pay it forward for new babies at chester county hospital…,

Just paying it forward- can you help? Here’s what the nurses and staff at Chester County Hospital are asking for your help with:

Help needed: The Well Baby Nursery at The Chester County Hospital is in need of knit or crocheted baby hats. The hats need to be small enough to fit an infant who is 5-6 pounds but stretchy enough to fit a larger infant-not a toddler or an adult. The average infant head is 12-14”. We are down to nothing but what you see here and the plain white hats we put on the babies immediately after delivery in Labor and Delivery. The donations would be greatly appreciated by the nurses, new moms & babies. The hats can either be dropped off at the main desk or sent to The Chester County Hospital
701 East Marshall St West Chester, PA 19380 Attn: Maternity Hats
Please share this post with anyone who likes to knit or crochet!
🧶
THANK YOU!!!!
💜💜💜💜💜

I can’t knit or crochet anything so all I can do is share! I will also note that chemo lounges can always use adult sized handknit caps for cancer patients.

#PAYITFORWARD

#BREAKINGNEWS thank you kevin mahoney and penn medicine

Thank you sweet baby Jesus, Penn Medicine CEO Kevin Mahoney, and Penn Medicine. They are literally saving Chester County and her residents.

I am very grateful and I am sure lots of people are breathing a sigh of relief. Tower Health screwed us when they shuttered two hospitals in 2021.

So Kevin Mahoney is the reason Penn Medicine at Valley Forge exists even if I don’t like that campus particularly. Mr. Mahoney is also the reason Chester County Hospital was saved. My sources tell me that he loves Chester county and he used to be on the Tredyffrin Easttown School District school board as well.

What this means is Penn Medicine is acquiring Brandywine Hospital from Tower Health. And Penn Medicine is saving our VA hospital.

Hopefully this all moves quickly because I had a friend who went to the ER at Chester County Hospital recently and it was as crowded as well, Walmart on Thanksgiving for the pre- Christmas sale. Paoli was a zoo too, and they ended up at Bryn Mawr. If this had been something like a stroke or heart attack my friend might not have been so lucky.

So turn all your glasses over for luck Chester County that this goes smoothly. Yes turn your glasses over. A wise older woman named Sherma told me that years ago.

Thank you Penn Medicine, now if you could please do something about your phone system it would be terrific.

Read more about Kevin Mahoney here:

Kevin Mahoney, MBA

@kevinbmahoney on Twitter.

chasing the covid19 shot

Trying to get a COVID19 shot is turning into a full time job. I am a Class 1A because I am still an active cancer patient on cancer meds. Yes, really. The closest I have been able to find a shot was the Wegmans pharmacy in Erie, Pennsylvania. 375 miles away.

I am registered everywhere. I waste lots of time on the pharmacy websites like Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens, Wegmans, and more. And I love when people tell me oh they have shots and you go on and you try to register but no they don’t have shots…. they’re out of stock. And if it doesn’t say out of stock on the vaccine finder website, you click into the location you’re looking at and it tells you then.

I spent five days on the phone trying to get through to the Chester County Hospital COVID19 scheduling line. Five days of my life I won’t get back. I finally got through this afternoon. I am a priority registration in the system but they don’t have anymore shots so they can’t schedule until they have shots, which is probably why I got through. But the man I spoke to (his name was Rick) was super helpful and just nice.

Then I saw that report regional media has this afternoon.

Pretty goddamn disappointed in them right now. Except part of me almost understands why they did it.

I don’t know what is with Chester County not having enough shots or the state of Pennsylvania not having enough shots.

Basically, I have to wait to be called. Because there aren’t even any shots at any of the drug stores or grocery store drug stores offering shots around here.

And like I said I have signed up everywhere I can. Which is why I got really annoyed when some Democratic Committeeman posted on NextDoor:

Info to get Covid vaccinations. This is information from Pa House Representative Kristine Howard. Thank God she was elected! Hope this helps!

I know I bet you’re all excited hearing something like that right? Well don’t be she’s not breaking any new ground here and Kristine Howard never does anything. All her office does is regurgitate information that’s already out there.

When I pointed this out to the Democratic committeeman he said to me (and I quote):

“Other than whining what have you done to provide information about COVID vaccines?

The Democratic committeeman went on to mansplain to me about how he “had followed the rules” and spent 2 to 3 hours each day hunting a shot until he got an appointment.

First of all, I hate being mansplained to. Second of all,  who is he to presume with anyone? Why is it my job in particular to provide information about COVID19 vaccines? I don’t understand that.

He wants to “thank God” for a State Rep who does nothing and who has done nothing since she was first elected. As an elected official, Kristine Howard should be trying to get more shots into Chester County, not just regurgitating information already provided by MANY others to look like she’s actually doing something. As a farmer I once knew said about someone years ago, she’s more useless than tits on a bull. Vulgar, but accurate.

And our new State Senator Carolyn Comitta? Where is she? She has been kind of invisible to constituents in my humble opinion.

Who has been helpful in Chester County, PA? The county commissioners. Josh Maxwell helped me personally get correctly registered on the county website. I kept registering and it literally didn’t take. He can’t personally get me a shot nor would I expect him to, but he took the time to help me and explain the process.

Honestly the process itself is faulty. Pennsylvania is backwards. We should be able to get shots. I have friends in other states who have had no problem signing up or finding shots.

And people like to criticize national healthcare as exists in the UK but guess what? Those people are getting their shots. They are rolling them out and people are getting their shots.

Every time you turn around in Pennsylvania it’s either the story out of Philadelphia where the 22 year old who started the non-profit who was giving COVID19 shots to their friends, or like today hospital systems kind of doing the same thing. The thing about the COVID19 shot is it’s not really merit based it seems like who do you know.

Well everyone loves a good game of who do you know this is a global pandemic and who was a clear conscience can do that to jump the line? I couldn’t personally but I understand on a certain level.

People are out there every day trying to play by the rules and banging their heads against walls trying to get a shot, and there are people who are gaming the system (who may or may not be eligible for a shot) who are just taking advantage of holes they find in the screwed up system to get their shots and is that right?

COVID19 has shown us since it started this time last year to eat up our lives about how some people don’t necessarily have a moral compass. And that includes elected officials.

There should be more system efficiency, shots should be more evenly distributed, and it should be just easier to actually get a shot.  I have played by the rules since this started. I even went on voluntary stay at home before we went on mandated stay at home because of potential exposure to one of the first victims of COVID19 in Chester County and I still don’t know who that was. I just had the dumb luck of being at the same place at the same time.

So for the Democratic committeeman who serves where I live who wants to “thank God” for Kristine Howard in one breath, and in the other breath basically that I should be in essence what she is paid and elected to do, I will give Chester County Residents the direct line to the COVID19 shot scheduling line: (610) 883-5410.

I sign off on this Friday afternoon having very little faith in the system right now, as it exists. Thanks for stopping by.

 

life stories

I need to take the time to write down the stories I heard yesterday so I don’t forget. Given the anesthesia and everything that went on yesterday with my surgery I’ve probably forgotten some things already.

Yesterday was my second knee surgery. This time it was definitely gardener’s knee and it was my other leg. The surgery seemed to go well but I will admit today the pain is still somewhat not fun.

I had my husband just drop me off because there is such a lot of waiting before I actually go into surgery that I didn’t want him trapped at the hospital when he had a busy work day ahead.

I met a lovely couple in the waiting room who were in the bed and holding area immediately next to me as we both were given our marching orders before going up to the holding areas for surgery.

This couple had an amazing tale. A true love story that today in the morning after thinking about it really gets me a little choked up because it’s beautiful and so happy and it’s so the power of love over the ages.

They are in their 80s. They met when they were in college. Life took them in different directions and they were very happily married to other people for decades. Somehow they came together as widow and widower and the wife moved across the country where she had lived her life out west. So now they are married and live in the area. The husband has lived in this area for decades.

I’m not sure what the husband did for a career, but the wife was a nurse her entire career, including an army nurse in years it must’ve been quite challenging. They were so happy and so in love and so positive. I think the wife sort of adopted me until I went to the pre-surgery line up and holding area because she knew I was not as much of a tough girl as I wanted to be waiting there by myself. And that was my decision. My husband would have sat there all day for me. I did not want him to.

One thing that lady and I talked about was ancestry.com. She had started an account not too long ago and showed me some really cool pictures of family members – her ancestors – that she never knew existed.

In the holding area as I waited my turn to go into the OR I met a bunch of amazing nurses. I can’t stress enough how wonderful every nurse I’ve ever met at Chester County Hospital is.

I had a great conversation with a nurse whose name of course has flown right out of my head because we when were talking they had just begun the sedation process with me. This nurse noticed the limb alert bracelet on my left hand. Because I have had breast cancer and had the sentinel node removed I can’t ever have anything in my left side that was the side the cancer and lymph node was removed from.

She apparently has worked with a lot of breast cancer patients and excuse me she was interesting to talk to. Also talking to her made me realize how lucky I’ve been with breast cancer.

From that point on everything was a bit of a blur. When I woke up in the postop (which is now called something else in the land of new speak) there were some patients and nurses and it was sort of a lie there and drool for a while because I was so out of it coming out of anesthesia.

As I woke up a little more I overheard a nurse comforting a patient to the left of me. The patient wasn’t right next to me, she was a couple of beds down. And the nurse was distracting a patient by telling her about a box of special Christmas ornaments that they get out every year. They sounded like they were old Shiny Broght ornaments. But what got to me was her describing whatever was written on the box from whomever used to own them in her family.

And those are the kind of little heartwarming stories around the holidays that always get to me and make me smile because I know how special it is to me when I pull out the old ornament boxes and see my father’s hand writing on top of these boxes that are totally falling apart but I just keep taping them up so I have his hand writing there to greet me every Christmas.

My post op nurse was younger than I and from Lancaster. She was so calm and soothing. We talked about Lancaster County which was fun because that is where my maternal grandmother was from who was Pennsylvania German.

Across the postop room for me was this awesome nurses aide who ended up taking me down to the first area I came into while my husband was on his way to pick me up. She is a lovely young woman who moved here from a big city elsewhere to give her kids a better life. And she was telling her coworkers about one of her children who apparently has been a straight “A” student their entire life and just got into their pick of colleges. Another happy life story.

I know not every day in the hospital you find happy and loving and just these really warm and wonderful vibes because of the nature of a hospital. But I always seem to have these experiences in Chester County Hospital.

The entire hospital had holiday trees everywhere which I thought was awesome because I love decorated trees.

For a day that was about surgery and kind of tough on me it was also a day I enjoyed because of the people I met. I guess my whole point to this meandering post is if you’re open to it you never know where you’re going to meet interesting people.

Here in Chester County we are lucky to have this hospital.

So now I rest and heal and then begin the process of rebuilding my leg at physical therapy.

I don’t know how much I will be writing between now and the new year, so I will take this time to wish everyone a happy healthy 2020.

Cheers!





greetings from post op

Knee surgery is done. The reason I am writing a slightly loopy post-op post is because I just wanted to say how awesome Chester County Hospital is.

The nurses are simply put, amazing. And so is everyone else I encountered today.

The pain is somewhat fantastical right now but I just wanted to say thank you to this amazing hospital.

Thank you Chester County Hospital and Penn Medicine.

help uncork the cure to cancer by attending the 27th annual wine festival to crush cancer at the dilworthtown inn!

23864348508_8d52b7ba26_o

Even grey fall skies couldn’t keep people away October, 2017!!

You know summer is reaching her end when you get the notification that it’s time to buy your tickets for the Dilworthtown Wine Festival!! We love this fall event. It’s fun, it’s outside, it’s just a fabulous day.

21583398254_bcbf40990e_zOn Sunday, October 14, 2018  more than 1,500 oenophiles will help uncork the cure to cancer as they celebrate the 27th Annual Wine Festival at the fabulous Dilworthtown Inn.

As Chester County’s favorite wine event, the festival features more than 100 wines, craft beers, sumptuous fare prepared by Dilworthtown Inn chefs and local food trucks, a silent auction, shopping opportunities in the Gallery of Artisan Vendors, live music, a Performance Car Show, and much more. Proceeds from the wine festival benefit patients of The Abramson Cancer Center at Chester County Hospital and Neighborhood Health.

37008066844_a1873f017d_o

For friends and family members battling cancer, the cancer specialties at Chester County Hospital bring the world-class care of the Abramson Cancer Center close to home. As part of Penn Medicine, it offers the latest treatment protocols and cutting-edge technology.

22216477811_ade819d6b5_kThe outstanding medical staff, clinical team, nurse navigators and hospital volunteers are known for providing the highest level of care and attention to the needs of our patients. And, the hospital works to give every patient every edge in their battle with cancer, including assistance for patients who are uninsured and under-insured. Outside of the hospital, patients continue to have access to the highest level of care through the services of Neighborhood Health (home health, hospice, private duty, and Senior HealthLink services).

22019294339_c00b786512_oThe Wine Festival is organized by the Brandywine and Greystone Women’s Auxiliaries to the hospital. To attend, volunteer, sponsor or donate, visit www.2crushcancer.com     or call 610.431.5054.

 22018069570_647f54d94c_zAs a 7 year breast cancer survivor as of June 1st, I attend this event because I know what good  Chester County Hospital and Penn Medicine do.  I would not be alive if it wasn’t for Penn Medicine.  So I make it a point to attend this event and support it, for that very reason.  Hokey as it may sound, it is the truth.

I have friends who work so hard on this event from the volunteers to the wine brokers.  It is an absolutely glorious way to spend an afternoon, so I hope you will consider buying tickets and attending.

VISIT EVENTBRITE TO EASILY PURCHASE TICKETS TODAY!

Image may contain: drink

Event Details:

When: Sunday, October 14, 2018 – 12 noon to 4 pm (rain or shine)

Where: Dilworthtown Inn, 1390 Old Wilmingtown Pike, West Chester, PA 19382

Questions: Contact Kate Pergolini at 610.431.5054 or Kate.Pergolini@uphs.upenn.edu

22019290819_83d959f645_o

General Admission Tickets: $45 until October 6, 2018/ $50 starting October 7, 2018

Enjoy the Grand Tasting of more than 100 wines & Craft Beer, Performance Car Show, Live Entertainment, Silent Auction and Shopping Gallery. Food is available for purchase from local food trucks.

 

VIP Tickets: $110 until October 6, 2018/$115 starting October 7, 2018

Your VIP Ticket includes all of the above, plus it is also your pass to the VIP tent, where you can enjoy reserved seating, fruit and cheese, special wines, gourmet food and more.

22193422542_249519a58e_o

Designated Driver Packages: $225

We want you to enjoy the day responsibly. The designated driver package includes 5 General Admission Tickets and One Free Designated Driver Ticket. The Designated Driver Ticket allows you to enjoy the Performance Car Show, Shopping Gallery, Live Entertainment, Silent Auction and also includes lunch and a non-alcoholic beverage.

22206165865_b719cb6b0f_o

step back in time this fall for chester county day 2018

Document (1)

Photo Credit East Whiteland Township from their website.  From US Library of Congress: Michael Gunkle Spring Mill, Moore Road (East Whiteland Township), Bacton, Chester County, PA

Now I make no secret of the fall house tour events I hold dear in Chester County which are the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust House Tour (I am a sponsor and this year it’s Saturday September 29th) and the tour that started it all for me many moons ago (used to go with my parents long before calling Chester County home) — Chester County Day!

img_5974

My books 🙂 

Today I am writing about Chester County Day which began in 1936. I love this event so much, I even have the following books: Forty Years of Days, Chester County & Its Day, and Barns of Chester County Pennsylvania which were  all written by a Chester County treasure named Berenice M. Ball.

The Women’s Auxiliary to Chester County Hospital has been supporting the hospital for 125 years through numerous fundraising activities and events. One of the beloved fundraisers that has stood the test of time is Chester County Day, the longest running house tour in the United States. This year’s tour will be held Saturday, October 6, 2018 from 10 am to 5 pm. Since its founding in 1936, “The Day,” as it is affectionately called, has raised more than $5 million for the hospital, earning $132,000 last year alone.

This year The Day includes tours of 16 homes and six public structures/historic sites in the northeast quadrant, including Exton, Frazer, Chester Springs, Kimberton, and Phoenixville.

The Day will kick off with the pageantry and excitement of a traditional fox hunt. The hunt will set off promptly at 9 am from Birchrunville. At 10 am guests can begin their tour of this year’s selected properties.

The 2018 tour celebrates the traditional, distinctive architecture of Chester County with some twists. There is a beautifully restored home in West Vincent Township which is believed to have been deeded to a Revolutionary War soldier in payment for his service. Also on the tour is a meticulously kept stone home with great antiques, rugs and a lovingly-cared for garden.

A spectacularly restored Queen Ann-style home is one of the stops in West Whiteland Township. The home was designed and built in 1851 by Andrew Jackson Downing, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States. The fountains, gardens, mahogany-lined rooms and diamond lead-paned windows of this house are remarkable. When the owner first purchased this property, oil had seeped into the basement and water leaked from the attic down to the first floor. The renovation of the home has returned it to its original, unforgettable state.  Around the corner is a pristine stone R. Brognard Okie house set on a hill with a beautiful stone-banked garage.

31519628_1871088936264117_8934859288078188544_n

Loch Aerie pre-renovation. My photo.

Loch Aerie Mansion in Frazer will also open its newly revamped doors to the tour this year.  Also featured in East Whiteland? Gunkle Spring Mill!  Gunkle Mill is a nationally registered historical resource. Michael Gunkle built  this his first mill, in 1793. The structure represents post-Revolutionary development in the Great Valley.  By 1872 the mill processed 1,800 tons of flour, feed, corn and oats yearly. At the peak of its productivity, the mill ran 18 hours a day. Gunkle Mill is now owned and cared for by East Whiteland Township. The Mill was placed on the Historic Register in 1978. (Check it out on Library of Congress website HERE.)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour a nearly 200-year-old farmhouse/manor house in Chester Springs that has been lovingly repurposed as a business office. The structure has retained much of its original woodwork, pocket doors, cabinetry, stair railings, fireplaces and a beautiful English knot garden. Tour-goers can also explore the largest three-story bank barn in the county located in Charlestown Township. The home boasts hand-hewn, scored beams.

Phoenixville is represented by a restored farmhouse with a pool house that was once the residence of farmhands. Eighteenth and 20th century homes on the grounds of the former Pickering Hunt are optional next stops for attendees. Two houses will be open in Rapps Corner, with the convenience of parking at one home to tour both. Each of the stone houses has been maintained and updated in very individual styles, while respecting the historic bones of each building.

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Chester Springs will serve as a lunch stop, where pre-ordered boxed lunches by Arianna’s Gourmet Café will be available.

The Day offers two ticket options, a regular priced $50 ticket or a $100 VIP ticket.  The VIP package includes an invitation to the preview party in September, as well as a gourmet boxed lunch provided by Montesano Bros Italian Market & Catering at an exclusive house tour open only to VIP ticket holders.

With a GPS and a Chester County Day map (that you will receive when you purchase your ticket) the beautiful architecture and bucolic roads of the county are yours to explore!

Event Details:

When: Saturday, October 6, 2018 from 10 am to 5 pm

Where: Northeast Quadrant of Chester County

Tickets: On sale from July 1, 2018 online; September 4th by mail or at the satellite locations listed on their website.

  • $50 purchased via web, phone or in person
  • $100 VIP tickets, which includes a VIP Reception and Preview Cocktail party at Historic Yellow Springs, Sunday, September 23; Otto’s Mini of Exton, PA will provide a Mini Cooper for qualified guests with purchased VIP tickets, while supplies last and a private tour of a special VIP house with a gourmet boxed lunch served by Montesano Bros Italian Market & Catering. VIP tickets are also available at all satellite locations, as well as via web and phone. (See ChesterCountyDay.com for details.)

Contact: 610-431-5054

More Information: Want to know more about the tour? Attend one of the free public preview lectures throughout the county. For a list of dates and locations, or to download a podcast visit: www.ChesterCountyDay.com

ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE:  I am writing this post because I want to and because I attend this event.  I purchase my own tickets and am a grateful supporter of The Women’s Auxiliary to Chester County Hospital. 

 

 

 

dilworthtown wine festival to crush cancer set for sunday october 15th, 2017

Fall events are popping up all over and the Dilworthtown Wine Festival is one of my absolute fall favorites! This is an event I attend, and I purchase tickets – I am not being compensated in any way for my opinion – I love this event! I would not miss it! I go to support the hospital, and because I am a cancer survivor too!

26th Annual Wine Festival at Dilworthtown Inn Sunday, October 15, 2017

On Sunday, October 15, more than 1,500 oenophiles will help The Brandywine and Greystone branches of The Women’s Auxiliary to Chester County Hospital uncork the cure to cancer as they celebrate the 26th Annual Wine Festival at Dilworthtown Inn.

As the county’s premier wine event, the festival features more than 100 wines, craft beers, sumptuous fare prepared by Dilworthtown Inn chefs and local food trucks, a silent auction, shopping opportunities in the Gallery of Artisan Vendors, live music, a Performance Car Show, and much more.

Proceeds from the wine festival benefit patients of The Abramson Cancer Center at Chester County Hospital and Neighborhood Health.

For friends and family members battling cancer, the cancer specialties at Chester County Hospital brings world class care of the Abramson Cancer Center close to home. As part of Penn Medicine, they offer the latest treatment protocols and cutting-edge technology. Their outstanding medical staff, clinical team, nurse navigators and hospital volunteers are known for providing the highest level of care and attention to the needs of their patients. And, they strive to give every patient every edge in their battle with cancer, including assistance for patients who are uninsured and underinsured. Outside of the hospital, patients continue to have access to the highest level of care through the services of Neighborhood Health (home health, hospice, private duty, and Senior HealthLink services).

The Wine Festival is organized by the Brandywine and Greystone Women’s Auxiliaries to the hospital. To attend, volunteer, sponsor or donate, visit www.2crushcancer.com     or call 610.431.5054.

Please go to their Eventbrite listing to purchase tickets.  I recommend the VIP admission and the thoughtful Designated Driver package.

This event is SO much fun! Casual great company, wine tasting, terrific food, great vendors and probably the best silent auction around!

Throughout 2017, Chester County Hospital is celebrating 125 years of dedication to the health and well-being of the people in Chester County and surrounding areas. Founded in 1892 as the county’s first hospital, the non-profit has grown into a 248-bed acute-care inpatient facility in West Chester. It also has outpatient services in Exton, West Goshen, New Garden, West Grove, Jennersville, and Kennett Square.

In 2013, Chester County Hospital became part of Penn Medicine, which is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to medical education, biomedical research, and excellent patient care. Learn more at ChesterCountyHospital.org.

chester county day turns 75 this october!

Radnor HuntFrom the time I was a girl, Chester County Day is something my family just always did every October. It is always a gorgeous day and well, who needs a better excuse to travel through Chester County when fall foliage is exploding? Pack a picnic lunch and have a splendid day.

This year the tour launches at the Radnor Hunt Club and heads into the Borough of West Chester. If you have never taken the time to do this tour, I do not see any better year to start a new tradition on the 75th anniversary of a fine Chester County tradition!

See press release below.  Tickets should be ordered early and in advance.

chester county dayLongest Running House Tour in the Nation – Chester County Day – Celebrates 75 Years

West Chester, PA – Chester County Day originated in 1936, when Mrs. William A. Limberger and her fellow members of the Women’s Auxiliary to Chester County Hospital hosted “West Chester Day,” a house tour that for $1.00 allowed admittance to 22 homes. Now the longest running house tour in the United States, Chester County Day has benefited Chester County Hospital from the start.tour 1

 

Over its 75 years, the tour has been designed to feature the four quadrants of Chester County with each section taking turns being featured on “The Day.” However, this year, the event planners are returning to its 1936 roots and focusing their attention on the Borough of West Chester. With hundreds of years of history, the Borough is the perfect spot to celebrate the 75th year, and everyone is welcome to celebrate the anniversary of this Chester County tradition on Saturday, October 3.

tour 2

The Day begins with the pageantry and excitement of a fox hunt. The Radnor Hunt will set off promptly at 9 am on its beautiful grounds. Afterward, a short drive to the Borough of West Chester will lead you to the start of the 75th Chester County Day tour. Located on West Chester’s oldest road, High Street, visit the oldest inhabited structure in the Borough, which was built in 1712 and then renovated by a well-known author in the 1920’s. Stroll through the neighborhoods of the north section of West Chester to visit charming mansions where your imagination can take you to a bygone era of the Great Gatsby lifestyle. Stop by the home of former builder Henry Price, and then see how a newly constructed home fits into the historic mix on East Marshall Street. Listen for the sound of the horse-drawn carriages as they make their way through the shaded and wide streets of the north end of town. Swing by the West Chester Public Library, one of the Borough’s most impressive public buildings, built in 1888 in Queen Anne style.

tour 3

Continue your tour on South New Street and tour a historic bank barn and manor house, where you will be enchanted by the magnificent trees, pond, historical buildings and serene atmosphere, all while refueling yourself with one of Arianna’s Gourmet Café’s boxed lunches. From there, visit a nearby horse farm, a spectacular house and restored mill overlooking Crum Creek. See Historic Sugartown, a rural crossroads village dating from the late 18th century. Stop by the General Store, Carriage Museum and a book bindery. If you arrive hungry, Arianna’s offers a second refreshment stop here with additional delicious boxed lunches.

 

Whether you begin with the first house on the tour or start with the final home in the tour – your day will be full and filled with the beauty and history of Chester County hundreds of years in the making.

 

WHEN:    Saturday, October 3, 2015 @ 10 am-5 pm

WHERE: Borough of Chester County

TICKETS: On sale from September 2-29 by mail, online, or at the satellite locations listed on our website.

  • $40 purchased via web, phone or in person
  • $100 VIP Tickets, which includes a VIP Reception and Preview Cocktail party at historic Vickers Restaurant on Sunday, September 27 and a private tour of a special VIP house with a gourmet boxed lunch served by White Horse Tavern.

CONTACT: 610-431-5328

MORE INFO: Organized by The Women’s Auxiliary to the Chester County Hospital, Chester County Day is a 75-year autumn tradition. Proceeds from the tour benefit the Women’s Auxiliary pledge for the Cardiac Catheterization Lab project, a $4.8 million replacement project for Interventional Laboratory 3. This room is used for complex ablation cases, laser peripheral vascular intervention and other complex peripheral vascular procedures. Learn more at one of the free public preview lectures throughout the county. For a list of dates and locations, or to download a podcast visit: www.ChesterCountyDay.com

good news/ouch news

So yesterday I took a tumble down the stairs and ended up in the E.R. of Chester County Hospital.  It was a somewhat full moon kind of crowd, and there was a run on sprained ankles.  I had never been inside the hospital or to the hospital, truthfully don’t do much E.R. time.

Can I just say that hospital is amazing and what a good experience I had?  The last time I had been near an E.R. was to pick someone up at Bryn Mawr Hospital and it was not like this.  At Bryn Mawr, the staff was testy to say the least, and more concerned with personal calls on their mobile phones that caring for patients.  And the place was dirty and smelled.  Chester County Hospital was the opposite of that.  The staff from checking in to checking out were so nice, and that hospital is the cleanest hospital I have ever been in.

Now that ouch is out of the way (I am o.k., just a sprain!) I got cool news today.  The people that do Bon Apetit online (epicurious.com) are indeed publishing a recipe of mine in a cookbook being released this fall !!!  You will have to wait to see what recipe it is precisely as it is now in the book but it is called “Kitchen Sink Frittata”, but I am so excited!  They tell me I will also be featured in some little online write-up September 12th too.

The book is available for advanced ordering at a discount from Amazon.com and here is what it is about:

The Epicurious Cookbook: More Than 250 of Our Best-Loved Four-Fork Recipes for Weeknights, Weekends & Special Occasions
By Tanya Steel, The Editors of Epicurious.com

Product Description

For home cooks hungry for make-again recipes, here is an impeccably curated collection from Epicurious with more than 250 of their “4-fork” recipes, conveniently compiled in a book with new photography, new headnotes, and informative user tips. Epicurious is, undisputedly, the most respected website for people who like to cook. In their first-ever cookbook, the Epicurious editors have culled their extraordinary database of 180,000 recipes and selected their most popular recipes.
Organized seasonally and by meal type, The Epicurious Cookbook offers everything from 30-minute weeknight dinners to weekend warrior show-stoppers.

Also included are comfort food favorites, small dishes perfect for parties and plenty of repertoire-building mains and sides, plus breakfasts, breads, and desserts.

All new stunning four-color photography shows Epicurious at its most irresistible. Throughout are Epicurious member suggestions for tweaking recipes, ideas for menu planning, smart substitutions, and homespun recipes from dozens of Epicurious members newly tested for this cookbook.

Recipes include: Easy comfort foods: Chicken and Fall Vegetable Pot Pie, Beef Short Ribs Tagine, Spicy Mac and Cheese with Pancetta, Deviled Fried Chicken, Chili con Carne with Chili Cheddar Shortcakes

Fast Weeknight Dinners: Quick Paella, Wild Rice with Pecans, Raisin, and Orange Essence, Brussels Sprouts Hash with Caramelized Shallots, Rosemary Lamb Chops with Swiss Chard and Balsamic Syrup, Pan-Fried Spicy Orange Tilapia

Please-Everyone Vegetarian and Vegan Dishes: Chilled Soba with Tofu and Sugar Snap Peas, Spiced Lentil Tacos with Chipotle Sour Cream, Roasted Eggplant Salad

Special occasion show-stoppers: Tom Colicchio’s Herb-Butter Turkey, Beef Brisket with Merlot and Prunes, Wine-Braised Duck Legs

American Classics Updated—Burgers, Pizzas, Salads, Pastas, and Grilled Cheese: Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburger with Texas Barbeque Sauce; Hearty Asparagus, Fingerling Potato, and Goat Cheese Pizza; Lobster Pasta in a Roasted Corn Sweet Bacon Cream; Grilled Cheese with Onion Jam, Taleggio, and Escarole

Breakfast and Brunch Stars: Extreme Granola with Dried Fruit, Kitchen Sink Frittata, Crème Brulee French Toast, and Ultimate Sticky Buns

Decadent Desserts: Double Layer Chocolate Cake, Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce, Frozen Lemon Ginger Snap Pie, Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts

Destined to be that classic you’ll turn to daily, The Epicurious Cookbook enhances the very best online content in a gorgeous cookbook.


Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #284871 in Books
  • Published on: 2012-10-30
  • Released on: 2012-10-30
  • Original language:      English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: .0″ h x  .0″ w x  .0″ l,   .81 pounds 
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 400 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author:

TANYA STEEL is the Editor-in-Chief of EPICURIOUS.COM. Winner of a James Beard award for restaurant reviewing, and a member of the Digital Hall of Fame, Steel was previously an editor at Bon Appetit, Diversion, Food & Wine, and Mademoiselle. She is the co-author of the award-winning Real Food for Healthy Kids.
Launched in 1995, EPICURIOUS is the most award-winning food site on the web, which has received 64 awards, including two James Beards, an Emmy, eighteen Webbys, and three from the American Society of Magazine Editors.

So, how cool is this?  To be in a real cookbook?  FUN!!!! YAY!!!!!  I love Epicurious.com and am so thrilled to be part of a cookbook they produce.  As a home cook this makes me feel really good.