Many a sweet tooth aches tonight. The popular Dingeldein Bakery in New Cumberland has closed its doors, a victim of the economy . . . Bill Forgy reports that the plant sale to benefit Castaway Critters netted almost $2,000 . . . Hope the plumber can repair the leak in the bathroom tomorrow . . . Bob has planted his caladiums and elephant ears in the courtyard. He says we old men cannot do the 'show' we used to but he promises a satisfactory display . . .

Dentist Charles Fetterhoff celebrates his birthday on Friday . . . TheBurg for June has arrived . . .

Angela Lawson whose vehicle was totalled by an inattentive driver at Green and Forster some time ago got her replacement car today. Nice . . . Hot and uncomfortable again this afternoon until rush hour when a downpour set in. It seemed to lift so we headed for home and into an even heavier downpour. We were soaked before getting into the house despite the umbrellas that Bob provided . . .

HOT HOT HOT. Appeared to be a lot fewer people on the street heading for ArtsFest but our sales were much, much better. We need only $1.01 to make our month . . . Annalise came back from the shore with a barrel of caramel popcorn for her two favorite guys (after dad, of course) . . . Bob was at his family picnic for most of the day and then we paid a visited to the Battistis for salad, burgers and hot dogs. JJ helped set the table while Cecilia practiced her soccer kicks . . .

Had a delightful time at the MacNett garden party this afternoon. Bob and I shared a table with Eileen Young, Janet Day, Tom Leonard, Tom Border, and Janet Foreman. Others came and went during our conversation. And no one could complain that there was not enough to eat. All of it good, too. Thanks, Kathy and Pam . . .

Bob and I slept through the BIG excitement in our uptown neighborhood last night. According to neighbors, the city police spotted and chased a stolen car up North Second Street about one a.m. At some point the chase moved to Green Street going uptown the wrong way. As the thief went through the Hamilton Street intersection he sideswiped another vehicle and then plowed into a SUV or some such vehicle. He jumped from the stolen car and the chase was on. At the height of the incident our block of Green reportedly was clogged with police cars, a fire truck and numerous dogs sniffing around. I assume the fellow wasn't caught but informants weren't sure . . . Hot day grew uncomfortable for a bit and I am told that ArtsFest was busy but not all that crowded . . . Some nice visitors to the store, several of them first-timers . . . My neighbor Matt Hall across the courtyard has a mourning dove who has set up shop on his window sill. We suspect mom has made it her nesting site for egg-laying . . .

A real red letter day for me--the first watermelon of the season. Not as sweet or juicy as they will be in August but welcome nonetheless . . . Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend. We will be open as usual on Saturday and probably a few hours Sunday and Monday afternoon. Please stop by if you are downtown for ArtsFest . . .

Spent the late afternoon watching Funny Lady on Turner Classic Movies. Hard to believe that the wonderful Funny Girl could be followed by such a dud . . . Sent JJ an e-mail this morning since we haven't seen each other for a while. Imagine my surprise when I got to the store and found a message from him on the answering machine . . .

A house party, a garden party, a family picnic, and ArtsFest. Looks like it is going to be a busy weekend for us, not to mention that we are usually open a few hours Sunday and Monday . . .The economy is taking a toll on all of us so you may not see quite as many artist/craftsmen at the festival this year as you are used to . . . I have lived in my home just a block from the Capitol since 1963. I may be wrong but it seems that the Corbett administration has generated more protests on the steps than any other in memory. And I am told that there are a lot going on in the rotunda as well and of course I do not hear those . . .

Gray morning but late sun brought out the shoppers . . . Jack Barnett into Harrisburg Hospital for tests . . . Bob made one of our favorite seasonal dishes for supper--sugar peas . . .

Gray and rainy, not much doing business-wise . . . A reminder that the downtown library will hold its annual Memorial Weekend book sale this Saturday from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at Front and Walnut . . . The Patriot-News is asking for pictures from the Hurricane Agnes flood in 1972 and I submitted a few. I was surprised to see one of my offerings posted with the solicitation story on PennLive today . . . The Pennsylvania company, Dionis, that makes our popular goat milk soaps, lotions and hand creams is restructuring its offerings and is introducing all new packaging (but not a large increase in prices). If you have any popular flavors, please come in now and we will give you special pricing on the old packaging items that we have left . . . Imagine a glorious birthday party with more than 25 kids all dressed up in red caps and false mustaches. JJ was one of the guests and in his element since he loves the Mario Brothers . . .

Not much news on this glorious day. Refreshing breezes and low humidity. Almost perfect. Sabrina was "cleaning up" at her cookie and lemonade stand in the 1600 block of Green . . .

Scant store traffic today but no one wanted to linger over all the new items since it was so beautiful outside. Our thanks to neighbor Eric for cleaning the sidewalk between our two buildings . . . Some smart shopper is going to get a really nice bargain--a Christmas tree ornament bearing a hand-painted chickadee motif and packaged in a presentation box. Only $6. Buy several for tree-trimming party or hostess gifts . . .

Our condolences to Bob Fellman on the passing of his mother . . . Summer is a-coming in and Harris Street Church is welcoming the neighbors on Third in the Burg nights for free soda, hamburgers and hot dogs. I am always one of the first in line . . . Our uptown community was amazed by today's lead story in the Patriot-News about a young man who has passed himself off as a marine. He befriended Bob and me last summer on various evenings when he took his kids to the corner store for a treat. He even shopped the Bare Wall a couple of times. He told us he was finishing up a tour of duty at Indiantown Gap and was to muster out in just a few weeks. Each time we asked him about his termination date he always said there had been a snafu and his final papers had not yet arrived. Curious . . .

Spent the day displaying the new items and labelling the shelves. Hope you can check these out soon . . . A really great day. Hard to stay inside and work . . .

Happy birthday to Jack Barnett, Frank Pines and Dan Beard . . . Facts are sketchy at the moment but apparently a female resident returned to her home on Briggs Street around one o'clock today to find a burglar had broken in a door and was still on the premises. Police response was swift, we are told, but there are no further details just now . . . Received a shipment of varied curious items today, all of them inexpensive . . .

Off and on sprinkles all day dampened business. Neither Felix nor JJ was happy when his ball game was cancelled this evening . . . Received a nice order from Cape Shore Products in Maine; several of your favorites. Cranberry tea in bags, $6 . . . Bars of lilac-scented or cranberry bath soaps, $2 . . . A new collection of bargain-priced notepapers; nice quality for the price, 8 for $5 . . . Packet of bath grains for the tub, each containing enough for three baths, $3.25 . . .

Heavy rain all day--which translates into a lack of business . . . Went for a long walk Sunday morning in our uptown neighborhood looking for something to photograph for the blog. Time is marching on too quickly this year. All of the roses that I had wanted to show you are already way past their prime . . . I have inherited 4200 mailing labels (Avery 5160) but for a laser printer which I do not have. If you can use these please e-mail us (address on left) or give us a call. First come, first served . . . There is a plant and bake sale set for Saturday, May 19, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at 3407 North Second Street to benefit the dogs and cats rescued by Castaway Critters. If you have plants to donate to this cause please call us and we will put you in touch with Bill Forgy . . .

The U.K. is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the sandwich. This invention (?) in 1762 was perfect for a guy like me who would rather eat on the fly than sit down to a formal dinner . . . We are in search of those plastic lawn and patio chairs with a high back like you see on The Bare Wall stoop in the summer. Thus far we have only found those with low backs. Please, if you see the high-backed ones, call us . . . JJ and Cecilia dropped by this evening to play ball with Uncle Bob; he is already regretting the back pains he is going to feel tomorrow . . .

A beautiful day for the Midtown-wide yard sale and the Young Professionals tour of Shipoke houses; gives one hope that summer is on the way . . . Happy Mother's Day greetings to all . . .

Happy birthday to Matt Simmons . . . I am caught up in yet another Ngaio Marsh murder mystery (Death in Ecstasy) so Bob tended store this afternoon and had a very busy time of it. The brilliant sunshine certainly lifted the spirits of everyone . . . Ordered some little fabric coin purses with Mayan designs that are made somewhere in Central America. We used to sell a ton of these but haven't stocked them for years. Will be interested to see if they are still as popular as they once were . . .

Sunny skies late this afternoon; quite pleasant to see . . . the tulip poplar in front of 711 Green Street is loaded with flowers this year . . . If your name is Barbara and you shopped The Bare Wall for lotions and hand creams today we have some good news for you: one of the items you chose was on sale but we didn't factor in the discount. There is $3.50 set aside for your next visit , , ,

Thirteen-month-old Annalise MacLeod has found her balance and is now parading up and down the sidewalk in our neighborhood with just an occasional ker-plop . . . Lee Spitalny e-mailed to say that she and Maurice Sendak were in the same class at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn and graduated together. Vic Damone was in the same school but left to launch his singing  career and didn't graduate . . . Another cloudy day; could we have some sun please? Wayne Reed of Dalmatia is eager to get into his garden. Things were going great until a major hail storm wiped out his plants last week. He will have to start over . . .

Another rainy day; it certainly is washing out our Mother's Day business . . . The shipment of silver rings (most with a Celtic flavor) has arrived. Happy to say that the price will remain at $17 each. Quite a selection in Size 7 this time around . . . Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, has died. I saw him at a library convention in Kansas City back in the sixties. We stood in a semi-circle at a discreet distance and looked on in awe. He was there to sign books and chat, but we did not want to impose . . . Some weeks later a friend in Philadelphia wondered how he might contact Sendak to have a book autographed for a nephew. I happened to have Sendak's Greenwich Village home phone and suggested that Randy call him the next time he was in New York. He did so and got a big surprise. Sendak invited him for Sunday brunch at his apartment and also inscribed the book . . . Sendak said he did not like being a celebrity. Everyone stands across the room and points but no one comes up and talks to you. It is very lonely, he said . . .

Rainy and overcast. Unpleasant. Unfortunately today was the annual trek of motorcycles to the State Capitol. Felt sorry for all those fellows and gals . . . Have received two  encouraging votes in my campaign for the presidency which I announced yesterday . . . Glad to learn that David Hoffman is now recuperating at home from his surgery. He could be driving in a week or two . . . Do NOT . . . I repeat, do NOT buy anything from a catalog called The Video Collection. I did and now I have a daily announcement on my e-mail and I cannot get rid of it. I have "unsubscribed" and I have marked these spam, but they will not go away. I have been stuck with this for nearly three months now . . .

Stayed up last night to see the "Super Moon;" I was not impressed . . . Have decided that when I am president I will have the Marine Corps band do a rousing rendition of our national anthem. I will then decree that this recording is the only one to be used when the anthem is called for. That song is mutilated more than any I can think of and most frequently by the red-necked NASCAR performers. Maybe the time is ripe to push again for America the Beautiful to be the anthem . . .

Beautiful day with good store traffic including some visitors from France . . .

JJ has been helping me with jigsaw puzzles almost from the time he could sit upright in a chair. We originally started him off with those tray types that contained perhaps twenty pieces; he became a whiz at those which are now being conquered by his sister Cecilia. Just recently he has complained that the "little kid" puzzles are too easy and he wanted a challenge so I invested in some 100-piece ones. Of course he had to show off and let me know that he wasn't dismayed; according to Daddy Eric it took The Kid less that 40 minutes to do this one . . .

Pleasant day and quiet street. Not much more to be said. Ordered 35 new silver rings mostly with a Celtic flavor. They will sell in the $23 range . . .

Overcast all day and not as warm as predicted . . . My apologies to Tom Leonard who was promoting an event at the Midtown bookstore; after I had the entry all but ready for the blog I realized that the program had been held last month and I was weeks too late . . .

In the eighties--a beautiful day . . . French soap arrived today and we now have two-bar boxes of sweet almond, vervain, apricot, lavender, linden and something else that I cannot immediately remember. (That happens when you are 76 sometimes.) These sell for $10.50 and of course we are happy to wrap them as a hostess or Mother's Day gift . . . Got out the camera for this shot of Ron Hinkle vases. The hyacinth blue one is five inches tall and retails at $53. The rose-colored one is somewhat taller and retails at $56 . . . Looking forward to continued warm weather; walk on down and see us . . .