Jobs, jobs, jobs. Probably the most frequently used word in media these days. Today, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that last week there was an increase in the number of people filing for unemployment benefits. In Maryland, the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent in July. The national level is 9.1 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Significantly, in this area, many of the jobs lost are public sector positions.  Last week President Barack Obama gave an impassioned speech to Congress, launching an effort to create new jobs in the U.S. economy. It seems to me that it is…

When you live in an urban area, opportunities for a clear view of the sunset are few and far between. My own house, with a west-facing back porch, has trees and other houses blocking the view of nightfall.  In summer, most evenings find us at the PG Pool, with its glorious big sky. Regular attendees are all too acutely aware that at this time of year, it is completely dark before 8:30 p.m., long before the 9 p.m. closing time. The only positive of this harbinger of the end of summer is the sunset over the pool.  Sunset is an almost universally celebrated time of day. No matter where you are, …

My husband and I are serious music fans. Regular readers will recall that pursuit of live music and dancing opportunities is at the top of our empty-nester list of things to do.  About 10 years ago we discovered a local club, which opened in 1955. Then called Chick Hall’s Surf Club, it was built and designed as a “roadhouse” to showcase local music. It has an elevated stage and good sound system, an enormous wooden dance floor, a U-shaped bar, pool tables and ample tables for music patrons to sit and enjoy the bands.  It's a haunt for many Hyattsville residents wanting to twist the night away…

Our family recently reconfigured our cell phone plan, a move that saved a bit of money. I’ve had a really great smart phone for about a year, and we added the husband and young adult to that carrier once their old plans expired, and we’re actually saving about $50/month now. I am enamored of my smart phone with its amazing camera and speedy Internet access, not to mention “apps.” My husband was borrowing it enough “to check email” or stocks, or the weather, that we got him a smart phone this time around too. He became quickly as addicted as I am. We can be found in restaurants each poking and…

With a week’s exception of normal temps, we seem to have landed in August rather than June. A friend on Facebook blamed this on the realignment of the astrological charts so that June thinks it is August (tongue-in-cheek of course). But even as we sweat, there are many favorite summer rituals here in Hyattsville as well as destinations a short drive, bike ride or Metro away that allow us to enjoy the outdoors and some entertainment as well. One of my favorite activities in the summer is the preponderance of free outdoor music. In Hyattsville we have the monthly Summer Jam, and in between …

Our daughter’s arrival home from college  coincided with the very sudden launch of summer 2011. Memorial Day is the official launch, but the heat and humidity of last week makes it feel like we’re in July, not late May. Summertime always brings changes in household routine, and having our baby bird back in the nest is also a change. We are delighted to have this emerging young adult home (Even with the unpacked duffel bag that has taken up residence in the living room). Suddenly we are going through more food (I’ve already been to the grocery store twice!) I’ve actually had to run the …

Hyattsville’s 32nd Annual Historic House Tour is upon us in one short week. This is without a doubt one of my favorite days in Hyattsville. Each year friends, neighbors and visitors stream through the city, oohing and aahing at the beautiful homes in our neighborhoods. It’s like a movable feast for the eyes, and probably appeals to the inner voyeur in all of us. Plus it’s a very social day in Hyattsville, as you run into friends and neighbors who have emerged from the winter to take the tour.  We live smack dab in the middle of the historic district, so invariably the walking route passes my …

In another transition for the empty nesters my husband and I went on our first vacation alone since before the baby was born – close to 19 years ago. Our family has had the habit of taking advantage of the academic spring break to explore (usually) warmer climates, and in years past, we took our daughter to Southern California, Florida, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Austin, Texas.  This year our college kid’s vacation schedule differed from the University of Maryland schedule by a week. And, as will come as no surprise to many of you, she had her own plans for spring break. Now, lest you think …

As I wrote these words, the weather app on my smart phone said it’s 68 degrees at Hyattsville Middle School. I know, you’re asking why I was inside typing when it was gorgeous out. But before writing this, I took an hour walk around the neighborhood.  That kind of weather for Valentine’s Day was a gift. As I walked around the neighborhood, I saw evidence of the seasonal transition of which felt mostly just like a tease.  Many folks still have Christmas decorations up. There are lingering small mounds of snow, and there are bulbs emerging. Some houses have last fall’s leaf piles. Others …

Seems like most of our Hyattsville neighbors are pet lovers. Every day I see dozens of humans and dogs walking through the neighborhood. The local listserv regularly features messages about lost pets, rescues, low cost veterinarian services and the like. Many of our friends have multiple-pet households. Pets are a wonderful addition to life, providing love and companionship to humans But having them is a commitment.   Our house is no exception. We have, of course, the bouncy 2-year-old Labradoodle of whom I’ve written previously. Then there is Max, the enormous orange cat that adopted us …

As regular readers of this column will know, this empty nester has the pursuit of more live music as one of the goals of this new phase in my life. My husband and I have explored various music venues in the region, from Baltimore to Annapolis, Rockville to U Street. Recently we attended a venue in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington. Arlington’s Wilson Blvd. corridor has an enviable plethora of live music venues (and restaurants). We’ve been to Artisphere in Rosslyn, Iota Club and Whitlow’s on Wilson in Clarendon, and have even ventured to Falls Church for gigs at the State Theater and …

Winter break is almost over. It’s been great having our college kid home, in spite of her largely nocturnal existence. We’ve had some nice family time, and not just while delivering her to the Metro station. Last week we snuck away to a warmer climate and enjoyed having our daughter pretty much exclusively to ourselves for a five-day, four-night trip. We flew to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and then spent the next few days in the Florida Keys, meandering away our time randomly going from one destination to the next in between finding restaurants. Best crepes outside of Paris are to be had in Key …

Last fall when I first started writing about transitions, I noted that there were a number of categories of activity that we were looking forward to adding to our lives with all our new free time. One of these was the creation and consumption of art, which I have defined broadly. For some, it has meant taking up piano lessons last started at age 10. For others, it has meant more attendance at theatrical and musical events. We’ve certainly been to more music this fall, and it’s been great. But another interest I’ve really enjoyed spending more time on is reading. I was a voracious reader most …

When our daughter was young and the big bad Y2K loomed, we started an eight-year-long tradition of holding a community New Year's Eve party at the Hyattsville City Hall in the multi-purpose room. We would divide the room into two areas using the built-in sliding panels and create a kid-friendly zone in a third of it — complete with a TV, arts and crafts supplies and games. In the larger two-thirds of the room, we would set up tables with tablecloths and flowers, a stereo and speakers, and dim the lights. Many of our friends have kids in the same age range, so we held this multi-generational …

Christmas in Hyattsville has always been one of my favorite reasons for living here. When our daughter was young, we greatly enjoyed dressing her up and having breakfast with Santa at City Hall with all her little friends. Some years we have been ambitious enough to decorate the exterior of our house – we used to buy yards of garland from our daughter's elementary school, and many years we had a visiting friend who really got into the whole light thing, so we had a reasonably attractive exterior presentation – enough that we felt worthy to be in Hyattsville's "Light Up the Sky" competition. …

Dancing, live music, classrooms, conferences, a cable TV studio, art space, community meeting space, a museum and visitor's center – these are among possible uses for 4318 Gallatin St. discussed at a community meeting held Dec. 8 at Hyattsville City Hall. Hosted by the city, the Hyattsville Planning Committee and the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation, residents were treated to a presentation about this building now being called The Arcade. (Previously, it had been called the "mustard" building or sometimes just "4318.") The Arcade building was donated to the city some years ago …

We are trying to organize our empty nest. After 14 years in our house, we – like most of you, I suspect – have accumulated an amazing quantity of items in almost every imaginable category. Before our house was filled with guests at Thanksgiving, we cleared out some shelf space in our family room and in our bathroom. My husband asked just exactly how many tubes of hair gel were needed for two female heads of hair. We discovered boxes of bandages and antibiotic cream – particularly because we had to buy more since the existing inventory was "lost." We also have kept every drawing, every piece…

Thanksgiving weekend is the traditional time for college kids to arrive home, most for the first time since late-August departures. Our young adult came home on Tuesday night, and she has been juggling spending some time with her family with a huge social agenda. We're delighted to have her around in between various events with her friends. Since we also wanted to see some of the other kids, we hosted what I predict will now become an annual event. Our post-Thanksgiving Friday night leftover potluck at our house just ended. We invited a small slice of our community to share food and …

Thanksgiving is almost here, so we can no longer be in denial about the season changing.  We've moved our plants indoors, set our clocks back and turned on the heat. I raked a huge pile of leaves last weekend, and now the rest of them have fallen, so it will be time to do that chore again. The worst part of this time of year for me is the shorter days. Official sunrise is at about 6:55 a.m. and sunset at 4:50 p.m. in the third week of November, and it gets worse until the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21, where sunrise isn't until 7:22 a.m. and sunset is at 4:48 p.m. So we have about a month to go …

One of the major daily life changes we are experiencing in our empty nest relates to food. As everyone who reads good parenting advice knows, the daily family dinner is critical in many regards to keeping your children on track. In the absence of that daily demand, coupled with the fact that my husband and I have evening commitments more weekday nights than not, that whole daily dinner thing has gone out the window. I have had to throw out more spoiled food this Fall because I hadn't really modified my shopping habits. One friend, a single dad with an only son off at college told me his …