I guess we can say that spring is here and summer not far behind. Today I saw Allan Johnson pedalling his ice cream cart down Green Street. He said he started the season officially on Saturday though the weather didn't exactly cooperate. He is looking forward to the eighty degree temps forecast for later this week . . . Happy birthday to Ray Davis today. Lonnie Kerr celebrates Friday and Mike Billo on Saturday . . . A nice selection of Ron Hinkle glass arrived this afternoon. There are several new items in this batch . . .

Bob provided a nice brunch for our friends Jon and Dan from Fulton County who were on their way home after several days in Philadelphia. It was the highlight of the day; otherwise we lazed around the house . . .

I have lived in this house since 1963 and have had the store for forty years so a lot of people have passed through my life. And quite frequently I get asked the same old question: do you remember me? Usually and unfortunately I don't always. Today the question came from Tim Hughes of York who once lived in Penbrook next to Pastor Duke Fries. I had to admit that I could not recall his face. He was a bit disappointed, but then admitted that he had last visited the store in 1983 . . .

I believe there are more maple tree whirlygigs spinning in the air this year than ever before. In some places they are almost ankle deep . . . Well, the Ohio wedding was streamed to our computer via the Internet this afternoon. It was quite an experience. It was especially fun when some participants sneaked a wave at the camera intended for us locals back in Harrisburg . . . more French and Swiss soaps are on the way . . .

A quiet day and I accomplished almost nothing. A few changes to tabletop displays was about the most I could manage . . .

Placed a new order with Ron Hinkle in Buckhannon, West Virginia, for his blown glassware. Will take a few weeks to fill I am told. Several pieces would be great for Mother's Day . . .

What a shame! A whole evening of television and not a single political advertisement! . . . There will be a lot of losers tonight, but do not despair, losers. I am amazed at how many of you end up getting appointed to boards and various unexpected vacancies. No one seems to realize that the electorate has already rejected these candidates . . .

SNOW--but luckily to the west of us. Just rain most of the day here . . . Was leafing through some national magazines and came across an article Forty Under Forty--a list of young people expected to make an impact on the country in the next several years. I was surprised to find John Campbell, Harrisburg city treasurer and director of the Historic Harrisburg Association, among the chosen. Congratulations . . . Please vote tomorrow and I will spare you my tirades tonight. I hope you have a Netflex subscription so you can watch TV in peace; the airwaves are cluttered with political ads right now . . .

We were extremely honored to join the Brown family this afternoon at son Jack's in Camp Hill to mark the 65th wedding anniversary of Wes and Yvonne Brown. The two met and were married in Antwerp, Belgium, and Lt. Brown brought his new wife to America and a one-room home in Ft. Knox. (Having served at the Fort, I am surprised that she didn't hop the next plane back home.) In the years that followed daughters Claire and Ann and sons Mark, Alan and Jack joined the clan. At one point Wes taught at West Point and can now claim the title of Colonel . . . Received an unusual wedding invitation of sorts today. The ceremony will be held later in the week in Ohio, but we old men don't have to travel that far. The rites will be streamed live on the Internet. The times they are a-changing . . .

I am so mad that I could spit nails! Apparently Patty Kim does not read this blog because today I got another of her slimy attacks on competitors for the House seat she is seeking. This is just unacceptable and I cannot believe that she has that many supporters out there who would subscribe to these attacks. She is the only one slinging mud. I am thinking of opening a booth at my local polling place asking voters NOT to give her the time of day. There are three other candidates, folks. Select one of them when casting your vote. We do not need any negativity at this time of crisis . . . Sorry to report that in the wee small hours of the morning the big cement planter on a North Street stoop was upended by someone--a Restaurant Row denizen, perhaps? Luckily the planter, obviously expensive, did not break . . . Bob had a very busy afternoon bagging sales. Thanks to all of you who dropped by . . .

David Hoffman is recovering in rehab after back surgery . . . Uptown traffic was almost gridlocked at rush hour this afteroon because of a fire in the 1400 block of North Second Street . . . Goggle has again changed the way we writers post our blogs. This will take some getting used to . . . If we have to hire a COO to do what LT is incapable of doing I think we should be allowed to tap her salary to pay some of the cost . . .

Several politicians are complaining that their signs are being torn down by the competition.I hope that is not true; however just a few days ago we exited the house and found these signs all over the place. There had been a powerful windstorm overnight . . .

Got Patty Kim's mailing yesterday, got Roy Christ's today. His was a tad less offensive that hers as he compared their philosophies. (I had forgotten that she was a Republican.) I just think that candidates ought to outline their concerns about government and ignore as much as possible their opponents . . . suffered with a tummy ache most of the day so I am hitting the pillows early tonight . . .

Doctor Dowling had some good news for me today: my latest scan did not find any recurrence of cancer and I am good to go until my next appointment in October. However, he could not shed any light on the terrible headaches that have been plaguing me; just not his area of expertise but, he said, he has at least one other patient who is suffering similar problems and, apparently, her attacks are even worse than mine . . . I have one request of all doctors and nurses everywhere: if you cannot see me at the appointed hour, please let me mingle with others in the waiting room. Do not relegate me to a windowless cubicle where, as minute after minute elapses, I begin to wonder if I may have been forgotten altogether . . . I reported here a couple of months ago that the Pat-News was in search of a Pulitzer since the Penn State story was all that was being reported. Now that they have their prize perhaps they will share some of the money with we subscribers who were denied decent coverage of other happenings while they were revving up their prize portfolio. Only fair, I think . . . While she was ineffective and a disappointment on city council, Bob and I were entertaining thoughts of voting for Patty Kim to replace Buxton. Those thoughts all came to an end today when we received a mud-slinging mailer aimed at smearing Roy Christ. We just don't appreciate that kind of politics. Obviously there are two considerations here: one, Christ must be doing better in the polls than we thought and, two, there is obviously some big bucks buying Kim's way into the hearts of the voters. Who, do you think? And what do they want from her? Would be happy to hear from you political watchers out there . . . With spring cleaning underway people have been contributing unwanted books to our $2 sale table. Remember to take a look when you next visit . . .

The tax scurry is on and Bob and I got our returns into the mail today . . . Our shipment of English merchandise has arrived. First we have long matches for your fireplace or firepit. Wonderfully decorative box, $5.50 . . . More soaps arrived than expected. The large bath bars are now available in various scents: magnolia, Tuscan pear, lemon basil, hyacinth iris, lavender rosemary, olive grove. There are three others and you will have to let your nose be your guide: beach, lapin and serenity. All are $9.50 . . . Off to see Dr. Dowling tomorrow morning; he will give us the results of our most recent scan. Needless to say I am a bit apprehensive . . .

Our thanks to the Harrisburg Young Professionals for their annual spring clean up of the divider on Forster Street from Second to Seventh Streets. We certainly appreciate their efforts. I understand that more than forty members turned out to assist in this enterprise . . . I spent the day exploring all the foreign papers that Mark brought back from Ireland. There is an ongoing clamor about David Beckham and his ads for underwear that are appearing around the world. Apparently this protest has been going on from the first publication. It is alleged that his masculine assets are too well defined and the various groups want these ads censored. You can judge for yourself; Google something like David Beckham nude and you will get dozens of sites to explore. Supposedly, however, most if not all of the pictures are fakes. Have we too much time on our hands? . . .

Mark Stevens back from his trip to Ireland with a ton of pictures and some goodies for Bob and me. I especially appreciate the newspapers; they are loaded with interesting pencil puzzles and give us a different slant on world events . . . I was thinking today that there is nothing so delightfully old fashioned as lilacs. They are in full bloom now and announce themselves with an aroma long before you actually see the bush. My paternal grandmother had a large bush which partially hid the well from which we got our water and once a year she stood by and directed my grandfather as he removed the dead canes so that next year's display would be a spectacular one; it always was . . . Back in my area of Bedford County and in others as well I suspect you often find the ruins of small houses that have long been abandoned. Nothing is left but some rocks that once constituted the foundation. But in almost every case somewhere near there is a lilac bush or two still blooming away after years and years . . . Well, the big news may be that the Senators' season is underway, but in our household it is the t=ball season that takes center stage. And, of course, we have our heroes who hit home runs ! ! ! . . .

Absolutely nothing doing on this Friday the 13th. It looked like street cleaning day all afternoon; you would have had no difficulty finding a place to pull into . . . Over a week to go until voting and we are awash in political literature. "I will repeal Obamacare" certainly marks the bigot who doesn't deserve consideration. I cannot believe the lack of quality of so many candidates in both parties. One would like to think that we honestly have a choice, but this year I am not so sure . . .

Long time friend Dennis Stefan who has been living in Ireland for the past several years announced today that his application for citizenship has at last been approved and that, come June 14, he will hold dual citizenship in Ireland and the U.S. We congratulate him. Hopefully our friend Mark Stevens, now touring Ireland, will get to meet Dennis in Dublin before his return here . . . A jaw-dropping announcement from our less than esteemed mayor today: she wants everyone to know that her administration at city hall is "a fun family" but that some people--the eleven or so competents that have left--just weren't with the program . . . Well, it appears that JJ has become a "teacher's aide" of sorts. Seems that when the teacher has her hands full with a couple of students she assigns JJ to another group of kids having computer problems and asks him to show them the ropes . . .

One of those days that weather buffs must have enjoyed; depending on where you happened to be at a particular time you might have had sun, rain, snow, sleet, wind or sprinkles. As for myself, I was chilly most of the day . . . Annalise MacLeod is one year old tomorrow. She hasn't yet learned to say "hello" but she always waves and says "bye" when you walk away . . .

The area around The Bare Wall was jolted by multiple gunshots about 2:42 this morning. I was in touch with four persons who heard them but there was no consensus as to the direction from whence the noise came. Some though north, others south or west and one admitted he had no real idea . . . The city has lost another dedicated public servant thanks to the mismanagement of the current mayor. Ernie Hoch has been escorted from his post as public workers director and has filed harassment charges against Ms T. She is so inept! Ernie is the tenth or eleventh of her administration to walk. But our neighborhood has to say goodbye with a thank you; Ernie got our street lights repaired before he left . . . Realizing that he was about to lose the voting in his own state, Rick Santorum effectively bowed out of the GOP presidential race today. That was one--and the best--way to save face . . .

Got another of JJ's spring sports schedules today; between t-ball and Smurf soccer games and practice I don't think we will be seeing him much before mid-June . . . placed an order for the English bath bars of soap today; a couple of scents are out of stock but we will have a very nice selection in a week or so including your favorite lemon basil. Still $9.50 . . . I am still pretty much under the weather and certainly have to thank Bob for keeping our enterprise afloat . . . This full=bodied cow doorstop has been around for quite a while now. It is time someone comes up with $24 and carries it away . . .

Our thanks to all of you who have made our spring holiday season so successful. We hope you enjoy the company of family and friends this weekend and may you be especially blessed by the Easter bunny. We recommend that you avoid any semblance of Raisin-ettes for the immediate future, however . . . Bob and Ronn.

Another beautiful day, and with the weekend holiday close on our heels the store was quite busy and Bob made all the sales. Our TripAdvisor visitors today were from Gettysburg . . . Our neighbor Annalise MacLeod slipped into her Easter finery and had her picture taken. She is just a few days short of her first birthday . . .

Finally caught up with local celeb Russ Harr who escorts and ushers the stars backstage at the Oscars. He brought us an official program for which we are most grateful. He had a fistful of photos of himself with celebs, but I am so out of touch with the entertainment world since we stopped renting video that I could not be as appreciative as I might have wanted to be. I stared at one photo for a bit and said that the fellow with Russ looked somewhat familiar. "That's Tom Cruise, you ninny," Russ said . . . Although surrounded by the elite of the motion picture business, Russ this year was most happy to spend some moments with the dog from The Artist (I forget his name, unfortunately). He had his own seat and wore a bow tie (the dog, that is). And he must have been bilingual. Russ pointed a finger at him and said he was about to shoot. Russ no sooner said "bang" than the pooch collapsed in a dead heap . . . While in Hollywood, Harr's partner in a local bar and neighboring Roxy's held an Oscar gala to benefit the Greater Harrisburg Arts Council. They raised $5000 . . . Had the dreaded CAT scan this morning having foregone food for several hours. As many of you know, you imbibe some juice every fifteen minutes for an hour plus and then it takes but moments for the actual scan to be completed. Well, when I entered the DOWN elevator I was confronted by three young women who had just been at the Seven Bridges Restaurant on the top floor and their arms were filled with dinners. The aroma was so wonderful and I was so hungry I almost passed out. They said the food was still as good as it had always been; Bob confirmed this since he had eaten there when I had my surgery . . .

Another great day with numerous sidewalk conversations. Tulips everywhere--my favorite flower . . . Due at the hospital early tomorrow for a CAT scan. It had been one year since cancer necessitated my operation; now they want to know if it has reappeared and where . . . Harrisburg has opened a police substation in the midtown neighborhood at the HACC campus. It will be manned from seven in the morning until eleven at night. However, it will not be open to the public for conversations with an officer if I understand the mayor correctly . . .

Nice day but without news. Shoppers wanted Easter cards and we were happy to oblige. If all has gone as planned our friend Mark should be in Dublin at this hour . . .

A tenant in the 800 block of Green Street was doing some spring spruce-up in his garden on Sunday when he uncovered a loaded gun without the safety catch engaged. He summoned his landlord who in turn summoned the police. It took them three hours to respond but they acted with efficiency once they appeared. It was determined that the gun was a stolen one and judging by the condition it was probably in the elements for some time . . . the kid wants to remind you that we celebrate Easter this weekend and that we have cards and bunnies and a lot of items that would go nicely into your gift baskets . . .

Spent most of my waking moments reading. Have a huge stash of books that have been awaiting my attention. Had a nice walk with Cecilia and Sarah through the streets of Camp Hill late this afternoon. Had forgotten how much I missed strolling the neighborhoods. Cannot do that in Harrisburg any more; the thugs have been attacking the elderly on our uptown streets. Would be nice if the mayor organized a march on our behalf . . .