Random Pictures

These will be totally random!  For some reason, my tablet won't let me post text and photos. Until I can get back on the laptop, it's just Pictures!  FYI- daughter took the pictures while I was driving - not me!  Enjoy!

Edited 2/2/2017 - I've been having technology issues!  I need a new computer, but I'm in the middle of a spending moratorium so.....  things are going to be hit or miss for a while.

Misty, foggy drive home!

I kind of expect to see the headless horseman coming around the corner!

Daughter and I went to a presentation by local mystery authors presented by the Baltimore County Public Library.  All of these authors are fantastic!  If you see one of their books, grab a copy and enjoy their books!

I seem to have a thing for taking pictures on windy country roads, don't I?

Providing dinner at the Men's Shelter.

So here's my latest pet peeve, #Starbucks.  This is supposed to be a Very Berry Refresher.  It's supposed to be red.  What the hell is this?  I complained to the Barista, but she told me this was a Very Berry Refresher.  So, I was out over $4 for a glass of water.  So disappointed.

No Spenduary - Week 3

What we did to save money this week:

1) We have electric baseboard heat throughout the house.  The thermostats on the heaters are original to the house (1970).  Husband replaced the thermostats in the rooms where they were not working effectively.  i.e.- our room, the thermostat is either on, and the temperature is over 80, or it's off.  He replaced 2 thermostats.  We'll see if there's any savings reflected in the next electric bill.

2) This one isn't mine so much as middle child's.  He is getting ready to go back to school, where he does much of his own cooking.  We put together a ton of mason jar meals for him to take back with him.  While we were at it, we made up several other jars to take up to his brother for his birthday.  I'll post pictures from that escapade later this week!

3) I'm in the middle of cleaning out the big, sopping mess from the chest freezer.  I've been looking at the rubber gasket, too.  I think we might need to replace that - there's several places where the seal isn't what it should be - and I think that's why there's as much ice as there is inside of the freezer.

4) This is my third week without a Starbucks run!  I'm not sure whether I should be proud of that - or appalled to realize that I've been stopping by there for tea quite so often....


What we had for dinner:
1) Salmon Filet - with butternut squash cubes and slices brussel sprouts (sauteed in olive oil)

2) Salmon with Rice Pilaf - from the leftover salmon filet. Husband made the pilaf with lemon juice instead of vegetable broth.  The lemons were leftover from the clearance rack find.  We had a side salad to go with this to round out our veggies.

3) Homemade Pizza, with homemade sauce pulled from the freezer.  I'm still experimenting with recipes for gluten free pizza dough.  This recipe wasn't "THE ONE", but it was good!  We topped the pizza with onions, bell pepper, and spinach.

4) Spaghetti- made with - you guessed it - more homemade sauce from the freezer!

5) Black Bean Soup
I made this recipe that I found on Smitten Kitchen.  You know I didn't make the creme - dairy allergies and all...  It's an excellent, stand alone bean soup recipe!  I made corn bread to go with this!

6)Lettuce Wraps
Using ground turkey, they were supposed to take like P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps.  They weren't that good, but they were okay.  I made a vegetarian version for daughter.

7) Ramen Stir Fry
This one's a little harder to explain.  I found gluten free ramen noodles.  Years ago, I used to make a stir fry recipe with ramen noodles.  There were no seasonings in this recipe, though.  I took the leftover ground turkey from the Lettuce Wraps.  (Yes, two pots were going here - one vegetarian, one meatatarian.)  I heated up the meat, and then added a bag of frozen veggies.  I split the bag of ramen noodles between the two pots, added about a cup and a half of water to each and brought it to a boil.  I added bullion to each pot, and I added some of the seasonings I usually use in stir fry.  (Crushed red pepper, ginger, etc.)  10 minutes later, dinner was ready.  THIS STUFF WAS AWESOME!  Better than the original lettuce wraps!

What did you do to save money this week?

YALSA Youth Media Awards

Disclosure Notice: This post contains Affiliate Links.

It's better than the Emmy's.  It's better than the Super Bowl.  It's the major awards for Children's Books that were published last year!  I'm so giddy!  So many award winning books!  I can't wait to share them with you!

John Newberry Medal for the most outstanding contribution to Children's Literature:

The Girl Who Drank the Moon
author: Kelly Barnhill











Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:


Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist John-Michel Basquiat
illustrator: Javaka Steptoe
author: Javaka Steptoe


Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award


March, Book Three
Author: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin


Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award


illustrator: Javaka Steptoe


Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe New Talent Award


The Sun is Also a Star
author: Nicola Yoon


Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Literature written for Young Adults


March, Book Three
Author: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin

Just a note here, March, Book 3 received multiple awards today.  Other awards include: YALSA Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults and the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award.

You can see the complete list here: http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/01/american-library-association-announces-2017-youth-media-award-winners

Book Review: Neverwhere

This book was first publisher.   It's a fantasy novel.  I usually read fantasy, but this is the first time I've read any novel by Neil Gaiman.  It won't be the last.  He weaves a wonderful, believable tale.  Neverwhere was also a television show produced by the BBC in 1996.

Richard Mayhew is a stock broker living in London.  He lives an enviable life, rising quickly through the ranks of his stock firm.  He has a beautiful girlfriend named Jessica, and they are engaged.  Jessica works for a high powered firm and is on the fast track for promotion and power.


That all changes one strange night.  A strange girl literally drops out of a door from the middle of nowhere.  She is covered in blood and unconscious.  Against the will of his girlfriend, Richard stops to help this strange girl and finds himself in the middle of a strange and unusual world.

Two strange men appear at his door the next morning, searching for the girl, whose name is Door.  When they entered the room where she had been hiding, the found nothing.  As he tries to help her find her way home, he finds himself in a strange part of London where he had never been before, speaking to strange people that he had never before noticed.

When Monday morning arrives, Richard finds that he is no longer visible. He could not be seen by anyone, and he could not be heard by anyone.   Tracking down the strange young woman he had helped the night before, Richard discovers the strange world known as London Below - a place where lost people who fall through the cracks end up.

As Richard begins his quest he joins forces with Anesthesia, Hunter, Door and the Marquis as they journey through London Below to find The Key that will unlock their destiny.

But will the key be the solution that they expect?

Lemon Cake

I made this for daughter's birthday last week!  It was much better than I was expecting!  Surprisingly, the biggest expense in this dish wasn't the lemons.  When I took my cruise past the discount produce shelves at the grocery store, I found a bag of six lemons for $1.50.  Well hello!  With those lemons, I was able to make a delightful cake!

Lemon Cake Recipe

2 cups Bob's Red Mill One to One Gluten Free Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
1 1/4 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice

Glaze
1 lemon, cut into thin slices & seeded
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Oven 350*

Mix dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar.  Beat in the eggs and the vanilla.  Add the lemon juice and zest.  Alternate adding the flour and the milk into the batter, stirring until just blended together.

Pour the batter into a prepared cake pan.

Bake in a 350* oven for 30-35 minutes.

While the cake is baking in the oven, bring the water, sugar, and lemon slices to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.  Remove the lemon slices from the water with a slotted spoon, and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Remove the cake from the oven, poke the cake all over with a toothpick,  and pour the syrup mixture evenly over the cake.

We topped the cake with powdered sugar and the lemon slices.

You can top it with icing, or leave it plain.

NoSpenduary - Week Two

Things We Did to Save Money This Week-

I am working on cleaning through the freezers and pantry.  My goal is to eat through a good chunk of what's in there so that we can get rid of one of the two freezers.  After all, my in-laws left one of the freezers here when we bought the house.  It's over 40 years old.  You can't convince me that it's not eating more energy than it's worth! Sooooo.... this leads to item number one:

1) The big, old freezer has been filled with everything from the chest freezer.  The chest freezer is unplugged, and being defrosted.  Once all of the ice on the sides is melted off, I'll clean it completely out and shift everything back over to the chest freezer.

2) I turned the ceiling fan switches to "winter" mode.  They run backwards, pulling the warm air down from the ceiling and back down to the floor - where we need it!

3) I finally went grocery shopping this week.  I haven't been since before Christmas.  But, we had finally run through the last of the fresh produce in the house, so I made a quick stop at a couple of places to pick up a few things.  I went to two year round farm stands in addition to the grocery store.  At the first farm, I picked up a 50 pound bag of potatoes and a 20 pound bag of onions, and some lettuce.   I also got several bags of their "save these veggies".  These are bags of veggies that are not perfect, and could turn soon, but are awesome if they hit a soup pot in the next couple of days.  At the second farm, I picked up a box of produce and some eggs.   At the grocery store, I  picked up the staples I didn't already have on hand:  carrots, oatmeal, sugar, coconut milk, etc.

4) I made cakes for the kids' birthday celebrations - sorta.  Daughter had a lemon cake.  I'll share the recipe here later this week.  It took surprisingly few ingredients.  Even better, you couldn't tell that it was gluten and dairy free!  For middle child's birthday, I was working.  His sister made him a cookie cake.  She made a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough, and then spread it out on a pizza stone, leaving about a half inch around the edge.  Her masterpiece was gluten and dairy full, so I did not get a taste of it.  However, since it disappeared within a day, I'm assuming that it was acceptable! 



Dinner-

Teriyaki Chicken
So, this is a freezer meal that's been sitting in the big freezer downstairs for way too long.  I pulled this out, thawed it out and tossed it into the crock pot before I left for work.  We had A LOT of chicken left over.  (This really isn't one of my favorite recipes.  I think that this is why I've had a couple of the pre-made bags laying around the freezer for so long.)

Chicken Wild- Rice Casserole
I found this recipe HERE on The Kitchn's website.  This IS one of my favorite recipes!  It is traditionally a freezer meal, but we can never keep it in the freezer for long if we know it's there.  We really, really like this recipe!  I swapped in the leftover Teriyaki Chicken in place of the raw chicken the recipe calls for.  I also used one of the way too many boxes of Long Grain and Wild Rice that I have sitting in the kitchen cabinet!

Taco Night
 aka Taco Tuesday!  I made 2 huge messes of taco meat, one with real meat and one with fake meat.  I served it along with Corn, Refried Beans, and Spanish Rice.  We ate a lot of it, but not all of it. It was messy and wonderful!  I saved the leftovers to use another night.  (This was dinner on middle child's birthday!)

Taco Salad
Combined with lettuce and a bag of Fritos, all of the taco leftovers make one of the best salads known to our family.  Seriously, it's an easy meal, and picky eaters love it.  (Heck, even I eat it willingly, and I'm not known to love salads!)

Baked Acorn Squash stuffed with Quinoa
I had picked up two big bushels of winter squash for $30 back in the fall.  These hardy winter stalwarts last for a long time, but they do need to be eaten!  Tender acorn squash are sliced crosswise into rounds, and filled with a vegetable quinoa stuffing.  It's filling, healthy, and a great way to warm up the house on a cold winter's evening!  You can find the recipe here:  Baked Acorn Squash.
(I made this for daughter's birthday.  It's one of her favorites!)

Bean Soup
Made with a pound of dried beans.

Baked Beans
I took the leftover bean soup, poured it into a casserole pan, and then drizzled molasses over the top.  Baked at 350* for an hour, I thought it was pretty good!

Monday Musings

It's been a fun week!  Daughter and Middle Child had their birthdays this week!  When on earth did I get old enough to have children who are 20 and 22 years old?  How did that happen?

It's Unfortunate
Do you subscribe to Netflix?  They uploaded A Series of Unfortunate Events over the weekend.  The books were a huge hit when my kids were in elementary school.  We even went to a talk given by Lemony Snicket's personal representative.  It was awesome!  The books seem to have died down in popularity over the past few years, but then Netflix uploaded the series.  Neil Patrick Harris is absolutely phenomenal as Count Olaf, and the series follows to close to the books, it makes me very happy!

Non-Event
Friday night, many of the forecasters in the Mid-Atlantic region were calling for massive snow and ice on Saturday - with snow amounting to one inch.  Yes, you read that right - one inch.  Ice up to 1/10th of an inch.   Hmmm... I know there was more snow and ice south of us, but the weather was not looking bad for us.  On my way home from work Friday night, I heard that our school system had already cancelled all activities for Saturday.  The library closed for Saturday.  (Not MY library, I work in another county.)  I stopped at the grocery store on my way home for a bunch of green onions and was blown away by the number of people in the store, stocking up on groceries as if we were expecting to be snowed in for a month.  (I decided I didn't really need the green onions after all and went straight home.)  So, how much snow and ice did we get?  Well, I went to work on time on Saturday morning.  We had no ice or snow.  I looked outside a couple of times and saw snow flurries, but nothing ever stuck to the ground.

ALA Youth Media Awards
So, what are these awards?  I'm sure you've heard of the Caldecott, Newberry, Coretta Scott King, and Pura Bel Pre awards for books?  These books are named as the best in their field for that publishing year.  The awards will be announced next Monday, Jan. 23.  I'll be watching the live feed online at 7:30 in my pajamas!  I can't wait to see who the big winners are!  Are you curious to find out more?  The list of awards being given out can be seen here: http://www.ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/youth-media-awards.  I hope you are just as excited as I am to see who gets honored!

Finishing a Quilt

Years ago, when my husband graduated from college, his mother made him a quilt.  Not just any quilt, this was made from 5" squares cut from his old pairs of blue jeans. Tied with blue yarn, and lined on the back with flannel, this toasty warm quilt has always been our favorite.  This was the only quilt he took to college with him, and once we were married, it has always been on our bed. 

Alas, 30 years has taken it's toll on the quilt.  The back tore, and the batting began to fall out.  The back tore some more, and more lining fell out.  Last year, I finally bit the bullet and tore off the remains of the batting and backing.  I picked up a new backing - in the form of a flat sheet at Target, and more batting.

I spent a quick hour on the floor of the church, pinning the layers of the quilt together. 

And now, the time consuming part.  Tying a quilt goes faster than hand quilting, but it's still a time consuming proposition.  The yarn has to be cut, and each tie needs to be hand tied.  I am putting the new ties in the same spots that my Mother in Law had placed them.  Originally, I was attempting to tie the knots in the same direction, but I gave that up as a lost cause after 50 knots.  That was just too much detail work for me.

I began working on tying the quilt before Christmas, but I stopped about a week before and put it away for a while.  I pulled it back out again last night and started on it again.  I'm about a quarter of the way through re-tying it now. I'd like to think that I'll have this finished before the end of January so that I can start on daughter's quilt while it's still cold out and I don't mind having a ton of fabric on my lap!

Pre-Cut yarn, the needle and the quilt.

Getting ready to run the needle into the middle of the square.

One more knot!

Another one done - so much more to go!

Tales from the Classroom

I originally posted this in December of 2013.  Enjoy this trip down memory lane!

Years ago, when I was a full time teacher, I had a situation going on in my classroom.  (It was third grade.)

There was a young woman in my class named, shall we say, Jamie.

Another young man, named, shall we say, Jeff, had a mad crush on Jamie.



I was working at the table with a reading group when I noticed Jeff intently scribbling away on a piece of paper.   This level of passion regarding his work was unusual for him, so I watched the proceedings with curiosity.

Jeff put his pencil down, folded it up into a paper football shape, and wafted it across the classroom in Jamie's direction.

Unfortunately, the football missed Jamie entirely and bonked Michael in the head.  Michael (a very tough kid), scooped up the football, opened the note, and read it.

In the blink of an eye, he was on his feet, waving the note around, shouting at the top of his lungs:  "I am not that kind of a guy!  Who sent this?  Who is this from?  I'll meet you out behind the cafeteria at lunch time!  Who did this?"

I looked over at Jeff, who at this point, had sunk so low in his chair you could only see the top of his head. 

I grabbed the note from Michael, and sent him down the hall for a drink of water.

Reading the note I see the words:  "I love you.  You are so beautiful! I will always love you!  You are the only person for me!"

When I took the kids down to lunch, I let the rest of the class go into the cafeteria, and I pulled Jeff aside.

"I wouldn't mention this if I were you."  I told him.  "I wouldn't sit near either him or Jaime at lunch today.  We'll keep the author of that little note a secret just between us."

He nodded his head. 

Ah.... young love. 

To this day, the memory of Michael, standing there, waving that paper around and screaming for vengeance, and the look of sheer horror on Jeff's face takes me back 20 years and makes me smile...

Urbana Library

I was roaming around Frederick County last week, and I decided to stop by the Urbana Library.  Built in a new part of Urbana in the middle of a planned neighborhood - adjacent to the grocery store and other shopping, the Urbana Library is strategically located in the middle of a thriving and rapidly growing area. 

I always love driving up to the front of this building.  It's such an impressive place!  (I park in the back, but the front makes such a dramatic statement, doesn't it?)

Once I wend my way around to the back, this is the entrance that I use.  The Senior Center is on the lower level, and the library occupies the top two floors of the building.  Do you see that glass enclosed space on the levels above the entrance?  Those are a couple of unique spaces that the library has put to excellent use!

I'm sorry the picture is blurry.  I didn't realize just how blurry they were until after I got home.  

The first floor houses the children's collection.  If you enter from the back, you walk up a set of stairs and enter just off to the side here.  If you enter from the grand front entrance, this is where you come in.  I love the big windows!  Everywhere you look, the space is light, bright, and airy!

Above and below, more of the children's section.  Don't you love the beautiful frosty winter village on the bookshelves? 

Do you remember the glassed in area over the entry on the back side of the building?  This is that area on the first floor.  It is designed with the kids in mind!  2 train tables, a puppet theater, and filled with hands on toys (currently residing on the shelves, as there were no children hanging around at 1:00 in the afternoon!)  I can just imagine this space full of kids and parents, talking, playing, and having some quality time together. 

Both of these pictures were taken on the first floor in the chapter books.  I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but the check out/reference desk is just on the other side of that book shelf that's facing directly towards me in the picture.

Take a look at the picture below.... I took it from the landing at the top of the second floor.  You can see the puppet theater for the children in the middle, and the doors for the back entrance at the bottom.  I really like how the central atrium has been left open to allow light through to all levels of the building.

Looking around the second floor, I found the Young Adult (YA) books as well as the adult books, a meeting room, and the public computers.  It's a grand space, with lots of quiet nooks and crannies for spreading out and getting some work done!

This pathway through the book shelves leads to this wonderful quiet study spot.  (Below)

Here's the YA section!  I adore the origami paper stars above the bookshelves!  They look so festive!

Do you see that glassed in wall back behind the book shelves?  There's an area back there for groups to work and talk, as well as a couple of public access computers. 

I found this beautiful wreath on an office door!  Gorgeous, isn't it?

This picture is taken at the far end of the second floor, next to the large, boxed in window area over the back entrance.  You're looking at the adult fiction collection.  The shelves along the atrium walls house the books on CD's and Playaways.

This has always been one of my favorite library spaces!  Filled with big, comfortable arm chairs and low tables, this area invites you to sit down and stay for a while.  (So I did!)

The book tree!

Walking away from the window and back towards the stair well, you come to the public access computers.  There's a meeting space/classroom off to the right, just past the computers.  Unfortunately, I couldn't take bigger pictures of this area, as the rest of the computers were filled with people on the computers - and I most certainly don't have permission to post their faces on the internet.  Trust me, it's a beautiful space.  If you're in the area, stop by and check it out!

Again, this is the view through the atrium.  This is from the other end of the atrium, looking towards the stairs and the grand entrance in the front.   The picture below, I took at the ground level, looking up towards the top of the atrium as I was walking out towards the back doors.

The welcoming crew as you walk in through the big front doors!

Frederick County Public Library Website: http://www.fcpl.org/

The Urbana Regional Library: http://www.fcpl.org/branches-hours/urbana-regional-library

NoSpenduary - Week One

The goal at the end of this three month period is to have a nice chunk of change saved up in order to renovate the hallway bathroom.  So, here's what I did to save money this week:

• Lowered the thermostats throughout the house to 65*.  We have baseboard heat throughout the house, so we lowered the thermostats as much as possible.   
•  I took lunch to work every day.  Usually, my lunch was leftovers from one of the other meals.
• Breakfast every day was oatmeal.  I picked up a Dairy Free version of Egg Nog just after Christmas.  I made overnight oats with my Dairy Free Egg Nog, Craisins, and Pecans.  Not too shabby for a quick overnight meal!
• I turned out lights throughout the house in the rooms we weren't using.
• Husband's birthday was this past week.  We made his favorite cake for him - German Chocolate - from scratch.  I also made a kick-ass stir fry for him.  We took him out to the movies for his celebration.  (I used a gift card to the movies that was given to us for Christmas for admission.)

Dinners This Week 

1. Bean Soup. With the leftover ham bone from Christmas, I made a huge pot of bean soup with the little white beans.  (Dried).  I had leftover roasted veggies from Christmas that I added to the pot.  (Carrots, leftover baked potatoes, onions, etc.)
2. Baked Beans. I took the leftover bean soup, poured it into a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish, poured a drizzle of molasses over top, and baked it at 350* for 30 minutes.   
3.  Sloppy Joe Potatoes.  When we went to my Mom's house to celebrate Christmas two weeks ago, I made Sloppy Joes for dinner.  I made two batches - one vegetarian and one with 2 pounds of ground turkey.  I froze the leftovers.  I pulled them out, and we had that served over baked potatoes for dinner.
4. Baked Chicken Fajitas.  Believe it or not, I found the recipe on Facebook, via a Tasty feed.  (Let's see if the link works! Chicken Fajitas) It was quick and easy!  We had leftovers, which I took for lunch both days. (For lunch, I wrapped the leftovers in corn tortillas.)
5. Salmon.  I found a bigly fillet of salmon on sale this week.  We cooked it up for dinner one night.  I served it with a huge salad and the leftover sweet potato and pomegranate salad, and baked cabbage steaks.  I saved back a portion of the salmon for dinner the next night.
6. Salmon Pasta Salad.  Made with the leftover salmon.
7. Kick Ass Stir Fry.  I made this with the last of the leftover ham from Christmas, a couple of scrambled eggs, and all of the raw veggies that were still left from the Christmas veggie tray.  (Celery, Carrots, Cauliflower, Broccoli, and an onion.)  I used brown rice instead of white rice as our base.

Are you cutting back on spending this month?  What are you doing to save?

Monday Musings

Love this little guy!  He lives with friends of ours, and we spent New Year's Eve with them.  He's a Beagle crossed with something.  Isn't he totally adorable?  He spent the evening snuggled up on the sofa, curled up between me and E.

Snow, Snow, Snow
We got minimal snow in our area.  BUT, it was in the forecast.  I stopped by the Home Depot on Thursday afternoon, pricing wood screws and could not believe the number of people in the store buying snow shovels, rock salt and snow blowers.  Total amount of snow on the ground in central Maryland right now?  An inch-ish.

BUT- I have a friend from college who lives South of us.  His boss looked outside of the window Friday afternoon to see the Weather Channel vans pulling into the parking lot and setting up shop.  "That's it" he declared.  "You know it's going to be bad when the Weather Channel shows up in your neighborhood and sets up shop. Everyone goes home, now.  See you Monday."

Christmas is Over
All of the Christmas Trees came down over the weekend.  It's sad to see it all put away, but it's wonderful to have some extra square footage back in our house!  Now it's time to decorate the mantel in the kitchen. What am I going to do?  Easter doesn't start until late this year - so I need to do something between now and then.  What to do?

Gluten Free Cake
We have finally found the most amazing recipe for Gluten Free cake.  We used the Hershey recipe for chocolate cake, and subbed in King Arthur One to One GF Flour for the gluten filled flour, and coconut milk for any cow milk in the recipe.  Good golly, that is one powerfully good recipe!  Me oh my, who knew that a gluten free dairy free cake could taste so good?

Television Antenna
We've never had cable television. We've always had an antenna.  We've never had an issue with reception.  Since we moved to this house, we've had the wire for the antenna that runs around the corner, under the front door, out around the porch, and then up onto the roof, where we had tossed the antenna.  The biggest issue we had was that our antenna was an indoor antenna and would quit working once every 5 years.  Our antenna recently quit working.  Rather than toss it up on the roof again, husband decided to put it into the attic and run the wire down through the wall and out behind the television set.  So, for the first time since we moved here, we don't have that really weird cable snaking up the side of the house and across the roof to face towards Baltimore.  OK, we also subscribe to Netflix.  We have DSL for internet - but we're close enough to the switching station that we have enough bandwidth to stream video without a problem.

Have a great week!

Book Review: Outlander Kitchen

Fans of the book and the series will enjoy this nod to traditional Highland Cuisine.  Painstakingly researched, every recipe in this book ties in with some type of food from the books.  The author gives the passage from the book where the food is mentioned, and then writes at least one paragraph going into the historical details of this food, from how it was traditionally made to where to find more traditional ingredients.  She also gives information on acceptable substitutions for foods that our modern taste buds might not appreciate!

Thoroughly researched, beautifully photographed and lovingly presented, this cookbook will be a welcome challenge for any seasoned cook who wants to take a trip to the Highlands without ever leaving the comfort of their home!

However, if you're like me, it will inspire you to begin planning a trip to Scotland. A trip that involves a lot of eating.  And several teas.  And maybe a beer or two. 

Bats in the Belfrey

I originally published this post on August 15, 2014.  Enjoy!

I wish I had pictures to share.  I really, really do.  Unfortunately, as this story unrolled, I ended up dropping the camera, and running away screaming.  Since the husband had the hose on and there were bats everywhere - well... at least the camera wasn't toast, but I also didn't want to get any closer.

We live in a brick rancher.  Do you know those roof vents over the ends of the house?  We have three of them.  One over the carport, and two over the "T" at the other end of the house.

The vents are screened on the inside to keep out birds and other beasties.

I park on the pad next to the carport.

This time last week, as I was getting out of the car, I looked down at the ground and saw lots of tiny little black things.  They looked like hamster pellets, in a way.  There were tons of these things.  I ended up backing up my car so that I wouldn't walk through it and track stuff through the house.

Bravely, I looked up into the vent and saw lots and lots of little black things.

Bats.  The stuff on the ground (and all over the siding) was bat guano.  Not a good thing.

When husband got home, I mentioned it to him.  He got the ladder out, got close enough to look inside and said one word "bats".  He climbed up into the attic to verify that there were no bats inside of the attic.

After he changed clothes, he went to Home Depot and picked up some fiberglass netting.

He came home, and began spraying water from the garden hose on the parking pad and siding, attempting to get the guano off.

The bats really didn't like that.  They left.  Over 2 dozen of them flew out, all over everywhere.

Husband then decided that he would spray up into the vent in order to get any other bats out of the vents.  A couple dozen more flew out.

Yeah, by this point, I was long gone.  I actually took off once the bats started flying out.

Once he was certain no more bats were coming out, he climbed up onto the ladder, and measured the vent.  He cut the fiberglass netting to fit over the vents.  He used the staple gun to attach the netting on two sides.  He has left the bottom open - so that it's an exclusion net.  Just in case if any more bats were hanging out in there, they can get out, but not get back in.

Last night, he climbed back up the ladder with a flashlight to verify that all of the bats were gone.

He then stapled the bottom of the netting across the bottom of the vent.

We still have another vent that is loaded with bats.  Absolutely full.

We have plans to put up a couple of bat houses on the property, before we work to get them out, so that they can have a new home to go roost in.

But where do these houses go?  They like to be up high.  We have an elm tree that's high, but that tree is sick and will have to come down within the next five years - so we don't want to put it there.  And we really don't want them roosting inside of the house or the attic.  With the amount of bats we have in this particular vent, if any more move in, it is possible that they could pop the screen out and take up residence in our attic.  And that would be a bad thing.

Now, if we could just get the telephone company to come in and install a couple of poles for us in the back yard, I would know exactly where to put the houses!

Hippodrome

We went to the Hippodrome in Baltimore over the weekend to see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.  

The Hippodrome itself is a fascinating piece of architecture.  Originally built in 1914 as a movie palace that also showcased Vaudeville Performances, the Hippodrome attracted some of the "biggest" of the big name Vaudeville actors.  

The Hippodrome eventually closed its doors in 1990.  At that time, it was the last operating movie house in the city of Baltimore.  In 2004, the newly renovated Hippodrome was re-opened.  This masterpiece combined three previously existing, historic buildings into one major showpiece.  These buildings were: The Western National Bank, The Eutaw Savings Bank, and the Hippodrome.  A new building was built on the corner of Eutaw and Baltimore streets to tie the buildings together.

The Hippodrome is now a cultural icon in the city that attracts major performers and touring Broadway shows.  (Note - Mike Rowe recently gave a talk here.  A talk in which he introduced his Mom, and the audience began chanting "Old Blue, Old Blue, Old Blue"!  

(Source: France-Merrick Performing Arts Center)

Below, you can find a few pictures that I took around the building.

Is this not one of the most beautiful spaces?

The second floor hallway, outside theater itself.

As near as I can tell, this area is the new building.  There's a cafe on the first floor.  Do you see that clock tower through the window?  That is the Bromo Seltzer Tower.

Don't you just love this window?

The mural above the stage.

It's a very fuzzy picture, I do apologize, but that is the main stage!

I was told to point these boxes out. During one of the 20th century renovations, these boxes had been torn completely out.  With the 2004 reno, they were added back into the architecture, replicating the original design as much as possible.