Interesting

I'm not at all sure what this says about the economy, but today I got an email telling me that my credit-card payment was overdue by one day. Before flying into a rage, I checked my paperwork, and sure enough they were correct: I had gathered the receipts and reconciled the account but unfortunately had omitted the critical step of actually forking over the money.
I immediately paid online and noticed that because of my tardiness I had been charged a $10 late fee. I called the company and threw myself on their mercy, pointing out that I had never before missed a payment.
The customer service person could not have been happier to remove the fee from my account. She even praised me for my "lovely" credit history and said it was perfectly understandable to be late with my payment with all the hustle-bustle of the holidays.
I got the feeling they were thrilled that someone was actually paying.

Reorganization

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires township boards to "reorganize" on the first Monday of each year, which means the West Marlborough Township supervisors will be meeting on Monday, Jan. 7, not on Tuesday as they usually do. At these meetings the board goes through various ceremonial formalities like setting the meeting schedule for the coming year and deciding which banks should get the township's business. But we'll also find out who the chairman of the board will be for 2013, so stay tuned!

Moth-eaten

(Disclaimer: This is NOT an item about a moth devouring a friend of Tilda's. The Young Relative thought it was, based on the title, and ended up more than a little disappointed and irritated.)
A Kennett pal of mine who leads something of a Bohemian life owns exactly one business suit, and he rarely wears it. But before a recent funeral, he unearthed it to take it to the dry cleaners. He spied some white spots around the trouser pockets and tried to brush them off, only to discover that they were, in fact, holes: a moth had gotten into the wool during the suit's lengthy stay in the closet.
He said that if the holes had been only in the back of the trousers, the jacket would have covered them and he could have gotten away with it. But no such luck: the moth had done a thorough job.
He ended up wearing brown trousers and a tweed jacket and said that even so attired, he was more dressed up than most of the mourners.

Gusts

It is so gusty this morning, I'm amazed that the hard-core bicyclists aren't being blown off the road. Wilmington Airport reported a wind speed of 52 knots and I received a text message from the weather forecasters urging me to "secure holiday decorations."
The tarp that is supposed to be covering my porch furniture is not doing so any longer, and I'm not even going to think about replacing it until the wind dies down a bit. A friend who lives in downtown Kennett said she found her porch furniture, still wrapped in its tarp, out in the yard against a tree.
A landowner up the road from me is storing his large boat outside for the season, and even the carefully applied white shrink-wrap that shrouds the hull is starting to peel off, and the shreds are flapping in the wind.
I'm told that even the increasingly fortified Schoolhouse Road Bunny was blown over. And this sign at the Londonderry/Penn Township border blew completely off its post and halfway across a field. 
An update: I wrote the earlier paragraphs before Christmas, but today (Dec. 27) is another windy day. The West Marlborough road crew spent its morning clearing four toppled-over trees that closed down West Road.

The heart of Unionville

The former tenants have vacated, and the new owner of the historic general-store building at the southeast corner of Route 82 and Wollaston Road (right across from Catherine's Restaurant) is starting to fix it up. The other day some workers were up on scaffolding fixing the stucco, and when I drove by today I saw a giant message near the the top of the east-side wall: "Love" with a heart below it. I couldn't tell if the workers added it or if they uncovered it.

The two Karens

Well, now I've gone and done it. In last week's column I mentioned that my friend Karen does not need to buy a 2013 Chester County calendar because I've gotten one for her as a Christmas present.
Trouble is, I forgot I have TWO friends named Karen, and they can both become quite belligerent when crossed. They go to the same physical therapy place, and there may well be a scene next time they're both there.
Perhaps they could share, and one could take the January through June pages and the other the second half of the year?
No. Not likely. Who am I kidding?

Rooftop

Last night I had dinner with some friends at the Half-Moon in Kennett, and that would not ordinarily be Tilda fodder except for the fact that we ate upstairs on the roof-top deck, and that was the first time I'd been up there in the wintertime. In the summer it's great: you can see all over town and the refreshing breezes blow in through the windows. But I discovered that in the winter it's really fun, too: it's dimly lit and it's like you're in a private club. And yes, it's very nicely heated.
Apologies to the staff: my friends and I hadn't seen each other in ages and I'm afraid we were the last to leave.

Wings of a gull

I was getting gas at the Giant gas station the other day and happened to look across Scarlett Road to the former Acme shopping center, where a woman was videotaping the cluster of seagulls in the parking lot. It IS kind of amusing to see them hanging out in that lot as if they own it, and I often see them circling over the SECCRA landfill on Route 926 as well.
I'm not sure what the woman did with her video. I checked Youtube ("Kennett" and "gull") and there was nothing.

At school

It would take a far better and more insightful writer than myself to evoke what it was like to attend the Young Relative's Winter Concert at his elementary school on Wednesday: the traditional songs and the new ones, the courage and talent of the kids who performed solos, the wide range of colorful clothing choices that the kids made, the musicians' proud smiles as the audience applauded.
And the flag in front of the school at half staff.  

On the cover

A click of the shutter to amazingly talented local photographer Jim Graham. His gorgeous photo of a sailboat off the coast of Nantucket graces the cover of the 2013 Nikon World calendar! (I didn't want to infringe on anybody's copyright by linking to it, but you can easily find it online.) You've probably seen Jim's editorial work and wedding photographs in local periodicals, and you can always count on him being in the thick of the action during foxhunts and steeplechases.

In the red

So I went to cash in my winning Powerball ticket the other day at the Giant supermarket. Yes! As I reported a few weeks back, one single solitary number (out of the three tickets that I bought) was a winner, earning me $4. The clerk at the lottery desk seemed confused when I said I wanted every single cent of it back and no, thank you, I did NOT want to use my winnings to buy more tickets.
I learned my lesson: The three tickets cost me $6. I got $4 back. That is no way to stay solvent. And please remind me of this the next time the jackpot tops, say, $500 million.

A great guy

How nice to see my old friend Bill Landmesser lunching at The Whip the other day! Bill is one of those invaluable behind-the-scenes volunteers who truly keep community groups humming -- including the Bayard Taylor Library, where he has done yeoman's duty on the Board of Trustees over the years.

Choco-fest!

I firmly believe the staff at the United Way of Southern Chester County sat down and said, "OK, folks. Time for some brainstorming. How can we get that Tilda Tally-ho woman to cover our fundraiser?"
Because here's what they are doing: they're hosting a Kennett Square Chocolate Lovers Festival on Saturday, Feb. 2, complete with a baking competition! Categories are cakes, cookies, candies, brownies and cupcakes, and entries are welcome from restaurants, bakeries, professionals, amateurs and students ages 12 and up. Talk about right up my alley: I love to bake, I love chocolate, and I'm told I have something of a competitive streak.
For entry forms and more information, go to www.unitedwayscc.org. Forms are due Jan. 25 and entries are to be submitted the morning of the event, which will be held at the Red Clay Room in Kennett Square. Judging is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; after that, the festival will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission will be $5 and will include six "tastings" of the goodies (50 cents for each additional tidbit).
Proceeds go to the local United Way, which funds local health and human service programs.

Incisive

This may be the only time I'll ever say this, and you may think that I have taken leave of my normally cranky senses, but here goes: I thought the latest direct-mail ad for Verizon cable TV was kind of clever. It shows a burly sword-bearing gladiator and says, "We're making some big cuts around here." And there's actually a little jagged slice through the paper!
But no matter how creative the ad or how low the price, I still don't want to sign up for Showtime, Starz or any other cable package, thank you very much.

Attention grabber

The other day I was eastbound on the Route 30 bypass and one of those great big, dolled-up, chrome-laden pickup trucks zipped past me. I noticed on his back window a decal saying "HornBlasters.com" and idly wondered what that meant.
I found out. A little farther down the road, traffic was being diverted into one lane and Mr. Hornblaster was forced to take his place behind my Honda SUV. He apparently didn't like this. He expressed it by honking his heralded horn.
I will let the HornBlasters website describe what ensued: "Ever heard a train sound its horn from a mile away? How about from up close? HornBlasters.com specializes in selling extremely loud train horn setups for just about any use. We have lots of specialized kits already perfected for use on trucks, cars, SUVs, boats, or just about any kind of vehicle imaginable. Does your truck have a bad-boy look but fall short with a wimpy horn? We have your perfect solution."
I can assure you that this is nothing short of truth in advertising. If I were you, I would give any vehicle bearing this decal a very wide berth. There is a reason why this company freely acknowledges: "Love us or hate us, we strive to be the best at what we do."

Value added

The last time I went to the chiropractor, she had her adorable newborn son sleeping in the next room.
When I stopped in on Wednesday, the patient before me had come straight from puppy-training class and had brought along Andy, her precious Shetland Sheepdog, who was frolicking in the waiting room. (The little guy has mastered "sit" but not yet "lie down.")
As we were sitting on the floor cuddling with Andy, I mentioned to the chiropractor that not only does she give a great adjustment, but she also provides in-office entertainment. How exactly did she hope to add value to my next visit?
"Forget it," she said. "There's no way I can top this."

Only words

In my gym class today was a woman wearing a T-shirt saying "Fun Fearless Female." I asked her if she was, in fact, fun and fearless.
"That's what it says," she replied. "But don't believe everything you read."

A really good gift idea

Hey! Here's an idea for you procrastinators! Why not give a gift subscription to the Kennett Paper? Your friend will get news stories, school news, editorials, columnists like Lisa, Duane and Caryl, entertaining letters to the editor, sports, events calendars, ads, really good coupons ... and of course "Unionville in the News" each week (she said, immodestly). I'm a big fan of local journalism -- I've subscribed to the Kennett Paper since 1988 -- and there's no better time to support it than now.
It's really easy to order online. I just ordered a subscription for two friends of mine who claim they don't have time to read the paper -- but then are delighted whenever I save up my back copies and pass them along. Now I'll just be cutting out the middle-woman!
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas to all my readers.

Modern love

While strolling through Anson Nixon Park on Saturday we spotted a young couple walking along holding hands, as couples young and old have done for countless generations. In their free hands, though, they were holding their phones, ready to check for emails, texts and Facebook updates.