April 28 Run/Walk: Meet at the James Cafe, 2550 Smallman St. for a foray into the upper (lower?) Strip

So we can visit the Art All Night locale (a yearly pilgrimage), we'll meet at the James Cafe at 2550 Smallman - parking on nearby streets should be fine.  Also possible in the neighborhood:  the view from the 31st St. Bridge.  

Last week we returned to the rarely seen pocket of deep Bloomfield, which has few blooms or fields, but is quirky, somewhat gritty, and never boring.  We located the TRYTRYTRY stairs, found a random chainsaw, explored Iron Eden and peered into the creepy, empty, literally Dickensian (1866) buildings around Iron City Brewing.  Yinz Coffee was super congenial, sunny, and accepting of the yummy Bulgarian delicacies we brought in from Jak's Bakery down the street.  Also endorsed:

• The British Isles, where someone will soon be seeing RG friend Paula the Brit!  So PtB, if you're listening, we miss you and wish you and Iain were here so we could discuss Outlander and whisky endorsements.  
• Also Celtic, how about taking a Goddess Pilgrimage in Ireland?
• Moving on to Denmark, watch:  Borgen, and see a terrific fictional woman head of state and a political system that is not on life support.
• Also watch: Chisholm '72, to see a potential real woman head of state, ditto the system a mess even then.  And another great woman:  the Joan Baez documentary.
• Nippies - come in heart shapes and x's - who knew? 
• Making yogurt in an Instapot.
• Pajama pants = pants?  They are certainly comfy.  But no.

April 21 Run/Walk: Meet at Yinz Coffee, 4525 Liberty Ave., for a Bloomfield excursion

Back to Bloomfield on Sunday, meeting in front of Yinz Coffee, 4525 Liberty - we will see if the TRY-TRY-TRY stairs remain, what's new at Iron Eden, and/or go over the bridge.

Last week we took the path skirting the Mon at the Waterfront, sunrise glinting on the water, a mist of green on the trees.  No sign of the Senator, though, who surely has more weighty things to do, but the springy day had us schmoozing outside at last.  Much sharing of highly valuable info:

• Thread micro-wallets
• Dandy Blend - RG tested  by Beth - alternative to decaf coffee
• Contemporary Concepts store for gifts - next to Trader Joe's
• Read locally:  micro - the Homepage community newspaper, from Hazelwood and macro - Pittsburgh Magazine, everywhere that counts.
• Get help for anything in your house:  contact East End Handyman - but definitely do NOT google "appliance repair" or you will end up spending 2 hours in your kitchen with a hapless leprechaun.
• Vote:  if you still haven't mailed your mail-in ballot, bring it this weekend to the ballot return site this weekend, 9-5 Sat, 11-7 Sun - one of these is the Squirrel Hill Library.  
• Panera's orange scones have the Proustian memory kick of your Easy-Bake oven (which is still available!)
• Watch:  Unsinkable: Titanic Untold - on the big screen in Sewickley through 4/25; or Oppenheimer (when streaming you can split it up for 2 nights.)
• Recycle:  your ratty clothes and other textiles - UPitt Sustainability has 2 locations:  labeled blue bins in the parking lots of the O’Hara Student Center & 7500 Thomas Blvd.

April 14 Run/Walk: Meet at Panera at the Waterfront

Let's meet at Panera at the Waterfront (map), and maybe we'll greet our friend the Senator, visit some Homestead landmarks, or head for the trail and gaze up at the Eagle Cam.  If we hang around long enough, Costco opens at 10.  We may be able to sit outside and engage in Covid nostalgia, a time when we were freezing our butts off out there.

The cherry trees waited for us and were in lovely bloom at North Park on Sunday, petals lightly falling. Someone knew the Japanese word for this: Sakura-fubuki?  Evidently also related to kamikaze aircraft. Conviviality at Convive Coffee:

• Allegheny County Parks Foundation - yay for parks!
• Grape jelly and sliced oranges are food for orioles now
• Not as healthy, but delish, food for us could be the ham bones sold at Honeybaked Ham for $6.99, amazing if you're making bean soup.  They're in the freezer.
• The Wolfshager Hexenbrut Walpurgis dancers gone viral - funky witches!  Also available in Pittsburgh - stay tuned.
• Jane's running story - an inspiration!
• Somewhat less inspiring, the official RG motto:  We start out slow, and we taper off.
• Listen:  James by Percival Everett on audio - though reading is always good too. 
• Vote:  Primary is coming up on April 23 - WESA has a good voter guide,  and you can see the Summer Lee/Bhavini Patel debate here.
• Mahj - it's happening!

April 7 Run/Walk: Meet at the North Park Boathouse parking lot (map in message)

On Sunday we'll head up to North Park, meeting at the parking lot at the OTB Boathouse (map.) It has cherry trees!  And much more to be pointed out by Beth and Gretchen.  Afterwards, coffee at nearby Convive (map) in McCandless.  

Lots of runners/walkers came last week despite the utterly last-minute tiny message - showing that the mind-meld is in force.  Also that at our Squirrel Hill/61C locale, familiarity breeds comfort, and not even contempt for the hefty muffins.  I should also mention the week before: the Stately Manors of Mt. Lebanon were a sight to see, along with the fabulous local breakfast offerings - admittedly, not that far away.  Will try to consolidate 2 weeks of endorsements:

• Mt. Lebanon's Mediterra Cafe - worth crossing a tunnel and a bridge
• Shakshouka for breakfast - at the cafe, or else this recipe 
• which is from Melissa Clark whose recipes and videos at the NYT are easy and delish
• and can often be made on NordicWare sheet pans - the best
• Buffs - an RG standard since 2013 (see photo of Yi!) - can easily be crafted in cashmere too
• Hike:  Harrison Hills Park
• Visit:  Vieques
• Hold it:  Smartish phone cases
• A fully evolved male person