KENNETT: Cold case

We were at the Giant at 8:30 p.m. on a Saturday night -- yes, this is kind of social life Tilda has when it's 10 degrees outside. The self-service registers were being a little finicky, possibly due to the cold, or maybe they were just toying with the amusingly laid-back attendant.
The man next to us was having trouble getting his register to work, when the attendant pointed out that the bottom edge of the shopper's coat was on the scale, impeding his check-out progress.
We pointed out that this could be useful if he wanted to know how much his coat weighed.
"I hope it's heavy," he said good-naturedly, "because it's really cold out."
In weather like this, I so appreciate having an inside job and indoor pets. The only reason I really need to go outside, in fact, is to fill the bird feeder each morning. You've probably heard the same stories I have about frozen pipes, heaters on the fritz, dead car batteries and overloaded circuit-breakers.
The Kennett Walmart earlier in the week was fully stocked with space heaters; on Saturday morning, though, only a few high-end models remained. Lowe's in Avondale still had a good supply of snow shovels and rock salt (and all the blends thereof).  

KENNETT SQUARE: Bistro closes

La Madera Bistro, 102 E. State St. in Kennett Square, has been sold, and another restaurant is expected to open there within weeks. I'm told that the new owners will honor all gift certificates. La Madera opened after Byrsa Bistro, which formerly occupied the space, moved to Glen Mills in spring 2016.
And less than a block away, at 120 E. State Street, the vacant brick building that used to house the Kennett Café is up for lease once again. Zommick McMahon has the listing, and they describe the partly renovated property as a "landmark downtown building" with "abundant public parking nearby." Back in 2010 or so, Jack McFadden started to redo the building with hopes of opening a tapas restaurant, but his plans fizzled.

KENNETT: The KATS Panto

A highlight of our winter schedule is the annual Pantomime put on by the Kennett Amateur Theatrical Society.
This year's panto, "Sleeping Beauty and the Tangley Wood," will be presented on Friday, Jan. 26 (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Jan. 27 (2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) at Kennett High School. Tickets are available on the website (www.callkats.org). 
Gary Smith (one of the founders of the group) and Beth Holladay are the directors this year.
The panto is always a hoot. It's not the "Marcel Marceau" kind of pantomime; rather, it's a light-hearted, family-friendly musical with lots of audience participation and time-honored British traditions like the "Dame" (played by a man) and the "silly song."
Odds are good you'll spot a friend or neighbor in the cast.

UNIONVILLE: The Book Sale is coming

Start gathering up your book, CD and DVD donations for the annual Used Book Sale at the Unionville High School gym. The neighborhood pickup date will be Saturday, Jan. 20 (check the website to see if your neighborhood is included), and collections will start in all the school lobbies on Monday, Jan. 22. The sale dates this year are Friday, Feb. 23, from 4 to 9 p.m. , and Saturday, Feb. 24, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (with the "bag sale" to follow from 3 to 5 p.m.).
I look forward to this sale every year, both as a buyer and donor. Proceeds go to the high school PTO.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: The more things change...

West Marlborough Township employees started the year off with some good news: they got a 2.5 percent pay raise. The township supervisors approved the increase at their January 2 meeting.
As required by Pennsylvania law, the supervisors also held their yearly reorganization meeting, but not a lot changed: William Wylie is still the chairman, with Jake Chalfin as vice chairman, Hugh Lofting Sr. as roadmaster and emergency coordinator and Shirley Walton as secretary-treasurer.
Fran Green of Yerkes Associates will continue as the township engineer and Dwight Yoder as the township solicitor.
The township supervisors will meet on the first Tuesday of each month, except for November, when they will meet on Monday, Nov. 5, because the township garage/meeting room doubles as the polling place.
Wayne Grafton and Elizabeth "Baz" Powell agreed to serve additional three-year terms on the township's Zoning Hearing Board.
Roy Jackson, Richard Corkran and Tom Brosius were re-appointed to four-year terms on the township Planning Commission. Tom Brosius was re-elected as chairman, with Tom Roosevelt as vice chairman and Emery Jones Taylor as secretary.

PADDLE: Cold-weather sports

Perhaps you, too, have been astonished at seeing the paddle-tennis enthusiasts playing outside at the Kennett Country Club no matter how cold it gets. As it happened, we ran into a fellow who used to play in paddle tournaments, and he said that you start off wearing five or six layers and by the time you warm up and get into the match, you can strip down to only two or three. Even the ball, he said, is designed to perform at its liveliest in the very cold weather.

KENNETT SQUARE: "Noon" Year's Eve

The Kennett Y celebrated the New Year's Eve 12 hours early, holding a noontime balloon drop in the smaller gymnasium. I happened to be working out just down the hall, heard the hullaballoo and went over to find dozens of super-energetic kids rushing around tossing balloons as Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me" played. (Starting the year with Frank has got to be a good omen!) 
Pity the hard-working Y custodians: they have a lot of confetti and balloon carcasses to sweep up.

KENNETT SQUARE: Handling the cold

With the temperature in the single digits, we decided to spare our old bones and forgo the annual New Year's Eve mushroom drop. We were in Kennett Square earlier in the evening, though, so we got to enjoy the surreal sight  of a huge lighted mushroom hanging in midair high over the town's main intersection. We caught a glimpse of the very cool laser light show, too, and very faintly heard the thumping music produced by the Funsters, who were moved inside due to the cold.
While we were in town we ran into a young friend who was wearing -- cargo shorts. We tried to talk sense into him, but he said he just likes wearing shorts, and as long as his top half is warm, he's good to go. (Sure enough, he was wearing a thick knit hat, gloves and a heavy-duty parka.)
A man overheard our conversation and added that he is a school bus driver and has noticed that some of his hardy passengers wear shorts year-round.

KENNETT SQUARE: An evening with friends

We spent Saturday evening with two dear Unionville friends, enjoying dinner at Giordano's and just catching up with each other. There was a lot of laughter, bad jokes and quotations from "The Simpsons," as well as more serious conversation.
At one point we were discussing the new tax code: the husband of this couple is a professional money guy and needs to keep up with such matters. I expressed my fervent hope that health insurance premiums would still be deductible, as my monthly premium is now upwards of $800 a month.
"Eight hundred dollars!" exclaimed the wife. "That's more than I spend on horseshoes!"
She and I looked at each other and laughed uproariously, realizing the First World nature of so many of our problems.