a dubious Pittsburgh connection

I made a new tote bag. This one has no text, no special screen print...It is made from a section of a piece of fabric that was formerly acting as a curtain in the window. Cormac could not take that the colors of the curtain did not match any of the other colors in the room. I agreed that we could take it down and seconds, no less than seconds, later,he was gleefully tearing the curtain from the window. I thought, huh, that would make some good tote bags...so I washed, cut and sewed. The first one is available at the Agency on Etsy.
Pittsburgh connection? Well, going to IKEA can be an awful experience, but going there with my mom is hilarious! She really can't stand it and makes hilarious jokes,and we see how many little pencils we can have in our pockets by the end of the maze. This fabric came from the bargain bin in the "as-is" room in the Pittsburgh IKEA. The last stop in the store before my mom and I counted pencils.

hmmm-ie hmmm and the "funky brunch"

A search for "The Dancer's Pointe, Pittsburgh dance supply store" brought me to this National Geographic travel blog entry about a brunch stop at the Zenith tea room in Pittsburgh. That is where this picture of a Mr. Peanut scooper and similarly posed drawing on a pair of nylons was taken.
A future post about the Dancer's Pointe and Pittsburgh Snax and Nut Company to come...

Little Pittsburgh talks about Big Pittsburgh

A little while back, a travel to Pittsburgh in the New York Times.

a kitchen rainbow bow

an old story

"you won't understand that guy's shirt"

Yesterday morning, I was drinking my cup of "Big Ben blend" from Prestogeorge in the Strip district and talking to my dear friend, brain sharer and collaborator, Elizabeth. The day before, I had finally put the mountain of clothes that had grown since February away in the proper drawers, closets and laundry baskets. The mass of garments had covered two stuffed pals who reside on the arm chair that had provided the structural frame for Mount Laundry. While talking to Elizabeth, I rested my gaze on "Teddy" and "Teddy." One of the "Teddy"s is wearing the original "Pure Lunacy" t shirt. Well, not really the original original. Another brain sharer friend, Matt and I had seen the original Pure lunacy t-shirt while bargain shopping for bootleg Steelers props and such in the Strip District two years ago, when we were all still high on the recent ring. The original had a painting like flurry of an illustration of Troy Polamalu in a tornado cloud. And the shirt said in one corner, "The Polamanian Devil" and in the other, "Pure Lunacy." That is the start of Pure Lunacy for me. Teddy is wearing the first Pure Lunacy t shirt I made, iron-on letters applied with haste onto a t shirt from Gabriel Brothers,and he is wearing my Steelers hat, given to me by Matt on New Years Eve, 2006/07. Teddy has been wearing these items since the end of this past Steelers season (the shirt) and the end of cold winter (the hat).
My childhood was one without Star Wars. My uncle gave me an Ewok for Christmas when I was seven. I ditched the cape it was wearing and I named it Teddy.I knew about Pizza the Hut and Perriair. I didn't see Star Wars until 2001. Elizabeth has never seen Star Wars, but she really knows Pizza the Hut and Perriair, a Space Balls expert. She fell asleep the one and only time she tried to watch Star Wars. As we were talking, I thought about this formerly shared knowledge/lack of knowledge. Shared before we really knew each other, but it is hard to believe that (that we ever didn't know each other). And, Elizabeth was recently described as something like the all time greatest Steelers fan, which is true. And there he was all decked out, ready for the upcoming season, still dressed from the last, Teddy who is still more a bear than an Ewok.

waiting

waiting for September. I guess that is part of what summer is about.

listen here to a little light jam for a nice Tuesday afternoon.

no one near Mall Road

At the moment 11:44 AM of near empty gas tank anxiety, passing the West Texas road house, where you can have something like "great grub," and a tiny little hilltop bar, while having waited to stop for gas until we reached the exit we would take to get to the Gabriel Brothers on Mall Road, all on our way back to Columbus from Pittsburgh having had great weekends with family and superpals, queued No One on the local radio station, looks like 95.7. Before the video started (taken by Cormac, because I was driving) we (Meg, Cormac and I) thought that we would sing a long. We all felt shy, but you can,of course, hear my strained voice. And, if you strain your ears you can hear Meg hum the melody. Plus plus...anxious turn signal!

We passed a Bonanza Steak House and a Rax in the shopping plaza on the way over to the Gabriel Brothers, home of deals and irregulars! The Rax was closed, we think, but still! Memories of Chocolate Chip milk shakes enjoyed when Mandy and I would tag along to the Great Southern Shopping center in Bridgeville, PA on the days that Abby the poodle had his hair done. Followed by perfume wars at the JC Penney.

You don't have to strain your ears this time to hear No One on the radio on our way to get gas and then get deals at Gabriel Brothers

no one at wholey's fish market :: Pittsburgh

Visiting Pittsburgh, 6/7/08, my mom,Cormac and I were waiting to place our order at Wholey's fish market. Just as our number was called, around 2:15, No One came on the radio. I shoved the burlap coffee sacs I bought for material's sake at Prestogeorge coffee roasters next door into Cormac's hands and fumbled for the camera. While the song played, and we placed our order, I continued to take little videos. This was my favorite. Wholey's has little decorations here and there.
Here is a good one. Strain your ears and you will hear No One at Wholey's looking at the mini ferris wheel.

She didn't cook plantains; that's for dang sure.

Over the past week, I have been coming to understand, through practice, the love and belabored decoration of the backyard. Admittedly, too, I am also coming to understand the competitive spirit of the backyard. It is like a sport.
Cormac and I are renters, so our backyard additions are small and temporary. We can easily move our backyard to our next backyard, wherever that might be. But, we did feel more grown up after buying a patio table set and a grill. Our next door neighbors have a hammock and a bigger grill.
And, I planted a little herb garden in pots to sit on the table.
Our neighbors are installing a row of trees along our shared fence.

My Uncle Herb and Aunt Shirley camped every summer in Vacationland on Sandy Lake in Northwestern PA. The community where they parked their RV was called Retirement Village. So: Retirement Village, Vacationland.
My mom and I visited one day; I think we were surprising them. When we arrived, Uncle Herb was just finishing the installation of a "sidewalk," about 4 square feet in area, at the door of their camper. The sidewalk did not extend to the gravel road; it just ended. Uncle Herb meticulously planted flowers around the sidewalk.
He was very proud of the sidewalk.
He told us that every evening he would walk around the neighborhoods of Vacationland and scope out the new additions to each camper lot's landscaping. He wanted to have the best yard. A veteran of Las Vegas trips and after holiday meal "penny ante" card games, Uncle Herb would "see and raise" any lawn improvement he saw worthy of his competition. He was serious about it, but we all shared an afternoon of healthy laughter.
No one but Uncle Herb had a sidewalk.

During this week of acquiring backyard equipment, I cooked plantains for dinner inspired to keep the island alive here in Columbus as best as possible and because they are good. The smell of frying plantains smells just like Aunt Shirley and Uncle Herb's house in Pittsburgh.

Once again, my mom is cooler than me

Check out Marlene Boyle's etsy site!!!!
She makes lovely pinch pots fired with plants. The plant's image is burned onto the surface of the clay during the firing.They end up looking photographic and ghostly. Also, coming soon if she lets me: Pgh Travel Agency will feature a studio visit with Marlene. I think she might be the only artist who works in clay in a carpeted room and you would never know it! She magically contains all of the clay dust. It is impressive. Ask Naomi.


This pot was fired with oregano.

Plus, when my mom has a pen to paper, you can rub her shoulders and her hand stays steady and her calligraphy impeccable.

Plus, plus, "Go Pens" and "Steeler Nation" !!!!!!!