on many levels. 

On another note, the trees continue to surprise me with beautiful color and then bright green leaves.  Sadly, the "mild" winter this year has affected the lilacs and many flowering trees so there is not as much color as in past years I am told.

The other "color" in Philly is something that we have all known about for several weeks now.  This very large blue advertisement went up on City Hall weeks ago: 

The blue sign isn't big enough in this post for you to read so I will tell you what it says:  The Future is Now.  It is an advertisement for the NFL Draft which is being held here in Philadelphia next week.

So, I enjoy watching sports as much as the next person I think, but I am not fanatical about it.  But this city has gone crazy with the NFL draft coming to town.  The major parkway (Benjamin Franklin Parkway) going into the museum district and leading up to the wonderful, iconic Art Museum stairs or as most people call them, the "Rocky stairs", is closed to prepare for the draft events, including the Penn Relay race. 

There are people who come to Philly having planned their trip around the "Rocky stairs" and are turned away because of the NFL draft.  

We are very close to the Art Museum so on Saturday we decided to walk around and see what was happening. 

A sweaty selfie with a few tulips in street boxes behind us.

A stage is being built  in front of and close  to the "Stairs" of the museum. It began to rain so we didn't get close enough to see if anyone could even get into the museum.  Perhaps we will check it out later. 

We could see there were lots and lots of bar or draft tents already up.  There was also a large NFL Shop tent.  Wow.....

Well, I think we will be staying out of the way of the revelers this week.  We will be walking to and from work as much as we can. The weather is supposed to be nice the end of the week when the events begin.  It will be our first big event of the summer, but it will definitely not be the last. I am already trying to scope out where to set up our chairs for the enormous July 4th event. 

I understand the fireworks that are set off from the roof of the Art Museum are spectacular! 😁😁😁😁

Easter Week

I have been thinking all week about the importance of the season celebrated by so many around the world this week.  I have made time each morning to read about the events of the last week of the mortal life of Jesus Christ. He knew what was happening, what was going to happen and He did not shrink from His promise to fulfill His mission as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. 

I am ashamed to think of how many of my mistakes (sins) caused Him such agony, but grateful He was willing to pay the price so I could repent and be able to participate in His glorious gift of resurrection and eternal life with Him, our Father In Heaven and our families.  

When I began blogging on our first couples mission in 2010, I usually ended each post with a photo of a sunset from our apartment window which faced west.  Here in Philadelphia, our window faces directly east.  I have taken a few photos from our bedroom window in the morning as the sun begins to redden the sky.

 Lately I have observed an interesting occurance in our apartment with the morning light now that spring has cleared the skies more often.  It actually woke me from my sleep one day because I was facing the window without the window blinds closed.  
It was as if someone had switched on a very bright light in my face. I had slept through the beautiful colors of the dawning light, and now the sun had come up just enough from behind the buildings that it was full on my face. It was so bright I couldn't keep my eyes opened.

Since that first day, I have kept the blinds at least partially closed.

One morning I was barely awake, facing away from the window and all of a sudden I thought that a light had gone on in the living room! Quickly I realized that neither of us was up yet and that it was the sun coming through the front room window full on as it had before.
I took a picture so I wouldn't forget.  The photo doesn't have the same impact of the light, but it is a good memory for me.

The light of the sun had literally burst into our apartment; burst into my view.  It had been a slow process of lighting the world gradually, a little bit at a time but at the moment when the sun came fully into view, it was my wake up call. 



I took this picture of another source of light: 

The Philadelphia Temple is on the west side of our apartment building.  It stands out in the blackness of the night sky as a beacon of light that invites all to enter the safety of The House of the Lord 
so will never be without the light.  

The Light of the World wants us to stay in the light.  He wants us to become comfortable with the light. He is preparing the world for His return slowly and methodically like the dawn, but He will some day burst upon the world and all will see His Light and know that He is the Christ.  When He comes, it will be a glorious event; the dawning of a brighter day.

A favorite hymn comes to mind: 

The Lord is my light; then why should I fear? 

By day and by night his presence is near. 

He is my salvation from sorrow and sin; 

This blessed assurance the Spirit doth bring.

The Lord is my light; tho clouds may arise, 

Faith, stronger than sight, looks up thru the skies 

Where Jesus forever in glory doth reign. 

Then how can I ever in darkness remain? 

The Lord is my light; the Lord is my strength. 

I know in his might I'll conquer at length. 

My weakness in mercy he covers with pow'r, 

And, walking by faith, I am blest ev'ry hour. 

The Lord is my light, my all and in all. 

There is in his sight no darkness at all. 

He is my Redeemer, my Savior, and King. 

With Saints and with angels his praises I'll sing. 

Chorus:

The Lord is my light; 

He is my joy and my song. 

By day and by night

He leads, he leads me along.

I am so grateful for Him and His Love for me; for all of us. He came, He lived, He loved, He taught, He served, He suffered and paid the price, He died and He lives again.

These are just a few of my thoughts on this Easter Day. 

Spring Finds

Spring is showing its ability to bring a smile to my face here.  It is nice to make the mile walk after work back to our apartment.  The weather did warm up enough for us to walk a few days, but the rain did come also.  I am happy to see the trees come out a little.  It was the Cherry Blossom Festival all week last week but we didn’t have the time to attend any of the festivities, just enjoyed the blossoms.

We had our Zone Leaders, Elders Moench and Palomby, for dinner again last Friday.  It is always a fun time with these two.  They are great missionaries and love the work.  Elder Moench was so excited about the tablecloth they had decided to make to attract attention to a table they have set up to share the Prince of Peace message with people.  

Elder Palomby, who had requested spaghetti for dinner, decided he wanted to eat as much spaghetti as he possibly could.  He has been challenged by a member to eat a combination of 1 lb of past, 1 lb. of meat and 1 lb. of sauce all at one sitting.  Elder Palomby thinks he can do it, but it was hilarious to watch him try to tie his shoes after eating at our place and I don't think it was 3 lbs of food!  We will be interested to hear the rest of the story for him. 

Today we drove out to visit the Jerrettown Ward.  When our family was young and we came to visit Ed's mom we would take our family to the Jerrettown Ward.  Our friends in Salt Lake, the Thuesons, asked us to check on their good, young friend who is serving as a missionary here, Sister Adakhari. We found that she was serving in the Jerrettown Ward so we met her and her companion (Sister Prince) and visited briefly before the meeting. 

We have been working hard to catch up on our scanning since we have had so many down days in our first month.  We are back up to almost 100% now so we both feel almost obsessed with keeping the scanners working.  Having said that, occasionally the odd thing will come up and I just have to share it and then keep it for my own memories. 

This week I found family history information recorded in some unique ways. We are used to letters in all shapes and sizes; Christmas cards with a tidbit here or there; Valentines cards with some bit of information; funeral announcements and sympathy cards with a story or sentiment; even a small little paper bag that was used to record some info as seen here:

However, I was surprised to open a small folder piece of paper to find “Lindas hair June 1890”. 

Yep, there is her hair: 

I actually decided to scan the hair in color because it was a light, reddish brown color still. 

I have found again that the most difficult part of this assignment is to not stop and read the stories behind the people in these histories.  Obviously there isn’t any time to do this and it makes me sad.  Some of the photos, for instance, make me so curious.  I am past thinking that I may find connections to my own family.  I am just interested in these families.  

This photo is so curious to me.  I am not sure which of the women in this photo is Catharine (Haycock) Wright….the child or the grandma (great grandma?).  

Very few of the photos have dates.  Most have a name, and some a better description of what it is.

This photo caught my attention because I recognized the place.

Font Hill, in Doylestown, is now a museum.  Years ago when I was visiting Ed’s mom she suggested that I might enjoy visiting this place.  We went together and I was fascinated so it was fun to find in the file I was scanning this photograph which must have been taken shortly after the construction was finished in 1912.  I was able to contrast the photo I scanned with another more recent photo.  The foliage around the “castle”, as it is now called, much improves the look of the place.

Another bit that I found was this certificate from Niagara Falls.  I have been to the Falls, but have never seen this tour advertised.  

Maybe the Canada West side still does this, but it was so fun to see that this was a unique piece of memorabilia for someone to keep with other family things from 1847.  The date was not lost on me.  This man “…passed behind the Great Falling Sheet of Water…” about the same time Brigham Young was entering the Great Salt Lake Valley.

But by far the most unique record of historical notes was this one:

Really?  

Who would keep a flattened cigarette package to record historical family information. Maybe it says more about the individual who recorded it than the information he/she recorded!  

I was flabbergasted, but I suspect this may not be the last of startling things we find.  

What will be next???