January 30, 2012

{10} Philly in Five

Our weekend together was really, really wonderful.  I married my best friend, the love of my life, and the person who knows me better than I know myself.  I miss him for so many reasons, even in the smallest ways.  Coffee in the morning.  A hand to hold.  How he makes me laugh (at myself, no less).  Sweet tenderness.  Cravings for chips and cheese at the exact same time.  Feeling short.  I could go on and on.

We did the “touristy” things — Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Christ’s Church, Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia Museum of Art.  We ate amazing food, including Alma de Cuba for restaurant week and this fantastic recipe for Cavatappi with Broccoli, Red Onions, and Garlic from grad school friend/colleague/fellow-FDR-researcher “Betty”!

We also had some of the best beer and mussels at Monk’s.  Steamed mussels with bacon and blue cheese?  Yum.  You must go there if you are ever in the area.

We also strolled along the banks of the Delaware River, enjoying the sunshine.  A great day.

JPJD left a few hours ago, but not before we indulged in some gelato.  Since “ice cream” is my man’s favorite meal of the day (yes, meal), we simply had to.

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January 26, 2012

{9} L.O.V.E.

This “LOVE” sign is a familiar sight around Philadelphia.  ”The City of Brotherly Love” will become “The City of Married Love” this weekend!  JPJD arrives this afternoon and I can hardly contain my excitement.  I think I’ve told everyone I know here (which is a small number of people, but still).

I’ve been working away at my first research memo this week, resulting in many good “conversations” with former presidents.  I’m in 2011 now (I started in 1630) and am working my way through President Obama and the 2012 Republican Primary Candidates.  After about a hundred more speeches, I’ll do some editing, formating, and provide some “interesting observations” before sending it off.  It’s a major accomplishment.

And then, let the weekend commence!  We have plans for Independence Hall (maybe stream National Treasure on Netflix, too, just to set the scene?), the “Betsy Ross” House, Philadelphia Museum of Art, cheesesteaks, ice skating at Penn’s Landing, beer & mussels with AC and significant other, a lecture on Nixon at the school, church, Philly Restaurant Week, and watching tonight’s Republican debate together on cable (this is a big deal, people).  Oh, and sleeping in my tiny twin bed.  But I don’t think that will be a problem.

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January 24, 2012

{8} Fun Facts

This post feels a bit like this scene from West Wing:

I’m a little brain-dead because I’m in the midst of keyword searching 2,351 presidential addresses.  Fun facts I learned today:

  • Common (and popular) words ending in “city”: sagacity, electricity, capacity, tenacity, simplicity, reciprocity, publicity, veracity, incapacity, atrocity, multiplicity, scarcity
  • Common (and popular) words containing “hill”: chilly, Hillary, The Hill (as in Capitol), Churchill, uphill, hillside
  • And, going with the U.S. National Parks theme, Theodore Roosevelt established many state parks and had an acting secretary of state named David J. Hill (who signed the orders).  Since national parks frequently consist of hills and the proclamations to designate said parks are “Done in the city of Washington, D.C.” (or at least they were in 1903), I got to know Acting Secretary Hill quite well.

I’ll conclude with, hands down, one of my favorite West Wing clips ever.  Ever.  Unfortunately somehow the embed function has been removed from this clip, so just click here for the beloved episode of C.J.’s root canal.

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