Maryland Renaissance Festival

The Maryland Renaissance Festival (also on Facebook) has three more weekends left, and the forecast for this weekend calls for gorgeous weather -- sunny and in the high 60's.

First held in Columbia, MD in 1977, Maryland RenFest is now located on a wooded 130-acre site in Crownsville, MD just off of I-97 near Annapolis.

The festival has costumed performers and patrons from the era of King Henry VIII's England, and includes jousting, archery, a food fair, and artisans and crafts.

2014 Autumn Walk Picnic (with Photos)

(See the full album on Facebook)

Thanks to everyone for making the 2014 Autumn Walk Picnic a success!

Hosts Adrienne and Jamie decorated their houses and organized the set-up of tables, chairs, coolers, and even a pop-up tent, as well as coordinating replies from the neighborhood.

Bindu, Daphna, and Pam also helped with the planning, fliers, shopping and grilling, and around 40 adults and 40 children came bringing potluck contributions!

With the addition of hamburgers, veggie burgers, and hot dogs purchased by Autumn Walk HOA, we had more food and drink than we could possibly consume.

It's Picnic Time!

(Update: Since no one can see the sign up list any more, we've sent individual reminders to everyone with the list of items you volunteered to bring. Please let us know if you didn't receive it and need help remembering. :) Thanks again!)

It's almost time for the picnic on Saturday!

For those who volunteered to supply them, the organizers ask that you bring some items early (between 10 am and 12 noon to 9846/9848, Adrienne or Jamie's houses):

• Folding tables
• Coolers & Ice
• Drinks
• Condiments (we may still need mustard and mayo)
• Napkins, plates, cutlery 

We've had a pretty good response, but it's not too late to sign up! We hope to see everyone there!

Picnic Reminder!

The weather forecast looks good so far for next Saturday -- keep your fingers crossed!

The picnic organizers need a headcount to know how much food and supplies are needed. Can you please RSVP to the following link?

• Google Forms RSVP

Negative responses are also requested -- that is, if you cannot attend, please let us know by putting your house number in the form but put "0" or "cannot attend" in the "Other" box under attendance.

Thanks!

Whole-House Humidifier Tips

If you have excessively dry air during the winter heating season, you may have found that it leads to a less comfortable environment in your home, with everything from dry skin and nosebleeds to shrinking floorboards.

Portable humidifiers work reasonably well but it can be a tedious chore to continually refill and clean them. If your HVAC system has enough room, you can install a whole-house humidifier.

Whole-House Humidifiers
A typical whole-house humidifier will be installed on the return air duct. An air intake line is installed from the filtered, heated air exiting the furnace, and goes through a damp pad into the return duct.

A whole-house humidifier installation

I've Been Riding on the Railroad (Baltimore to Ellicott City)

Did you know that Baltimore and Howard County had an important role in the birth of American railroads?

The last surviving Bollman Truss Bridge is near us at Savage Mill

The first regularly scheduled passenger rail service in the US began on May 22, 1830 when a horse-drawn Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) train was pulled 13 miles from Baltimore's Mount Clare Station to Ellicott Mills (Ellicott City today) in northeastern Howard County.

Today, both sites are the locations of railroad museums commemorating their roles in establishing the American railroad industry.

2014 Autumn Walk Picnic!

A group of your neighbors (Adrienne, Jamie, Bindu, Daphna, and Pam) have volunteered to organize and host the 2014 Autumn Walk Picnic! Come out and meet your neighbors and enjoy food and fun and games!

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2014 from 3pm - 6pm between Jamie and Adrienne's House (9848 and 9846)

Raindate: Sunday, September 21, 2014 from 2pm - 5pm between Jamie and Adrienne's House

Volunteers to grill are needed!

They plan to have a water balloon game, bike decorations, face painting, fake tattoos, and a cake walk (and maybe more)!

Autumn Walk HOA will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and buns, and otherwise the Picnic will be Potluck.

What you can do: 

• Please RSVP using the web link below, letting them know how many adults and children you expect to attend. 
• Google Forms RSVP
• Please indicate on the form what dish(es), supplies, or activities you can provide. 
• Help is also needed with set-up, clean-up, and the grilling, so please let us know if you can volunteer for those jobs too. 

The first two Picnics were a lot of fun and we hope as many of you as possible will be able to join us!