Showing posts with label city life. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Spring Color, And Blooming Where You're Planted.

Today, here on my blog, it's all about COLOR. And specifically, SPRING color.

As bipolar as the weather has been over the past two months, I'm surprised we had any spring color this year because it went from warm to cold and cold to warm every other day. It was challenging to figure out what season we were in, because the seasons couldn't make up their minds.

Luckily, I captured some colors, but it wasn't easy.

Each season brings with it certain visuals and feelings. Each season is significant because, I believe, they symbolize and reflect the different stages of life.

*Spring: associated with hope, rebirth, and the beginning of new cycles.

*Summer: represents abundance, prosperity, and joy, as well as the peak of growth and energy.

*Autumn: signifies change, reflection, harvest, and the transition from growth to rest.

*Winter: symbolizes rest, reflection, introspection, and new beginnings after a period of dormancy.

You'll notice in the above photograph that I included a quote from the fabulous Dolly Parton. It's a quote that rings true for me. I can't always change things in my life just because I don't like them. There are some things that, as much as I wish they were different, are there because I need to learn from them. Therefore, I gotta bloom where I'm planted. Life is not always about waiting for the perfect soil. And looking back, that was when I learned the most.

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Below, you will discover what spring looks like in Philadelphia this year...

Petit Jardin en Ville...

Last weekend, my dear friend Kelly and I got together for food, coffee, and conversation. I truly have the best time with Kelly because she and I are similar in that we like to allow the day to unfold organically. Other than planning a time and place to meet, the rest is spontaneous.

Our meet-ups wonderfully combine deep conversations and hysterical laughter.

My friendship with Kelly is something I cherish because we can be ourselves and have no expectations.

After spending the day with her, I always come away feeling recharged.

Thank you, Kelly...

That day, we stopped by Cherry Street Pier. We sat in an open-air garden under the Pier’s historic steel trusses...

I love this sign I spotted in Old City, positioned outside the store before entering. And that's because of all the shoplifting in Philadelphia. Trust me, I'm in retail. I see it all day long. It's gotten so bad that some stores require you to show your paid receipt to a security guard before exiting the store.

"Hi. If you steal from us, we will post your pics + vids on all our social media accounts" 💗...

🌸🌷🌺Hope you're enjoying spring, everyone!🌻🌼🌹

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

A Walk Through Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

In 2015, I shared a few photographs of this cathedral in one of my photography posts. However, I would like to share a more in-depth pictorial spread of the most exquisite cathedral in Philadelphia - the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

I haven't been inside the cathedral in over 10 years, yet it never ceases to amaze me that whenever I visit, I have the same reaction upon opening the door and looking upwards. It takes my breath away. I feel both awed and humbled.

Part of that is because of feeling the reverence contained within the cathedral, and another part is because of its sheer physical beauty. The architecture (inside and out) is exquisite, magnificent, and absolutely glorious!

"The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia was built in the Roman-Corinthian architectural style. This style is a Neo-Classical variation of the Italian Renaissance."

Walking through the cathedral always feels as though I'm traveling back in time to another place.

In February, I posted the following photo of the cathedral's exterior. I was hoping to go inside and capture some photographs, but alas, it wasn't open. Lucky for me, when I went back two weeks ago, it was open.

So, please enjoy the exterior AND interior of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul...

The Great Dome (made of copper) atop the cathedral...

As you scroll through these photographs, look around and notice the incredible detail within the architecture. *Note: I took these pictures with my cell phone. The only editing I used was to crop them and sharpen a few...

Organ and choir loft...

To anyone who is not Catholic, this next photo is a confessional booth or confessional box, which is a designated area within a church where a priest privately hears the confessions of penitents. The priest sits inside the door, while the penitent kneels on either side behind a closed curtain...

Hope you enjoyed this pictorial walk, folks!

And for those who celebrate, Happy Easter! 💟

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Let's Talk Some "Dirty Laundry" And Laundry Room Etiquette

The one thing I now require when living in an apartment building is on-site laundry facilities.

When I lived in NYC, the apartment in the building my partner and I shared did not have laundry facilities. So we had to drag our laundry to a laundromat, which was a royal pain in the ass, especially during the summer months when the city felt like a pizza oven. I dreaded it.

Even when I lived in Orlando and rented various apartments for the 15 years that I was there, not one of them had on-site laundry facilities. However, back then, I used to take my laundry to a wash-and-fold service once a week that charged $1.25 per pound. I would pay anywhere from $10.00 to $12.00 per service.

Since moving back east, the two apartment buildings I've lived in had on-site laundry facilities.

The one where I currently live has a nice-sized laundry room with 20 washers and dryers. They also have three washers and dryers for heavier items, such as comforters and rugs.

What I love about the washers and dryers in our building is that they don't require COINS to operate. Tenants now use a debit card that we can reload to activate the washer and dryer. It's so much easier than using coins.

Here's a picture of my card...

When I Do My Laundry -

I know this sounds crazy, but I like to do my laundry very early (4:30-5:00 AM) on Tuesdays. No one else is in the laundry room that early, so I can wash, dry, and fold two loads of laundry in a little over an hour. I don't dilly-dally; I get it done fast.

Note: I NEVER do my laundry on the weekends because EVERY tenant in the building is in the laundry room on those days. That's another reason I prefer having off during the week and working weekends. I like that I'm on an opposite schedule than the rest of the world, who traditionally works Mon-Fri, 9 to 5, and then have to do all the things on their weekends that I do during the week.

Here is a similar photo of what our laundry room looks like...

The building I live in has 25 floors and 250 apartment units. Because Philadelphia is a heavily populated college town, I would say that more than half the tenants in my building are college students. And college students, mostly, are interested in one thing - PARTYING. And they pretty much occupy all the apartment buildings in this city, regardless of how luxurious and costly because Mommy and Daddy are paying for them. And when you're in college, laundry room etiquette is the last thing on your mind.

And speaking of laundry room etiquette, here is a sign in most laundry rooms, which might as well be invisible because no one seems to READ it...

My Two Pet Peeves -

I've gone down to the laundry room countless times, only to find laundry in both the washers and dryers that have been sitting there since the day before. And I know that to be true because the clothes in the dryers are ice cold, and the clothes in the washers are still wet and smell like MILDEW from the depths of HELL.

Here, look...

My other peeve is people who don't clean out the lint trays after using the dryer. No lie, this is what some trays look like when I open the dryers. They look like someone sheared a herd of SHEEP...

In conclusion, I would like to show you my favorite laundry detergent. I love using a coupon from CVS and getting a discount because laundry detergent is so expensive, it's cheaper to buy new clothes.

Persil...

But I have a wasteful confession to make. Do you know how the lids on laundry detergents give diagrams of how much to use for medium, large, and extra-large loads?

Well, I NEVER follow those diagrams because I'm always worried there won't be enough detergent to clean my laundry.

Therefore, I do this...

I know, I'm OCD.

Wishing you a clean and lint-free week, everyone!

💖

Thursday, February 06, 2025

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Hi folks! Today's post is all about pictures, can you tell?

I had so many images stored on my computer and cell phone, it was time to clear up some space by sharing them on my blog.

So, I apologize in advance for OD'ing you with pictures.

Feel free to scroll through them fast.

These are all city photographs from June 2024 through January 2025. Some I captured with my Canon camera, others with my cell phone.

Okay, and here we go...

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Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

Isn't the exterior stunning? The day I went there it was closed. It's normally open seven days a week. However, with Philadelphia's hefty homeless situation, the cathedral is only open on Sundays (for mass) because people just walk in off the streets and make it their home. I will say, though, the cathedral helps the homeless each month by offering meals that are set up on the side of the cathedral...

The next two photos are of the little chapel next to the cathedral - The Chapel of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament...

As I was leaving the cathedral, look what I discovered when I looked inside the manger. I immediately noticed that baby Jesus was not lying in the straw crib. I was shocked. I assumed someone walked by one day and had STOLEN him. Can you believe that?

Notice the face on one of The Wise Men in the back row (red arrow). He looks HORRIFIED that baby Jesus is gone.

Oh well, whoever stole him, I hope they remember something.

Karma's a bitch.

Especially when you mess with baby Jesus. A-men!

I love this red door...

If you follow me on Instagram, I'm sure you've already seen these next three photos of the steel and glass Comcast Center...

Don't the people walking on the metal beams look real?

And look at what some nice person did to this jewelry advertisement poster. Don't you love the carton of French fries on her forehead? And I think she looks gorgeous in that moustache, don't you?

And of course, what would Philadelphia be without its monthly riots?

Below, you will see a riot that occurred last June during Gay Pride Month. It started at about 8 PM and continued until 1:30 AM. There was complete pandemonium in the streets. Sirens, police officers, police cars, screaming, yelling, garbage can fires, helicopters flying above, and people jumping on cars that were stopped at the traffic lights. There was even a point when several rioters boldly ran over to the police officers who were just standing there and tried to attack them.

In Philly, what's wrong is right, and what's right is wrong. The city makes laws but then never enforces them. You can pretty much do anything you want in Philly. It's a free-for-all city.

I've renamed Philadelphia's tagline from — "The City of Brotherly Love" to...

Philadelphia — "It's a riot!"

The colors in this mural are so bright, vivid, and bold...

I did not see the bird flying around the tower atop City Hall until I downloaded the picture from my cell phone...

Okay, you will not believe this story. Do you see that ADORABLE dog with that ADORABLE face? Well, do you know what that ADORABLE dog did on the floor in a coffee shop?

He made a PEE PUDDLE.

ADORABLE...

Here are two then and now comparison photographs.

The Girard Trust Bank (left) is now The Ritz-Carlton (right)...

City Hall via North Broad Street

I tried to shoot my photograph from the same angle. Close, but not perfect...

This final photograph is of me and my dear friend Kelly. She and I went out one day and practiced with our cameras. Kelly has such a great eye for photography...

Thank you for taking the time to view my photographs.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!💕

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