Yards Brewery

On a rainy Saturday, my brother Budd and I took the brewery tour at Yards Brewery on Delaware Ave in Philadelphia. It's a super small local brewery, but the beer is fab (and the tour is free). As a bonus, there is a tasting room with a long, u-shaped bar on one side and pool and air hockey tables on the other.

Our tour guide looked like our Uncle Doug. So, for argument's sake, let's call him Doug. He offered us free samples of an IPA and the George Washington Porter. Being partial to the darker beers, I tried the porter. I made the mistake of letting Budd try a sip. Though he extolled the virtues of the lighter IPA, he also wouldn't give me back my tiny cup of porter.

Mean.

Whilst Doug was giving the tour, he also sipped from a pint of the George Washington Porter. And when I say sipped I really mean that he took long, unapologetic swigs. I didn't blame him one bit.

(Budd by the bottling machine)

(Me too)

It was a quick tour, and if you've been on other brewery tours (as we had done), there's a lot of the same stuff about hops and yeast, etc. It was still interesting (especially to hear how they properly dispose of the yeast and such), and our tour guide was really the best. We actually spent more time in the tasting room appreciating the final product. It's a lot fun, and I'm sure we'll go back to get a growler to take home....though the growler shown below is too big to stand upright in my fridge. Needless to say, my fridge still kind of smells like the George Washington Porter.

(Budd and the growler)

(Cheers!)

Mice Are NOT Friends

One of the joys of working in a city would be the ever-present creatures you encounter on a daily basis. No, I'm not talking about creepy men on the subway; I'm talking about mice. I grew up on a farm-complete with field mice and the occasional snake-but I am still freaked out by city mice.They're just so dirty...hanging out in sewers and people's garbage. While a field mouse, who might scare the crap out of you when you open the barrel of horse food, just hangs out in a field with the corn.

I bring this up because my office has been invaded by mice. I've been here for almost five years (whoa), and we've only ever had the occasional mouse. Now there are so many more; apparently it has become a building-wide problem. Twice in the past month, I have arrive to find that the mouse left some evidence of his visit. Right on the desk. Except that time that he actually got into my desk drawer.

That is not the way to start a Tuesday.

And what is the office doing about it? Offering me a glue trap to stick near my desk. This glue trap comes with the office manager's tales of finding just feet on her trap because the mouse chewed them off to get away.

How about making the cleaning ladies, um, I don't know, clean? Vacuum? That might help a wee bit.

Add to this a report that one of the girls found a roach on the bathroom sink (and don't even get me started on the bathroom). NO amount of farm living will EVER make you comfortable around a cockroach...mainly because I've never seen those awful brown giant things hanging out in the barn.

Hank: Weather Predictor

Here in Philadelphia, we don't do well with extremes in the environment. The slightest bit of snow throws us into chaos (not to mention the fact that the city has $0 set aside for snow removal), thunderstorms and heavy rain predictions send us franticly to the grocery store for food we usually don't need, and when an earthquake comes, like today, we freak out.


I was sitting at my desk reading and finishing my lunch when I felt my chair start to roll a bit. Yes, it has wheels, but I wasn't trying to move it. I looked around, and the papers that I've tacked to the walls of my cubicle were starting to shudder. Then the lights, suspended from the ceiling, began to sway. A little at first and then a bit more. My friend, Argylesockgirl, rushed over, and I think that as freaked out as we were, it was a bit nice to know that neither of us were going crazy. Another of the girls came out of her office and said, "Is the building shaking?" So we grabbed our things and ran (8 flights) down the stairs and across the street. Turns out what we were feeling was a 5.9 or so magnitude earthquake that was taking place in Virginia; seems it was felt all the way to New England.


The thing that struck me was how my first thought was "has someone driven a truck into the building? Is this a bomb?" 15 years ago I probably would've thought "earthquake" first and "terrorist bombing" never.


Anyway, after talking to a friend of mine who has a few dogs and a parrot, I began to wonder if Hank had a feeling that this disruption was coming. My friend's bird hid under some paper towels in fear, the dogs barked, my sisters ducks sat in a circle, and Hank hung on to the side of his cage (the side he only clings to when he's upset or sad) and hissed at me when I wished him a good morning. I thought he was just cranky like he always is when I separate him from his old friend, my parents' cockatiel Byrd. But maybe this time it was something different? My grandmother always used to say that when the cows laid down, it was because they knew it was going to rain. Do the animals really know something that we don't? Somehow, I think they do, and it's actually a very comforting idea to me.

Sunny Side Up

Due to the extreme heat, my sister decided to see if she could fry an egg outside. She lives in the middle of nowhere, so instead of a sidewalk, she chose to fry her egg on a random slab of metal lying in the driveway.

For her assistant, she chose the lovely Emily, of the Portsmouth Bassons (Portsmouth as in England).

An egg was chosen. The proposed cooking area was sprayed with Pam. The egg was cracked and exposed to the heat (about 112 degrees).  

As you will see from the photos at the end. The egg didn't cook very well. It kind of got hard and crusty. Eventually it had to be hosed off the metal slab/pan.

What went wrong, you may ask? Perhaps it was the slab/pan being exposed to the heat for too many days in a row; or maybe a random piece of metal doesn't make the best frying pan (take note: outdoor survival people). Or perhaps scrambled eggs would work better? Either way, here's hoping that it's never  so hot that we feel the need to try this again.

(Emily mans the spatula)

(ew)

Workdays

You will never believe what the conductor said to me today on the train home.

As we were all filing off the train and onto the platform, the conductor (who is a different guy than my regular conductor), was bidding us all a good evening. Except, he wasn't saying things like "Have a good evening" or "see ya!" like my normal conductor does. Instead, this guy said, "See you tomorrow. Same bat time. Same bat channel."

By the time his words registered in my tired brain, I was halfway down the platform, and I smiled to myself. I guess we all have our things to get through the day, but I'm glad this conductor shared his with us commuters.

Cheerio, Harry. It's Been Swell.

Saturday brought us the last Harry Potter. I know technically it was released on Friday, but I didn't attempt to see it until Saturday. There are two reasons for this: 1.) I wanted to avoid herds of children and 2.) Saturday is the day that my brother's girlfriend Morgan invited me. I went with the two of them and my sister. 


Because it was the last Harry Potter film, something bigger and different must be done. After all, when the last book was released, I didn't feel like we could celebrate that as a group. Reading it was a solitary experience for me, and I wanted it that way. But the film! THAT we could have fun with. 


We four went to the Imax theatre at the Franklin Institute, which, to say the least, scared the crap out of me.  I didn't know that the seats were going to be positioned so steeply...I think my sister said that we were actually sitting at a height equivalent to a four story building.


Have I mentioned my fear of heights? Is it evident in this photo?

Besides he height and the 3-D magic, I sort of felt like I was sitting in an egg. The theatre was domed, and everything had this greenish tint to it. You could tell the screen itself was white, but everything else was completely thrown off by the lack of bright lighting. It was super different from the regular theatre. 

(Even the Budd is weirded out)

I'm glad we did it that way, though. It made me feel like I was in a "Cinema of the Future!" You know, like some scientist's projection of how people of the future will watch films....


Cheerio, Harry!

(sisters)

Greenery Round the Neighbourhood

I have a theory that most of the greenery in the city of Philadelphia is put together by the retired community. They have the time, they've most likely travelled around and gotten tons of ideas, and they are more likely to own their backyard space than those of us who are still paying off our student loans.


Case in point: this lattice work in Society Hill. Who has the time or the patience to put something like this together? Someone dedicated, that's who. 

Also spotted was this pear tree. The wee branches had been arranged and fastened to the wall to make this design.

All of this greenery just added to the ambiance of Lawrence Court. Window boxes overflowing with colorful flowers and small shrubbery give off the air of a smaller Pennsylvania town instead of the city. I'm sure all the trees really help to drown out the noise of the city buses and traffic. Walking around this area, I was amazed at how quiet and peaceful it was. 

(Lawrence Court: where we found the pear tree)

(wee parking lot outside the Jewish Synagogue)

Magnolia Garden

On a lunchtime walk with ArgyleSockGirl, we explored one of the quieter, more isolated parks in olde city: Magnolia Park. I think one of my newest goals in life is to be able to eat lunch and/or read in a park without being run over by tourists (otherwise known as the tourii) or bothered by unwashed creepers.

This park seemed like a lovely place to walk around, however, ArgyleSockGirl informed me that these white, iron benches are not comfortable (I'm not sure if you can see it, but the bars are just the right size to cause you immense discomfort). But there was quite a sizable green patch in the middle of the park where you could spread out a blanket.

On the day we went. the weather was a bit overcast, but I'm sure that on a warm day, the spray from the fountain would be lovely. We were a little puzzled over the creepy-looking grate under the surface of the water., but we chalked it up to someone's well-meaning concern over the possibility of a child accidentally drowning. 

Oddities

(door knocker)

If you put something weird or unusual outside your house, do you ever wonder if people notice? I think for me, I would hope people would notice, even if they really didn't. Even if those people were tourists or office workers trying to get away from their computers for a bit.

Unless those people were vandals or thieves, that is.

Philly Near Winter's End

Just walking around a few weeks ago made me miss all the green than can be found in the city. Yes, in the city. You would not believe how many people are shocked when I tell them that there are several parks near my office. But they exist, and many of them are quite nice in the summertime.

Everything does seem to be waking up from its winter slump, though. Only four more days before spring is technically here.

Christmas Markets

I previously mentioned my trip to the Mifflinburg Christkindl Market with the Rodgers (sans Scott).

(Becca and myself)

Friday past I went to the Philadelphia version with my friend Steph. The Christmas Village is set up by City Hall and recently ran into some controversy because the sign has the word "Christmas" in it. Though I don't know what people expect a village of shops selling things to decorate your house for Christmas to be called. Crap for your Indoor Tree Village is hardly festive sounding.

I was happily surprised at all the really lovely, handmade German smokers, nutcrackers, ornaments, and food (real Germans too!). The day itself was freezing cold but sunny. And I got tons of Christmas shopping done (even though the only thing I was hoping for was a smoker man).

And I've always wanted to do one of these:

(Steph and myself)

Though the woman who took the photo above couldn't tell Steph and myself apart...we never realized how much people think we look alike. Well, except for the Suddenly Creepy Subway Guy, but that is a tale for another day.

Happy Christmas Shopping!

That Place with the Food

Today a friend from work (and fellow red-head) and I went to lunch. We went to one of the best lunch places in the city: European Republic. They have the best wraps, and the incredibly addicting fries/frites come with any flavor of dipping sauce that you can think of (and some you never would have thought of).

Of course, we don't call it by its actual name; instead, it's "the wrap place."  Other eateries included in this category are "the noodle place" or "the place with the avocado sandwich." Many times all you have to say to someone in the office is, "Did you go to the wrap place?" and even if they're a co-worker that you hardly speak to, somehow they know what you're talking about.

City Walls

You are never too old to have a field trip.

Today we went on a work field trip around the city on the Mural Mile Tour. Our guide from the Mural Arts Program took us around Philly on foot, and pointed out several murals. We learned about how they are made, who helps put them together, and we even discovered a mural that didn't look like your typical mural (and a parking garage that didn't look like your typical parking garage).

If you come to Philly and are looking for something different to do, I would highly suggest the Mural Mile Tour. They also do a summer tour called "Ale and Arts"  which is something that sounds like the beginning of a lovely evening.

Yes, ale is included.

Some of my favorite murals are below:

(photo by Debbie Lovell)

(photo by Debbie Lovell)

Ben Folds?

Not that many weeks ago, I sat in a tiny hole-in-the-wall diner near Rittenhouse Square with the Katherines. As we tried to chase away our Hoegaarden hangovers with powdered-sugar-and-maple-syrup drenched Challah French Toast and bacon, I turned to the Katherines and said, "Isn't that guy standing by the door Ben Folds?"

"I don't know what Ben Folds looks like," answered the Katherine to my left.

"He looks like that guy standing by the door...even down to the glasses," I yawned.

And he did. The olive green cap, dark-rimmed glasses and modern bohemian style of the way he tied his scarf around his neck all seemed to scream, "Yeah. I'm a hip musician."

I went back to smearing grape jam on my regular toast (because diner toast is probably the best food in the world). I silently cursed the fact that my red-headed roommate from Freshman year-who nursed an intense infatuation with the music of Ben Folds-was living far away in Pittsburgh and unable to help me determine if the man at the door was in fact Mr. Folds himself. I felt too silly to get up and actually approach this guy on the off chance that it was just some French guy called Peter who couldn't understand why twenty-something Americans kept coming up to him and asking if he was this Ben dude.

Two weeks later we find out that Ben Folds had a show in Philly the night before we possibly spotted him at the diner. So it actually could've been him....

And I wondered, why can't I speak to famous people? We're bombarded every day of photos of Jude Law at the drugstore, Julia Roberts buying cheese at the market, and Harrison Ford having a chat with the five other people that live in Wyoming. Magazines are constantly reminding us that "Celebrities are Just Like You!" I have no problem talking to people on planes or strangers like the German lady who sat next to me during the train ride between Marburg and Kassel; however, if Kate Winslet sat next to me at the airport I'd forget how to speak.

Yet when I have the gall to do something like stage door Eddie Izzard, all I can do is squeak out my name and add some cheesy sentence he's probably heard a million times before. Perhaps I was suddenly intimidated by the fact that I was standing in front of quite possibly the funniest man alive today. Perhaps I would have been less intimidated if he'd been dressed in women's clothes.

Perhaps....