May 31 Run: Meet Downtown at the PPG Plaza/Tomb of Unknown Bowler

This Sunday, we'll check out the Downtown end of Open Streets Pittsburgh, where Penn Avenue and Butler Street between Market Square and Allegheny Cemetery will be closed to traffic between 7am and 1pm, and festivities abound!  Since the opening ceremony is at 8am in Market Square, with some famous speakers, it might be wise to try to carpool since there might be limited parking.  I have a lease in a parking garage and can fit 3 people in my car, leaving from Squirrel Hill, in case anyone is interested (let me know!).  Check out the information below on the event.  You may want to stick around after the run for Tai Chi, Zumba, or many other activities.

Last Sunday, Joanne lead us around both some familiar and not-so-familiar places in Highland Park.  A few of us complained of achy joints, tired muscles, etc. and we very nearly thought we might head back to Tazzo d'Oro instead of running since it's now open beginning at 7am.  But, we forged onward, because really, resistance is futile, right?

Post-run coffee topics included:
-Ghost town Trail, Clem's BBQ, Blairsville
-Cumberland-Frostburg train-bike "Triplette"
-Different ways to skewer chicken for shish kabobs

Running Group endorsements:
-Cowboy quinoa (Trader Joe's)
-Guilt-free guacamole (Trader Joe's)

___________________________________________________________________________________________
What is OpenStreetsPGH? It is an event that will take places usually reserved for motor vehicles and open them up to all users, people who are walking, running, bicycling, skating, shopping and dancing.

The 2015 route for OpenStreetsPGH will be mainly on Penn Avenue and Butler Street, with Market Square in Downtown at one end and Allegheny Cemetery in Lawrenceville at the other.

Penn Avenue and Butler Street and other roads will be closed to motorized traffic at 7:00 a.m. on each OpenStreets Sunday and will reopen at 1:00 p.m. Cars may cross the route only at major intersections.

There are three major program hubs along the route, one in Market Square in Downtown, one in the Strip District and one in Lawrenceville. Of course, the purpose behind Open Streets is to get folks to re-imagine city streets and recognize them as spaces to be used for many activities. Walk your dog – in the middle of Penn Avenue; ride your bike – all the way from Downtown to Lawrenceville without having to worry about cars; or let your child who is learning to online skate – practice in the middle of Butler Street. More information on OpenStreetsPGH is available here. 

May 24 Run: Highland Park run starting and ending at the Tazza D'Oro cafe on Highland Ave.

Next week - as we love to do - we're taking Joanne up on her offer to lead a Highland Park run, starting at the Tazza D'Oro cafe on Highland Ave., which will open at 7 a.m. on a Sunday, reminding us that we're getting closer to a city that never sleeps!  (Well, a little closer.)

Future runs: Aimee reminds us that the 31st is the first Pittsburgh Open Streets day, so we'll beat everyone out there and take a route on Butler Street or Penn Ave. - details later.  And for the following week, Audrey has discovered an intriguing new cafe - the Staghorn - on Greenfield Ave. open early Sunday, so we'll discover that and run across the Greenfield Bridge before it closes.

About last Sunday and the brave but minimal showing of runners after a 6 a.m. downpour - I was about to write "oh, ye of little faith" but then did a search of this blog and discovered that I had said that AT LEAST 3 other times in similar circumstances - which means that I am repeating myself, but also that this happens a LOT!  For lo and behold, not a drop fell between 7 and 7:55, and the park was not even muddy, but just atmospherically jungly and misty.  We peered in at the rising new Nature Center building, and recalled the day a decade ago when the RG came across the smoking ruin.

We had a lovely coffee, but for one small thing:  please, 61C, take a look at the vintage of your customers in the early morning and save the weird indie music for the millennials that show up around noon.

Endorsements:
The Ramen Bar on the Little's side of Forbes
The Jewish Sports Hall of Fame - kudos to Karen's family!
The Classic Lines Bookstore on Forbes in Squirrel Hill, and its wine-and-macarons events
The fact that both Karen and PtB are apparently related to the historical Jane Seymour, as seen in the also endorsed Wolf Hall on PBS (but why did it end before they told her story??)
The fact that Aimee and hopefully someone else will be your future bloggers for a while - as I'll be taking a blog break - thank you!!

May 3 Run: Start at Mellon Park parking lot off of Fifth Ave. (but don't park there - see message)

A number of us will be running in the Pittsburgh Marathon - all power to them! - but those of us who aren't will still follow the route a bit, starting at 7 as usual, at Mellon Park at the corner of Fifth and Beechwood.  BUT:  be sure to park somewhere on the Beechwood side because Fifth Ave. will be blocked off for sure and you may have to hang around Panera or the knitting store for hours, which actually wouldn't be so bad.

I have no report on last week's run, since I didn't manage to get there and only had a solo run up to 61C for coffee.  But then I got the happy surprise of seeing both Elaine and Anne Jane - return of the natives!  And a good complement of the group too, quite enough to have a delightfully long chat and to endorse:
(apparently a food theme this week)
Book:  Sous Chef: 24 hours on the line
Another book:  The Story of Sushi
Pittsburgh blog:  Eat this - read that (recommended by my daughter Lena who knows about these things.)
A robot that feeds you tomatoes while you run (not kidding - take a look - Aimee also knows about these things.)
Bread & Salt bakery in Bloomfield - none of those fripperies - bread that doesn't fool around.
A watermelon carved like a baby carriage - with lace! by Lainy for Galit's baby shower.

April 26 Run: Colfax School for a Frick Park run

I'm at a conference in Nashville this week, so just a bulletin this time:  meeting at Colfax School on Beechwood at Douglas in Squirrel Hill - we'll make a circuit through Frick Park - hopefully it won't be snowing -

April 19 Run: Wendy Bennett Trailhead at the bottom of the Schenley Oval for a classic park run

Meet up at the Wendy Bennett Trailhead - where Bartlett meets Hobart in Schenley Park (map) - and we'll run through the tiny green evidence of early springtime, hoping to avoid the muddier parts.  There may be trilliums!  (trillia?)

Sunday's mystery run was called that since I had no idea where we would be going, but we ended up pursuing an Eco theme, threading through the trees in Schenley Park, then up to investigate what's been going on at Phipps' LEED certified Center for Sustainable Landscapes and their Eco-friendly classroom, roof gardens, new statuary, and general model ecological-ness.  We headed back past CMU's similarly LEEDed Gates-Hillman Center and up the hidden nature path behind it.  Then we just tanked up on coffee, and endorsed:

• 2 great bars:  Houghs Bar in Greenfield, with its Artisan Nachos, and the Independent Brewing Co. on Shady.
• 2 eccentric guys:  The Kiltman, aka Richard Greenberg- and I quote: "hashem is the boss, I am the applesauce." Read more of the same here.  And the guy with a beard who rides his bike in all weather who wrote the book about all the steps in Pittsburgh.  
• 2 runs coming up:  Mother's Day to the Shrine of the Blessed Mother, and the week after up and down the StepTrek on the South Side. 
• 2 places to play Mah-Jongg:  the Meetup at Panera on Tuesday nights, and at random times with some of us runners - bring it up at the next run if you're interested.  Bring your Mah Jongg socks!
• Food Inc. - documentary that will make you mad and upset - is that an endorsement?  
• This one is:  new runner Gretchen - welcome!

photo courtesy of Aimee

April 12 Run: 61C Cafe again for a mystery run

We'll meet at the 61C Cafe on Murray Ave. again, head toward Frick Park, or Schenley Park, or both. Or maybe Homewood Cemetery, where there is now a family of wild turkeys adding to the other fauna.  We'll be spontaneous.

Well, I tried to see if our route last week did in fact look like the outline of a squirrel - umm, not really - but we did note the new Welcome to Squirrel Hill sign en route (PtB says they need volunteers for the garden.) And there was a bit of related theme, as we passed another garden that claimed to be a "certified wildlife habitat" (this is really a thing!) and also visited Sylvania Natives, an almost hidden-away nursery for native plants.  But the main thing was synagogues and churches up and down and near Beechwood Blvd., and we ran by a whole bunch of them - mainly homey little places, like the Agape Life church (left), B'nai Emunah, famous for its hot dog lunches, and one adorable place that doubles as both AND has services in Ukrainian. Also a church named Mary S. Brown Ames, with a mysterious grave marked "Shawnee" - and RG's devoted researcher PtB has uncovered that it's the 2nd oldest graveyard in Pittsburgh.   Also Iain revealed that Beechwood Blvd. was once the Nemacolin Indian Trail.  I think we've got enough for a novel here.

Endorsements:

• kosher for Passover baking (recipes below)
• doing a "phone cleanse"
• the word "perseverating"
• Sally - who grew up on "Mad Men"
• Cuba (can't wait to hear about the trip!)

Bonus feature!

Recipes for those of us starved for pastries during Passover:

1. PtB's recommended Ricciarelli via Nigella Lawson

2. Cheryl's Mom's Chocolate Chip Mandelbread

6 eggs
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. matzo cake meal
2 T. potato starch
1/2 c. oil
2 c. chopped nuts
1 t. lemon juice
Lemon rind

Sift cake meal, starch through strainer.
Beat eggs with sugar. Add oil, lemon juice and rind.
Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in nuts.
Add 6 oz. chocolate chips to batter.
Spray cookie sheet pan. Spoon into 3 loaves.
Bake 30 minutes at 350.

Cut and slice into 1" pieces.
Turn on side. Return to oven 30 minutes or until crisp. 

April 5 Run: Start at 61C Cafe in Squirrel Hill for and Easter/Passover run

Starting at the 61C Cafe on Murray in Squirrel Hill - our newest coffee location, and the challenge is, in honor of both holidays, to cover as many churches and synagogues as we can in an hour.  I looked at Google Maps and it's kind of like a connect-the-dots puzzle.  If you do it you get an outline of a squirrel!

First, I promised to go back 2 weeks to our return to Robert E. Williams Memorial Park, aka Herron Hill Park which takes us to the top of the Hill and around the reservoir which gets an amazing view of the city in all directions.  Checking the blog, this is the 6th time we've been there - starting in 2008.  It seemed more rundown than in previous years but at least we weren't chased by a large ferocious dog (2010.) We circled back to Laurie's house for coffee, which was delightful in every way, though not least because of the pecan sticky buns.

Last Sunday we really tried to retrace an old route through Greenfield, and did get as far as Big Jim's, but we got off track when we were barred from the crumbling steps next to the church (alas no trespass) and we simply ad-libbed, hitting the Jail Trail, an old stairway off of Bates, and the conjunction of Romeo and Juliet Streets in South Oakland.

2 weeks worth of endorsements:

• Crying Towels - Laurie has one from her grandmother, and Wendy has uncovered related facts including an intriguing connection with Terrible Towels - to be revealed in the next installment!
• In a pinch, croup and any number of ailments can be treated with your dog's prescription for Prednizone
• Lenox, MA, Kripalu yoga retreat, and the Berkshires generally
• The Trapp Family Lodge - where the hills are alive 
• Clem's Barbecue in Blairsville - only an hour away
• Safe biking behavior - especially as the years pile on
• Mark Wahlberg (really)
• Monica Lewinsky's TED talk: The Price of Shame - generated a new look at that whole episode, and also this comment found later by Sarah. 

March 29 Run: starts at WQED parking lot, 4802 Fifth Ave., Oakland

Got up this morning and wondered:  where is the run tomorrow?  Oh-oh - I forgot to send out the message!

It's from the WQED parking lot, 4802 Fifth Ave. Oakland - though I think we can't park there - just find a spot nearby.  We're going to try to recreate Bobbie's Greenfield run from the early days.  Hope someone remembers :-)

Blog to be updated later with details of last week's terrific run and even better coffee at Laurie's

(forgive if you got this several times - some problems with eerunners email...)

March 22 Run: Meet at Laurie's house, 4401 Schenley Farms Terrace across from Schenley High School

Next week, Laurie has graciously invited us to start and have coffee afterwards at her house at 4401 Schenley Farms Terrace (map - maybe easiest to park on Centre or Bigelow.)  We'll most likely do the run up to the up to Robert E. Williams Memorial Park (aka Herron Hill Park) which was "created in 1889, and designated a Historic Landmark in 1989" in a "tree-lined residential section of the Hill known as Sugar Top. This park offers one of the most unique, panoramic views of Pittsburgh."  We've done it before, though not in a while.




On Sunday we met at Allegheny Cemetery, still a bit dark and creepy at 7:05.  After tooling around the streets for a while, we got brave, went in and spent the time running up and down and up and down its many hills - never finding Stephen Foster's grave - but occasionally stopping to gaze at (and be gazed at by) LOTS of deer, maybe gathering there to escape the Mt. Lebanon firing squads.  No real signs of spring yet, though those of us with eagle-eye vision perceived some tree buds.  Appealing coffee stop at the other Commonplace (was Voluto) Cafe on Penn.  

Endorsements:

•   Dish restaurant on the South Side

•   E2 and especially its Sunday Sauce event (click on Events)

•   Udipi Cafe - all vegetarian Indian

•   Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia

•   Taking teenage kids on vacation - NOT

March 15 Run: Allegheny Cemetery and thereabouts - meet at Penn Ave. entrance

On Sunday we are touring Allegheny Cemetery, looking for signs of spring, and perhaps picking up a bit of Friendship (of course) along the way.  Meet at the Penn Avenue entrance.  Not sure about coffee location.

Last week was still icy in unpredictable spots - I know this even though I missed the run itself but ran over to Virginia's later. However, lots of warmth (and deliciousness) in Virginia's kitchen afterwards, as we bid farewell to Tammy, who is moving to LA, but has promised to come back for visits.  Much interesting conversation, too much to report, but here are endorsements:
Netflix:
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Tina Fey's latest)
Hemlock Grove (if you don't mind creepiness)

Books:
Audio version of Tina Fey's Bossypants
Amy Poehler's Yes Please
My Brilliant Friend - and the Neapolitan Trilogy by Elena Ferrante

Movies yet to come, made in our fair city:
Let It Snow - production spotted recently in our neighborhoods
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - opening this summer in NYC - and featuring: several RG members!  Maybe planning a group trip to go see it there and do some circuits in Central Park, too.

Apps:
Busgazer - realtime information on Port Authority buses  - guaranteed to change your life
Pittsburgh Snow Plow Tracker - hopefully not to use until next year

Life:
Tammy's advice on using systems to make choices - please come back and tell us more.

March 8 Run: Virginia's house at 1200 Lancaster Ave. Regent Square

Thanks to Virginia for the following:

For those who have not heard, we're going to lose our running mate Tammy Thompson. But it's good news for her -- she's gotten a job in LA and will be leaving Pittsburgh the second week in March.

I'd like to give her a proper send-off by hosting an after-run breakfast at my house next Sunday, March 8. Tammy said she may not make it to the run, but she'll come afterward for the food!  

So instead of meeting at the 61C Cafe in Squirrel Hill, let's meet at my house: 1200 Lancaster Ave., 15218 Regent Square.  I'm at the corner of Sanders and Lancaster on the Frick Park side of Regent square. This is four blocks off of Braddock Avenue -- turn at the corner at Sanders and Braddock where Vanilla Pastry and Typhoon are located. \

Don't forget the clocks change for Daylight Saving that day. We lose an hour, but I'll have plenty of coffee -- caffeinated and caffeine-free.
See ya then -- Virginia

Last week:  Intrepid souls!

March 1 Run: Commonplace Coffee on Forbes in Squirrel Hill

Next Sunday - back to basics - we'll start at Commonplace Coffee on Forbes in Squirrel Hill, but probably actually have coffee at the 61C Cafe.  Don't ask me why, though it probably has something to do with pastry.

This is sort of like returning to our comfy home after 2 icy attempts to scale Mt. Dahntahn.  This last time, four of us simply ran from one block to the next, looking out from each corner to find a stretch of concrete in any direction that wasn't a skating rink.  We did find some, mainly in the bike lanes.  We also wandered around the fancy new Hotel Monaco, which kind of hits you in the face with over-the-top decorative touches (forgive the bias of someone in love with the William Penn), though the long, elegant bar was an exception, and we started planning a happy hour there soon.  8 a.m. was certainly a happy hour downtown that day, too, as the lines at both Starbucks AND Dunkin Donuts were immense, so no coffee either.  No wonder we're heading home.  (But we'll be back.)

Feb. 22 Re-Run: Omni William Penn hotel downtown - entrance on Wm. Penn Place

Next week:  a re-run of last week, which was to meet at the Omni William Penn Hotel downtown (entrance on Wm. Penn Place) and scope out new and old hotels, and anything else we like dahntahn.


OK, so last week didn't work out too well.  Running Group has been known to go out in all kinds of extreme weather, but this time (17 below wind chill?) was a bit much... except for the valiant and weather-defying Sarah! Our woolen hats (and buffs) are off to you!  Stay tuned for more adventures next week.

Feb. 15 Run: Omni William Penn hotel downtown - entrance on Wm. Penn Place

Post-Valentine's Day, we'll be meeting in the lobby of the William Penn hotel downtown, so we can visit, inspired by Virginia's intriguing description, the new Hotel Monaco downtown which is right next door.  We're going to really get a look inside (unlike last time when we tried to get past the security guard) and see how it compares to our old world favorite.  That will make for an interesting discussion over the Starbucks paper cups (no china! the only thing wrong with that place.)  Will there be hearts and roses?

Last Sunday we avoided the icy paths through the park, and headed down over the former slag heaps, through the shiny new Summerset development (and its gorgeous view) almost down to the Homestead Bridge, but then up, up, and up back to Beechwood with a quick trip past the houses of some neighborhood RG members who we tried to wake up. (Though admittedly some may have been out of town.)  The hills were a bit killer, but this is Squirrel Hill.  (In Spanish, La Colina de las Ardillas - more elegant, no?)  Unaccountably, though we had a pretty good turnout, nobody made it to coffee - which was a little sad.  And just as when a tree falls in the forest with no one to hear it, what of the endorsements when there is no napkin to write them on?

February 8 Run: Blue Slide park at the corner of Beechwood and Nicholson

Next week we'll check out the lay of the land at Blue Slide Park (Beechwood and Nicholson) and the rest of Frick Park from that starting point.  Depending on the ice and/or mud, we can either go through the park or follow Beechwood through it's twists and turns.  We're nothing if not spontaneous.

Last week at Bakery Square we were unexpectedly swamped by our running nemesis, The Fleet Feet franchise, the McDonald's of running groups. Hundreds of them!  Luckily we got off early, and just headed up the newly repaired Penn Ave. past many intriguingly hip storefronts, including the Center for Postnatural History and Los Sabrosos Dance Co. - which seriously made me think we were in Portland.  (Though my idea of Portland is purely imaginary.)  We entered the 19th century dignified calm of Allegheny Cemetery only to turn around and immediately head back to the Coffee Tree before the invading Fleet hordes returned.  In that very comfy space we endorsed:

• Nail polish - Opi brand Rosy Future and Color Zentury
• Cashmere sweaters for $4.50 ($3.75 with the over 55 discount!) at Goodwill
• Goodwill itself, particularly the new location in Lawrenceville and the Murrysville Clearing Center
• Etsy pattern for sewing mittens out of aforesaid cashmere 
• Making a quilt out of the t-shirts of your kids' childhoods
• The Wednesday/Friday fearsomely early morning runs, still going strong!
• Someone named Pauline downtown who repairs sweaters (I think this is it.)

January 25 Run: Strip to Lawrenceville starting at parking lot at 21st and Liberty

Next week will be a "real" (says Virginia) Lawrenceville run, starting at the parking lot at 21st and Liberty, with the traditional Italian stand-up coffee at La Prima.

Last week we had only a moderately-Lawrenceville run, since we ran through it pretty quickly and headed over the longish, scenic and historic 40th St. (aka Washington Crossing) Bridge to Millvale - this time checking out the original Pamela's (we must have breakfast there sometime), the place that used to be the weird acrylic furniture store (things that are not there anymore), the Grist House Brewery, which is next to a canal-appearing waterway evidently called Girty's Run (which has its own Facebook page, updated 7 hours ago!)  Aimee said it was a bit like the Netherlands in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh being the operative word.)  Also spotted:  an inflatable to rival Our Lady of the Inflatables (see earlier post) - Santa and his entourage up on a rooftop.

Various thumbs up for Espresso a Mano cafe where we could set up a long table (great attendance!) and endorse:

• The Greens Cookbook
• Instagram? or Facebook?
• Shining Light Prenatal Education - evidence-based
• Local honey
• Miracle berries - taste-changers
• Not endorsed:  Fire-retardant anything, now shown to be poisonous - let's hear it for evidence!

January 18 Run: Rite Aid parking lot on Butler at 40th St. in Lawrenceville

Next week we'll have a Lawrenceville run, starting at the Rite Aid parking lot on Butler St., corner of 40th St., to check out its new shops, restaurants and galleries, get some great coffee at Espresso a Mano, and generally get in touch with our inner hipsters.  (We'll deal with our hips some other time.)

Last Sunday we ran through Highland Park, through some frigid temperatures and in some new directions - not all of them deliberate - all of which seemed to go uphill.  At the top, when we reached the icy reservoir, we found our reward:  certainly one of the most glowing sunrises RG has come across, captured perfectly here by Aimee.  More rewards:  passing many tastefully restored old houses, a solid 4.8 miles traversed, and of course a leisurely coffee at the exceedingly cozy Tazza D'Oro.



General exhilaration resulted in many endorsements:

• The Pittsburgh Hiking Meetup, inspiration for Joanne's aforementioned brave freezing dunk off the Mon Wharf.
• New and old potty-training methods
• Honey cardamom lattes and ginger hot chocolates
• Sweden!
• Addictive watching: The Returned on Netflix (the French Twin Peaks)
• Addictive listening:  Serial (this is already so popular that if you Google the word "serial" you will see nothing else for pages)
• Many books!
• All the light we cannot see
• Love in the time of cholera
• Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• The Position
• The Joy of Sex
• The debt to pleasure
• The happiest toddler on the block
• The Boston girl
• And the new bookstore in Squirrel Hill - Classic Lines - ironically opened by the guy who brought the Internet to Carnegie Library years ago

January 11 Run: Highland Park starting at Tazza D'Oro on Highland

I only know the basics because I was in NYC for the last 2 runs:  this coming Sunday, we'll start at Enrico's Tazza D'Oro on Highland Ave. near Bryant.  Joanne - this run's for you!  Not only because we really like it when you lead the HP run, but we are celebrating your New Year's bravery.  (But if you can't come, we'll understand and celebrate it anyway.)

I only have one endorsement: mine! Article in Grist.org about international running maps.  Full disclosure, my daughter Eve just got a job there, and is getting health insurance!  Also, I have the answer to the author's Boston question:  it's because almost everyone who lives there is under 25.)

January 4 Run: Later changed to: 5 Points Bakery on Wilkins - also New Year's Day Holiday Run at 7:30 a.m. from Starbucks on Forbes and Shady

Next runs: the default New Year's Day holiday run Thursday at 7:30 a.m. from Starbucks at Forbes and Shady (figuring that other places will be closed?) - and the Sunday run from our new go-to coffee location, the 61C Cafe on Murray. [Later changed to 5 Points Bakery on Wilkins.]  I have no idea where it will go, just where it will go to.

Last Sunday, as I set off in the midst of a steady rain, I thought - oh, boy, I really shouldn't have said that about never raining on the run - was just tempting fate - and now I have to go because I offered to lead - yech.  But, lo and behold:  five minutes after we started, the skies cleared, and we were hardly damp.  So again, ye of little faith!  Although it's true many of us are out of town. We had a small but as always loquacious group, traversed Larimer, Point Breeze, Shadyside, East Liberty, Friendship, and Garfield, and again got to witness the Moravian stars shining through the gloom at the corner of Hastings and Selwyn. 

Perhaps the number of endorsements is inversely correlated to the number of endorsers? Probably it's just that I can only pick up one conversation at a time -

• Serial - gotta listen
• This American Life and NPR apps: you never have to be without them
• Things that you think you are making happen, but you are probably wrong:  elevator and street crossing buttons
• What do to about the environmental cost of flying somewhere - carbon offsetting?
• Get your personal budgeting act together
• Children's books! Even the forgotten ones 
• Toys:  wobbles, toy drones (oy - actually this was endorsed at Shadyside Variety, itself an endorsement)

December 28 Run: Bakery Square Coffee Tree - and Christmas Day Holiday Run: 7:30 am Commonplace Coffee on Forbes

Don't forget the holiday run on Christmas Day - 7:30 a.m. from Commonplace Coffee on Forbes (but we'll have coffee afterwards at Starbucks, since they'll be the only place open.)
And on Sunday, I'll call this one, since we didn't make a plan:  meet at the Bakery Square Coffee Tree, (map) for a 5-neighborhood run with Moravian stars. 
And, a reminder for all you early-birds who love the thrill of racing down a hill in pitch darkness, the 5:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday runs from Forbes and Shady are still happening! 

On Sunday, our traditional holiday dahntahn event had an excellent turnout and good weather, and we ranged over the usual sights.  I have to say that the run itself seemed somewhat uninspired this year - maybe because all the downtown construction has the place looking disheveled, or because the Macy's windows were pathetic, the new Mellon Square was fenced off, the sound sculpture was NOT fixed, Market Square looks like a Shantytown, and the City menorah was STILL crappy.  We took a quick tour inside Macy's, which was OPEN, and which may have depressed everybody. OK, let's suppress the grinch: there were bright spots.  The crazy Steeler-paraphernalia vendors were ready to go at 7 a.m., the carols wafting out of the subway stop were sweet, and the quick illegal entry into the almost-done hip new Kimpton Hotel was kind of fun.  And of course the always beautiful dawn views over the river.
And, there were many endorsements!

• Yummy oatmeal cookies (Joy of Cooking recipe) brought by Carrie
• Sharpsburg eateries:  the Gran Canal Caffe for dinner and the Cafe on Main for breakfast.
• Mah-jongg Meetup at Panera in Bakery Square (but no beginner's classes yet...)
• Dreadnought Wines wine-tasting - we are now planning a RG event on February 6 - stay tuned
• "Add your own recipes" feature on Epicurious - they will be there forever
• Undercover Boss starring Bill Peduto - was Sunday night - hope you saw it!  Though it was pretty cheesy.  Oh dear, grinch is returning...