Ahhhh, December. The merriment and joy of the holiday season is all around us – and after a full day of lugging down box after box of Christmas decorations from my attic, my house is finally adorned in its annual holiday splendor. There’s nothing better than sitting in my living room in the evenings, the room aglow with just the lights of the tree (and elsewhere in the room) providing all of the illumination. It’s cold outside, my fireplace is…
As we move into Thanksgiving week, once the turkey has been carved, the football games have been watched, and the pumpkin pie has been served, many Americans then turn their sights towards their next holiday tradition. Black Friday. These shopping sentinels arise in the middle of the night, put on their favorite PJs or sweats, grab their lattes and their shopping lists, and head into the breach to join hordes of other would-be bargain hunters on their quest for the…
My wife and I recently were out and about (doing some early Christmas shopping) and decided to try one of the newest restaurants to grace the Hub City, Sushi Bomb. Located on Wesel Boulevard (in a renovated space formerly occupied by a now defunct ‘Ruby Tuesday’s’), I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical at first, as there are now three places to get sushi within a mile radius of this new sushi location. Would ‘Sushi Bomb’ be able to stand…
I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure (or misfortune) to visit an emergency room lately, but if the ER visit is a litmus test on the current state of the US healthcare system, we are badly failing as a society. Let me relay our most recent experience with a local health system provider – whose name I will withhold, but if you live anywhere near me, you’ll know exactly what organization I’m talking about. My mother was involved in…
My youngest daughter is experiencing a whole lot of “firsts” in her life this week. She’s on fall break from her college, and she decided to fly down to see her grandmother, extended family, and a few friends in Florida. So naturally, there was some planning to do. Some “adult” things to take care of – as with any journey – but in the past these things were always handled by myself or her mother. This time, she is the…
There are some foods that are synonymous with a state’s identity. Maine has its lobster, Georgia has their peaches, Louisiana has the crawfish; however, in Maryland, one food item reigns supreme. The Maryland blue crab. Nothing beats sitting down at a long, paper-covered table piled high with freshly steamed blue crabs, the air filled with the signature smell of Old Bay seasoning. Armed with a mallet and a small knife, it’s now each diner’s job to dissect these crustaceans, picking…
My small town of Clear Spring, MD (population 479 – salute!) celebrated a big milestone this past weekend. It was the town’s 200th anniversary. Now, it’s not every day you get to live in a town that has been around long enough to celebrate its own bicentennial, but for an “older” gal, I have to say she still looks pretty good. This past weekend was celebrated with home tours, scavenger hunts, and panckake breakfasts. Lots of folks were popping in…
Perhaps you’ve seen examples of this in your town. A big shopping plaza filled with several big-box stores opens up to great fanfare, then as the years go by, the stores close one-by-one, leaving large, abandoned buildings and deserted parking lots to litter the landscape. Do you know what I mean? I’ll use some examples from the largest town near me – Hagerstown, MD (population @40,000). It’s at the intersection of two major highways, I-70 and I-81. You’d think that…
Unless you’ve been living in a cave or your internet connection has been down for the past month, you’ve no doubt seen or heard that one of the heralds of the fall season is the return of that obligatory flavor of autumn, pumpkin spice. Ohhhh, and it’s not just in flavored coffee at Starbucks. No, some overzealous salesman at the spice factory has managed to ensure that this seasonal spice blend has found its way into way too many products,…
I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to September 22, 2021 (precisely at 3:20 PM, to be exact). For those of you not in the know, that was the date and time of the annual Autumnal Equinox, better known as the first day of fall. Sure, others may have their favorites. I know folks who can’t get enough of summer. Some folks love the long cold, winter – while others love the rebirth of spring. For me,…