What We're Missing in West Virginia

Hubby and I stayed home in MD this weekend. With the long Labor Day weekend looming, we figured we'd just hang out in MD for a change. We actually had a nice day yesterday (Saturday). It was sort of like life before WV.

Neither of us had anything pressing that had to be done. Although I was determined to finish piecing the quilt I have been working on for what seems like forever. More on that later.

Oddly, as I was busy sewing away, it occurred to me out of the blue that we should visit Second Chance. It's an architectural salvage company in downtown Baltimore That rescues "the wood, metal, marble, plaster, stone and other architectural elements that make [a] building special" which gives those "pieces new lives, in new homes, in new ways, with new uses."

Second Chance has a dual purpose. They work with low-income residents of Baltimore, training them in a wide variety of skill sets, ranging from carpentry to craftsmanship, with the goal of creating skilled workers who can make a living wage with benefits for themselves and their families. These people "become self-supporting members of the community with new skill sets. At Second Chance, we believe that second chances are not just for buildings, they are for people, too."

I've purchased a few things there for the WV place: kitchen cabinets, the kitchen table top, and a coffee table/end table for the living room. Yesterday we got two very cool cabinets, which are perfect for the WV garage, and two little cabinets to serve as nightstands in the guest room.

Afterward, we went to the nearby Cross Street Market hoping to find something for lunch. Neither of us could decide on what we wanted to eat. So we took the long way home, through the Inner Harbor, which was crawling with Yankees fans. We were heading into Fells Point, trying to decide what/where to eat, when Mike said, "Hey, I wonder if Lenny's is open."

Lenny's is a big deli on the corner of Lombard and Center streets, just east of the Inner Harbor, at the end of a block that was once known as corned-beef row. It is not a fancy place. It has yet to be discovered by the tourists, but the locals and business people love the place.

When I still worked downtown, we'd go there for lunch periodically. Mike always got a reuben (corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing grilled on rye bread). I've always had a sensitive digestive system and would never dream of eating such a thing in the middle of a work day. Yesterday, knowing we'd be heading home afterward, I decided to have one, too. It was delightful.

This morning, wondering what we missed in WV yesterday, I visited the Hampshire Review Web site. I was amazed to see that the Hampshire Review has a Web Cam. Not only that, they have a You Tube page, too!

There's a video introducing you to the 2008/09 HHS Trojans (high school sports teams). Another video features Alverde Kelly, a county resident who turned 100 recently. There's an even an older one, titled Local Pigs Go to State Fair.

Gripping stuff.

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Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.