Feeling Domestic

I've been feeling awfully domestic as of late.  I'm not exactly sure why.  It could possibly be from all the decorating of our new place.  Maybe its the fresh produce here inspiring me to cook.  I do have a lot of free time on my hands while Brad is at dental school and studying.  Or perhaps it is that my dental school friends are so crafty (as in the cutest felt ornaments and daring sewing projects you've ever seen kind of way.)

You know how we went to Linvilla Orchards and got lots of fruit?  Well what better to do than make jam out of it!  My sweet friends Kenzie and Rachel came over to help me can a few jars of strawberry peach jam. Kenzie is a canning expert.  She has all the stuff that makes canning a whole lot easier.  It also helped that she knew what we were doing.  It's been years since I've done boiled jam.  Still turned out delicious.

I also did a little painting project.  Can I say that I am so proud of myself?  If you know my family, you will know that all of the artistic ability went to my sister Malinda.  She can draw with amazing detail.  I love her drawings.  Me on the other hand, I have no artistic ability.   So, for me to do a painting and have it still be something I'm going to put up on the wall is downright unusual for me.  Inspiration from here.

I also finished a scarf and hat for me.  I worked on them on our drive out here and while we watched TV.  Not too bad for a use of my free time.  I can't wait for winter to wear them.

And lastly, a little fall table runner.  As far as quilting goes, it was very simple.  But I wanted something to bring fall inside.  I didn't really have fall scraps so I bought a bundle of fat quarters.  I'm thinking I might make some pumpkins out of the leftovers.  Directions for the table runner here.

Sometime I will get pictures up of our little apartment once I am done with the final decorating touches.  But that's for another day.

Valley Forge

Doug came for another visit awhile back.  This time we had a bit more time so we took a trip to Valley Forge.  The first time we went to Valley Forge it was raining on us.  It was nice to be able to get out and take some more pictures this time around.

I think the fields out here are just so pretty!  This is what I picture in my mind when I think of Pennsylvania.

Linvilla Orchards

Some friends in our ward invited us to go to Linvilla Orchards with them (#89).  We were able to pick peaches, pears, apples, strawberries, and peppers.  All have been delicious.  We also enjoyed our first apple cider donuts there.  Thanks Hogans, Torries, and Downs for letting us come along!

Girls Day in the City

Have I told you that the other LDS dental students are married?  If not, let me tell you that this is the best news for me.  While Brad is studying or taking a late night CPR class or whatever else may keep him preoccupied with dental school I have friends to spent time with because their husbands are doing the exact same thing.  Not only that, but they understand that I'm on a budget because they've got the same loans we do.  And when there are days when I'm not liking Philly so much they are right there with me because we all moved here at the same time.  In so many ways our lives are similar.

On one fine day while the boys were in school the girls got together.  Kenzie Fowler works at the National Constitution Center so we (Rachel Tucker and I) met up with her after work one day to see the city.  The Old City area, where the National Constitution Center is located, is my favorite area of Philadelphia.  We went exploring.  First to Washington Square.  There is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the park.  Given time to reflect, it hits you that while the Revolutionary War was fought over 200 years ago for our Independence there are still men and women serving our country today who are fighting for our liberty.

"Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness

In unmarked graves within this square lie thousands of unknown soldiers of Washington's Army who died of wounds and sickness during the Revolutionary War

The Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts of common dangers, suffering and success."

- George Washington

We also took a quick jog up to the Reading Market.  There is nothing quite like an Apple Fritter from the Almish.

While wandering we walked through Chinatown and found the Friendship Gate.

We went back to the National Constitution Center (#5) to met up with the boys after they were done with school.  The National Constitution Center does a deal on Thursday nights for $5 tickets which is great for the budget.  We were able to see most of the museum.  There was an exhibit about spies and conspiracies.  Not my favorite part of the museum since it had a bit of a creepy vibe to it.  The interesting part was at the end of the exhibit where they had artifacts from the Twin Towers there.  We were all in a little bit of awe thinking that it's been 10 years since 9/11.  They also had a really cool exhibit about George Washington, including a pair of his dentures.  As you can expect with a group of dental school students, this was their favorite part.  All I can tell you is that I'm very glad that dentistry has come a long way since then.

  *These photos brought to you by the iPhone. 

You Know You Married a Dental Student

When your husband comes home with plastic model teeth in his backpack.

He owns his own white coat.

He spends his Saturdays studying with other dental school students.

He scares the missionaries into brushing their teeth by telling them what it is exactly that make your teeth feel fuzzy.

Discusses which kind of loupes (special dental magnification glasses) to buy.

Comes home with pink dye all over in his mouth because he was the volunteer for eating a tablet that stains plaque pink.

Tells you which tooth is hurting you by its proper name.

He wears scrubs to school to work in the clinic.

He knows the difference between caries and cavities.

There is a real human skull in his locker at school.

He spends oodles of time studying.

He's still loving it!

Welcome to New England

I don't think that New England knows how to say welcome very well.  First we we had an earthquake as a welcome home surprise.  Then we were sent Hurricane Irene along with the tornado warnings.  And of course followed up by the floods.

The extent of the flooding at our house.  A giant puddle that covered the whole intersection.

We did ride out all of these just fine.  The earthquake was just a little frightening since I've never been in one before.  Originally I thought a big truck went through the potholes outside our house, but the shaking was lasting longer than that so I started to realize something was up.  I went for cover, but didn't need it.  We were at least prepared for Hurricane Irene to come.  We had plenty of water, food, and even gas for our camping stove.  The power went out for about an hour for us.  We don't live near enough to any of the rivers to have any serious flooding.  The pictures on the news of some of the areas in Philadelphia and throughout New England did make it very real that this did cause a lot of damage to other people.  We're very blessed to not have been hit harder.

Next time New England, no housewarming gifts.

Distrito

As I mentioned before, there are 3 other LDS guys in the Brad's class.  After the white coat ceremony we all decided to go to dinner together.  We led the way to a calzone place that our friends said was really good.  As we were walking, (the boys felt so cool walking in their white coats) we passed Distrito (#51), a Mexican restaurant run by Iron Chef Garces.  I'd seen this place several times and it always looked so cool.  It's bright pink and has an old VW bug in the front window.  Plus, it's run by an Iron Chef.  How cool is that?

Too bad we already had a date with calzones.  However, to our dismay and disbelief, the calzone place is closed on Mondays.  It doesn't close on any other day of the week except Monday.  Bummer.  But what luck that we could get seats at Distrito for dinner.  I'm so glad we tried it.  Hip, cool, and very yummy.  The nauchos were the most amazing nauchos I've ever had.  So, so good.  I'm so glad we've found a good place to go for Mexican.  And the bonus, it's only 5 blocks from our house.  I think we might frequent this place a lot.

Birthday Wanderings

Since our first week in Philadelphia, I've been hearing about the beauty of Longwood Gardens.  Girls in the ward, at the Independence Visitor Center, and even a couple who just arrived in Philadelphia all recommended going there.  It's even #6 on our list of things to do in Philadelphia.

For my birthday we decided to give it a shot.  It was SPECTACULAR!  This is no little Thanksgiving Point Gardens.  This place has over a thousand acres!  Our pictures are but a small sampling of everything since we didn't come close to seeing it all.

There was a conservatory on the grounds that was massive.  They had different rooms for different types of plants.  There was an citrus grove room, desert room, bonsai tree gallery, even a banana tree room.  But by far my favorite room in the conservatory was the orchid room.  Ever since Brad bought me an orchid for Valentine's a few years back I've been in love with orchids.  This room was amazing.  Not only for the flowers themselves, but the smell was unbelievable.  I didn't know that orchids were fragrant, but these were downright delicious.  And this was the down season.  They have an orchid festival in Jan-March that I will be returning to see.

Brad treated me to a fancy dinner in the park.  We ate outside on the patio, at my request.  And with the whole botanical theme, there were even marigolds on my chicken.

One of the attractions for the day was the evening carillon (bells) concert.  The music was good, but the guy playing it was a little goofy. He was waving his arms and making all these dramatic movements during the songs.  It didn't help that he was dressed like this.

My birthday ended up being great.  We had way too much planned, but I'm glad we spent the whole day at Longwood Gardens.  It was beautiful, restful, and a perfect break from being in the city.  Thanks Brad for making my birthday lovely.

Visit from Dad

Brad's dad goes all over the world with his job,  which is why we got to go to Hawaii this year.  Another one of these perks was that Brad's dad was able to come see us for a few hours in between meetings in Chicago and Washington DC.  It was a quick day trip, but we loved having Doug here.  We went to Reading Terminal Market (#46) for lunch.  Loved, loved, loved this place.  There was something interesting at every turn.  So much fresh produce, good food, and even flower shops.  It's an exciting place with all the hustle and bustle of people. We had lunch, walked around, and bought some produce from the Almish to take home.  I can definitely see us frequenting this place.

During the afternoon, Doug took us on a tour of University of Pennsylvania campus.  The campus was a mix of old and new.  University of Pennsylvania is one of the oldest campuses in the nation.  In fact, the dental school is the oldest in the nation and was founded by Benjamin Franklin.  As you walk through the quad there are quotes from Franklin in the pathways.  And we even found good old Ben himself.

Even though it was a quick trip, we loved running around the city with Doug.  I'm glad that his work brings him out our way every once and a while.

Love My Mom

My mom is great.  She's been dying to come out to Philadelphia every since she knew we were moving here.  While I was still in the "What have we gotten ourselves into?" moment, my mom offered to use her frequent flyer miles to come out to see us and get us settled in.  We had a great time with her here.  She helped me unpack, problem solve storage, and home-ify our place.  And having her here was a great excuse to get out and see the city.

For Ryan and Shanda, the first place we went was the Shady Maple Smorgasborg.  Ryan and Shanda have been raving about this place for years.  It was so good, it was even worth the two hours of traffic to get there.  Sweet potato pancakes, fresh omelets, and crispy hashbrowns.  All made fresh from the Almish farms.  It definitely lived up to its legendary standard.

We also saw Valley Forge.  We took the trolley tour around the park.  The guide was a little intense, but we learned a lot.

George Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge

Oh, this is just the very banister that George Washington used.  No big deal.

Our second day was all about Old City.  Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, City Hall, Betsy Ross House, Congress Hall, even good old Ben's grave. Walking around Old City is a little astounding. You walk around these buildings and know that you are standing where George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and so many more great men once were considering the founding of this nation.  I don't remember who asked who first, but one of us asked, "Are we on vacation or do we live here?"  These seem like places you just don't live next door to.  But this is our city now and we're so excited to spend more time getting to seeing Phillie.

This is the inside of Independence Hall.  By far my favorite place we've been to.  It's unreal to be in a place that was so pivotal to the founding of our nation.

The original chair that George Washington used at the Convention.

"Whilst the last members were signing [the Constitution], Doctor Franklin looking towards the Presidents chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art, a rising, from a setting, sun. I have, said he, often and often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President, without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now at length, I have the happiness to know, that it is a rising, and not a setting sun."

Did you know that Philadelphia used to be the capital of the United States?

Thank you so much mom for coming to help!  We appreciated it so much!  Hopefully you can come visit again sometime and we can show you more around our city.