sandy storm photos – send them in for posting!

Posted on October 28, 2012 by carla

Hi there gentle readers. I hope everyone has battened down the hatches for however Hurricane Sandy turns out?

I have a proposition for all of my readers: send me storm photos for posting. I learned a long time ago that if you want to enact change, photos help. The photos you are CURRENTLY looking at are photos I took where I used to live in Lower Merion Township and one from Conshohocken. The snapped tree was courtesy of Irene last year.

So if you have flooding photos and you want them out there, send them to me via sandysnaps <at> spamex <dot> com

That is sandysnaps @ spamex . com – Sorry due to spammers, I will not have this as just a hyperlink to click and go.

Alternately you can tweet me at @gossipgirl19380

I am happy to attribute photos, tell me who gets credit, and *MOST* importantly give me precise locations. Or I will post photos anonymously if you live in a municipality that has shall we say, issues?

I am particulalrly interested in photos where development may be occuring or is currently occuring or has just been completed. I am also interested in areas that chronically flood and often wait until the bitter end for help to arrive.

One spot of particular curiousity which should not be overlooked by anyone is where the Borough of Phoenixville is building their over-priced new municipal hall. I passed it last night while in Phoenixville and thought I should defininately put that location out there as a site for good storm photos because it always floods, doesn’t it? And correct me if I am wrong, but the plans for that needlessly overpriced new borough hall doesn’t really have proper flood remediation built in, does it? Wasn’t that the plan where the plan is put the garage underneath so everyone’s cars drown and there is lots of potential litigation from that? Anyway, I figure a way to preserve the taxpayer investment and future costs here is to have irrefutable proof that they need a real plan or they should stop and move sites.

Phoenixville has a fun downtown at night. They need better parking and I notice they have the parking authority people out chalking tires on a Saturday night, and truthfully, most municipalities don’t do that. They leave it as the police can tow people from certain zones and are done with it. But then again, people tend to question how Phoenixville spends money – they spend way too much on a manager, they spend way too much on a school superintendant – seriously for a borough barely squeaking by in any economy they pay Main Line prices.

But enough picking on Phoenixville which always floods so badly, from Tredyffrin through to West Vincent and Oxford and wherever, if you have storm photos, or storm info, send it in. Also feel free to leave comments about where the power is out and if roads are blocked.

Hopefully Sandy will be a non-event for Chester County.

My final note is DO NOT PUT YOURSELVES IN HARM’S WAY TO SEND ME PHOTOS.

But do document flooding and damage. It is helpful for getting things corrected so situations do not repeat themselves. I will also take Main Line storm photos if it will help any of you out there near where I used to live.

Thanks and stay dry!

don’t judge a restaurant by its strip mall

Posted on September 3, 2012 by carla

Don’t judge a restaurant by its strip mall.

One of the things I have to get used to about Chester County are all the strip malls. Face it, pick a road, there are lots of them. One thing most people don’t think they will find in a strip mall is a fun place to eat. Usually strip malls have fast food or chain restaurants.

Our plans changed yesterday and we decided to go out to dinner. I wanted Mexican, but real Mexican, not the Taco Bell interpretation.

So I saw a place that got good reviews on both Urban Spoon and Exton Dish. In a strip mall. Called Buho’s. It is in the Fairfield Place Shopping Center – 484-872-8840 – 115 Swedesford Rd, Exton, PA 19341.

We had an amazing meal. I have not had Mexican so good since there was this little hole in the wall place years ago in the town of West Chester that was in a store front across the street from what was Gilmores. My friend Louise had introduced me to this place years ago (at least a dozen years ago), and since then, I had been looking for something as good.

Buho’s is terrific. It is a BYOB. Not fancy, but the murals on the walls are pretty cool. They are also part market, so you can buy some fun Latin American stuff if you so choose – and if you want a piñata for a birthday party, they have quite the selection.

Buho’s was incredibly clean – including the ladies’ room. According to Yelp, Buho’s used to be in Lambertville, NJ before Exton. If you check out the reviews on Yelp there is an annoying ad above the actual reviews.

Our waitress was so nice and knew her menu. She spent time with us helping us choose. We started with a Buho Mixto since it was our first time there – that was a sampling of a lot of things and could have been a meal in itself (we didn’t finish it) There is an extensive menu for dinner, including things like “Bistek a La Mexicana”. They also do lunch and I think breakfast. They have vegetarian options too.

The food was not only more authentic than you find around here, but very fresh and flavorful. And not super greasy like the food a lot of chain Mexican places put out. And the portions are very generous, so keep that in mind when you order. We came home with lots of yummy leftovers.

They also have a catering/take-out menu.

I hope I am raving enough, because the food was indeed rave worthy and we will go back! I encourage others to try it too!

Again:

Buho’s- Fairfield Place Shopping Center – 484-872-8840 – 115 Swedesford Rd, Exton, PA 19341.

Buho means owl in Spanish, so there are lots of owls hanging out in the restaurant. But they aren’t scary creepy like all the clowns that used to be in Gillaine’s in Ardmore.

american pie

Posted on August 7, 2012 by carla

In last September’s New York Times Magazine Mark Bittman wrote an article called Bye,Bye, American Pie. No it wasn’t the impetus for this post, but it is a good read. This post takes inspiration from the farmers where I have been vacationing until a few hours ago: the farmers of Eastern Long Island, NY. One farm in particular called Balsam Farms in Amagansett.

I feel like I have been cheating on my favorite Chester County Farmers, but I have to tell you the produce I bought while on vacation is truly amazing. I think there is something with the fertile yet sandy soil that makes a difference.

Seriously, and it sounds like sacrilege, but the tomatoes I have had kick the rear of Jersey tomatoes.

And another interesting thing to note is in a lot of cases this organic produce I have been purchasing is less money than some of what I buy locally in Chester County. I figure that is well worth mentioning since everything having to do with the Hamptons is equated with super expensive.

So this pie is all mine oh me oh my. The recipe is not an exact science, and I am trying to get better with that.

Peach Apricot Pie

Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup oatmeal (Quaker quick oats will do – but PLAIN – no flavored stuff!!)

1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons)

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons sugar (white)

3 tablespoons of ice water

dash of cinnamon

dash of ginger

Mix all dry ingredients. Cut in butter after cutting butter into teeny pieces. Incorporate butter into dry ingredients until little crumbs are formed. Add the water. Bring it all together into a ball of dough that is not over-mixed, wrap well in plastic wrap so it is air-tight and refrigerate for 2 hours.

As you are getting ready to bring your dough out, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

After the crust is sufficiently chill, roll out between sheets of plastic wrap lightly dusted with flour. Place crust carefully in a pie plate – I guess mine is a 9 inch – I have vintage glass pie plates and this was one that was shallow as opposed to deep crust. Fix your edge of the crust by gently crimping with a fork and put crust in pan back in refrigerator to stay cool while you assemble the filling and streusel topping.

Filling:

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup of brown sugar

Peach Apricot or peach preserves

5 or 6 regular sized peaches

5-8 small apricots

lemon juice

Slice up the fruit into thin slices. Sprinkle a little lemon juice over them to keep them from turning brown and toss gently with sugar, corn starch, flour, spices. Set aside.

Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup oatmeal (same kind as above)

3 tablespoons of butter diced up

1/3 cup sugar (white and brown mixed together)

cinnamon and ginger to taste

Mix all the stuff together for the streusel topping in a small bowl until uniform crumbs are formed. Set aside.

Remove crust from fridge and pour fruit gently and evenly into crust. Dot fruit filling with dabs of preserves. You aren’t completely covering the top with preserves, you are dotting. Evenly distribute streusel topping over this and bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees depending upon your oven. You may wish to create foil “hood” to cover crust edge so it doesn’t burn.

Cool pie before serving on a counter or table or wherever it can cool off unmolested by pets or humans. Serve with whipped cream sweetened with honey and ginger or vanilla ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers.

beautiful.

Posted on July 31, 2012 by carla

Beautiful. No other word can describe the Great Blue Heron who lives at the Willows in Radnor Township. I call it Big Blue.

The photo above was taken a few days ago by my pal Greg Prichard. The photo below was taken by me in the same vicinity two years ago at the same time of year.

If there is any doubt why we need to preserve our environment and open space, just look at this magnificant bird. You don’t see creatures like this in office parks, strip malls, and New Urbanism Fairy Tales of Transit Oriented Development.

Just saying.

in devon, “h” is for horse show AND hookers

Posted on July 17, 2012 by carla

In July, 2008 there was a brothel bust in Berwyn. People were shocked that one of the world’s oldest professions was going on under their noses on the Main Line.

6 ABC at the time said:

A brothel in Berwyn?

Residents say “no way” but that’s what the Feds say was going on at the Swan Day Spa at 529 Lancaster Avenue.

Federal authorities say it was being portrayed as a health spa, but there was a lot more going on here than just massages.

Authorities say the operators were running a thriving business since April 2005 with sexual favors being offered along with the massage for $60 cash, $65 for credit. But things began to unravel when the operators hired two illegal immigrants from China eager to make a new life here in the U.S. The women thought they were going to provide massages. But the Feds say the operators wanted them to also have sex with clients. When the women refused, authorities say the manager threatened to turn them over to immigration. The women somehow managed to escape. Meanwhile, residents and business owners seemed stunned all this was going on in Berwyn.

I always wondered why the Swan looked so low brow, yet so many men went there for “massages”. Ick. And duhh, quite frankly. It wasn’t exactly a place that made you think Client List and Jennifer Love-Hewitt.

Well it is ground hog day on the upper Main Line, as today, four years later also in July, in Devon (also a Chester County community) there apparently was a prostitution bust on Friday the 13th (bad day to be a hooker, apparently).

Devon, known for HORSE shows and expensive foreign car dealerships now has the dubious honor of being known for HOOKERS.

Mind you, should we be surprised? When you put devon prostitutes into Google, God help me there is the online list that pops up. A yellow pages to the round heeled. Ick a doodle do. And there have been rumors for years of similar situations in places like Ardmore and Wynnewood, but no busts have ever occured to my knowledge. They have however busted Mummers clubs in Philadelphia.

The Daily Local reports that these hookers were from Oregon? Did they throw a dart at a map? Is Devon the new Sin City and no one got the memo?

Daily Local: Two accused of providing prostitution in Devon

BY MICHAEL N. PRICE mprice@dailylocal.com Posted: 07/17/12 04:11 pm

DEVON — Two people were arrested last week for allegedly providing prostitution services at an area hotel, police said.

According to the Tredyffrin Police Department, Jacquelyn Stahley, 24, and Jamaal M. Lambert, 29, both of Portland, Ore., were arrested Friday, July 13, after employees of the Devon Marriot alerted police shortly before 4 p.m. about suspicious activity inside the hotel.

Police said an assistant manager of the hotel told investigators Stahley arrived at the hotel with Lambert and checked into the hotel with a cash payment. The manager also told police he suspected she was a prostitute, according to a criminal complaint filed by police.

Tredyffrin-Easttown Patch has the press release from Tredyffrin Police that you can read.

They were picked up on the 700 block of Lancaster Avenue as per 6 ABC.

Just ewww.

grilling…yum

Posted on July 2, 2012 by carla

Summer grilling is a fine way to beat the heat. Here are photos of a recent dinner – grilled pork chops and fresh green beans from Queen’s Farm at the West Chester Growers Market.

The pork was marinated in my homemade BBQ sauce and a lil’ something extra, and the beans were done sort of the way my friend Betty Foo cooks them at Hu Nan Restaurant in Ardmore – stir fried with fresh garlic and crushed red pepper.

(And yes, another way to beat the heat is of course just to go to Hu Nan in Ardmore. Trust me, it’s not like most Chinese restaurants – it is awesome. BYOB.)

east goshen community day & fireworks photos

Posted on June 26, 2012 by carla

Entire set can be viewed HERE

it’s memorial day….pause and remember

Posted on May 28, 2012 by carla

Gladwyne, PA Memorial Day Parade

I received a comment on my Happy Memorial Day Post from a reader that is worth cross-posting:Flag in the breeze, Philadelphia, PA 2012

Flag in the breeze, Philadelphia, PA 2012

Here in the sod of Europe lie thousands of Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in two World Wars.

They are buried, row upon row, under simple white crosses or Stars of David in cemeteries in Belgium, England, France, Luxembourg, Italy and the Netherlands.

They died far from home in battles and operations known as Belleau Wood, the Somme, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in World War I, or D-Day, Anzio and the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

More than 100,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are buried in these cemeteries, looked after by the American Battle Monument Commission.

Lorraine American Cemetery in France, with 10,489 fallen, is the largest American WWII cemetery in Europe.

Here is a link to a panorama view: [CLICK HERE]

Tom Helwig U.S.M.C.

Congressman Jim Gerlach at a Memorial Day Ceremony 2010

Memorial Day Ceremony, Norristown, PA 2010

treasures found in my travels on memorial day weekend at smithfield barn

Posted on May 28, 2012 by carla

So, I told you all about the Smithfield Barn on 425 Little Conestoga, right? How many of you took my advice and checked them out this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday? If you didn’t, you’ll have to wait until the end of June to do so.

We went yesterday. I love the Smithfield Barn because the folks who run it are real pickers. There is a little bit of everything, but you have to be willing to dig. I circled through the barn a couple of times yesterday before I saw my treasures:

a leather box of unknown origin, just pretty;
some terrific vintage wooden spoons;
and a fabulous hand-made quilt

I got great deals, and no, I am not telling you what I paid – if you go to the barn, you can negotiate on your own. I will tell you what, with places like this, if you don’t go in guns a blazing with attitude there is often some wiggle room on select items. But if you insultingly low ball them, you deserve what you get.

I love the quilt. I am a vintage textile queen as you can see from the 1950’s table topper that provided the background to the spoons and the box. That was probably all of $5 at St. David’s Church Fair a couple of years ago.

Some people can only handle new, I know people who have to re-do the furniture every few years like Barbie’s Dream House. That is their style, certainly not mine. I like objects that tell a story, or might tell a story.

And as much as I love to photograph barns, I love even more to root around in them. My friend Barb can tell you about a trip to Vermont where we made a side pilgrimage to New Hampshire and I had a swell time rooting around in a giant barm owned by a New England farmer who picked antiques and collectibles on the side. I negotiated some fabulous pink tea cups for her that day that she still has. But heck, I used to go to Adamstown, PA with my parents before it was Trendy Wendy to do so.

The barn had some cool stuff yesterday including a Hoosier cabinet and a pair of dressers that were first half of the 20th century – rounded and kind of cool. Not sure how old the cabinet was and you have to be careful when looking at them, because there are kits out there to make them again. The cabinet looked newly painted and it was bright white, so not for me. But it was fun to look at. There were some terrific chairs there yesterday and some fun lamps worth re-wiring, and if you like slot cars and matchbox cars? This would have been your barn!

Anyway, I am glad I decided to ditch the garage sale tour and go to the barn instead.

And remember, if you like this blog, you can nominate it for a Blue Ribbon Blogger Award with Country Living Magazine.

Winners will be featured in their December/January 2013 issue and will also attend a luncheon in their honor in New York City on November 13, 2012. Nominations are open from May 15, 2012 until July 29, 2012. Please only nominate once.

The Gladwyne PA Memorial Day Parade – if you like traditional, old-fashioned Memorial Day Parades complete with antique fire trucks and horses, this is your parade!

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your long weekend. I got up and got my watering done early, it’s going to be a hot one today. In part I feel like Farmer MacGregor because some Peter Rabbit ate my baby lettuce this weekend. And I don’t know about you, but this crazy weather and no winter has many plants of mine ahead of schedule.

See ya! And Happy Memorial Day!