Gone But Not Forgotten

We took a ride last week and found ourselves searching for a restaurant we used to love, The Coventry Forge Inn. After much twisting and turning, we finally found the road and the old building tucked back in a corner of Coventryville. It was a sorry sight. Old, abandoned, gutted, given over to the elements from the look of things. It was a gracious, warm, inviting place in its day. The food was delicious; I still remember one meal I had there as the best dinner of my life. Well, maybe I've forgotten a few good ones, but this was spectacular. Bill said, "want to open a bed and breakfast?" I said, "sure." And then I got scared he might really mean it. Maybe we'd better sit down and think about it.

Addicted To Lost? Here's Help.

You Heard It Here First

I know everybody's reading tastes are different, but unless you live in a cave or a tent and want to stay there forever, I am telling you, you will love this book. I think it's going to be a bestseller like Marley and Me because it is so darn entertaining and packed with interesting and valuable insights. It even tells us why we like to watch those home improvement and decorating shows on HGTV so much. Dan McGinn is a journalist who writes for Newsweek and he has a charming, funny writing style that just pulls you in and doesn't let go. I carried this book around with me until I finished it because I was so taken with it. Go here to read an excerpt. I think you will get hooked as much as I did. On a similar note, I saw that one of my favorite design blogs has read it too. See what Julia has to say about it here. Look under Book Reviews in the right hand column and scroll down to see all the posts about it. I am deliberately not giving you the direct link so you will poke around her blog a bit. It's a wonderful read.

Lunch Break

After traipsing around the Flower Show all morning, Madeline and I are ready for a decent lunch break. We always head across the street to the Reading Terminal Market (with the rest of the world). We ate this year at the Down Home Diner. Usually we eat at Pearl's Oyster Bar because we both love fried oysters, but opted for the diner this year. We got a nice booth tucked in the back and were able to sit and relax and regroup for a while. After lunch the allure of the market is too great to leave right away. There seem to be many new stands and businesses and the whole place looked really good this year. We always say we should just take a day and come here and walk around sometime. Here are a few shots to tempt you.

Termini Brothers Bakery.

Mueller's Chocolates. I liked the chocolate Liberty Bells; but, believe me, they have chocolate everything. The chocolate mice and rats must be particularly popular; they have a lot of them. Give them a big hand.

I was quite taken with these little piggies for some reason.

I'll stop with the candy soon, but one more thing. Look at these flowers. They are all made from sugar. Fascinating (to me, at least). I don't want to eat them. I just like to look.

Next year we are thinking about trying this creperie. It may be new; neither of us remembered seeing it before.

So, we drag ourselves out of there, even though there is so much more to look at, but the afternoon is ticking by and we haven't seen nearly enough of the Flower Show. We really must go back to the market some day and just do it on its own. So much to look at.

Lots of people buy flowers from this stand in the market.

Flower Show Day

Thursday was our annual pilgrimage to the Philadelphia Flower Show. The theme this year was "Jazz It Up," and it was a tribute to New Orleans and the music and flowers of The Big Easy. There was a lot of spanish moss hanging off trees, not to mention the colors and hoopla of Mardi Gras.

Some of my favorite displays were the old shacks of the bayou and little tucked away gardens of the French Quarter.

The musicians of Preservation Hall were well represented. We heard these guys play- The Hoppin' John Orchestra. They were very lively and people were dancing around or at least doing some toe-tapping.

All in all it was a good show this year. A nice change from the ubiquitous tulips and daffodils that usually permeate every exhibit.

Be Still My Heart!

Finally! At long last! It's about time! We are getting our very own Homegoods (and they seem to be moving the Marshalls too). But Homegoods! I think I should get a job there. Bill says he's afraid the appeal would wear off very quickly. Maybe he's right. I don't know when, but just knowing it's coming is enough right now.

Listening To The World

I was listening to the world this morning, and I could hear it stirring. Even though there is still ice on my garden path, I heard it whispering "spring, spring." It is almost balmy, quite breezy, and a perfect day for hanging out the sheets.

Then I went exploring and look what I found.

Promises of spring hiding underneath the winter rubble. It's coming; it really is.