To Market, To Market...

I actually didn't plan on posting about this so quickly, but thanks in part to a bout of insomnia, and also to the fact that I wanted to buy a colleague some baked goods as a "thanks" for helping me get some great data, I made it to Green Valley Market today, on opening day. 


I walked through the doors around 7:15. It was surprisingly crowded. I think the "opening" had something to do with it. The store had some giveaways - I scored a free tote - and a ribbon cutting.

I always wonder what they do with giant scissors after the ribbon cutting. Does one pair travel through a company to all locations? Do they just use it to cut really big pieces of paper? 

I also think it's a testament to how much the area was missing its anchor grocery outlet. There were definitely people doing real shopping there.

I snapped a few pictures. 

Some initial thoughts? For those of you who shopped in the Elkridge SuperFresh, the layout is actually very much the same. The interior looks newer, though. 

The bakery still looks excellent. I picked up some croissants for our "breakfast nook" at work (this would be funnier if I had a picture... but I don't.). A sample bite of a brownie with walnuts and PB icing was very tasty. Free samples... breakfast of champions. In checkout, the women behind me had gotten cupcakes that looked awesome - one topped with fruit, the other with a cannoli, each in a little domed cupcake box. 


And there was this cute cake.

The seafood and produce looked fresh.

In my first post, I mentioned that my biggest concern was prices. One nice thing is no value card is needed for this shop. I shop for certain items fairly consistently so I was able to do a walk-through price check. There were fewer sales than at my local giant, but many prices were close, particularly when I looked at value-pack meat and such. Some were pricier. I'll have to do comparisons in the coming weeks - yes, I'm that person.. aka, the poor student, remember? - but they do have a paper circular which will be really helpful. 


While the circular isn't online, I'm a big fan of the fact that the store has both a facebook and twitter presence. FB seems more updated at this point - I'm looking forward to seeing how they put social media to use once things really get running.


Have you been to Green Valley Marketplace yet? Are you a Elkridger who's looking forward to having a very close-by grocery store again? (hocoblogs@@@)


As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments below!




Edit to update (11/29): Recently noticed that the circular (or a portion of it) is in fact available on the GVM website.

Green Valley Marketplace

We got a coupon mailer for Green Valley Marketplace - the grocery store that will be replacing the overpriced and rundown SuperFresh in Elkridge - the other day.


I'm not going to lie, it's been kind of annoying not having a grocery store within walking distance. But I just say annoying. I am aware of how fortunate we are, and can't imagine how difficult it's been for people who don't have regular or convenient transportation. For me, it's been going without mushrooms if I happened to forget them. Or just going a few miles out of my way because I really wanted chicken for dinner.


Still, I'm curious about this new place. The coupons they gave us amount to $5 off of $50, for the first four weeks that the store is open. If the prices are good, we'll definitely use them. That was the biggest failing of the SuperFresh store. While the bakery was excellent, the rest of the store was really, noticeably more expensive than other options like the MeadowRidge Giant.


So much so that we would have conversations like this.




SWR: "I'm going to make a stop on the way home. What do we need from SuperFresh?"


Mr. SWR: ""As little as possible."




I'm also glad to have a new storefront in our shopping center, and hopefully there's been a small hiring bump. I'm really hoping that they get around to issuing some sort of online circular, which will make it more convenient to shop. I use that feature on the Giant webpage often.


I'll post up some pictures when I get over there, but you can see a preview on their facebook page - the store is set to open on Nov 16. (hocofood@@@)




EDIT (11/16): First impressions and pictures, here.

Elkridge Creeper Ice Cream Person... 2.0

Last night, I spotted the Elkridge creeper ice cream man/woman that sometimes works our neighborhood.


To be clear, it was around 6:20. On November 3. I was wearing a scarf and a jacket. The sun was going down. And then I heard the music, and saw the truck whipping around the corner into the lot opposite ours.


I guess there's always time for ice cream?


I don't have a picture of this one, but this is what I imagine it would have looked like had I gone over.

"IT" and Actually-Scary Tales.

Horror movies - most of them - don't really frighten me.

They're gross, don't get me wrong. Most are filled with gratuitous violence, bizarre and disappointing monsters, (largely) annoying characters, and trying-too-hard-for-jump-in-the-seat moments. Or at least, that's what they feel like when I watch the average horror flick. 

No, what scares the bejeezus out of me is the subtle creepy things. The things that seem like they could, actually, almost be real. 

This is why I liked "Under The Dome", Stephen King's latest novel, despite the last few chapters - I won't explain further, because I don't want to spoil anything. 

It's the suspense. The shadow of things that seem like they could be real (even when I know, on some level, that they're not). It's a delicious kind of fear, like crossing my arms and letting myself fall backwards into a shadow - part reality, and part surreal.

So, knowing (and maybe, if you're like me, understanding) this, imagine: it's dark outside - the sun has gone down, it's maybe 9pm. The house is quiet. You're reading a book. You look up from the page, frown, and listen. You hear music.

The piped, clown-tastic music that comes from an ice cream truck.

You look out the window. Darkness. Quiet. And then the music again, a phantom ice cream truck cruising the neighborhood - never seen, but on the prowl - in the middle of the night (or close enough).

A little creepy?

Um. Yeah.

Which is why when I finally saw the truck, after weeks of NOT seeing the truck, I had to pull over and take a picture. Before I started snapping away, I wondered what he thought of this weird woman taking flash photos of his truck.

And then I realized he's been trying to sell ice cream at 9pm. In April. This is actually really creepy from an I-would-never-let-a-child-near-this-van perspective, even if you don't believe in "scary" things. So I decided I didn't care.

Thus, I give you: The Elkridge Creeper Ice Cream Man (or, to be fair since I couldn't see inside, Woman)

Proof I'm not just hearing Ice Cream Truck music in my head.
This was actually still creepy after I saw the truck. I hurried home.

At least it wasn't Pennywise.

E: Elkridge

E is for Elkridge.


That's where I live. (Yes, I know I write MoMentum for the Columbia Patch. I've moved a few times.)  I like this side of the tracks. 


I live in a great neighborhood - people are always out walking their dogs and I know most of our neighbors - something that wasn't always true where I lived in Columbia. I'm quite close to Patapsco State Park, the local library and other conveniences, and I can read the Elkridge Patch for local stories and news of interest. But I don't know that much about Elkridge itself, so here's some quick history (sources hyperlinked)...


Did you know that Elkridge is the oldest settlement in Howard County? It started, in 1733, as a settlement called "Jansen Town" on Elkridge Landing, along the Patapsco. Jansen Town burnt down in 1825, but some old buildings persist - like Melville Church which dates to the late 1700s.


In the 18th and 19th centuries, Elkridge Landing operated as an inland seaport. Belmont, built in 1738, is one of the last physical reminders of that position.


Elkridge played a role in the Civil War, when Union troops arrived to guard the Thomas Viaduct. They camped on Lawyers Hill.

By Jim Kuhn    Camera location   39° 13' 17.31" N, 76° 42' 47.81" W  This and other images at their locations on: Google Maps - Google Earth - OpenStreetMap (Info)39.22147368;-76.71328068 [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Today, Elkridge is a "Census-designated place" occupying 7.9 square miles, with 22,042 people and 8,324 households (as of the 2000 census). 

By Arkyan [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Interested in more of Elkridge's history? Me too. That's why I'm going to try to make the next meeting of the Elkridge Historical Society, which meets monthly at the Brumbaugh House - visit their facebook page for more information.


Also, look into a history walk in Patapsco (Apr 19) and check out this recent article about historical Elkridge on Elkridge Patch!


E is for Elkridge, where people have been making homes since 1733.

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This post is part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge (hocoblogs@@@). Click on The Link for more info and other participating blogs!