Lyn

Baltimore Farmers’ Market and Bazaar

Jun 012012

While I was in Baltimore last weekend, I really wanted to go to the Farmers’ Market. It’s open April – October on Sunday mornings from 7AM until noonish. It’s located downtown and is known as the largest producer’s market in Maryland.

It’s actually a Bazaar and market. The way we entered the market, we past stand of baskets, clothes, jewelry and more. My niece was very interested in the jewelry, but I wanted to check out the produce. After a few minutes, we made our way to the market. The market is located under a couple of bridges. So, there’s a good deal of shade built in. That made for a nice walk through. It was already hot and we were there just after 7AM.

My sister and niece bought some spicy jerky for my brother in law. The went back and bought some sweet to enjoy as well. I’ve never seen duck eggs at a market. I didn’t need any eggs, but I may try them next time.

This booth reminded me of Humble Pie Baking Company here in the Cleveland area. He had lots of savory and sweet individual pies and a few traditional sized as well. We purchased a few savory ones to have for lunch. There was a seafood stand that consistently had customers. They also had live crabs that my niece liked checking out.

It was easy to tell that the prime in season crops are strawberries and asparagus. The were everywhere.

My friend Erin (also known as the bride the day before) let us know that there were good breakfast choices at the market. You can get omelets, donuts, pastries, coffee and crepes. I opted for a crepe. It was fun to watch the crew. There were 2 guys that prepped the ingredients and 2 guys cooking them. A fifth person took the orders and kept everything moving along. I love good efficient processes and loved this stop. My sister bought some pickles at the In A Pickle stand. We were surprised at the line for them. They were tasty, but my sister likes my pickles better. If pickling cucumbers are ready when we go to Baltimore in July, I’m going to leave a few jars of refrigerator pickles for her.

One of my favorite stands was the mushroom stand. They all looked so delicious.

I settled on “The Deluxe Mix”. We ended up cooking them with burgers on Memorial Day. They were really good. Locally, I don’t get many opportunities for such a variety in fresh mushrooms.

Between my sister, niece and I, we ended up buying savory pies, mushrooms, asparagus, lettuce mix, dill, jerky, pickles, crepes, and a hula hoop (but that’s a story for a future post).

As we left the market, this guy was playing a saxophone made out of PVC pipe. He actually could play a tune. We also passed the free parking that we had been told about. We actually parked a couple of blocks away in the street and our locale turned out fine. When I’m in Baltimore on a Sunday morning, I will definitely check out this market again.

Trainer workout before my Baltimore trip

Exercise No Responses »

May 312012

Last Thursday, I made sure to get in my strength training workout with Jen and my partner in crime before I headed to Baltimore on Friday. It turned out great since I did mostly walking as activity while I was gone.

I warmed up on a bike for just a few minutes before the workout.

2 sets of the following:

Band Lateral Walk + Squat 10lb x length of gym
Slider Lateral Lunges x 20ea leg
Slider Hamstring Curls (attempt)/bridge hold

I really need to work on my hamstrings. They were sore for days after only “attempting” this exercise. Both of my legs cramped up just trying it. Yikes.

Kettlebell Swing + Lateral Walk 20lb x 20
Scull Crushers + Chest Press 15lb x 20ea
Lat. Pulldown 70lb x 20

I upped the weight from 50 to 70 on the first set. I regretted it for a few days. I only did 50 or 60 on the second set. The actual lat. pull down wasn’t bad, but when you start combining other arm exercises, it really ups the intensity.

Lying Cable Chest Press on ball 20lb x 15ea
Ball Push Crunch 2x5lb x 20
Bench Plank :30 x 3
Wall Ball Squat w/ Press 8lb x 20
Birddog on ball x 30ea side

I’m still really enjoying these workouts. Jen always amazes me with the new things we try each week. No two workouts are ever the same.

U-Pick Tour–Walnut Drive Gardens, Mogadore Ohio–Strawberries

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May 302012

Today, the kids and I set out to pick our first Ohio strawberries of the season. We picked up my mom and headed to Walnut Drive Gardens. They are located in Mogadore. Since my mom lives in Akron, this was a good choice for us. The picking fields are at a different location this year. For those of you who picked peppers in the past, most of the picking will be at that location this year. The address for strawberry picking is 2129 Randolph Road. Randolph Road goes off to the left near route 43. We actually missed that and kept going straight. We ended up on Trares Road. As long as you visualize the directions as you near 43, you’ll be fine. This sign was near the road where Randolph turns near 43. There was also a big Strawberries sign with an arrow that we past when we got on the wrong street. I think Walnut Drive Gardens should think about putting on on Randolph near where it veers left. It’s much safe to take the diagonal there too. But, we found it and that’s all that really matters!

These signs were at the road. You can’t miss it if you are on the correct street. I will add if you miss where Randolph turns, you’ll come up to Congress Lake Road and it goes all the way through to Randolph. It comes out near Paradise Lake Golf Course.

We stopped at the new red building and picked up baskets for picking. The attendant gave us directions to go over the hill and park in the grass. We were able to pick anywhere and the farther back from parking, the better picking should be.

The kids were excited to have grandma along.

The picking was great. There were tons of ready to eat berries.

My mom posed with the kids by the field before we left.

Picking was $13.50 for an eight quart basket. It was an extra $1 for the basket. We didn’t have to get the berries out of the car to pay. Instead of weighing them, it’s a flat charge for the full basket. I’ve read that a quart averages 1.5 pounds. I had 11 pounds in my basket. I probably could have fit a few extra berries to make it closer to 12 pounds.

Mom picked a basket as well. So, we ended up with over 20 pounds of berries during our outing. The kids had fun and enjoyed a few berries as well. I was also glad to see a port-a-potty near the picking field. I didn’t ask if they had bathrooms in the new building, but I will try to find out.

We have several other farms to try out for strawberries this year, but I think Walnut Drive Gardens is probably going to be the most reasonably priced. Hopefully, we’ll have time to return.

Most of these berries will be eaten in the next couple of days. The rest will get frozen for smoothies. I want to make jam again this year, but that’s not in the schedule this week.

U-Pick Tour–Larriland Farm, Woodbine Maryland–Strawberries and Spinach

U-Pick No Responses »

May 292012

It’s finally strawberry picking time! It’s actually 2-3 weeks early for most farms, but with all of the hot weather, it seems like we’ve been waiting on them. I was in Maryland over the weekend. None of the Ohio farms were open for picking when I left (most are open now), but in Maryland picking was already going on for the last week or two. I researched U-pick farms near Elkridge, where I was staying. There were really only 2 places. One was an hour away and Larriland Farm was 30 minutes away. So, my niece, nephew and I headed to Larriland on Saturday morning. Picking opened at 9AM, which I thought was a bit late, especially given the expected heat. We arrived about 5 after nine and there were already lots of cars parked near the fields.

We picked up boxes and checked out the pricing. The price seemed reasonable to me. Later in the weekend, I found $2.99 a pound for CA strawberries on sale in the local grocery store. To the right is the view of the field as we approached. The farm was well organized and staffed.

It was L and L’s first time picking. My niece was really into it. Both kids did just fine.

I was surprised to end up with almost 12 pounds of berries. It was very hot and sunny and that made for some tough picking. We learned on our way out that they were about to turn on the sprinklers. At $2.59 a pound, we spent $28 on berries. They have been delicious. We ate quite a few at my sister’s house this weekend. We also made strawberry lemonade spritzers to drink. In addition, I froze a gallon or so. On our way out, I wanted to check out the U-Pick Swiss chard and spinach. I had never picked either one. I knew that I could just eat some spinach for lunch, so we spent a few minutes in the field.

We ended up picking 72 cents worth of spinach. It was really an afterthought!

Larriland had a nice barn market near the entrance to the fields. They sell cheese, produce and other items. I bought some Italian Colby Cheese that was really good. Near the barn, there were port-a-potties set up with running water sinks. There weren’t restrooms in the fields as far as we could tell.

Unfortunately, there was an accident near the entrance during our stay. It looked like everyone was ok, but 2 cars were towed.

We had a good time and we’d visit the farm again. This farm offers U-Pick in many different items. I could see me taking the kids there again in June and July when I am in town. I’m hoping for blueberries next!

Nails

Family No Responses »

May 282012

On Friday, I took an early flight to Baltimore. I was excited to spend some time with my sister and Erin (AKA the Bride to Be).

My sister Holly was one of the attendants for the wedding. Here’s a great photo of her with the Bride to Be.

I think every bride should be pampered a bit before the big day. I also think that other attendants and friends should make sure the bride isn’t lonely.

There was a little excitement in the air!

Holly decided on colors. I’m just relaxing in the massage chair.

We all got “Gelish” manicures after our standard pedicures. With Gelish, the color is in a opaque white bottle, so our color choices were painted on these sticks. I had Holly pick out my color – High Voltage. It’s a glittery reddish pinkish color. I really like the gel nails since they don’t chip and look really good until your nails start to grow out.

I don’t get my nails done very often. This was sure a fun treat!

We had a great time at the salon and finished our time with Erin with a lunch at COSI. It was delicious. We said our goodbyes to the bride and set out to tackle our to do list.

My Weekend in Baltimore

Uncategorized No Responses »

May 272012

[print_this]

Q O E Z O H H J S I C C F J J 
Z V A A S H U L A E N R Z P S 
N A I O Z I X M E N L A E B Y 
N D J I H G T U G X S Z D P J 
L E G O S Y K S L P Y Z Z E E 
Z O I E Y N D H A A I W R U B 
P R O D U C E R M A R K E T P 
B F Y K T U A O O A Y C N H S 
B C F N L G O O K P K R I O E 
Q D A Y U A J M H W O I R O L 
S I X S Z E W S Z H Y N E P K 
G U I S K C U B R A T S I S C 
T H N D O W T Q I U T V U C I 
S D F G Q R W R L E Q N O A P 
W W R S H Q R X B H D L O O P


ASPARAGUS
BBQ
CREPE
ERIN
GIANT
HOOPS
HULA
HYDROPONIC
JERKY
JOSH
LEGOS
MUSHROOMS
PICKLES
POOL
PRODUCERMARKET
PUZZLES
STARBUCKS
SUN
WALK

[/print_this]

(The solution is on page 2 of this post.)

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Watson

Family No Responses »

May 262012

A day with my sister

Family No Responses »

May 252012

Nick and Sally are enjoying a Daddy weekend and I’m enjoying a weekend away at my sister’s.

4 AM Depart from home
7:10 AM Greeted by sister and niece and nephew in Baltimore
Dry cleaners
Montessori school tour
Pedicure, manicure, and lunch with the bride-to-be
Target
Haircut
Dinner with family
Ikea
10 PM Time for bed

P.S. Thanks to Stephen for taking dictation for tonight’s post.

Sprinkler Fun with Sally

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

May 242012

On Sunday, Nick went to a birthday party. It was the first one where a friend picked him up and he attended without a parent. It sounds like he had a great time. After Sally woke up from her nap, I told her that we needed to water the plant and we could water her too.

She loved the idea of the sprinkler, but she wasn’t sure about it at first. She’s usually a bit apprehensive the first few minutes.

Soon she was running and laughing and even getting a little wet.

When we moved the sprinkler over, she really liked splashing on the concrete.

After 20 minutes or so, she was done and happy!

The temperature has been very sprinkler friendly this week. I suspect it will get even more use this weekend.

Cleveland Asian Festival

Adventures with Nick and Sally, Food No Responses »

May 232012

On Saturday, after the Roxboro Arts Festival, we headed to the Asian Festival. Everyone was tired, but Nick didn’t want to miss it. It was hot and we were exhausted, but we went anyway.

Stephen works less than a block from location of the Asian Festival. We decided that we’d be able to park in his lot. That turned out to be a great decision. Our trip to the Asian Festival started out with naps.

By the time we got from Cleveland Heights down to E.30th and Payne, both kids were totally asleep. I pulled into the shade, rolled down the windows and snoozed a bit myself. I didn’t really fall asleep, but the calmness and quiet of the breeze was awesome. It turned out to be a refreshing 45 minutes for everyone.

Once the kids woke up, we headed down the street to the festival. Nick was excited to see the road closed for the tents. The festival was well organized with a food court area, entertainment, kids area, and marketplace. There were also lots of volunteers available to answer questions.

The kids were excited to see inflatables. We entered the festival near the slide and the kids took a few minutes to wait in line for it. After their trip down, I realized that many kids and wrist bands and maybe we were supposed to pay for the attractions. We were hungry and headed to food anyway, so it worked out ok.

The kids were excited to see the Goodyear blimp flying overhead. Usually, I spot it in the car, but it hides behind a building or tree before they can spot it.

After a quick pastry wrapped hot dog to eat, it was slush time. It was at least 85 degrees in the sun and a cold drink hit the spot. It was fun to watch some of the food tents from behind. These ladies were frying up pot stickers. Each griddle had 50 or so of them cooking away.

This vendor was frying up egg rolls in huge propane powered woks. Each wok held at least 20 huge rolls. There were also two tents with performances. We took a minute to check out these dancers. Sally likes everything musical.

Nick has heard of book-mobiles before, but this was his first time seeing one up close. He loved going up into the bus to check it out.

We really didn’t stay at the festival very long. Everyone was tired from the busy day, but it was important to make a stop there since it was on our list. Nick and Sally really like schedules and plans. (I wonder where they get that from?)

On the way out, we had another peak of the blimp and the marketplace. I’d definitely try and make it to the festival again next year. I look forward to trying out some different foods and taking in more of the culture of the festival.

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