Take me out to the ballgame...

This past Wednesday John and I went to see the Pirates play the Dodgers at PNC Park. As you can see, the crowd was a bit sparse, but we had a lot of fun. The seats were perfect to see the plays develop including a grand slam home run by Adam LaRoche. (Click here for the highlight.)

John got to learn a lot about baseball, but he sure enjoyed the food and the fireworks. We had hot dogs, Dr. Pepper and cotton candy on top of dinner at Wendy's. Then we got to enjoy the center field fireworks after each home run, and there were a few. The game ended in a Pirate blowout, 15-8!


We parked in a high rise ramp between PNC Park and the Andy Warhol Museum. Each level featured a Warhol painting as a reminder. We parked on level 4, the Brillo level. It's between the Grace Jones and Bill Murray levels.

Take what you like from that fact.

Wedding Day

Here's John at a wedding we attended last week. I think he was excited to wear a suit because he was the first one dressed before we went out the door.

The wedding was great. The couple are in their fifties. It is a second marriage for both and much happiness for all.

The bride is a member of our church so the wedding was there but the pastor was from the groom's church. The pastor knew the groom only as Steve and did not know his real first name is Ralph. As a result every time he referred to the groom he said, "do your Rrrrralph take Katherine...?"

The couple will live in at the groom's house in Chagrin Falls, OH. We will miss Kathy, but we are all VERY happy for her. They both are very blessed.

"What's that Dad?"

 

A few weeks ago, John and I were at his friend Andrew's house.  Andrew's mom had redecorated their foyer with an antique sewing machine and typewriter with a sheet of paper in the platen.  John stopped at the typewriter, paused for a few seconds, and studied it.  Finally he, "Dad! Look! It's a keyboard/printer."

I then explained that it is called a typewriter and it is the way people wrote things neatly B.C. (before computers).  He understood that fact, then said, "Wow, there isn't a screen at all!"

At that point I was relieved that Andrew took John into the family room.  Otherwise I would have started to bore John with tired old stories of college reporting classes in which I sat in a room full of typewriters much like the one above tapping out stories to meet the the end of class deadline.

Big Party

 

Here's Andy, Betty and Bobbie at the big christening party this past weekend.  One of the Ballet Ladies had a baby back in May.  Little Natalie was baptized this past Saturday in an outdoor ceremony with a full contingent of family from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Mexico City.

While any occasion suits the Ballet Ladies, this one was extra special.

Everything must change...

...or at least get updated. This is the Taco Bell location on the main drag in my hometown. When I was in high school it was much smaller and very different. First, the store was originally called Taco Joe's and featured a fiberglass statue of a surfer in front. Naturally after being frequently vandalized, they gave up on the statue. The entire chain followed "Surfer Joe" to the dustbin soon thereafter. Taco Bell moved in a few months later in 1970. It was the taco stand of the future. Avacado green bricks formed an arch for the front window with an abundance of stainless steel lighted by buzzing florescent lamps inside. I think you can understand the update.

Tacos were $0.21. Bean Burritos were $0.19. It was fashionable to ask for green sauce instead of red. At that time they also had extra hot picante sauce by special request. With a medium Dr. Pepper it was a decent midnight meal for under a buck. You just couldn't eat it while driving...they still need to work on that one.

Then sometimes things disappear altogether. This Bank of the West branch is on the hallowed McDonald's site. It had the original golden arches and Mr. Hamburger sign and a tiny parking lot that held perhaps a dozen cars. It was too popular for its location. At closing time, 10 PM on weeknights, the parking lot was still choked with high school kids cruising for burgers. It's central location ensured that kids from all five high schools in town could share a common repast of greasy food. French fries - the common unifier of man!

The area fell on hard times in the mid 1980s and was declared a "disadvantaged" area in the late 1990s. In this decade the area has come back thanks to the legitimizing effect of this California based bank and a Barnes and Noble across the street on a bulldozed Mr. Donut location. Now that's progress!

Speaking of the Past

This past week I was in my hometown visiting my parents. During a free moment I drove past my high school and took this shot. From the looks of things, I guess it is under construction. Either that or the school is now accomodating the smokers - making things more comfortable for them.

In reality, the school has expanded extensively and is now twice as large as it was when I attended it so many years ago. The senior parking lot is now an athletic center with an olympic sized swimming pool. The courtyard has been covered over to create a new lunchroom and gathering center. Many of my friends' kids now attend the school or graduated. I know my friends are careful not to become too nostalgic and bore their kids with stories of the hardship of walking in the snow across the baseball fields from the underclassman parking lot over on 40th Street.

I enjoyed high school and it's fun to visit, but it's really the friendships that developed there that are much more important than the building.

Hope it's better now...

Every so often I reminisce about Minneapolis, then quickly get over it. So just allow me this reverie and then I will be done.

At the dawning of the 1980s, I lived in the building pictured below in a studio apartment that was...well let's just say "rough around the edges." But it was mine. The first place I ever lived alone, no roommates, just me to blame for all the dirty dishes in the sink. Besides, the location was great, situated between Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis' trendy Uptown neighborhood.

My Mom and Dad saw it once. God bless them. I don't think I would have their wisdom and patience say nothing while my kids willingly lived in a...well, let's call it and "urban experience."

Nonetheless, when I am restless and trying to fall asleep, I still think about how I would remodel this place, but instead of a crappy Pier One location on Excelsior Boulevard and Knox Lumber in Hopkins, I would use IKEA and Lowe's. The thought is so remote, I usually go to sleep right away!


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I paid eight bucks for this picture...

...that's the toll for the George Washington Bridge. This photo was taken on the eastbound lanes. That's the first bridge pier up ahead. I took this shot this past Wednesday afternoon while on a business trip to New Jersey and Connecticut. It's about 4:10 PM at this point and traffic was pretty good except for the truck that broke down at the other end of the bridge. After a pretty drive on the Merritt Parkway, we got to our destination in eastern Fairfield county Connecticut at about 5:20 PM.

It was a humid day and I was driving, so NY skyline photos were not worth the bother. We could see the Empire State, Chrysler Building etc. but not very well. No skyline on the return trip. We stayed north taking I-287 crossing the Hudson at the Tappen Zee bridge and heading home on I-80. Overall it was a good trip, but one I am glad not to have to make every week.

200th Post!!!

This is the 200th post to the Little House! Thanks for reading and coming back!

To mark this event, we have redesigned the site!

Please keep coming back and as always feel free to share what you think.

Festival Time

Here's Janine and Nana, hand in hand at last week's festival at Nana's church. We all enjoyed eating dinner and playing some of the games. It was a more subdued time this year than last. Click here to compare. This year we stayed close to Nana who did not venture from the picnic tables.

The "rides" at this year's festival were rented giant inflatables manned by teenage volunteers. When I said same to the parish priest, he replied, "Nicer than the carnies last year. Right?" Funny, I felt the same way. Here is John on the slide. The new Lumix did a good job here. I held the shutter button down half way. The camera readied itself and took the shot exactly at the right moment...however blurred.

Gitty-up

Saturday we went to a picnic at North Park when we heard voices from the trees from the trees up the hill. Then we saw people seemingly floating along behind a hedge. As they reached the clearing we finally understood they were on horses!

The group took a break before reaching the bottom of the hill and crossing the intersection. It was quite a sight to see the cars next to the horses. Thankfully the drivers were patient and so were the horses.

Summer Flashback

Here's one from last summer. That's our friend Sue Harris with the kids at the marina in Gloucester, MA. This photo was on a roll of film that languished until recently.

Bobbie and the kids went up there last July for a week's visit. It was a great break for them. As usual they fit in an historical stop at the USS Constitution and a brief walk past the Old North Church on the way to an Italian restaurant. Great photo. It's about time it got on the blog.

John Test Photos

Here are some photos of John that I took with the new camera. The first one is a keeper. The rest are testing the forced flash on different ISO settings as well as some tests of the Intelligent Auto function. The flash setting seems to add a lot of contrast and does not fill as well as I thought. But I have found myself putting my finger over it when I hold the camera awkwardly.

But that's the point of testing the camera out. Trying and learning is part of the fun.

Sunday note: What a difference a monitor makes! I am posting this note on the iMac and all the photos look better. The LCD display must have a softer contrast than the old Dell CRT.

Girl Scout Camp

This was day camp week for Janine's Girl Scout troop. They had a great time in the rain and the sun. The camp site was only 10 minutes away in North Park, but it is so heavily wooded it might as well have been deep in the forest.

Sarah's leadership skills and sense of responsibility impressed Janine's group leaders so they invited her to be a teen helper despite the fact that she has never been a Girl Scout. I guess they viewed her as a legacy because her mom was one as well as her sister.

She took along the camera only for the first day which was humid and rainy. Yesterday they missed the storm that soaked the rest of the city. Of the photos she took these are the best. Of course there is a self portrait as well as one of her new friends, the troop leader's older daughter. As you can tell, it's pretty steep terrain.

I had to drop by today with beach towels for water day, but forgot my camera, but no worries, Sarah did a good job of capturing the moments.

DC Trip

Everyone enjoyed their trip to Washington DC two weeks ago. Even though I was left behind, I did enjoy the quiet for the first few days. But after that, I was glad to have everyone home last Monday.

Here's a slideshow of the cousins and the monuments, and the cousins having a great time together.