June 7 Run/Walk: Meet at the newer La Prima in the Strip, 1100 Smallman Street

Today the 2026 Three Rivers Arts Festival opens in lovely dahntahn!  And Sunday we'll be there to explore its latest location at the spanking new Arts Landing.  Amazingly, it won't be raining.  We'll meet at La Prima #2 (map), adjacent to the Convention Center, where maybe, just maybe, the underground fountains will be flowing.  

Last week, after a spin through Frick Park, we had a glorious return to the comfort and abundance of Elaine and her Kitchen on fabled Lower Waldron.  And then, on Thursday eve, the lollapalooza fabulous zumba/line dance party to celebrate our Wendy's special b'day. Much to be grateful for!

• The intrepid cyclists reported back from their trip out east: much fun, new sights, highlights being the vastness of Bethehem Steel's carcass, and Washington's Landing, about which Sharon had memorized surprising facts. 
• Jane M. will offer a story class.  Details forthcoming!
• A new cashmere mitten workshop is being planned.  Hit the Goodwills.
• "Situationship" is a thing, one that we know next to nothing about.
• Buffalo Rose (long endorsed by RG) is profiled in the newly reborn Post-Gazette, as it headlines the abovementioned TRAF on Thursday, June 11, 7:30 p.m.  Be there!

Resistance action of the week:  a reminder - tomorrow, Saturday, at 10 a.m., protesters will gather at the Citizens Bank branch in Squirrel Hill (1801 Murray). They will join protests around the US, demanding that the bank stop financing GEO Group and Core-Civic, the two main operators of notorious immigrant detention facilities, AKA prison camps. GEO runs Moshannon, 3 hours from Pittsburgh and the largest one in the Northeast.

                                 

May 31 Run/Walk: Meet at the entrance to the Blue Slide section of Frick Park (on Beechwood near Nicholson)

Here's a map.  There are picnic tables!  And if a couple of people bring a chair and some coffee or other drinkable, maybe a treat too, that should work.  Checking COVID-era entries it seems that in May of 2020 we were meeting on zoom 😢, but by May of 2021 we were finding outside seating and coffee to go.  So we tip our baseball caps to the past and enjoy the predicted gorgeous weather!

Last week, we were outside too, on the Biddle's porch after a tour through that handsome end of Wilkinsburg and a fantastically verdant Frick Park.  We discovered later that one of the Biddle neighbors was arrested in an energetic FBI raid a day earlier for broadcasting particularly savage death threats.  Craziness is in the air, people. We are trying to stay sane by concentrating on:

• how to repel deer and bunnies by spraying a mix of 50% water and 50% half & half.
• reading wondrous books, which we could start bringing to our coffee hour to trade.  One mentioned: Station 11.  One not mentioned:  Outlander (ha!)  And celebrating the wondrous writers in our group.
• And celebrating birthdays - this time Elena's - and more to come soon! 

Resistance action of the week - so many to choose from, let's focus on Moshannon:

• Save the date!  Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m. in front of the Citizen's Bank branch, 1801 Murray Ave. in Squirrel Hill.  Citizens Bank finances the private prison operator GEO Group that runs the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, the largest ICE detention site in the Northeast, and a few hours from Pittsburgh. On that day, people will be protesting at Citizens branches all across the country. More info. here.


• Help to shut down Moshannon! There is a movement to contact the 3 Clearfield County Commisioners, who will be voting about renewing their contract with GEO Group. You can email
• John Sobel (R) jsobel@clearfieldcountypa.gov
• Tim Winters (R) twinters@clearfieldcountypa.gov
• David Glass (D) dglass@clearfieldcountypa.gov (you can thank Mr. Glass because he has agreed to vote to end the contract)
• More info. here. 

May 24 Run/Walk: Meet at Biddle's Escape, 401 Biddle Ave., Wilkinsburg

Besides the Run and the Walk, there is also the Bike, so we cheer for our 2-wheeled sisters on their trek starting Sunday to parts known and unknown.  We await your report!  For the rest of us, we'll meet at Biddle's, 7 a.m., maybe bring an umbrella.

Last week in our maiden voyage to West View, apparently once the site of an amusement park that rivalled Kennywood, we saw a Lithuanian cemetery, a range of City Steps, and Gretchen's childhood home.  Coffee at West View Brew was adorable, featuring a uniquely toothsome blueberry scone-muffin. In other news:

• Save the date!  Buffalo Rose at the Arts Festival, Thursday June 11 at 7:30 at the new Arts Landing downtown.  Let's make it an RG tradition - 
• It's rhubarb time, so head on down to the Rhubarb Festival in Intercourse PA! Oops, we missed it, (May 15) - let's try to get there next year.  But there's still lots more to do in Intercourse. 
  
• Watch the terrific schmaltzy escape film Remarkably Bright Creatures.
• Bobbi's church, the Unity Center of Pittsburgh, sounds like a balm for the soul in these times.
• Usually like-minded, we differ strongly on self check-out.  (The one in supermarkets).

May 17 Walk/Run: Meet at West View Brew, 442 Perry Hwy, West View, PA 15229

 West View Brew is our meeting place for May 17.

Last week, before meeting at the Parisi Cafe, we wandered over to the parkway construction site at the bottom of Commercial Street and tried to imagine the existing bridge being imploded and the new deck structure slid into place.  If someone gets to see this, please post photos and share your report.

Meanwhile, blog keeper (RG-BK) assumes everyone knows there will be a full closure of 376 East from July 10 to August 4.

More important matters were discussed over coffee:  For instance: should we celebrate Sketchers, or do they make us look old? 

Janet, our resident expert in many things, informed us of the coronary calcium scan that measures whether there is calcified plaque in the heart arteries and can estimate the future risk of a heart attack.  It's a short, simple CT scan.

She also answered the question:  What is a lipidologist?  Answer: a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats lipid disorders, such as high cholesterol and triglycerides.

But the more crucial question remains: do Sketchers make us look old?

We moved conversationally from the heart to the body and then to the stuff we accumulate in old age, and someone mentioned "Super Cooper," and the aged RG-BK, intending to inform, looked up "Super Cooper" and found:

Super Cooper Sunday, a YouTube series about golden retrievers

Super Cooper, the mentalist from West Bloomfield, MI

A restorer of Mini Coopers

A media company in St. CLoud, MN

etc.

recommendations:

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning - by Margareta Magnusson

Washage rugs

Facebook Marketplace

To stream:

Call the Midwife

Beef

Happy almost birthday, Linda!

May 10 Walk/Run: Meet at Parisi Cafe, 7107 Harrison Ave, Swissvale 15218

Officially our meeting place is Parisi Cafe and Italian Market, 7107 Harrison Ave, Swissvale.  

Marathon Sunday was cold and sunny and those of us who weren't hemmed in by road closures met at Fifth and Beechwood and continued to the Panera at Bakery Square, where, as always we shared verifiable information, conjecture, and good stories.  

We didn't talk turkey* on Sunday.  Instead we talked chicken, or rather listened, rapt, to Bobbi's tales of her chickens, including Dominique, who was raised by hand, and Bean, a hybrid chicken.  

*The origin of "talk turkey" allegedly comes from colonial times when colonists and Indians bartered over wild turkeys.   Folklore tells of a particular encounter, but it's possible the stories arose from an article in the  Niles' Weekly Register from 1837.

What's true is this:  The Post-Gazette is now owned by the Baltimore-based Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism and will be run as a nonprofit.  40% of the staff was cut, and there will be no arts coverage or editorial page.  But according to V.L., our reliable source, we should give them a chance.  

Pittsburgh City Paper, also acquired from Block Communications, was rebooted by LocalMatters, another nonprofit.  So give them a chance, too.

Bad news:  Ice is out and about, picking up individuals instead of groups, and thus attracting less attention.

Not exactly an answer to the question:  "How Trumpy is Lowe's?"  Both Home Depot and Lowe's contribute to political campaigns, but Home Depot's co-founder Bernie Marcus has been a major donor to Trump.  So maybe the answer to the question about Lowe's is "less Trumpy."

Up for debate:  Everything is better in Canada.

How to save money streaming films?  A Pitt or CMU ID card will get you access to the university libraries and to Kanopy with its vast collection of films.

Endorsements: 

Hana Lee Goldin's Substack that teachs you how to think like a librarian in the Age of AI. Card Catalogue for Life

For elevated garden beds, go to Costco or Gardener's Supply Company

The best basil plants for planting in your garden come from Trader Joe's.

Shocking Update on Outlander:  Aimee is two seasons behind.

May 3 Walk/Run: Meet at Mellon Park, Beechwood and Fifth Avenues, Pittsburgh.

It's Pittsburgh Marathon Day.  Same as last year, we'll meet near the spray park/tennis courts.  Then post run/walk, we'll gather at Panera Bread in Bakery Square.  

To avoid road closures, park on Beechwood or Reynolds and walk to Mellon Park.  Here's the 2026 Race Course for more information.

Last week, Wendy was our host.  RGers piled into her beautiful house and sipped coffee in her beautiful cups.  One RGer locked herself in the bathroom to spend time with her beautiful wallpaper.  Linda contributed delicious lemon poppyseed muffins and several RGers brought treats from Five Points, and if it seems as if there are too many superlatives, they're all well deserved.

Some opinions on grocery shopping:

The Giant Eagle in Shaler is the most chill. 

But no one will find you at the Giant Eagle in Greenfield.

For meat and eggs, check out the East Liberty Farmers Market.

For chocolate milk, try the East End Food Coop.

Then there's Costco, where the employees are treated well.

FYI:

Trader Joe's and Aldi are owned by the same German company.  They are run separately and have been called "conflicted cousins," for reasons that are probably obvious.

Speaking of running:  The Wednesday/Friday runs live on through Jonathan.  

For laughs, check out comedian Rachel Goldstein (not to be confused with Rachel Feinstein or Brett Goldstein) Rachel Goldstein

Sharon on kids:  "When you think they're all grown up, they still cost a lot of money."

Resistance action of the week:

Citizens Bank: Stop Funding Cruelty!  Citizens Bank is a key funder of GEO Group and Core Civic. These 2 companies run ICE detention centers holding 60,000 immigrants, including the notorious Moshannon Valley prison 2 hours from Pittsburgh. With millions of taxpayer dollars funneled to them by Citizens, these contractors regularly withhold necessary medical care, illegally put people in solitary confinement, allow severely inhumane conditions, and rip families apart. 23 prisoners have died in the past year.  Past protests against banks supporting ICE prisons, including JP Morgan and Citibank, have worked.  

Possible ways to join this nationwide protest:

1. Write some letters - Indivisible Philadelphia is running a letter writing campaign. Use this form to get info.
2. If you have money in Citizens Bank, consider moving it to another bank, and tell them why.
3. Join the local protest in front of their Squirrel Hill branch, 1801 Murray, every Saturday at 10 starting May 2.

April 26 Run/Walk: Meet at Five Points Bakeshop, 6520 Wilkins Avenue

Will the traffic be unbearable during the NFL Draft?  We speculated last Sunday, when we met at Commonplace Coffee. Will there really be twice as many visitors as residents of Pittsburgh?  At this moment, who can say, but we'll know when we meet up at Five Points Bakeshop on April 26th.

We had the chance to pursue lots of art at Art All Night, which this year met on Lexington Street, not far from Commonplace.  There were selections from very young artists...

 

and some work from those who were far more experienced.  

On the maybe-necessary front:  there's a shower in the very nice bathroom at Commonplace Coffee.

If you need a great eye doctor,  Steve Rogers is highly recommended.  Steven R. Rogers

Does Reiki cure all?
Can it heal a dog?  Start a dead car?  

We missed this year's Croatian Festival in Millvale, but you can get coffee or breakfast at  The Nook in Lawrenceville.

Let's celebrate our dogs, even when they aren't the smartest pups in the litter. "In Defense of Dumb Dogs"

We're rooting for you, Buddy Guy.  Keep up the good work, Tully and Rozzie, and all the companions whose names I've left out.  You may not be able to fetch a toy by name or herd sheep, but you comfort us when we're sick and love us when we're grumpy.

From Roye, at the other end of the table:  

A.W. Beattie Career Center Restaurant where earnest students make chef-level food at diner-level prices.

Read Empires of Light

Eat an egg sandwich https://commonplacecoffee.com/pages/rockwell-park

Ask Bobbi to demonstrate the bunny ears double knot shoe tying technique

Bike in Meadville on the  Ernst Trail and the John Oliver Trail

Consider an RG trip to Preque Isle.