Hi,
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the first electric razor (1931), the New London, TX school explosion (1937), it’s Bretzelsonndeg Day in Luxembourg, Aruba’s Flag Day and England’s Mothering Sunday. Birth anniversaries include president Grover Cleveland (1837), journalist George Plimpton (1927), author John Updike (1932) and American statesman John Calhoun (1782).
Easter is just around the corner (and so is Spring, finally) :), so interest in the Eastern European art generally referred to as pysanky is peaking. It’s the art of decorating hard boiled eggs by etching a design before dipping it in various colored dyes to create those dramatic creations. This tradition of decorating eggs goes way back before Christianity to Pagan times. As with any tradition, different areas profess different beliefs. Some traditions blow the egg out before decorating, others say you are taking the life away; some traditions say eggs decorated for older people should be vividly colored and decorated to signify the life experiences they have had, while eggs decorated for younger people should be mostly white to signify the blank page their life is at this point. An Ukrainian tradition is that young girls that decorate an egg for their boyfriend should be sure to decorate the top and the bottom of the egg lest he may go bald. 🙂 The Nationality Rooms in The Cathedral of Learning recently had an egg decorating class sponsored by a joint effort of both the Lithuanian and Polish rooms that drew around 150 to learn the art. The Peters Township Library will host a pysanky display and class on March 20 starting at 7 pm (more info at 724-941-9430). St John the Baptist Byzantine Church in Uniontown is hosting an Eggstravaganza March 22 from noon to five pm with 25 artists (more info at 724-438-8412). And finally, St Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie will be hosting a workshop on March 29 starting at noon (registration is required) and a decorated egg sale from 11 am until 4 pm (more info at their website or by calling 412-279-2111).
Well, another indication that the seasons are changing, Phipps Spring Flower Show has just opened and runs through April 12. What better way to shake off the winter doldrums than strolling through warm gardens bursting with bright colors? They are sporting a rain theme this year with brightly colored watering cans, umbrellas and goulashes used as planters. A fun way to welcome Spring! More info on their website or by calling 412-622-6914.
Grove City College has recently unlocked a secret. A drawer in a desk in the library has been locked for some reason since 1954 and no one knew what was in it or why it was locked. Finally, through Grove City archivist persistence, she found a key that worked and found 175 almost pristine World Ward II war posters! Some are of the Rosie the Riveter calling ladies to staff the factories, join the army posters and some politically incorrect for these days. They are on display in the college’s Pew Fine Arts Building through just through March 23. More info at their website.
Every have one of those uh-huh moments? All the rooms on the second floor of The Parador were interconnected when I bought the Inn. Most were in closets, etc, but the one between African Tulip and Bird of Paradise’s bathroom was just a door.
African Tulip’s side of the door:
Initially I wasn’t aware of the problem, but a couple of years ago a guest in African Tulip mentioned that they could hear the guests next door taking a shower. I couldn’t come up with a solution and so just banked it like the creaky steps, a quirk in a Bed and Breakfast. About a month ago I was in Bird of Paradise’s bathroom and a light bulb went off. There was about eight inches between the actual door into African Tulip and the outer trim around the door frame. So I framed it out to the trim, put sound proofing insulation and covered it with a sheet of drywall. Absolutely no noise penetrates now. So here’s it now:
Now I just need to find someone that can do a Trompe-l’oeil a faux door, know anyone? That would work perfect.
Current project is finishing up the inside window shutters on the first floor. All of the upper shutters I did last year. This year, found a local company that dips & strips and I only have to sand, stain & polyurethane them. Working on the the shutters that go on the front dining room windows facing the front porch. They’re stripped & sanded, I hope to stain them tomorrow and put several coats of poly this weekend and hang them early next week. The ones for the front bay window in the Parlor are ready for pick up and they will be next.
O’Hara Township’s Woodland Park is jumping on a new bandwagon, an edible trail. They have applied for a state grant to design a new trail in a recently adjacent piece of property to create a trail with nut trees, elderberry bushes, fig trees, wild strawberries, etc that they will include around the new trail. They will put up signs identifying edible foods that are safe to eat. There are several around the country, like one in Irvine, CA that harvests any left over produce in the Fall and donate to the local food bank. Nice twist on walking in nature.
Just a heads up, if you are planning a trip to Washington DC for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, they are predicting it to peak April 11 – 14.
Gotta run, take care and enjoy this improving weather,
ed
