The previous neighbor had planted ferns. Along his side of the driveway. I’d never planted a single fern on my side Only a couple survived on his side . Just look at the lush ferns that blew over to me.
. But look at what blew over to my side!
My friend Tookie texted “Good morning, I just saw on the news that “Chalk Art ” is going on on the North Shore. Some of the art work was amazing. Maybe something for you and Shanti to explore on this beautiful day!!! to let me know that Riverlife Chalkfest was happening Sunday.
I drove down to the Northside with my granddaughter Shanti(6). Tookie was right. The art was amazing!
River life Chalkfest Artists 2026(click)
A beautiful day in Pittsburgh. It was perfect baseball weather Saturday afternoon.
And the Pittsburgh Pirates won 10-9 beating the Minnesots Twins.
Upon arrival we received our shirts from the Croatian Fraternal Union of America special ticket sales.
TNT?
TNT primarily stands for trinitrotoluene, which is a well-known yellow, solid chemical compound primarily used as a high explosive.
“Each year, fireworks cause over 14,000 emergency room visits and 11 deaths in the U.S., with a sharp surge in injuries around the Fourth of July. Approximately 36% of injuries affect hands and fingers, 22% affect the head, face, and ears, and burns account for over a third of all incidents”
The Pittsburgh Park Rangers were at the Highland Park Farmhouse Playground for a Pop-Up Thursday afternoon. No live animals but lots of different furry specimens of soft tanned pelts for the kids to touch and learn about animals in our local environment. There was a squirrel, a possum, a skunk, a beaver, a raccoon, a fox, a coyote. I think there was one more I didn’t get an ID. Edit: my granddaughter said it was a deer. The first one. I should have known by the white tail
My granddaughter said the coyote felt the softest to her.
Look what my daughter-in-law Nataliya found FREE on FB Marketplace Sunday afternoon. Yes, she was browsing through marketplace while she’s in Mexico thousands of miles away from Pittsburgh. Actually (2,893 miles)
Nataliya texted me and alerted me to this fabulous FREE cake being offered and I drove less than a mile to pick it up!
What a lovely pastry chef Marla Mae and her husband Logan who carried it out in a large white box with a window to peer in. Oh my!!!
They brought it out to my car.
Wait.
Let’s get it out of the car and take some pictures!!!
An impromptu party was about to take place.
Drove over to the neighborhood and pulled up to the curb just as my friend Barb was about get into her friend Sonia’s car. I yelled across the street-Baaaarb!!.
Barb and Sonia then changed their plans from going to the movies to see The Sheep Detectives and instead we all went inside Barb’s house.
Barb and Sonia got on their phones and invited a few friends and neighbors to come for a surprise cake tasting. One by one, everyone ooohed and ahhed when they arrived and saw what a fabulous cake awaited tasting!
Here’s a YouTube video of everyone’s responses to the gorgeous cake.
It was so generous that everyone got to take a piece home, too. There were raspberries and fresh strawberries and real pink roses and “The cakesicles are basically just cake pops with a chocolate shell” and raspberry macarons. Chocolate dipped strawberries decorated the numerals. Chocolate cake with raspberry preserves, buttercream. Delicious!
Here’s Marla Maes website.
If you live in Pittsburgh area and need a special cake……
My friend Tookie texted the other day that she made French Toast with a loaf of Mancini Bakery Twist bread. Hmm.
I had part of a loaf from La Gourmadine I bought earlier in the week. I sliced it. And this morning I thought yes, I need to make French Toast. Thanks Tookie.
Italian or French bread? It’s all delicious.
We’ve had a lot of rain lately.
“Forecast models for May suggest roughly 98-158mm ((3.8\- 6.2\) inches) of rain, indicating a potentially wetter-than-average May”