South by Southwest: December 2012

Daily happenings

Grace really enjoys going to the Baby and Me hour at the library. (She does not prefer the toddler hour.) We take Sheldon, so we're legit, but really it's for G and her baby. She sings "Bouncy Mouse" and "Trot Old Joe" and then listens to the stories.

Nap-time is changing these days. We still observe it, but some days G talks to herself for two hours. Other days she falls asleep. Some days there is evidence that she did not stay in bed for the duration.

We made a Rice Krispie house.

Sheldon thought it was delish.

He loves to stand!

Sheldon at 10 months

Love him!!!

Day Trip to Ligonier

My aunt gave us an excuse to visit the Lenox Warehouse, so one fall day we did some fun shopping. And on the way home we drove through Ligonier.

Shel's first ice cream cone.

Grace had hers with sprinkles.

Americana street, toy store in foreground, cemetery on rolling hill.

It's fall at the fort!

White Mountain Ice Cream

David has been looking for a hand-crank White Mountain ice cream maker for years. His search came to a successful end in October, when he found this on Craigslist.

It's as old as it looks. But D's made some great ice cream, so I've stopped teasing him.

It's a one-quart sized and freezes in about 15 minutes. He found that the rock salt in the basement (used to melt snow on the driveway) also works in this machine. He's made a Helen Corbitt's lemon velvet and a cinnamon flavor (trying to match the delicious dessert we had on a date to Alma's Pan-Latin restaurant).

The man who sold us the maker is a tall man in his 50s, with grey-blue eyes. He lives in Ellwood City, an hour from Pittsburgh in a little round home with his wife and two daughters. He showed us his barn and his plans to convert the upper portion into a rental-loft and the lower portion into a venue for private musical concerts. He discussed theater with David, and told us about his family and his connectedness to that particular plot of Pennsylvania countryside. We left him refreshed and happy. There are kind people tucked away in all parts of this world.

Phipps Night

At the end of October, our very cool local greenhouse hosted a members only night. The reason was to showcase their new "living building", which had a garden roof and nearly all three very difficult to get certifications (last one pending, as the building has to be used for one year). The interior of the building smelled fresh and lovely. And that was as far as I got, because Sheldon dropped his plastic cup one too many times and I decided we'd go back to raiding the black bean and corn salsa.

There was also vegetarian paella and little white bags of popcorn. Something for everyone.

The night was clear and warm (76 degrees; I checked on the way home.) "I really, really like going on a date with Daddy and Mommy!" Grace said. Sheldon, of course, partied on well past his bedtime--there were lots of people and that's all the boy needs to be happy.

End of Summer / Early Fall Recap

We've already got the Christmas tree up, but I found a few photos from this summer and I wanted to note them.

Chillin' with the McPhersons at Dormont Pool

We went with our neighbors to Morris Farm. Our neighbors keep a garden in their backyard, and in their spare time they come here to volunteer. Morris Farm is organic, so Grace was able to enjoy eating tomatoes and green beans right off the vine.

We took a quick trip to see the Meissenheimers, who were staying with the Pecks in D.C.

My little redheaded boy.

The whole gang on the night we arrived.

Sweet Carrie is expecting their second. Copeland is a cutie!

Pittsburgh has yearly "RAD" days, where many of Pittsburgh's museums are free to the public. We took the kids (for the second year) to the Children's Museum and (for the second year) swore never to return on a free day.