Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Girasole

Longwood Gardens' giant field of sunflowers at Schoolhouse and Longwood Roads is simply breath-taking. It's a sea of green and yellow. Don't miss it! Somebody on Longwood's Facebook page said it was like driving through Tuscany.
When I drove, by a couple of cars had pulled off the road to gawk, and a photographer was standing on a little stepladder taking photos.

Good food and good people

The Longwood Family Restaurant (where Hugo's used to be) fills a hole left vacant since the Barnwood went out of business years ago. The food is delicious, the service is quick, the atmosphere is friendly and pleasant, and the prices are extremely reasonable. You can go there wearing whatever you have on (which is always a plus), and I almost always run into somebody I know.
At a family dinner last night, I happened to see a woman I work out with, and was delighted to meet her family and introduce her to mine. And then a fellow diner overheard us talking about the Unionville Fair, stopped by the table and urged a young member of our party to submit his photographs in the Fair's photo competition.
I've been there for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the place never disappoints.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

New Stop Signs in Newlin

Residents of Powell and Brandywine Creek Roads are finding it a little easier to pull out onto, and off, Route 162 now that both intersections have three-way stop signs. Locals call this stretch of road "suicide curve" because both Powell and Brandywine Creek join the winding main road at acute angles and on a steep upgrade, making sight distances very limited. Now motorists traveling from Unionville toward Embreeville (and vice versa) have to stop at both intersections.
"You have no idea what a relief it is to have those stop signs," reports one resident. "It was bad enough with a car, but with a truck and long trailer, turning left off 162 onto Brandywine Creek was a heart-stopping leap-of-faith experience."

Recovery

The Aug. 25 edition of People magazine has a story about Kevin Pearce, age 22, who is recovering from a severe brain injury he suffered Dec. 31 in a snowboarding accident while preparing for the Olympics. His father, Simon Pearce, owns the glassblowing studio, shop and restaurant along the Brandywine at Lenape as well as one in Vermont, where the family lives.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Online again, gratefully

A giant THANK YOU to the friendly folks at the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library. A couple of times this summer, due to power outages and hardware snafus, I found myself computer-less. Not a happy state for one who is heavily reliant on her computer. But thanks to the free public computers at the library, I was able to check my e-mail a couple of times a day and stay in touch with clients and Internet friends.
What a great service!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Elizabeth rocks

If Elizabeth ran the world, it would be a better and more efficient place.
I drove out to Oxford on Saturday to get my driver's license renewed -- there's a little DMV branch office just at the Route 10 exit from the Route 1 bypass. It was standing-room-only crowded. I figured I would be hanging out there for a while, so I started to text a friend -- when I was called up to the counter.
There the unflappable Elizabeth greeted me, handled my paperwork, took my photo and had me out of there in 5 minutes. And the photo is even flattering! Amazing!

Shotguns

Yesterday was the beginning of one of three dove-hunting seasons here in the Commonwealth, and I understand that several local hunters had an excellent first day.
"Doves are birds of cornfields, breaklines, water holes and low hills," according to the Pottstown Mercury's outdoors columnist. "They're the NASCAR drivers of the wing kingdom. Even without a tailwind they can fly 35 to 40 m.p.h. and with the pedal to the metal they're capable of even faster bursts."
It's Canada goose season, too.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Town Spirit

Sometimes it's the little things that really tell you what a town is all about.
I was driving into Kennett Square the other day on East State Street and saw, outside the garage on the left, a whimsical stuffed figure like a scarecrow with its arm raised in greeting. Now, some creative person had to think, "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to have a sort of mascot outside? We can change its outfit with the seasons!" And then he or she had to assemble it and maintain it. Wonderful!
And on the right, at another garage, was a sign bidding farewell to the shop's resident dog. The owner even ran a display ad in the local paper with photos and a fond obituary for the obviously beloved creature.
To me, those displays offer a true "Welcome to our town" better than any banner.