Fifth KidneyVersity - Sarah and Ethan Plan a Great Day for Us at Reading Terminal and the Barnes Museum

 Looking out the window as the SEPTA train speeds onward. Was surprised to see a lot of undeveloped land. In the Roslyn-Ardsley area there were vast acreages of cemeteries.

What I wasn't able to shoot were the rows and rows of houses, each one different from the one next door.

Got off at Jefferson Station and walked to the Reading Terminal. Every Philadelphian should visit the Terminal at least once. Food of every variety. Today it was wall/wall people.

Why, asked Mom when I just called her.

No idea.

Loved the scenes where moms are getting their kids set up with ice cream. 

 I was about two hours early, so I hung around waiting for them, having forgotten they said they'd be there at 3 pm.

 Of course I had my i Phone but I still haven't figured out how to use it. I asked a proprietor to show me how.

Oooh, I hate talking about this.

 Long lines everywhere.

I needed to eat so I went to the Down Home Diner. Knew how good it was since last Sept I'd met my friend "Gregorious" there.

Fab meal! Garlic grits, scrambled eggs and cooked shrimp.

 Hello neighbors.

 In my home neighborhood you don't see pony-tailed men.

Down Home Diner. Changed my seat as a foul wind was blowing on me from up top.

Finally Sarah and Ethan appeared. Ethan rented a car and drove in from Brooklyn and parked it in an outdoor lot.

Getting down to the serious biz of EATING the unique and wonderful foods of Reading Terminal. 

 Sarah and Ethan took turns bringing back to the table ONE ITEM. We started out with Pulled Pork on a hoagie roll or Po' Boy.

 Ginger beer. My one sip was very enjoyable.

This was a day to Eat and Not Feel Guilty. I've had insulin-dependent diabetes for five years, due to my kidney antirejection meds. 

 The Amish have many food booths, including Miller's soft pretzels.

Top-notch!

Dip em in either a creamy Velveta-like cheese or honey mustard. Both were great.

Mom and I talked about our Cleveland years.... soft pretzels were unknown. When I attended Temple University pursuing a degree in psychology, I'd eat a soft pretzel with mustard - oh no! I've got some mustard on my jacket - every day, first thing after arriving by train at school. 

Now let's cleanse our palette with this salad with the protein of fried oysters.  The lettuce was very refreshing after the heavy pork meal.

 At last Bassett's !!!

Sarah and I shared a vanilla butterscotch caramel with bits of chocolate-covered pretzel.

Yes, it's as good as it sounds.

See the huge mounds of chocolate spilling through the curtain.

 Bassett's since 1861. A photo of Lincoln & Co were on the wall circa the 1861 years.

Careful, Abe, says wife Mary.

You've got some ice cream in your beard.

Oh shut up, he said, or I'll put you in an insane asylum. 

 Ethan had a hankering for the coup de grace:  Malted milk shake with cherry vanilla ice cream. Sarah was surprised he ordered the cherry vanilla. He saw it on the menu first - and YOU know how that is, don't you?

At the table we talked about many things including their great marriage. They never argue. I took my blood sugar and Ethan says he's gotta do dat for his brother Spencer when he visits him in Wisconsin, so he knew what my numbers meant.

Sadly, Ethan's piano teacher Sofia has dementia or Alzheimer's and is really mean to him. Told them I'd wrin two short stories addressing the suicide question IF you are aware you have it. Libby Korngold, librarian, decides to take her own life.  Max Jacobs will live till the bitter end.

We began walking to the Barnes Museum, while eating our Bassett treats. On the street there were such diverse individuals. Many smoked cigarettes.

The beautiful old bldgs we passed on our way to Z Barnes.

 Girl Scout Cookies sold for the first time. Double-click on the plaque to read about it. Hmm, maybe I should email this to little Bella, who sold me two boxes of thin mints.

 We passed the Meridian Hotel where Ethan and Sarah spent the nite before next morning's early operation. Sarah went right to sleep. Not Ethan, who stayed up most of the night.

We shared our kidney story with the well-dressed door man.

 Spring trees burst into bloom.

Below is a sculpture to honor Copernicus, who said, au contraire, we revolve around sun, not vice versa.

 Huge fountains below. Coins had been dropped inside. What would YOU wish for. Please make a wish now.

This area of Philly, leading to the Art Museum on the furthest end of The Parkway, is called Logan Circle. Whew, I just remembered the name Logan Circle by the end of the sentence.

At last, we reach The Barnes. Wonder why I'm tipping over? Might I believe I'm a rocking horse? 

Sculpture by Ellsworth Kelly made for the Barnes. I rather like it, do you?

 A decoration in the far distance.

 Rectangular pools sway in the very warm weather.

Today's First Friday Entertainment was the band Freedom Calling.

 Clothing, men and women's both, were very imaginative.

Lovely bathroom. Everyone got their own large stall.

Below, what you can''t make out is that this older couple of women are about to dance with one another. 

The three of us explored the Barnes Museum. Ethan thought it was one of the best museums he's ever been to.

Sarah couldn't believe the plethora of impressionist work. Who is Daumier? Soutine? AND not only paintings. Picasso and Matisse made pottery.

Ethan and Sarah spent their tenth anniv in Paris. They brought me a bag full of postcards. They both love a Renoir of a dancing couple.

They'll soon receive it back with my clever comment. 

Since my Polymer Clay Class was canceled for the second time, I got some great ideas of objects to fashion. There was a small creation shaped like a bathtub.

Will make my own version of it. Marce, will dedicate it to you, my supplier of CLAY.