Hi,
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald (1410) where Poland & Lithuania kicked some Knights of Teutonic butt, the Battle of the Marne (1918) where the Germans got their butt kicked basically for the last time in WWI, Venice celebrates the Feast of the Redeemer where they have processions in the canals remembering the end of the epidemic of 1575 and St Swithin’s Day, legend has it that when he was interned in Winchester Cathedral in 971 it rained for forty days, if it rains on July 15, they expect rain for the next forty days.
Camel milk has come to the Amish in Lancaster County, twice. Miller’s Organic Farms has had a camel herd for a couple of years now and ships it’s products around the US and even to Canada. They carry milk (which kind of tastes skim milk, just a bit saltier), yogurt, Kefir, a fermented milk drink and a soap all made with camel’s milk. I bit pricy, $10 a pint. It’s said camel’s milk helps with children with autism and people with diabetes. Ben Stoltzfus lives by and works at Miller dairy had been using it for his son has an auto-immune disease and diabetes. He noticed a change in his son and has started his own herd. You may ask how they milk camels, with a traditional milking machine and VERY CAREFULLY. 🙂
4 sale, one 9 room, slightly used Bed and Breakfast on the Northside of Pittsburgh. Recently renovated and in excellent condition. The owner is looking to buy and operate a convenience store. I know I talked about this in the past, but did you know sales in convenience stores across the country exceed $700B and passed total sales of both restaurants and supermarkets! On average, 1,100 customers a day walk through and given convenience store and spend less than four minutes in there. We’re all in the wrong business my friends. Make it convenient and you can charge whatever you want and don’t even have to worry about cleanliness, cheerful staff or landscaping. 🙂
My favorite thing about the Snowden scandal was the demands his father stated for his son to return to the United States. Dad said the government had to agree ahead of time that he could be free on bail until trial, he would get to pick the court he would be tried in and I forget the third condition. Apples don’t fall far from the tree, do they? I’m re-hashing some old news as a transition into my next conversation, Euclid Analytics has tracked 50 million devices in 4,000 locations for 100 corporate customers. What am I talking about? One example was Nordstrom hired them to track customers walking through their stores via devices that honed in on the customer’s smart phones and other electronic devices. They knew how long you lingered at the fragrance counter, which department you went to next, how long you were in the store, etc. Shortly after a Dallas TV station broke the story, Nordstrom apologized and stopped the practice.
On July 18 at 7 pm, they are having the 13th annual Edible Flowers Food Fest at the Buffalo Inn in South Park. The idea came to horticulturalist Denise Schreiber when she was visiting gardens in England and was served rose-petal ice cream with tea. With the assistance of Penn State Master Gardeners, friends and family they create the meal. This year’s menu includes roasted red pepper soup with nasturtiums, spring greens with a lavender-blueberry vinaigrette, chicken with lavender and honey, beef with a cherry rose chutney and shrimp with an orange ginger sauce. All plates are garnished with edible flowers. Basil lemonade and Russian teacakes with lavender round out the meal. I find the menu pretty funny, obviously created by a horticulturalist, not a foodie. Do you notice the emphasis on flowers and not on how the “chicken”, “beef” and “shrimp” are prepared. 🙂 No matter, for a mere $20 you can’t beat this. Reservations are required, I would recommend calling 412-473-2540 before she sells out.
I don’t know if they will let you in if you do not live in the Streets Run Watershed ares, but it’s worth a try if you are interested. The Streets Run Watershed Association is holding a class on July 24 at 7 pm. The class is being held at the Whitehall community room at 100 Borough Park Drive. They will be instructing on how to use rain barrels, how to install them, etc. I would imagine after the flooding the past couple of weeks, there will be a heightened interest in this. The first 30 “residents” to register get a free rain barrel. The cost is $50 per person, $55 per couple. I don’t imagine a group like this would turn away anyone that’s interested in learning more about rain barrels. Registration is required 412-882-6622.
This week has the events that run up to the 31st annual Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Sunday, July 21. The International Car Show on Walnut Street in Shadyside July 15 from 5 – 9 pm with all kinds of cars on display. Homestead’s Waterfront hosts a Car Cruise of more than 500 cars from 5 – 9 pm on July 16. At 10:30 to 2 pm 100 vintage cars will be on parade through Downtown on July 17. July 18 will be the Grand Prix Tune-Up with music, food and dance at Tapas on 7th Street Downtown ($50 per, reservations strongly recommended) from 6 – 9 pm. July 18 from 10 am until 3 pm a Countryside Tour will be held on area back roads, this event is sold out. Also on this day at the Hard Rock Cafe, Cars & Guitars will run from 7 pm – 1 am will host music for a Grand Prix charities fund raising event. The Race Car Parade will travel from Squirrel Hill to the racers paddocks in Schenley Park on July 20 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. The Car Show and Qualifiers will be from 9 am – 5 pm on July 20 in Schenley Park. And July 21 is race day from 8:15 am – 5 pm (the actual race starts at noon). This is predominately run volunteer event, all toll 1,000 volunteers make this happen. It is the only vintage race held on actual city streets in the US. More info at their website.
Wen Gao was born in Beijing in 1957 during the Cultural Revolution. As a young man, he organized various cultural movements that stood for freedom of artistic expression which landed him in jail several times totally around 7 years in jail between them all. He settled in Ross where he has a studio for his work and for teaching. He’s known for vivid colors and striking images, somewhat reminiscent of a classical style. He has an exhibit at International Images, 514 Beaver Street, Sewickley through August 31. Hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 am until 4 pm. More info on the website or by calling 412-741-3036.
Well, keep cool and hydrated. If you have any elderly neighbors without air conditioning, check on them periodically,
ed
