House

They came. They sniffed. They smiled. They sipped. They left - still smiling. That pretty much describes the behavior of guests at last weekend's Spring Has Sprung Tea and Garden Tour at Gramercy Mansion in Stevenson. The nearly 50 participants were split into two groups and each alternately toured the Tudor-style mansion circa 1902 and its gardens at 1400 Greenspring Valley Road. In between their tours, they all sat down together for high tea, which included, along with the tea, served on fine china, four courses of scones with Devon cream, hors d'oeuvres, finger sandwiches, truffles and petite fours.

The folks at "House of Cards" sure love the Baltimore area. Not only is the majority of the political thriller filmed in and around the city (and, full disclosure, in The Baltimore Sun newsroom), now the show's head honcho, Beau Willimon, is slated to come to Towson University on Wednesday (April 24) to discuss how he developed the addictive series. According to a Towson University press release, Willimon will speak at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Van Bokkelen Hall, Room 204. The event is free and open to the public.

On Sunday, April 14, the Business Among Moms group hosted a vendor fair and silent auction to benefit Harford Family House, a homeless shelter for families with children. The event was held at El Rodeo Restaurant, which donated the space for the vendors and will add to the proceeds 15 percent of the food sales for that day. The event was organized by Sherri Werther, a hairdresser at Split Endz Salon at the Festival in Bel Air. Through sponsorships, the group raised more than $600 which will house a homeless mother, father or child at Harford Family House for 24 days at just $25 per day. The event featured everything from Sentsy Candles to handmade soaps and jewelry, all products sold by the members of the group who are direct retailers and owners of their own businesses.

The Greens at Irvington Mews, a 100-unit residential community for seniors and adults with disabilities, celebrated its Grand Opening on Monday. The four-story structure is in the 4300 block of Frederick Avenue across from Mount Saint Joseph High School in the Irvington neighborhood of southwest Baltimore. The $16 million project was developed by Enterprise, an affordable housing finance and development firm that was founded by J ames W.  Rouse, who conceived Columbia. Of the 100 apartments, 85 are already occupied, Enterprise said.  The community was designed by the Baltimore-based architecture firm  Hord Coplan Macht Inc. The contractor was Harkins Builders Inc., headquartered in  Marriottsville.

In Your House was a two-hour show that premiered in May 1995 that was designed to give WWE a monthly pay-per-view event. With it being shorter than the traditional three-hour offerings, as well as every IYH event having the same look and feel (at least in the beginning, anyway), you would think that they would be treated as, and perceived to be, second-rate WWE pay-pew-view events. But there were many diamonds in the rough at these events. Shawn Michaels, for example, had many memorable and career-defining matches at In Your House.

With its commanding view of roof tops and tree tops stretching endlessly north, Legend Hill in Timonium is similar to most previous show houses in that it is old and stately. Legend Hill, off Timonium Road, is named for legendary Baltimore quarterback Johnny Unitas, who owned the house from 1971 to 1987. "That's what women come to see," Carolyn Stadfeld, design chair for the Baltimore Symphony Associates, which produces the annual fundraiser, said. And they come in droves, more than 8,000 people, unstymied by age or infirmity. Some people come in wheelchairs and walkers with their daughters and granddaughters to help them through, Stadfeld said.

In Act 1 of “Clybourne Park,” the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play by Bruce Norris receiving a potent Baltimore premiere at Center Stage, civility breaks down as white and black characters in a modest Chicago house start talking about the one thing they'd all rather avoid - race. “I am ashamed of every one of us,” says Bev, a woman determined to emit a June Cleaver neatness and brightness, even though her husband is no Ward, and her son, who served in the Korean War, is now just an unsettling memory.

As Maryland Historical Society librarian Francis O'Neill described the winding route to reconstructing the history of Baltimore's homes, a small but eager crowd paid close attention. No one made for the exits, even as he laid new twists on old turns. "We're not Google," said his colleague, Eben Dennis. "There's not one place you can plug in a keyword and get a photo. " But for those willing to put in some effort, the society has almost a million pictures of buildings from the city and beyond.

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones has purchased a five-bedroom home along Falls Road in Lutherville for the price of $1.75 million. The seller is one Malcolm Cameron according to state records. He's better known as Cam Cameron, the offensive coordinator fired by the Ravens toward the end the most recent season, which ended in a Super Bowl victory. He bought the home for $1.5 million in July 2011, three years after joining the Ravens following a one-year stint as head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow businesses to share information with the federal government that could help thwart cybersecurity threats, despite concerns from privacy advocates and opposition from the White House. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Baltimore County, was approved 288-127 in the face of a veto threat from President Barack Obama. The measure would allow Internet companies such as Google and Facebook to share data with federal agencies about potential threats.