Mom's Day with the Phillies

Every year for the past 4 or so years I've taken my Mom to the the Phillies game for Mother's Day. Yesterday was the day and the Fightin' pulled through against the SF Giants in the bottom of the 9th. The weather was great and we enjoyed the usual Phillies fare... sandwiches from Tony Lukes, crab fries from Chickie's & Pete's and of course, my favorite, the ice cream "helmet" sundae! Thanks Mom for a great time and Happy Mother's Day.

Steel City then Fallingwater

I must say that even though Will and I spent our Saturday night in Pittsburgh watching the Pirates (his team) play the Phillies (my team), I did not feel far from home or out of place. I would say the ratio of Phillies to Pirates fans was about 1 to 1.
Now, it is well known that Philadelphia sports fans have a notorious reputation, but this is hard to take when I am sitting in the stands (albeit in another team's "house") minding my own business, contently watching the game when some 20ish year old girl behind me yammers on endlessly about how obnoxious Philly fans are, etc etc etc... It just so happens that in our section there were many Phillies fans and it was all good, no beer dumping, no shouting, no instigating, just a mellow good time. I was proud. So girlfriend, give us a break, please! We are not all of the "500 level, take no prisoners" mentality, we do not all get locked up in the stadium jail nor do we damage opposing team property and trash talk constantly. We just want to watch our team play and have a good time. But don't think for a moment that we won't cheer for our team and wear our colors proudly regardless of being in your house, our fan-ship knows no boundaries. Go Phillies!!! I almost forgot to mention that Wills and I both had Pirmanti Bros. sandwiches, a Pittsburgh tradition. It's a sandwich piled high with steak, roast beef or which ever filling you choose, then loaded with french fries and cole slaw (yes, in the sandwich)... mine was pretty good I must say.

On the way home on Sunday we stopped to visit a place that I have always wanted to go... Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, Fallingwater. It was spectacular. Words simply do not do it justice, you have to experience it. It is a wonder of architectural design and nature.
I am still in awe.

Earth Day

Below is an excerpt from ecologue.com ... it's a pretty cool website and offers easy ideas for living a "greener" life. Please visit their website if you would like more information.

Earth Day, Earth Week, Earth Month —
April is the time for remembering this big planet we call home. Around the world, people are focusing all things eco-friendly — from community and volunteering events to news specials, eco product promotions and even new green websites (like Ecologue!).
Eco-living is center stage this week, but why stop there? Make Earth Day a kick off for year-round greener living. Get started with these easy ideas:

Go Paperless
Sure, that junk mail is great fodder for a compost pile, but reducing waste is better than recycling. Take time this week to switch all your bills to paperless or e-statements. Consider canceling unwanted catalog and magazine subscriptions and sign up for a junk mail monitoring service, which removes you from mass mailing lists for small fee. Your letter carrier — and local landfill — will enjoy the lighter load.

Grill It
Cook-out season doesn’t start till after Memorial Day, but grilling is a more energy-efficient way to cook. Whether hosting a backyard party or cooking a weeknight dinner, always use real plates and silverware (or consider biodegradable plates), and shop for your ingredients from the local farmers’ market or food co-op, which will be brimming with fresh produce soon enough.

Get Crafty
Want to give a room a spring update? Consider a crafty recycling project for the kitchen, bathroom, living room or even garden. Look for ways to reuse recyclables: line garden beds with newspaper, turn old plastic bottles into a garden trellis and more. Or just refresh old furniture with a new slipcover or wood finish (try all-natural, soy-based strippers and low-VOC paints).

Shop Wisely
Looking for gifts for mom, dad, a grad or just for yourself? Bookmark shopping sites such as the The Rainforest Site, The Hunger Site, Care2 and iGive, where a portion of sales go to good causes (sometimes your choice). If you’re just in search of eco products, check out green ratings at Evo.com.

Hug a Tree
Well, not literally. Take advantage of warmer temperatures and update your landscape. Plant deciduous trees near your house. As they grow, the trees' lush leaves will shade your home from the warming sun. In winter, their bare branches let that sunlight through, which means less stress on your heating system and utility bills. Plus, more trees means cleaner air.

Comfort food

Say the words comfort food and I'm hooked. There is something about the way it sounds that gets me every time. It conjures up warm feelings of family kitchens and gatherings, soulful cooking and a sense of familiarity. In any given city, if I see a restaurant touting "comfort food", it draws me in. I instantly feel like I will know people in there, like I'll be sitting down with old friends to enjoy a delicious meal. I know it sounds silly, but it's the familiarity of it all that I connect with especially while traveling. And who doesn't love comfort food anyway? It can be anything from mashed potatoes, chicken parmesan, potato filling, collard greens or milkshakes, it's what you want it to be, anything that you have a connection with that makes you feel safe and familiar. Don't get me wrong, I love all kinds of restaurants and I love trying new and interesting dishes, but darn it, comfort food hooks me every time. Today I decided to try my hand at an old favorite from my mom... Oven Beef Stew. It's a simple but very hearty and flavorful stew consisting of beef and vegetables in a tomato base. I have been looking forward to breaking in my new cast iron pot so I thought this would be the perfect recipe for the maiden voyage so to speak. It turned out just like I hoped it would-delicious and comforting on a chilly March afternoon.