The Roots tour: Pittsburgh

Aunt Joanne and Uncle Paul and I escaped from wintery weather to the Chihuly exhibit at Phipps conservatory. The conservatory was an island of greenery (away from the snowy outdoors) mixed in with the glass art work. Each of the glass installations seemed to spring directly from nature- while appearing alien at the same time.

The roots tour: this was the first home owned by my grandparents (correct me if I'm wrong!) Many of the houses in the south side of Pittsburgh are brick and stone.

House #2. Photo taken with permission of current residents. House #2 and 3 were built by my grandfather.

House #3.

My first nibble of the big apple

Times Square- It's easy to get overstimulated here! I decided it might be nice to see it again at night, but there are so many people. I kept running into people and vice versa- it was tiresome. I saw ads for lots of Broadway plays I would like to see. The Lion King (on left), Mama Mia, even Xanadu might be fun to watch!

Rockerfeller Plaza. That ice skating rink is much smaller than it seems on TV. Everything in and about New York has always seemed mythical and larger than life- even the statue of liberty is really a lot smaller than I thought. In spite of it being smaller that I expected- it's it is a symbol of something great and awe inspiring as Mt. Rainier on a sunny day- even greater!

Check out this monster Reuben at Katz' Deli in lower East Side! I'm not a big fan of meat, but this sandwich melts in your mouth. When you order a sandwich, the cutter slices the meat while you are waiting, then stacks the meat vertically on the sandwich. The bread is great, but it is no match for the stack- corned beef (like butter!), swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a thousand island like dressing. I'd better get my cholesterol checked. It was so great, I had to buy a Katz' mug to commemorate the event.

Katz' deli is famous for good food and the movie When Harry met Sally. We found the deli in a guidebook not knowing it's fame on film.

A small pavilion was erected above the World Trade Center subway station (that still functions underground) to display plans for the future use of the space at ground zero. The green boards list all the those who died in the wtc.

A model of the new space to commemorate the twin towers. There will be two reflecting pools that empty into the middle. The building in the center will be the museum.

The beginnings of rebuilding at ground zero. They are working into the night, even on Saturday. It is beginning its transformation from devastation and loss to new beginnings and hope.

Adventures with Hillari

My pal, Hillari Snelson (Anderson) (see her picture at the temple from Oct 07) made the treacherous treck from upstate NY to visit me this weekend. She said she was bringing homemade bread- so I said, "Yes, I'd love for you to come!" And, it was delicious. It was so great to see a familiar face and to catch up. We tasted a little Philly food wherever we went and walked all over to see the sights. We found the "Naked Chocolate Cafe" where they serve hot chocolate European style- thick and packed with cocoa. Here are some of the other sights...

The Liberty Bell, up close and personal, with legendary crack. I went through that whole visitor's center and skipped the explanation of how it got cracked!

Inside Independence Hall- the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was much smaller than I thought it would be. I didn't get a very good picture, but in the middle of the room, there was a desk facing the tables in this picture with a large wood chair. The chair was the actual chair that George Washington sat in during the time when the declaration was written and debated. At the top of the chair is a carved half sun. Benjamin Franklin (I think) said that he wasn't sure if the half sun meant the sun was rising or setting on the birth of our nation- but it turns out that it was the sunrise of a great country. Our tourguide was excellent- I always get all choked up when hearing about the ideals of the founding fathers and their sacrifices to make our country great.

Commodore Barry is known as the father of the US Navy. A member of today's Navy, Hillari is thinking of taking the Navy a whole new direction. Behind the statue is the back side of Independence Hall.

Bingo chips, chess, Sorry, dominoes, and Monopoly pieces are scattered through this plaza and is appropriately titled, "Your Move".

The Thinker by Rodin. His pose of thoughtful consideration contrasts with the hustle of city life.

Work, Rittenhouse Square, Civil War museum

Row houses in the Rittenhouse square area. We found tons of cute restaurants and shops. I'm going to have to exercise a lot to eat my way around Philly as I would like.

While in Philadelphia, I joined the Union army. It is not for sissies- that rifle weighed a ton!

Melissa, my roommate and co-fellow, with "Old Baldy", General Meade's horse. Yes, it really is Old Baldy's head! (Eew!) But, he was a very good horse, surviving 5 battles, including being hit by a 12 # shell and getting right back into action. General Meade was a Philadelphian, known for being the commanding general at Gettysburg.

The lobby at "The Ben" (short for The Benjamin Franklin building). The entrance to my work is straight ahead. The building is older and ornate- a popular place for weddings and special occasions.

Philly, Christmas

(I got my pictures all out of order- I still need to learn how to do this!) This is my workgroup celebrating at Emory's at Silver Lake (from bottom left- Linda, me, Hilary, Stephanie, Christy, and Kimberly.

"The museum" Sparsely decorated, this is my new home in Philly. Its wood floors and high ceilings remind me of a museum- hence the name. We have few windows- we face into a courtyard, but not much light makes its way down to the 4th floor of an 8 story building. My room has a cut out at the top to let in some natural light, but no sound privacy for jamming out without disturbing my roommate. (It would be very disturbing.) Overall, the apartment is amazingly nice- complete with security guard at the entrance. There is a gym on the second floor and pool tables on the 3rd floor.
So far, my urban experience fits every preconcieved notion I have of the urban experience. I know there are beautiful areas of town and interesting things to see- but, I haven't seen it yet! My work is a few blocks away, and I already cut the "commute" as close as possible. But, I am excited about all that I will learn and experience. It will probably consume most of my time here just to get all the reading assignments done!

The traditional outing to Fazarri's for the Shotsy pizza made of German sausage, sauerkraut, and mustard sauce. Yum! (clockwise from left corner- James, Grammy, Poppy, Suzanna, Heidi, Laurel, and Jonathan)









Suzers looking extra cute in her new hat. What a face!














Laurel went right to work decorating her princess crowns.












James was very happy with his new horsey- Diamond.












Grammy and Poppy created a treasure chest of goodies, complete with clues and a map- making Christmas extra special.
















Christmas mayhem! At least the sun was shining when we started to open presents! (no pre-dawn unwrapping)











I couldn't resist taking a picture of this Christmas decoration headed back to Santa's toy shop for repairs.



















Torrey and I at the Seattle Center before Christmas- we had a fun time looking for creative shots. Torrey also had fun with photoshop- one picture made me look like I could have been the fourth chipmunk!

Thanksgiving Beach bums

This is the front porch of the cottage we rented for the long weekend at Seabrook (10-12 miles north of Ocean Shores). I thought I had died and gone to heaven to find I had my own room with a TV, no less. Of course, I had to waste hours the first night watching "what not to wear" type shows just because I could.
Mom, Dad, and I headed to the Ocean Crest resort for Thanksgiving dinner, which was excellent! I ate my first brussel sprout and officially became a fan of the dreaded veggie. Mom and Dad both arrived in various stages of upper respiratory distress and at the end of the weekend, I am happy to report, they were both doing much better (the coughing chorus was beginning to wind down).

This shot was taken from the hillside by the beach. Out in the distance, you can see the specs of people digging for clams. This was the only cloudy day of our visit- the light shining through the clouds was spectacular! The cushiony compact sand at the beach made for a good place to go for a jog- not much wind for kite-flying.

"Zombies of Mass Destruction" Nov. 17th

This is a shot of new friends and I (from me going clockwise: Debra, Tamara, Torrey, and Eric) before donning our zombie outfits and makeup on location for the filming of Zombies of Mass Destruction. This is taken at the waterfront in Port Gamble on the Olympic Peninsula. When Torrey first mentioned this opportunity to be extras in a zombie movie, I thought of all the reasons I would not want to do this- ie: scary makeup, cold conditions, late night, what if I have scary dreams (mommy!), etc. But then my adventurous self dared me to do it. I couldn't resist the idea of saying that I was an extra in a zombie movie! I took a bunch of pictures of us in our makeup, but the flash gave everyone red eye and I have to say, we looked like a believeable group of zombies- maybe too scary to post.

So, this was our scene: It was the middle of the night in Port Gamble, Washington- we, the zombie extras- are poised spread out in a large number in an open field, ready to eat something living and acting like zombies- completely stupid, unaware and incoordinated. Floodlights fill the space, set to give all the zombies sinister, long shadows. A flaming (on fire) stuntman comes running out from amid the crowd and exits the scene, immediately doused with water and fire extinguishers. 20 seconds or so and our scene is done. I am the zombie way in the back, facing away from the camera near the white picket fence. Be sure to rent the movie and look for me!

I learned a lot from this experience. These are experiences that yes, do add to the richness of life. 1. I learned how to look and walk like a zombie. 2. It takes a lot of work to create one scene in a movie. 3. People volunteer all kinds of time and talents to movies- amazing! 4. You can meet some interesting people at a shoot for a zombie movie. As they say, it takes all kinds.