Overheard in the Library Part 2

Apparently, we have a woman with a second grader visiting libraries and trying to squeak out as many summer reading prizes as she can from the library. Now, one needs to know the grand prize for finishing the summer reading club is a cheap mini flashlight. Here's the story:

FYI. A patron has been to the Crofton and West County branches trying to get staff to give her additional SRC(summer reading club) prizes. Here at WCO she has approached 5 staff members asking us to award her the SRC prize for her son who is in the 2nd grade.

She showed staff two log books that were already stamped for all the weeks of SRC, claiming that she never got the prize since her son was not with her when the log books were stamped. Therefore she is trying to obtain the prizes now that her son is with her. However, one staff member clearly remembers giving her the prizes on a previous occasion. When I spoke to her this afternoon, the reason she gave me is that she may have misplaced the prizes. Tonight, when I spoke to her again, she claims that it was her twin sister I spoke to earlier (she also made it a point to change her clothes when she and her son came back to the branch this evening).

Have to say, I might give them to her just because of creativity.

Also, just in, a gentlemen was told at the library that he has 10 missing music CD's and needs to pay for them. He told the staff that the man who was supposed to return them was killed at McDonalds. That probably wouldn't happen at Burger King.

And the sit down man has been back this week..he has no power. And apparently a tooth ache. He wanted to know the name of my dentist. I wouldn't share..could not do that to my dentist.

Irene Day 3

Well, we survived the natural disaster number 2. No lingering issues...yard was a mess, but we expected that. No trees down, but the power lines are. We can see the issue. A telephone pole snapped near the middle and the wires are hanging in the street. So, BGE has sent out a staff member to guard the wires so no one goes near them. 24/7. Wonder how much that is costing them, as opposed to just fixing it.
The problem is not enough telephone poles. A shortage. Hmm..how many did they gather? What did they think would occur in this storm we prepared for for 7 days?
So, now we have a generator. Expensive storm, let me tell ya. Guess I should be grateful I didn't have flooding. So, expected return to the grid-Friday, September 2nd. Sigh.....

irene has arrived

It is 4 30 in the afternoon. Irene has finally made an appearance. Lights have been flickering but holding. WInds are kicking up but I don't think we will get the storm surge we did with Isabel. Thank god.

I hope OC survives this one..it was the first time in our history where they had a mandatory evacuation. And they stopped selling liquor at midnight, That should drive them out of there.

I plan to post pictures as the storm develops. Think I might sleep downstairs..little nervous about the trees. Cousin in Jersey City...he is a bit freaked out..he sit on the water. And this is headed to maine. Wow.

More as things develop. Unless we lose power. Alan has kept busy with a massive amount of cooking and I just finished making a mosaic coffee table. Got books. Full computer battery. I'm good.

mother nature pays a visit

It is a quiet Tuesday afternoon around 1 40 PM. I am working on my computer when I realize the building is shaking and I hear a low rumble. I thought someone was on the roof. It's taking a while for it to register but i realize it isn't stopping and the shaking in getting progressively worse.That's when adrenyline kicks in. I race out of my office only to see the building is shaking and rumbling. My first thought was the building was coming down. I scream Get Out, and rush the door. Everyone for themselves. As I hit the parking lot, everyone else in the shopping mall is outside as well. So, this is a building issue. What just happened? Was that an earthquake?
Word spread fast..indeed it was. It struck right outside Richmond VA and registered a 5.9 on the ricter scale. It could be felt all the way to Canada. Except in Western NC near the mountains.
We are now bracing for Hurrican Irene this weekend. Okay, two acts of nature in one week is two too many. I really do want to move to the mountains.
Time to find tarps and sandbags.

roller derby and farewells

It is hard to believe it is only the 22nd of August and everyone returns to school this week. Maddie faces her first day at the high school. I am confident it will go well. Just pick your friends wisely and stay in sports to stay healthy. Andrew managed very well but had a few years of onstage experience to give him confidence and the ability to laugh at the bullies. Do believe one consistently threatened to throw him in a trash can but never managed to.
Andrew drove back to Asheville on Saturday...didn't think I would miss his presence but I do. However, his room is spotless and now a guest room. Come one come all.
Saturday eve we headed to Balmer and see Charm City Roller Girls do some damage on the track. Once you understand the rules of the game it is fun to watch. A packed house...last game of the season and a promo night. Ace of Cakes was there selling delicious cake. And can I comment on one thing..Charm City Roller Girls have one mascot..a banana. I suppose its no stranger than any other mascot, but why a banana? Why not an avocado? Or an eggplant?
So sorry to see summer end..sigh. Only good thing is fall weather and football.

sports in high school

Before I launch into my string of opinions, a small addendum to Saturday's blog..actually lost 3 and 1/2 pounds. Guess I did something right.

So begins the fall sports tryouts for the local high school. I didn't go through this with Andrew, as he was ensconsed in drama and theater during those years. Saturday was the first day..they had to report at 6 AM and ruin their asses off. It that simple. You run fast, you get on the team. Stick skills are secondary. I asked Maddie how it went. She threw up twice and kept on running. Today they report at 3 30 to do a timed 2 mile run. Now, I don't know about you, but I am not sure I've seen a field hockey running for 2 miles on the field without stopping. Sure this isn't field and track? I guess they are weeding out the quitters and those who don't have stamina.
I didn't do many sports in high school, but really don't remember having to run for 2 miles. Maybe cause I took bowling and archery. Maddie is a bit stressed about this upcoming endeavor-can't blame her, but whatever you do, don't quit. And I suppose if you do because of cramps and barfing, there's always bocce ball.

healthy living

After my healthy week in Vermont where we focused on mental and physical health, I was determined to carry on as i returned to real life. now granted, walking 5 miles a day in Maryland during the hottest summer on record was not very inviting. I attempted a few miserable walks where walking through pea soup would have been easier. I did some swimming..just not the same as walking down a two and a half mile hill and then walking back up again.
i thought my vacation would provide me with physical movement opportunities. Not so much. We drove many miles and walked little. Eating was also a bit more challenging, but I did what I could. Skipped ice cream, ate sweet potato fries, not regular fries, ate chicken, not ribs and avoided most sugar. I insisted we eat in an organic restaurant for lunch on afternoon, despite some eye rolling. I had a few glasses of wine, but never more than 2. Chances are I gained weight. It's that damn metabolism syndrome. So i ask myself, is this all worth it? Guess it is...sigh...at least I feel better. Sure miss martinis though.

south dakota and beyond

We took off Sunday morning for a road trip to Mt. Rushmore..which is about 370 miles from Denver. The quickest route is through Wyoming and into South Dakota. I now know what is meant by big country. Wyoming is vast and flat, sparsely dotted with ginormous ranches, all with official names and gates, just like you see in movies. It is flat, brown, and littered with cattle. But no houses, people, or cars. We travelled 45 miles without seeing a town or another car on the road. Just as you get nto South Dakota, the terrain changes a bit..there is some green growth, a few mountains, and those infamous granite rock faces.
We stayed in Custer, SD, along with a few thousand Sturgis attendees. Now Sturgis is a solid hour and a half north, but it made no difference. There are apparently close to a half million harley enthusiasts in the area and they are scattered over 3 states. I appreciate the cycle riders, but they occupied entire parking lots, scenic locations, and quick stops. Manuvering was difficult. Custer is a charming town of about 3000, complete with saloons and T short stores. We headed to Crazy Horse first..5 miles up the road. It was quite impressive even tho it was only about 20 percent finished. Privately funded, it should take another 25 years to finish. What we liked about this site was the homage it pays to the native american. More touching and meaningful.
Then we head over to Mt. Rushmore. An American icon. It almost seems ironic that we have carved the founding fathers into a granite rock in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where we took the lands of the Native Americans. it is quite a sight, but we skipped the large pomp and circumstance of the lighting ceremony that evening. Instead, we went to Crazy horse for a lazer show. It told the story of Crazy Horse and the history of the Lakota tribe.
The following morning, we headed to Custer State Park...to visit some wildlife. And visit we did. We had some close encounters with water buffalo..crossing in front of the car. They house about 1500 of them in the summer months and reduce populations to 900 in the winter. They are auctioned off and I suppose eaten. We honored this tradition by having great buffalo burgers for lunch.
Took a different route back to Denver through Nebraska. Can't say its much different than Wyoming, only that there are farms, not ranches. What is the difference by the way?
So, 4 states in 24 hours. pretty impressive.

the rockies up close and personal

Big day yesterday. We had a fabulous cookout friday eve, thanks to our hosts, Sean and Laura. Sean smoked some ribs and chicken all day; Laura made bacon brownies (which is no easy task in a mile high city), and we ended the meal with some of Laura's home made cheese. Yep, blue and cheddar...was amzing and delicious. i am inspired to try it myself. So nice to stay with foodies..and so much for my healthy eating habits-they went out the window this week.
All of us got up Saturday morn and headed to Estes Park. We followed Sean, who shared a most beautiful drive to Nederland..a small mountain town on your way to Boulder. Very hippie and strange..they are the ones that celebrate Frozen Dead Man Festival every year. They have a large parade of hearses, followed by a hearse race. All in honor of the frozen dead man that lives in town-cryogenically. Yes, really.

Estes Park is the gateway to Rocky Mountain State Park-very touristy, but we made a quick stop to the Stanley Hotel, where Stephen King stayed and was inspired to write the Shining. Known to be haunted. Especially room 217.
Then the highlight-a climb up in Rocky Mountain State Park. We climbed to 12000 feet feet, which in itself was a scary endeavor. Alan drove as i clutched the seat and tried to breath so i wouldn't hyperventilate. At the very top, we finally saw elk, who happened to lope across the road in front of us as we headed back down, How lucky were we! Too bad we left the camera at home...sigh...
On th
e way back to Denver, we made a pit stop at a cute blues bar where the owner has an entire room of old pin ball machines. Great thing for the kids..as in all of us.
More tomorrow..just finished a great day in South Dakota. Way tired..

colorado day 2 and 3

Thursday was spent at Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. We rode up to the gate for Pike's Peak..opted not to do the drive because of time contraints. Headed back down to to Manitou...charming old town with eclectic shops and the old west flavor. He lunched at a natural food cafe and headed over to Garden of the Gods. That was quite an experience..u ride up a one way road and just as you round a corner, there right in front of you, are massive red rock formations jutting high into the blue sky. It was almost spiritual. We headed north towards Denver and stopped at the Air Force Academy. Massive campus. Once you clear the gate, it is a 4 mile drive just to the visitor's center.
Mountains are still covered in snow, which is amazing to me.
Friday we headed to Boulder. Not to sound jaded, but Boulder is alot like Asheville..cute little artsy town with street performers. Only difference is that its overpriced. Headed back to Denver and hit the water park. What can be said about that. massive in size, crowded with people, just a great place to be on a 'hot' day (relative-its 90 and no humidity). Tomorrow is Estes park and Rocky Mountain Park. Can't wait. Would love to spot a moose. Or mooses....

denver day 1

Vacation part 2. Seems all my vacations this year involve mountain ranges. However, this mountain range can't be compared. So strange to see mountains with snow on them when its in the 90's in Denver.
We are definitely experiencing better temps here than home, warm yet no humidity. We arrived early and spent the afternoon at the Botanical gardens in Denver, which were worth the time. Not really into plants and flowers, but this was over the top. We then headed over to the Denver Public Library to drool over what a library really should be. 7 floors. Their movie and music room was larger than our Annapolis library alone.
We headed back to Sean and Laura's house..its a charming Victorian dating back to the late 1800's. It is beautifully decorated-bright colors, lots of rooms, in a eclectic community of S and M shops, weaving stores, bars that have 7 AM happy hours,movie theaters from the 30's, and a great selection of restaurants. We had a fabulous Thai dinner last eve-best I think I've had. Crashed early...time change and thinner air. Today is Colorado Springs.