This coming weekend is the Plantation Field International Horse Trials, where you can watch some of the best riders and horses in the world (literally!), as well as rising stars, compete in the three phases of cross-country, stadium jumping and dressage.
Plantation Field is always a lot of fun for spectators, and there's plenty of food and shopping as well. I never miss it.
On Thursday, Sept. 20, and Friday, Sept. 21, the dressage competition will be held all day. Saturday is two- and three-star (the more advanced levels) show jumping from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and one-star cross-country in the morning. Sunday is two- and three-star cross-country starting at 8:30 a.m. and one-star show jumping.
Admission is free on both Thursday and Friday and $20 per car on Saturday and Sunday.
There is lots more information and a detailed schedule of all the events on www.plantationfieldinternational.com.
My friend Karen, an energetic supporter of Girl Scouting, asked me to mention that the Scouts will be having two introductory sessions about their programs.
For kindergartners and first graders, there will be a "Daisy Peek-a-Boo" from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, at Mary D. Lang Kindergarten Center, 130 W. Mulberry St., Kennett Square. Girls will be able to earn their first "petal," led by older scouts. There will be an information session for the parents. RSVP: rosaleewortmann@comcast.net or 302-690-2367.
For girls in all grades and their parents, an information event will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the Church of the Advent, 401 N. Union St., Kennett Square. There will be activities for the girls while parents learn about scouting. RSVP: bvsu610.registrar@gmail.com or 484-475-4996.
And on Sunday, Sept. 30 there will be a Girl Scout Extravaganza, with "campfires, s'mores,
geocaching, hiking, the Chester County Astronomical Society, Winterthur,
compass use and much more as we work on our Get Outdoors Challenge
Badge." Contact Karen D'Agusto at kdagusto@aol.com.
Twelves, our favorite special-occasion restaurant, has changed ownership but nothing else: the food is still exquisite, the atmosphere low-key and relaxing and the service friendly and top-notch.
We had dinner there in early September, and I ordered the salmon and shrimp instead of my usual crab cakes. It was beautiful and so delicious that I was reduced to speechlessness. The couscous may have been the best I've ever eaten. For dessert Dearest Partner had vanilla ice cream with strawberries; I had walnut pound cake with grilled peaches and ice cream.
The new owners are Knute and Bernadette Mellon of West Grove, who bought the restaurant in July from Tim and Kristin Smith. Tim remains as executive chef. Twelves is at 10 Exchange Place in downtown West Grove.
I want to mention the wonderful, peaceful work space that the Presbyterian Church of Kennett Square, 211 S. Broad St., provides on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for freelancers like myself. The space offers a good Wifi connection, tables, hard chairs, soft furniture, coffee (excellent, and with real milk!), and tea bags and hot water.
I had a proofreading project to work on the other day (a book about kids with Internet gaming problems) and spent two hours there with my special proofreading pen (blue Pentel Needle Tip). Thank you to Andrew Smith (the pastor) and the church for providing a "third space."
The proofing project was a book on how to handle teens who spend too much time playing Internet video games. I was amazed to learn that some kids get so sucked into these online games that they can actually game for six hours straight! The author suggests a three-step plan: Record how many hours they are actually playing; Replace the gaming with other activities; and Reward the youth for not playing.
We went out for a family dinner the other night, mostly because we like and amuse each other.
We heard about the Young Relative's first few days of school, and this year has all the hallmarks of a classic one: a know-it-all teacher with whom the Y.R. has already tangled; a parking lot controversy; an early-season sports win; and an impressive-sounding history teacher who is challenging his students' assumptions about what it means to be an American.
Of course, going out to dinner is not the same since our parents died last year, and our memories of them are never more vivid than when we're all together at a restaurant. Dad would always give the waiter or waitress a hearty greeting (I can hear him now saying, "All the better for seeing you!") and would take charge of the whole ordering process. He never loved it more than when a fellow diner stopped by the table and said something nice about one of his kids. At the end of the meal, Dad would insist on grabbing the check: "Dad pays," he would say, and we learned it was pointless to argue.
My mother, who had boundless curiosity, would have interrogated the Young Relative on every aspect of the new school year, his teachers, his athletic pursuits, whether he is getting more sleep now that school is starting later, and how exactly this lottery system for parking is supposed to work.
My dental hygienist is not only gentle with the pointed tools of her trade but also an excellent storyteller. When I was in her chair the other day, she was telling me about her so far futile attempts to book a discount flight to New Orleans.
Her hopes were stymied when the customer service agent informed her that her desired dates were blacked out, and anyway the hoped-for discount applied only to passengers with "Gold" and "Silver" status; she, the woman pointed out, had only "Blue" status.
At one point in her repeated calls, my friend was making small talk and asked the agent where she was from.
"New York," the woman answered.
"Oh, Manhattan?" my friend asked.
"No, Queens!" replied the outraged agent, offended that the customer hadn't recognized her distinctive accent.
My friend said she wanted to respond, "What am I, Professor Henry Higgins?" but "I figured she wouldn't know what I was talking about."
In a (licorice) twist of fate, the former candy store in the Jennersville Shopping Center is being turned into a Snap Fitness, one of those 24/7 gyms where you can work out on your own schedule.
Congratulations to Nathan Ganti, who for his Eagle Scout project created a landscaped garden area with a flag pole in the middle of it next to Newlin Township's maintenance garage in Embreeville. Nathan designed, planned, coordinated and did most of the work himself, along with help from his family and other scouts.
In a ceremony on Labor Day morning he raised the American flag on the new pole the first time. I'm told that representatives were present from the three fire companies that serve the township (Po-Mar-Lin, West Bradford and Modena), and Supervisor William Kelsall spoke on behalf of township residents.
John O'Neal of Embreeville donated the pole, which has a solar-powered light to keep the flag illuminated.
Two examples of "How not to succeed in business" happened to us this past weekend.
Anticipating that Restaurant X would be especially busy with Mushroom Fest visitors, we called to make dinner reservations.
"Hello?" answered the guy who picked up the phone.
Not "Hello, Restaurant X," much less, "Hello, Restaurant X. My name is James. How can I help you?"
Taken aback, I asked if I had in fact reached Restaurant X.
"Yes," he replied (an employee of few words, apparently). I was surprised when we got to the place and they actually did have our reservation.
The next day we were having brunch at a little Lancaster County place that was overwhelmed with Sunday morning customers. Sipping our coffee, we waited and waited for our food, and finally a waiter came by and asked if we wanted "anything else."
Anything else? Confused and on the border of hunger-induced crankiness, we told him that we just wanted what we ordered a half-hour ago.
A nice and apologetic person in charge came by and told us that our order had fallen off the bottom of the screen and would be out in 5 or 10 minutes. He gave us a free slice of peanut butter pie in recompense.
