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