They're Made to Absorb

I originally published this post on July 7, 2016.  Enjoy this walk down memory lane!  

 Daughter worked the register for a full shift on Saturday. I met her in the parking lot with one of those wonderful cold drinks from Starbucks when she finished. A Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher.  She's always so thirsty when she gets off work, I knew it would be appreciated. 

While I was waiting for her to finish, I had been shopping for various necessities, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, Kotex pads. 

On our way home, daughter was reluctant to drink anything for fear that she'd spill, and the bright red liquid on my tan car seats would make a huge mess. 

"Don't worry, we're stopped at a light", was my rather stupid response. 

She drank a quick sip, went to put the cup back in the cup holder when tragedy struck! The lid popped off and the bright red liquid went everywhere. Undeterred, she started grabbing receipts to sop up liquid while I looked for a safe place to pull over. 

I pulled into a parking lot, and daughter was out of her seat before I had the car completely stopped. She reached into the bag in the back, pulled out the package of Kotex, unwrapped a single pad, pulled the sticky strip off the back and attached it to the palm of her hand. 

That was a genius move!  All of the liquid was quickly absorbed into the pad. You can't even tell there was a spill of bright red on upholstery!

I tell you, from now on I'm carrying a few extra pads in the glove compartment for the next time I spill something. I know it's going to happen. They really are designed to absorb!  (Quick thinking young lady!)

2018 Resolutions - July Update

I love keeping track of my resolutions on my blog!  It ensures that I actually keep my resolutions!
Who knew that keeping my resolutions would be as easy as announcing them publicly?

I've been working at it.  I don't know that I'll meet all of my resolutions, but it sure is fun to try!

1) Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
No Spenduary helped to pay for the unexpected trip to Australia.  I'm not currently in a "no spend" mode - but I am actively saving money to pay to replace the roof on the house this fall.

2) 40 bags in 40 days
Well, this didn't work out during Lent.  I'm still working on getting boxes and bags out of the house.  Husband has been on a mission trip the last week in June, so I've actually gotten a lot of stuff out of the house this month! 

10 bags/boxes at the end of May
  7   bags/boxes in June

 17    Total Boxes/Bags at the end of June.  Just 23 more to go!  I hope I get this done by the end of the year!

3) Get Away With my Husband - TWICE
        1) Australia
        2) Where next?

4) Get One Big Debt Paid Off This Year
Working on paying off the Civic

5) Finish Daughter's and Husband's Quilts
Once again, no progress on this.  I hope to pull out the sewing machine, suck it up, and finish husbands quilt this month.  No excuses.  Just do it!

6) Get Out to Visit Middle Child this Year
HOORAY!!!!  We spent a long weekend with him over Memorial Day!  The entire family! 
HOORAY!!!!  I'd like to think I'll get out to see him one more time this year.  Maybe we'll make it for Thanksgiving?  I'm not sure - daughter is still in college, and her school tends to run classes through Wednesday.  We've got time on this one.

7) Replace the Roof on the House this Fall
 Working on this one!  The dream is to have enough cash to not only replace the roof, but also the gutters, and maybe add a front porch.  That's do-able, right? 

8) Exercise Most Days During the Week.
I've done it!  I'm at 4 days a week now!  PLUS -  I am getting over there at 5:45 am now.  Holy cow! What a great start to my day!  (It's a really early start, but it's a start!)

9) Make some of my Christmas Gifts this Year
I need to get moving on this one.  What do I get kids who are grown and living on their own?  The boys are going to be a problem...  Maybe a sweater?  It's a lofty sounding goal....

10) Cut my Grocery Budget to $250/month
 Well, I've stopped keeping track. I'm giving up on this one.
I honestly don't have the time to keep track of everything I spend at the grocery store.  

11) Turn my yarn and fabric stash into something more... but what?
Graduation present for daughter's boyfriend.
Baby Blanket for a Co-Worker
Turned a spool of tulle and blingy sparkles into a Fascinator for the Royal Wedding.


I'm currently working on a shrug for myself with yarn that I purchased for that purpose 4 years ago.  It's a beautiful, sea green and blue yarn.  I've found a wonderful lacy vest pattern that I purchased online.


12) Take One Item Off my Bucket List
 I did it!  And it was a big one!  I went to Australia with my husband!

13) Have One Media Free Day per Week
Not been a problem.
 
14) Visit 12 Libraries I Have Never Been to Before

Laurel Public Library

Lawrence Public Library Truman Library and Museum
New South Wales Library
Central Rappahannock Regional Library Porter Branch

Laurel Public Library
Elkridge Public Library

I have a couple of professional goals I want to meet, too.  I'm not going to list them here, but they're in the back of my mind!


Professional Goals

1) PG #1

I had an article published! 

2) PG #2

Charm Kitty Cafe

Have you heard about Cat Cafe's? 

They are little cafe's with adoptable cats from the Humane Society.  The cafe doesn't really serve food (because of the cat hair).  They will have tea or coffee, and they might have cookies or muffins that you can order.   You can then imbibe while you bond with the kitties.  If you wish, you can adopt one of the kitties and give it a forever home.

Earlier this spring, daughter and I spent an afternoon with the cats at Charm Kitty Cafe.
We each had a cookie, and we sat and did some work while the kitties roamed around, climbed over our keyboards, ignored us, and looked very regal.  We played with the ones that let us, and we admired the ones who were too important to let us get near them!

One thing to note, though.  Almost every cat cafe that I know of - the seating is very limited, and reservations are required.   You will pay for your time in the cafe.  The money goes to support the cats.  The amount of time you get for your reservation varies by the cafe that you visit.

I took a few pictures of the residents of Charm Kitty Cafe while we were there.  I'm certain all of these little fluff balls have been adopted.  But I know they have new little fluff balls searching for their forever homes!

Greeter at the front desk.

This one really likes my purse!

A crate, bolted high on the wall - and a shy friend looking down.

Hiding under a bench.

If I didn't already have 2 cats at home, this one would have come home with me.

Moving from my purse onto my shawl.

And my phone....

He really liked my phone.  He didn't like pats, though.

Sushi Go

We found this awesomely fun game when we were out visiting middle child.  We played multiple rounds, laughed a lot, and can't wait to play again.  The nice thing about this game is that up to 5 people can play.

In a nutshell - you get a stack of cards.  You pull out one card, and then once everyone has pulled their card - you pass your stack to the person next to you and pull a card from the next stack.

Think of this as an awesome variation on Yahtzee!

Each round goes quickly.  Your best laid strategies will just not work the way you think they will.  And just when you think all is lost - bam!  The game is over and you did better than you thought!

If you're looking for a fun family game to take on vacation with you this summer, this would be the one to take!

Disclosure Notice- This post contains Affiliate Links.  I received no compensation for posting this review.  My son brought it over one night for us to play, and I wanted to share it with you!

Elkridge Public Library

Howard County Public Library opened a new branch a few months back.  I finally got an opportunity to stop by and visit this wonderful new branch.  This new building is located on the same property that housed the previous Elkridge Branch, but it has been beautifully updated!

Howard County has always done a marvelous job of keeping their branches updated and current with the most modern resources and technology.  This branch has something new and exciting - a tool library.  You can check out tools, take them home and use them for the full checkout period and then return them.  Talk about a huge money saving device that benefits the community!

The Elkridge Library is located just off of Route 1 in Elkridge.

As always, I post pictures without people's faces.  As always, I struggle to get enough pictures without people's faces.  For the middle of a weekday afternoon, this place was absolutely packed.   I took as many pictures as I could to get a good idea of what the branch looks like, and I posted what reflects the branch without posting pictures of people's faces.  

Front Entry

The site plan for the library.  I like the dedicated wetlands and green space.

This is the tool library.  I really like that it's separate from the rest of the building.

Library entrance. It's got a very sleek, modern feel to it.

I'm a big fan of the bubble wall along the side!

Look at all of those gorgeous books!

A view of the children's desk.

A view down the side of the children's section towards the teen section.

Study tables.

The cafe area at the very front - away from the stacks!

Howard County Public Library Elkridge Branch Website: https://hclibrary.org/locations/elkridge-branch/

Our Friendly, Neighborhood Squirrel

I'm hoping the photo captures this.  This is a squirrel.  She's a very blonde squirrel.  She is always up close to our house, just as curious about what goes on in our house as we are about what she's doing outside.

The screen door in our kitchen doesn't close all the way.  We have to pull it shut behind us. It's been a problem in the past, as the cats will poke their heads out and slowly work their way outside - and then they cry because they are on the wrong side of the door - and we have to go find them.

 Last week, I was running things out to the car before I left for work.  I didn't pull the door shut behind me when I ran into the house to get my purse and lunchbox.  I turned around to walk back to the door, and guess what I found?

Our friendly, neighborhood squirrel.  She had poked her head inside of the kitchen door and was looking around.  When she saw me looking at her, she jumped in surprise, pulled her head back out, and ran off.

I just know that one of these days I'm going to find her curled up on a couch with the cats.

Libraries Rock!

It's time for summer reading at your local library!! 

image: https://www.cslpreads.org

What is summer reading you ask?

Why, it's an opportunity to get kids (and adults) excited about reading.  Libraries everywhere are offering programs, games, and challenges of all kinds for kids of all ages to read books for fun over the summer.

At my library, kids read for prizes and books.

Every 4 books an adult reads gives them one entry into the grand prize drawing. 

Our library also has tons of programs and events for all ages.  I'm particularly looking forward to the Rock Painting programs this summer!  (Libraries Rock, get it?)

What are you waiting for?  Get over to your local library and check it out! 
(I crack myself up sometimes...)

Laurel Public Library

View of the front from the side.

When husband and I were first married, we lived in Laurel.  I was teaching at the time, and I remember going to the library to check out books for my class.  I had gone to high school in Fairfax County, Virginia, and our library was a showpiece.  Even though the building was old, it was light, bright, and you could tell that people loved the building.  I went there about once a month to check out books.  When we moved to Laurel, I was expecting the same.  I was disappointed.  The library was dark.  The collection was limited, and I felt terrible about checking out books for my classroom.  Any books I checked out would have seriously impacted what was available for the community.

Laurel has undergone something of a Renaissance in the years since we left.  It is a beautiful city, with so many things to offer to the community.  The top attraction (in my mind) is the library.  Laurel opened a new library a few years ago, and I had the time to go.  The building sits on the footprint of the old building, but that is where the similarities end.  Let me tell you, this is a huge asset to the community!!

I've posted the pictures that I took as I walked in with a sense of wonderment.  All I kept thinking is "This is beautiful!  Oh my gosh, how fantastic!"  Join me as I walk you through the library with me!  Please note, I took many more pictures, but I don't publish pictures with the pictures of people's faces on them.  So, I don't have as many pictures to share as I would like to have.  The good news is, that library is full of people!  It is being well used!

Rain garden in the parking lot.

Inside the front entrance - the adult stacks.

A side note here - I adore those overhead lights!  They are such a nice touch!

In the above picture, I'm standing near the fireplace.  (Yes, gas fireplace with chairs surrounding it.)  I'm looking back towards the front door.  On the left is the circulation desk.  The semi circle drop down lights delineate the circ. desk.  Look at all of that natural light!

Dinosaur footprints leading into the children's area.

A look into the children's area.  Again, look at the natural light!

Outside of the library, on the left is the children's area.  Straight back is the teen section.

Turn around from the picture above this, and there's an ampi-theater.  Do you see those blue circles?  They are part of a splash pad for kids.

Prince George's County Memorial Library System.

Laurel Public Library Website: https://www.pgcmls.info/branch/location/Laurel

Hobbes

I haven't written much about him lately, but he is thriving!  He's 10 months old now, and he's almost grown to his full size.  When we brought him home, his feet were so much bigger than the rest of him - and his legs were long and gangly.  Now, his body matches his legs and his feet!  He's a big, long, sleek and gorgeous cat.

But he's still very much a kitten.

He has a handful of catnip mice that are HIS.  Watch out Luna, he will fight you for those mice.  He plays with them, bats them around the house, and will play fetch with you for the mice.  It's great having a young cat!

The biggest problem we have with him is his appetite.  He eats EVERYTHING.  I can't put my cereal down on the table and go back to get something else.  If I do, I'll find him face down in my cereal, going at it like it's cat chow!

He also likes to drink water from our glasses.  I recently started using the narrow mouth mason jars as my drinking glasses to keep him from coming over, dunking his head in my glass and drinking my water.  I know, I know, it's cruel to only keep 4 bowls of water in the house for the cats.  1 in each bathroom, 1 in the bay window, and 1 in the kitchen.  He really should have one on the table.

Yesterday, I was eating my breakfast at the table, and I had my glass of water next to me.  Hobbes hopped up on the chair next to me, put his front paws on the table and leaned over towards my glass.  I began to reprimand him about his behavior, and started to reach over to push him off the table when he reached out with his lightning fast paw and *wham* down went my glass, and he hopped off the table to lick the water off of the floor.

Cats. 

Kansas

We got out to see middle child over Memorial Day Weekend!  He is happy, and enjoying his new home and new job.  I really don't like having him so far away from home, but knowing that he is doing what he loves makes me very, very happy!

We explored a few places while we were out there.  We visited Fort Leavenworth - the oldest active Army post west of the Missouri River.  We paid our respects at the National Cemetery (it was Memorial Day), and we walked along the bluffs overlooking the river.  We visited the city of Lawrence - home of Kansas University, and we spent a lot of time talking, laughing, and playing games.

We even bought him some furniture.  When we moved him out there, we took his stuff, but no furniture because we couldn't fit it into our cars.  We asked him what he needed most, and he decided that he needed living room furniture.  One trip to Ikea later, we had two chairs and most of a sofa.  I say most because while they had the arm rests, they did not have the slip covers to go over the arm rests.  They were back ordered by 2 months.  The Ikea staff assured us the covers are in our Maryland stores, so it was my job to pick them up when I came home.  When we left, he had put everything together - but kept the arms off of the sofa so that he could put the slip covers on when he comes in.

It was a wonderful weekend.  All of the kids were able to make it out for the weekend, so we had the whole family together.  It just doesn't get much better than that!

New furniture for the boy.

Funny story about the living room furniture.  We got the armchairs, and all the parts were in.  We got the coffee table - all the parts were in.  We got the sofa - all the parts - except the slipcovers for the armchairs were in.  So, in the picture you see the sofa without the arms.  The arms are leaning up against the wall, under the window.  We came home, and I found the slipcovers for the sofa arms from the Ikea in College Park.  I mailed them out to him earlier this week.

Kansas City Sunset

I love the big skies and the gorgeous sunsets!

I love the cover on the storm sewer!

The clock in Leavenworth.

MORE Maryland Flooding

And the rain just keeps on coming.  And coming.

Over the weekend, husband got to clean out the gutters during the pouring rain.

We even got to bail out the basement steps for a while Sunday afternoon.  The basement steps were flooding because the drain wasn't working.

On the plus side, our reservoirs are now full.

On the minus side, there are a lot of flooded basements, destroyed businesses, and broken dreams.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from last weekend.

Downtown Sykesville

That same stretch of road, the very next day.  Images from Just in Weather.

Early Settlers

Missouri River near Leavenworth.

Have you ever thought about the incredible journey that the early settlers made crossing the United States into uncharted territory and settling into hostile lands to make a new home?  I think about it when I read the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I specifically remember reading Laura's descriptions of crossing rivers.  There were no bridges across the rivers at that time.  Instead, the family would drive their wagon into the river.  If the ford was low enough, the horses would pull the wagon across.  If the river was high, the wagon would float, the horses would swim, pulling the wagon behind them, and then they would hope and pray that they would land safely on the other side.

I'm standing in Kansas.  That's Missouri on the other side.

 That came back to me as I was standing on the banks of the Missouri River when we were roaming about Kansas with our middle child.  We were very close to the crossing that Lewis and Clark used in their journey to explore the Louisiana Purchase.  The river was moving swiftly - and it was deep.  Much deeper than it was when we drove by in the winter. 

I was struck by something very akin to terror as I thought about the prospect of driving a wagon full of all my worldly possessions - and my family - into a swiftly moving river and hoping that we'd come out safely on the other side.  I do know there was a river crossing in this area- I just don't know exactly where the crossing was.  Just a little north of here are very high bluffs - so I know that was not the crossing.  This area is where the river widened out - and as you can maybe tell from the pictures, the river bank leads down nicely to the river.  The park on the Kansas side has a fence along the river, and it is near the railroad station, and you can see the footings in the river for an old bridge.  My guess is that there was a ford somewhere near this area. 

I still can't begin to imagine attempting to cross this river in a wagon.  Or on the back of a horse as it swims across the river.  I'm so very, very, very glad that we have bridges.  That beautiful blue bridge across the river in the top picture!

The park in Leavenworth by the Train Station.

Oella, Catonsville, and Ellicott City flood - AGAIN

Last weekend, we had major flooding in Ellicott City, Oella, and Catonsville.  There was some residual flooding in Sykesville, and lots of roads that are still closed due to road beds that have washed away.  In case if you haven't been following the story, this is the second major flooding event in two years.  This one was worse than the last one.  Much worse.

Over the weekend, I was down close to Historic Ellicott City.  My favorite restaurant is located just up the hill from the historic district.  The road is closed just after the intersection.  When I got to the intersection, I saw a dump truck backing DOWN the hill to the Historic District.  That road is a very tiny, two lane windy road.  And the dump trucks are going downhill backwards - so that they can get their beds filled and come back up again.   There's no space down there for them to turn around.

I can't tell you the number of people I know who's basements in Catonsville, Oella, and Ellicott City have been flooded with 20 or more inches of water.  The fire department was kept constantly busy, helping people pump out their basements. 

From the Baltimore Sun, a timeline of the flooding:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/bs-md-ellicott-city-flooding-timeline-20180530-story.html

I posted pictures about the last time E.C. flooded here:

http://mini-van-mom.blogspot.com/2016/08/ellicott-city-flooding.html


If you'd like to follow the clean up and recovery, you can follow this group on Facebook:

Patapsco Valley Heritage Area

This page is updating the progress of the clean up in and around the Ellicott City area.

2018 Resolutions - June Update

1) Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
We saved in February.  We're holding back on spending this month and next month, too.

2) 40 Bags in 40 Days
So, we were out of town for a good chunk of Lent, so I didn't get 40 bags of crap out of the house.  I'm still trying to get the 40 bags of junk out of the house.

The end of May count is 10 bags and boxes.  Just 30 more to go!


3) Get Away With My Husband - Twice
Australia was the big one!
I've got one more to go for this fall.  I am thinking we're going to head off to the place I thought we were going to go last year before my plans got turned upside down when I got that unexpected promotion.

4) Get 1 Big Debt Paid off this Year
The goal is to get the Civic paid off - or mostly paid off - this year.  I'm a good chunk of the way there now.  Less than $5,000 left now...

5) Finish Daughter's and Husband's Quilts
I've gotten daughter's quilt back out.  Hobbes really likes to play with the thread when I'm trying to quilt.  I'm not certain how I'm going to get around this.  It's not like I can haul my quilting frame and all the assorted supplies out to Starbucks and work on it...

6) Get Out to Visit Middle Child this Year
HOORAY!!!!  We spent a long weekend with him over Memorial Day!  The entire family! 
HOORAY!!!!  I'd like to think I'll get out to see him one more time this year.  Maybe we'll make it for Thanksgiving?  I'm not sure - daughter is still in college, and her school tends to run classes through Wednesday.  We've got time on this one.

7) Replace the Roof on the House this Fall
All of the money we put aside from the NoSpenduary Challenge is being set aside to replace the roof on the house.  If we can set enough money aside, I want to add a porch onto the front of the house.  We'll see how things work out!

8) Exercise Most Days During the Week.
I've done it!  I'm at 4 days a week now!  PLUS -  I am getting over there at 5:45 am now.  Holy cow! What a great start to my day!  (It's a really early start, but it's a start!)

9) Make some of my Christmas gifts this year.
Watching my daughter and her boyfriend exchange home made gifts has inspired me to think outside the box. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but I will do something.

Starting with fun and funky socks for the girl.
I really enjoy making socks!

10) Cut my grocery budget to $250/month.
Well this has gone down the drain.  I haven't kept track of groceries at all while we were gone.  I need to get back on the wagon and keep track of these numbers..  June is a new month, with all new goals to meet.  We have been eating out of the freezer a lot this month, so I have only been "doing" one big shop a month in addition to the $25 produce bundles from my favorite farm.

11) Turn my yarn and fabric stash into something more... but what?
Graduation present for daughter's boyfriend.
Baby Blanket for a Co-Worker
Turned a spool of tulle and blingy sparkles into a Fascinator for the Royal Wedding.
What's next? 


12) Take One Item Off my Bucket List
 I did it!  And it was a big one!  I went to Australia with my husband!

13) Have One Media Free Day per Week
Not been a problem.
 
14) Visit 12 Libraries I Have Never Been to Before
Lawrence Public Library
Truman Library and Museum
New South Wales Library
Central Rappahannock Regional Library Porter Branch

I have a couple of professional goals I want to meet, too.  I'm not going to list them here, but they're in the back of my mind!

1) PG #1

I had an article published! 

2) PG #2