Thanks!

May I take this Thanksgiving opportunity to thank you for reading "Unionville in the News"? It's so gratifying when people tell me they look forward to reading about my little adventures and anecdotes each week.
When The Kennett Paper started running my column, the editor, Fran Maye, predicted from day one that it would be a giant hit. I disagreed strongly with him, doubting whether anyone would be interested in hearing about the hyper-local day-to-day goings-on in my corner of the world.
Well, it seems he was right.
And a very special thanks to my friends, family and neighbors who appear regularly in "Tilda items." You know I couldn't do it without you!

Meteors

My gym friend Kevin is an avid astronomer, and when I saw him on Friday, Nov. 16, he urged me to check out the Leonid meteor showers the next morning. They'll be at their peak, he told me, at 4:30 a.m.
So I set the alarm, and sure enough before sunrise I got out of bed, wrapped my fleece bathrobe tightly around me, put on my glasses and shuffled outside in my slippers. (The dog let out a few barks in surprise but then retreated into her doghouse.)
What a breathtaking sight! There were zillions of stars shining against the inky sky: Orion was unmistakeable, high up in the western sky, and the Big Dipper was low in the northeast. I stood outside for 20 minutes and saw only one meteor, a quick flash almost overhead, but the sight of the stars and Jupiter, Venus and Saturn was well worth leaving my warm bed.
If you're curious about the constellations, I highly recommend "The Stars: A New Way to See Them" by H.A. Rey (yes, the Curious George guy). My copy is seriously dog-eared from frequent use.
And by the way: What is up with the phrase "a meteoric rise"? Meteors don't rise; they fall.

Crafty

I'm in the middle of my Christmas present knitting, and on this year's list are two identical scarves for family members. It's an intricate lace pattern, done with a very fine yarn and small needles, and it's especially maddening ("intermediate" difficulty, my foot!) because the pattern doesn't give you any "clues" as to where you are in a row, or whether you're even on the right side or the wrong side. Experienced knitters will know what I mean: with some projects your fingers can go on auto-pilot because you develop muscle memory, and you "know" that two stitches before the heart, you'll do a knit-two-together stitch.
So I'm sitting at a township meeting, knitting away, doing my yarn-overs to create the lace pattern, when a smart-alec meeting regular peers over my shoulder.
"That's not going to be very warm," he points out, teasing me. "It's full of holes!"
I gave him my best mock glare.

Land of confusion

On Monday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m., West Marlborough's Zoning Hearing Board is going to review Daniel K. Waltson's request to use his half-acre Springdell property for storage for his landscaping business and to remove the existing mobile home. The property, in the 1300 block of North Chatham Road (Route 841), is zoned for Village Residential use.
It turns out that it's a very complicated situation, because it seems the buildings that are currently on the property -- the storage building and mobile home -- were there before the township adopted its first zoning ordinance, which makes it a non-conforming use. It doesn't meet the current regulations in terms of property size, setbacks or use, and the fact that there are both a storage building and an occupied mobile home on site means there are two "primary uses."

Also, Mr. Waltson did some renovations to the storage building -- he removed the deck and walkway and replaced them with an enclosed addition, without actually enlarging the building -- and he's seeking the zoning board's approval for that work after the fact.
I'll be at the meeting, and I'll do my best to write a clear account of what goes on. No promises, though!

Greenhouse fire

While driving south on Route 52 yesterday I went past Stephen's Gardening Creations, which was the site of a devastating fire on the night of Election Day. I was pleased to see that according to their sign, they're still managing to service customers' garden ponds.
The fire and the very loud tank explosions that accompanied it caused much Facebook chatter that night. I was having a late dinner at Longwood Family Restaurant when we saw all kinds of emergency equipment racing east toward the scene. I immediately checked Facebook and the news was already out there.
The fire reminded me of another local conflagration 100 years ago. On Jan. 27, 1912, at 8:30 p.m., an acetylene gas generator blew up at a stone house at 1225 East Baltimore Pike, Toughkenamon, owned by the Richards family. Thompson Richards died on the scene; his wife, Anna Scarlett Richards, and his daughter, Anna T. Richards, were seriously hurt and were taken to a Philadelphia hospital by train from Toughkenamon. The family dog was unharmed.
The next day some 3,000 curious sight-seekers flocked see the ruined house, arriving via automobiles, carriages and trolleys.
You can still see the stone wall that was in front of the house. Joe Lordi and Dolores Rowe have a full account of the 1912 explosion, with photos, in their book, "Greetings From Kennett Square."

Happy Diwali!

When I'm wearing my copy-editor hat, the job that pays the bills, I spend a lot of time working with people in Chennai, India, who handle the textbook production process. They're terrific, hard-working folks and great colleagues. Tuesday, Nov. 13, was Diwali, the Festival of Lights, one of the biggest celebrations of the year, involving fireworks, new clothes and lots of sweets. I sent emails to all of my editors there, extending my best wishes for a happy day.
Well, the response I got was amazing: they were incredibly grateful that I even knew about Diwali, much less would take the time to send them greetings. It seems that sometimes we Americans are a bit less global-minded than we could be.

Closer to home: Christmas stamps are available at the post office. This year the designs are Joseph and Mary silhouetted against the Star of Bethlehem; Santa and his sleigh; and fancy cartoon ornaments. I went with the latter.

Orphan sign

Attention, Chester County Day people: there's still a directional sign left over from your October tour on the north side of Route 926, between the London Grove intersection and Newark Road. It's nailed kind of high up on a utility pole; that's probably why no one has retrieved it yet.

Scaling back

Congratulations to my gym friend Georgia for reaching her weight-loss goal of 30 pounds! She said it was a matter of following the Weight Watchers "points" plan, rethinking portion sizes and food choices, and coming to the gym faithfully and working out hard. She is celebrating by going on a cruise with her husband and said she intends to skip the all-you-can-eat buffet.

In the neighborhood

Roses to the nice people at Kennett Florist for sending my parents a lovely arrangement to welcome them to their new home! What a nice gesture! The senior Tally-hos report that they have gotten an extremely warm reception from the community: they've already attended a neighborhood get-together, and they've been recognized as "You're Tilda's parents!" not only by Kennett Florist but also at their new polling place, the township building, their breakfast spot, their bakery and numerous other shops and restaurants. They are learning that anonymity doesn't last long in Unionville.

First Tuesday

On the first Tuesday of each month, I cover the West Marlborough Township supervisors meeting.
Alas, also on the first Tuesday of each month, Penn Vet's New Bolton Center offers a veterinary lecture that's open to the public.
But because the township's November meeting was held a day earlier than usual due to the election, I got to attend the lecture, and I enjoyed it very much. It was all about headshaking syndrome, an unfortunate ailment that afflicts horses. The vet, Dr. Joy Tomlinson, did a great job explaining the pathology, the various treatments and the ongoing research.
I hope I'll be able to make it to another lecture at some point; the next one (Dec. 4) is "The Critically Ill Foal," given by Dr. Jonathan Palmer. Two friends of mine attend the talks regularly, considering them to be a valuable part of their continuing education for running a small farm.

Utilities

Our local gyms have certainly had problems recently! This morning (Nov. 14) I went to the Kennett Y for a core class, only to find when I got there that it was closed until noon because of an early-morning gas line problem. And the previous week, a water main break at the Jennersville Y shut down its operations for a day.
Our local Ys are also adding some new classes. I've been taking "HIIT," which stands for "High-Intensity Interval Training." It's a half-hour of fat-burning, heart-pounding pain, and it certainly takes your mind off the problems of the day: all you can think about is getting through the set. I recommend doing it on an empty stomach. Word is that the Y is going to start charging a fee for these extra classes, however ($25 for 10 classes), and this idea is going over with members about as well as you'd expect. (The Y's explanation for the extra fee is that enrollment in these classes is going to be restricted so that each athlete will get personal attention.)

Garden cleanup

What a glorious Sunday it was! It was sunny and fully 25 degrees warmer than the previous Sunday (about which you will read more later in this column.) I was outside playing tennis and then doing garden work, planting tulip bulbs, cutting down dead stalks, pulling up withered annuals and ripping out the lamium that if left unchecked would completely obliterate the garden. (If you're looking for something that grows -- nay, thrives -- near a black walnut, may I suggest lamium, a hardy and attractive groundcover.)
A Facebook friend commented that she was way behind schedule in doing her autumn yard work, but she had a very good excuse: she was hosting family members who were forced to leave their Long Beach Island home during and after Sandy's ravages. They were able to return home this past weekend.

Birthdays

Everyone's schedules were forced to coincide, and the family went out to dinner at Floga Bistro to celebrate the birthdays -- one of them a momentous round number -- of the senior Tally-hos.
What a nice meal! I had the chicken/lemon/egg soup to start, and then angel-hair pasta with oil, pecorino and lots of garlic ("lots" being the way I like it). The Young Relative had the Zuppa de Pesce, with shrimp, mussels, calamari and other seafood, and other members of the party enjoyed the baked ziti and several chicken dishes. (All of us but my father took home neatly boxed leftovers.) The restaurant is a BYO, and my brother and sis-in-law were kind enough to bring a very special Navarro Riesling.
The Young Relative was bemoaning the fact that he had school the next day when his father had the day off from work, the very reverse of how things should be. I told him I would phone one of the school district powers-that-be on his behalf and complain.
"Yeah, right. Have you ever even talked to him?" the Y.R. asked doubtfully.
"I have!" I boasted.
"Was it more than, like, FIVE SENTENCES?" the Y.R. continued, with a distinct (and fully deserved) measure of sarcasm.
Well .... no, I confessed.
Since when are schoolchildren taught to be so suspicious and to pounce on the pretension of their elders, I'd like to know! It must be all this critical thinking they're learning in our schools!