Maryland Renaissance Festival

The Maryland Renaissance Festival (also on Facebook) has three more weekends left, and the forecast for this weekend calls for gorgeous weather -- sunny and in the high 60's.

First held in Columbia, MD in 1977, Maryland RenFest is now located on a wooded 130-acre site in Crownsville, MD just off of I-97 near Annapolis.

The festival has costumed performers and patrons from the era of King Henry VIII's England, and includes jousting, archery, a food fair, and artisans and crafts.

2014 Autumn Walk Picnic (with Photos)

(See the full album on Facebook)

Thanks to everyone for making the 2014 Autumn Walk Picnic a success!

Hosts Adrienne and Jamie decorated their houses and organized the set-up of tables, chairs, coolers, and even a pop-up tent, as well as coordinating replies from the neighborhood.

Bindu, Daphna, and Pam also helped with the planning, fliers, shopping and grilling, and around 40 adults and 40 children came bringing potluck contributions!

With the addition of hamburgers, veggie burgers, and hot dogs purchased by Autumn Walk HOA, we had more food and drink than we could possibly consume.

It's Picnic Time!

(Update: Since no one can see the sign up list any more, we've sent individual reminders to everyone with the list of items you volunteered to bring. Please let us know if you didn't receive it and need help remembering. :) Thanks again!)

It's almost time for the picnic on Saturday!

For those who volunteered to supply them, the organizers ask that you bring some items early (between 10 am and 12 noon to 9846/9848, Adrienne or Jamie's houses):

• Folding tables
• Coolers & Ice
• Drinks
• Condiments (we may still need mustard and mayo)
• Napkins, plates, cutlery 

We've had a pretty good response, but it's not too late to sign up! We hope to see everyone there!

Picnic Reminder!

The weather forecast looks good so far for next Saturday -- keep your fingers crossed!

The picnic organizers need a headcount to know how much food and supplies are needed. Can you please RSVP to the following link?

• Google Forms RSVP

Negative responses are also requested -- that is, if you cannot attend, please let us know by putting your house number in the form but put "0" or "cannot attend" in the "Other" box under attendance.

Thanks!

Whole-House Humidifier Tips

If you have excessively dry air during the winter heating season, you may have found that it leads to a less comfortable environment in your home, with everything from dry skin and nosebleeds to shrinking floorboards.

Portable humidifiers work reasonably well but it can be a tedious chore to continually refill and clean them. If your HVAC system has enough room, you can install a whole-house humidifier.

Whole-House Humidifiers
A typical whole-house humidifier will be installed on the return air duct. An air intake line is installed from the filtered, heated air exiting the furnace, and goes through a damp pad into the return duct.

A whole-house humidifier installation

I've Been Riding on the Railroad (Baltimore to Ellicott City)

Did you know that Baltimore and Howard County had an important role in the birth of American railroads?

The last surviving Bollman Truss Bridge is near us at Savage Mill

The first regularly scheduled passenger rail service in the US began on May 22, 1830 when a horse-drawn Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) train was pulled 13 miles from Baltimore's Mount Clare Station to Ellicott Mills (Ellicott City today) in northeastern Howard County.

Today, both sites are the locations of railroad museums commemorating their roles in establishing the American railroad industry.

2014 Autumn Walk Picnic!

A group of your neighbors (Adrienne, Jamie, Bindu, Daphna, and Pam) have volunteered to organize and host the 2014 Autumn Walk Picnic! Come out and meet your neighbors and enjoy food and fun and games!

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2014 from 3pm - 6pm between Jamie and Adrienne's House (9848 and 9846)

Raindate: Sunday, September 21, 2014 from 2pm - 5pm between Jamie and Adrienne's House

Volunteers to grill are needed!

They plan to have a water balloon game, bike decorations, face painting, fake tattoos, and a cake walk (and maybe more)!

Autumn Walk HOA will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, and buns, and otherwise the Picnic will be Potluck.

What you can do: 

• Please RSVP using the web link below, letting them know how many adults and children you expect to attend. 
• Google Forms RSVP
• Please indicate on the form what dish(es), supplies, or activities you can provide. 
• Help is also needed with set-up, clean-up, and the grilling, so please let us know if you can volunteer for those jobs too. 

The first two Picnics were a lot of fun and we hope as many of you as possible will be able to join us!

Labor Day: Trash Sl-i-i-i-de Week

In this post:

1. Holiday slide schedule
2. Disposal of unusual items (bulk items; electronics; household hazardous waste)

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Don't forget -- due to the Labor Day Holiday on Monday, September 1st, both trash and recycling collection will slide down one day next week:

• Trash collection: Wednesday, September 3, 2014
• Recycling collection: Saturday, September 6, 2014

Other trash and recycling information from Howard County:

HOA Resale Documents

When selling your home (or getting a new loan) in Autumn Walk @ Emerson, you will need to obtain two separate HOA resale packages for the new buyers, one from Autumn Walk and one from Emerson.

Per Maryland State Statute these are the documents required to comply with the state law, if they pertain to the Association:

• Resale Disclosure 
• Compliance Inspection Form 
• Budget 
• Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions (CCRs)
• Resolutions and Policies 
• Articles of Incorporation 
• Bylaws 
• Architectural Guidelines 
• Rules and Regulations 

To obtain resale packages:

1. Autumn Walk HOA (Last Update: 10/1/24)

• Contact Community Association Services (CAS) if you have other questions - see the page Contact Autumn Walk HOA

As of July 15, 2024, the HOA Resale Package for Autumn Walk must be obtained from the Community Archives platform.

[Please note that you can no longer obtain Resale Packages from Homewise, where they formerly could be obtained for a fee of $225.]

Homeowners or their agent should go directly to the web site to order packages. 

Community Archives Ordering Instructions (as of July 2024):

To place an order for any of the products (Resale Package, Lender Questionnaire, Statement of Accounts, etc.) for sale or refinance of your unit, please access:

https://marketplace.communityarchives.com/login

1. At the top of the page, set "ORDER RESALE DOCUMENTS." This will direct you to Community Archives.
2. You will need to register with Community Archives if you are  first-time user.
1. If you have any difficulties placing the order and/or navigating through the website please contact Community Archives Support at 1-833-462-3627.
3. Resale Packages:
1. If your address belongs to a Master and a Sub-Association, an order needs to be placed for both Associations.
2. If you are selling your unit, please order a "Resale Disclosure Package."
3. Resale Packages are good for one year.
4. Resale Certificates and Inspections are only good for 30 days.
4. Lender Questionnaires:
1. If you live in a Master and Sub-Association the Lender Questionnaire is normally needed for the Sub-Association Only and not the Master Association.
2. If you are Lending Company and require a Questionnaire, you will need to order a "Lender Questionnaire."
3. If you require a Custom Form with your order, be sure to upload your document by clicking "Add On Documents."
5. Statement of Accounts:
1. If your address belongs to a Master and Sub-Association, an order needs to be placed for both Associations.
2. If you are a Settlement or Title Company, please order a "Statement of Account."

2. Emerson HOA (Last Update: 11/28/17)

a. To place an order for any of the products for sale or refinance please access –

www.cmc-management.com  

b. Select “ORDER RESALE DOCUMENTS” then select “COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT CORPORATION”  this will direct you to Community Archives.

• You will need to register with Community Archives if you are a first time user and if you have any difficulties placing the order and/or navigating through the website please contact Community Archives Customer Service at 1-800-995-0682.

c. Resale Packages: 

If your address belongs to a Master and Sub-Association that CMC/SCS manages, an order needs to be placed for both Associations.  

d. Lender Questionnaire:

If you require a custom form be sure to select the custom form option when placing the order and once you have received your email confirmation with an order # then submit your custom form by fax 520-219-3055 or email cacs@communityarchives.com or customforms@communityarchives.com  

Please be sure to reference your order # when submitting your custom form.

Antietam Battlefield (Sharpsburg, MD)

One of the advantages of living halfway between Baltimore and Washington, DC is the wealth of things to do, some of them fairly unique to the area. 

The focus for this post is the 152nd Anniversary of one of the many important Civil War sites within a day trip of our community, to be commemorated with demonstrations starting on the weekend of September 13-14, 2014 and continuing for the next week with historical talks and hikes.

The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862 near Sharpsburg, MD (about 90 minutes away from us) and marked one of the first turning points of the war.

Confederate artillery with the mountains in the background

After the Union defeat at Second Manassas just two weeks earlier, the first Confederate invasion of the North was turned back in the bloodiest single day of the war with 23,000 casualties on both sides.

Though the battle itself was inconclusive, the result gave President Lincoln the confidence to issue the Emancipation Proclamation three months later on January 1, 1863.

Savage MARC Station Construction

The Savage (Dorsey Run Road) MARC Station, the nearest station to Emerson on the Camden Line, has been a construction zone since April with the work scheduled to be completed in late 2014 or early 2015 to support a larger redevelopment effort called Annapolis Junction Town Center.

A new 4-story parking garage will have 704 free parking spaces for MARC commuters. A new traffic light will also be installed at the exit to Dorsey Run Road.

This work is part of a $180M project which broke ground on June 9, 2014 called Annapolis Junction Town Center to convert the Savage MARC Station into a new Transportation Oriented Development (TOD) site, with a mix of residential, office, and retail development centered around public transit:

HoCo Restaurant Week: The Aftermath

Did anyone else take advantage of Howard County's Restaurant Week for Summer 2014?

Here are some pictures from Bistro Blanc (Glenelg), Victoria Gastro Pub (Columbia), and Highland Inn (Highland).

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Bistro Blanc

Local Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho
pickled nectarine + lime XVO powder + micro basil

Spiced Rabbit Gnocchi
blonde mole + bentons bacon + carrot + broccolini + cotija cheese + mint
-- paired with -- Syrah, Rosenblum Vintner's Cuvee, California '10

Gorman Road Re-Opens

After almost 2 months of construction, the section of Gorman Road between Murray Hill Road and Skylark Boulevard re-opened on Tuesday, August 12th.

During the closure, the road was widened and straightened to accommodate the new Wincopia Farms development, and a pedestrian tunnel was built underneath Gorman Road between Wincopia Farms and the ballfields for Murray Hill Middle School.

This should make our commutes a little easier again!

Gorman has been widened and slightly straightened

Emerson Movie Night #2 at the Pool (8/15/14)

Emerson's next Movie Night at the Pool will be on Friday, August 15th at dusk (approximately 8:00 pm). This event is for Emerson residents only (ID required).

The movie being shown on this evening will be Despicable Me 2.

Maryland Tax-Free Week: August 10-16, 2014

This week is Maryland Tax-Free Week, when certain clothing and footwear items under $100 are exempt from Maryland's 6% sales tax from Sunday, August 10th to Saturday, August 16th.

Qualifying items purchased online and delivered this week are also tax-exempt.

Unfortunately, schools supplies are not tax-exempt.

• Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week FAQs (pdf from the Comptroller of Maryland web site)