Philadephia!

Sorry for my long absence -- M and I visited Philadelphia over the weekend, and my schedule before and after were/will be so hectic that I spent most of last week scurrying to have everything ready for the trip and for this week.

Let me first say that Philadelphia is a delightful city to visit, and I would expect it is also a delightful city to live in. We stayed at a 30+ story hotel in the middle of down town and yet were no more than a 10 minute walk from lovely green parks in every direction we tried. There were young families with children, people with pets, college students, and professional people on every sidewalk. People were friendly, and the streets seemed safe everywhere we went.

View from our hotel room:

One of the many fountains and many sculptures all over the city:


I had no idea that it was a statue before it was a postage stamp.

And, of course, the whole place is steeped in history. This is the room in the Pennsylvania State House (a.k.a. Independence Hall) where the Declaration of Independence was debated and then signed, and later where the Constitution was signed. The chair at the front is the very one that George Washington sat in when he signed the Constitution (my zoom was not strong enough to show the rising sun motif):

Other notable sites: The museum of the Americal Philsophical Society, which was running a small but very impressive exhibit on American explorers -- no photography allowed, unfortunately. The Liberty Bell, of course. The Ben Franklin Parkway, all of it, flanked with trees and amazing architecture and sculpture, from the "Love" fountain to the art museum with the steps of Rocky fame.

The reason for our visit was that M was receiving an award for technical achievement from the company he works for. I didn't realize how significant the award was until we got the awards dinner and I met and chatted with the CEO of the company as well as the company founder's son and grandson. So I'm very proud of my former lab and plant-design-project partner, now my spouse.

Nevertheless, I had made it clear to him that if I were going to spend 2 days of my vacation going to an out-of-town business function with him, he would have to accompany me for some yarn shopping. One short mile from our hotel, Rosie's Yarn Cellar. Literally in a basement, it was a tiny space with an enormous collection of the sorts of yarn I like to buy. The large selection of sock yarn was just inside the door, and a 180 degree turn and 2 steps took you to the very impressive collection of lace yarns. Knitted samples EVERYWHERE, most designed and knit by the staff. Who, by the way, were very helpful and friendly.

I need to do a "recent stash addition" post, but it will wait.

Oh, and I finished two socks (from two pairs) while I was there.

Oh, and I met a fellow knitter at the awards dinner -- she had a pattern published in IK a few years ago which I will have to look up...