It's All Happening at the Zoo

The week I was going back and forth to Philadelphia for my testing I decided to make a trip to the zoo one day.  I've always loved the Philadelphia Zoo, which has the distinction of being our nation's first. I met my friend Gwen and her little one, Sweet Pea there. Join us.

 Flamingos always make me giggle.

There were a couple of women discussing this position with the little one they were accompanying.  We all agreed it looked like giraffe yoga.  Downward giraffe anyone?

 I was following my prep diet for the scans while at the zoo.  Last year I may have fought the otter for the fish.  This year my cravings were all about cheese, so I could just enjoy the otter's antics.  We also had an extended discussion with the otter's keeper.  We learned a lot about the breeding programs.  Essentially the worldwide zoo population of these river otters is descended mostly from the same mother and there are more hoops to jump through to get your otter laid than any sane person would even want to imagine.

 This bear seemed wholly unconcerned with any of that.

 We were hoping the peacock would give us a show.  He did not oblige.

Getting ready for a date and checking his deodorant?

"Listen, Glen may have on his aftershave but he still can't dance.  Just look at that ungainly display on the dance floor."

 GQ Lemur edition.

 The beauty shop at the primate house.

 Cutie

 Deep in thought or needing a smoke?

 Whoa, Mama!  the ground is waaaaaay down there!

 She seemed fairly annoyed by the people around.

 Sweet Pea's favorite toy is her stuffed lion.  It goes everywhere with her.  She wanted this lion to meet her lion.

Majesty

If you've ever read E. B. White's Trumpet of the Swan you may recall the main character Louis lives at the Philadelphia Zoo for a time and plays his trumpet for tourists.  The swan boats at the zoo are in honor of the book.

 Sass

 Just inside the entrance is this fountain.  I've loved it since I was a child.

Field Trip to Philly

Last week I had my last visit to the hospital for three months.  It was just time for a scan to make sure my radioactive self was getting back to normal.  Mr. Lime, Isaac, and I decided to make a day of it since the appointment was early in the morning and we had the rest of the day.  I took Boom-boom along.

Our first stop was at Reading Terminal Market for a bite to eat.  This place makes me all sorts of happy.  Where else will you find Amish families selling baked goods, preserves, and fresh meats across an aisle from a sushi chef?  There's obviously an abundance of Pennsylvania German foods but there's a wide variety of other ethnic cuisines available as well.  Organic produce, quality breads, and be still my heart, CHEESES!  There were multiple cheese stands but Mr. Lime and I fell in with the artisanal crew who let us sample several cheeses.  After weeks of no dairy I splurged on some very expensive and very delicious cheese as a way to celebrate the end of my treatment.  Excuse me a moment while I savor the memory.....mmmmmm....


My other way to celebrate was to go to the Mütter Museum in order to see a multitude of medical oddities.  During the course of my treatment it was discovered that my thyroid was quite unusual....like one of four in the last century unusual...so I thought going to see other medical weirdness would be an appropriately warped way to celebrate the end of treatment.  It's not set up as some sort of side show exploiting folks with afflictions but was established as a manner of augmenting and furthering the education of physicians.  I also thought Isaac, whose favorite subject is anatomy and physiology, could be lured to a family outing if he got to see jars of gangrenous limbs and preserved body parts.  We also beheld such wonders as an enlarged human colon which looked like it couldn't possibly fit in a creature smaller than an elephant, an ovarian cyst the size of two soccer balls, a 7'6" skeleton, and a vast collection of skulls.  There was also an interesting exhibit drawing correlations between possible origins of folk tales as related in Grimm's Fairy Tales and human deformities.  I quite enjoyed that part. The museum does not permit photography.  Those of you with more sensitive constitutions may thank me now.  Those of you interested should definitely make it a stop if you ever get to Philadelphia.



After the museum we still had time to wander because we had paid an exorbitant parking fee and I intended to get some degree of its value out of it.  We walked around the city with Boom-boom, much to Isaac's chagrin.  He hates when I have my camera because I make too many stops.  Mr. Lime has learned to accept it.  In fact, we noticed this reflection of one building in the surface of another at the same time and he wanted to make sure I didn't miss it.

 We made it to City Hall after several blocks of wandering.  I had to visit Billy Penn.  I wanted to take a picture of one of us shaking a fist here so I could say we CAN fight city hall but no volunteers were forth-coming.















Across from City Hall is a sculpture park with this work "Government of the People" by Jacques Lipchitz.  It's a messy business, not unlike the sausage-making in the market, eh?

Nearby is Love Park with the famous logo.

Across the way the road leads to the Art Museum, one of my favorite places.

Eventually we headed home passing the Pennsylvania Railroad.  Monopoly anyone?

Finally, one of the other things I adore about Philadelphia is the proximity of old to new.  I'd never want to see the beautiful old architecture completely demolished and removed but time does march on and new things come along.

As my life moves on from here I want to remember to keep the best parts of my old self and ways as I move on in what I am considering a new start with new chances and as I try to make the most of that.

Cookies and the CIty

It was a very busy weekend. Friday was a snow day so I finally began my annual cookie blitz. Since last Christmas there has been a boy at our church who has been begging to come help me bake cookies this year. Every time he sees me I hear, "Mrs. Lime! You and me, we're gonna bake cookies for Christmas this year, right?" I always said I'd be glad to have him come help. When the time came I asked him last weekend if he'd be available this weekend. When we had the snow day I asked if he'd like to come over Friday instead. Keep in mind my kids have not wanted to participate in the annual baking melee for a while. Since this boy joined us it brought out the volunteer spirit in Isaac. Here are the two helpers I had for most of the day.It worked out well. Our helper likes measuring things but not mixing or cracking eggs. He measured, Isaac cracked eggs and washed up in between the 9 different doughs we made up, I mixed. They both helped me get cookies on trays and in and out of the oven. On Friday we got through baking 4 of the 9 doughs before everyone passed out for the night. Yesterday I finished baking 3 more doughs. So far I've done 66 dozen cookies. I sent my newest helper home with a big bag for himself and said it was up to him as to whether or not he shared them with anyone. When I sent him home with more on Sunday, he confided that he had hidden the others in his room. I told him his secret was safe with me.

Saturday my dad invited me to go into Philadelphia to see A Chorus Line at the Forrest Theater since he is a subscriber and my stepmother couldn't go with him due to her somewhat complicated recovery from knee replacement surgery. I felt bad that she couldn't go but she seemed quite happy to let me enjoy the ticket with Dad. I brought her a bag of cookies though so she'd have a treat for the day. Kind of a lopsided trade, I know.


It's been a long time since I had the chance to go into Philadelphia (and I do love that city) and even longer since I saw a show anywhere. Seeing Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River as we drive in always makes me happy. We actually came in behind Boathouse Row so I swiped the picture below. For a panoramic view of the gorgeous effect of the year round lights on Boathouse Row as well as the Philadelphia Art Museum (which I am REALLY itching to get back to) click here. Really, take a minute and go check it out.
*image from http://www.cis.rit.edu



As we headed toward Center City we could see City Hall with William Penn perched atop. When I was a kid no building reached above Billy's head. It gave the city a unique feeling because it was "short." Times change though and now there are several buildings that exceed his height. Of course I had to look among the international flags to see if I could find the colors of Trinidad and Tobago flying. The flags are labeled and go alphabetically so it was easy to search. Sadly, there was no flag in between Turkey and Ukraine (nor was it before Turkey where it should have been...I do actually know how to alphabetize...it's Monday morning, ok? I have a Cookie hangover). Mayor Nutter needs to account for this, in my opinion.

We parked and walked to the Forrest Theater, which was built in 1927. It was named for 19th century actor Edwin Forrest. According to the website, it's the oldest continuously operated opera house in the US. It's quite lovely. I swiped these pictures from the Schubert Organization website. I didn't figure the folks I was sitting next to would be all that thrilled to have me snapping away. The show was terrific.

*images from http://www.shubertorganization.com/theatres/forrest_theatre_philly.asp

After the show we had about an hour and half to kill before our dinner reservations. Since my stepmother's knee has been a major hindrance for her for a number of years I think it was a treat for Dad, as much as for me, to be able to amble around the city. He wanted to check out the Holiday Spectacular that plays in the lobby of the brand new Comcast Center so we headed that way. It was pretty nifty. Here's about 3 minutes of the show in case you are interested. there was some very clever stuff that I didn't capture but this gives a feel for it.



Once it finished we hoofed it back to the restaurant but I paused long enough to try to capture City Hall at night. I'm not terribly experienced with nighttime photography and I didn't have my tripod. All things considered, I was reasonably satisfied with the results.

Dad took me to The Oceanaire because he is all about fine dining. I have to say this is the sort of place that is so far off my radar because it is so far outside of my budgetary constraints but wow! The food was to die for. When I raved about the amusees bouches (thank you, Food Network for informing me as to what the heck an amusee bouche is [translation: mouth amuser, a single tasty bite of something]) the waitress brought another plate which Dad shoved in my direction. Then someone else brought us another pair of them and Dad pushed them to me again. Uh, yeah. I got 5 tasty bites and I'd have been happy to eat a whole plate of them but there were some crab cakes that were melt in your mouth good, cider roasted squash, spinach salad, and then a creme brulee that could have fed both of us. Uh, yeah...I needed someone to roll me out to the car when it was over.

Good time was had by all though.

Noboday Bakes a Cake...

...as tasty as a Tastykake!



If you are from anywhere near Philadelphia that's a jingle you've heard for probably your entire life. Last week I wound my way through a random facts meme and ended up with hoagies and cheesesteaks. It reminded me of my favorite Philly area food tradition. Tastykakes!

The rest of the country may munch on Little Debbie Pies and Hostess Snack Cakes. When I want to clog my arteries and rot my teeth with some mass produced baked good I will run for a Peanut Butter Kandy Kake every time, or a Chocolate Junior, or if I am really in a pinch I may consider a Butterscotch Krimpet.

Tastykake is a Philadelphia tradition since 1914 when the bakery first opened. Since 1922 most of the baking has taken place at a facility right in Philadelphia. In recent years there was talk of relocating the major operations away from the city in order to allow an expansion of operations. Philadelphians were in an uproar. This past May it was announced the company would indeed relocate but instead of leaving Philly they'd be moving to the Navy Yard. This is a win/win for both the Navy Yard, which was shut down by the Defense Department in 1996, and for the Tasty Baking Company as it seeks to grow...not to mention all the local and loyal lovers of Tastykakes in Philadelphia.

No, I am not being paid to advertise for TatstyKakes. I just love them that much. How much? Well, when I was pregnant in Trinidad and enduring all manner of horrendous food cravings my father came to visit. He asked if there was anything he could bring for me. I told him he needed to have a collection of Italian cheeses and seasonings so I could make a lasagna, a bag of Doritos, and a box of Peanut Butter Tastykakes. I also warned him that Mr. Lime was under orders to put him on the next plane back to the USA if he failed to carry these items with him. Dad did not disappoint. I mean just look at the peanut buttery, chocolatey happiness! Mmmmmm

I will tell you, all the images I've used here have been taken from the Tastykake website. You can order their items if you wish to indulge in the yumminess that is Tastykake. Upon my return to the US I was also graced with a lovely little recipe which produces a reasonable facsimile of my beloved Peanut Butter Tastykakes. So if you want to taste them but not deal with mail order give this a try. I don't remember who gave me the recipe or I would credit and bless them here and now.

Tandy Take Cake (tandy take is the old name for PB candy cakes)

4 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
8 oz Hershey bar (another PA favorite)
1 cup peanut butter

-Beat eggs until thick and lemony.
-Gradually add sugar, milk, and vanilla.
-Mix dry ingredients separately.
-Fold egg mixture into dry ingredients.
-Pour into greased jelly roll pan.
-Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes.
-Spread peanut butter on warm cake.
-Cool.
-Cover with melted Hershey bar.