Cabin Fever

At first, the Feeley family turned to board games - such a cozy, Norman Rockwell portrait of a snowed-in family. Mom and Dad vs. the girls, moving the pieces of Life, Sorry and Connect Four as snowflakes whirled outside their Parkton home. Eventually gamed out, they beeped and buzzed their way through electronic toys, popped in one movie after another, and then fidgeted in front of regular TV. Lauren, 11, and Shannon, 8, even resorted to books before someone started touching someone's stuff and someone went into someone's room, and pretty soon Mom had to institute the dread "No Touch Rule."

Geography is such that driving north out of Harford County will put you in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania in a matter of a little more than an hour and a half. The change in latitude isn't all that much, but elevation makes a difference, and the effect on the weather is substantial, especially at this time of year. Punxsutawney, Pa., may be a solid five or so hours from Harford County by car, but anyone who has ever spent a winter weekend anywhere in the mountains of the Keystone State can get an idea of how important it becomes to predict when the weather will break.

T here aren't many things more meat and potatoes than a hearty helping of Lefty Kreh . So there I was Tuesday night, playing hooky from a mundane government meeting to fork down protein and starch with the greatest fly fisherman, author and teacher of them all. Kreh, weeks from his 85th birthday, was at the Boatyard Bar and Grill in Eastport to swap stories, tell jokes and watch a cult fishing movie with old pals and admirers....

Last week in the O.C., Sarah had a meltdown, Tamra downsized to itty-bitties, and Jim had a "come to Jesus" dinner with Alexis. And Jesus told Jim to tell Alexis to quit Fox 5. Turns out Jim may not be that far off - tonight's episode may actually signify the Second Coming because Vicki finally admits she owes someone 50 percent of an apology, and the ladies spend the night somewhere other than a Ritz-Carlton hotel. I believe these are the first two signs of the Apocalypse.  Remember the good ol' days when watching "Real Housewives" meant an inside peek into the daily lives of well-off women?

It's not often that children say they can't wait to go back to school. But after an extended end-of-year vacation courtesy of a monster snowstorm on Dec. 19, some kids - not to mention their parents - have just about had enough of being cooped up at home. "It's been bad," said Abbe Milstein, who, despite the bitter cold, drove Sunday from her home in Rockville to visit the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore with her three children, Michaela, 9, and 5-year-old twins Adin and Gabrielle, and their father, Andrew Hoenig.

Last week in the O.C., Sarah had a meltdown, Tamra downsized to itty-bitties, and Jim had a "come to Jesus" dinner with Alexis. And Jesus told Jim to tell Alexis to quit Fox 5. Turns out Jim may not be that far off - tonight's episode may actually signify the Second Coming because Vicki finally admits she owes someone 50 percent of an apology, and the ladies spend the night somewhere other than a Ritz-Carlton hotel. I believe these are the first two signs of the Apocalypse.  Remember the good ol' days when watching "Real Housewives" meant an inside peek into the daily lives of well-off women?

With the wintry weather of the past few weeks, the Historic Annapolis Foundation's annual Cabin Fever Social was right on time. More than 100 of the group's members got out of the house and into the Eastport Yacht Club for an evening of meeting, greeting and networking.With more than 500 volunteers working for this preservation-minded group in the state capital, it can be hard for folks to get to know one another. The social gave them a chance. Among those attending were Sabrina Linton, University of Maryland; Cris Sabo, International Industries; Chris Langone, Arinc; Dave Schmiel, PDI Division of Bird-Johnson; and Lynn Manwaring, HAF's associate director of marketing.

Snowed in again? Cabin fever getting to you? Here's a little something to help pass the time. It's the 1996 Cabin Fever Quiz. We rolled out the first model on a Friday in January 1994, during that long season of ice, and some of my weirder friends told me they spent a good part of the weekend with it. (And others told me they knocked it off faster than you can say, "Poor man's 'Jeopardy.' ")Some of these questions are riddles, some are presented in crossword-puzzle style, some are local in nature.

LAST WEEK'S ice storm transformed our town into a winter wonderland, changing bare branches into gorgeous crystal creations.But with power outages and schools closed throughout the county, regular routines were disrupted.Between closings because of icy weather and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, schoolchildren in Howard County found themselves with an unexpected five-day weekend.For the youngsters, a snow day is an opportunity to miss school and play outside. But when school is canceled because of ice, it's a different story.

IF WINTER DOESN'T break soon, I swear I am going to be the top story on the evening news and a banner headline in the local paper. "Rampaging mother douses ungrateful family members with record 712th pot of homemade soup." Or, "Rampaging mother blames suspicious house fire on 'cabin fever.' Says she thought the expression was 'cabin fire.' " This winter weather, the first real winter weather the East Coast has experienced in recent memory, has kept me trapped inside my house, feeling restless and irritable.

You can tell spring is here. The roller coasters at Hersheypark are getting ready to rumble. "During the winter, the temperatures are too cold - for most roller coasters, it must be above 32 degrees for them to operate," says Kathy Burrows, the park's public relations manager. "If the tracks aren't warm enough, they just won't go." Thank goodness it's supposed to be plenty warm enough this weekend for Hershey's annual "Springtime In the Park" celebration. Even though the season's grand opening won't be until May 1, visitors over the next two weekends (except for April 9)

Eric Hayden of Bowie writes: This has felt like the longest winter on record because my cabin fever is raging. I know I must have missed it earlier, but could you please remind me about the new rules regarding catch-and-release striped bass fishing this spring? Outdoors Girl replies: When it comes to cabin fever, join the club. The winter of 2009-2010 is now in the books, at least as far as the equinox is concerned. Let's hope the weather gods can read the calendar. The new catch-and-release rules for the Chesapeake Bay go into effect Monday and continue until April 17, when the spring trophy season starts.

This week, we discovered that renting the makes-you-too-scared-to-go-outdoors "Cabin Fever" is not the best way to get over cabin fever. So instead we spent our time collecting the best stories pop culture threw down. Here's our week in review: MOST WELCOME RETURN: Sade, which sold 500K copies of comeback album Soldier of Love in its first week. Also, we learned that Sade is the name of the band and not just the lead singer, a fact that eluded us for 20 years. BEST THING WE SAW ALL WEEK: Photo essay "How to properly enjoy Ed Hardy wine" on thechive.

Sixteen-year-old Arnold James has a hard time picturing life without his cell phone. "It would probably be like drug addicts feel when they're getting off of drugs," says the Wilde Lake High School student, who often uses his phone during school hours. "Sometimes your cell phone is a relief from the busy-ness at school and all the assignments." American youngsters such as James are now using cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices for an average of 7 1/2 hours daily - more than the equivalent of a full day of school, according to a recent national study tracking entertainment media habits.

When you can take the time to get your eyebrows plucked, you know things are getting back to normal. That's what Virginia Scott did Saturday, two days after being marooned at home in Greenspring Valley, alone and without electricity for more than 12 hours, by the second winter storm in less than a week. When the worst was over, Scott, a retired teacher in the Baltimore schools, treated herself to the luxury of a visit to a salon in Mount Washington Village, all the wiser from the experience of having been powerless and stranded.

At first, the Feeley family turned to board games - such a cozy, Norman Rockwell portrait of a snowed-in family. Mom and Dad vs. the girls, moving the pieces of Life, Sorry and Connect Four as snowflakes whirled outside their Parkton home. Eventually gamed out, they beeped and buzzed their way through electronic toys, popped in one movie after another, and then fidgeted in front of regular TV. Lauren, 11, and Shannon, 8, even resorted to books before someone started touching someone's stuff and someone went into someone's room, and pretty soon Mom had to institute the dread "No Touch Rule."

Here's one last war story, from Baltimore County on Thursday night, the eve of Storm No. 3. Chuck Moan, an aspiring country-western singer who goes by Billy Moon, had one thing on his mind when he entered the Giant at Loch Raven and Taylor: Manwich.Manwich is gender-affirming comfort food. A man mixes a can of that stuff with ground beef, he cooks it up, glops it onto a big Kaiser roll and ends up with the kind of hearty meal that kept wagon trains a'rollin' and them little dawgies movin'.

T he 73-year-old in the baseball-style cap could not look happier. It's 10:30 on a January morning, the winds are less than gale force, the sun is peeking through some clouds, and as he bends over on the first tee at the Eisenhower Golf Course in Crownsville, Bruno Heidik doesn't even need the little hammer he used last week to bash his golf tee into the frozen ground. The tee "slides in nicely today," says Heidik before addressing the ball, taking a long backswing and belting an impressive drive down the middle of the fairway.

There aren't many things more meat and potatoes than a hearty helping of Lefty Kreh. So there I was Tuesday night, playing hooky from a mundane government meeting to fork down protein and starch with the greatest fly fisherman, author and teacher of them all. Kreh, weeks from his 85th birthday, was at the Boatyard Bar and Grill in Eastport to swap stories, tell jokes and watch a cult fishing movie with old pals and admirers. His guest appearance was part of an eight-week "Cabin Fever" program hatched by Dick Franyo, the establishment's owner, and Joe Evans, a man about town who recently was given one of the decoder rings at the Department of Natural Resources.