Whatever Wednesday - Baldwin Book Barn and bonus beach day

Here's the  Baldwin Book Barn in West Chester PA.  It  is a real old barn - very cool. 

and it houses over 300, 000 books.  Yes, you read that right.  Five floors of well curated used books. 

Pick a category, any category and you'll find a treasure. 

Here's the fifth floor just to  give you an idea

Very nifty old barn door

Outside view.  This was SO cool to wander.  Every coffee table book imaginable is here.  

I did not spend money because I was flying and I've been downsizing my collection.  But oh, this was so tempting.  It would be a great place to come do research for any weird topic. 

 And then Tuesday - beach day at Rehoboth Beach.  Gorgeous day.  BUT  - big alert - jellyfish water. Oh yuk - so  damn creepy.  Walking along the waves, you had to really watch  to not step on anything gunky. 

Still worth it - just sat and watched the waves, the seagulls, and cute kids making sand castles. 

Plus - bonus pizza on the boardwalk AND ice cream.   Treat day

 Books and beach - does life get any better? 

Monday Moments - Retired, No Labor Here

It's Labor Day Monday.  I respect all worker bee fights for pay, etc.  However, I'm grateful to be retired and not in the game. Whew!    

So let's continue enjoying my summer adventures - here's a very tall sequoia tree at the Tyler Arboretum. I enjoyed a visit there in  August with my sister. 

and then brunch with Lori.   She is the BEST

cool mural in West Chester

and a little bird's next tree house there. 

fun findings as we wandered. 

Hope you've had a great weekend and good luck on Tuesday with Back to Work.  I'll  just be back to yoga and my regular YMCA schedule.  Rah!

Finally Friday - Tyler Arboretum in PA

More August fun with Lori

A morning stroll at the Tyler Arboretum in PA.   Big chair, little sister
 

Tree house view

a gnome in an old tree trunk

a child of the corn - ME!

Whatever Wednesday - summer fun

I fled to the Northeast in  August  - 9th thru 19th - to escape the heat, to see my siblings, and to just have a change of pace.  Mission accomplished.  

Here we are - me with David and Lori at the Upper Bucks County Historical Society.  Catching up on ancient history. 

Post cheesesteak sandwiches with David, Lori, me, and David's wife Cherie. 
 

This is the famous Trainer's lobster in Quakertown PA.  Trainers was a fancy restaurant that my father worked at as a teen. The lobster was on  top of the restaurant that is now gone. Folks  would come up from Philadelphia to eat here.  Dad was a busboy.   We had a fine time checking out this step back in time at the historical society.  Found our folks' old yearbooks and other listings for them in old records. 

Across the street we toured the Burgess Foulke home.  Very interesting - build in 1812

And this is Liberty Hall 1772.  The Liberty Bell slept here overnight on 9/23/1777 on the way from Philadelphia to Allentown to avoid being melted down by British troops.  At the time it had no crack. 

You read that right - 1777       Damn, I love history and it's  everywhere you turn back east. 

Super Tuesday Anniversary Special Post

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, RAY

37 YEARS

LOVE,   JOANNE 

Monday Moments - Suffs - the musical

 

Back on August 8th, I treated myself (and yes, I do treat myself to shows a lot) to the touring production of SUFFS at Bass Hall in Fort Worth.  It's a Tony Award winning musical by Shaina Taub. She is the first woman to win  for Best Book and Best Score.  The show was fabulous and totally lived up to the hype.  I remember watching a musical number on the Tony Awards and thinking - oh, yeah, when it rolls through here, I am going.  

SUFFS is the story of brilliant, passionate and funny American women who  fought tirelessly for the right to vote. The show  explores triumphs and trials and frankly the split in some women's styles - old school  vs new.   The show made me realize I need to bolster my knowledge of many of these famous women - Mollie Hay, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, and so many others. 

The musical is clever  - catchy tunes, great voices, and wonderful production. If it rolls through your area, I urge you to buy a ticket.   Support the arts.  Support women. Support the right and privilege to vote. 

And more than ever, plan to vote in the fall!!! 

Finally Friday - Tony (a movie)

 Big blockbuster movies rule, but a few little art house projects sneak under the radar. It's over one hundred degrees in TX. It's too hot outside to even enjoy our pool.  Movie matinee time and Tony is a decent "little" film. 

Tony (Dominic Sessa) is a hot headed college kid - arrogant wise acre and so, so green. He ultimately becomes Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential chef extraordinaire). In this movie, he's just Tony. He's lost a summer writing prize, he heads to Providence seeking a girl (Nancy - Emilia Jones), he has no experience, fights and gets kicked out of a restaurant (bounced by hooligan Sal (Leo Woodall) )

. The rest becomes a bit of history as he manages to get on with said fish place under the guidance of Chef (Antonio Banderas).  Chef sees something in Tony, and Tony somehow senses he can learn. He needs the discipline, but he also screws up a lot. Drugs, drinking, carousing - you get a hint of the life Bourdain later wrote about. You also see the camaraderie and the growth of  Tony, his potential. 

Decent acting, interesting coming  of age story, and a nice  cool theater. I was happy for my two hours in a darkened air-conditioned show.  Look for Tony - probably streaming soon near you. 

(It also made me want to rewatch some Anthony Bourdain  shows - the man was so good. So sad he died by suicide)