SPRING: Getting out of the house

Judging from my observations, a collective case of spring fever swept through our area this past Friday evening, driving people out of the house. A half-dozen new people showed up to my gym class at the Kennett Y. I happened to be wearing my "Y Ambassador" shirt, so I gave them a hearty welcome and urged them to return. And there was actually a line at the Dairy Queen, a very uncommon sight during these cold months. Hungry people kept walking in the door even after the official closing time.

CHESHIRE: Point-to-point is cancelled

I was sorry to learn that there will be no 72nd Running of the Cheshire Point-to-Point Races, which was set for Sunday, March 26. The decision to cancel was made from safety considerations: due to the snow and ice, the ground conditions are terrible, jeopardizing the welfare of horses and jockeys.
The "Cheshire Races" are an immensely popular fixture on the spring calendar. Not only do they kick off the steeplechase season, but they bring together Unionville folks who haven't seen each other all winter. Plus this year there was going to be a side-saddle race that I was greatly looking forward to.
I'm sure it was a tough decision for the committee to make, but of course safety comes first.

MAGAZINE: It's now online

The Horse of Delaware Valley, which ceased printing its popular monthly magazine back in November, has started publishing a free twice-monthly online newsletter. You can subscribe by going to their website (thehorseofdelawarevalley.com) and entering your name and email address. That's good news, but it still won't be as much fun as watching people eagerly extract the magazine from their post office box and immediately look to see if their photo is on page 2.

SURVEY: Tilda's Travels

As promised, I received a $20 check in the mail from the U.S. Department of Transportation for completing the National Household Travel Survey. I filled out an online questionnaire about my use of roads (by any means) on Sunday, Feb. 19, which involved taking a walk, having a family dinner at Hood's BBQ, and stopping at Wawa and Walmart. I found it interesting that the survey didn't ask what routes I took, just my beginning and ending points and any stops along the way. And I'm curious why they selected a Sunday as the time of interest instead of a weekday.

MUSHROOMS: Lampshades from mycelium

Last weekend the Wall Street Journal ran an interesting piece about Danielle Trofe, a Brooklyn lamp designer who creates lampshades using mycelium (mushroom roots). "Ms. Trofe packs a mix of corn-crop debris, mycelium and hemp into a mold, then adds water and flour to activate the mycelium," wrote the reporter. After five days, "she plops the solidified shape out like a bundt cake and lets its outer layer turn white with exposure to the air for a day." The biodegradable shades are part of her "Mush-Lume" collection.

SHOPPING: Shorter hours

The Giant grocery store on Scarlett Road in New Garden is no longer open 24/7: as of March 12 it shortened its hours to 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Those are the same hours at the Giant at 830 East Baltimore Pike. The Giant in Jennersville remains open all the time.

BANQUET: Fellowship and firearms

Saturday night we attended the annual Chester County Friends of the National Rifle Association banquet. I don't think I've ever seen so many tables packed into the Red Clay Room, and there was not an empty seat. Among the guests were East Marlborough Police Chief Robert "Clarkie" Clark, Chester County Sheriff Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh, State Rep. Becky Corbin (who represents the Exton and Lionville area), and at least two candidates for the district court seat in Kennett now held by Dan Maisano.
The wait staff, working at top speed to tend to so many people, was a little too efficient in our case. While we were going through the buffet line they cleared our salad and bread-and-butter plates and cutlery, so we returned with plates full of prime rib to find . . .  no knives on the table. Fortunately I always carry a good sharp pocket knife in my purse, so I pulled it out, cut up my meat and then shared the knife with my neighbors. Others at the table just ate caveman style (but very neatly). It's hard to disconcert this crowd.
The whole point of the NRA dinner is to raise money, and they do so very skillfully by selling chances on a number of popular firearms arranged around the room. The winning tickets are drawn throughout the evening and announced. No one at our table won anything this year (unlike last year), but it was amusing anyway to hear the shouts of joy from other winners. I noticed that two men won at least two guns each -- what are the odds?!