March 1 - Daylight Savings Run/Walk: Meet at Five Points Bakery, 6524 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh

Runners and walkers -- spring ahead!

We'll take the backroom at Five Points Bakery, 6524 Wilkins Avenue, Pittsburgh

Last week the branches were heavy with snow and we warmed up at Panera Bread, this time at the Waterfront.  

We had some endorsements.  black vinegar, "an acquired taste," was highly recommended.

Also Women Don't Ask:  Negotiation and the Gender Divide by Linda Babcock.

Skincare recommendations included Clinique and Laura Mercier.

And suggestions for a new Olympic event, using the triathlon as a model: this time, swimming, running, and belly dancing.  We have a contender.

Unanswered questions:

What year did the first "I'm on my way" text train start? 

Who can recommend a good optician?  Or optometrist?  Who can spell ophthalmologist? 

Can the blog count as a publication if one of us is coming up for tenure?  (No on is; just asking...)

Should we boycott American goods?

Will Fresh Market, soon to open in the old Whole Foods building, survive?  Which supermarket in this oversaturated area will sink?  

Resistance actions of the week.

Act to stop ICE by attending the meeting of the Allegheny County Council's Public Safety committee on Monday, March 2 at 4 PM, County Courthouse, Conference Rm 1,436 Grant St, downtown.  Council members need a public show of support for their bill to stop collaboration with ICE by county officials and employees.  More  info here

Act to save the environment by calling Fetterman and McCormick to demand they vote NO to lifting the ban on mining in the Boundary Waters Wilderness, coming up very soon.  This has much wider implications for despoilment of public lands.

 

February 22 Walk/Run: Meet at Panera Bread, 210 West Bridge Street, Homestead

Once again we'll meet at Panera Bread, this time on the Waterfront: 210 West Bridge Street in Homestead

Last week, at the big table at the Boulevard of the Allies Panera, we talked about birds.  The days are longer and the temperatures are not as frigid, and we're pleased to see and hear all of them, even the crows and sassy bluejays.  We went from birds to raccoons and then to groundhogs.

A groundhog (or woodchuck or whistle-pig or thick woods badger) is a sciurid, and though we hate the way they tunnel through our gardens, they also aerate the soil.  Like humans: good and bad.

Then there's Max's friend, with a pet groundhog she feeds organic almonds.

Raccoons are not sciurids or rodents.  They're in the family Procyonidae.  You can find a giant replica of one in Millvale. https://www.millvalecdc.org/current-projects/rainbow-raccoon-park

While in Millvale, you can also "drink tea, eat cake, and discuss death," if that's your thing.https://deathcafe.com/deathcafe/24644/

                                                                                     

February 15 Run/Walk Run/ Meet at Panera Bread, 3401 Boulevard of the Allies

This Panera was praised by a reviewer for its “large free parking lot.” Good to know, if also a case of damning with faint praise.  But we should be able to walk and run on ice and snow-free streets.  

Last week, faced with sub-zero temperatures, we, hearty walkers and runners, bundled up and stayed indoors.  (Except for Sharon…)  The knitters (Roye and Bobbi), took out their yarn and promised to share their talents.  Nearly everyone sitting around the table at Commonplace had gone to Catholic school --  Aimee, Joanne, Mary Ann, Jane M, Roye, and Bobbi – six of the nine of us.  Five of the six praised the experience.  We heard about an “adorable nun,” and the “opportunity to learn.”  Only Mary Ann couldn’t wait to get out.

She did. 

Resistance action of the week:  Allegheny County Council is set to consider an ordinance that would widely prohibit county employees from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.  Please call/email your County Council member (find your district here and your rep. here) and ask that they co-sponsor this bill.  Details here.

February 8: Weather Advisory Update! Meet at Commonplace Coffee, 7514 Thomas Blvd., at 8 am

Due to the following:

...COLD WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST SUNDAY...* WHAT...Very cold wind chills as low as 15 below zero.

We'll just meet at Commonplace near the Co-op around 8 am.  That way some lunatics can possibly walk there, or exercise at home beforehand.  Or just warm up the car.

February 8 Run/Walk: Meet at the NEW La Prima in Oakland, 3400 Fifth Ave.

We are in search of surfaces conducive to running and walking, and Oakland seems to have employed the best snow removal equipment.  And we want to scope out the new La Prima, at Fifth and Halket, so we'll start there. 

Where did we go last week?  All around Rockwell Park, and whatever goes on there is a mystery.  But thumbs up for Commonplace, which seems to have found the magic coffee/treats/aura formula - just get there early enough to bag a table.  We love:

• Nuns. They're awesome. They powered up the Friday morning ICE vigil. Gretchen organizes a bunch of them. For medieval roots of their glory, read: The Matrix.
• Magical sacred singing in otherworldly surroundings - Compline at Heinz Chapel any Sunday evening at 8.  (Shoutout to RG member Elena!)
• More monastic: Benjamin Britten opera Curlew River at Pittsburgh Opera.
• How to replace Target: Costco! - another RG love affair.  

Resistance action of the week:  You can join fellow ICE OUT demonstrators at 2 p.m. on Sunday, where the Hot Metal Bridge meets Three Rivers Heritage Trail. And if you're a fast knitter and can snag some rapidly disappearing red yarn, you can wear your Melt the Ice Hat.

February 1 Run/Walk: Meet at Commonplace Coffee (near Co-op) 7514 Thomas Blvd. - at 7 (cold warriors) or 8 (schmoozers)

Accuweather predicts an actual temperature of -1° on Sunday morning, and chunks of snow will still be making running problematic, so we have options.  The bravehearts who own Arctic gear can start at 7 and stomp around until 8, and the rest of us can get there however at 8 and start drinking.  (Coffee, unless someone brings a flask).  Anyway, hope to see you there!

Last week, same story, and 4 of us who were, admittedly, not that far away from 61C, made it on foot by 8, and were grateful to Keith and co. for being there.

• The pastries at 61C are best right out of that tiny oven.  Not to imply they are great.
• A wedding ring, lost for decades inside a Barcalounger, was restored.
• We need indoor activities, so watch:  Poldark! (but the old one or the new one? My vote is for Robin Ellis). Also Landman.  Also Victoria.
• Alaska seems normal now: Northern Exposure and dogs riding their own school bus.
• Only a few ways not to get pregnant in the 70's. (Were diaphragms so bad?)    
• Peloton - get a free account at the JCC and get to know Jen Sherman, Sam Yo, or Jon the hot Scottish guy.
• The iconic Squirrel Hill Giant Eagle has nostalgic traffic jams in the aisles.

Resistance activity of the week:  those of you who pestered Fetterman - thank yourselves for your service. Calls & emails count!

January 25 Run/Walk: Meet at 61C Cafe if you can make your way through Snowzilla

Last week, our plan was to meet at The Speckled Egg in Southside Works.  The lights were on at 7 AM and the kind fledglings even opened up the restaurant so RGers could use the bathroom.  But am I right to say when we returned post run/walk it was to Commonplace Coffee next door and not the Speckled Egg?

I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong.  Whichever establishment it was, we again had a long table with plenty of seats and lots of eats.

From the Department of “I Don’t Know How She Does It?”  we learned how Lainy managed to make lentil soup and matzoh ball soup and bread for her annual neighborhood soup party.  

First:  The New York Times “No Knead Bread” recipe.  Also its Chicken and Chickpea Tray Bake.

Endorsed with great enthusiasm:  

• A dough whisk (manual).  Or a dough hook, a stand mixer attachment shaped like a hook that does everything a person otherwise does (kneads, stretches, folds, massages).  Williams-Sonoma has both.
• New Hazlett Theater performance of BRIGID – A celebration of the Celtic Goddess & Patron Saint of Ireland - was terrific, especially Eileen Ivers and The Brigideens.  
• John Oliver explains Medicare 
• Best practice when your children become parents: learn to shut up (alcohol may be required). Then just enjoy those cuties.
• Not endorsed:  Eat, Pray, Love.  Should be:  Work, Stay, Feed the Kids.

Composed by Jane Bernstein