I spent Saturday in Fairmount Park watching my nephew riding in the "Schuylkill Scrambler" collegiate cycling race. Whether the day was a success depends on your viewpoint. My highly competitive nephew certainly didn't think so, because he didn't win (a kid from Williams did). But his mother did, because he completed the 31.5-mile race unscathed; she was apprehensive, to put it mildly.
It didn't help matters when I asked him before the race where we should stand to get the best view.
"Well, it depends if you want to see crashes," he said matter-of-factly.
And of course there is no maximum age for causing maternal anxiety: my brother rode his bike from Chadds Ford into Philadelphia to join us. Fortunately our mother didn't find out about that one until he was safely back home.
"Remind your brother," she said to me acidly, "he is not 25 any more."
It was a beautiful warm day and I was amazed at how many colleges were represented: Harvard, Brown, West Point, MIT, Shippensburg, Kutztown, Penn, Penn State, Drexel and Dickinson are just a few I remember. Villanova and Yale seemed especially organized, bringing along folding tents and chairs and stationary bikes so their cyclists could stay warmed up. Driving home on the Expressway I saw van after van loaded up with bikes. (Speaking of the ride home: from the Girard Avenue on-ramp to I-76 westbound, there was not a single traffic light until Route 82 and Lincoln Highway in Coatesville. Made amazing time.)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
See and be seen
The Chester County Historical Society has set a new standard for what a gala ought to be. Their party on Friday at Westtown School was just awesome: plenty of amazing food, lots of nice people and a beautiful array of antiques.
A friend had seen the menu and suggested that I arrive hungry, which I did. There were not just butlered hors d'oeuvres; there was also a pasta station, a roast beef station, an artisanal cheese station, a seafood station (shrimp and oysters), and then finally a dessert station. All really delicious. And I greatly appreciated the fact that next to the roast beef station there were actually tables where you could comfortably use a knife and fork to cut your meat, rather than trying to do so while juggling your plate, your drink and your program.
Saying that there were lots of Unionville folks there would be an understatement. One especially popular friend said she was going to have to come back to see the antiques because every single time she'd head for a booth, she'd run into somebody else and get involved in another conversation.
The antiques were lovely and it seemed like the dealers were getting really creative, bringing an assortment of items instead of the usual candlestands and highboys (though there were plenty of those, and the $55,000 secretary with original feet, brasses and finish was stunning).
One dealer displayed a delightful and unusual Audubon print of four little mice with a large and well-munched-on wheel of cheese. One of the mice was standing upright on his hind legs in the foreground, and the woman I was chatting with speculated that he was the PR person for the mouse group. Either that, or their look-out.
In another booth I saw one couple who are prominent in the carriage-driving world looking at a copper horse that, I imagine, once sat atop a weather vane. The dealer, who was from out of the area, approached them with a smile.
"Do you like horses?" he asked hopefully.
I hope the historical society raises lots of money. It was a great party and I can only imagine the hours that the committee spent planning and making umpteen decisions (and yes, we did notice the tasteful blue-and-white plates at the food stations).
A friend had seen the menu and suggested that I arrive hungry, which I did. There were not just butlered hors d'oeuvres; there was also a pasta station, a roast beef station, an artisanal cheese station, a seafood station (shrimp and oysters), and then finally a dessert station. All really delicious. And I greatly appreciated the fact that next to the roast beef station there were actually tables where you could comfortably use a knife and fork to cut your meat, rather than trying to do so while juggling your plate, your drink and your program.
Saying that there were lots of Unionville folks there would be an understatement. One especially popular friend said she was going to have to come back to see the antiques because every single time she'd head for a booth, she'd run into somebody else and get involved in another conversation.
The antiques were lovely and it seemed like the dealers were getting really creative, bringing an assortment of items instead of the usual candlestands and highboys (though there were plenty of those, and the $55,000 secretary with original feet, brasses and finish was stunning).
One dealer displayed a delightful and unusual Audubon print of four little mice with a large and well-munched-on wheel of cheese. One of the mice was standing upright on his hind legs in the foreground, and the woman I was chatting with speculated that he was the PR person for the mouse group. Either that, or their look-out.
In another booth I saw one couple who are prominent in the carriage-driving world looking at a copper horse that, I imagine, once sat atop a weather vane. The dealer, who was from out of the area, approached them with a smile.
"Do you like horses?" he asked hopefully.
I hope the historical society raises lots of money. It was a great party and I can only imagine the hours that the committee spent planning and making umpteen decisions (and yes, we did notice the tasteful blue-and-white plates at the food stations).
Friday, March 16, 2012
Trash talk
Now here is a terrific idea from a Facebook friend and a good citizen of the Earth!
"I live in Pennsbury Township, and enjoy running on Pocopson, Chandler, Brintons Bridge Rds etc., and was disgusted seeing how much trash is littered on the sides of the roads. I pass walkers and runners daily, and was appalled by the lack of proactiveness...beer cans in streams, etc.
On my next walk, I took 2 bags, one for recycleables, and one for trash, and spent 1 hour walking about 2 miles, and picked up trash on one side of Chandler. I had over 40 lbs. of trash.
A challenge to your readers: next time they go for a stroll on our beautiful and pristine views, take 2 bags and pick up trash. They may just find how good they feel, and how little effort it is.
Let’s keep Southern Chester County scenic!"
"I live in Pennsbury Township, and enjoy running on Pocopson, Chandler, Brintons Bridge Rds etc., and was disgusted seeing how much trash is littered on the sides of the roads. I pass walkers and runners daily, and was appalled by the lack of proactiveness...beer cans in streams, etc.
On my next walk, I took 2 bags, one for recycleables, and one for trash, and spent 1 hour walking about 2 miles, and picked up trash on one side of Chandler. I had over 40 lbs. of trash.
A challenge to your readers: next time they go for a stroll on our beautiful and pristine views, take 2 bags and pick up trash. They may just find how good they feel, and how little effort it is.
Let’s keep Southern Chester County scenic!"
Ollie's Bargain Outlet
A reader alerted me to the fact that there's a new store going on at the old Acme supermarket in New Garden. Habitat for Humanity's "Restore" has been there for a while, and "Ollie's Bargain Outlet" will join it on April 4. I drove by and saw "help wanted" signs, along with a few workers sitting out on the curb taking a break from getting the store stocked and ready to open. Based on a quick look through the door, the merchandise appears to be similar to the Dollar store and the Big Lots already in that shopping center. According to its website, Ollie's is "the Mid-Atlantic's largest retailer of close-outs, surplus and salvage merchandise" and its slogan is "Good Stuff Cheap!"
And Reader Nancy alerted me to "all the building and rebuilding of homes and barns on Mill Road. A lot of stone walls, fencing, plantings etc. Looks like a first-class job not to mention the expense." I took a drive by and she is certainly right -- there were a dozen work trucks in there, and the big barn that is being rebuilt looks terrific. (This is the farm with the quarter-mile-long white wall that a friend of mine has dubbed the Great Wall of Kennett.)
And Reader Nancy alerted me to "all the building and rebuilding of homes and barns on Mill Road. A lot of stone walls, fencing, plantings etc. Looks like a first-class job not to mention the expense." I took a drive by and she is certainly right -- there were a dozen work trucks in there, and the big barn that is being rebuilt looks terrific. (This is the farm with the quarter-mile-long white wall that a friend of mine has dubbed the Great Wall of Kennett.)
Non-bumper sticker
While sitting in traffic on Route 1 between Longwood Gardens and Route 1, I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of me. Its topic was politics, but far more interesting was its location: it wasn't on the bumper; it was on the trunk lid.
Now why would someone put a bumper sticker facing upward? Is the intended audience only people who drive SUVs and pickups and sit up high? If so, what kind of a demographic would that be, Red or Blue?
Alternatively, is there a dent or stain on the trunk lid the owner wanted to cover?
Between pondering those questions and watching the road machinery grinding up the pavement, I was amply entertained.
Now why would someone put a bumper sticker facing upward? Is the intended audience only people who drive SUVs and pickups and sit up high? If so, what kind of a demographic would that be, Red or Blue?
Alternatively, is there a dent or stain on the trunk lid the owner wanted to cover?
Between pondering those questions and watching the road machinery grinding up the pavement, I was amply entertained.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Steak-yum!
This item is going to make you hungry.
Two local emergency medical services folks, Tammy Whiteman (EMS coordinator at Longwood Fire Company) and Jerry Peters (ALS program director at West Chester's Good Fellow Ambulance Club's Training Institute), won first prize in a cooking contest at a national emergency medical services convention in Baltimore on March 2.
The contestants had to create a dinner that included flank steak, red onion, white button mushrooms, mayo and roasted red pepper. Tammy and Jerry cooked up an open-faced steak sandwich with a bacon, mushroom and red wine sauce, and served it with roasted red potatoes and an iceberg lettuce wedge with red pepper-ranch dressing and blue cheese.
The prize was an indoor grill.
(The keynote speaker at the convention was
Two local emergency medical services folks, Tammy Whiteman (EMS coordinator at Longwood Fire Company) and Jerry Peters (ALS program director at West Chester's Good Fellow Ambulance Club's Training Institute), won first prize in a cooking contest at a national emergency medical services convention in Baltimore on March 2.
The contestants had to create a dinner that included flank steak, red onion, white button mushrooms, mayo and roasted red pepper. Tammy and Jerry cooked up an open-faced steak sandwich with a bacon, mushroom and red wine sauce, and served it with roasted red potatoes and an iceberg lettuce wedge with red pepper-ranch dressing and blue cheese.
The prize was an indoor grill.
(The keynote speaker at the convention was
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Farm labor
I visited a friend's farm on a recent warm, sunny Sunday and stopped halfway up the driveway to say hi to her husband, who was spreading a mixture of grass seed and crabgrass retardant. After that, he told me, he had some bulbs to plant. And if the light held out, he was even going to tackle the manure pile, which was so full that his wife could barely dump a wheelbarrow into it.
This guy's enthusiasm for doing physical labor around the farm and operating heavy machinery tickles me to no end. Here is a man with a very responsible, demanding job who wears a suit to work (except on casual Friday). He handles big chunks of other people's money. He has assistants working for him.
And yet, as soon as he leaves the office, he sheds his executive persona and puts behind him the quirks of the stock market and his clients. I think it's very healthy: You should see him grinning as he drives up the steep driveway in the front-end loader, ready to dump a pile of manure.
This guy's enthusiasm for doing physical labor around the farm and operating heavy machinery tickles me to no end. Here is a man with a very responsible, demanding job who wears a suit to work (except on casual Friday). He handles big chunks of other people's money. He has assistants working for him.
And yet, as soon as he leaves the office, he sheds his executive persona and puts behind him the quirks of the stock market and his clients. I think it's very healthy: You should see him grinning as he drives up the steep driveway in the front-end loader, ready to dump a pile of manure.
Tradition
The March issue of "Town & Country" magazine has a nice piece about family ties in the Cheshire Hunt. "As a rule it's mothers who teach the next generation to ride to the hounds," writes the author, Roger Morris. Appropriately enough, among the photographs that accompany the story are a shot of legendary Master of Foxhounds Mrs. Hannum in 1975, and a photo of one of her great-granddaughters hunting today.
Speedwell
What's that tiny blue flower springing up all over your lawn?
It's called speedwell (Veronica persica), which according to my field guide is a reference to how quickly it spreads. It's a widespread annual. Wikipedia says it has no known horticultural use, other than as a harbinger of spring.
It's called speedwell (Veronica persica), which according to my field guide is a reference to how quickly it spreads. It's a widespread annual. Wikipedia says it has no known horticultural use, other than as a harbinger of spring.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Praise for our firefighters
Hats off to the firefighters who battled the remote Quonset hut fire in Newlin Township on Saturday evening. The metal outbuilding, which housed antique farm equipment, was located a mile off Brandywine Drive, up a steep gravel driveway -- which meant the firefighters had to lay a LOT of line to get water up to the scene.
A friend who was following along on the scanner in real time said the firefighters kept looking for more water, in addition to using the Brandywine Creek. (Memo to self: Download scanner app.)
I was at home at the time of the blaze and heard lots of sirens -- eventually five fire companies were summoned (Modena, West Bradford, Po-Mar-Lin, East Brandywine and Westwood), and Route 162 and Strasburg Road were temporarily closed. A friend who lives on top of a hill in Newlin reported she could see thick black smoke pouring from the scene.
I can't say enough about our volunteer firefighters. Once again, there they were when they were needed, doing really hard, hazardous, dirty and smelly work.
(What, you may ask, is a Quonset hut? It's a prefabricated building made of corrugated metal that was used to house military personnel, offices and equipment during World War II. There was one near our house when I was growing up in the 1960s, and I seem to recall a series of bohemian families occupying it.)
A friend who was following along on the scanner in real time said the firefighters kept looking for more water, in addition to using the Brandywine Creek. (Memo to self: Download scanner app.)
I was at home at the time of the blaze and heard lots of sirens -- eventually five fire companies were summoned (Modena, West Bradford, Po-Mar-Lin, East Brandywine and Westwood), and Route 162 and Strasburg Road were temporarily closed. A friend who lives on top of a hill in Newlin reported she could see thick black smoke pouring from the scene.
I can't say enough about our volunteer firefighters. Once again, there they were when they were needed, doing really hard, hazardous, dirty and smelly work.
(What, you may ask, is a Quonset hut? It's a prefabricated building made of corrugated metal that was used to house military personnel, offices and equipment during World War II. There was one near our house when I was growing up in the 1960s, and I seem to recall a series of bohemian families occupying it.)
Health and food
Much to his credit, a retired Kennett friend has embarked on a new fitness program. He joined the Snap Fitness facility at the little strip mall east of Wal-mart and signed up for several sessions with a personal trainer. All is going well: he likes his trainer and certainly feels like he's getting a workout.
And he has an excellent motivation for exercising: he is a sociable fellow, and working out allows him to indulge in restaurant food more often.
For instance, on Saturday I had a craving for sushi and asked him to join me for lunch. Where do you want to go, I asked: Kyoto or Lily's (we like both)?
Kyoto, he said without hesitation. The reason: Snap Fitness is just a few doors down, so he'd be able to exercise after lunch.
What's funny is that the Snap Fitness gym in Avondale is also in a shopping center with a tasty sushi restaurant (Sake Hana). I wonder if that's in the location advice given to franchisees?
And he has an excellent motivation for exercising: he is a sociable fellow, and working out allows him to indulge in restaurant food more often.
For instance, on Saturday I had a craving for sushi and asked him to join me for lunch. Where do you want to go, I asked: Kyoto or Lily's (we like both)?
Kyoto, he said without hesitation. The reason: Snap Fitness is just a few doors down, so he'd be able to exercise after lunch.
What's funny is that the Snap Fitness gym in Avondale is also in a shopping center with a tasty sushi restaurant (Sake Hana). I wonder if that's in the location advice given to franchisees?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
"B" Happy
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