Downtown Pittsburgh is notoriously dead after dark and on the weekends, which is why we were surprised to find ourselves in a traffic jam last Sunday. As we inched through the cultural district, the reason was revealed. Menopause...the Musical? We navigated carefully, as the streets were filled with post-menopausal women streaming in from as far away as Ohio. I'm guessing that you pretty much have to have gone through menopause, before it's funny enough to view in musical format.
Last weekend, Thom and Madeline came to visit Pittsburgh. This being Madeline's first visit to our fine city, we found ourselves once again on the Duquesne Incline, on another frigid, winter day. The views of the skyline can't be beat though. We then went to the Andy Warhol Museum, where we saw a truly bizarre Ron Mueck exhibit, containing lots of giant, and some miniature, extremely life-like sculptures of humans. I would actually consider this a must-see, if you are willing to spend $15 on art. Especially for the tiny man in the row boat, and the giant, slimy newborn human, complete with umbilical cord. The cold weather made some of my preferred tourist activities (ice skating, hiking in Schenley Park) undesirable, so we spent a good part of the day in various bars, watching football. A very Pittsburgh thing to do, nonetheless.
I could say a lot more about Golden Boy and Flick's visit to the Burgh last month, but a picture's worth a thousand words. Nothing like karaoke to liven up a Saturday night. Wish I had photos of the bowling that occurred later. The funniest thing was that after a VERY long night, we returned to La Casita and set up the old projector screen(relatives of mine will remember it as belonging to my grandfather) and watched a slide show of AT photos. I know most people are sort of tired of hearing us talk about it, so it was good to reminisce with people who will never grow tired of talking about it.
As promised here are a few photos of our recent bike trip to Connelsville. Here I am getting ready to leave our apartment. At this point, I have no idea how much my behind is going to hurt the next day. I am not much of a gear head, so most of my gear is icky, old hiking gear, so I don't really look as fashionable as many do on a bicycle. 
Here is another photo of us once we got onto the bike trail. The thirteen or so miles to McKeesport were the most difficult of the trip. I got a flat tire on the Rankin Bridge, traffic is no picnic, and it was kind of cold. The day warmed up as we went, though, and once we got on the smooth, packed limestone surface of the trail, with warm sunshine on our face, it was quite pleasant. This trail also has a TON of places to stop, including toilets, on the side of the trail.
M and I discovered this weekend that we are within very easy reach of some lovely weekend getaways....and we don't even have to get in our car. This past weekend we biked out to Connelsville, PA, on the Youghiogheny River Trail, which is part of the Great Allegheny Passage. We rented a cabin at the River's Edge Campground, and the trip was about 55 miles each way, door to door. About 42 miles of that was on the bike path, which is flat, packed limestone and pretty scenic. The rest was on city streets between our place in Bloomfield and McKeesport, where the trail starts.
Highlights of the trip include the cabin, which turned out to be heated, with a hot shower and bathtub, full kitchen and lovely view of the river, as well as some wildlife along the trail - lots of ducks and geese, turkeys, a beautiful red-headed woodpecker, and some unidentified birds that had striking yellow patches on the undersides of their wings, but were otherwise rather drab in color.
I am a little sore from all that biking, and we were terribly muddy on the way back since it rained and we don't have fenders on our bikes. Nonetheless, we consider it a successful trip and plan to again real soon.
How did I end up here...a teacher who doesn't believe in school?
Let me clarify. I love to read. I believe in teaching reading. I believe in teaching. I believe in learning.
But I think school might just be a very bad idea.
Today, while I was lining up my students to get on the bus, one of my cutest, youngest, and least conformed students came trotting over to the line, a joyful bounce in his step.
Go back and walk, I said.
He went back...and skipped back to the line, joyful bounce still intact.
Go back and walk, I told him again. He looked sheepish.
He went back and started walking. And then the joyful bounce came back. He looked at me.
I can't, he said.
Yes you can, I told him. He took a few more steps. It looked painful. He took a few more. The joyful bounce returned.
I looked at him. His face crinkled up in the way that only a frustrated kindergartener's can.
Go back and walk.
He went back.
And walked to the line, bounce free. He sat down and played with his hat. I took roll and put them on the bus.
Another day, another dollar. Another free spirit squashed, thanks in part to me.
Yes, it's that time to reflect on another year come and gone. Here are some personal highlights from '07, the Year of the Pig, according to the Chinese Calendar.
1. I have now been out of high school for ten years. I did not celebrate by going to the reunion because I don't think there was one.
2. M and I celebrated four years of marriage and 11 years of general togetherness.
3. Despite former proclamations that I would never work at Pitt again, I did. Twice. But on a temporary basis. I have decided that it is a place I will always go back to when I don't know what else to do. It's just so comfortably predictable.
4. Doing our taxes this year will be pretty easy since we weren't employed all that much.
5. I learned how to make vegan baked goods such as cupcakes and cookies, from my gifted baker friend, Sloan. Up until this point being vegan was a really good way to keep the post-college pounds off. Now that I have discovered Earth Balance, and the fact that eggs do very little in many baked goods, my sugar consumption is way up. Something to consider for '08.
6. I went to my first baby shower for a friend. Go Trisha and Jamie! We are very happy for you. I wonder if all my friends will start having babies now.
7. I spent way too much money trying to get the state of Pennsylvania to certify me to teach, considering I am not all that sure I want to continue to teach here.
8. And, oh yeah, I walked 2,174 miles from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail. That took up a lot of '07.
I have to say that as years go, this has been a pretty incredible one. I would do 2007 over again. Or maybe I should just try to do some equally awesome stuff in 2008.
M and I have had a nice few days here in P-Burgh with our family. My sister came in from California, and I actually saw my brother several times(he lives here, but is very busy with school and work so we hardly ever see each other). It was a holiday filled with traditions, which I think is something sorely lacking for many Americans these days.
We kicked things off with my parents' annual Canadian wine tasting dinner on Friday. For the past few years, they have visited the Niagara region in the fall, and brought back a few bottles to share with us at Christmas time. My dad made his famous garlic paste, and we feasted on fajitas. I like this relatively new tradition, because it gives me a chance to visit with just my parents and siblings and their significant others.
Every year my youngest cousins come over to my parents' house on the 23rd (Christmas Eve Eve, as we like to call it), and we bake cookies, decorate, and generally entertain them. Originally, it gave my aunt and uncle a chance to get some last minute shopping done or just enjoy some time to themselves. Now it is a way for my sister and I to spend some time with them, since we don't see them all that often during the year. This year, when I went up to my parents' place I found that very little decorating had been done and no cookies had been baked. Instead, my dad, Cassie, Kelly and Danna were hunched over 500 puzzle pieces scattered across the kitchen table. Aunt Elaine soon arrived, although she provided mainly emotional support for the puzzlers, taking the very sane position that the pieces were too small, too numerous and too shiny. The glare from these glittering pieces was enough to drive one mad, which was very nearly the result by late afternoon on Christmas Eve.
As we put the puzzle together, the girls reminisced about other adventures from years past. My sister and I used to have an apartment in Shadyside when we were going to Pitt, and we brought the girls and their brother down several times for a sleep-over. We took them to the zoo, and to the top of the Cathedral of Learning to look out over the city. Neither of us had a car, so we went everywhere on the city bus, which turned out to be the most memorable experience for them.
During this conversation it occured to me that it is not enough to simply share experiences with your family...an important bonding occurs in the years that follow as you recount what you have done together, over and over again, adding to the family oral history. Children (and adults) love to hear stories that feature them as main characters, and they will soon begin retelling these tales if you give them the chance. Who cares if the stories change a little over time? (For instance, Kelly remembers nearly being hit by a bus, which I'm sure my sister and I would NEVER let happen.)
Now back to the puzzle....
Puzzles are certainly not a tradition in my family. My dad pulled it out of the attic with the other Christmas decorations, and no one is sure where it came from. It was a very complicated drawing of a Christmas tree, with lots of pictures and color schemes repeated, and there were no straight edges. Instead the puzzle followed the contour of the tree. And don't even get me started on the glitter.
When M and I returned to the house on Christmas Eve, my sister and father were still working on the puzzle. Much progress had been made, but it was nowhere near finished. Somehow, they had managed to bake several dozen cookies, but dinner was not ready. About 20 minutes before the rest of the extended family was supposed to show up, we realized how little had been done and we sprung into action. Miraculously (and also in large part because my uncle works at an Italian restaurant and had brought the non-vegan entrees) dinner was ready on time.
After eating, we began the tradition of the poppers. This is a tradition started by my Aunt Denise. I do not know where she gets these things, but they are sort of like those little firecrackers that you throw on the ground to pop instead of lighting them. But instead of throwing the poppers, DC graps one side and one of us grabs the other and we pull. It pops, everybody cheers and a prize falls to the ground. Usually the prize is some cheap little trinket like a mini flashlight or a magnifying glass, but this year a large pair of toenail clippers came flying out of Kelly's popper! The other things that fall out include a paper crown and a paper with some really bad jokes and/or fortunes on it. I am hoping that someone in my family will email me a picture of us with our crowns on, since I neglected to take one with my camara.
So Christmas has come and gone, once again. This is the 12th...yes 12th...Christmas for M & K.
One of the greatest things about hiking is that when you meet people on the trail, it is really easy to become friends. There are few experiences in life that you can truly share with other people, but walking 2,174 miles in someone else's shoes is certainly one of them. On the AT, people tend to gather around the shelter areas at night, so not only did we walk with other hikers, but we also cooked, bathed, sat around and slept right next to each other. Sometimes we would be with another hiker every day for a month or more. Other times, we would see them one night and then split up and not see them again for a while. The great thing is that we could always pick up right where we left off.
Last week, Caveman of Ohio came into town for our Christmas party, and this weekend, Golden Boy and Flick visited. While it is fun to tell stories to our friends and family members, there is something special about reminiscing with people who were actually there.
The party was a great time! Here are some of my relatives in front of the Christmas tree. My mother's side of the family is really starting to be dominated by women. Most of them tasted the wassail and liked it. I also heard a lot of "I can't believe those cookies are vegan!" The weather continues to be gray, bleak and cold here in the Burgh. I am feeling a bit under the weather, likely caught a cold from one of my students. Vitamin C and copious amounts of water are in order!
Posts
