With a Chainsaw..

So this fun game appeared on my Facebook feed over the weekend.  I thought I'd share it here, and see what kind of responses we are getting.

From my feed:
The Empire of Tea: The Asian Leaf That Conquered The World With A Chainsaw

To Kill a Mockingbird With a Chainsaw

MedSurg Nursing With A Chainsaw

Creating a Successful Spirituality in Retirement With a Chainsaw


What titles can you add?

Boston Legal

image: amazon.com

Disclaimer Notice: This post contains Affiliate Links

One of my favorite shows, ever, was Boston Legal.  The actors in it were amazing - all very big names - James Spader, William Shatner, Candice Bergen.  The plots were very clean and well written with just enough sharp wit thrown in to keep the viewer on their toes.

Just before the blizzard hit our area, I went to the library with the kids to pick up books to tide us over the long weekend.  As we walked past the video display, I saw it.  Sitting face out on display where we could see it, was Season One of Boston Legal.  I've been searching for this for quite some time now.  It's not on Netflix, and it's not on Amazon Prime.

The kids had never seen it before.  When we began watching the first episode, they were hooked on the intelligent dialog and very real issues and questions that are brought up in every episode.

This powerhouse of a drama is worth watching - or going back to re-watch if you haven't seen it in a while.  James Spader is, hands down, one of my favorite actors.  I've been a fan of his since way, way back in the day. 

A truly bingeworthy show.

Frugal Friday

The horrors of it all!  It's snowing again!  Honestly, it only snowed for 10 minutes - and you can see how big, fluffy and beautiful the flakes were!  It was a sweet little storm, and now it's over!  (FYI, I took this picture out of the back door of our building, looking down towards the ravine.  The parking lot is off to the right. Our weather forecast through the weekend and into next week is a pretty nice one!  These passing flurries are going to move through, and then the temperatures warm until we get close to 60* on Tuesday.  El Nino years are always crazy weather years.  30" of snow and then 60* temperatures 10 days later. 

As far as spending money this past week, I didn't.  We were snowed in.  I did fill the tank up on the Civic yesterday.  The cost of gas has dropped so low that I was able to fill the tank for less than $20.  Great for my pocket book, but I keep thinking that there's going to end up being some kind of big economic hit for these low gas prices down the line.

A casualty of one of the many potholes on the road.  I don't know if you can tell, but this is the van, and the tire is shredded.  The car is literally on it's rim on the parking lot.  We had only been having an issue with the a/c and the defroster before this happened.  This wonderful little piece of luck added $500 onto the bill.  *sigh*  No Spenduary here we come!!!!!  Funny thing - as husband was driving this to our mechanic to get it fixed, the blue smoke was just pouring out of the wheel well. Because of all of the snow on the roads, and the insufficiently cleared shoulders, he had no place to pull over the car to change the tire.  The very first safe place to stop the car was in the parking lot of our mechanic.

The shelves of our local Wal-Mart in the hours before the storm.  Seriously?  Considering we have 5 grocery stores in town to serve a population of thousands, HOW did we manage to keep running out of meat?  And laundry detergent.  Laundry Detergent was the other thing that we kept running out of.  We must have a whole lot of clean laundry in our town!

Meals were simple this week.  Chicken and Rice.  Tacos, taco salad.  Pancakes, scrambled eggs, fajitas, and baked potatoes.  We worked our way through all of the veggies in the crisper drawer, with the exception of the turnips.  I need to find something to do with the turnips.

The first couple of days we were home, we worked on cleaning out the big, messy room in the basement.  It's still a big room, but there is significantly less mess in there now.

The next day, we worked on shoveling snow.  The last two days we were home, I finished up the scrapbook for 2015. We moved middle child into his dorm room on Tuesday, and his classes started on Thursday - they were originally supposed to start on Monday.  He was ready to go back to school!  I was more than ready to go back to work once the roads were open again!

I hope this finds you well and warm, and with plans for a fantastic weekend with your family!

Book Review: Empire of Tea, The Asian Leaf That Conquered the World

www.amazon.com

Tea Time.  Nothing brings to mind such a peaceful scene as the thought of an English Tea.  I've been to my fair share of formal and informal teas here in the United States, but one of my dreams is to someday have a high tea - in England, and a cozy tea in some wonderful little country inn somewhere in the countryside.

Think about those tiny little leaves.  Dried leaves, that we steep in hot water and drink.  You can pick some up at the supermarket, or, if you know what you're doing, you can blend your own combination from leaves you pick yourself.  It all seems so idyllic and simple, doesn't it?

But is it really?

The history of the tea leaf is a fascinating look at the history of the world.  While I was reading this book, I was reminded in many ways of the Spice Empire in the Dune books written by Frank Herbert.  The politics surrounding tea are fascinating.

From the simple leaf that was cultivated, steamed, dried, and then eventually brewed into a warm concoction in Ancient China to the powerhouse that drove the East India Company.  The "discovery" of the New World by the Europeans was driven by the desire to find a shorter route to the East, ostensibly for the spice trade.

Tea is featured prominently in so much of World History, but it has become such an ordinary staple on our tables now that we tend to forget what a powerful geopolitical force tea has been.

Come, be reminded of the power of the tea leaves.  Renew your acquaintance with the history of a simple little leaf - and how that little leaf has driven the course of history.

Principal Snow Day at Waterloo

Our big dig continues.  We're certain that there will be no school this week for the kids.  One principal in Howard County decided to make the most of his snow day...


From Waterloo Elementary School... Awesome video!

The Big Dig Continues

Sure, I could post more pictures of white stuff, but why?  The  big dig continues.  Husband went in to work today - they brought them in on a 4 hour delay.  I'm still off work - I don't know If I'll be in tomorrow or not.  The University of Maryland system has postponed move in day and classes again.  I'm ready for middle child to report back to school.  His move in day was moved from Saturday to Weds, and now we're waiting to see if they're actually going to let him move in on Weds, or if it's going to get pushed back one more day.

I never thought I'd say I want to go back to work, but.... I'm really ready to go back to work.

Schlow Center Region Library

While we were roaming around State College, PA in the fall, I stopped in at the public library.  This gorgeous building was new in 2005.  As a result, the building is wired for the newest, latest, and greatest technologies, and is easily accessible.  Located on a prime corner lot just a few short blocks from the main campus of Penn State, the library is conveniently (in my opinion) located kitty-corner from several amazing restaurants and coffee shops.

Come and roam through the stacks with me...

The children's section of the library.  Look at all of those beautiful windows!  The windows overlook the street below and add a lot of bright natural light to the space.  I love the low bookshelves. 

(I also love the little pink tutu off to the right.)

Having done my own not-so-glamorous book displays over the years, I always am in awe of displays that really rock - drawing your attention to the display and the books.  This particular display highlights the works of the speakers who will be coming in to speak at their library this year.

I've heard about this concept, but never seen it.  Our libraries don't offer this service.  These are electronic readers that are pre-loaded with selected books.  If anyone has used one of these, I'd love to know your thoughts.  (Can you imagine the overdue fines or lost materials fees for this?)

A reading nook for the grown ups.  I tell you, if I were a Penn State student, I'd load up my books and laptop and come down here to study, sitting in my eyrie over the street.  Looking down on my problems from lofty heights, I could accomplish anything.

I love the color scheme, and the woodwork on the walls. 

Something you don't see all that often in public libraries anymore.  Paper copies of periodicals.

The back of the fiction section, looking towards the computers and the entrance - see the glassed in wall in the middle left?  Those are the stairs up from the street level entrance.

This tickled me.  I've set books aside for book discussion groups before, but usually we just have a boatload of books set aside on a shelf behind a desk somewhere.  The patron needs to know to ask for the books, or needs to know who to contact in order to get the books set aside for a discussion group.  I love this!  It's a book group in a bag!  One person can get all of the books, so the next time your book group meets, you can collect the books from the current discussion and hand out the books for the next discussion. What a great idea!  (Note that warning on the tag- "Please count all pieces before returning, you will be charged full replacement cost".  That's the cost of all of the books in the bag, NOT just the one that's missing.)

Gorgeous little library!


Website for the Schlow Center Region Library: https://www.schlowlibrary.org/

Blizzard 2016

It's Monday and my internet is back up and running!

It's day 4 - and the clean up continues.  Our driveway is cleared.  We are digging the cars out today.  I don't know if we'll be in to work tomorrow, but at least our cars can dry off.  I really don't want to leave the snow on the cars for one more day - we'll have to chip through a layer of ice to get into the cars if we wait much longer.  The snowplows came through our neighborhood at 2:30 this morning, and then they spent the next several hours not only cleaning out the snow, but widening the paths.  I got up to watch for a while, and was surprised to see that the driver of the big earth mover not only widened the road, but went to the trouble of clearing out the snow walls from the bottom of the driveways that had already been cleared.  In the picture above, you can see the earth mover, and one of the county maintenance trucks.  The big machine broke down around 7, and the maintenance truck showed up and worked on the rig for about half an hour before it got up and running again.  I'm glad that the people showed up in the picture for scale.  It gives you an idea of how huge the snow piles are. 

As of today, we are still under a state of emergency.  If you hang out on social media at all, people are whining and complaining because they're snowed in, they don't have enough food, they're bored, it's not fair, the snow removal trucks are moving too slow... this list goes on and on.  Sad thing is, the warnings were out for over a week that this was going to be an ugly storm, and the dig out was going to be arduous.  It's not like they didn't know that they needed to have supplies to be in place for a week.  The governor mentioned last Thursday to make certain you had enough supplies to be on your own for a week.  Planning, people, planning. 

Sunset in my neighborhood last night.  Look at that beautiful, clear sky!  It was a beautiful sunset!  At this point in time, our street had not yet been cleared.

Tiger

We've been hanging in there.  The house is cleaner that it has been in a long while.  Not only is the basement cleaner, so is the kitchen.  I've been able to sort through stuff that I've been wanting to sort through for a while now.  Laundry has been DONE.  I mean, really done.  All of the laundry.  I'm never this caught up on my laundry!  If I'm snowbound for much longer, I'm going to be hitting up the scrapbook pile earlier than I had planned on!  I need to assess how far behind I am and work out a plan to get caught up this year. 

We've baked a lot over the past couple of days.  Pumpkin muffins - made with pumpkin from my half bushel that I bought earlier this fall.  Chocolate Chip cookies, and gluten free bread.  Yum!  I have a pot roast in the oven for dinner tonight, and last night, I made a big batch of porcupine meatballs.  It's been a long time since I've had porcupine meatballs, and they were so very, very good.

As of now, Maryland is still under a State of Emergency.  State Government is closed, as is the Federal Government, and all of the school systems.  The road crews are still struggling to get all of the highways open, and the side streets and back roads are an absolute mess.  I'm certain that you heard the Governor closed down I-70 and 270 on Saturday night due to accidents.  This is the first time I remember the highways being shut down in Maryland in the 25 years that I've lived here.

I'm more than a little concerned about flooding.  Our temps are supposed to go way up into the 50's mid-week.  If it gets that high, and all of this snow melts at once, we are going to have some very ugly flooding.  So glad I live at the top of a hill!

Blizzard 2K16

We have power, but no Internet!   Im posting this from my phone, so i apologize in advance for any spelling & grammar mistakes. 

The snow stopped late last night, leaving us with 29" of snow on the ground. We are fortunate to be inland and west of Baltimore. The coastal areas did not fare as well. The damage in Ocean City NJ & Ocean City MD is phenomenal. OC Maryland lost part of the pier yesterday. OC NJ had flooding that was worse than Hurricane Sandy.  

We haven't seen a plow on our road yet, and don't expect to see one today.  We've been out for half an hour at a time since the sun came up, shoveling out our driveway. We think we've got 2 more shifts to go before we finish the drive and start clearing the cars. 

My big, messy room down in the basement is now a big room with some mess.  I more than met my goals for cleaning that room for the month of January. I doubt if I'll get it all cleaned before we get out & about again, but its fun to think that I might. 

Since our Internet is down, so is Netflix. But, I had found the first season of Boston Legal at the library last week. We're working our way through that. 

If you live on the East Coast, please be careful digging out. We've had a lot of heart attacks from people digging out. Nobody wants to do CPR on a driveway! 

Go slow, and work in half hour shifts.  You're not going anywhere, so relax and enjoy your time at home!

The gorgeous tree in the back yard. See those metal posts sticking up out of the snow?  Those are the supports for the canopy of yhe swing, which is out by the fire pit. The seat for the swing is under all that snow. 

The view of the front of our house, down the street. See?  No plows have been through here!

My neighbors house across the street. See the cars? Look closely - they're giant snow mounds!

The canyon that is our driveway. We have about 20' to get to the street, and then we need to get the cars shoveled out. 

Speaking of cars - do you like the snow sculpture on the back of my car?  Wind blown!

I love the way the snow is all nestled up in the branches of the Maple tree!  Gorgeous!

Blizzard of 2016

Friday night at sundown.  Doesn't look like much, does it?

The snow storm of the century has begun!  Last night, the weather was still a little wimpy.  I had expected it to roll in with a huge crash-bang!  But no, it silently tiptoed in.  Tiny little snowflakes wandered lazily down from the sky, meandering on their own independent pathways on a slow, gentle, journey towards the ground.  The State of Emergency for Maryland began early yesterday.  We had originally planned a college trip with the middle child in order to look at a graduate school in Virginia.  We cancelled our plans Weds. morning and decided we'd wait until spring break.  Since I already had the day off, I didnd't go in at all.  We met up with friends for breakfast at Panera.  I was surprised to see how many people were leaving with loaves of bread, bagels, sweet buns.  When we arrived at 8, the shelves were full of bagels and bread.  When we left a little after 9, there was no bread left and only 2 bins of bagels.  (I guess it's safe to say our town loves Panera's bread!)  I ran a few more errands with the kids before we went home and "parked it" just a little before noon.  

Sundown, around 5:00 Friday.

Husband went in to work and was sent home at noon because of the impending weather.  Our school system went in, and the kids had a 3 hour early dismissal.  Middle child's college was supposed to start Monday, and move in day was supposed to be today.  That's been pushed back.  As of today, move in day for everyone is Monday, and classes begin on Tuesday.  I'm curious to see what that's going to look like come Monday morning!  I don't foresee the roads and parking lots being cleared enough for us to move everybody in Monday morning.

Last night, we had a great dinner, ran laundry, cleaned the messy room in the basement (which isn't quite so messy anymore), played Farkel, and Apples to Apples.  There was about 4 inches of snow on the ground when we went to bed.  

This morning, we woke up to the sounds of thunder snow.  You know, a snow storm that has so much energy it thunders.  I never heard of Thunder Snow until I moved to the Mid-Atlantic. The wind has picked up, and the snow is blowing sideways.  We live on top of a hill, and I can usually see the 3 miles from the top of this ridge to the top of the next one, where the center of town lies.  This morning I can see the houses across the street, but not any farther. 

As measured in our driveway this morning, we are at 19" of snow.  Think about that for a minute.  15 inches of snow fell between the time we went to bed at 11:00 and the time we went out to get wood for the stove at 7.  That's 8 hours.  That's a LOT of snow.

I do have a couple of safety concerns.   Tragedies that happen every time we get a major snowstorm.  We don't get major snowstorms every year, so people get lazy, forget, or have moved in from another area south of here and just don't realize the consequences...

One- If your power does go out, do NOT cook on a kerosene or propane stove INSIDE the house.  The carbon monoxide will kill you. Cook outside in a sheltered place.  We have our grill set up under the carport.  The neighbor has an outdoor covered kitchen.  Yes, it's cold. 

Two- If you have a gas furnace, fireplace, or water heater, make certain that the outdoor vents are kept clear.  This is a significant snowfall, and those vents could easily become clogged or covered with snow.  If your vents are on the roof - keep an eye on them.  Carbon Monoxide will build up and be released into your house if the vents are not cleared.

Three - If you have a fire hydrant near your house, get out and clean around it as you can.  A 3 foot radius is what the fire crews need in order to access the hydrant. Nobody likes to think of it, but houses do burn to the ground during snowstorms. Be careful with open flames, and remember to dump your fireplace ashes in a fireproof container.  We heard of a house that burned to the ground last year because somebody dumped their ashes into a cardboard box and put the box outside, on the wood deck, next to the house.

Stay safe!

It's so pretty!  I love the silence a snowstorm brings!

The big old tree in the back yard.  It's such an elegant tree.

Frugal Friday

First of all, keep those of us on the East Coast in the direct path of this blizzard in your thoughts.  I live in the part of Maryland that is already under a Blizzard Watch.  Cool - it's been 6 years since we've last been under a blizzard watch!  For those of you who live in naturally cold climates, take a look at this video of what happened in Washington DC on Wednesday night when we had and inch - you read that right - ONE INCH - of snow, and you'll understand why we're all concerned!

View More: Eye Opener 7am News|Live News|More News Videos

 (Depending upon how this loads, you might have to click on the link.)

Dinners this week were easy - spaghetti with homemade sauce, pizza made from the leftover homemade spaghetti sauce, thirteen bean soup, burritos made from the leftover soup and the leftover rice we made for dinner last week.  Nothing spectacular, but nothing that required grocery shopping, either.  We had all of the ingredients on hand in the house.

Photo: Bettina W.

Our biggest plan for this storm is to work on husbands quilt that his Mom gave him when he graduated from high school.  It's a tied quilt, and it's made from used blue jeans.  We need to replace the batting and the backing.  We had all the materials around the house except for the darning needles.  I ran out and picked up a couple more needles so that we can all work on tying this quilt together.  I'll post next week about the process.  I'm not looking forward to sewing the edges closed.  If anyone has any suggestions on a "quick" way to do that, I'm open to them all!

On the getting more crap out of the house front, daughter and I went through the pile of stuff in the basement and pulled out her stuff that she wanted to keep, but didn't need out right now.  We packed up old soccer trophies, stuffed animals, and other mementos from elementary and middle school, and tucked them safely into boxes and tucked them into the basement.  We took care of over 100 items between the two boxes and a trash bag.  I'm going to claim only 100 things for this week... Combined with the 73 item total from last week, that's a total of 173 items cleaned up and or taken out of the house.   I have hopes of getting the big, messy room in the basement cleaned out before we get dug out from this storm!

An adorable Little Free Library!

One of the most crucial things we will be doing during the storm is keeping the basement steps cleared of snow.  When that snow starts to melt, it could easily come into the house under the door.  Husband and I stopped by Home Depot last night and found some big pieces of sturdy corrugated metal to prop over the basement stairs today. (at an angle)  Hopefully, this means we won't be shoveling over a foot of snow up the steps from a walk-out basement every couple of hours.  Trust me, that gets old really fast. 

In other news, we headed up to visit oldest child last weekend.  We met several of his friends, had dinner at a great Vegan restaurant, explored the town a little bit more, and spent some awesome time together!  His school has a fantastic weather wall, that shows real time weather around the world.  It's very, very awesome.  I need one of those in my house!

We dog sat this little cutie 2 weeks ago!  Photo: Bettina W.

We dog sat the greatest little dog ever.  His parents were taking their girl back to school - so it was just a one day - 6 hour - commitment for us.  We took him out for a long walk, went to a coffee shop and got him a snack, and took him home with us to watch some football.  (Can you believe that the coffee shop actually sells organic dog treats?  And they welcome well behaved dogs in their store?)  We had a great time with him, but we were glad to give him back!

One last note - I'm writing this on Thursday night, timed to open on Friday morning.  As of tonight, most of the gas stations in our area are out of gasoline, and our stores are out of milk and toilet paper.  I'm so glad I hit up the grocery stores earlier this week!

If we have power, I'll post this weekend.  If you don't hear from me, you know our power went out, and I'll update you on things once the power comes back on!  If you're one of the millions of people living in the "bulls eye" of this storm - stay safe and warm this weekend. 

Preparing for a Major Snow Dump

Have you heard?  There's a snow storm headed to the Mid-Atlantic!  HOORAY!

Weds. night, and the stores are empty.

In general, we don't get a lot of snow in this part of Maryland.  We get several little snow storms, and a really big one every couple of years.  The problem with this kind of snow is that clearing it out so that people can get around again gets to be a huge task that takes days.  What would take the good folks in New England a day to clean out can easily take a week to clean out around here.  When Snowmaggedon hit six years ago, it took 5 days for the plows to get to our street to clean us out, and then we were hit by another massive storm a couple of days later.  It took a full week after that storm before we were able to get out of the neighborhood again.

I grew up in the Mid-West, where the snow was always more serious, and we were always prepared for the big one.  We knew that storms would hit, we just didn't know when. 

Fast forward 30 some years, and weather forecasting has improved to the point where we can predict and prepare for storms days in advance.  Being caught by surprise by the weather is no longer quite the reality it used to be back when I was a kid.

Needless to say, I spent a day earlier this week inventorying our supplies and picking up what we needed to round out what we think we'll need for a week at home.

source: Baltimore County Public Library

One of our snow shovels broke last season.  It was one of the cheap ones.  I replaced it with one of the sturdier, all metal heavy duty shovels.  I also bought another broom to supplement the one we sweep the cars off.  One extra bag of rock salt - purchased, and stored in it's water proof container outside.

For the cats, I picked up an extra bag of food.  I just bought one last week, but I bought an extra one, because I really don't want to have hungry, whiny cats roaming around the house in case if this turns out to be more than one storm that keeps us housebound for more than the week we're expecting.

The quick run to the grocery store Tuesday evening included toilet paper, almond milk, a couple of pounds of ground beef and chicken, a bag of potatoes, a bag of onions, a bag of carrots, and a bag of rice.  I'm actually out of rice.  How did that happen?  Can you believe that I had less than 12 items?  I was able to check out through the Express Lane!

Back at home, we made certain that the shovels were within easy reach of the door.

Our firewood is stacked under the carport, so for the most part, our wood stays dry when it snows.  We have some drifting, but the wood itself never gets soaked.

We are as ready as we are ever going to be for the upcoming storm!  Who knows if it will be as big as they are predicting?  The weather maps and models do look impressive!

Image: Foot's Forecast

In preparation for the storm, all of our cell phones are being charged - just in case the power goes out.  We supplement our heat with wood, so if we do lose power, we'll be warm, and we'll be able to cook.  We have solar lanterns outside, and they're storing up a charge now.  We also have a couple of old oil lamps that are on standby, just in case if we need them, as well as a hand cranked weather radio and a hand cranked LED lantern.

If you live in the Mid-Atlantic area, are you ready to be snowed in for a while?  Do you have enough to see you through a week without getting out of the house?

A Civic Responsibility

Election time is quickly approaching.  The first caucuses are just days away. 

I have heard some disturbing comments made over the past few days --- people who are planning on voting for candidates based on "hotness", or cute shoes.  I've heard a 20 something say that she is tired of looking at Presidents who "wear nothing but suits and ties, and she wants to see them mix it up a bit." 

NO!  NO!  NO!

Electing the next President of the United States is a solemn responsibility.  It is the responsibility of every U.S. citizen of voting age to put in some serious research on our candidates, and to make the best choice to represent our country.

I feel as if our nation is at a crossroads.  There is much chaos abroad, and a stumbling economy here at home.  We need a leader who can lead.  Someone who has the vision to see where our country could go.  This person should have the ability to put together a respected team of leaders in their fields who will be able to give the best possible advice to guide our nation.  They also need to have the ability to work with foreign leaders.  Not only to negotiate agreements, but to work within the bounds of diplomacy to accomplish great things in the future.  Remember the saying made famous by Teddy Roosevelt:  Talk softly and carry a big stick.  

Even more important, will your candidate be able to work with people on both sides of the aisle?  Will they be able to reach across, build consensus and get bills passed?  The last 8 years have been remarkable for their contentiousness.  Much has been argued, the government has been shut down, and the debt has continued to grow.  But, has much been accomplished?  Our nation is crying for a leader who can work with Republicans and Democrats alike to go about the business of running the country.

Only you can decide which candidate best represents your view of how our country should be run and which candidate best represents your view of our foreign and domestic policy for the next four years.  Don't take the word of what is posted on Facebook or Twitter.  Do some real research.  Read their platforms on their websites.  Look through the newspapers of note in their home districts and read about what they've done in the past.  As Dr. Phil would say - "The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior."

And then, exercise your Civic Responsibility and get out and VOTE in your primaries.  Please!  Your vote matters!

A Lesson Learned the Hard Way

I was strolling through one of my old blogs yesterday. At one time, they were public, but I've since made them private - they were never my best writing, but I still enjoy going back and looking at what was going on in our lives at that point in time.  I found this story - which was originally published 5 years ago today.  I had completely forgotten about this until I read it - and then the memories came flooding back.  What a day that was....


We had a quick moving clipper move through our area and dump 4 inches of snow on us.  Normally, that's not a big deal.  Unfortunately, the storm was not predicted.  Our road crews were sent out on other assignments, and once the snow hit, they were stuck in the snow just like the rest of us and were unable to make it back to their home base and pick up the salt trucks.

This was the day that prompted my being more prepared for the snow in my car.  It's the reason why I keep a snow supply box - with food, blankets, water, and kitty litter in the trunk of my car.

I was stuck out in the snow.  I made it most of the way home with no incident, but then came the last mile.  No matter which road you travel to get into our neighborhood, you have to go down a steep hill, around a tight corner and up another steep hill.  The "back" way into our neighborhood goes through a ravine - the turns are even tighter and steeper on that road.

I came in the front way, and a school bus had spun out on the road and was blocking both lanes.  I backed up the hill and turned around to go the back way into our neighborhood.  That was where I made my mistake.  I crowned the hill at the top of the ravine, and my van began spinning out of control down the snowy roadway.  I did everything I was suppposed to do - and still, I kept spinning.  It felt as if the van was in danger of tipping and rolling over.  Finally, after three complete spins, I came to rest against a curb.  After I gathered my wits, I backed the van the rest of the way down the hill and made it up the next hill.  I finally got onto the road behind my house, only to find cars at a complete standstill.  There was a five car pile up, and two school buses full of children had spun out on the road, and were stopped, perpendicular to the roadway. 

I gave up all hope of getting home in my car.  There was an empty field off to my right.  I pulled my van into the field, and walked the rest of the way home.  I only had three blocks to go.  Because the road surface was so slippery, I walked through front yards.  I watched, horrified, as a motorist left his car and attempted to walk down the road.  Another car, attempting to get around the pile up had pulled to the side of the accident and lost control of his car.  He was headed toward the pedestrian, and there was no way the collision could be avoided.  Somehow, the pedestrian managed to get out of the way of the car, but it was enough to convince me to stay far away from the roadway. 

The kids usually get out of school at 2:30.  My daughter gave up on the bus and walked the mile and a half home.  The boys school is farther away from the house.  The buses did not deliver them home until 7:00 that night.

Now that I've had time to reflect on the incident, what lessons have I learned?

First, I have prepared a box of items in my trunk just in case if I am stranded again.  If I had been stuck in my car for any length of time, I would have been in some serious trouble.  My box has blankets, non-perishable food, water, kitty litter, hiking boots, a flashlight, kitty litter (for traction), and a small snow shovel.

Second, I put snow chains in the back of the car.  I have all weather radials on the van, but they were not enough to handle the slick snow that we had.  Even more important, I learned how to put the chains ON the tires.

Third, I make certain that I have my winter coat in the back of the car when I leave the house.  I don't wear my coat when I drive- I don't feel like I can handle the car well when I am all bulky in my coat.  However, walking home three blocks in my Keds and a sweatshirt through a snow storm was enough to convince me that NO MATTER WHAT, my coat is always in whatever car I am traveling in.

Stay warm this winter!

Mud Pie Monday

I've been researching my problems with ants this past week.  Those things have been the bane of my existence for a while now.  What to do, what to do, what to do?

First of all, I've decided NOT to move the garden.  It's current location is primo - located next to the Purple Martin House, and with great sun exposure.  It's not as close to a water source as I would like, but I can adapt.

So, I asked "Frank and Fern" of "Thoughts from Frank and Fern" for advice in one of their gardening posts.  They, along with one of their readers, recommended used coffee grounds.  I don't drink coffee, but I can get my hands on used coffee grounds at work, and at church. 

I still have a couple of garden boxes in the ground, but I haven't actively worked the soil in that box since the ants pulled out all of the onions and left them in a pile for me.  (Hey, c'mon, they very well may be smarter than me. Next thing you know, they'll take apart the garage and move it across the yard.)

I think I may have a little bit of synergy going on here.  I read an article in Mother Earth Living News recently about Layered Gardens. You might have also heard them called Lasagna Gardens, because there are alternating layers of materials, much like you layer materials in a lasagna. 

I had several piles of leaves that never made it into the big brown bags that went out with the leaf collection this fall.  I get hold of coffee grounds at church, and some manure from the farm down the road for a few dollars. 

This weekend, I layered up that first box with newspaper, coffee grounds, leaves, and manure.  Hopefully, liberal layers of coffee grounds will help defeat - or at the very least confound - the ants. 

With my luck, the ants will knock over a convenience store, bring home the coffee machine, and brew up several pots of coffee from the grounds in the garden. 

100 Things Every Marylander Needs to Do at Least Once - Part 2

A continuation of Wednesday's list.  The original list appeared in the Baltimore Sun.  You can see the original article here:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-100-things-every-marylander-must-do-at-least-once-20160111-story.html.

I've got to say, I haven't done as many of the things on this half of the list as I have on the other half of the list.  I see more road trips in my future!  Many of these things are considered to be staples

51) See the Iron Birds at Ripken Stadium

Apples from the Orchards!

52) Tour the Havre de Grace Historic District

53) Bike or Jog the NCR Trail

54) Pick fruit at Baugher's Orchard and Farms
This is a perennial favorite, and we go here every year. Not only to pick fruit, but to eat at the restaurant and pick up veggies, pies, and plants.

55) Hike the C & O Canal Towpath in Cumberland
I haven't hiked the towpath, but I have explored the endpoint of the towpath.  It is beyond beautiful.

56) Take a flight out of BWI
I love BWI!  Very nice airport, easy to navigate, and friendly staff!

57) Hit the trails around Loch Raven Reservoir

58) Join the Crowd at Pimlico for Preakness

59) Go to HonFest
I've been to the Hon Cafe in Hampden, but I've never been to HonFest. 

60) Run (or cheer) for the Baltimore Running Festival

61) See the Fourth of July Fireworks at the Inner Harbor

62) See the Fall Foliage in Western Maryland

63) Visit Calvert Cliffs State Park
What is the big deal about Calvert Cliffs?  You can walk the shore and find fossils.  Way cool way to spend a day!  I've never actually found any fossils, because the last time I went I was too busy making certain that my kids didn't fall into the water or drown.

64) Explore the Great Allegheny Passage

Fall Color in Western Maryland.  The picture doesn't do this justice.

65) Explore historic St. Mary's City

66) Visit the Piney Point Lighthouse

67) Visit the Calvert Marine Museum

68) Hang out with the wild ponies at Assateague
This is a must see and do!

69) See a movie at Bengie's Drive In

70) Visit Crystal Grottoes Caverns in Boonsboro

71) Tour the Green Mountain Cemetery

72) Visit Geppi's Entertainment Museum

73) Play the vintage pinball machines at Crabtowne in Glen Burnie

74) Ride the antique carousel at Glen Echo Park

75) Eat raw oysters in Lexington Market

76) Ride the miniature trains at Leakin Park

77) Ride the streetcars at the Baltimore Street Car Museum

78) Tour the Hampton Mansion in Towson

79) Visit the Poe Grave and Westminster Catacombs

80) Watch a movie at the Maryland Film Festival

81) Visit the Bucktown Village Store, the site of Harriett Tubman's First Act of Defiance

82) Visit the Reginald F. Lewis Museum

83) Explore the shops at Harbor East

84) See the view from Sideling Hill
If you head West on Interstate 70, it separates out in the Western part of the state.  You can either go north into PA on 70, or continue West on 68 through Western Maryland and West Virginia.  Sideling Hill is a huge mountain that had a cut made through in order to facilitate road travel.  Not only is the view gorgeous, but when you are standing on the observation platform above the road, you can look out over the hill and see the layers of stone, and how they are pushed up.  It's a unique look into the geological history of the mountain!

85) Ride the Tred Avon Ferry in Oxford, followed by dinner at the Robert Morris Inn

86) Go Duckpin Bowling

87) Walk across the Conowingo Dam
I've never walked across, but I have driven across.  Does that count?
I'm not sure my fear of heights would allow me to walk across - although I did manage the Brooklyn Bridge a couple of years ago.

88) Attend a University of Maryland Basketball Game

89) Attend a Johns Hopkins Lacrosse Game

90) Eat a Gino's Giant

91) Watch My Lady's Manor Steeplechase

92) Visit the old city pier in Fell's Point where "Homicide, Life on the Street" was shot.

93) See the country's first monument to George Washington in Boonsboro

94) Attend a performance by the Arena Players

95) Go to Market (Lexington Market, Cross Street Market, etc.)

96) Eat a snowball

97) Get a Burger and Beer at Mother's in Federal Hill

98) Drive Charles Street from Downtown Baltimore to the County Line

99) Visit the Antietam/Sharpsburg battlefield

100) See Babe Ruth's Birthplace

Frugal Friday

This has been a productive week.  I don't know about frugal!

The oldest child went back to school this weekend.  The weather was frightful when he and his friends drove back home.  They got back safely.  Classes began on Monday, and he is in the midst of getting into new classes, buying new books, and learning new material.

50 items in this box

The kids all celebrate birthdays this week.  Yes, three kids born in the same week in January.  How's that for not even trying?  We went out to dinner to celebrate with the youngest two and several of their friends. (Not quite frugal, but an awful lot of fun!)

We sent a birthday package to the oldest child this week.  A couple of new sweatshirts, some food, and a little extra cash.
We are planning on going to visit him this weekend, if the weather holds out.  Driving over two mountain ranges, you never know what kind of weather you can expect.  I sure hope we don't get trapped up there!

The quest for cleaning out the house continues.  The picture on the right shows this weeks' box of donations. It has 50 things.  Combine this with last week's box of 23 items, and we've got 73 items OUT of the house this week - not counting the very large number of items that went out in the large green trash bag last week.  Progress, progress, progress.  The goal for the year was 1200 pieces of crap.  Only 1177 to go!

I'm starting a class for work this next week.  It's three CEU's.  Even better, it's free!  This will count towards my library certifications, but I don't know that it will count towards my teaching certificate.  I am still on the hunt for an inexpensive 3 CEU's for my teaching certificate.  Finding this should be a hoot!  I wonder what wonderful new thing I'm going to discover?  I wonder WHERE I'm going to discover this wonderful new thing?

I hope you've had a wonderful week, accomplishing many frugal things!  If you did meet your frugal goals, go ahead and share them so that I can live vicariously through your frugality!

Book Review: The Repurposed Library

Disclaimer Notice: This post contains Affiliate Links.

I love this book!  Altered book art has become a very big "thing" in repurposing old materials into new.  I was first introduced into altered book products about ten years ago when the public library where I was working had a program on Altered Books.  It was a program for Young Adults, and we spent our time making old, torn up discarded books into purses.

image: amazon.com

Since that time, Altered Book Art has moved from the fringes into the main stream of the art world.   You can easily find altered books in any Etsy shop, and you can find nifty projects at many craft fairs.

This is a great book for the very crafty people amongst us.  If you are comfortable with scissors, Exacto Knives, glue, hot glue, and a little bit of wood working, you can make some pretty awesome projects out of books that are no longer serviceable.  (I have several college textbooks from 1983-88 that are way out of date - the information is no longer valid.)  Nobody will take these books, not our local used book stores, and not our local Goodwill.  I hate to throw them out - but now I see how I can reuse these tiny little treasures and make them into something else.

There are two projects in particular that I am going to book mark and make later in the year - once I get to the halfway point in crap removal from my house!  1 is the sewing kit made out of a book.  The other you can see on the front cover - the book that is holding a paintbrush.  I also think I'll have enough pages left over to make the rosette wreath from the old pages.

If you're looking for a fun and unique way to be crafty - either in a group, by yourself, or with your favorite teenager, this is a great place to find a project!
  

100 Things Every Marylander Must Do at Least Once - Part One

I found this awesome list of all things Maryland in the Baltimore Sun yesterday.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-100-things-every-marylander-must-do-at-least-once-20160111-story.html

I'm not a born and raised Maryland girl, but I have lived here for half of my life.  25 years now.  I have embraced Maryland as my home, and there are some things that just scream Maryland when you think of them.  This is a great list of things to do.  If you're visiting Maryland for a day or two, pick one or two items off of the list.  If you're here for years, you really should try to hit up as many of these items as you can!  They are fun way to spend a day!

Take note: This list concentrates heavily on the areas farther away from Washington DC.  With the exception of the DC Suburbs, this list very nicely balances Western, Eastern, and Central Maryland sites.

So, how many of these have I done?  I've done a lot of these, but not all.  I have to knock several more of these off my list this year!  I'm already planning several weekend day trips for the spring!

1) Watch the Orioles Play at Camden Yards
Every year, we go to a game. Sometimes a day game, sometimes a night game, sometimes a give away day, but we always go.  Nothing compares to eating Boog Powell's BBQ and soaking in the view from the inner harbor.

Photo: Bettina W., @Camden Yards

2) See the view from the Bay Bridge

3) Eat Thrasher's Fries on the Boardwalk at Ocean City
I need to take this trip this summer.  I love the Boardwalk!

4) Have a Picnic at Ladew Topiary Gardens

5) Tour the Great Blacks in Wax Museum

6) Tailgate and See a Game at Raven's Stadium
There's this very big problem called "Football tickets are ridiculously expensive."

7) See the Visionary Art Museum's Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race
Love the Visionary Art Museum.  It's worth the trip just to see the museum!  Words fail me when it comes to describing the Kinetic Sculpture Race.

8) Have Dinner in Little Italy
Does lunch count?  I'll have to go with husband when the weather warms up a little bit more.

9) Ice Skate at the Ice Rink in the Inner Harbor
I'm not sure I'm up for ice skating anymore.  I've been at the ice rink when there's skating going on.  I've been at the ice rink when it's summer, and people are running around.  Can you imagine?  I've already torn ligaments in my ankle and tore up my knee.  What kind of damage can I do on a pair of ice skates?  I shudder to think of it.

10) Go to the Baltimore Farmer's Market under the JFX
We tried to go once, but we couldn't find parking.  I need to try again, maybe try going earlier?

image: Bettina W. Cylburn Arboretum  Not on the list, but should be.

11) Climb Federal Hill
Gorgeous view from the top of Federal Hill.  It seems like you can see forever from the top!

12) Explore Fort McHenry
Three kids, field trips and scout trips.  I've been here a lot, and I still love the place.  Just can't get enough of it!

13) See a concert at Pier 6 Pavillion

14) Go to Artscape

15) Take the Water Taxi to Fell's Point
I've been to Fell's Point, and I've been to the Inner Harbor, but I've never taken the water taxi between the two spots!

16) See a show at the Lyric

17) Go to Mass at the Baltimore Bassilica
I've been to the Bassilica, but I've never been to mass here.

18) Visit the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore

19) Visit Smith Island

20) See the tulips in bloom at Sherwood Gardens.

21) Visit the Walter's Art Museum

22) Pound Crabs at James Landing

23) Visit the Capital in Annapolis

A view in Annapolis.  Image: Bettina W.

I love Annapolis!  Love to roam around, love to explore, love to eat in the little restaurants.  I've lobbied in the State House, and I've visited the Governor's Mansion, and toured the capital with scout groups.  Just can't get enough of Annapolis!

24) Go to an Army - Navy football game

25) Join the Polar Bear Plunge

26) Catch crabs at Sandy Point

27) Dive into Deep Creek Lake

28) Walk a trail at Catoctin Mountain

29) Go to FlowerMart
I've been intending to go for the last five years.  I might just take the day off work this year and head over to Flower Mart instead of going in to work!



30) Shopping on Historic Main Street in Ellicott City

31) See the holiday lights on Hampden's "Miracle of 34th Steet"
Words fail.  One entire city block of row homes decked out for Christmas - with decorations streaming from house to house.  I remember flying into BWI at Christmas time years ago, and looking down as we were approaching BWI.  You could see the lights on 34th street from the plane!

Photo by Bettina W., 34th St. Baltimore.

32) Go inside the Pagoda at Patterson Park

33) Order a Sandwich at Attman's Deli

34) Sip wine at Boordy Vineyards

35) Visit Downtown Frederick

36) Walk over the Patapsco River (Grist Mill Trail)

37) Go to a festival at Centennial Park

38) Ride the rides at the Maryland State Fair
And I've eaten more fried crap than I should while I was there.  Fried Oreos and Fried Butter being the only two things I am willing to admit to eating.

39) Go to a BSO concert at the Meyerhoff

40) See a concert at Merriweather Post Pavillion
I saw Sting in concert.  Ahhh.. that was before children and before husband. What a long time ago!

41) Tour Columbia's Symphony of Lights
No Symphony of Lights this year due to construction, but we've been annual participants since the beginning.  We walk the lights the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Why?  All proceeds from Symphony of Lights go to the NICU at the hospital, and our oldest son was a recipient of their top of the line care when he was born.


42) Visit the National Aquarium

Image: Bettina W.  The view from the top of Federal Hill  looking at the Aquarium.

When the kids were little, I used to alternate museum memberships.  We rotated between the Aquarium and the Zoo, and we would visit each once a month.  Whenever we traveled to visit family, we would use our memberships to visit the museums in whatever city we were in using the reciprocity agreements. 

43) See the USS Constellation

44) Visit the B&O railroad museum

45) See the view from the Top of the World viewing platform

46) Visit Port Discovery Children's Museum
Scouts & Field Trips from school.  It's a great hands on museum!


47) Visit the Maryland Science Center
Not only visited, but I worked there!  Great museum!  It's a must see if you have kids!

48) See Babe Ruth's birthplace

49) Eat a box of chicken from Royal Farms

50) Visit Susquehanna State Park