This eagle lives around W. King Rd. near Immaculata. It will actually hang out in my woods some days. Amazing bird that takes my breath away.
A friend took this video for me and to me this is yet another sign of why we don’t want heavy infill development up W. King Rd. on the Weston property just over the East Whiteland border in West Whiteland.
More eagles, less development please.
This is Chester County. Remember this majestic creature, the bald eagle. This has been our national symbol since 1782.
I have been meaning and meaning to post this but life got in the way. PennDOT said NO to Outfront Media chopping down more trees. Outfront is who bought the Catalyst 202 billboard site in East Whiteland where the tree massacre occurred a while back in 2022. Of course, they can appeal, but hey this is lovely news.
And speaking of billboards, that thing at 29 and 30 is still so bright you need shades even at midnight so….maybe complain to PennDOT and East Whiteland instead of just to me?
Take a bow East Whiteland residents, take a bow. Good things happen when residents get involved and take action where they live. Now let’s work on getting the 29 and 30 billboard turned DOWN.
Yes. Farm Boy BBQ has their own beautiful space to call home! 625 N. Morehall Road, Suite 100, Malvern, PA. It’s where Naf Naf was very short lived, but a whole new feel inside and central Texas BBQ.
Today was a soft opening of sorts, and I sent my husband because I am grounded for a few days after a somewhat tricky Mohs surgery for skin cancer. (Which is why I borrowed photos I found on Google and gave credit. However the food we ordered are my photos.)
Google photo by I.H.
My husband described a large and beautiful space, immaculately clean and the aromas were amazing. Wood smokers and grills, and the cool inside grill gave my husband grill envy.
But what can I say other than this is a total rave and The Eagle Has Landed! I’ve already been a fan of Chef Paul Marshall’s food for a few years at this point.
But today, fresh from Farm Boy’s new home the food was off the hook! We had the rib-eye steaks for dinner and it was amazing! Prime beef from the Midwest (Copper Creek Cattle Company) , wood fired grill and no sous vides! Steak houses better watch out! And they already have the best BBQ anywhere! I just hope he starts making beignets again!
Google photo by I.H.
So the steaks. Heavenly and butter tender. Sides were fresh broccoli with some crunch (well who wants it to wobble?), salt baked potatoes. I have wanted a real steak house like they used to be steak for a while.
We went to Chop House in Exton recently and what can I say? The steak (rib-eye, as well) spent too much time in the sous vide, not enough time grilling , and was way too salty but not great flavor. It was a flop.
So when Paul Marshall told me steaks were on the menu for the new menu and on for this weekend I was totally psyched. It was quite literally a perfect steak and I am saying that even as take out this evening it was absolutely perfect, and that actually is difficult to do.
We also had chicken that we were looking forward to trying. BBQ grill cooked and lightly sauced. Paul Marshall’s barbecue sauce is amazing. It has zing from a little vinegar twang, but it’s not gloppy and super sweet. It’s a proper accompaniment to the food, it doesn’t hide the food. And that in my mind, makes perfect BBQ. I also like to taste the sauce but don’t want my food swimming in that. I am like that with all sauces and gravies, truthfully.
And of course my husband came home with brisket as well. And as I have told everyone before, the brisket Paul Marshall makes is like a religious experience.
There are plenty of BBQ places around, but Farm Boy which had me first at beignets, will completely blow other BBQ and your concept of BBQ away.
And whatever you order make sure you try the new spicy cheesy corn. It is one of the best corn dishes that I’ve ever had! Also, max & cheese, brisket chili which has no beans and the nachos. Any of the sides are amazing and I look forward to sampling his greens and baked beans and the sensation salad.
Google photo by I.H.
Chef Paul Marshall is also an accomplished baker/ pastry chef (hence the earlier beignet comment.) Any dessert will rock your dessert world. His pies are awesome and how can you not love real banana pudding ?
The new and permanent home is dine in and take out. 5 ⭐️ stars aren’t enough!
What more can I say? I mean it’s a total rave. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for hours as they revv up to their full on opening. I will note that I am an actual paying customer. I’m not an insipid influencer who shows up for an opening and then never again.
This is high end craft barbecue. The sauces and rubs are Chef Paul Marshall 100%. I hope someday he bottles both for sale. And actually I think he and his wife should offer cooking classes down the road.
Have I raved sufficiently? It’s just truly the first perfect meal from a restaurant in forever.
Chef Paul Marshall has worked hard to have his food stay in the community he calls home. The commercial real estate around here is ridiculous enough that he could have left. He is someone who works at his craft and we are lucky to have him around. In an area where too much food is the same, his food stands out and is always consistent and exceptional.
If you go once he is full on open, I vote for steak nights. This BBQ is an elevated art form. Yeah I have said that before about this food. But it is well deserved.
This is art history for me. The art history of my kid years. My friend Carolyn is selling her parents’ house in Philadelphia as her life is elsewhere. Both her late parents were heavily involved in the arts in Philadelphia. Her mother was “the quilt lady” of my childhood and I loved to watch her at the Head House Craft Fair. Recently, the lovely lady who was handling the disposition of things arrived with a box of treasures.
The first photo in this post is a wood block carving by Margery Niblock. I am thrilled this now lives with me. I think it’s so cool. Next is a poster from the Head House Crafts Fair.
The Head House Crafts Fair. It was such a wonderful event. Even though I was just a kid, i’ve never forgotten it. It’s kind of the thing I used to gauge I think subconsciously craft and community fairs. The artisans were amazing at this fair. And a lot of them were friends of my parents, and my mother is one of the key people who put it together after Margery Niblock said it would be a great idea. And my friend Carolyn’s mom was “the quilt lady.”
So these are amazing gifts and mean a lot. It’s funny how decades have gone by, and I can still see, feel, and hear the sounds of this craft fair in the Head House Shambles in my head. I remember that Margery Niblock, and some of the other artists had their work hung on clotheslines quite literally. And you were just see them a little bit in the breeze. It was very cool. And there weren’t just crafts people and artists there. There were antique dealers with treasures for all pocketbooks, and there were workshops for kids that were really cool and not dumb downed stuff with Play-Doh. And there was all sorts of food, representing many different cultures.
People undoubtedly think that all of us Society Hill kids of this mid-60s to mid-70s era are a little nutty because it was kind of cool to be a kid there then. It was a more innocent an era for kids, for sure. It’s not like life was perfect and that there weren’t kids dealing with crazy family stuff because that’s any era at any time, but there were truly good and fun things like this crafts fair. Or going to Old Swedes (Gloria Dei) for Santa Lucia…and back then they used real candles.
Also in the gift box of memories were a whole slew of unframed Margery Niblock prints, and a couple of the prints were framed. And there was a poster of the craft fair and the marvelous poster of a slightly later vintage designed for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in 1989. This was the year Margery also won a garden contest of theirs. A couple of years ago, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society discontinued their home gardeners gardening contests, which I think it’s a pretty poor decision, and it kind of has made me lose interest in them along with some other factors.
This was a beloved time capsule entrusted to me as the next steward of it. I accept that responsibility with a glad heart. It’s art and memories I love and the work of an artist that means something to me.
Another amazing thing included with what was gifted to me was a small quilt made by Carolyn‘s mother. It’s a pattern similar to what I was photographed watching her make that day all those decades ago.
Also included? An amazing piece of an old quilt framed. I am sure this was a quilt that Carolyn‘s mother discovered somewhere that was too old to repair so she took the corner of the quilt that had the signature on it and framed it….from 1843.
In a time when people just throw good art away, I am both lucky and grateful that one of the former league of original Society Hill- St. Peter’s kids. And the thing about art is it doesn’t have to be priceless, it just has to resonate with you. If you go to charity sales, or flea markets, there is a lot of art that needs adopting. Adopt a piece today!
Ok ok I think at the 50% off sale today at St. David’s Fair in Wayne I got the deal of the decade! I finally found new everyday flatware.
I have been looking for flatware for such a long time that was just the right look for me.
I have had my old every day flatware for over 20 years. I like it but I was tired of it and I wanted something new that was preferably vintage that also had weight to it. And that’s one of the things I find important in everyday flatware because the handles have weight. That sounds rather picayune perhaps, but it’s just something you like the feel of a certain way, or you don’t. I think that’s probably why I also am a fan of old hotel silver which really isn’t silver. It’s got weight to it.
Yesterday at the top of a shelf in the back of the flea market sheds at St. David’s was a flatware chest that was dusty and I couldn’t reach it. It was also SO crowded that I couldn’t get to it even to really see.
When I came back today, it was still there. And I came back at the very end of the 50% off sale, and there it was. Service for 16 with the hostess set and was originally $74.00. At 50% off it was $37!
I just did a little bit of research and what I found is it is indeed very heavy, vintage flatware from Oneida. The pattern is called “Royal Flute”. And rather amusingly, it’s collectible! I was looking on eBay and the prices are kind of all over the map for it and people seem to like it.
My flatware is stamped Oneida Community. According to what I looked up, Oneida Community started production of silver-plated flatware and hollow-ware in 1899 using the “Community Plate” mark. The Oneida Community purchased the Wm A. Rogers company in 1881. In 1929 the merged company began producing a somewhat lower-quality line of products using those companies’ marks. In 1935, Oneida Community changed its name to Oneida Ltd.
So I don’t know? Maybe I think it’s stainless steel and it’s silver plate? Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s actually ever been used. I bought service for 16 with the hostess set for $37!
I washed up my new old flatware and dried each piece by hand. I swapped out my former everyday stuff and put it in the old flatware chest that the Oneida came in. I will hang onto that for buffetware or something. Or some day when someone’s kid has their first apartment, I will just gift them all this flatware.
I also bought some wonderful old books that I have to go through at my leisure. When I came home, it was time to move the tropical plants from the patio back inside for the fall and winter, so I didn’t get to everything today.
Anyway, this was a fun and lucky purchase, and that’s why I love flea markets in general.
If you love history, you will love the You Tube. It’s called the Harcum Mile. The video is the brain child of a life long friend, Margi Tucker De Temple. She is the wife of current Harcum President Jon Jay De Temple. Now I will tell you I think the reason Harcum still exists is because of Jon. He has worked hard to continue to bring the college through challenging times in education.
Anyway, yes, I know I have a personal connection to this, but it’s also because my family lived east of “The Harcum Mile”, in Haverford. My parents also knew Philip and Esther Klein, and my father was friendly with their son Arthur, who also at one time was head of the board a historic Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia across from Pennsylvania Hospital, Mikveh Israel. I think that is the oldest Jewish cemetery in this country. I have a memory of being a relatively small child and driving with my parents from the city to some kind of dedication at Harcum. I thought at first it was Klein Hall but I’m not sure. As I said to my friend Margi, because I was small I remembered it seemed like such a long car ride from Society Hill to Bryn Mawr.
This compilation of properties along Montgomery Avenue where Harcum is, are fascinating. Not all of the houses still exist today. And one of the reasons I love this little video is the discussion of a couple of my favorite architects of the latter part of the 19th century, Addison Hutton and the Price brothers (William Lightfoot Price and Frank Price, also known for their work in Wayne, PA and Rose Valley.) Addison Hutton of course is also known for Beechwood House in Bryn Mawr and out here in Chester County the architectural jewel, Loch Aerie, which you all know I adore.
I used to love walking my dogs up and down Montgomery Avenue. I would start in Haverford and sometimes I would go East well into Ardmore, but usually I would go west up to around Beechwood House or Ashbridge Park. I love the 19th century houses that you see along the way.
And of course I also went to Shipley, so this is literally where I have spent a lot of years walking around. Which is why I was thrill to find that Margi was doing this project. It started with a lecture that I couldn’t get down to Bryn Mawr for and then she told me she was doing a video. This is that video. Selfishly I think she should do a series of videos because this was so great and it has all the components I love: the history of an area, the history of the homes, the history of the inhabitants. This is a great video!
A special note about how the Main Line got it’s name and where it ends, Paoli. I love that this is in this video, historically accurate.
For more on the history of Harcum College you can visit their website. CLICK HERE.
For more on the history of Bryn Mawr, Bryn Mawr College is a tremendous resource. For one example of this, CLICK HERE.
Enjoy the sun after yesterday! Thanks for stopping by.
Well dayyyyyuummm people, now there’s a headline. Kirkwood Farm AKA the Jackson/Rockefeller farm in Willistown appears to have been sold to M. Knight Shyamalan? So this means Shyamalan accomplished what preservationists in Willistown failed to do? Because as you know this is yet another large land parcel with no conservation easements pre-existing, right? I think people would be surprised by the list of whose big properties do not have conservation easements other than Rock Hill Farm. But hey that is a story for another day.
by Kevin Riordan and Frank Kummer Published Mar 24, 2023
Goodness the Inquirer sure scooped the rest of the media, didn’t they? And two of my favorite writers. Riordan and Kummer seem to be writing the stories that matter, the ones that people want to read. With the oddness that is print and television journalism these days, Chester County doesn’t get the same coverage it used to. Of course I remember when The Philadelphia Inquirer had a Chester County Bureau in West Chester, and The Daily Local News had a whole fleet of reporters covering Chester County from all angles. But the state of print journalism is an entirely separate conversation as well. But the only other people to cover it was Philadelphia Business Journal. Of course when they shared it on their Facebook page lots of comments ensued:
Heavy sigh. I am always amazed at what people don’t know about how government works either on a local level or state level. Yes I agree wholeheartedly that we need to have less development but people have no idea what has to happen to make that happen.
Local development is ruled by The Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania AKA the “MPC.” The MPC requires an act of the State Constitution to comprehensively change and update it. It has not been comprehensively updated since I think either 1968 or 1969. Interesting to note for Chester County residents the gargantuan development known as Chesterbrook was allowed to be built because of this code, correct public officials? For a little background on Chesterbrook read THIS.)
When the MPC was created, suburbs and exurbs looked different and were defined differently. But because this is the Bible that guides all the local zoning in the state, when elected officials literally tell you they can’t do things a lot of the time it’s because they can’t do things a lot of the time. But your state elected officials can indeed do things like enact an act of the state constitution and update the MPC. If they actually did that then we could have better and more meaningful historic preservation, land preservation, land conservation and possibly even some restrictions on development and as far as how much we have to have and what communities can say no to.
As it stands, property owners don’t (IMHO) have that much that makes historic preservation and land conservation appealing. If it was more appealing and if there were more tax breaks then maybe more would conserve and preserve. No maybe these are just my opinions but I don’t think so. All you have to do is literally look at the parcels of land in Willistown (and elwhich are not under conservation easements. One of the comments mentioned a place called Sweetwater farm. I didn’t even know that was for sale I thought that had sold a while back. (According to RedFin in 2021.)
So back to 944 Providence Rd in Willistown. So if M. Night Shyamalan has bought it, he achieved what no one else could and beat out developers. I remember when this place got listed it went under agreement I thought fairly quickly and then I never heard anything else about it. So I had forgotten about this, truthfully. Wonder what the fence protesters of Willistown think of him now?
It isn’t a pretty fence, but M. Night Shyamalan gets to keep it!
A judge in Chester County, Penn. has ruled that the “Sixth Sense” director can keep his 123-acre property wrapped in this yucky 8-foot high green mesh — much to the horror of his neighbors. I see pissed-off people!
Residents of Willistown Township complained that the plastic netting was an eyesore, but local officials ultimately sided with the filmmaker, who argued it was the only way to keep deer from decimating a network of floral gardens on the property he purchased in September 2006.
Hopefully they just thank M. Night Shyamalan and leave him alone this time, but pro-tip to him: it’s Willistown so don’t try to have a flower farm and avoid conversations about sewer sales and miles of concrete sidewalks…..
Willistown, Willistown, Willistown it’s always entertaining to learn your news.
Recently I unplugged and took time for myself. I wanted to try something artistic I had not done before, so I took a stained glass class. It was so much fun!
I had learned about the class from a stained glass artist who has studio space in Gallery 222 in Malvern. Her name is Jill Huentelman and her business is Huentelglas. I actually know her a bit and one of her stained glass Christmas ornaments has hung on my Christmas tree a few years.
I love stained glass. I have since I was in elementary school and we took a field trip to a glass blowing and stained glass place. I wish I could remember where it was. I bought a pear stained glass light catcher that I still have today. I have light catchers all over. A bunch from my childhood that my mother gave me, some I found, and a bluebird that belonged to a mother of a friend once upon a time.
Before we started to work on what I was going to create, I learned about a bit of the history of stained glass. Then in with the history came to safety aspects of how to behave in the studio, and how to act around the glass for lack of a better description. Jill is a wonderful instructor and I loved every minute of my time in her studio.
So in the end, I decided I wanted to make a bird instead of a pear. Jill will choose a pear with people to make because that way it is a simple design and not extraordinarily complicated for the first time working with glass like this.
I drew my pattern. Next came choosing the glass.
Jill has so much glass and it’s so cool. There’s plain glass and glass that has pattern and almost texture to the top of it. The glass I chose was reminiscent to me of slag glass I have seen in church windows in Chester County.
Wow, I was learning to cut glass for stained glass! First, I learned how to cut straight lines. Then I learned how to cut curves, and then I was ready to cut out my pattern. It was fun! (And nerve wracking because I didn’t want to make a mistake!)
After I cut out my glass, we did the grinding to smooth any sharp edges and make the design look more like what I wanted. After it was cut out and ground, it got a quick wash off.
Next comes this copper foil. Wound and worked around the edges and rubbed smooth with a special stick which has a name- I think it’s a burnisher, but I think it also has other names.
Next comes the soldering. And soldering involves this stuff that looks like dark Vaseline called “flux.” It makes the soldering stick.
After the soldering and the gluing of the bird’s little eye came another bath and rubbing it down and shining it up with a finishing compound. It keeps the soldering silver and made the glass shine more. It’s a shine and buff.
My class was actually a few hours long and it flew by so quickly it seemed like it was half an hour.
The classes are reasonably priced. You can find everything on her website. The price of the class includes all your materials and there is also a waiver to sign before you enter the studio. Another thing that I should’ve mentioned before is that at various times during this creative process, you rinse your hands off with a special soap that pulls metal and things out of your skin because we’re touching things that contain metals like lead.
It was SO much fun and I think my bird turned out great! So far the classes are just a one off, but if Jill did a series, I would totally sign up! If I took another class, I would like to learn how to make those cool stakes that you can put in your flower pots.
Also, while I was there, I got to see what was hanging on the walls of Gallery 222 in Malvern, which is such an awesome place.
Having art in your life, and the ability for creative outlet is something I’ve always found to be important. Much like gardening, it’s just good for your head and soul.
