Holiday

Cary Murphy had doubts about offering yoga-style relaxation classes during the holiday season."I thought that nobody would come. The holidays are crazy. Why bother?" the yoga instructor said.But he decided to try anyway, figuring the worst thing that could happen would be that no one would sign up for the six-week sessions held at the Merritt Athletic Club in Annapolis.He was wrong. All three classes, even one on Friday night, have at least eight people enrolled -- largely, Mr. Murphy says, because people really do need a mental break from the good cheer, party plans, shopping, wrapping, cooking, entertaining, decorating, travel, family scenarios and daily workload of the holidays.

A powerful stench was in the air Saturday at the Inner Harbor as 12-year-olds Alison Chase and Marissa Westerbeke hunched over the water's edge, studying tiny crabs floating to the surface. The girls were in town from Connecticut for a relaxing annual vacation with Alison's family, but the pervasive smell of dead fish and rotting plant matter — caused by a massive algae bloom — had them totally grossed out. "It's, like, sad and disgusting," said Marissa. "It's gross.

Editor: On Sunday, a Havre de Grace non-profit Good Cause held its second annual Christmas with a Cause event providing a Community Christmas Party and gifts to more than 200 children from 66 families who might not otherwise have been able to celebrate this holiday so dear to all of us. This was twice as many children as were helped last year. The party was held at the Havre de Grace Community Center on Lewis Lane and the gifts were distributed at Good Cause's Community Headquarters, 616 Ontario St., in Havre de Grace.

The Memorial Day weekend is a great time to pick up a book about the men and women who have helped preserve America's freedoms, and have fought for our country around the world. There are lots of great books on the topic, and some more personal readings such as diaries. For me, the one that resonates is a yellowed map and journal called "The Thunderbolt across Europe," which describes the route my dad's division, the 83rd Infantry, took in World War II. It led from the beaches of Normandy, across France, into Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, and into Germany.

The South Laurel Recreation Center hosts "The Snow Show," presented by the Bob Brown Puppets, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at the Deerfield Run Elementary School and Community Center, 13000 Laurel-Bowie Road. The show will be followed by a visit from Santa and his friends. Admission is free. Call 301-776-2805 for more information.

The Laurel Museum, 817 Main St., hosts an open house Friday, Saturday and Dec. 6 that features gifts for the young as well as the elderly. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 6. Call 301-725-7975 for more information.

The Memorial Day weekend is a great time to pick up a book about the men and women who have helped preserve America's freedoms, and have fought for our country around the world. There are lots of great books on the topic, and some more personal readings such as diaries. For me, the one that resonates is a yellowed map and journal called "The Thunderbolt across Europe," which describes the route my dad's division, the 83rd Infantry, took in World War II. It led from the beaches of Normandy, across France, into Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, and into Germany.

The Keramos Society of Anne Arundel Community College will hold its annual student ceramics and sculpture holiday sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Cade Center for Fine Arts, Room 219, 101 College Parkway in Arnold. There will be mugs, vases, cookware, plates, teapots and more for sale. For further information, call 410-777-2624.

The Women In Business of the Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber are hosting a breakfast and holiday celebration Friday, Dec. 9 from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. at the Homewood Suites by Hilton, 8320 Benson Drive, in Columbia. Cost is $25 for prepaid members; $45 for not prepaid members and non-members. To register, go to http://www.baltwashchamber.org/BWCC_Data/getEventDetails?eventID=900 .

H oliday pictures, with the kids decked out in their red and green finest, might be one of the first things to go by the wayside as parents attempt to care for a critically ill child. But a trio of photographers brought the photo studio to the children Saturday at Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, where nurses and moms primped and fussed over the children, hiding breathing tubes and the wires from heart monitors in order to get that perfect holiday portrait. And, thanks to the generosity of a program called Help Portrait, the finished pictures will be free.

Social Security can indeed be fixed. One major step would be to simply restore the FICA tax (a.k.a. the payroll tax) to its historical 6.2 percent rate ("Social Security can be fixed," April 26). The Obama administration, with the help of compliant Republicans in the House of Representatives, reduced the FICA tax at the beginning of 2011 to 4.2 percent. That is a 32 percent cut in money coming into the Social Security program. Does the American public not understand that the dollars collected in FICA taxes are used to pay current Social Security benefits?

One-year-old Daniel Herman isn't a big fan of matzo, said his mother, Ahuva Herman. But any lingering fussiness from the past eight days disappeared Sunday as Daniel got his baby teeth into a piece of egg bagel. He bounced and giggled on his mother's lap as he gnawed away happily at Goldberg's New York Bagels in Pikesville. The Hermans, from Queens, N.Y., were in town to visit family for Passover. They were among the hordes of Jewish families that descended on kosher eateries such as Goldberg's, David Chu's China Bistro and Tov Pizza late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, looking to break their fast on yeast breads after the end of Passover at sundown.

The clothes are laid out, and it's time to pack. Off to the airport in a few hours, to be delivered this evening in New Orleans for the sixteenth national conference of the American Copy Editors Society. You who are not an editor (how sad for you) and have never attended an ACES conference (how doubly sad for you) may imagine a pencil-necked crowd of dorks gathered in the library for a hot discussion of commas. So little you know.* I will be spending the better part of three days with a group of smart, literate, and funny people.

Many fans have lost hope as the Orioles have posted a dismal record over the past 14 seasons. Now the team is starting its new season by testing the faith of some of them as well. Friday is Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles, as well as for 17 other major league teams. It is also Good Friday, the most solemn day in Christianity, and the first day of Judaism's Passover - a confluence of events that is giving some baseball buffs theological pause. "I called and told them I won't be there," said the Rev. John Bauer, a fan who is also the team's chaplain.

About a fifth of American adults have read an ebook in the past year, a figure likely helped along by the recent holiday surge in the sale of tablet and e-reader devices, according to a report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Before the holidays last year, 17 percent of adults had read an ebook in the previous year. That number jumped to 21 percent after the holiday. E-book readers are more voracious than non-e-book readers, the study found. E-book readers read an average of 24 books over the previous year, whereas those who read paper-based books averaged 15 books.

Easter options are plentiful this year, and a few are lavish. The offerings at The Capital Grille (500 E. Pratt St., 443-703-4064, thecapitalgrille.com) include a carving station, raw bar, and breakfast station with scrambled eggs, French toast and roasted Kona tenderloin. Wit & Wisdom (200 International Drive, 410-576-5800, witandwisdombaltimore.com) at the Four Seasons Hotel is serving a three-course brunch with featuring chicory-glazed ham and, for dessert, a banana cream puff with chocolate, coconut tapioca and hazelnut sherbet.

Baltimore County will offer free metered parking over the holidays, officials said Friday. People can get two hours of free parking every day from Nov. 25 through 27, and the week before Christmas, from Dec. 18 through 24. The move is meant to encourage people to shop locally for the holidays and patronize Baltimore County's restaurants. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez

'Reindeer Run' in Berlin What: The 3rd Annual Reindeer 5K includes a run for some and carriage rides for others through the quaint Eastern Shore town of Berlin. Where: Beginning at the Atlantic Hotel on Main Street, the course runs south along Main Street through local neighborhoods and then back to Main Street for a festive holiday finish. When: 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11. Santa and carriage rides begin shortly after post-race award ceremony. How much: $20 to register for the 5K race.

There's a lot you can do on Valentine's Day. There's the classic romantic dinner, the chocolate candy, the flowers. There's crying as you watch "Love Actually" home alone (we've just heard about this one). How about a live serenade? The Valentonez are here to help, in their words, "butter up your special lover friend or cheer up a lonely heart. " Peabody Conservatory -trained singers Melissa Wimbish, 28, and Britt Olsen-Ecker, 24, came up with the idea and enlisted their guitarist friends Paul Diem, 32, and Aldo Pantoja, 28, to form a singing group offering singing valentines from Saturday through Tuesday (packages start at $40; go to valentonez.com for details.)

The Holiday Inn Baltimore Inner Harbor has been acquired by The Procaccianti Group, a Providence, R.I.-based real estate investment and management company, the firm announced Tuesday. The purchase of the 13-story, 365-room hotel on West Lombard Street brings the company's hospitality properties to 61 hotels in 23 states, the firm said in a statement. "We believe this hotel is properly positioned to benefit as the market continues to rebound and key performance indicators improve," Robert Leven, The Procaccianti Group's chief investment officer, said in the statement.