First Day Of Spring In Chester County; Clock

By the time I found myself standing on the terrace of a Bryn Mawr restaurant yesterday evening having a pleasant chat about my day with the mother of one of Jane’s classmates, I realized that it was the first day of spring. I should say that we both realized this simultaneously. It surprised both of us (and later Caroline when I told her) that we would have forgotten about this, but not that much because the winter had been so punishing this year (on a number of levels) and we had both simply reveled in the beauty of the day. We spent part of the afternoon at the Chester County Antiques Show in Westtown looking at the extremely beautiful (mostly 18th century, mostly Chester County) tables, clocks and chairs, as well as the other items on display. It was sort of a Hard Rock Café of great furniture, i.e., museum-quality pieces set in an unpretentious, but highly stimulating commercial setting. This is a picture of a clock made by Isaac Thomas, one of Caroline’s and Jane’s ancestors. I think Willistown Township in the 18th century, which seems to have been Clock Central, must have been an amazing place. Jane showed great character and resiliency yesterday, for which I’m very grateful and proud. A lot of patience (with me) also; it must be trying sometimes to deal with the extremely obsessed.