KENNETT SQUARE: Liberty Place

For this columnist and her significant other, it is never too cold for ice cream.
After enjoying a Buddy Burger at the Liberty Place Market for dinner on Jan. 10 (I had the Thai ground turkey Buddy), we walked over to Dylan's Desserts, which is farther back in the marketplace. A sign announced they had a new flavor of Woodside Creamery ice cream, "ginger snap," and I ordered it. Oh my gosh: so incredibly delicious, with lots of ginger and cinnamon. Highly recommended!
The marketplace was hopping that evening, as a local business networking group had gathered there for a meet-and-greet. You could spot them by their nametags and youthful enthusiasm.

EAST MARLBOROUGH: Repurposing

If you still have your Christmas tree hanging around, you can dispose of it at Plantation Field, just inside the gate off Green Valley Road. I dropped mine off on Jan. 11 and there were already four or five trees there. The crew building the jumps for the 72nd running of the Cheshire Point-to-Point Races (Sunday, March 25) will make good use of them.

AVONDALE: Health food store closing

Avondale Natural Foods, 122 Pennsylvania Ave., announced on Jan. 12 that it will be closing down on Jan. 26. In an attempt to clear the shelves, starting Jan. 15 everything will be half-price. The store's hours will be Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

EAST MARLBOROUGH: Lily goes walkabout

Need a dose of good news? Read on.
The morning of Jan. 3, Lily, an 8-month-old German Shepherd/hound mix puppy, pulled the leash out of her owner Eric Figueroa's hand outside the Willowdale Vet Center and ran off. A frantic search by Eric and his wife Kelly ensued, aided by social media, and the next afternoon Eric found her alive and well. Here is Kelly's account:

"After several hours out searching today, Eric and I assumed that if we could not find her by dark, she would be gone with the dropping temps coming. He asked if we could circle back to the vet one more time before heading home to check in with the vets and SPCA again.

I stayed in the car with the kids and Eric came running back to the car and told me he found her! She was stuck in between a chicken wire fence and a shed in a thick patch of a bamboo. When he handed her out to me, I couldn’t believe that her belly was still warm and she responded to my touch right away. After a quick trip to the vet to have her checked, she had a normal temp and seems scared, but is just fine.

Although this crazy 30-hour ordeal has been exhausting and awful for my family, I cannot imagine or even begin to explain the amount of help, support, prayers and constant check-ins from our family, friends and this FANTASTIC community. I’ve always loved this little place I call home, but today more than ever, I know that I have chosen the most perfect place to live, teach and raise my kids. The number of people who were willing to do anything to help us find Lily is nothing short of amazing.

Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts. We are FOREVER grateful for your help, searching, advice, calls, texts and prayers. You have no idea how much it means to us. We love you!" 

KENNETT SQUARE: A new chef

The new owners of La Madera Bistro on State Street have announced that their chef will be Scott Morozin, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who since autumn 2016 has been the executive chef at Soya BYOB in Bryn Mawr. They hope to reopen the restaurant soon, with a new menu. (As I wrote in last week's column, La Madera Bistro shut its doors at the beginning of 2018.)

WEST MARLBOROUGH: London Grove Kindergarten

London Grove Friends Kindergarten is holding an open house from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21.
"London Grove offers both preschool and kindergarten options with our morning and afternoon Little Acorns Preschool classes, Half-day Kindergarten, Full-day Kindergarten, and Enrichment programs. We will be giving tours, chatting about our program, and meeting new friends. Everyone is welcome. Space is limited, so don't miss out! Refreshments will be provided."
The kindergarten is located at London Grove Friends Meetinghouse at the corner of Newark Road and Street Road (Route 926) in the village of London Grove.

LEARNING: Great Courses

Perhaps you, too, are on the mailing list for "The Great Courses," an extensive catalog of learn-at-home college classes on everything from calculus to Japan to crafting better sentences. Always up for some self-improvement, I was paging through the catalog and noticed a testimonial from Kennett Square resident Roy Wetterholt, reporting that the course he took helped "keep my mind sharp and my knowledge fresh."
Always curious, I Googled him in hopes of emailing him and finding out which course he had taken -- only to learn that he had passed away in the spring of 2017. Would anyone who knows his family members let them know of his posthumous fame? Perhaps they will enjoy seeing his name in print.
Two local professors who give these courses include Sharon Latchaw Hirsh, the president of Rosemont College ("How to Look at and Understand Great Art"), and Kevin Flanigan of West Chester University ("Building a Better Vocabulary").