Last weekend Joe and I visited the Mercer Museum in Doylestown. It is amazing. The Side of the Mercer Museum It's a seven-story concrete building conceived and built by Henry Mercer -- the same man who built Fonthill Castle. He needed it to store the massive amount of stuff he collected. It has everything from an actual stagecoach to ivory hair combs. It's a vast journey through the everyday artifacts of America. Because we are... Read more →
Last weekend we went to Lower Perkiomen Valley Park for a nice long walk along Perkiomen Creek. This park is lovely! It has ball fields, picnic pavilions, secluded picnic spots, and a wide paved trail. It's not as rife with superhero cyclists as the Schuylkill River Trail, which I appreciate! There's a little dam at one point, which reminds me of the deadly Brookmont/Little Falls Dam on the Potomac. Perkiomen Valley Park We left the... Read more →
Last weekend we had a play date with the lovely and talented Mike and Maria Pratt. We quaffed some beers and ate some barbeque at the newly opened beer garden at Stable 12 Brewery. We enjoyed sundaes at Zwahlen's. And, thanks to Maria, we saw one of three Witness Trees in Valley Forge National Park. A Witness Tree is a tree that was alive during the Continental Army's encampment at Valley Forge in 1777 --... Read more →
One year ago today, this happened: Here are ten things about that momentous day. We got up really early to be ready when the movers arrived. They were a half-hour late. It didn't matter -- they were great! Tom the Foreman explained everything and we pretty much got out the way, busying ourselves with last-minute packing and loading the car with delicate stuff. I was especially impressed with the care they took with my Gramma's... Read more →
Here is the year's first Sunday Stealing! 1.What one event, big or small, are you going to tell your grandchildren about? How a single email changed my life. 2.If you had to describe your 2014 in 3 words, what would they be? Great. Big. Adventure. 3.What new things did you discover about yourself? I'm braver than I thought I was. I hate merging onto the Schuylkill Expressway. With the exception of the PennDot bureaucracy, I... Read more →
So -- 2014 was an order of magnitude better than 2013. It was a Leap of Faith year. A year ago at this time, I was waiting to see if the leap would be possible. I wondered what I would do if I got an offer; I wondered what I would do if I didn't. The offer came. I took it. No wait -- I didn't take it; I grabbed it and held on tight.... Read more →
The day before yesterday we finally visited Valley Forge National Historical Park. I say "finally" because we live all of about five minutes from it. In case you're rusty on your US history, Valley Forge was where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778. It's a beautiful piece of land, situated high on a hill where the army could spot any surprise attacks from the British forces. The Visitor Center is great, with lots... Read more →
Today's prompt: What has happened during the past year that has felt like a new beginning for you? Hah! The whole year has been a new beginning, which started when I got a LinkedIn email from a woman I worked with at the software company telling me about a possible opportunity. (Aw, fuck it - the "software company" is Manugistics. The company doesn't exist anymore.) I had my first interview on December 11. I got... Read more →
Yesterday Joe and I drove back to Maryland for a momentous occasion -- we finally signed the paperwork to sell our house! This has been a very long time coming. We put it on the market in late May, got our first offer in August, and finally closed yesterday. I am so relieved. We now longer have to pay two electric bills, two water bills, a homeowner's association fee, and oh yeah, a mortgage. I... Read more →
I alluded to this amazing structure yesterday, so it seems like a good idea to tell you about it today! This is Fonthill Castle. It's made entirely of concrete! Fonthill Castle Henry Mercer built this castle in Doylestown, Pennsylvania because: He wanted to live in his very own castle in his hometown. He had the money and the land to do it. He wanted a way to show off his collection of ceramic tiles and... Read more →