Olney Library Kiosk -- More Than Expected

The Olney Library's kiosk has finally been set up at the Longwood Recreation Center; maybe now I can cut down on my treks to the Howard County library in Glenwood.

Yesterday on my way home from Glenwood, I passed by Longwood to retrieve a MCPL book on Hold. I didn't know what to expect at the kiosk/MCPL Express @ Olney. At first, the setup was what I predicted: 2 carts of books, a book return dropbox, and a vending machine that dispenses books and media instead of candy and chips.

Then I saw the wall of lockers containing materials on Hold for pickup. Following directions on an electronic keypad, I typed in my MC library card's last 4 digits and heard a low "Click" ... then a door swung open slowly and silently, like a James Bond gadget. I reached in and took out my book, expecting the door to mysteriously close by itself. Well, it didn't; I'm simply closed it myself.

But wait, there's more. A large box beside the vending machine is a DVD dispenser! I could search for any DVD in the MCPL system and if the DVD dispenser had it, I could borrow it. The DVD dispenser is like a public Redbox, but with no rental fee and a borrowing time of more than 1 night (up to 3 weeks)! Then I perused the small selection of books on the carts and found the bestselling hard-to-find-unless-you-order-it-as-an-ebook erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey ... which of course I had to borrow just to see what all the fuss is about.

Enough about my reading tastes: I encourage Olney residents to visit the MCPL Express @ Olney at Longwood. Of course it can't replace our beloved library, but at last Olney has a substitute that offers something for everyone, including children's, young adult and adult fiction and nonfiction, audiobooks, and DVDs. Happy reading, listening and viewing!

A Foggy Day ... with apologies to Sinatra

A foggy day, in Olney town,
it had me low, it had me down,
I viewed the morning, with much alarm,
the drive to school, had lost its charm...

... until I realized that the thick mist made me imagine this: instead of dodging rush hour in Olney, I was floating through an exotic, romantic locale. The open fields along Bowie Mill Road reminded me of fog rolling across the moors in Wuthering Heights. Riding up and down the hills of Queen Elizabeth Drive made me believe (with a stretch) that I was in San Francisco. And the tree-lined, rural section of Georgia Avenue above Brookeville transported me to Huang Shan of Anhui, China or the hazy redwood forest where Ewoks lived in Return of the Jedi.

By afternoon, the sun cleared away the fog and exposed the blooming cotton-like flowers of my neighborhood's pear trees. Gorgeous daffodils, bright hyacinths and even my fledgling tulips (which survived the traumatic transplanting described in my blog entry from May 4, 2011, "Tiptoe Through The Tulips") decorated the landscape.

Nonetheless, the fantasy of faraway lands had to end. My daughter brought me back to reality when she asked about the pear trees, "How can trees so pretty be so smelly?" Ants and stinkbugs appeared everywhere inside the house. Welcome back to Olney and welcome back to spring ... it never seemed to have left.

Exotic Cuisine?

Last week on the OBX, I learned that a whole pig roast is a Maryland tradition. I haven't yet sampled any seemingly-exotic-but-apparently-indigenous cuisine here in Olney. The pig roast description, however, reminded me of two appetite-whetting (or appetite-suppressing -- depends on the diner) experiences in China:

• In Sichuan, I brandished a skewer on which a wiggling catfish was impaled... ready to be dipped into the boiling hot pot. The wriggling fish was even more startling than the appetizers of pig brain, pig throat and cow stomach.
• In Tai'an, a friend and I ordered a local delicacy, the"breathing carp" (a half-cooked fish whose body is prepped for eating but whose head still seems alive with moving gills and opening/closing lips). Before digging into the body, we first tried to hide the head by putting a plate on it ... but then the plate rose and fell! When we finally asked for fish to be cooked completely, the waitress thought we were crazy because that was not the way the locals would eat the specialty.

As a non-Maryland native, I wonder what other traditional Maryland cuisine -- besides the pig roast -- I can try. What other Olney restaurants prepare local delicacies? Perhaps the new Safeway carries exotic-but-really-indigenous goodies. Maybe I'll discover them when I can find a parking space.

At the super exciting grand re-opening my family has been anticipating for months

Where did your family spend locally today?

Here Comes the Sun, Again?

Yes, folks it's been awhile. What can you say? Well, being an educator I can say school staff look forward to snow days possibly even more so than students. And yet, no snow. We're halfway through winter and not even a two hour delay. Sure it may be nice to have 50 degree temps in winter but give me my snow. Why else make it cold and it has been cold, occasionally. I have no problem shoveling the driveway, even driving in the white stuff. You can't imagine the exuberant joy of hearing Montgomery County Public Schools- Closed. Hurray! And it's back to bed. Even the announcement of a two hour delay is worth the extra sleep time.
As for Valentine's Day, the Wifey loves the chocolate cake from Chicken Out. It used to be a lot easier when they were here in Olney. I have to run out to Rockville Pike and pick up two slices from the Chicken Out there. Not one for each of us. Wifey and I split one and our girls split the other. That's some good eating. This past Tuesday, we were reminiscing of the chocolate cake that BJ Pumpernickel's used to serve. They were great too and are sure missed.
Still waiting for snow and I'll take this President's Day break. How long until Spring Break?

Squirrel - revisited and the like

Thanks to our recent blogger who wrote about Spontaneous Date Nights. I think you're on to something there.

Seeing this post reminded me that our contributing OBX bloggers have been quiet over the past months - me included. Is it that we have nothing to say? Is it that we have nothing funny, inspiring, or insightful to say? (a requirement of this blog). I hope that's not the case. Perhaps we're just pre-occupied. Perhaps we're too busy reading other people's blogs. Perhaps we're too anxious anticipating the horrific winter that we know is still sure to come.

Anyway, while discussing this at dinner, my husband reminded me abut our recent squirrel escapade. You'll recall that I've blogged about squirrels before - bemoaning their messy eating of my Dogwood tree fruits. Well these squirrels are relentless, I'll tell ya. They insist on eating every bird seed we put out. Even when we install so-called squirrel-resistent bird feeders! They're like squirrel acrobats!!! You won't believe it until you see it. Check out this latest photo of what we lovingly call our "Space Squirrel."

Be well. Be happy. Be inspired. Keep blogging.

Post-Valentine's Day Dating Advice for Married Couples

I admire couples who manage to hold a regular Date Night. My husband and I do not have a Date Night but found a pale substitute: the Spontaneous Date. This idea hatched one cool evening last fall, after the heat and humidity subsided. "Hey, why don't we go for a walk?" I cheerfully asked my husband. He scoffed at my suggestion, mumbling that he had to take out the garbage. I followed him out into the garage. As he rolled the garbage can down the driveway, I walked beside him. He looked up quizzically me. "Look, we're on a date!" I exclaimed.

I have found multiple Spontaneous Date opportunities in everyday Olney life. Whenever we find ourselves sans kids (perhaps after dropping them off at piano lessons or parties), I exclaim, "We're on a date!" Once when we had to notarize documents at the UPS Store, it was just the notary, my husband and me in the store. "We're on a date," I declared. Another time my husband and I went grocery shopping at Giant and walked down the frozen food aisle together -- voila, Spontaneous Date! I think I might have even been wearing white at the time, so it was a Spontaneous Faux Wedding Date!

Speaking of Giant, when we rack up more than 300 Gas Rewards Points, we embark on another Spontaneous Date (at least that is what I call it -- my husband is not completely on board with my enthusiasm) to the Shell station on Georgia Avenue. Leaving the kids at home, we each drive a car to the station so we can fill not one, but two tanks of gas and save at least 30 cents off per gallon. Spontaneous Cheap Date!

So I say to all couples who have not carved out a Date Night: let's extend Valentine's Day romance throughout the year with all kinds of Spontaneous Dates!