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.

                    

April 19 Run/Walk: Meet at Commonplace Coffee, 7514 Thomas Blvd, Pittsburgh

The second entrance to Commonplace Coffee is on Meade Street, across from the East End Food Coop.

Either way you enter, it's close to 400 Lexington Street, site of Art All Night and a chance to peruse what's hanging.

Last week we had a gorgeous day for a walk or run, and at the back of Big Dog Coffee, we had our own private dining room.  No one was dispossessed.

One overheard endorsement:  Check out Tee Public for vintage T-shirts.

Also overheard at the long, lively table:

These days in journalism the word is: do more with less.

Ohio has no slang.

If you believe in facts you're a left-winger.

We can discuss.

Resistance action of the week: 

Yes, more contacting, but just got this from the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania - 

Continue to flood the Senate with calls to oppose the SAVE America Act!
In February, the House of Representatives passed the anti-voter Save America Act. The SAVE America Act remains open for debate on the Senate floor, and a vote could still be called at any time. Continue putting pressure on the Senate to reject this anti-voter bill.

Call or email (remember, you can keep it short).

• Senator Fetterman (contact)
• Senator McCormick (contact)

And/or sign up to get the League's emails - they have lots of suggestions!

April 12 Walk/Run: Meet at Big Dog Coffee, 2717 Sarah St., Pittsburgh 15203

On a rainy Easter Sunday a small group of us walked or ran and then gathered at 61C for a spirited conversation about food, girlhood, Girl Scouts, womanhood, parenthood, mother-in-law-hood.  

Menstruation was a major topic.  The misinformation.  ("Tampons can get lost in your body.")  The reality. (Cramps, blood stains on white skirts, giant sanitary napkins.) The elder(s) among us remembered the days before adhesive strips came on the market, when pads had tabs that attached to an elastic belt.  

• In case anyone is wondering, Midol is still on the market.  So is Pamprin.
• To get around town, check out Citymapper.
• Scone-haters might try the savory scones at Madeleine or the sweet ones at Five Points and maybe change their opinions.  Or not. 
• Comfort food in a cold world?
• Avocados.  Mashed potatoes and gravy -- Virginia
• Scrambled eggs and toast -- Janet
• Buttered noodles -- Janey
• Oatmeal -- Wendy
• Macaroni and cheese -- Joanne
• Bread with a crispy crust
• Bread and butter
• Warm bread
• Good bread
• Bread with honey or almond butter.

Resistance actions of the week:

1. Yet again, call/email Fetterman (contact) and McCormick (contact) and simply say: 

• Stop the War
• Remove Unfit President
• (or pick any of these)

This may seem hopeless, but each contact is recorded by staffers - numbers count!  Brevity is fine - apparently they don't read our reasons. 

2. Save the date:  May Day (May 1) National Strike - try for no shopping, no work, no school, whatever you can. Numbers will count here even more.

March 29 Run/Walk: Meet at Paris Baguette, 5514 Walnut Street, Shadyside

You'll find this latest outpost of the Seoul-based franchise brand at 5514 Walnut Street in Shadyside, where Williams-Sonoma once stood.   No coffeemakers, but cofffee and "French-inspired" pastries from this number one bakery in South Korea. 

Last Sunday, two days after the official start of spring, some of us had started seedlings indoors and others were dreaming of gardens to come.  It's too late for winter sowing, but plenty of seeds can still be cultivated indoors.  Beth is our local expert.  If she's unavailable, several online sources also provide information about what can be started indoors in April.  Soil to Soul,  based in Canada, had lots of advice.

If indoor plants are your preference, an impressive collection can be found at Urban Jungle on Braddock Avenue in Regent Square.

Do we all have Libby?  All of this week's reading recommendations can be found on this site, in audio or digital versions:

Patrick O'Brian's 23 sea novels, set during the Napoleonic Wars.

Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America by Beth Macy.

Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, historical fiction set in 1930s Kentucky by Kim Michele Richardson.

An Ezra Klein podcast on the rec list, also available on youtube: Naomi Klein on Trumpism and our Age of "Unlikely Bedfellows".

Are the best things in life free? 

A one-month Peloton membership is.

So is our RG, in good and hard times. 

Resistance action of the week: Come to a NO KINGS rally this Saturday, 3/28. The presence of all of us is the only way to show the world, and ourselves, the strength of our opposition to this dangerous, immoral regime. 

• (Main rally) Noon, City-County Building, 414 Grant St. downtown
• 5:00 PM - Corner of Shady Ave. and 5th Ave., Shadyside
• North Hills, South Hills, Penn Hills, and everywhere else worldwide - find on map on nokings.org.

 

And because those among us recalled the the pleasure and relief of meeting up during the Covid era, from the archive:

March 22 Run/Walk: Meet at Mediterra Café, 5112 Butler Street, Lawrenceville

This is the Mediterra Cafe on 5112 Butler Street in Lawrenceville

Last week we met in front of the Detective Building, once the home of the Bureau of Police Investigations, then later Schoolhouse Electric.  Now on the bottom floor is Redstart Coffee, whose motto is "drink bird friendly."

Maybe the delightful Hoppers inspired us, because there was a lot of talk about favorite characters from animated films, among them Grandma Willow, a sentient tree who advises Pocahontas and is depicted as wise and ancient. 

And so you don't have to Google it yourself:  Yes, Taylor Dearden, who plays Mel in The Pitt, is the daughter of Bryan Cranston, and Katherine LaNasa, Nurse Dana, was married to Dennis Hopper from 1989 - 1992.

Shows you might watch: Forsyte Saga is on Netflix or PBS for free, if you have a subscription, and nearly every other streaming service for a small fee.  

If you're into Canadian sports romances, maybe Heated Rivalry on HBO Max is the one for you.

Or watch Jane Austen's Period Drama, a short film about menstruation.  ("In the middle of a long-awaited marriage proposal, Miss Estogenia Talbot gets her period.") https://www.youtube.com/playlistlist=PLyS7wQIUiWYiBwbt_LVgifrKlQcSs-kee 

Or Retirement Plan, a 7-minute short. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mqa4zfJdx4

Resistance action of the week:  NO KINGS  mass protest on Saturday, March 28.

Make a plan now to be at one of the 3000+ No Kings Rallies next week, Saturday, March 28th.  The main one in Pittsburgh takes place at noon at the City County Building, 414 Grant Street, downtown.  But there are others.  find them here in the area all day long.  12 million people in the streets would turn things around.  Read this to see how

March 15 Run/Walk: Meet at Redstart Coffee, 224 North Euclid Avenue, East Liberty.

 March 15 Run/Walk:  Redstart Coffee is in the Detective Building on N. Euclid Ave.

We learned about the Anvil and Anchor Coffee Bar, where we met on Sunday, because Aimee's colleague's cat had to get chemo nearby and the colleague needed a place to sit and wait.  And thus we sat, and some of us tasted a sliver of donut, though donuts have no food value whatsoever, and worse, it was reported, "make your teeth gritty."

But the coffee shop was spacious and empty and there was more than enough room for the small group of us who arrived at what was really 6:00 AM.  Ben Avon has many fine old houses and points of interest.  Here, long ago,  Gretchen's mother taught elementary school. Runners got to do a little trail run through Vinegar Hollow. http://hollowoak.org/our-conservation-areas/vinegar-hollow/.

Ben Avon is also the site of the Emsworth Locks and Dam. Emsworth Locks and Dam

The Borough's name comes from Scottish Gaelic and means "hill on the water."  It's pronounced Ben - Ah-vuhn, which according to AI, rhymes with "pen oven."  You might try that out and see if anyone understands you.

Endorsements and advice:

Time for that colonoscopy?  Try Magee or St. Margaret's, instead of Shadyside, where the prep is "insane."  

Propofol is the drug of choice for colonoscopies.  It is not endorsed for recreational purposes.

When in need of a public toilet, hotels are a good option.  This assumes a hotel is nearby. Penn Mac has a restroom for the truly desperate - maybe. In short, we agreed that the dearth of public facilities is yet another issue that needs to be addressed.