Preparing for Winter in Gaithersburg   With forecasters predicting another snowy winter, City of Gaithersburg Public Works crews are making preparations now so removal efforts on 92 miles of City streets will be as efficient as possible. During a recent "Snow Road-eo," crews engaged in a friendly competition that emphasized safe and precise maneuvering. Road treatment materials are in stock, plows are making their way onto trucks, and snow clearing routes are being fine-tuned. Residents are asked to help in the effort by obeying parking restrictions, using off-street parking whenever possible, removing snow and ice from public sidewalks abutting their property, and helping their neighbors. Learn more here. For out of the area readers, the City of Gaithersburg is located in the heart of ... 11/22/2014

Farmhouse Red Ale by Blue Moon   Dolores and I attended the November Kentlands Happy Hour at the Kentlands Clubhouse which is a short walk from our home. As usual, the event attracted a nice crowd of friends and neighbors. I noticed that there were a couple of beer selections that I had not previously tried. I selected the Blue Moon Farmhouse Red Ale. This is a Belgian style ale brewed by Blue Moon Brewing Company. It was excellent and I recommend it to you.  By the way, this blog has no commercial purpose. Sampling new beers and blogging about them is a lot of fun.   11/22/2014

Forbidden City Exhibit: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts   The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia is one of our favorite travel destinations. Dolores and I are annual members of he VMFA and try to attend all of the major exhibits. Richmond is close enough for day trips from our home in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. Forbidden City: Imperial Treasures from the Palace Museum, Beijing is the current special exhibit at VMFA and runs through January 11, 2015. We enjoyed our visit and recommend it to you. Photograph is not allowed in the Forbidden City exhibit but you will find that photography is allowed in many of the other museum exhibits. If this will be your first visit to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, you will find that this is a world class museum with much to ... 11/21/2014

Kentlands Project Harvest Food Drive   Join area neighbors, businesses and the Kentlands Community Foundation to support a fall food drive to benefit Gaithersburg HELP! Donation boxes are located in the Kentlands Clubhouse, Pritchard Music Academy and Foundry Fitness. Please place non-perishable food (cans, bags, boxes but no glass, please) in the turkey boxes. Donations will be accepted until November 23rd and local teens will collect and deliver the donations to Gaithersburg HELP before Thanksgiving. When you're out grocery shopping, please consider buying just a few extra items for neighbors in need and help make this a season without hunger.     Kentlands Dahlia Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/21/2014

Home Prices, Washington, DC Metro Area, October, 2014   One of the many challenges for families being relocated to the Washington, DC Metro Area is to decide where to live and where to purchase a home. There are over a dozen separate jurisdictions to consider in Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia and the Maryland suburbs of DC.  The primary factors are usually the job location and the commuting distance. However, some families are driven by the location of schools, religious facilities or other factors. There is a great variation of home prices. The general guide is that the closer to the City, the higher the prices. Smart prospective home buyers select an exclusive buyer agent to guide them through the process. This chart provides an interesting comparison of home prices in th... 11/20/2014

Blue Crab and Rock Shrimp Fritters   When we hear locals talking about delicious Blue Crab and Rock Shrimp Fritters, we know they have visited the new Coastal Flats restaurant in Downtown Crown in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dolores and I were there for lunch and enjoyed the excellent food as well as a nice beer selection. In addition to the fritters, we tried and recommend the Corn and Crab Chowder. Dolores had the Pumpkin Ale and I enjoyed to Coastal Pale Ale. The address for Coastal Flats is 135 Crown Park Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD and the phone number is 301-869-8800.   Dahlia in our Kentlands home garden, Gaithersburg, Maryland Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/20/2014

Fire & Carbon Monoxide Risks During Cold Weather This information was provided by the Montgomery County, Maryland Fire and Rescue service.  Every family should have conversations about fire and carbon monoxide risks in the home. Make sure that fire and carbon monoxide alarms are located on every level of the home and sleeping areas and make sure the alarms are working. Cold temperatures may prompt families to turn to drastic measures to heat their homes. Even traditional alternative heating sources, such as a fireplace or space heaters can be dangerous if not used properly. As temperatures drop in your community, some simple tips can help keep families safer. Winter months in particular are the peak time for house fires and carbon monoxide poisonings, with most incidents due to improper... 11/19/2014

Refine your Pinterest business strategy   There are over 70 million registered Pinterest users and over 40 million of them are active users. You may wish to pay close attention to how some of the top brands such as Starbucks, Nordstrom and Whole Foods Markets are actively using Pinterest. The following link will take you to a blog, by Jennifer Kardell, in which she provides some advice on how to connect with a target market on Pinterest. 5 Tips For Using Pinterest For Business While you are exploring Pinterest, please follow my Roy Kelley boards. I have have 144 boards with over 5,100 followers. Kentlands Photowalk Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/19/2014

Killing germs with a Xenex robot named Margret   Asbury Methodist Village, a large retirement community in Gaithersburg, Maryland is taking advantage of the latest technology for killing germs in their facility. In fact they are using the same technology that the Pentagon is using to kill bacteria, viruses and bacterial spores, including the Ebola threat. The Asbury housekeeping staff is using a robot named Margret. This is the Xenex Pulsed Xenon Ultraviolet robot that kills germs in a matter of minutes by by producing flashes of ultraviolet-C (UVC) light. The robot runs on a five minute cycle as the robot's xenon gas lamp pulsates about 450 times during that period and reaches up to seven feet in every direction. After the cycle is over, the robot has disinfected all of the surfaces th... 11/18/2014

Will you be having Indian Pudding at Thanksgiving?   Bucks County and Philadelphia real estate professional Gita Bantwal blogged about National Indian Pudding Day. Several of the comments on the blog were from readers who were not familiar with Indian Pudding. So, I thought I would find a recipe to share with you. Based on the information in this recipe, Indian Pudding is a traditional New England Thanksgiving classic. Indian pudding is made primarily with milk, corn meal, molasses and spices.   Indian Pudding Recipe from A Family Feast Kentlands Photowalk Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/18/2014

Book Recommendation: A Colder War by Charles Cumming   The latest international spy novel by New York Times Bestselling Author  Charles Cumming is A Colder War (2014). It is very easy to recommend this fast reading tale featuring M16 agent Tom Kell. Use the links to read more about this author and his books. You will want to read all of them! Books by Charles Cumming One of my personal goals is to read a minimum of a novel each week, every week of the year. Make reading for pleasure a habit that you will enjoy.   MI6's Head of Station in Turkey is killed in a mysterious plane crash. Amelia Levene, chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, wants the incident investigated – quickly and quietly. The only man she can trust is Thomas Kell, a disgraced spy searching for redemption. Arriving i... 11/17/2014

Toys for Tots Benefit in Kentlands   The historic Kentlands Mansion will be the location for a Toys for Tots benefit sponsored by Pinky & Pepe's Grape Escape and other area businesses and organizations.  Bubbles & Bites Night will take place on Sunday evening, November 23, 2104 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The tickets are $60 for this elegant event in our home community.   11/17/2014

Jack Daniel's Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipes   Nashville professional home inspector Michael Thornton blogged about getting ready for Thanksgiving by having Annelle bake Jack Daniel's Chocolate Pecan Pies as gifts for his top agents. This is a great idea and I am sure that the agents will love the pies.  Annelle is not anxious to provide her secret recipe so I did a little research to provide a selection of recipes for you. These recipes are available on Pinterest. Jack Daniel's Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipes Getting Ready for Thanksgiving by Jack Thornton If you have a special family recipe for pecan pies, please share it in a blog.   Kentlands Photowalk Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/16/2014

November Dahlia    The freezing weather has now ended the growing season in Kentlands. This dahlia was one of the last to be cut in our home garden. Enjoy the colors of the season with your camera in hand.   Dahlia in our Kentlands home garden, Gaithersburg, Maryland Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/16/2014

Book Recommendation: Behind the Palace Doors by Michael Farquhar Behind the Palace Doors: Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, and Folly from Royal Britain (2011) is a very interesting paperback by Michael Farquhar. My wife, Dolores, is an avid reader of English history and recommended this book. The long title gives you a pretty good idea of what the book is all about. This is an easy reading book and I assure you that you will learn some things you many not have know about British Royalty.Kirkus Review Spanning 500 years of British history, a revealing look at the secret lives of some great (and not-so-great) Britons, courtesy of one of the world’s most engaging royal historians Beleaguered by scandal, betrayed by faithless spouses, bedeviled by ambitious children, the k... 11/15/2014

Photograph by Roy KelleyRoy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/15/2014

Canada Geese in Lakelands   This is a scene that I captured during one my regular photowalks through Kentlands and Lakelands in Gaithersburg, Maryland. This is a wooded area close to one of the lakes in Lakelands. It is near the old National Geographic building which is now occupied by Montgomery County offices.  Be sure to have your camera in hand when you are out and about. You never know when there will be a special moment that you will want to share.   Canada Geese, Lakelands, Gaithersburg, Maryland Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/14/2014

David Stone California Chardonnay   When you are shopping at Walgreens, you may wish to take a look at the wine aisle to discover some new inexpensive (cheap) wines to serve at your parties. Try the David Stone California Chardonnay which is bottled by the David Stone Vineyards in Modesto, CA.  Presents aromas of ripe apple fruit and light pear complemented by toasted vanilla. This wine is medium-bodied with flavors of pineapple and citrus fruit, finishing brilliantly with smooth, well-balanced acidity. Enjoy this wine with your favorite salads, grilled fish, poultry and lighter meats.  Flame Lily, Kentlands, Gaithersburg, Maryland USA IMG 8715 Photograph by Roy Kelley Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs 11/14/2014

Open House, Carroll County Farmers Market, Nov. 15th   On Saturday, November 15th, the Carroll County Farmers Market is holding an Open House Celebration. There will be free refreshments and a vendor discount coupon giveaway. The seasonal Christmas Market and Hand Made Crafts Show will run on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. through December 13, 2014.  Each week, there will be 75-100 vendors selling a wide variety of handmade and home produced goods.    Chestnut Creek Farms will be taking orders for farm fresh turkeys along with selling beef, pork and lamb. There are also local fresh eggs, cheese, pickles, wine, nuts, emu meat, honey, jams and jellies. Winter produce this week is Swiss chard, cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and other winter squash. ... 11/13/2014

Around the Tree, a Facebook group   There are many Facebook groups and you will probably find a number of groups that share your personal interests. I enjoy photography and am a member of many Facebook groups that share photographs. Someone added me to a group called Around the Tree. This is a public group with over 1,600 members and members can add Facebook friends to the group. When you are added to a group, you always have the option of leaving the group if it does not satisfy your interests.  Most of the time, I photograph flowers. Now and then, I will have photographs of trees that may be appropriate to post in this group. You may wish to explore the groups on Facebook. These are good opportunities to share interests.    Lakelands, Gaithersburg, Maryland Photograph by Roy Kelley Ro... 11/13/2014