Table

JUST SERVING a meal can make a difference in people's lives," says Taneytown resident Gail Wilson. Ms. Wilson coordinates a community lunch, the Carpenter's Table, every Wednesday at noon at Messiah United Methodist Church in Taneytown.The meal is free to anyone, and for some it's the main meal of the week.The Carpenter's Table is an outreach program sponsored and administered by the Caring and Sharing Ministries of Taneytown, an ecumenical consortium of church leaders.Ms. Wilson got involved in the project when she was tapped as a volunteer after Carpenter's Table founder Anna Rollins moved on.Ms.

George Rash Jr. and his wife, Katie, made four lists and checked them twice before heading out to the new BJ's Wholesale Club in Bel Air on Wednesday.The Abingdon couple's frolic began a little earlier this year when they were told they had won a $500 shopping spree, courtesy of the store, which is just south of the intersection of Routes 24 and 924. The Bel Air store is the Massachusetts-based chain's sixth in Maryland.The couple entered the drawing at the store's grand opening last month.

For holiday tables, professionals agree: Respect the seasons, honor tradition and fashion the table top to look extraordinary. Table settings establish the mood, stimulate the appetite and create the anticipation of excitement essential to the success of every party."

You remembered to put the turkey in the oven at the right time, and the silver is polished. But did you give any thought to decorating your table for the Christmas feast?It's too late to go out and buy anything, but here are some last-minute ideas from Decorator's Insider, an interior design newsletter.* Use collections to dress up your table: candlesticks of all sorts and shapes, or figurines arranged on a mirror.* A container like a small antique toy wagon or an interesting old basket filled with small, brightly wrapped packages makes an engaging centerpiece.

Last November if you had asked me to recommend a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner a week before the big day, I would have said, "Good luck with that." But with the economy in the tank, I don't think you'll have trouble finding a place this year. Your best bet might be to go to Open Table (opentable.com). Make your way to the Baltimore/Maryland page and click on the link to Thanksgiving 2008. Fill in the time you want and number of guests, and you'll get a list of available restaurants.

Federal mediators may not be able to change the course of the deadlocked baseball negotiations, but they already have succeeded in changing the chemistry of them.John Calhoun Wells, the national director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, announced yesterday that negotiations will resume next week and that individual owners will be at the bargaining table.That represents a shift in the bargaining strategy of the owners -- who have conducted all negotiations of their Player Relations Committee through Richard Ravitch.

The secret is out. Solo dining has become stylish.Increasing numbers of singles are choosing to dine out alone, and many are not settling for grabbing a bite at a fast-food joint.Instead, they're opting for white-tablecloth restaurants with their requisite pampering.Restaurateurs are taking notice of this trend and capitalizing on it.Some are educating staffers and maitre d's to replace chilly greetings such as "Only one?" with warm welcomes such as "Dinner this evening?" which leaves it to the individual to indicate the number in his or her party.

WE'LL WANT to take you two to dinner Saturday night," my wife's former college professor insisted over the phone. She and her 8-year-old son were staying at our Baltimore home for the weekend. We would look after the boy for the few hours mom needed to attend a work conference in Washington on a Saturday afternoon and catch up that night over a bite out. "You know, pick something typically Baltimore," she said. "Sure, no problem," we replied. After hanging up, Amy and I looked at each other and started brainstorming places to eat. Half a dozen favorite spots rushed to mind.

B laze Starr, your table is ready. Indeed, the iconic Baltimore stripper could BE the table at the "naked sushi" restaurant proposed for downtown. Diners would eat their sashimi off reclining women, and the women, like the fish, would be in the raw. Key body parts would be covered by the likes of lettuce and flowers. (Wasabi's out for obvious reasons, but why not pickled ginger pasties?) Other than that, it's Yellowtail Belly to human belly, Fatty Hamachi to flat abs. "We're trying to do something very nice, very classy," said Alicia Hines, who pitched the plan to the city's liquor board with partner JaMea Elliott last week.

Our round, dining-room table had to be fitted into our squarish station wagon. Why? Because that is the nature of things.Furniture exists to be hauled around. Guys exist to do the hauling. There might be other reasons for the existence of furniture and guys, but not on most weekends.The table had to be moved from one house to another house. I am sure I was told the reason for the move, but it didn't stick with me. When you are in the furniture-moving mode, you do not ask why. Instead, you ask "where," as in "where do you want it?"