Introducing: Iceburgh the Penguin

"Oh, what do we have here?" The woman reached back into a pile of oranges and pulled out a fluffy stuffed penguin. "Awww, how cute! What am I supposed to do with him?"

I turned to my mom and chuckled. Only at "Trader Joe's" is a shopper granted the satisfaction of finding a furry friend hidden among the produce.

"Ahh, you've found Iceburgh!" an enthusiastic employee popped up from the other side of the fruit display.

"Okay, so now what?"

"Well, it's a thing for the kids. They find the penguin and get a prize. Do you have a little one?"

"No, not with me" the lady laughed, "I have a little granddaughter, though. Does that count?"

"Sorry!" the employee threw up her hands. "I'm afraid not"

"I'm a little one!" I spoke up, half joking.

But she just smiled and went back to stacking her pears.

"You could find the penguin, Missy." My mom nudged me "Go take it up to the counter and see what they say."

It was worth a try. I took "Iceburgh" and, presenting him to a man near the front of the store, exclaimed in my youngest voice, "Excuse me sir, I but found this penguin over there."

"Good for you!" he said "Come on over here and pick out a little something."

I followed him eagerly to the basket. What would the prize be? An awesome Trader Joe hat? A colorful pin? A reusable shopping bag? A roll of those cool stickers they give away at the checkout? The suspense was killing me!

I peered into the basket AND....... my heart sank.

Candy. And fruit strips.

Wow.

No wonder this game was for "little ones".

"Oh, thank you!" I beamed at him.

"You're welcome! And you know the coolest part? Now you get to hide him wherever you want!"

 That did sound pretty neat.

And so, Iceburgh and I proceeded throughout the store searching for his next hiding place. We parted ways at the grits, which I chose because of their excellent black and white camoflauge, and bid each other farewell.

Another of my Trader Joe adventures had come to a close, but, as far as I know,  for good old Iceburgh the penguin, his were just beginning.

Oh Spring!

I opened my eyes this morning to hear the sound of birds --oh, sweet birds!-- wafting through my window. The day's young sun was glowing red, shining off the dew-wetted grass and glistening on the panes of my neighbors' windows. I could feel the freshness in the air, still flushed with the night's cool chill, as it blew softly into my bedroom.

It was a lovely wake-up call; a soothing "Good Morning!" for my senses. My ears could hear it. My eyes, as they took in the lovely scene, could see its beauty. My nose could smell it in the aroma of the warm, damp earth permeating up from the ground. My skin, shivering a little and covered with goosebumps, could sense it. I knew what day this was.

"Today is the day when life begins!" my heart nearly sang for joy, "Spring is finally here! The world is awake and alive. And finally, FINALLY, the long LONG winter is over......"

I jumped out of the covers and began fixing my bed. What a lovely thought. And what a lovely day, a lovely season, a lovely new chapter this spring has already turned out to be.

Note: So yes, spring has begun. I've started my vegetable garden (swiss chard, broccoli, peas, mesclun and arugula have already taken their places in our raised beds) and have been living mostly outside in the afternoons enjoying the amazing warm weather. I've taken up shooting hoops on my back basketball court again, and riding my bike has been fun as well. But the biggest news of all, as you can see from above, is that I've started to write a little bit again. Slowly but surely, the old knack is coming back, and with it, soon The Missy Times will too. So Stay tuned! Meanwhile, check out this video: one of my favorite songs by Coldplay that I think sounds quite springy and lighthearted. 

Have You Ever Seen This Side of Andy Warhol?

Scenes from the "Warhol: Headlines" exhibit now on display at the National Gallery, Washington, D.C. (Article coming soon to The Missy Times)

Visitors touring the exhibit at the National Gallery, Washington, D.C



Isn't the detail and texture amazing?



Warhol drew the pages on silkscreen with pen and ink

Many of his sketches bear striking resemblance to early issues of the Missy Times

"The Missy Times" Highlighted in Local Newsletter

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Exciting News!

The Missy Times was recently highlighted in Beaver's own Borough newsletter. The local publication, which is published quarterly by the Borough Council Committee, features lots of tidbits of news, history, town updates and more.

"We're very excited to have The Missy Times highlighted in such a broad way" said editor Missy Koshute.

If you have not yet seen the article, titled "Local Girl Turned Publisher", log onto beaverpa.us where you can find the newsletter's link.

Missy Times Flashback: "Pumpkins, Candy and Costumes, Oh My!"

Taken from the October 31st, 2010 issue of The Missy Times.

While Trick-or-Treating I took the time to notice these three staples of Halloween around town.

Pumpkins Although most pumpkins are usually carved in the same general fashion with two eyes, a nose and a scraggly smile, a few that I saw really caught my attention.

• Most people carve the face or scene on their pumpkin and therefore that carving is the main attraction. Not many people use the front of their pumpkin as a window into the interior where they staged the real show. Our neighbor did just that, though, by carving the front of her pumpkin into jail bars and placing a mini pumpkin inside, where he unfortunately was suffering the consequences of whatever crime it is that pumpkins can commit.
• As we walked up the stairs of one house on Bank Street, we were greeted by a few surprisingly amazing pumpkins. One had quite a beautiful ornately carved design that must have been carved by an expert with the knife, and another had a whole face --A WHOLE FACE!-- complete with hair, eyes and neck. It was very impressive.

Candy What can I say about candy? Most was chocolate but I still got a good basketful of edible and delicious candy. Here are some candy-giving styles I observed:

1. The "take-it-yourself" method: a basket full of candy is quite appealing, especially when there is a large selection. It's nice to hear a friendly adult say "Go ahead, take a piece", or even better, "take a handful" and let you pick your own confection of choice. Some people even just had a basket on their doorstep free to choose from!
2. The "Here you go" method: this method is for parents who want to make sure greedy children do not take more than one piece. Being handed a piece of candy is a minus for Trick-or-Treaters, however, who will often not get the candy they want or that they are not allergic to.
3. The "Sit on the porch" method: It is an unwritten rule that if the porch light is on there's candy in the house. Most of the time, along with the light the bestower of the candy is also situated on the porch, waiting for kids to walk up the steps to receive their prize.
4. The "sit near the sidewalk" method: this method is more convenient than the previous one if you are trying to keep up with a fast moving group of people, though it is less popular.
5. The "wait for them to knock on the door" method: this is the most ominous of the candy-giving styles. Are they giving out candy or are they not? Is their light on to light the sidewalk or as a signal to come to the door? This used to be the only way people gave out candy; not many people would wait outside. It's sort of cool to have someone answer the door and be able to look inside the different houses.

Costumes   Most of the costumes this year were all store bought and very trite. In my own experience, I noticed while at various stores that they were mostly for either grown-ups or toddlers and that there were not many for ages in between. The most creative costumes I saw were on a group of three people: one was Abraham Lincoln, one was a confederate soldier, and one was a union soldier. I myself dressed up as a detective using dark green pants, a trench coat over a turtle neck and a detective hat (two baseball hats in opposite directions covered in plaid fabric).

I hope my observations have made things more interesting and shed a positive light on one of my least favorite holidays.

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For.....

At last, at last. What a sight for sore eyes!

Three pages down, two to go!

Are You Happy to See Autumn Arrive?

After a long, hot summer, Fall has officially arrived according to both the calendar and the weather. The leaves have begun to lose their green, temperatures have dropped dramatically into the 40's, Fall sports are in full swing and bright orange pumpkins are making their appearances at Farmer's Markets across the country.

Do you welcome the change of seasons? Does the departure of summer leave you feeling saddend and nostalgic for the warm days of the past months? Or is the coming of Autumn a happily awaited occasion as you eagerly adapt to the new time of year? Let the Missy Times and More know by sending your comments to themissytimes@yahoo.com ! Then come back and answer our special poll (see sidebar) !

Select responses and full poll results will appear in The Missy Times!