Wines: Chadds Ford Winery in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, posted Sunday, February 05, 2012 by Ms. Dashwood

The Brandywine River Museum cafe offers refreshments.

Chadds Ford is a small town dating from before the American Revolution. The little village witnessed one of George Washington's greatest defeats, as the Continential Army lost to British and German troops, in the Battle of the Brandywine, fought September 11, 1777.

Nevertheless, the pastoral farms and beauty of Chadds Ford endured, and attracted artists who would develop their contributions to the Golden Age of Illustration amongst the rolling hills, forests, and streams of the Brandywine Valley. Today, the Brandywine River Museum holds paintings and artwork from Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, his son Andrew, Andrew's son James, and assorted artistic family members and artists of merit.

This valley also hosts new, trendy wineries, including the one spelled Chaddsford Winery. Located near the historic battlefield and the museum, some of the wines appear at the museum restaurant. The cafe's glass walls overlook the Brandywine River, and the wines from the area bring their own contributions to enjoying the scenery. The Chaddsford Wintery Proprietors Reserve was a refreshing Pennsylvania white wine served at the cafe.

References

Brandywine River Museum, U.S. Route 1, P.O. Box 141
Chadds Ford, PA 19317 • Phone: 610-388-2700
Daily, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
(Extended hours until 6:00 p.m., Dec. 26-30)
Closed Christmas Day
Brandywine River Museum Restaurant.
"Open daily, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, and Mondays and Tuesdays from January 9 through March 19, 2012.

Chaddsford Winery
632 Baltimore Pike Chadds Ford, PA 19317-9305
(610) 388-6221

Ballet Pointe Shoes aka Toe Shoes

Ballet dancers invest time, money, and energy in finding the right shoes for their feet. For professional dancers, the shoes may be paid for by the dance company. Students, and their parents or guardians, often pay for the shoes themselves. Pointe shoes normally cost from $40 to $90 a pair, an expensive proposition given that advanced students may use up one pair a week or more.

A variety of dance stores and online dance outlets can help with the purchase of pointe shoes. New dancers benefit from the personal fitting provided at local dance stores. An example is the Empire Dance Shop, in Spokane, Washington. Owned and operated by professional dancers, Philip and Sally Broadbent, the store staff help fit dancers from local studios, as well as taking visiting trips to studios around the area.

For online purchases, ask other dancers and dance teachers, and research sites. Dancers who are familiar with pointe shoes and the individual needs of their feet are better able to navigate the many choices of pointe shoes available on these types of sites. It's easy to find the classically-known dance shoe companies such as Capezio and Freed, along with other popular companies such as Bloch, Grishko, and Sansha.

Many of the online dance sites provide videos of dancers on pointe. Pointe Shoes Online lists shoe companies. Click on "Sansha" for a selction of videos of dancers working on pointe, as well as the unusual combination of toe tap, pointe shoes with taps.

Thrift Shop Decorating with Cups, Plates, and Teapots

One way for economical table decorating is thrift shop finds.
These don't have to be original matches to make an attractive table setting.

The cup, plate, and teapot shown in the photo came from different sources. The cup and plate came from a local Goodwill store, purchased about a year apart. The Irish teapot was a gift from a friend. One day, while I was making tea, I happened to use the cup for tea, and noticed that the green edge trim matched the green edge trim of the teapot.

This accidental match happened in the middle of a busy day, when I was taking a break. Suddenly, the usual tea time gained a pretty design. The plate added a garden scene to the tea cup's farm and orchard scene.

Try this with your own table settings, whether informal or formal. At thrift shops, where plates, cups, and saucers are often only a dollar or less, choose a few that appeal to you, either for a planned match, or the accidental match made in the middle of a busy day.

Hermoine Granger Wand

If you want to know about what Hermoine Granger's wand looks, like, well here it is.

(The video may  not work. I've left it up to remind myself to fix it).

The wand turns on with a swish and flick motion. It takes some practice to get the wand to make the light come on and off. We found that we had to check the wand once we put it in its box, as it had a tendency to turn on from moving the box.

Some people have reported that their little kid can't get the wand to turn on as they can't wave it fast enough. Some solutions are to place a small piece of aluminum foil between the battery and connector.

All in all, it's a fun wand. If the price is too steep, consider home-made wands.
These are inexpensive projects for kids to make.

Christmas and Winter Holidays Gift Ideas for Kids Who Like the Harry Potter Stories

The Harry Potter series of books and movies may seem like a strange choice for Christmas and winter holiday gifts for kids who are fans of the stories. Yet, Christmas and winter holidays play important roles in the films. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the ancient stone castle housing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry displays Christmas decorations, and the pupils are offered a Christmas break.

Older elementary school-aged kids and young tweens may enjoy a theme gift from the series, whether it be a variety of wands or Hermoine Granger's Time Turner.

The selection of wands is staggering. Hermoine's, Harry's and Ron's wands start at $35.00. Dumbledore and He Who Must Not Be Named also have wands at this price. Ron's sister, Jenny, and their friend Luna have wands that run about $28.50. Hermoine's measures about 14 inches. When kids wave the wand, it lights up; another wave turns it off. Be sure to purchase at least two AAA batteries. Some parents report that the wand works best with the strongest Lithium batteries.

Many Harry Potter items appear in The Nobel Collection: Product Catalog.
For Christmas 2011, the site advises placing orders on or before Sunday, December 18th, by 11:00 PM, Pacific Time. Check out other sites such as Barnes and Nobel for additional pricing info.

If the price of the wands or Time Turner is too steep, then consider ways to improvise. For younger kids who haven't seen the catalog Time Turner, a pretty pendant or necklace in a pretty box, and wrapped in nice paper, offers an inexpensive alternative. The pendant shown below has the same swirly features as the catalog Time Turner, but only cost $1 at a local thrift store. The box came from another thrift store.

The Internet also abounds with directions for homemade wands. You can make them using only a piece of wood, several sheets of computer paper, a glue gun, and paints.
Another homemade wand lights up in the video Hermoine Granger Light Up Wand (Homemade).
Another set of directions skips the wood and uses computer paper and a glue gun with paint.
Options include an electric switch and wire hidden under decoration to power an LED light on the end of the wand. As with any project, plan ahead and assemble supplies. Make these as Christmas and holiday presents. Or, use these as Christmas break projects for kids home from school and wondering what to do. For ideas about wands, Time Turners, jewelry, bookmarks, and other items, see The Nobel Collection site.

Pike Place Market Overlooking Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington: Hands of the World

      Outside "Hands of the World" shop, downstairs at Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington.

During the winter holidays, visit the Pike Place Market if you are in Seattle. If you can't get to the Emerald City, then take a virtual visit. Looking at the Pike Place Market shops helps inspire Christmas and holiday gift and activity ideas.

If you like international and fair trade items, then visit Hands of the World. Located one level below street level, this colorful shop and helpful staff create a place to shop and learn. Many items come from women's co-ops around the world. These unique designs and items make interesting and useful gifts. Scarves, mittens, wooden flutes, "rain" toys: these just begin to describe the items available.

My personal favorites are the jewelry pieces, especially the pendants. I've purchased a few pendants there, and always receive compliments on them.

Ridiculously Inexpensive Christmas and Holiday Gifts by Teresa K. Dashwood

The holidays are approaching, and in times of economic turmoil, people can become stressed as they realize they may not have enough funds for presents. This post, and others to follow, will explore some holiday gift options that cost little or no money. Save funds for children's Christmas and holiday presents, and find thoughtful or amusing gifts for the grown-ups.

Bookmarks

It's easy to find holiday or gift bookmarks online that you can print on photo or heavy paper.
The bookmarks make nice stocking stuffers or simple gifts.

Run a web search with a name of an actor, author, movie, book, or television show.
Add the word "bookmark" to refine your search.

An example is for fans of Orlando Bloom. The website "The Orlando Bloom Files" contains five pages of printable bookmarks, along with directions.

Homemade Bookmarks

With a small investment of card stock paper, you can make your own bookmarks. Think of the person on your holiday list, and the types of quotes or images they enjoy. Cut out paper for the bookmark size you want, such as 2 x 6 inches. You can write the quote with a calligraphy pen and draw an image. Or type the words on a word processing program, print it out, and tape the words onto the card stock. Print out images and tape them on the card stock too. Another idea is to print the words and images directly onto the card stock. Or, instead of tape, put the bookmark through a lamination process.

The main goals are to use your creative process to make a gift for someone. Use your imagination.