From my neighbor. She got them at the Farmer’s Market today. I’d given some knitting help. What a gorgeous autumn bouquet. I put the flowers in my vintage hammered aluminum pitcher.
Thank you Cathy

From my neighbor. She got them at the Farmer’s Market today. I’d given some knitting help. What a gorgeous autumn bouquet. I put the flowers in my vintage hammered aluminum pitcher.
Thank you Cathy

AVVA in Aspinwall modern Mediterranean Restaurant
My neighbor Kelly picked me up and we drove across the Allegheny River to meet our former neighbor Nancy who was waiting for us on the front patio of a restaurant I’d never been to before. We had a good visit catching up and enjoyed a delicious meal together. The Katmer dessert was new to us and we shared the lightly fried triangles of phyllo dough with a pistachio filling.


Katmer
Thin layer of phyllo dough filled with a mixture of pistachios and mascarpone
Three decades of knowing one another, these two neighbors lived in the next block. One still does. We reunited today to share stories of past times remembered.


During the Pandemic, I’ve been fortunate to receive photos from family and friends who live in different locations. They contribute to the blog and add interest. This is a collaborative effort by neighbors in Massachusetts.
I received a photo of an owl sitting on a snow covered wall from my longtime friend Linda Dempster.

Later Linda sent me another photo of the owl who’d flown up in a tree. She’d received it from her neighbor. I asked her to ask the neighbor if they’d consent to the owl in the tree photo being posted on the blog. So thank you Linda and neighbor Anne Laibe Bertalino for the interesting owl photos and being the guest bloggers today.


In 2012 my most popular post was from guest blogger Shuey in Florida with his barred owl photo.
You can avoid it by seeing this eye catching sign. South Dallas Avenue Thoughtful Neighbors Warn of BIG Pothole. You could ruin a tire. Pittsburgh is noted for its potholes. You can’t always see them until you’re on top of one. Or your tire is dipping into it, jarring your ride, ruining your alignment!

Thanks to P and J we now have a “new” table for the front porch. Thank you for the upgrade from our little plastic circle.
Steve took this photo on my phone of our Spaghetti Arugula and tricolor corn supper.

You know how I like dessert. It’s a double guest blog today.
Necessity! I purposefully left my cell phone home so I could be present in the moment during a special luncheon Wednesday afternoon.
Steve and I were invited next door for a delicious lunch to welcome our new neighbors to the neighborhood.
Dessert was this stunning and mouthwatering Lemon Tart from the French bakery on Butler Street in Lawrenceville La Gourmandine
The first photo by Madison who said “The simple things in life are the sweetest.”

and then when my slice of the delectable tart on the beautiful blue and white china plate was set in front of me, I definitely needed another photo. (Thank you Joaquin)
No way to adequately describe the simultaneous sweet and tart combination as it glides over your tongue. Perfection!



outside the Squirrel Hill Carnegie Library
Thanks to my neighbor for giving me the arugula.
Spaghetti Arugula.




Steve brought home the olives and fresh pasta. A recipe from the excellent chef Anna Flevola formerly of La Cucina Flegrea. Garlic, olive oil, a bit of red onion, pine nuts, walnuts, raisins, red pepper flakes and a ladle of pasta water -topped with the rocket/arugula and freshly grated Parmesan.

Ready to serve
This should be photo four but having WP posting issue w photos tonight
While the men loaded up the chairs, Suzanne gave me a tour of her garden and shared some chives. She said you can eat the blossom!
After we pulled away from our friends’ house,(where we’d gone to borrow folding chairs) Steve and I needed something to eat.
We drove down the hill to the Bryant Street Market, and found homemade Pierogies in a ziploc bag in their freezer.
I sautéed plenty of sliced Vidalia onions in butter, too.
Added the snipped fresh chives garnish which complemented the potato and cheese filled pierogies.