A Unionville friend -- the one with the new knee -- got a call out of the blue from a friend and former boss, offering her a discount week at a timeshare in midtown Manhattan. My friend, an avid traveler just back from the Grand Canyon, jumped at the chance and headed north with her daughter.
They had a splendid time and perfect weather: they walked in Central Park (did I know, she asked, that there is a Literary Walk there?), visited and were deeply moved by the 9/11 Memorial, studied Egyptology at the Met, took a double-decker bus tour around town, and saw "Spiderman" and "Wicked" on Broadway. She loved the High Line, the linear park on what used to be an elevated railway.
She enjoyed the fact that cabs now take credit cards and admired the "sophisticated suits" on the businessmen; the women "all were wearing very high heels," she said, holding her fingers a few inches apart to indicate the heel height.
What she didn't like was the lines and the crowds: "it was just a little claustrophobic." As soon as they saw the long lines for discount theater tickets, they decided just to ask their concierge to get the tickets for them. Walking on the jammed sidewalks "was like running a gauntlet," especially since she still has to be cautious on curbs and steps with the new knee.
She said that although they had a great week, "we agreed we are glad we live in the country."
Saturday, May 4, 2013
First editions
My book-collector pals probably won't be pleased that I'm publicizing this: but there's going to be a really interesting auction at 816 Newhall Road, East Marlborough, on Thursday, May 23 (preview is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 11). On the auction block will be some Bayard Taylor first editions, an 1883 Chester County atlas and "a large collection of vintage books from personal library," according to the auction notice. The brick ranch house and lot are being sold at noon; the sale of contents starts at 10 a.m. The auctioneer is Morphy Auctions, www.morphyauctions.com.
Fish tacos
I ran into my dear friend (and loyal reader) Doug at La Pena Mexicana on Saturday night, and he didn't even have to tell the waitress what he wanted: she knew he'd order the fish tacos "with everything." I decided to try it myself -- and I now have a new favorite. Tilapia, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce and avocado on corn tortillas, with rice and green salsa -- for seven dollars? Seriously, what's not to like?
La Pena is at 609 West Cypress Street in Kennett Square.
La Pena is at 609 West Cypress Street in Kennett Square.
Speechless
In what I can only interpret as one of the weirdest pickup lines ever, the middle-aged fellow next to me caught a glimpse of the photo that serves as the "home screen" of my phone. It depicts one of the beautiful unpaved roads here in West Marlborough.
"So," he asked, "are you a bowhunter?"
Motivation
At a family dinner at the Half-Moon, the Tally-ho patriarch announced, perhaps unwisely, that his doctor had ordered him to lose 15 pounds in the next three months. How, he asked, was he ever going to do this?
My brother the engineer sensibly suggested a combination of decreased intake and increased exercise; he calculated the required caloric balance. I suggested frequent walks at Longwood Gardens. The Young Relative suggested that I include a box in each week's "Unionville in the News" entitled "Diet Progress." (I rejected this idea after my father started muttering something that sounded a lot like "you wanna be disowned?")
So, readers, help me out here. If you see my father at a restaurant, go up to his table and inspect his plate. Do not be afraid to denounce him publicly if you see him eating dessert. Waitresses, monitor his orders ("It's for your own good, Mr. Tally-ho"). Praise him if you see him walking at Longwood and ask intrusive questions about the regularity of his exercise.
Trust me, he'll appreciate it.
(The doctor also suggested that he might think about hiring someone to do tasks like cutting down trees instead of doing it himself. But as my father would say, "From the movie `Fat Chance.'")
My brother the engineer sensibly suggested a combination of decreased intake and increased exercise; he calculated the required caloric balance. I suggested frequent walks at Longwood Gardens. The Young Relative suggested that I include a box in each week's "Unionville in the News" entitled "Diet Progress." (I rejected this idea after my father started muttering something that sounded a lot like "you wanna be disowned?")
So, readers, help me out here. If you see my father at a restaurant, go up to his table and inspect his plate. Do not be afraid to denounce him publicly if you see him eating dessert. Waitresses, monitor his orders ("It's for your own good, Mr. Tally-ho"). Praise him if you see him walking at Longwood and ask intrusive questions about the regularity of his exercise.
Trust me, he'll appreciate it.
(The doctor also suggested that he might think about hiring someone to do tasks like cutting down trees instead of doing it himself. But as my father would say, "From the movie `Fat Chance.'")
Friday, May 3, 2013
Universal
Tired of making small talk about the weather and the Phillies? Don't want to risk bringing up gun control, gay marriage or the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors? In the past week I've found two new, safe and fairly universal topics of discussion: curtains and drainage problems.
I've been putting up new curtains (three visits to Lowe's so far) and, when telling family and friends about my choices, I was surprised to find that almost everyone has a window-treatment story to share. After all, you have to make lots of decisions about colors, fabrics, styles, hardware -- they fill up two whole aisles at Lowe's! You should have seen my friend Karen's eyes light up when I mentioned my new cordless honeycomb blinds.
Same things with drainage problems: who doesn't like to talk about their plumber and the vagaries of their plumbing setup? You have to have the lingo for it, though, or else your conversation will consist of vague references to "that thingie that comes out of the garbage disposal" or "those round PVC jobbies."
I've been putting up new curtains (three visits to Lowe's so far) and, when telling family and friends about my choices, I was surprised to find that almost everyone has a window-treatment story to share. After all, you have to make lots of decisions about colors, fabrics, styles, hardware -- they fill up two whole aisles at Lowe's! You should have seen my friend Karen's eyes light up when I mentioned my new cordless honeycomb blinds.
Same things with drainage problems: who doesn't like to talk about their plumber and the vagaries of their plumbing setup? You have to have the lingo for it, though, or else your conversation will consist of vague references to "that thingie that comes out of the garbage disposal" or "those round PVC jobbies."
Growin' up
In a few weeks a young woman I know is going to be processing down the steps of Old West and graduating from my alma mater. It seems like just yesterday that she was at Tower Hill, thinking about where she would like to go to college and -- being a loyal alum -- I suggested my old school as a possibility. And in every sports story about the UHS baseball team, it seems there's a photo of a certain young man, scoring the winning run or making a crucial out. How time flies: his mother was in my exercise class up until the week he was born.
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