hon-day fun day

The Hons of Baltimore were in all their bee-hived glory this afternoon when I hit the Ave' in Hampden for HonFest '09. I brought along my high school friend, Jarryd, who is up from DC for the weekend to give him a little taste of the John Waters side of our fine city. Though not as hot as last year, today was pretty steamy but that didn't keep the crowds of festooned females (and a few males!) from plastering on the make-up, teasing their hair, or layering on dresses and jewels.

While pretty much the same as last year, the festival disappointed me with its lack of beverage options - it would have been nice to see the wine tents back again or some cocktail options, but alas all we found were a couple of beer trucks. I wonder if people got a little too festive last year with the additional alcoholic options? But as a non-beer drinker, it just fell a little flat to me.

We caught the tail end of a Hon band's performance, which seemed to be a lovely mix of ages and ethnicities, each one giving her own spin to the iconic Baltimorean female persona. Same went for the tent under which one could be hived, so to speak. With ornate chairs and lots of feathers, the bee hive tent drew women of all walks to try on the Hon look for a day - pretty neat! Throughout the festival there was certainly a lot of opportunities to spend some money - as far as I could tell, the majority of tents were selling things that were hardly Hon-y or even Baltimore related. However, there were a few great exeptions that showed some nice creativity and cool local craftsmanship. If you're looking for some local flavor in your home or to give as a gift, keep your eyes peeled for some cute options, such as these decorated Hon crabshell ornaments: or strangely appealing flattened beer bottles (Natty Boh, please!) and Hon yard stakes:

And what's a Baltimore festival without food food food? Crab cakes, made to order falafal pitas, pit beef, kebobs, potato pancakes - HonFest certainly felt no qualms with some rather un-Hon-ish offerings, but all looked and smelled mouth-wateringly delicious, that's for sure. Mmmm, fresh crab cakes on the grill! Pit beef was being sliced to order for sandwiches, and boy did it smell delicous:

Definitely head to Hampden on Sunday if you haven't checked out the Hons yet, but in my opinion the best part of the festival was the chance to see all the outfits and beehives with which everyday women had adorned themselves. Oh yeah, and this Hon-haired poodle and a pricelessly hilarious sign were pretty sweet too:

love, k

it's all greek to me!

This weekend there are so many things to do that I hardly know where to start! With so much to squeeze in, it seems only appropriate that I kicked off my weekend a couple hours early (Hey, I'm working tomorrow!) with catch-up pedicures with J followed by a little poolside chatting with a couple other neighbors where we decided we'd all go check out the Greek Folk Festival, put on by St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. This annual event in Greektown (Ponca and Eastern) is in it's 3rd decade and going strong, and is one of the largest and longest running Hellenic events in the Mid-Atlantic. The aromas of delicious homemade traditional Greek fare wafted for blocks surrounding the festival, and the sounds of live music echoed out on to the street. As soon as we walked in, we saw the sources of each: before us, food was being prepared outdoors on griddles and assembly lines, such as spanikopita, mussaka, and gyros.

Using all of our self-control, we ventured further in to the festival, just in time to catch some young dancers showcasing their talents, while others prepared their costumes:

Right as our hunger got the better of us, an incredibly talented musical ensemble, Apollonia, took the stage and didn't let up for hours. Their talent is not to be missed, folks (unlike the guest performance by American Idol finalist, Constantine Maroulis, yesterday - we want local talent not hollywood washups!). The lilting tones of the female singers voice were perfectly complimented by traditional instruments, and got people on their feet and dancing. Here are some more pictures from the festival:

Besides the more well-known Greek food served, there were some more adventurous dishes, such as grilled octapus and fried spelt:


Yup, that is Joe eating a baklava ice cream sundae...so I can't undersand why he'd be making this face...

A taking Baby O off her parents' hands for a little while - so nice to have babies in our neighborhood (especially extra cute ones!)
The church was gorgeous inside - snapped this one without a flash so not great...but I love how the candles look anyways:

If you're interested in further history of the church or festival, check out the festival's website. The Greek Festival is open Saturday from 11-11, and Sunday from 12-10. This is a festival not to be missed; with delicious food to suit every palate, fun crafts, a beautiful church to tour, friendly staffing, and top-notch performers you won't be disappointed.

Tomorrow I'll be checking out HonFest 2009, so stay tuned for some fab photos of that!

love k

breaking news! HMS project awarded to local developer

At long last we know what will be going in the empty building in our midst! That's right, friends and neighbors, the city has picked a development group for Highlandtown Middle School. Kraft's office contacted our representatives around 11 o'clock today to alert us that the official announcement would go out this afternoon, letting everyone know that Focus Development is slated to renovate the space into apartments and retail. HMS has now been sitting empty for about three years, and neighbors have struggled with the problems that always accompany vacant buildings - rats, loitering, trash, and vandalism. For a better understanding of the history of our neighborhood's trouble with the school, check out Jen's blog.


Here's what I've heard so far:
* Focus plans to begin work as early as 6 months from now, with an estimated completion date of two years
*Leasing will begin before completion, to expedite the process of getting that building filled!
* Units are predicted to attract young professionals who work in the area
* Parking will be drive-in, as opposed to the original proposition of robotic parking
* Many of the original classroom layouts will be preserved
* Historic Tax Credits will be used to help fund the building, but also stipulate that original features of the building (such as the auditorium and numerous murals) be preserved
* PPNA will have a community relations rep (Scott R) to continue the positive relationship we've had with Focus so that any neighborhood concerns during the building period are addressed
* As you know (about which I have yet to write in depth), we're planning a food co-op for our community and in casual talks with Focus learned that they would be in support of using a portion of the first-floor retail space to house it.

Over the past year, the city had three developers respond to the RFP which was quickly narrowed to two due to neighborhood involvement and a strong showing at the community/city meeting held at the Anchor Branch Enoch Pratt Library in the winter. In the end, all of the hard work, open lines of communication, and diligence on the part of individuals throughout our neighborhood and neighboring communities paid off. Special thanks should be given to Joe and Scott for their representation of Patterson Park during this process.

Stay posted for further news on this important neighborhood development!

love k

walking and talking my way home

Four years ago, I was a first time buyer. With prices so high in my hometown of DC, and my sister and brother-in-law newly settled in Baltimore and giving me the hard sell, I turned my attentions North. I toured houses all over Fells Point, Canton, Brewer's Hill, and Patterson Park. After visiting dozens of houses, having run-ins with junkies, and a few heartbreaks juuust out of my financial reach, I found a 3 bedroom, 2 and a half bathroom parkfront house right in my price range. Oh, but was it ever ugly inside. The first time I viewed it, I left after 3 minutes. The second time I took along my brother in law, who has an unbelievable ability to see the potential in a space, who started (verbally) tearing down walls, removing Corinthian pillars (oh yeah), redesigning the layout. And so that's what I did, lots and lots of ripping and tearing that I'll talk about another day with photos and all, but my story travels onward. Well, I'll give you one photo to tide you over [pulled from the original listing. Note the random ceiling heights, wall to wall carpet, tiny kitchen, weird dead space, and, oh yeah! The pillars...]:

Having moved in, bought furniture, found roommates, and settling in to working, I realized I really didn't know anyone in Baltimore - we're talking totally friendless! Turns out, making friends in a new city after college is pretty darn hard. And so I hated it here. I hated that I was always lost. I hated that in the blink of an eye I'd find myself in a scary neighborhood with nary a kind soul to help me. I hated that my car was broken in to three times in as many months. But most of all, I hated not knowing anyone or anything fun to do.

Trying to be a good lil' Patterson Parker, I helped out at the Spring Clean-Up and realized that there was an entire crew of young, fun residents all of whom seemed to know each other. Where had they been hiding?! Where did they live?! It became a sort of mission to find them...

I found my dog on the street while showing houses in Cedarcroft,
and soon after heard about the Citizens On Patrol (COP) walks. So, timidly, Puppy and I headed across to the entrance to the park just across the street at Linwood and Baltimore. It was evident immediately that almost everyone knew each other and each others' dogs... But it wasn't the kind of knowing that leaves newcomers on the outside. Quite the opposite! People reached out to me and lil' P, and by the end of the walk, the urge to put my house on the market and move back to DC was already diminishing. Within a few weeks I found myself really looking forward to the COP walks and the news and camaraderie they offered new and old residents alike. So many of the people I now think of as among my favorite people in the world are those I met through the walks. All that walking and talking made me take owernship of my house, neighborhood and city. Each week as the walk would end and we'd go our separate ways, increasingly I found myself returning not to a house where I lived, but rather to a home that I loved.

love k

fresh from the farm

Today is the first day of my CSA! If you don't know what that is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture - in short, you buy a share for the season (June-November) and each week pick up a big ol' bunch of fruits and veggies grown by a local farmer, which in our case is One Straw Farm. Four of us decided to share a share, which, according to OSF, is enough to feed a family of four for a week. Financially, it breaks down to about $5 each per week, since we paid for our share early. And guess what else! Our pick up location is about two blocks away at our neighborhood charter school, to which a portion of OSF's proceeds go. The prospect of six months of fresh, locally-grown produce practically delivered to my door just makes me swoon. Between the CSA, my (albeit) small garden, and JFX Farmers Market, I am hoping I can cut back on non-local produce, meat, and dairy (though many doubt I'll be able to resist out-of-season fruits and veggies available at Safeway...). The frequent complaint I've heard is, "there are just SOOO many greens in the beginning!" but I figure it'll just make me get creative and stay healthy. I've already googled several recipes for chard!

So it was with much anticipation that I headed up the hill and found myself faced with heaps of glorious produce, friendly volunteers, and a lovely new reusable bag in which to tote them home (the produce, not the volunteers that is).
Isn't all this rainbow chard just glorious?

On my way home, I had to stop and take a picture of SG and MV's house - it just looked so great with the flowers, new trim, and flag, don't you think?

When I got home I lay out all my CSA goodies and took a photo just for you:

Hmm, looks like I have me lots o' salad in store this week. As I find successful recipes, I'll share them. If YOU know of great recipes for seasonal produce, let us know!
love k

if you're in the giving mood...

...there are plenty of opportunities coming up around here to do just that. Currently hanging in Three...Restaurant is artwork by Andy Schwartz and Jason Derck, much of which depicts life around Baltimore in prints of various sizes. Stop by Wednesday evening to grab a drink and check it out. If you should wish to purchase any of the pieces, you can do so knowing that proceeds will be donated as seed money for a food co-op we have in the works (more on that later). Charitable intentions aside, the art is straight up amazing.

Later this month, Mike Mitchell (of both our neighborhood AND Habitat for Humanity) is hosting a fundraiser party to support the work of the Megaphone Project, an organization that makes films for nonprofits and causes that support changes in thought, policy, and
greater social justice. The party will showcase some of MP's short films, as well as introduce party-goers to the Executive Director of the organization.

And finally, June 28th is the New Balance Baltimore Women's Classic 5k, so ladies get out your running (or walking) shoes and join your other female neighbors on the Patterson Park Princesses team to support women's health initiatives. Thanks to Heather H for organizing our neighborhood team!
Good times, good company, great causes!

love k

fruits of my labor

Rowhouse living is lovely for many reasons, not the lease of which is the absence of lawn to mow, water, weed, etc. It's especially lovely when one lives directly across from a big ol' park (which is very well maintained, I might add - Thank you, Parks & Rec!). It does, however, leave one craving a little private outdoor space. Awesome as I'd feel lounging on a park bench at 8 a.m. drinking my coffee in a bathrobe, I doubt it would do wonders for my business. And so we find ourselves turning to our patios as little urban oasis to call our own. This is hard, however, when your patio is (a) tiny and (b) nasty. Like, really tiny, and really really nasty.

Here is how it looked from inside, looking at the side wall (Note the big hatch door the basement that took about 24 square feet):
Now check out the gross color of the back of my house, crumbling cinderblocks, and dangling gate:Here's what it looked like from the inside. You can just barely see the corner of a big A/C unit that was sitting right in the middle of it all. You can't, however, see the trash and used condoms that would be thrown over my wall. What a shame: So something had to be done. What I WISH I could show you was me sledge-hammering the cinderblock. Alas, there was no photographer on hand that day. But that baby got torn down, and Premier Fence and Deck showed up and put up a pretty (expensive...) new 6' privacy fence with a nice gate that locks. And then I set to work planting and planting and planting, got some pretty chairs, and voila! Look now!

Planters on brackets hook over the fence's support beams, each planted with different flowers - here, begonias and some other tiny viney purple flowers I can't name:
I had my amazing handyman, Dario, build a deck over the hatch that I had never opened in four years to give me more usable space. He created a secret door so I have storage as well.

On top, I've planted basil, sage, parsley, thyme, rosemary, a few kinds of peppers and tomatoes and strawberries:
Look! It's a baby pepper and two tiny twin tomatoes!

I can't tell you how excited I am every day when I go out there. I've ever gotten to eat a few fruits of my labors:
Public Park + Private Patio = 1 Happy Urbanita.
love, k