Category Archives: local interest

Sep9

Around the county

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Our Sunday afternoon was a bit warm and crowded. We headed up to the Mushroom Festival and parked in a bank lot-what luck! We couldn’t really look at what the vendors offered-how many baby strollers are there out there and people who are in a daze? A store in town had some collaged cards that caught my eye. I told them I like being inspired. We heard that Ilan Hall and Miguel Morales from Top Chef were doing a cooking demo at 2:30 and waited inside a tent for half an hour. We could have met them before hand as they were standing outside the tent for about 15 minutes. Oh well. I got a few good shots and Bri said the heat was getting to him so we left.

To my surprise Bri took me to Chadds Ford Days! Now that’s when I felt the heat! Lots of vendors, artists, antique dealers and local restaurants. I did get a 9 month free membership to the Chadds Ford Historic Society and I can go to ‘the big pumpkin carve’ next month for free. I’ve never been to that event! We saw some vintage cars-a 41′ Woody and an early 1960s Lincoln Continental similar to the one JFK was riding in when he was assassinated in 1963. The later vehicle was owned by someone at Chadds Ford Days. I saw a Martha Washington cabinet like the one I had, but it had been refinished and looked like new. The asking price was $185. We saw a child’s MW cabinet at another vendor.

Bri treated me to dinner at Ruby’s Dinner (yummy burgers with avocado and the works) and we went over to Borders where I purchased some awesome art magazines. I have to cook up some chicken for tomorrow (meant for tonight) later, but I plan to relax and get some great ideas from my new purchases.

Some of the photos in this collage were just things that I liked-the sunflowers with their hanging heads, a tractor, and old barn (I guess they are all in the collage).

We didn’t eat a single mushroom dish! The guys from Top Chef were talking so much, they burnt the mushrooms they were cooking!

Ilan and Miguel

The only things I bought were handmade soaps from a Virginia couple at Chadds Ford Days. I didn’t see my other soap people from last year at the Mushroom Festival.
Our day 9–9-07
To tell you the truth, I’d rather go to flea markets and yard sales. My mom was here yesterday and we hit a yard sale up the road. I got some vintage compacts-one has a little powder holder, rouge and lipstick. Mom went a little nuts there and I had to whine because the 90 degree heat from getting to me. She loves shopping-second hand seems to be her new thing.

Sep7

Fungus among us!

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 2006 Mushroom FestivalTomorrow and Sunday is the 22nd annual Mushroom Festival over in Kennett Square. It’s become a big ‘to do’ over the years. I think I mention it here every year too. I may or may not go. I kind of want to go to Chadds Ford Days which is a little down the road. My mom decided to come over from my uncle’s house and spend the night. She can walk around only so much. The festival is usually jammed packed and parking is rough. The CFD are in a big meadow near the Brandywine River. Both are going on for two days, so we could go on Sunday. The winning chef, Ilan Hall from Bravo’s ‘Top Chef’ is going to be a guest at the festival. I’d like to see him.

Ilan Hall
Bri heard through the grapevine that actor Mark Wahlberg was in Unionville, a few towns away doing a movie. Not sure if he’s still in the area.
If I go to either event, I’ll take some photos!

Sep6

Lighthouse in the bay

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Ok, I did want to tell you about this:

Lighthouse in the bay

Bid information:
Current Bid: $200,000.00
Minimum Bid Increment: $5,000.00
Minimum Bid: $10,000.00
Opening Date: 07/16/2007 09:00:00 Eastern Daylight Savings Time
Closing Date: 09/04/2007 14:00:00 Eastern Daylight Savings Time
Property Description:
The lighthouse is a 3 story cast iron tower topped by a lantern and a upper gallery deck. The tower rests on a black trumpet shaped iron caisson lined with concrete. The lighthouse includes a keepers quarters, fuel storage area and a lantern room. The lighthouse was constructed in 1876. Located in Delaware Bay approximately 3 miles offshore of Bowers Beach, Delaware. Bowers Beach is approximately 10 miles southeast of Dover, Delaware.

There was a news story on NBC 10 by Tim Furlong, wonder if it may help get this place sold? No electricity and batteries power the functioning light and fog horn. One ladder to climb up. The ‘bathroom’ toilet is a hole that when you look into it, you see the bay! Interesting purchase, don’t you think?

Sep1

Pooped pups

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Bri and I decided to go to my uncle’s house and do the yardwork today as it was suppose to be the coolest of Bri’s three off. Uncle Don has a very steep yard and dragging branches and clippings up to the back yard was a workout! His front hedges along the also steep front steps were so overgrown, no one could get up them. To make matters worse, in the garden at the bottom, some kind of viney weed with prickers had taken over a rock garden. Bri even used the hedge clippers to try and cut through it. We did the best that we could, I think it needs some Round Up weed killer to finish the job and the garden needs to redone. He also had a million and one sticks and branches of all sizes all over the backyard. We did the best we could with those. A lot of them were right near the neighbor who brings my uncle milk and bread. His yard was immaculate. I think if I knew my neighbor was in a home for 8 months, I would have cleaned up the area of yard near my house just to be a little helpful. My mom was trying to rake, but she suffers from what yard work she does. Needless to say, we are achy and very exhausted. UD did treat us to some Chinese food, but I wanted a large raspberry iced tea from McD’s, I was way more thirsty.

Even though we were dirty and a little rumbled, we went to a neat book store a few miles down the road. We got a little lost, but found our way there. It’s so big-they must carry 300+ magazines. I bought a few-a Cloth, Paper and Scissors magazine and a Better H&G Halloween issue. Bri bought a book and a few magazines but is too tired to look at them.

Sean enjoyed his first college football game at PSU! He’s in row 10 in the student’s section, so I guess that’s good. The home team won 50 something to nothing! Sean didn’t apply enough sunscreen and got a little burnt on his neck-bad boy!

; )

No photo hunt this week-but about 3 o’clock we were both dirty, but no one took our picture!

So I think the rest of the extended weekend will be more relaxing. Our own yard and bushes need a trim too.Yikes!

Some pals and I are playing with our Windows Movie Maker and I threw together the Fenwick Island one on the top of my Vod Pod list. I need to find a longer song, but it’s not bad for a first try.

Aug25

Many, many miles and one less

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What an emotional experience, the hardest I ever had to do as a volunteer thing. It was a long, trying trip to start off with yesterday. We were doing fine and lost our way near Harrisburg, our state capital. We went about 25 miles one way out of our way and took like 5 hours to reach the motel. That was a lot of driving and seeing scenery like this:

Allegheny Mts.
These are big mountains. We also crossed the Susquehanna River.
We ate dinner at the motel and ventured out to Penn State a few hours before dark. Here are Bri and Sean outside Sean’s dorm,
Hamilton Hall:
Brian and Sean outside the dorm
The motel was about 12 miles further away, but off the main drag where the kids do all their shopping. We had a good laugh when we saw Big Lots, the store Sean had worked in all summer down here. We also passed through Bellefonte, a town near the water and there was a quaint park there with a little waterfall and a few step bridges with wrought iron sides. Sean said he’d go back to take photos of that area someday.
It was a humid and hot day and we got to check in at 10 and seemed to beat a lot of people who were probably waiting to check out of their rooms and eat lunch. His room is on the 3rd floor, which is really the 5th floor. The first two floors are used for a cafe, computer room, etc.
I should say how nice and clean the campus is, like Williamburg a bit, lots of brick and fancy building. His dorm was built in 1949.

PSHunt
Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Photo Hunt-Happy
(I hope he will get this way)
Here is Sean in part of his room (not sharing and no a/c) which is 9’x16′. He has his laptop, printer, a tv that plays DVDs, a microfrig and lots of storage. I’m sure he’ll make it his own, but it’s nice to have this photo so I remember what the room looks like: Sean in dorm room
And his window (open)-hello up there! He should be glad for the tree!
Dorm window
That’s the hottest I have felt in ages! I climbed the steps to his room twice-yikes, I felt really old. Notice there are no photos of me. I asked a few times, but it was too hot for Bri to bother and I was too blubbery.

Sean called his old high school classmate Peter and they met up for lunch, which was nice. Sean’s also been to a few meetings. He will be so busy he won’t worry about what roads to take home. Today we got home faster, even after stopping in Lancaster to stretch our feet and a few miles down in Gap for dinner. We went a different way which was better.

Good luck Sean and we miss you like crazy!

Aug23

Amphibian adieu

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We’re all set. Bri finished up the lawn and found this little guy to show me. I got some cute photo ops as he sat on the edge of my waterlily garden.

Toadie pal
I have seen a ton of frogs and toads all over the yard. I hope they are helping with the bug population. I also saw a new colony of caterpillars on the milkweed today. Awesome.
My pond garden pump was a major pain today. It wouldn’t stay on when I immersed it in the water. I took it out of the water and let it run without water going through it for a while and that seemed to do the trick. We do have to unplug it tomorrow-rats!
I’m taking the camera, so be prepared to see some lovely PA countryside.

Aug23

So this is it…

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…Sean’s last day here until Thanksgiving! Wow! I remember when he was looking into dorms back in February and August seemed so far away. Sean got to see his grandmom, uncle, aunt and cousins yesterday. My mom got all weepy when we left which lead me to get weepy in the van. I usually have to be provoked into tears. I want to be cool up at the dorm when the actual separation occurs. Give we strength! Sean’s car is already almost jammed packed. He has a few more things to put in there and he needs to leave room for me. Bri will be following us on the 3+ hour trip. We’ll stay a night in a hotel about 12 miles further away and his move in is 12-8 on Saturday and Bri and I turn around to come home.

This had to be the week when the sun never came out and my sinuses have been awful. I’ve had congestion and post nasal drip. I can’t sneeze I’m so stuffed up! I did a Google search ‘how to sneeze’ and people had tips, even a little English boy on youtube.com who stuck a rolled up piece of tissue up his nose-I think so high it made him cough and then sneeze. I came close last night, but I just can’t sneeze. Today I’ll have to take Claritin or Sudafed which I try to hold off doing as long as possible. ~Update-as I proofread this post, I finally sneezed after 3 days! Yippee!!

Here’s a video about my hometown (my high school pal sent me the link) as a company entered them in a contest sponsored by Ikea which they are currently in 2nd place-they won’t announce the winner for a few weeks. You can see the old Media High School where I went one year to junior high and that my niece and nephew attend/attended as an elementary school. You’ll also see Media Theatre where we use to attend $1 movies.

I received some prints from my friend Karin’s wedding that I personally got to chose. I never had anyone offer to do that with their wedding photos, but she and Michael bought the proofs and set them up online at Kodak-a great idea. I bought a special album for them last night at JoAnn’s (plus a few other goodies). Keep Michael in your thoughts as he needs to get an injection in his back from pain that wakes him up several times a night.

My friend Terri had good news that her mom was still in remission after a bout with cancer and then her mom’s sister passed on a few days ago from a heart attack. The thing that bothered me is that the poor woman went to the ER for terrible indigestion, a red flag for women as it is sometimes means heart problems.

My other friend Joy lost her 51 yr old male cousin from a heart attack too. He had a special title, I’ll have to look up the email again, but he was working to preserve waterways if I remember correctly. The cousins set up a nice slideshow in memory of him on Flickr.

If I don’t post again, I’ll see you in a few days. I also have to tidy up as the parish priest is coming on Monday.

By the way, added some new videos and yes I know, two are James Taylor singing ‘Only a Dream in Rio’ one of my favorite JT songs.