5 Useful Things To Know Today: Jan. 12

1. After a cold and rainy Wednesday conditions are expected to improve greatly today. It's supposed to be cloudy in the morning, but the sun should shine through the rest of the day with a high of 56 degrees and only a 20 percent chance of precipitation.

2. Don't forget to vote in this week's Patch Game of the Week poll. Could this be the week a Quince Orchard team finally get's selected?

3. . Each week she will show you how to cook something new and exciting and you get to sample each plate.

4. In case you missed it: The Surrey Saddlery, an equestrian supply store, closed its doors in Potomac in July 2010 and moved to Darnestown, where it opened as the first retail occupant in Darnestown Center on Route 28.

5. On this day in history: H. L. Smith took the first X-ray photograph. It was a hand with a bullet in it in 1896. A divided Congress gave President Bush the go-ahead on the Persian Gulf War in 1991.