Philadelphia's Magic Garden

Mothers Day is the official kick-off to, what we call around here, Celebration Week. In addition to Mothers Day, in the span of a few days, we celebrate our wedding anniversary, our daughter's birthday, and now her girlfriends' birthday, and our exchange son's birthday (though with him back home in Belgium, it isn't celebrated as much). It is a week of making sure each day is special, and that each celebrant feels loved.

For Mothers' Day we went to South Street to visit Philadelphia's Magic Gardens (PMG), created by Isaiah Zagar. 

The spark for the trip came when I saw pictures from a friend's visit. Her pictures made the place look, well, magical. I was intrigued. I knew I could pull the "Mothers Day Card" to get Don and Ashley to go with me. The weather was lovely, one of the first nice days we have had this year, which made a trip into Philadelphia even more appealing.

I'll admit I did almost no research before going. I did go online and figure out what was involved with going -- a habit I picked up during the pandemic when rules would change quickly, and the safest route was to visit their website or FaceBook page to see the last details -- hours open, mask policies, how to procure tickets, ticket prices, are there timed tickets or can you show up at any point on the day, and any new special rules, whereas pre-COVID I would have only worried about the address and regular hours. 

The website told us we needed to buy timed tickets in advance. As we showed up exactly at our 3:30 PM start time, we saw others being turned away for not buying tickets in advance. It is not always easy getting the timing just right, I'm glad we did.

We easily found street parking a few blocks away from the gardens. During our stroll down South Street we identified other mosaics.

We had similar pottery growing up

Before we even entered the grounds we felt as if we had participated in feast for the eyes.

At this point I still didn't know these were influenced by one person: Isaiah Zagar.

Isaiah and Julia Zagar moved to the South Street neighborhood in the late 1960s. He started to put tiles on buildings in an effort to beautify his neighborhood. Other artists joined them.

In 1991 he started to mosaic the empty lot next to his art studio using a combinations of tiles he fired in his kiln and found objects. The Boston-based owner discovered what he was doing in 2004 and wanted it all removed so they could sell the property. The neighborhood stepped in and formed Philadelphia Magic Gardens so his work would be saved. He then built tunnels and grottos and added even more magic to the site. In 2008 it was opened to the public. 

We were fortunate our visit coincided with a free tour of the basement -- the place where Isaiah worked before he moved out of the building. Our guide helped me to understand and appreciate his work.

I learned other than creating an outline around a face or body, he did not pre-decide where mosaics would go. There is a randomness to his art. He covered every part of his studio with tiles, except for the front part of the basement floor. 

Perhaps most importantly, I learned a structural engineer comes out every so ofte to make sure the place is safe for the public to visit.

His work contains some common themes.

Julia appears often, both her name and as a maternal figure.

Isaiah appears, too, often with multiple right arms, perhaps because he wishes he had more arms in order to place the tiles before the cement dried.

Anything can be turned into art.

Faces are everywhere, as are bodies.

The PGM had two scavenger hunts you could participate in -- an indoor one and an outdoor one. As tricky as they were (before going insane, we shared what we found with others and they did the same to us), it was important to use the right sheet.

We learned about efforts to preserve his art. A week before our visit, PMG staff learned one of his mosaics was about to be demolished. They quickly rushed out and tried to salvage some of the bigger pieces, especially faces, knowing they could not save it all. Local fans sat in folding chairs to protect it while they artists arrived. Isaiah was among those standing guard.

Another famous mosaic, The Painted Bride, located on the Chocolate Factory about a mile away from South Street is also in jeopardy of being demolished in order that an apartment building could go up in its place. A design was created that would include both the art and the new structure, but several loud objections were heard. We walked to the site only to see it is mostly covered in black fabric.

It is obvious many hours went into creating the facade.

Isaiah and Julia still live in the neighborhood. There house is just as covered as the PMG.

I had many thoughts that day. The strongest emotions were how much Honey Bunny would have enjoyed visiting the Philadelphia Magic Gardens. Don's mom was interested in all forms of art. Many think of her as a water color artist, but I remember how enamored she became with graffiti, talking to the graffiti artists at Terracycle's Graffiti Jam. She also really appreciated mosaics. Don said he told her and Dad about South Street and he is pretty sure they visited, but PMG did not open to the public until 2008, long after Dad died, and Honey Bunny would not have traveled to Philadelphia on her own. Wish I had known about it sooner AND been able to encourage her to go.

Along with that thought was one I remember Honey Bunny saying about graffiti. To her it was beautiful. She simply could not understand why an owner would be upset if a street artist creating art on their building. I couldn't convince her that not everyone loves having their home / office / etc. changed without their permission. She would have loved it if someone created a mural on her home. 

While I admire Isaiah Zagar and his work, I would be upset if I came home from a trip and discovered my house was covered in a giant mosaic. I would worry about potential structural damage (walking around that day I had flashbacks to looking at a Colonial that was covered in tiles -- floors, walls, and ceilings, we left that house pretty quickly). It is not my style. 

A few stray thoughts from the day.

• The place was filled with families celebrating Mothers Day. I was one of the few with a teenager.
• We bumped into one of Ashley's professors from Muhlenberg and her family celebrating Mothers' Day. We then saw them at the random place Don and Ashley chose for lunch.
• We capped off the day with Jeni's ice cream because we are still excited this Bexley, Ohio chain is within an hourlong drive from home.

Thanks for a fun Mothers Day.

30th Wedding Anniversary

Six years ago I broke the seal on my hermetically wrapped wedding gown and took out the veil to recreate our wedding pictures. This weekend we recreated the pictures for a second time. Once again, Ashley was our photographer. My bouquet is from Judee at Pinelands in the Trenton Farmers Market.

In front of Allen Dormitory

1993

2017

2023

In front of Don C. Bliss Hall

1993

2017

2023

On the Lion

1993

2017

2023

Walking to our future

1993

2017

2023

Our official anniversary fell on a Monday this year. Back in 1993, it was the day after graduation. This year graduation was on Thursday and Friday, so we waited until the weekend to take pictures. As it rained all day Saturday, that left today. I suspect within a week the campus will be a hive of activity with summer programs. For now, we enjoyed being able to wander the campus in wedding attire and reminisce with Ashley. 

I did like that someone moved a chair

closer to the lion so Don didn't have 

to hoist me up!

Trenton State College / The College of New Jersey (the name change took place in 1996, but some of us are slow to admit it) has always been a very picturesque campus. As we recreated our wedding pictures, it was nice to see our newest alumni taking pictures in front of places that are meaningful to them. We chuckled at the Commencement Photo Spot signs, as if people don't know where to take pictures! 

One last picture of the beautiful bouquet Judee at Pinelands made for me.

COVID Three Years Later

Almost as suddenly as COVID blew onto the scene in March 2020, it disappeared with barely a whisper by March 2023 as we reached the three year mark.

Few people continue to wear masks. I noticed more masks the other day when I made a late night run to Wegmans than I have in months. It reminded me of when Carin was on the oncology floor at U/Penn and the patients would leave their rooms after 8 pm when there were less people (and less germs) around. 

Every so often you find a label asking you to stand six feet away from others, but they are not obeyed.

In May, the CDC and the WHO declared an end to the COVID pandemic. We are going to have to live with it. Deaths are down sharply. Weeks go by without hearing about someone catching it. Most people are either vaccinated or have had COVID, or (like us) both. 

It is as if it never existed, and certainly that it was never a major threat.

Very eerie.

As we are on the other side of the pandemic (which I truly feel we can say at this point), I think back to the beginning when we tried to predict how long this would last. The original request was we all stay home for two weeks. Then a month. Then two months. None of which was realistic because some people (medical and food store workers come to mind) had to leave their homes. Some people were trapped away from home as the world suddenly shut down and had to fly home (we have a friend named Jeff who was in Italy, Wendy and Dave were in Indonesia, a friend's son was in Australia, but decided to stay). 

Three years. The end of Ashley's high school. The first two and a half years of college. I'll be eternally grateful the pandemic abated in time for her to study abroad. That it paused enough that Yoran could study abroad last year and live with us). As Ashley enters her senior year I am beginning to have hope that she will have a normal graduation from college, and accepting her high school will never make up for missing prom and graduation. How could they? She is fine. She never would have been able to attend with Anna (or another girl as her date).

I find it coincidental that the declaration ended on Lag Bag'omer, the 33rd day of counting the omer, which also celebrates the end of the plague. A bonfire is included. Well played.

And now we move forward and dream.

Perfect Day in NYC

Saturday, May 6 was one of those days when the stars aligned and it was a perfect day in New York City.

It was the first sunny day in ages with temperatures in the 70s. I was on my own for the day as Don was in Omaha, Nebraska for the Berkshire-Hathaway stockholders meeting and Ashley was still in Italy. A friend posted she was going into New York to see a play by a friend. I had been thinking about going into New York, but hadn't decided on what to do with myself. Noemi's post was the impetus I needed to go into the City.

We parked at Princeton Junction Train Station. Noemi guided me through what I needed in order to pay by App -- fortunately it is an app I have used in other cities so I didn't need to download yet another app. Then I used the New Jersey Transit App to buy a train ticket. How do people without smart phones function since so much can only be done via apps?

I was early so I took a quick stroll through the West Windsor Farmers Market. The have a great set up. I really should go back some week when I can take the produce home. Included in the vendors is someone who can sharpen knives. A good thing to remember.

Noemi and I took the train together. It was nice riding with a friend. We were able to catch up on the hour and fifteen minute ride into Manhattan.

Once in New York, we took the 2 subway down to the Church Street Station. It was only two stops away, but it was an express skipping a lot of stops. I later realized this saved us nearly an hour of walking.

We made it to the Siggy Space at the Flea Theater at 20 Thomas Street nearly an hour before the show. I left Noemi to catch up with her friends while I went in search of a sandwich. I picked up a turkey and avocado sandwich from Potbelly Sandwich Shop. It reminded me of the sandwiches we bought with Ashley in Florence.

It was the perfect weather for sitting outside and enjoying the sandwich.

Inside the theater I was given the world's tiniest playbill. I applaud their approach to being ecologically sound, but two weeks later I have not looked up the website. If they have advertisers, I don't know about them. I don't know the names of the performers. On the other hand, it was a lot cheaper for them to produce this.

The show is called El Balcalao: The Catfish Man by Desi Moreno-Penson. It is loosely based on Euripides' The Bacchae, and takes place in the small town of Thebes, Florida. As a workshop reading, it was a step up from a staged reading, but, as Noemi said, "the only difference between this an a full production is money." It was well-cast from the cantankerous older generation to the Yoruban demigod. 

From the theater Noemi and I walked around the World Trade Center part of town. We were drawn to the cemetery at Trinity Church -- a place I have only seen from outside the wrought iron fence. This time we went inside, where we saw the graves of Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton, Anjelica Schuyler Church, Robert Fulton (inventor of the steamboat), Hercules Mulligan (made famous in Hamilton), small children, and one grave identified as empty with the name Charlotte on it.

Alexander and Eliza Hamiton.
She lived 50 years longer than he did..

Robert Fulton

Hercules Mulligan

Angelica Schuyler Church

Trinity Church Cemetery

An empty grave?
No one knows (read the sign).

Italian pizza

Spinach Gnocchi

Noemi and I both had shows to see that evening. We went to Eatalia for dinner. It reminded me of the Central Market in Florence, but much with more prepared food and less fresh produce. We sat in a restaurant and shared spinach gnocchi and pizza made with a gluten free crust. It is a treat when the person you are dining with wants the exact same food so we can share!

This is where we parted. Noemi's show started at 7:30. Mine was at 8 on Broadway. I did detour to the gelato stand for a chocolate gelato. Thought of Ashley enjoy her last weekend in the real Florence.  

My plan was to eat the gelato and catch a subway back up to 42nd Street. As I passed a station, though, there was an electronic sign saying the trains were on a 30 minute delay -- and my show was in an hour. Rather than risk it, I hoofed it to the theater minutes before Kimberly Akimbo started.

 Smiling I made it to my seat in the dead center of my row in the balcony with moments to spare. The show was great. The audience was really into it. I really enjoyed how the sets just squeezed into the spaces on stage. Victoria Clark, a 57-year old actress played a 16-year with a rapid aging disease. Her bio said when she was 16-years old she played an 81-year-old in a high school production. Helps to have a sense of humor.

I high tailed it to the train and caught the earlier of two trains. It was packed! Learned during the ride that the earlier train was cancelled. I met someone from Lawrenceville who knows many of the same people I know so we got to chatting. Then talked to a woman working with a client who might benefit from The Bridge Academy, so I told her about the open house coming up. Finished the train ride talking to an older man from Philadelphia. It was fun being able to have random conversations with strangers again. As I feel frustrated fighting through the crowded streets, I just keep reminding myself it is much better than when the streets were empty due to COVID. 

The train turned out to be an express, which means it took just over an hour. The ticket takers didn't come through until around New Brunswick -- making me think I should not have activated my ticket and kept it for a future trip. Them coming through made me glad I did the right thing.

Home to an house without humans, but with two hungry kitty cats.

Pleasant Valley Fashions at Howell Living History Farm

Last weekend Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell, NJ resurrected their Fashion Show. After they built their barn, the fashion show was turning into an annual tradition. So much so, I thought I would be able to post links to past Pillsbury Press articles about the fashion show. Turns out the last time they held the fashion show was in 2011 -- the first year I started blogging. 

When I saw the announcement about the Fashion Show, my first thought was "hmm...those pictures look familiar." I still stand by my thoughts, but I have look in my photo albums to prove it. If that is the case, I am honored they used my pictures.

More than a decade has passed. I went from being one of the few people to carry a camera on me at all times, to most everyone carrying a camera at all times in the form of their Smart Phone.

The 2023 Fashion Show started with a few random people, including Albert Einstein. They soon shifted the focus to people who lived in the Pleasant Valley area -- farmers, school teachers, and farmhands, culminating with Mrs. Inez Howell and her husband, she donated the acreage to the County upon the death of her husband.

Enjoy the collection of photos.