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Showing posts from January, 2026

Cheeseburger in Somewhat Less Than Paradise

  Today’s post is all food. Here goes: There’s a new grocery in town. It’s called Triveni Supermarket and it’s in Ellicott City. They held their Grand Opening event on January 14th and you can even take a look around on their promotional YouTube video.  Triveni specializes in South Indian foods and even has a food court of ready made specialties. They are located at 8450 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 170, Ellicott City, Maryland, USA 21043. (Normandy shopping center.) ***** Thanks to all this crazy winter weather, the Howard County Restaurant and Craft Beverages Weeks event has been extended to February 8th. This page on  Visit Howard County  will tell you everything you need to know. There’s also a helpful explanation of the  LocalHoCo Open Rewards Program .  ***** I saw an announcement for a new venture called HoCo Thrive Markets which looks to be  in conjunction with the U.S. 1 Flea Market.  HoCo Thrive Markets was created with intention, care...

F ³: One Fish, Many Fish, Black Fish, Red Fish

  I did not know about Swimmy until my daughter came home from preschool and told me his story. I don’t know why I didn’t know. The book Swimmy, by Leo Leonni, was published during my childhood so it may very well have been in libraries in my community. Somehow I missed it.  Maybe the picture on the cover didn’t catch my eye. Cover of Swimmy by Leo Leonni, Random House Children’s Books   That tiny little black fish - - that’s Swimmy. Possibly not leading man material. You won’t find his face plastered on lunchboxes. No Happy Meals, no Disney movie. Still, the illustrations won the Caldecott Honor Award.  A good thing that the committee didn’t judge the book by its cover.  For many years the most important thing about this book is that it marked the first time my child recounted a story book to me from memory. It had made enough of an impression on her that she brought it home, in her mind, to share with her mom. Her retelling was so convincing that I was motiva...

How-To? How so? Some Questions About Annapolis

  Here’s the article that started it all: Two minutes of testimony can change the world. Here’s how to do it. Rick Hutzell, Baltimore Banner However, if you click this link you will notice that it now has a different title. “Hutzell: Testifying at the State House? You’ve got 2 minutes to change the world.” Have you noticed that newspaper articles that are printed and distributed online have this odd habit of changing their titles? What’s up with that? Anyway, that’s not the point of my piece.  Hutzell writes about Marylanders who come to Annapolis to give testimony related to legislation being considered during the current session. “You know, it takes a lot to come to Annapolis,” said House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, a longtime committee chair before her election last month as speaker. “And then they have to wait for hours, right?” There’s limited public transportation, no free parking and lots of obstacles. Two minutes might not seem like enough. I enjoyed this article. I...

Time to Make the Donuts

  Drumroll, please. There were six whole entrants to my contest and they were all wonderful. Creative reuse for the win: everyone gets a prize!  Many thanks to the following readers who were willing to be creative in the face of such a frivolous challenge. Here they are, in no particular order, with their great ideas: Donna Swope Turn turn it into a car bag for cold-weather things that we often forget, like chapstick, hand lotion, Kleenex, and crack-and-shake hand warmers, to be kept handy "just in case." Debra Flanigan  I think the best thing to do with this bag is to reuse it the next time a friend is having a bad day. Go buy them a donut or 2 and put them in the bag and give it to them with a note enclosed to pay it forward to a friend of theirs in need of cheer. It can be the traveling donut bag of cheer. Linda Lamppert  We all know how much kiddos love sprinkles. I think the best thing to do with this amazing bag is to donate it and a very large supply of sprin...

Prizes and Procrastination

  The contest has closed! Winners have been selected!  And I can’t tell you because I forgot to ask any of the entrants for their consent to share their names on the blog. Oh, bother. Look for all that - - and more! - - in tomorrow’s post. You would not believe what I have learned about creative reuse. ***** In the meantime, take a look at the latest on The Merriweather Pos t about CA’s proposal to remove a few pools and replace them with splash pads. I feel like he does a good job looking at the pros and cons. I have been gathering my thoughts on this since I heard about the proposal and I will be writing about it soon.  It’s a difficult issue for me because one of the pools likely to be removed is my neighborhood pool. As you might imagine, I have feelings .  ***** Hats off to the local man who offered to give free shoveling lessons to all and sundry in the convenient location of his own driveway, all supplies provided. No, he wasn’t serious. It was delightful to...

Picture Postcard Update

In hyperlocal news, the tree I brought home from Frank’s in December… ….that graced our home through the holidays… …and stared wistfully out the window afterwards… …has gone to a new home in the country, thanks to a good friend who came to the rescue. I hope the transition to wintry weather hasn’t been too much of a shock to its system. I already miss the little guy. Speaking of weather, I’ve enjoyed seeing people’s snow days pics on social media. Here’s mine. It’s a lovely peaceful view until you realize one thing. The art project I had intended to do while snowed in? It’s in that cute little red car. On the far side of the parking lot.  Oh well. Finally, I’ve noticed a new visual approach from local meteorologists lately. From the Capital Weather Service: Sleet vs Freezing Rain courtesy of Capital Weather Service And this from Justin Berk: Freezing rain, sleet, plus winter precipitation from Justin Berk You may recall that local weather folks have been on a kick of using various ...

Who Are the People?

Somewhere people grow the food, harvest it, process it, package it. Other people raise animals to be eaten, chickens for their eggs, cows in a dairy barn… Truckers bring the food and supplies to our community. Then employees at the store unpack it and put it out for sale. Clerks check us out, one transaction after another in long, long lines before the forecasted snow. At the hospital staffing plans are made to cover the coming days. Workers are needed in many positions from surgery and patient care to food service and cleaning. Folks with four wheel drive are signed up to get the workers to and from the hospital. Those whose job it is to keep the roads safe will be out from early until late. They will work in almost every stage of the snowstorm. A truly good night’s sleep is something they will have when it’s all over. Over at the county government they plan for things like this. Now they are set up to work the plan and to deal with any unexpected challenge or emergency as they arise....

Tell Me Who You Are

  In the past year several new local newsletters have popped up. “Give us you email address and we’ll send you all the cool local info!” But who are you?  They don’t say.  I am not giving my email address to anyone under those circumstances. I want to know who is behind this and what their goal is for publishing a local newsletter. Sure, I’m retired and I have too much time on my hands. I have more ability than most to do the amateur detective work involved but: I shouldn’t have to. You shouldn’t have to. I feel the same way about people who ring one’s doorbell with the story that your roof is in dangerous condition, they are working for unnamed people in your neighborhood…etc, etc. If someone shows up and you did not call a reputable company to make an appointment with them, then they are uninvited and you are not obliged to spend one minute talking to them. You do not even need to open your door. In a local Facebook page that supports education a representative from a g...

F ³: The Best Things

  For reasons unknown to me, January 2nd was my lucky day. During my iced coffee run to our village Dunkin I received a free doughnut.  But wait, there’s more. It was gift wrapped. As unlikely as it sounds, Dunkin’s New Year promotion included not only one free doughnut with the purchase of a beverage but also a free reusable gift bag. Dimensions of said bag: 4 inches by 5 inches by 3.5 inches.  Doughnut-sized. Made out of synthetic, non-woven fabric it is probably washable and certainly reuseable. But, how?  I’d love to know what the discussion at Dunkin Corporate was like when they sat around thinking up this promotion. Sadly, the point was not to be able to bring it back on future occasions for more free doughnuts. I hate the idea of putting more purposeless junk into the universe so I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with alternative uses for this itsy bitsy carry-all. The only one that came to mind immediately was collecting a bunch and using them a...

The Book, The Club, and Where they Intersect

  Monday evening found me doing something I had never done before: sitting around a table at a book club. Something familiar to all my years in school: I hadn’t finished the book yet.  The place was HoCoLocal indie bookstore Queen Takes Book. We were all there to discuss: Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross. (Yes, I wrote about them back in March after hearing an episode of Kelly Corrigan Wonders about Making.)  Drawing helps me listen. I don’t go out much, and I’ve never done the book club thing, but I felt that the universe was telling me that this was the one. So I signed up and bought the book. True to form, I left it until after Christmas and then discovered it was not the easy read I had expected it to be. I purchased the audio book to use in conjunction with the print version and by the day before the event I had also downloaded a study guide. I’m still working on it. I refuse to be defeated by a book about the arts! But, enough about me.  ...

Day of Wrath, Day of Judgement

  One year ago today. What do you remember?  1/20/2025 At twelve noon I made a cup of ginger tea   And reached out to tell my children  How much we love them. It was like death was hurtling towards me, Nothing in its way.  I saw the destruction of all that I love before my eyes. The tea was warm.  The day was bitter. There was no holding back the great death,  The waves of loss.  Silently the minutes passed.  When I realized the day was over  My cup was empty. And my heart was numb. The great death had begun. The messages of love are all that’s left - -  Last minute incantations of protection. Just wanted to let you know how much we love you  and that we are here for you no matter what.  Dear God, please keep them safe.  ***** Every act of ignorance, cruelty, and injustice: sponsored by people we know. People in our community and across the nation.  I need a day off. See you tomorrow. Village Green/Town² Comments...

The Other Half of the Arc

  Two years ago I canceled my subscription to the Baltimore Sun and used that money to make a regular donation to Baltimore Beat. A reminder: You don’t have to pay money to read Baltimore Beat because there’s no paywall.  But, of course, they need money to make it all happen.  Monday Night Monopoly Games , Village Green/Town², January 16, 2024 Baltimore Beat is a Black-led, Black-controlled nonprofit newspaper and media outlet. Our mission is to honor the tradition of the Black press and the spirit of alt-weekly journalism with reporting that focuses on community, questions power structures, and prioritizes thoughtful engagement with our readers. We aim to serve all of Baltimore City, including those with limited internet access and those who are a part of underrepresented communities. Our organization aspires toward a more equitable, accountable, and rigorous future for journalism that fully represents the stories of all our neighbors. - - Baltimore Beat I went on to sa...

What Happened to the Whole Truth?

I’m so disturbed by this local news story that I almost don’t know where to begin. Fatal crash follows an attempted traffic stop in Howard County , Sara Ruberg, Baltimore Banner A minor died in a crash Saturday after fleeing from a Howard County Police officer in an unmarked vehicle who attempted to make a traffic stop, officials said. I saw this posted on social media last night with less information. I wish I had kept a copy. It basically said  - - and I am paraphrasing here - - fatality after fleeing from an attempted traffic stop. And some folks responded with laughing faces.  The Howard County Times posted it like this: A driver is dead after fleeing an attempted traffic stop in the early hours of Saturday morning in Howard County. This morning I looked at the two additional pieces of information: Unmarked car Driver was a minor I just felt sick. There is a huge difference between those two descriptions. They are both  “the truth” but only one is remotely close to “t...

Celebration, Remembrance, Community Action

  Much of this weekend in Howard County leans towards the celebration of the life and work of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, so that’s where I’m going to put my focus today. (A tip of the hat to the Harpers Choice Village Assocation for highlighting a lot of these opportunities on their social media accounts.) Today:  The Community Ecology Institute is hosting an MLK Weekend of Service at Freetown Farm and Green Farmacy Garden, check the event page for more information  . Tomorrow: The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, coordinated through the Howard County Office of Human Rights & Equity, will be held at Howard Community College beginning at six pm. There will also be a live stream . You can l earn more here. Monday:  The National Pan Hellenic Council of Howard County will be collecting food donations for the Howard County Food Bank. You can support them by making a donation at one of the participating local grocery store locations. (Does anyone h...

F ³: In Defense of Imperfection

  You may have seen this floating around on social media. Everybody's longing for community. We long to be part of a village. We long to have people come over and help us. But when's the last time you've hosted something? When's the last time you helped somebody move? When's the last time you picked somebody up at the airport? Priya Parker, Author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters, on building community I know people who are tremendously good at this. I am not. For the first time in many years, I am beginning to make progress in learning. A large part of what holds me back, I believe, comes from being raised that there were only two ways to do things: my mother’s way and the wrong way. It’s not surprising that I grew up to believe that 1) there was always a perfect way to do something and 2) I was probably not going to figure it out. A great recipe for paralysis.  I raise this now because our days are both horrifying and bleak. I think I am see...

Sailing Away and Life Preservers

File this under daydreams at six am… When I am a millionaire I will get to pick the people in the Howard County Library’s Evening in the Stacks promotional videos. Heck, if I’m a multimillionaire maybe I can write the scripts! This is not to say that I think any of this needs improving. It simply looks like so much fun that I imagine that it would be delightful to get in on the act.  Evening in the Stacks is the library system’s big ticket fundraising event. Often glamorous, always fun* - - it might be easy to forget the point of it all. Did you know that only 54 percent of Howard County’s children enter their first year of school kindergarten-ready? (per 2023-2024 Maryland Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Report)  That number has declined since 2019 and is even lowerfor children of color, children with disabilities, and low-income households.This year, our goal is to raise $150,000 to support thevital work HCLS does to help prepare young children for kindergarten. Libraries ...

Thinking Snow

I’ve been hearing rumours of snow although maybe they are no more than wishful thinking. This photo popped up in my Facebook memories this morning and now I’m doing a bit of wishful thinking, too. Chrysalis in the snow, photo credit Nate Pesce, January 2019 This is one of my favorite views of one of my favorite places. Although the Chrysalis holds events in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, this image shows how well it functions as a piece of public art no matter what the season. The credit for all of the photos in this piece* is listed as “Nate Pesce, for Baltimore Sun Media Group” which makes me think that Pesce was working as a freelance photographer at this time. Certainly he is right now.  If you search Nate Pesce on Facebook the results will be full of local photos he has taken through the years. High school sports, the opening of a school, snaps at the dog park, political events, Lakefest, library fundraisers, with a smattering of weddings and such. I was tickled to see one of m...