Wreath

At its annual Veterans Day ceremony , American Legion Post 60 will lay a wreath Saturday, Nov. 12 at noon at the American Legion Memorial at Ivy Hill Cemetery on Sandy Spring Road. After the wreath laying, continue to Post 60 lounge, 2 Main St., to pay tribute to veterans of all five branches of the military forces who have served our county. 301-725-2302.

Annual Sing for King concert features local soloists The city of Laurel and the Laurel Clergy Association will present the fifth annual Sing for King celebration on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 15000 First Baptist Lane (off Cherry Lane just west of Van Dusen Road). The free celebration marks the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the eve of the King holiday. The celebration will feature the Sing for King Choir performing works by Mack Statham, a Laurel composer and organist at First United Methodist Church.

Nancy Gregg took time out from her holiday shopping last week to deliver a wreath filled with child-sized paper hands and grinning foam-board faces to the Carroll County Arts Council. Preschoolers in Gregg's care at the Child Development Center at Carroll Community College fashioned the wreath and dubbed it "Festive Faces." It is one of more than 200 entries in a five-day silent auction during the council's eighth annual Festival of Wreaths, opening Wednesday at the Carroll Arts Center in downtown Westminster.

Mockingbirds, sparrows and squirrels have been feasting on the few remaining apples hanging from our Yellow Delicious tree. I purposely left the apples on the tree, you see, to give them a helping hand. The apples won't be hanging from the tree much longer, though. So shortly, I'll set-up our winter holidays animal-feeding station, a homemade holiday wreath that's stuffed with blemished apples that are in winter storage and won't keep. The first holiday wreaths were made by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Persians.

It wasn't the Grinch who stole Christmas, after all. Police say it was a group of women who allegedly swiped 15 wreaths, a Santa flag and a 5-foot-tall red-nosed Rudolph lawn reindeer during a night of prankish fun in the Towson area.But the only gift the women -- all 18 years old -- have gotten for the pranks is a day in court. The women -- four of them Towson State University students and the other a visitor from New York -- were each given a summons yesterday charging them with six counts of petty theft for Sunday's incidents, said E. Jay Miller, a Baltimore County police spokesman.

'Tis the season to experience the unexpected. Finding Santa and his reindeer on your roof. Finding just the right gift. Well-behaved children. And the world's largest Christmas wreath, on Clemsonville Road near Union Bridge.The decoration weighs 9,060 pounds, has an 116-foot diameter and is made with 8-foot evergreen trees attached to an oak frame.Clemsonville Tree Farm owner Michael Ryan and his sons build it afresh every year. It takes 200 trees and a football field-length of ribbon. No wonder it's in the "Guinness Book of World Records" (page 125 of the 1992 paperback edition)

Four members of Carroll County Seniors in Action were invited to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Wednesday morning, an honor usually reserved for the military, officials and dignitaries, and rarely extended to citizens.Betty Howes, group president, called the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery "the greatest honor of my life.""To use a modern word, it was awesome," said Howes. "We were so touched to see the soldiers doing their steps in such precision and to hear 'Taps' playing."

One of the more enduring staples of holiday decor is the wreath. Posted indoors or on the home's front door, the simplest wreath adds a welcoming gesture. Crafted from fresh evergreens, it can impart an aroma as intoxicating as Grandma's Christmas cookies. Although the placement of a wreath somewhere in the home has become a tradition in many American families, its history is vague. Wreaths were imported from Europe by early settlers. Most probably were crafted from evergreens from the countryside: spruce, pine, cedar, boxwood, hemlock and holly.

Good bread and perfectly ripe tomatoes are the heart and soul of a satisfying lunch inspired by colorful Capri, a tiny isle just off Italy's sunny Sorrentine peninsula. Bake shops on Capri are known for a bread wreath with a flourish of S-shaped decorations.Thickly sliced or broken into chunks, this ornate bread is a satisfying complement for salads. (Italians especially enjoy it with a salad of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.) Thin slices of the bread make fine sandwiches or toast.Italian Wreath BreadMakes 1 (10-inch)

HURRY," she commanded, ushering me into her kitchen.Pausing in the doorway, I quickly surveyed the scene. Decapitated poinsettias were strewn about the floor. Grape vines snaked through the table legs. There were tiny, gold pine cones in her hair."Now, be honest," she said. "Look at this and tell me what you think. I think it looks just like the one we saw at the craft show last weekend."At first glance it appeared to be a wreath of some type. I started to pick it up for a better look. It wouldn't budge."

Fresh & Green, a grocery chain that took over eight former SuperFresh locations in our area, is offering a promotion Saturday -- Dec. 10 -- to give away wreaths to the first 100 customers at each of the stores. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Even if you don't get a free wreath, Fresh & Green is offering other holiday festivities such as a “meet and greet with Santa Claus” and a kids' cookie decorating workshop. Fresh & Green locations in Baltimore are 1020 W. 41 st St. and 222 N. Charles Street.

By the time the wind had stopped blowing, needles from my neighbor's white pine tree were all over our place. It was a wonderful windfall, though, because I'd been handed bundles of free "pine findings" (dry pine needles), a perfect material for mulching acid-loving plants. In the meantime, my neighbor's white pine was no worse for wear, because right on schedule, and even though it looked a little ragged, the 20-year-old tree had simply shed its 2-year-old needles that had turned yellow and brown several weeks earlier.

At its annual Veterans Day ceremony , American Legion Post 60 will lay a wreath Saturday, Nov. 12 at noon at the American Legion Memorial at Ivy Hill Cemetery on Sandy Spring Road. After the wreath laying, continue to Post 60 lounge, 2 Main St., to pay tribute to veterans of all five branches of the military forces who have served our county. 301-725-2302.

Joseph Vogel of Parkville had never seen this angel before, nor the blow-up Santa, the reindeer, the baby Jesus. But when he woke up Thursday morning and looked out front of his two-story house, there they were, along with a string of snowflakes, lights, a wreath and Christmas packages. All the Christmas decorations were stolen from elsewhere, and placed on his lawn in the 2400 block of Autumn View Way with great care in the dead of night. "Whoever did this went through an elaborate effort to decorate somebody's lawn," said Vogel, who had a furlough day Thursday from his job in procurement at the University of Maryland, College Park.

I was digging around in all the Christmas stuff the other day and thinking, "Didn't I just do this?" Actually, I did just do this. Time got away from me last year, and I didn't get the Christmas decorations down until around Valentine's Day, and I didn't put them away until about Easter. I don't know. I was busy, I guess. So, technically, I did just do this. For about the 28 t h time. And I found myself sighing with something like boredom. Over the years, I have edited my collection of Christmas stuff so that only the best or most treasured items get a spot in our tiny house.

theater The Nativity story: This retelling of the Nativity story at Rep Stage was written by William Gibson, who replaced the archangel Gabriel with an inept spirit who follows Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem. The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut & The Slaughter of the 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree is performed through Jan. 4 at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. Showtimes vary. Tickets are $12-$30. Call 410-772-4900 or go to www.repstage.org.

Wreath and Basket.com charmed a panel of judges in the Ellicott City window-decorating contest this year with snow, greenery and wooden Nutcracker characters based on the well-loved ballet. The store was named the first-place winner among 16 entrants in Ellicott City's historic district. This was the second such contest organized by the Ellicott City Restoration Foundation Inc. Judges from Howard County Tourism and Patuxent Publishing - both of which provided prizes - joined County Council Chairman Courtney Watson in choosing the winner this month.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- During a day filled with personal sorrow, public grief and religious reflection, President Clinton remembered the victims and survivors of the bombing here a year ago, offering comfort in the Good Friday celebration of rebirth and resurrection.Aided by his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and six children who lived through the deadly blast, Mr. Clinton arranged a huge wreath of seasonal flowers in the barren field where the Alfred P. Murrah federal center once stood.The massive building was destroyed on April 19, 1995, when a truck bomb exploded, killing 168 people, including 18 children at a second-floor day-care center.

Disabilities commission resets meeting to Dec. 9 The Anne Arundel County Commission on Disability Issues has moved its scheduled Tuesday meeting to Dec. 9 because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The commission normally meets 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of every month, except December, in the Chesapeake Room on the second floor at 2664 Riva Road, Heritage Complex, Annapolis. The next meeting after Dec. 9 will be Jan. 27. Individuals in need of special accommodations should contact the ADA office at 410-222-4383 voice/Maryland Relay 711 or e-mail exjord00@aacounty.

Wreath and Basket.com charmed a panel of judges in the Ellicott City window-decorating contest this year with snow, greenery and wooden Nutcracker characters based on the well-loved ballet. The store was named the first-place winner among 16 entrants in Ellicott City's historic district. This was the second such contest organized by the Ellicott City Restoration Foundation Inc. Judges from Howard County Tourism and Patuxent Publishing - both of which provided prizes - joined County Council Chairman Courtney Watson in choosing the winner this month.