When I went to the Acme on Saturday, I saw some streets were blocked off. It turned out that they were setting up for the Italian Market Festival on Ninth Street. It looked like it would get pretty crowded later on in the day, so I was glad to walk through there in the early … Continue reading Festival!
Neighborhood
Tinker, Tailor, Tugboat, Sigh
I needed to have some tinkering done to some trousers so I took them to the nearby tailor, but to my chagrin, she was closed for the entire month of March and won’t re-open until April 6. The trip wasn’t a total loss, however, as on the way back, I saw Ted and his roommate … Continue reading Tinker, Tailor, Tugboat, Sigh
In case there’s a change in the weather
The wheels are yeller, the upholstery's brown,The dashboard's genuine leather,With isinglass curtains y' can roll right down,In case there's a change in the weather.—“The Surrey With the Fringe on Top” by Oscar Hammerstein II And what a change in the weather we’ve had these past couple days.
Brussels Sprout Gratin
I found this recipe for Brussels Sprout Gratin and decided to try it, but I only made half the recipe. It turned out very good. Here’s the video, cued to the start of Brussels Sprout Gratin: On my way back from the Acme I saw Ted in his doorway trying to coax Tugboat to come … Continue reading Brussels Sprout Gratin
The Grey Car
A few hours before the snowstorm the other week, there was a tight parking space in front of my house. I was hoping it would remain open as then there’d be a place to shovel the snow that we were expecting. No such luck. A grey car managed to wriggle its way into the space. … Continue reading The Grey Car
Ten Days Later
Winter Dreams
Chaikovsky’s First Symphony is nicknamed “Winter Dreams”, although in recent years that's often more literally translated as “Winter Daydreams”. I like the original, if slightly less accurate, translation, as that’s the one I’ve known for decades. But it’s not his first symphony that’s on my mind right now. I just listened to a performance of … Continue reading Winter Dreams
Plowing On
Things haven’t changed much. Our street still hasn’t been plowed. I don’t blame the mayor for that, even though I don’t hold her in very high esteem. Cities plan their budgets for the kind of weather that they normally expect. We haven’t had a snowstorm like this in ten years, so naturally I don’t expect … Continue reading Plowing On
Snow
Philadelphia, along with a large part of the rest of this country, had a bit of snow on Sunday. It was the most snow we’ve had since I’ve moved into this house nearly six years ago. I was out at 5:00 AM on Sunday morning and pretty much every hour and a half after that … Continue reading Snow
The Parked Car
Quote of the day: Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.—Mark Twain I live on a very narrow street. How narrow is the street? When I moved here, the moving van couldn’t pull up in front of the house but had to park at the corner, and … Continue reading The Parked Car