I'm a regular blood donor, and I've urged readers of this column to donate as well. It's the right thing to do if you're able.
But after American Red Cross blood solicitors phoned me on May 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25 and 27 (they took Memorial Day off), I started blocking their phone calls and posted a polite complaint on the ARC blood donors Facebook page.
To their credit, they got back to me promptly and promised to take me off the list -- but explained that in the warmer weather donations decline, so they really need to encourage people to donate. Hmmm ... I would argue that pestering donors with multiple phone calls is actually squandering the goodwill that the donation program relies upon for its very existence. A losing strategy.
So far, they've been as good as their word about removing my phone number: to date I haven't received another call from 1-800-733-2767. If you have the same problem, you might want to try my squeaky-wheel strategy as well.
(One "Unionville in the News" reader reports that he has had the same experience that I did. He wrote: "I donate regularly, almost as often as they call our house. It's a good cause, but their near-daily calls are maddening.")
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Downton Abbey
I'll be direct here: Go see the "Costumes of Downton Abbey" exhibit at Wintherthur. It is absolutely marvelous.
You get to see, close up, a large selection of the costumes worn in the show. From the upstairs crowd, there are exquisitely beaded and embroidered evening dresses and wraps, perfectly tailored suits, walking outfits, gauzy summer frocks, impeccably correct cricketing togs, the American tycoon Carlisle's ill-chosen weekend wear (he wore shooting clothes instead of walking clothes, WHAT a faux pas!), Lady Edith's wedding dress (it had to be strong enough to weather the drama of that day), mauve mourning dresses, Lady Sybil's daring harem pants outfit -- and oh my, the beautiful hats! You also get to see one of O'Brien's lady's maid outfits, Mr. Carson's suit, Anna's crisp white aprons, trimmed with lace, and Mrs. Patmore's practical purple kitchen dress.
The show also compares and contrasts the Granthams and the Crawleys with the Duponts, who led an upper-class American lifestyle at Winterthur during the same time period. The exhibit gives details about the Duponts' servants and shows Mr. Dupont's capacious traveling trunk and Mrs. Dupont's custom-made fitted cosmetic case (with an early version of a curling iron).
The tour guides were wonderful, sharing interesting nuggets of information over and above the ample material given in the displays. There are also video clips from the show, lines from the script, a box of smoky tea to smell, a swatch of super-luxury vicuna fabric to feel, and behind-the-scenes explanations from the show's costume designer about how her department used vintage embroidery and fabric to create some of the clothes.
Of course there's a gift shop of souvenirs as you leave the exhibit. You can buy books about the fashions and customs of the era, tea with photos of DA characters on the canister label, fancy hats, lace gloves, T-shirts, barrettes, costume jewelry and tiaras, napkins, tea towels, pillows, jigsaw puzzles, toiletries, CDs, videos and even cleaning products (for your staff at home to use). I would've bought a knockoff of one of Anna's aprons, but I didn't see one.
To get to the exhibit from the visitors' center you can take a shuttle bus or walk; the trips take about the same amount of time. I enjoyed the well-marked walk very much: I got to see the old greenhouses and the peony garden, which was in full bloom.
You need to buy a timed ticket for the Downton Abbey exhibit. You can buy it online, but once you're at the museum you have to check in and exchange your receipt for an actual physical ticket -- which I found out only after waiting for 10 minutes in what turned out to be the wrong line anyway. Also, watch where you park in the visitors' center lot: not all the handicapped spots are marked individually, so I accidentally parked in one, which I hate doing; I feel like going around apologizing to anyone who might have seen me.
And just a warning for visitors who haven't seen all four seasons: there are spoilers in the exhibit.
You get to see, close up, a large selection of the costumes worn in the show. From the upstairs crowd, there are exquisitely beaded and embroidered evening dresses and wraps, perfectly tailored suits, walking outfits, gauzy summer frocks, impeccably correct cricketing togs, the American tycoon Carlisle's ill-chosen weekend wear (he wore shooting clothes instead of walking clothes, WHAT a faux pas!), Lady Edith's wedding dress (it had to be strong enough to weather the drama of that day), mauve mourning dresses, Lady Sybil's daring harem pants outfit -- and oh my, the beautiful hats! You also get to see one of O'Brien's lady's maid outfits, Mr. Carson's suit, Anna's crisp white aprons, trimmed with lace, and Mrs. Patmore's practical purple kitchen dress.
The show also compares and contrasts the Granthams and the Crawleys with the Duponts, who led an upper-class American lifestyle at Winterthur during the same time period. The exhibit gives details about the Duponts' servants and shows Mr. Dupont's capacious traveling trunk and Mrs. Dupont's custom-made fitted cosmetic case (with an early version of a curling iron).
The tour guides were wonderful, sharing interesting nuggets of information over and above the ample material given in the displays. There are also video clips from the show, lines from the script, a box of smoky tea to smell, a swatch of super-luxury vicuna fabric to feel, and behind-the-scenes explanations from the show's costume designer about how her department used vintage embroidery and fabric to create some of the clothes.
Of course there's a gift shop of souvenirs as you leave the exhibit. You can buy books about the fashions and customs of the era, tea with photos of DA characters on the canister label, fancy hats, lace gloves, T-shirts, barrettes, costume jewelry and tiaras, napkins, tea towels, pillows, jigsaw puzzles, toiletries, CDs, videos and even cleaning products (for your staff at home to use). I would've bought a knockoff of one of Anna's aprons, but I didn't see one.
To get to the exhibit from the visitors' center you can take a shuttle bus or walk; the trips take about the same amount of time. I enjoyed the well-marked walk very much: I got to see the old greenhouses and the peony garden, which was in full bloom.
You need to buy a timed ticket for the Downton Abbey exhibit. You can buy it online, but once you're at the museum you have to check in and exchange your receipt for an actual physical ticket -- which I found out only after waiting for 10 minutes in what turned out to be the wrong line anyway. Also, watch where you park in the visitors' center lot: not all the handicapped spots are marked individually, so I accidentally parked in one, which I hate doing; I feel like going around apologizing to anyone who might have seen me.
And just a warning for visitors who haven't seen all four seasons: there are spoilers in the exhibit.
An oversight
In a conversation I overheard yesterday between two teenage girls, Girl #1 was telling Girl #2, ruefully, that she'd forgotten she had a pineapple in her backpack until it started to rot and stink.
Girl #2 stopped what she was doing and stared at her.
"How," she asked incredulously, "does somebody forget they have a pineapple?"
Don't be surprised if, in 20 years, we see Girl #2 demolishing a less-than-credible witness in a courtroom or grilling a malefactor on the evening news. She homed in on the salient issue immediately and already has an impressive way about her when it comes to asking an outraged question.
Girl #2 stopped what she was doing and stared at her.
"How," she asked incredulously, "does somebody forget they have a pineapple?"
Don't be surprised if, in 20 years, we see Girl #2 demolishing a less-than-credible witness in a courtroom or grilling a malefactor on the evening news. She homed in on the salient issue immediately and already has an impressive way about her when it comes to asking an outraged question.
Lunchtime favorite
My regular readers know that I'm not much of a shopper: For me, buying stuff isn't the avocation, stress-reliever and conversation starter that it is for some. But I have to put in a good word for this product: Dr. McDougall's "Right Foods" soups, which have become a lunchtime staple for me (when I'm not eating out). They cost between $1.49 and $1.99 in the health food section of the Giant, and every flavor I've had is delicious -- things like tortilla soup and Chinese noodle soup (all vegan) and their Asian entrees like Thai peanut noodle. All you do is add water to the little cardboard cup, nuke them for about 2 minutes and then let them sit for a few minutes to cook. They're about 200 calories per container (I ignore the "per serving" data), with minimum fat (but watch the sodium if you need to).
Monday, May 26, 2014
I love this parade
Kennett Square's Memorial Day parade was everything a small-town parade should be, full of veterans, military vehicles, historical re-enactors with loud guns, antique cars, marching bands, gleaming fire trucks, motorcycles, and lots of kids.
What sets Kennett's parade apart, as far as I'm concerned, is the addition of things like the Ferko String Band, a calliope, men riding penny-farthing bikes, dragon dancers, a lavishly costumed Mexican dance troupe, a group of Native Americans, gymnasts (two boys performed back flips right in front of us!), martial arts masters, the gang from Hood's BBQ in Unionville, the Godzilla-sized Turkey Hill cow statue, and -- this year -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who was walking along North Union Street shaking hands, accompanied by his security people and Kennett Square Mayor Matt Fetick. I'm told that Kathi Lafferty of The Mushroom Cap presented the governor with a box of mushrooms!
Among our merry group of spectators was a friend's Mom who just recently moved to our area. Her husband, a WWII veteran, was riding in the parade for the first time, and it was great to see the huge grin on his face as he went past us.
Organizer Bill Taylor did another great job this year of organizing the parade, and the weather couldn't have been nicer.
After the parade a few of us went out to lunch and saw some of the motorcyclists. I thanked them for taking part, and they said the downside of participating is that you don't get to actually see the parade! They said they hoped somebody would post a video.
What sets Kennett's parade apart, as far as I'm concerned, is the addition of things like the Ferko String Band, a calliope, men riding penny-farthing bikes, dragon dancers, a lavishly costumed Mexican dance troupe, a group of Native Americans, gymnasts (two boys performed back flips right in front of us!), martial arts masters, the gang from Hood's BBQ in Unionville, the Godzilla-sized Turkey Hill cow statue, and -- this year -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who was walking along North Union Street shaking hands, accompanied by his security people and Kennett Square Mayor Matt Fetick. I'm told that Kathi Lafferty of The Mushroom Cap presented the governor with a box of mushrooms!
Among our merry group of spectators was a friend's Mom who just recently moved to our area. Her husband, a WWII veteran, was riding in the parade for the first time, and it was great to see the huge grin on his face as he went past us.
Organizer Bill Taylor did another great job this year of organizing the parade, and the weather couldn't have been nicer.
After the parade a few of us went out to lunch and saw some of the motorcyclists. I thanked them for taking part, and they said the downside of participating is that you don't get to actually see the parade! They said they hoped somebody would post a video.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Something in the air
For me Saturday was a glorious day of yard work, hauling two dozen bags of Lowe's mulch around, planting flowers in a newly reclaimed hillside and continuing my perpetual assault on the grapevines and multiflora rose that used to cover it.
In the evening my fellow laborer and I hobbled out to a late dinner at Wendy's (salad for me, some hearty combination of bacon, beef and cheese for him) and then went food shopping at the Walmart. As we were checking out (love how the recorded voice at the self-checkout drawls "ahh-tem" for "item") we heard loud booms from outside the store.
What could it be but Longwood Gardens fireworks!
Out in the parking lot we could see the really high fireworks but saw just flashes from the lower-altitude ones, so we drove down to the SuperFresh shopping center to get a better view. We weren't the only ones: a few dozen people were sitting out in lawn chairs enjoying the show. We learned from a woman who works in the shopping center that whenever Longwood has fireworks, experienced fireworks fans start showing up in the lot at around 9 p.m.
The 45-minute display (with a few breaks, we assumed for musical interludes and the fountain show) was fantastic, with some types of pyrotechnics I'd never seen before: cascading ones; ones that just hover in the air as if they have parachutes; and a multicolored burst that looked like the blue, green and red lights on a Christmas tree. My favorites, of course, were the loud ones, of which there were many; friends in downtown Kennett and in Embreeville heard them, and family members who live near Longwood said their house shook.
The view wasn't perfect, of course; you need to be a paying customer at Longwood for that, understandably enough. But what an unexpected end to a very happy and productive day!
In the evening my fellow laborer and I hobbled out to a late dinner at Wendy's (salad for me, some hearty combination of bacon, beef and cheese for him) and then went food shopping at the Walmart. As we were checking out (love how the recorded voice at the self-checkout drawls "ahh-tem" for "item") we heard loud booms from outside the store.
What could it be but Longwood Gardens fireworks!
Out in the parking lot we could see the really high fireworks but saw just flashes from the lower-altitude ones, so we drove down to the SuperFresh shopping center to get a better view. We weren't the only ones: a few dozen people were sitting out in lawn chairs enjoying the show. We learned from a woman who works in the shopping center that whenever Longwood has fireworks, experienced fireworks fans start showing up in the lot at around 9 p.m.
The 45-minute display (with a few breaks, we assumed for musical interludes and the fountain show) was fantastic, with some types of pyrotechnics I'd never seen before: cascading ones; ones that just hover in the air as if they have parachutes; and a multicolored burst that looked like the blue, green and red lights on a Christmas tree. My favorites, of course, were the loud ones, of which there were many; friends in downtown Kennett and in Embreeville heard them, and family members who live near Longwood said their house shook.
The view wasn't perfect, of course; you need to be a paying customer at Longwood for that, understandably enough. But what an unexpected end to a very happy and productive day!
Party barn
Sunday's edition of the "Philadelphia Inquirer" had a nice story about the new "party barn" at the Buchanans' Mercer Hill Farm here in West Marlborough Township. Owner Richard Buchanan, of Archer & Buchanan Architecture, described the stone barn to reporter Erin Arvedlund as his "man-cave garage Mahal" and told her about how he designed it, the materials he used and other party barns he has worked on. The article includes a splendid portrait of Richard shot by Jim Graham; the caption describes Richard as a "farmer-architect."
(Thank you to "Unionville in the News" reader Bonnie M. for letting me know about this story.)
(Thank you to "Unionville in the News" reader Bonnie M. for letting me know about this story.)
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