The Irish Design Center on Craig Street in Oakland neighborhood is a bit of Ireland in Pittsburgh.
Supporting small business by showcasing the highlights of the store!
I bought some Gooseberry Preserves and a sheep key ring, some Irish afternoon tea. A great place to shop for gifts.
Thanks for accompanying me as I browse through the store.
The magic of wet pavement on Forbes Avenue at the red light. On my way home from a Poetry reading at Carlow University
But we have plans to return to ride the Carousel.
“This merry-go-round located in Schenley Plaza was built in 2006 & has a colorful, ornate design.”
We were in the Oakland neighborhood by University of Pittsburgh to attend Visitor’s Day at Western PA Writing Project .
My friend Roberta sent me a Post-Gazette article this evening, An elegy to the ‘O’: A beloved hot dog shop closes after 60 years written by Mick Stinelli and Dan Gigler. It told about the sad and sudden closing of The Original Hot Dog Shop. A long time late night favorite in the heart of Oakland adjacent to University of Pittsburgh. Upon closing they donated “7 tons of potatoes to charity”. (They were famous for their fries)
We’d get a couple of hot dogs and share the huge order of fries, sometimes before a Poetry Reading at Hemingway’s. Or after. No matter what time you ate there, it was a familiar and reliable taste and experience.
Here’s a photo I took of the landmark from a 2010 blog post.
Looking around the walls of Mark and Erika’s home, I see several paintings by Pittsburgh artist William Pfahl.
He has a painting on the wall of the Pittsburgh Mayor’s Office, too.
Here is the latest addition to their collection of Bill Pfahl’s art.
St. Boniface on Northside where Anna, Michael and Jack were baptized 
Immaculate Heart of Mary – Mark and Erika’s Wedding.
August 17, 2002. Polish Hill 
Central Catholic High School- Mark class of ’94
View from the Quad
Here’s a photo I took at Bill’s art show in Sharpsburg.
And here is he is painting the 16th Street Bridge
Bill was part of the People at Work Show at Panza Gallery July 2018
Here is his palette
thanks Bill for commemorating the important Pittsburgh landmarks that mean so much to Mark and Erika and their children.
Pittsburgh Autumn
When you turn 65 in Pittsburgh you can apply for a free PAT bus pass.
Monday morning I went downtown on the 71 B. I am going to familiarize myself with schedules and routes but having a smart phone is a big help
You can pick the stop where you’re waiting it tells you how many minutes until a bus arrives. My plan is to visit all of the 88 neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh.
Here’s Day One of my Free Bus Pass Photography Adventure.
Me waiting at Highland and Bryant for the 71 B to go downtown.
Meet Kevin M. who accepted my medicare card until I get the pass.
His portrait will be wonderful in the People at Work show next July.
taken as I exited the bus, with his gracious permission.
The Port Authority where you fill out your application to get your bus pass.
I went to the City County Building where I was greeted by a sign and a bronze statue of Mayor Caligiuri
Mayor Caligiuri by Robert Berks 1990
Cathedral of Learning University of Pittsburgh
I rejoined the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland
Crabcake and Slaw lunch at the Union Grill
St. Paul Cathedral as I went to the next Bus Stop to get to Shadyside where they were setting up a Vintage Car Show on Walnut Street
Cars arriving in trailers I caught the next bus on Highland Avenue and guess who my driver was? Yep you guessed. Turns out Kevin went to the same high school as my sons but he was a class ahead of Mark.
Steve and I took a ride up to Shadyside later to see the vintage cars but it was raining
My friend Roberta called me today. What a great find for the blog! She told me about the cool competition happening in front of the main Carnegie Library. Pittsburgh themed and sand sculptures being created by five international teams of two, right under a big tent in Oakland.
The competition is over Friday afternoon at three-“Trowels Down”
200 tons of sand from a quarry was delivered to the walkway in front of the museum, then moved by a front loader.
Each team received 40 tons of sand to sculpt.
International Sand Sculptor Katsuhiko Chaen has a Sand Museum in Japan
Teammate Bruce Phillips from San Diego concentrating on details of “Dear Andy”.
Teammates Andrius Petkus from Lithuania and Maxim Gazendam the Netherlands creating “The Pearl”
“The Pearl”
“Master of Steel”
Jon Woodworth from Texas and Karen Fralich from Ontario Canada work on their sculpture “Master of Steel”
Fergus Mulvany from Ireland and Thomas Koet from Florida
“The Renaissance of Pittsburgh”
“Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio The Three Graces of Pittsburgh”
Teammates Ilya Filimontsev from Russia & Susanne Ruseler of the Netherlands
Sifting the sand to get rid of the rubble
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh- Main
If you want to try your hand at sculpting sand, here is a link from Katsuhiko Chaen to the Sand Museum in Japan on how to do it.
The theme for the photo challenge this week was Half-light. I’m back in the Burgh after a Spring vacation to New York City and Ohio.
By the time I left the University Commons, I missed the half-light.
It was almost dark.
I titled this series a fourth-light.
I like the dark blue sky backdrop for a few of Pittsburgh’s iconic structures.
I’d enjoyed my friend Cj’s poetry reading at Carlow U. Tuesday night.
Walking down the hill to the parking lot
Workmen on Fifth Avenue
Forbes Avenue view of Cathedral of Learning at the red light
Cathedral of Learning – University of Pittsburgh
Heinz Chapel Silhouette
St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland
(All shot with the iPhone camera)