The other day I made my first trip of the season to the La Michoacana ice-cream shop on State Street in Kennett. After I ordered, I went up to the owner, Noelia, to pay.
She looked at my dish with disbelief.
"But it's not coffee!" she said. (She knows from long experience that's my favorite.)
I held up my dish and showed her that the coffee ice cream was indeed there, just hiding under the brownie delight ice cream. So very tasty!
And in other frozen-concoction news, there's a front porch being built at the future ice-cream parlor in downtown Unionville, and I spotted a classified ad looking for a shop manager. (But no word on whether a croquet league is being formed.)
Saturday, June 1, 2013
On tour
I just got home from the Bayard Taylor Library's annual Home & Garden Day and, as always, I had a great time. I volunteered for a few hours at one of the sites and had fun schmoozing to my heart's content. During my time off I got to visit two Unionville homes that have recently undergone major updates: Brooklawn (the Hannum estate) and Upland House (where horsewoman Betty Bird lived for many years). Both have been beautifully redone and were filled with family and equestrian memorabilia. I loved seeing the famous painting of Mrs. Hannum on her horse surrounded by her beloved foxhounds and, at Upland House, a stunning portrait of the current owner's grandmother as a young girl.
Mrs. Hannum's grand-daughter, Nancy Davidson Wood, was on hand at Brooklawn, which is now her family's home, and when I was there visitors were keeping her busy explaining various Stewart, Harriman and Hannum connections. One guest asked her to explain the purpose of an inches-wide door on the side of the dining room fireplace. A plate warmer? The liquor cabinet? She opened it to show that it concealed nothing more exotic than some pipework.
Despite predictions of stifling heat and thunderstorms, the temperature was in the mid-80s and there was a slight breeze that kept the day comfortable (except for possibly the second floor of the house where I was volunteering). The gardens were lovely, full of irises and peonies.
This year I noticed a lot more men on the tour; usually groups of ladies make up the majority of the guests. The hostess at one house offered a plausible explanation for this phenomenon: both Lou Mandich's Last Chance Garage and Doug Mooberry's Kinloch Woodworking were kind enough to open their doors to visitors.
A highlight of the tour is always the food. At the houses I visited I got to sample The Mushroom Cap's mushroom salad (and had a nice time chatting with owner Kathi Lafferty), the Kennett Square Inn's tomato flour tortillas with tapenade, and biscotti from Sinclair's Sunrise Café. A friend raved about the portabella cheesesteak from Portabella’s and the homemade raviolis from La Verona and predicted that "anyone not familiar with those restaurants" would "book reservations immediately!"
Having served on the library's Special Events Committee for many years, I know all the hard work and endless tiny details that go into pulling together this tour. Very impressive indeed!
Mrs. Hannum's grand-daughter, Nancy Davidson Wood, was on hand at Brooklawn, which is now her family's home, and when I was there visitors were keeping her busy explaining various Stewart, Harriman and Hannum connections. One guest asked her to explain the purpose of an inches-wide door on the side of the dining room fireplace. A plate warmer? The liquor cabinet? She opened it to show that it concealed nothing more exotic than some pipework.
Despite predictions of stifling heat and thunderstorms, the temperature was in the mid-80s and there was a slight breeze that kept the day comfortable (except for possibly the second floor of the house where I was volunteering). The gardens were lovely, full of irises and peonies.
This year I noticed a lot more men on the tour; usually groups of ladies make up the majority of the guests. The hostess at one house offered a plausible explanation for this phenomenon: both Lou Mandich's Last Chance Garage and Doug Mooberry's Kinloch Woodworking were kind enough to open their doors to visitors.
A highlight of the tour is always the food. At the houses I visited I got to sample The Mushroom Cap's mushroom salad (and had a nice time chatting with owner Kathi Lafferty), the Kennett Square Inn's tomato flour tortillas with tapenade, and biscotti from Sinclair's Sunrise Café. A friend raved about the portabella cheesesteak from Portabella’s and the homemade raviolis from La Verona and predicted that "anyone not familiar with those restaurants" would "book reservations immediately!"
Having served on the library's Special Events Committee for many years, I know all the hard work and endless tiny details that go into pulling together this tour. Very impressive indeed!
Cheeses
What a nice story about Doe Run Farm's cheese in the latest "Wine Spectator" magazine! A reader alerted me to it last week, and I finally got hold of a copy thanks to my hairdresser, who among her many talents keeps a wide variety of periodicals on hand for her equally varied clientele.
The writer, contributing editor Sam Cugino, visited Richard Hayne's West Marlborough farm and interviewed cheesemaker Kristian Holbrook and his wife Haesel. There's a photo (by Wilmington's Jim Graham!) of Kristian with some of his Jersey cows, with the Hicks Road barn in the background.
Cugino was impressed by how labor-intensive farming is: "In the five hours I observed him, Holbrook not only didn't sit, he rarely stopped moving." He also sampled several cheeses, describing Seven Sisters as "nutty and sweet" with "a caramelized, butterscotch quality"; St. Malachi as "unctuous" and "earthy"; and Hummingbird as having "a nice minerality."
The writer, contributing editor Sam Cugino, visited Richard Hayne's West Marlborough farm and interviewed cheesemaker Kristian Holbrook and his wife Haesel. There's a photo (by Wilmington's Jim Graham!) of Kristian with some of his Jersey cows, with the Hicks Road barn in the background.
Cugino was impressed by how labor-intensive farming is: "In the five hours I observed him, Holbrook not only didn't sit, he rarely stopped moving." He also sampled several cheeses, describing Seven Sisters as "nutty and sweet" with "a caramelized, butterscotch quality"; St. Malachi as "unctuous" and "earthy"; and Hummingbird as having "a nice minerality."
Something in the air
An allergy-prone friend is singing the praises of the antihistamine Zyrtec. Without it, he said, his eyes would be itchy and irritated and he'd be sneezing constantly at this time of the year, when the multiflora rose is in bloom. Knock on wood, I'm not allergic, but I'm certainly aware of the multiflora rose anyway: it leaves a coating of yellow pollen all over the place, including my deck, the windowsills, and inside and outside my car. I keep a Swiffer cloth in the car to wipe off the dashboard every day.
I find the multiflora rose scent bordering on cloying, but it was ambrosial compared to the thick cigarette smoke that filled a Honey Brook bar where I saw a friend's band perform on Friday night. As soon as we walked in the door my friends and I were struck by the overpowering smell and thought: Wait a minute! Isn't smoking in bars supposed to be illegal? Apparently not: the large ashtrays on the bar were heaped with butts, and one of the rules posted next to the three coin-operated pool tables was "No smoking over the table." ("No moving the tables" was another one; I can only imagine what misadventure led to that rule being established.)
As we were leaving, we saw one young woman standing outside lighting up. "I guess it's too smoky for her inside," quipped a friend.
As soon as I got home I dumped my clothes in the washing machine. I also checked the Pennsylvania Department of Health's website and found that, sure enough, the place has an approved exemption from the state's "Clean Indoor Air Act."
I find the multiflora rose scent bordering on cloying, but it was ambrosial compared to the thick cigarette smoke that filled a Honey Brook bar where I saw a friend's band perform on Friday night. As soon as we walked in the door my friends and I were struck by the overpowering smell and thought: Wait a minute! Isn't smoking in bars supposed to be illegal? Apparently not: the large ashtrays on the bar were heaped with butts, and one of the rules posted next to the three coin-operated pool tables was "No smoking over the table." ("No moving the tables" was another one; I can only imagine what misadventure led to that rule being established.)
As we were leaving, we saw one young woman standing outside lighting up. "I guess it's too smoky for her inside," quipped a friend.
As soon as I got home I dumped my clothes in the washing machine. I also checked the Pennsylvania Department of Health's website and found that, sure enough, the place has an approved exemption from the state's "Clean Indoor Air Act."
Friday, May 31, 2013
The Squire
I usually see a neighbor of mine only when he is immaculately groomed and wearing an impeccably tailored business suit, often with a pocket square. So what a delightful novelty it was to spot him out in the field wearing a straw hat and jeans and tinkering with some farm equipment. Of course, he was still talking on his cell phone; being off-duty has its limits, after all.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
In the rough
This evening I was watching the Young Relative play baseball at the URA fields when a player tipped a foul ball over the backstop. It landed in a marshy area thickly populated with jungle-sized weeds. Two adventurous boys scampered out of the dugout and plunged into the vegetation, immediately disappearing from view. Less than a minute later they re-appeared, one of them triumphantly carrying the ball.
"Look at that!" I marveled. "They found the ball!"
"Well," my always-precise brother commented, "They found A ball."
And there are certainly some sluggers playing at the KAU fields off Route 82! On Sunday, while walking along the trail that borders the outfield, a friend and I found four baseballs sitting outside the fence that had not been there a few days earlier.
"Look at that!" I marveled. "They found the ball!"
"Well," my always-precise brother commented, "They found A ball."
And there are certainly some sluggers playing at the KAU fields off Route 82! On Sunday, while walking along the trail that borders the outfield, a friend and I found four baseballs sitting outside the fence that had not been there a few days earlier.
New Master
West Marlborough resident Anne Moran is the new Master of Foxhounds for Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds; she joins Masters Michael Ledyard and Sanna Hendricks. "The Board of the Cheshire Hunt Conservancy is excited by Anne's willingness to
serve and look forward to her commitment to the Hunt," said CHC president Bill Wylie in an email on May 30.
Curiosity
My mother was distressed to learn that some landscaping work at their home would be done while they were away for a few days.
I was puzzled by this, and suggested that it might be nice to come home and have the work all done.
"But, Tilda," she said, "You know me. I want to be there and watch and ASK QUESTIONS!"
We were on the phone, but I am fairly certain my long-suffering father slowly shook his head at this point.
I was puzzled by this, and suggested that it might be nice to come home and have the work all done.
"But, Tilda," she said, "You know me. I want to be there and watch and ASK QUESTIONS!"
We were on the phone, but I am fairly certain my long-suffering father slowly shook his head at this point.
Honors
Exuberantly proud grandfather Robert Garrett of Unionville just e-mailed me (uvilleblogger@gmail.com) to say that one of his grandchildren is on the Dean's List at Lyndon State Community College in Vermont, another is on the Freshman's Honor's List at Virginia Tech and a third just graduated from West Point! Bob (who is a member of the "Grateful Alive" Seniors' Band) also suggested that "maybe some other proud grandparents in our area would like to boast about their "Dean's List" grandchildren in your column."
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Asking for trouble
Anyone in Unionville's horse world could have predicted that this photo shoot would have been challenging.
According to a recent "Wall Street Journal" review of a British exhibition by fashion photographer Tim Walker:
"In a 2009 image taken on the rolling hills of Northumberland, near Scotland, three huntsmen in scarlet coats guide their horses over a dilapidated fence, above which a giant UFO hovers. A pack of nine hounds bound along beside the riders. It took hours to get the right shot, says Mr. Walker, because the horses -- accustomed to chasing foxes, not aliens -- had to learn to tolerate the shiny silver object suspended on poles hidden in the picture. Even with all the practice, one horse hid behind the UFO in the shot, while another spooked at the fence."
According to a recent "Wall Street Journal" review of a British exhibition by fashion photographer Tim Walker:
"In a 2009 image taken on the rolling hills of Northumberland, near Scotland, three huntsmen in scarlet coats guide their horses over a dilapidated fence, above which a giant UFO hovers. A pack of nine hounds bound along beside the riders. It took hours to get the right shot, says Mr. Walker, because the horses -- accustomed to chasing foxes, not aliens -- had to learn to tolerate the shiny silver object suspended on poles hidden in the picture. Even with all the practice, one horse hid behind the UFO in the shot, while another spooked at the fence."
Monday, May 27, 2013
Memorial Day
When I was a cub reporter, covering the lackluster local parades was anything but a plum assignment and inevitably fell to the most junior staff member, ideally an intern.
Obviously, I didn't work in Kennett Square. This year's Memorial Day parade was incredibly entertaining and, I believe, the best parade I've ever seen. Veterans, dignitaries, Mummers, tractors, antique cars, marching bands, fire trucks, military equipment, church groups, politicians, sports cars, the Batmobile, Little Leaguers, Scouts, martial artists, cyclists of all varieties (uni, motor, and penny-farthing), gymnasts, military re-enactors, bagpipers, schoolkids, folk dancers, a Chinese dragon, musicians, service clubs, Hood's BBQ ... it went on for two full hours, followed by a 21-gun salute at Union Hill Cemetery honoring those who gave their lives for their country. The weather was perfect and the crowd was large; I'm told that spectators were three or four deep in some spots on the sidewalk, and one woman near us said she had come all the way from Rising Sun, Maryland.
The friends I went with are avid parade-goers, to put it mildly, and throughout the morning people were complimenting them on their over-the-top patriotic headgear. We had a complete blast cheering and hooting and waving our flags.
Huge congratulations to the parade organizers for pulling off a classic small-town parade! Fantastic job.
Obviously, I didn't work in Kennett Square. This year's Memorial Day parade was incredibly entertaining and, I believe, the best parade I've ever seen. Veterans, dignitaries, Mummers, tractors, antique cars, marching bands, fire trucks, military equipment, church groups, politicians, sports cars, the Batmobile, Little Leaguers, Scouts, martial artists, cyclists of all varieties (uni, motor, and penny-farthing), gymnasts, military re-enactors, bagpipers, schoolkids, folk dancers, a Chinese dragon, musicians, service clubs, Hood's BBQ ... it went on for two full hours, followed by a 21-gun salute at Union Hill Cemetery honoring those who gave their lives for their country. The weather was perfect and the crowd was large; I'm told that spectators were three or four deep in some spots on the sidewalk, and one woman near us said she had come all the way from Rising Sun, Maryland.
The friends I went with are avid parade-goers, to put it mildly, and throughout the morning people were complimenting them on their over-the-top patriotic headgear. We had a complete blast cheering and hooting and waving our flags.
Huge congratulations to the parade organizers for pulling off a classic small-town parade! Fantastic job.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Polliwogs
These newly hatched tadpoles will soon be sprouting legs on their way to becoming froglets. I spotted these little fellows sunning themselves in the shallow water of a tributary to the Doe Run.
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