Friday, March 22, 2013

Buy local

The little, old-fashioned, family-run stores are one of the (many) charms of our part of the world. The supermarket just doesn't compare.
-- Yesterday I picked up milk at Baily's Dairy at Pocopson Meadow and said hi to the quacking ducks and the rabbit as well. As always I also bought a pint of their delicious chocolate milk, and as always I had it completely finished by the time I hit Doe Run Road.
-- Nancy and Barbara, the Bakers at Red Lion, are up and running again after they got their Hobart mixer fixed. The ladies had to make a big white sign to post outside their shop at Folly Hill Road and Route 926 informing customers that the mixer was broken. No baps or bread for Tilda that weekend! (A heads up, though: they will not be baking over Easter weekend, so they can spend the holiday with their family.)
-- The Produce Place next to the Country Butcher on East Cypress Street was offering half-price smoothies for the first day of spring, so of course I stopped in and had a berry smoothie. I also noticed for the first time that they prepare beautiful and healthy party trays: fruits and vegetables, fruit kebabs, salads, wrap sandwiches and chocolate-covered fruit. What a great idea for the upcoming tailgating season!
-- And a few weeks ago I took a friend to visit Swarmbustin' Honey here in West Marlborough when she wanted to get some very local honey. We had an entertaining chat with Walt Broughton's son, an enthusiastic and knowledgeable fellow who told us all about what his three-banded Italian bees were doing.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Toasty

Our workout room this evening was so hot and humid that toward the end of class the windows were fogging up (it was a challenging class). The instructor went to open the door so she could let in some fresh air from the outside.
"No," stated one guy, simply but with such emphasis that she immediately changed her mind and walked back to her spot. He works construction and is as tough as a Roman centurion, but after being outside on a windy job site for eight hours in the barely-above-freezing temps, the tropical atmosphere was JUST FINE with him.

Gently used

The Unionville Presbyterian Church is having its annual spring consignment sale of children's clothing from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 13. Donors and consigners should bring their clothes (for newborns to age 10) to the church, 815 Wollaston Road, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 12. Proceeds benefit the church's Children's Ministry.
Speaking of the church, do you remember the item I wrote a few weeks ago about the woman who rocked a glorious red ball gown at the Longwood Rotary party? It turns out she was the church's pastor, Annalie Korengel Lorgus! Thanks to her Mom, Bonnie Korengel of the Kennett accounting firm Umbreit, Korengel & Associates, for helping me put two and two together.

Willowdale Steeplechase

Marketers have to think creatively these days, and the folks at the Willowdale Steeplechase are certainly rising to the challenge this year. They've dreamed up a great deal called "Shop Around Town Saturday": spend $100 or more at various local shops on April 20 and you'll score a free ticket ($25 value) to the 21st running of the Willowdale Races on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12. What perfect timing for someone looking for a smart race-day outfit or hat (or a Mother's Day present for that matter)!
The shops participating in "Shop Around Town Saturday" are these familiar names: 
  • Annie Prue (Glen Mills) 
  • Ashley Austin (Kennett Square)
  • The Enchanted Owl (Greenville, DE) 
  • Houpette (Greenville, DE) 
  • J.McLaughlin (Greenville, DE)
  • Outback Trading (Oxford, PA) 
  • Peter Kate (Greenville, DE) 
  • The Pink Turtle (Greenville, DE) 
  • Terrain at Styers (Glen Mills, PA) 
  • Tish Boutique (West Chester, PA) 
  • Trail Creek Outfitters (Glen Mills, PA) 
  • Two Sisters (Greenville, DE) 
  • Vignette (Kennett Square, PA) 
There's lots more information about the Willowdale Races on their website, willowdale.org. Willowdale is a particular favorite of mine as a spectator because you can see so much of the race course.

Martin's Tavern

Pretend you're heading east from Unionville toward West Chester on Route 842 (Unionville-Wawaset Road). Pass the Brandywine Valley Association. On the left is Iron Horse Farm, a big place way up on the hill that underwent major and very visible renovations a few years back. If you've ever wanted to see the inside of it, here's your chance, and for a good cause. The owners are hosting a fundraiser from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 20, to benefit Historic Martin's Tavern on Strasburg Road in Marshallton, with Italian food by David Cox of the Marshallton Inn, Italian music by the Heidi Starr ensemble and a silent auction. Tickets are $75 and the deadline is April 6. For more information: martinstavern.org or cmdprader@hotmail.com.

Side crow

The amazingly fit Sue Doll, a friend from the Kennett YMCA who is a yoga teacher and a personal trainer (www.suedollfitness.com), won an online contest sponsored by the website www.yogaposeweekly. Sue won for her "side crow" position, in which she is balanced on her hands, with her knees resting on one elbow. And she's even smiling! (The beautiful outdoor photo was shot by her neighbor Jordan Mizrahi, Unionville High School class of 2012.) Sue's prize: a book on yoga.

Star of Bethlehem

Keep an eye on the Ornithogalum ("Star of Bethlehem") that's sprouting along both sides of Street Road near New Bolton Center. Right now just the deep-green, grasslike leaves are showing (one slang name is "rubber grass"), but soon the pretty white flowers will be in bloom. I enjoy seeing how this perennial reappears along the road each spring in larger and larger, more widespread patches.

Music and more

On Sunday evening, I went to a lovely celebration at Longwood Gardens honoring Maestra Mary Woodmansee Green on her 25 years heading the Kennett Symphony of Chester County. During the reception in the Conservatory we lucky guests got to mingle, drink Champagne and munch on cheese-and-crackers.
After the cocktail hour there was a splendid 90-minute concert featuring musicians from the Symphony and guest artists performing everything from classical pieces, comic pieces, and show tunes to "Under the Sea," complete with steel drums. This was a surprise to me and to several others, who weren't expecting the pleasure of seeing a full-fledged show!
At the end of the program there were many nice tributes to the Maestra from past Symphony Board presidents and the current president, Paul Merluzzi.
A couple of social notes from the evening:
-- As always, it was great to see my old colleague Ed Fahey, former Kennett Square mayor. He was the Symphony's president from 1997 to 1999.
--  Harpist Janet Witman of Cochranville played in the background during the reception. I talked to Janet's husband Kevin, an amateur astronomer, who told me that TV meteorologist Cecily Tynan ran a photograph that he took of the PANSTARSS comet.
-- Some friends who are on the board of the Unionville Community Fair told me the happy news that the Willowdale Pro Rodeo will be returning for a third year in October.
-- I spotted a fellow guest whose name I completely butchered the last time I ran into him. I knew this was my chance to redeem myself. I discreetly pulled out my cell phone, Googled the municipal board I know he's a member of, confirmed his name and after the concert was able to greet him correctly. Phew! Social embarrassment averted for a change!

Button, button

Always current with my newspaper reading, I just learned that Kennett Square got a mention in the New York Times' "Dining & Wine" section back in January. The food writer, David Tanis, talks about how satisfying "ordinary white button mushrooms" can be and gives a recipe for a delicious-sounding mushroom side dish, Button Mushrooms a la Creme, with creme fraiche, butter and herbs (you can read it online). He writes that in America "most of the mushrooms are cultivated near Kennett Square in Chester County, Pa., where a Quaker farmer in the 1900s, having heard about the possibility of mushroom cultivation, sent for some European spores to try on his own farm. Now the state produces a mind-boggling 350 million pounds of mushrooms a year, roughly 65 percent of the nation's total."
Mr. Tanis also writes that "a modern-thinking Parisian chef I know even makes a very tasty ice cream with them." He needs to visit the La Michoacana ice-cream shop, where modern-thinking Kennett Square chefs have been making mushroom ice cream for years. 

Caveat emptor

I put out the word that a young friend is apartment-hunting, and a pal of mine in the real-estate business warned me about a scam that's rampant on the online listing service Craigslist. Apparently the scammers take real apartment listings and photos and advertise them with a much lower rent. Eager prospective tenants, thinking they've found a deal, share all of their personal and credit information before realizing they've been conned and probably had their identities stolen.
Buyer -- or in this case renter -- beware.

Crossing the bridge

I spent yesterday evening at the American Legion hall in Kennett Square, attending a special ceremony in which Cub Scouts "crossed the bridge" into Boy Scouting (the Young Relative was one of them). Each boy held up one of the wooden planks representing the Scouting ideals (excellent qualities like cheerful, reverent and thrifty), read its description out loud, and then placed it on the bridge frame that they would cross, with their beaming parents looking on. They were welcomed on the other side by Scouts from the Chadds Ford and Unionville troops, who shook their hands and helped them on with their new neckerchiefs. They were also issued Scout penknives and Scout handbooks.
Before the ceremony the boys competed in two contests: erecting and then tearing down a tent (it was obvious that the Boy Scout team had this down to a science), and launching paper airplanes through a hoop mounted atop a ladder (the leaders did no better than the boys). One boy's airplane almost took out an unsuspecting leader; I fear that boy may be facing some latrine duty.
The evening concluded with refreshments. There were two cakes, connected by a bridge, with each cake sporting a photo of the Webelos. One boy I talked to managed to get the piece of cake showing his own face; "it tasted weird," he said.

In case you don't have a Boy Scout in your household, Webelos is an acronym for "We'll Be Loyal Scouts."

Sunday, March 17, 2013

But Mr. Pamuk is still dead

Everyone else watched the "Downton Abbey" finale weeks ago, but in my usual behind-the-times fashion I just watched it last night. Although I knew what was coming (the Facebook chatter was unavoidable), the show is so engrossing that I still was stunned by the ending. As if losing Lady Sybil in childbirth wasn't enough of a tragedy for one season! Just heart-wrenching! (And a needed reminder that times were a LOT harder 100 years ago.)
May I offer my thoughts for Season 4?
1. The scheming O'Brien jumps ship and goes to Bombay to be lady's maid for Shrimpy's wife (played by Phoebe "Cordelia" Nicholls of "Brideshead Revisited" fame, did you notice?).
2. Lady Edith's editor turns out to be lying about his insane wife whom he can't divorce (I don't trust him).
3. Please, no, don't match up Tom Branson and Lady Mary, as tempting and symmetrical as it might be. Fine, their kids can be in pony club together, but that's it.
4. Somehow we find out that Bates actually DID kill the vile Vera.
5. Wedding bells for Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes?


David Culp's Brandywine Cottage

Well-known Chester County gardener David Culp is going to be one of the featured speakers at the Pennsylvania Garden Club Convention in King of Prussia, which will run from April 21 through 23. He'll be speaking about his book, "The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage," leading a tour of the very same Brandywine Cottage (located near Downingtown), and giving a workshop on hellebores.

Also on the convention's agenda: a tour of "WynEden," the Chadds Ford garden of Wayne and Doris Guymon; a presentation by Kika Shibata, Sogetsu Regional Director of North America, on “Harmony With Fresh and Unconventional Materials;" a luncheon program by Frances Thrash on "The Simple Joys of Flower Arranging”; and additional plant workshops by Dave Guleke (daylilies), Wayne Guymon (spring ephemerals), and Eleanor Tickner (peonies).
For more details and to register (you don't need to belong to a garden club), visit www.pagardenclubs.org  and click on “2013 GCFP Convention.” Reservations close March 29 -- and you can bet that some of these events will sell out quickly (I noticed that the April 27 trip that Longwood Gardens is running to Culp's garden is already waiting list only). The convention will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, 301 West DeKalb Pike, King of Prussia.
Thank you to Laurie Taylor of the Spade & Trowel Garden Club for sharing this news.

Pope Francis I

What was the reaction to the new Pope from local Roman Catholics on the first Sunday of his papacy? I asked a friend who's a member of St. Patrick's in Kennett, and his reply arrived promptly after Mass:
"As appropriate, it happened in threes.
 1. The first mention of Pope Francis I this Sunday was during the "Prayer of the Faithful" when Deacon Madonna asked that we pray for Pope Francis's leadership.
2. Many people may not have noticed that for the last few weeks during the Eucharistic Prayer, the highest point in the mass, a Holy Father's name has not been mentioned. That void has now been filled.
3. Father Sharrett first said that he personally took offense to those that may think the new Pope is "too old", knowing the new Pope has been chosen, not by age, but for his humility and piety. He then shared a story showing the new Pope's sense of humor. During one of the Pope's first dinners with the college of cardinals he exclaimed, "May God forgive you for what you have done."