June 2009 Archives

My dad and I made a trip to Farmers Market this morning, and I again realized how blessed and "lucky" we are here in York County.

While we were there, a gentleman, presumably the owner from the Blue Heron Restaurant, was buying fresh produce, some of it literally straight from the farm this morning. He was known by name so he's obviously a regular. I know that the proprietors of Bistro 19 also buy local fresh farm produce, as I'm sure many others from small local establishments do.

There are things wrong with York yes, as in any place. But here, we are lucky enough to have local restaurants where the food is fresh, high quality and also supports our own community. There are plenty, especially downtown, to choose from.

It's very easy for us, being used to have so much wonderful local food, to sometimes take it fo granted. We definitely shouldn't. We are very very lucky.

I'm not sure I can get through today. I'm worried. In Section A of todays Daily Record, the front page carries a story of Commissioner Chris Reilly having been bitten by a deer tick and contracting Lyme disease.

When you turn the page and zero in on the Nation/World news on page, there it is.

The buzz here is that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is really, really ticked off at our President. Please sit down folks, and this may not be suitable for young children or the weak of heart. President Obama was being bugged by a divebombing fly, but instead of a fair trial or a catch and release, he killed it. Killed it dead. Family was notified and we assume the fly was laid to rest.

But PETA insists that the next time the President is plagued by an insect, he lets the Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, (which traps a fly to be released outside.) I guess that may be considered a presidential pardon, not sure. If Congress and the House can agree, and IF it could become a non-partisan issue, maybe the President would be allowed to yell "bug off!!"

But here's where the worry sets in. If PETA gets involved in the York County Commissioner tick case, could this be the next controversial lawsuit/trial? Will the offending tick be granted amnesty, be imprisoned in the immigration "wing" of the prison, or will the whole thing be sent to trial, in which case, the public defender's office may be called to duty. (You may laugh, but there was a case years ago, where the PD's office represented a dog.) A jury of its peers?
Could be interesting

Anyway you look at it, with the County's track record, I expect an increase in taxes, and an ordinance demanding humane tick traps.

Our only chance is if no one twitters, interviews on YouTube, or notifies David Letterman. Let's keep this on the "DL."

Here's my final disclaimer on the subject--I understand how devastating and awful Lyme Disease can be, as I have several friends who have been plagued by it. However, this is not about the disease, but rather of the bite this could be for the taxpayers.

Had a meeting over lunch for Crickett's Answer for Cancer yesterday. Bonnie suggested a place right next to the courthouse called Bistro 19. I had never heard of it, and am always willing to try some place new.

When she walked in she was greeted like we were at "Cheers" and everybody knew her name. We got to pick our table, but then the hard work began when a polite young server came and handed us menus.

I can usually zero in on something pretty quickly, but that wasn't going to be the case yesterday. Routine and boring were not on the menu, not at all. Sandwiches sounded more like creations than regular lunch pickings. When I finally was able to get my choices down to two or three, I sort of had to pick at random, since I couldn't make up my mind.

What I finally ended up with was an artwork that even had broccoli on it. Yes, I know, not your typical sandwich topping. Somehow it was the perfect date for the perfectly done turkey and other things on the sandwich. In short, I have to tell you it was one tasty sandwich, and big enough that I had to take the other half home.

The menu offerings were not typical York County fare. Among others was Lobster Mac & Cheese, and I can't wait to try that the next time. Even the appetizers beckoned me, which is unusual, and so were they, unusual.

Then to top it off, one of the proprietors, Ryan McKinley came over to talk about an event for Crickett's Answer, and was warm and friendly, cooperative and informative. He, along with Steve Reynolds and Troy Sweitzer opened the restaurant about six weeks ago. Each hasquite a background in the food industry.

An amazingly generous offer for the trio is that they are honoring the plastic gift cards from the location's 2 former restaurants MB & Co. and Fisher's Restaurants, even though there is no affiliation. So if you have one of the plastic gift cards, and thought it was a lost cause, the good news is that it will be honored at Bistro 19. Trust me, you will NOT be sorry the card will be good for this eatery. I'm not usually a restaurant critic, but I love variety and surprises.

The address is co-incidentally 19 N. George St. as in Bistro "19." I expect to go there often enough that it won't be long before "everybody knows my name."

Oscar Mayer is our little Welsh Corgi, and is all personality. He still has not recovered from losing his "big sister," our chocolate lab Brandy. He's doing his best, but he still mostly mopes around and waits for her to return.

I thought I'd make life a little easier for him by getting him a summer haircut. His breed is a herding breed, and if we actually HAD cattle, he'd probably be the expert foreman "corraler," since he can gather anything together in groups; toys, kids, or his food. He's the proud owner of 2 coats of hair, an undercoat that protects him from an agitated biting cow, and another one to make him look "purty.". He's accessorized with this extra coat, especially the "saddle" or part from mid-back to his head.

If you don't know what a welsh corgi looks like, picture the Queen's dogs from across the seas. She's frequently surrounded by several Welsh Corgis that are dead ringers for Oscar Mayer. They have beautiful red and white fur, short, or "length challenged" legs, big donkey ears, and no tail.

Back to our Oscar. When I went to pick him up, they brought out a Caucasion looking weiner dog type thing. I looked around for my dog, getting a little agitated since I was there first, and why was this dog's owner getting taken care of before me. As soon as I opened my mouth, this corgi imposter jumped up at me. He seemed familiar in the eyes and the bark was unmistakable.

I thought I must've taken him to the sheep-shearer. His head was intact, exactly like I left him, a beautiful redhead, but his body looked a little like cream-colored indoor outdoor carpet, and wasn't even close to being natural redhead. My daughter says he looks like a bobblehead. When others aren't laughing, I've heard terms such as pot-bellied pig, and a few other choice descriptions.

Oscar's got brains, and with those big ears, he hears every comment made about him. Each time we took him outside right after his buzz cut, he hid his head, and tried to do a lot of duck and cover.

One passerby just asked what breed he was, and when I told him, he said he had never seen a dog with such short legs. I quietly tried to tell him so Oscar wouldn't hear, that we've been telling him how much taller he looks without all that hair on his legs and hind quarters. Then I said loudly, so Oscar wouldhear, he is SO much taller now without all his hair, wink, wink.

We keep telling Oscar all the benefits of having this much less hair. I'm not sure he's entirely convinced, but he doesn't hide his head anymore outside. Besides, his hair is now growing back in. Only thing is, instead of his beautiful natural red head, he looks like he got into one of my boxes of hair color, as he looks so blonde. I don't want to disgrace him further by having blonde jokes flying all around him.

So if you see Oscar anytime in the near future, please tell him how handsome, tall and red he looks. That would save a call or letter to Dr. Phil. Do dogs have self-esteem?

How clever am I?

I can buy a gym membership, and I can have someone do yard work, OR, I can combine them, skip the membership, do my own yard work, get both for FREE!

I am so driven by the money saved at the gym, and we have all these weeds on an acre lot just screaming "we'll get you in shape," and everyone wins.

Out I go with the necessary tools, gloves, metal weed thingy, bag for the weeds, and a kneeling pad. It's beautiful outside, I got my dog by my side, a little music, it doesn't get any better than this.

I plug in the outside type boom box, or whatever they call them these days, it's the grandfather Ipod, I guess. Nothing happens, no music, no talk radio no nothing. I try another plug. It works, but the cord isn't long enough to stretch outside. Aha, a golden opportunity appears when I see a long outside extension cord. I plug it in, take the radio outside, and get ready to jam and pull.

Only nothing happens. Apparently, the cord is an antique or something. I figure okay, I got birds chirping, and my dog, that should be enough "music," and I give up on the radio.

I find the first patch of weeds to attack, and get all my "tools" ready. I throw the knee pad on the ground, open the bag, put on my gloves. Wait, I have 2 left-hand gloves, and I search everywhere for a right hand glove. I don't give up however, until I find one, only to slip it on and find that the 2nd and 3rd fingers are almost totally gone. Okay, better than nothing. Except it's really not, as those are the fingers that do most of the work.

Not to mention that the weeds, of course, are the thistle kind, and can snake their way into the non-fingers on the gloves. When our last name is Murphy, you really can't get away from the Murphy's Law thing.

I did accomplish the removal and upheaval of lots of weeds, however, so I'm still feelin' pretty good about my idea.

Then the icing on the cake. After getting all grimy and glistening from my battle with the weeds, in the boiling sun, the pool is a mighty welcome thing. And I figure I'll get an even better workout. Not only the swimming thing, but I can perform the little maintenance there is on the pool, and tone some other muscles.

We opened our pool late this year, so the temperature isn't quite fit for human dunking yet. But I'm tough, I'm getting buff from all my outside work, I can do this. I jumped in for my first ever polar bear swim, and find myself floating on a chunk of iceberg. When I finally do get the guts to jump in all the way, I get divers reflex and take awhile trying to find my breath again.

And then I start to clean the coping around the pool, anchoring myself on the sides so my body doesn't have to freeze completely. It works.

I come out of the pool, which is sparkling now, I can feel muscles I didn't know I had, and I got a double workout. I peruse the pile of thistles I pulled out, and boy do I feel virtuous! And stiff, and creaky, and a little like a popsicle. But me and my checkbook, we're best buds. Good thing, since my dog is no longer by my side. He indicates he does not want to be a "pupsicle," and is staying clear of the pool. If only I could teach him to pull weeds, then we could even skip walks. Gotta work on that one.