Category: Kindness

Buildings of Philadelphia

In any city with history, you have wonderful architecture from major craftsmen and artists. This beauty can not be reproduced for several reasons, such as cost, but mostly because of the lost craftsmanship of a gone-by era. While modern-day architecture is a marvel to look at, there are no longer amazing artisans who make imbedded statues within the walls of a building.

Philadelphia has many beautiful older buildings and I will share a few of those with you today. This is the front and side of City Hall.

Check out the closeup of this amazing artwork that I presume to be stone.

We expect churches to be amazing on the inside but some wonderful structures from the early 19th century and later are striking on the outside.

Masonic Temple
St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church

The Masonic Temple entrance had intricate arched layers as it came down to its arched door.

Along with churches, the Christ Church Cemetery had monuments of artesian flair.

Ben Franklin & his wife

You have to be of a certain age to get a chuckle and be amazed by this building’s stained glass masterpiece. I chuckled with fond memories of the TV commercials when I was a kid.

If the window does not ring a bell, it is the RCA music mascot, Nipper. Since I have always been an animal lover, of course, I would remember Nipper. This building is now apartments and shops.

A must-see if you go to Philadelphia is Elfreth Ally. It’s the oldest neighborhood in the entire country still being used as it was first built. They are still homes plus a museum giving history information of the ally.

A photo contrasting the buildings of 1700 and today…

I close with a smattering of photos taken at random as we walked the streets of Philadelphia. The last day was misty rain but the beauty of this place could still be seen.

Betsy Ross House
The Mint
The Skyline across the Delaware
Ben Franklin & George Washington

One last string of photos – if you go to Philly, you have to visit Reading Terminal. Shop after shop of amazing food.

Well, the Philly trip is done, I hope you had fun looking through my picture fun. Don’t forget that wherever you may travel, always be kind. When you are kind, kindness will be returned.

More on Philly

While my daughter is a major history buff, both of us are aquarium lovers. One of the other reasons for this trip was the Philadelphia Aquarium. It housed one of the few Hammerhead sharks in the world. Unfortunately, 3 weeks before we got there he died. Bummer. But the rest of the aquarium was fabulous.

They have a shark tunnel where you can walk under the tank and the sharks swim over you.

Then the really big tank has the sharks up front and personal.

But the most fun part was the pigmy hippos. We got there at feeding time so we got to watch. Such an amazing creature. Don’t let the word pygmy fool you, they were still over 5 thousand lbs. But compared to the 10k hippos of Africa, yeah they are smaller.

We also caught feeding time at the Piranha rain Forest that was set up for Halloween.

This guy was huge.

Check out some of the other fish, I take lots of pictures,

Seahorses

They had huge turtles including a snake head turtle.

Snakehead turtle

In closing, I remind you that animals understand love.

They stood cuddling each other for a long time.

Nature will teach us the power of kindness and love if we will just pay attention. So remember to always be kind to all kinds.

History Trip

My daughter and I took another trip this past week to feed her taste for history. This trip took us to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the birthplace of our country. This is where our forefathers met and discussed how to form this new country. Fortunately, people understood the importance of preserving the city’s history, by restoring its amazing buildings, museums, statues, and cemeteries.

Independence National Historical Park, the “most historic square mile in America” includes Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, two of the city’s most important attractions.

Independence Hall, formerly Pennsylvania State House, is the birthplace of the United States where in 1776, the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. Eleven years later, delegates to the Constitutional Convention created and signed an enduring framework of government – the United States Constitution.

Interior Photos:

Penn State House

During the blistering summer of 1776, 56 courageous men gathered at the Pennsylvania State House and defied the King of England.

Congress Hall

Eleven years later, representatives from 12 states gathered to shape the U.S. Constitution, finally creating one unified nation.

In 1751, Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly Isaac Norris ordered a bell for the bell tower to be made by the Whitechapel Foundry in London. That bell cracked on the first test ring. Local metalworkers John Pass and John Stow melted that bell down and cast a new one in Philadelphia. This is the bell that would ring to call lawmakers to their meetings and the townspeople together to hear the reading of the news. It was later known as the Liberty Bell.

The Liberty Bell’s inscription is from the Bible (King James version): “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof.”

The bell is made mostly of bronze weighing in at 2,080 lbs. The crack appeared over several years of heavy use and in 1852, it was removed from the tower when the repair was unsuccessful.

Over the next few days, I will post more on our trip hoping you enjoy the fun we had, even though it rained. But we don’t melt so on to the next amazing site.

I remind you as always – try to be kind. Its power can change the world.

9-11

To most places around the world, this day is called September 11th. But to us here in the US, it will forever be called 9-11. A day of horror, a day of unmitigated cruelty, a day of where the jealousy and hatred of another country unleashed itself on the innocent people of America.

It is a reminder to all believing Christians, that satan is in charge here on earth and we must stay tightly connected to our Lord and Father to survive until He calls us home to our real home in Heaven.

For ages, all around this planet, there have been acts of cruelty and atrocities to fellow mankind that were never the intention of God. God’s intention was the Garden of Eden, but satan found a way to destroy that beautiful garden throwing mankind out where he can continually torment him in an effort to strike out at God.

I am in continuous prayer against the cruelty of war and oppression that is everywhere on this earth. And as we, in the US, mourn again on this day where over 2,000 lives were senselessly lost, it is a reminder of the damage hate can cause.

In February, my daughter and I visited the site of the twin towers where now a large hole still remains in the ground. It has been turned into a memorial fountain with granite walls engraved with the names of the lives lost…people that were never found. Some were just ordinary people going to work, some were bystanders as the buildings began to fall and some were people sworn to protect others with their very lives, which they gave willingly trying to save as many as they could.

Even though the busy city still moves about today, there is a reverent quiet all around the square of the memorial fountain. People move quietly about as they remember the horrors of the day and pay their respects to those they lost. Even today, strangers weep over this devastating act of cruelty.

May we forever understand that this is no way to be and lift our voices to Heaven for the cruelty to stop. If it means that Jesus needs to come back…then come Lord Jesus and save us from ourselves.

For through kindness, understanding of our differences, and working together as one in Love, then and only then will we find Peace.

Paint Update

A couple people have asked me how the fence was going and I am about 1/3 down the fence line. It has been a fun project but it has been so hot, (yes, it gets hot in Iowa) that I can only be out there for about an hour at the time. But this weekend is supposed to be marvelous so I hope to get a lot done…but there is also football, so we will see.

So here we are so far…

The scroll is still wet but it will have “Trust in the Lord” Proverbs 3:5.

Everyone needs to find something that they enjoy, especially when they retire and for me, I don’t sit well, so I paint and write. Currently working on book 2 of Smiles from Heaven, maybe by Christmas.

Remember as always the power and value of being kind. Every living creature needs kindness. Have a fabulous week.

CFFC Single Flower

I am also looking forward to doing more challenges. Summer has kept me busy so now that it is slowing down, I can find ways to play. thanks Cee for restarting CFFC for fun foto challenges.

Now that fall is around the corner, the oranges and yellows of fall are beginning to show their pretty little faces. I think this is one of several varieties of coreopsis.

While this is thought of as a single flower, if you look close, there are tiny flowers in the center. Nature is so cool. As you enjoy nature, carry that smile and share it with others. That smile may be just that thing someone needs.

And always be kind.

Fun With Paint

I am by no stretch an artist and thank goodness art critiques are in the eye of the beholder. My daughter thinks my style is Clampet tacky but you would not get that reference unless you were of a certain age here in the US.

This spring and early summer we had several storms of high winds that played havoc on my plastic lattice fence, breaking it in a couple of places. Since the support beams were still in place, I bought the fence planks and a dear friend installed them for me. I choose an not straight line with the thought that then no one can accuse you of your fence not being straight. This caused more eye rolling from my daughter.

Not it is my time to play. Last week I got the base coat painted on one side.

Since I love my flowers, I decided to paint meadow and flower scenes on the fence. Now I can have flowers even when it snows. The cool thing about that is, if you don’t like it, just paint over it. This morning before it got too warm, I painted the meadow grass and one test flower panel…we will see if it stays.

I think I need to come back with the darker green for all of the lower boards. But it’s a work in progress. I am of the opinion that if you enjoy an activity, and that activity hurts no one, (you can choose to not look at my fence), then you should enjoy your activity. Life is too short to not enjoy what you do.

I close with a reminder of being kind. Kindness is a secret power that can heal many a broken heart.

Have a great day and always be kind.

Why We Shake Our Heads

In today’s era of doing everything quicker and more efficiently, I believe we have lost what little common sense we had. Are we not teaching our children how to think? It would seem that way in some instances. I would hate to think we just are getting to the point of caring less and less. Yes, this is a very small matter that happened today but it seems to set a pattern of where we all are in today’s world – doing just enough to get by.

Now I have come to accept the fact that my name is very hard to spell…but seriously? You can spell Juanita easily but you can’t spell Anita??!? just remove the J and the U…Guess that is too difficult or requires thinking out of the norm. Maybe I should just tell them my name is Ann. How could you mess that up – don t ask.

Then of course to speed things up in the drive through lane, they have people stationed at the beginning of the line with a tablet giving the kitchen orders. I fail to see how that speeds things up when you all have to go to the one window to pay and receive your food.

Plus the info they type in for your order is to make sure the window has the right food for the right customer. Yet, I still have to verify drinks at the window because for some reason, Coke and Diet coke sound the same…but whatever.

Then of course there is the obvious proof of assuring the correct customer gets the right food by making sure the car is the same. Does this look like a white car to you???

Not even to a person with color blond issues is this a white car. Gray maybe but definitely not white.

I try hard to keep my tongue in check but sometimes I can’t help what my face does. And I don’t think there are that many stupid people. I think we are just overrun by lazy people or people who don’t care about what they are doing.

So my advice for the day still is to always be kind because. Some may need it more than others, for a number of reasons.

Have a great Saturday.

Yard Color

I have not posted very many of my flowers this summer and summer is almost gone. We have had lots of rain this year which helps in some areas and hinders in others. But nature is still my favorite way to relax.

A favorite hardy flower is Portulaca, most commonly know as Moss Roses, as they do look like a small rose. While the blooms are small, their colors are amazing – multiple colors from the same plant.

A new plant for me this year is an Ice Plant. Quite interesting as it totally closes up at night and reopens the next morning. I guess he understands the power of a good night’s sleep.

This last flower for today I don’t know the name of but it is an interesting tiny flower on a mound of greenery. It has three larger petals and two smaller ones giving it a unique shape. The only purple left in my yard.

As summer begins to wind down, let us not forget the beauty we enjoyed and welcome in the fall colors of yellow and orange. Have a great week and always remember the simple beauty of kindness.