Cheryl Ritchie, Southern Maryland Real Estate

11th Annual Mulch Madness Mulch Sale Sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 1792 in Sunderland MD is underway!

I saw signs on Rt. 4 and flyers just inside our front office RE/MAX door!

Go to www.Troop1792.org for order forms! All proceeds go to the Troop.

Delivery date is Saturday March 24 starting 8am.

Kelly Generator and All Saints Episcopal Church are major sponsors . F & L Landscaping is the Supplier.

Donations?...1.50 per bag may be claimed for donation purposes.

There is a ten bag minimum order and deliveries are in Northern Calvert only.

The cost? 4.25 per delivered bag or 4.00 when you purchase over thirty bags. Order by March 14!

You'll Retrieve Golden Results with Cheryl Ritchie, RE/ MAX 100, for all your Southern MD Real Estate Services. Visit www.GoldenResults.com.

Well, just a little iddy biddy tech tip please..oh, all right!

I have been well behaved this week.

More localism posts and less tech posts.

But let me round out the week with a couple of tech talk points.

Yes, if you must ask I do want the NEW iPAD. Uh huh!

I am mid stream figuring out the Visioneer Color Cordless Scanner from Staples. The reader was not in the box which enables the eye fi to work cordless on photos.

So wait I must!

I am going to check out www.PicMonkey.com when they get the collage feature added. I need a Picnik replacement.

Okay, that's it. Short and sweet and back to market reports and localism posts this week.

Retrieve Golden Results with Cheryl Ritchie, RE/MAX 100, for all your Southern Maryland Real Estate Services. Visit www.GoldenResults.com for more information.

Useful Realtor Information about Maryland Safety Laws for Children and Car Seats?

I drive in separate cars if there are children to make sure I comply, but have often wondered about the rules and regs. Here you go!

When showing property, if using your vehicle...

Children must be in rear facing car seats until two years old or 35 pounds.

Children must be eight years old or 4 ft 9 inches for no more booster seats.

Children between eight and 16 must wear a seatbelt.

Airbags must be turned off if a rear facing infant seat is in front seat of vehicle.

Children under 16 may not ride in bed of truck that is not enclosed.

Md laws apply to in state and out of state vehicles.

Driver is responsible for adherence to seatbelt laws.

Recommended that children under thirteen not use front seats.

Taxis are exempt from these rules.

Check with your local Troopers or browse the www.Maryland.gov website for more details.

Bottom line, best to drive separately if children are Maryland Buyer guests to make sure all the laws are observed!

You'll Retrieve Golden Results with Cheryl Ritchie, RE/MAX 100, for all your Southern Maryland Real Estate Services. Visit www.GoldenResults.com for more information.

The Celebration of Life for Pat Carpenter is hosted at Rod n Reel Restaurant Sunday March 11, 2012 4PM-7PM this afternoon.

I met Pat and Bob Carpenter maybe a decade ago. That was before they became Celebrities in our small Town. That was before they were a household word. And before everyone knew and loved them.

As a real estate agent for decades you meet and work with a lot of people. Along the way, some people stand out as really, really special.

First of all, let me clarify the Pat and Bob Carpenter is spelled PatandBobCarpenter with no spaces. You realize pretty quickly that there is a very nice love story here.

This is what I remember before they become down right famous around here. Before politics, before road signs in their name, before local jobs, before many charitable events. When I was just the Realtor they picked when they were considering living here part time.

I remember puzzling over the computer search one day in the office. It really had me stumped. Very quietly and gently, Pat said, Cheryl, change this field and the search should come up. She did it so gently and with so much grace I did not feel silly for not figuring it out myself. I have remembered that scene countless times when I needed to explain something to someone that I may have grasped easily but they did not.

I remember the pre home inspection. Something said to me that we needed to do one before the offer. Now that was and is RARE. But something made us do it. I remember again the calmness they showed when the report results were DIFFICULT and how it catapulted the home search to new construction.

I remember mentioning some of my friends who became some of their very best friends...as in vacation friends and dinner friends and Holiday friends.

I remember having a sixth sense about them a few times. They would cross my mind and within hours I would bump in to them somewhere. It always left me dumbfounded but they just seem kind of amused.

I remember watching them over the years become entrenched in the community. I remember thinking I knew them first. I also remember thinking how lucky we were to have them decide to move here full time and what a joy they were to my friends and to the Community.

Here is to you, Pat Carpenter. Here is to your grace, kindness, consideration, creativity and the footprint you have left forever on our small Town which was made so much grander by your presence.

You'll Retrieve Golden Results with Cheryl Ritchie, RE/MAX 100, for all your Southern Maryland Real Estate Services. Visit www.GoldenResults.com for more information.

The Silver Lining Yesterday at the Chipotle in Edgewater Maryland?

I meant to go to Chipotle in Edgewater, MD after the new Saturday night 5pm Chesapeake Church Service in Calvert County then come back and get some work done.

You can buzz up Rt. 4, dash in the RE/MAX office and then take the back roads to Annapolis in no time flat.

So, I did all that, got back home, had plenty of time to do some work projects, when the bottom fell out.

I left my favorite purple Eddie Bauer jacket in the restaurant.

The one I refuse to wash because my Golden slept on it before he died.

The one I left in the hospital room before I lost my Dad. The one my Mom drove to me because I was so rattled about losing it.

Anyway, one great Four Square 5 Star Appreciation post and one stellar Active Rain Kudos to the Edgewater MD Chipotle staff blog post later...

My purple Eddie Bauer coat with Golden fur everywhere is safely back in the closet. The one I used as a pillow in my Dad's hospital room. The one I treasure.

Sometimes it is the extra things a business does. When I rounded the bend to the Edgewater Chipotle store near Midnight last night, there hanging by the door was my special purple Eddie Bauer jacket. Thanks, Chipote Staff. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate getting my jacket back home.

Yes, your food and your service are worth two round trips from Southern Maryland any day.

You'll Retrieve Golden Results with Cheryl Ritchie, RE/MAX 100, for all your Southern MD Real Estate Services. Visit www.GoldenResults.com