News flash!!!!!
We are moving again.
Yup....we are nuts!
Emigration on its own is for wimps!
Mount Lebanon is so normal that it is....well....."not normal". So we are heading back to the City of Pittsburgh to live in Squirrel Hill which is nice because that's the district we first lived in when we moved here during our first tour of duty in 1995. New address is 1236 Malvern Avenue, Pittsburgh 15217.
Adam started at school round the corner from our new house on Monday. He is at the University of Pittsburgh Child Development Center. The waiting list is about 5 years long but guess what?.....Adam was right at the top of the list!! Apparently we had registered him when he was 6 months old and he was still in the queue. They had been wondering what had happened to us!! So far so good anyway. He seems happy. It is a lovely school with interested teachers, small class sizes and fantastic facilities. Best part is that we can cycle to school.
Phew!!! You live and learn. Problem is I keep forgetting!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
East is East
Given its relative location, I have no idea why this place in Ohio is called "East Liverpool" (surely it should be "West Liverpool") but I am not complaining because today....bless 'em....they had a big street bash and English car show in honour of the 800th birthday of OUR Liverpool. Yes folks....it might be a shit-hole but it's OUR shit-hole eh?
So we pootled off in convoy with me and one or other of the kids in the Spitty and Shaz in the van. East Liverpool is West of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and I am pretty sure it is a bastion of Republican Bushites with some good honest Christian Fundamentalism thrown in for good measure. So as you can imagine I donned my best Socialist Worker T shirt, my Charles Darwin beard and my "Stuff the System" badge that I nicked from Grandpa Derek back in the 2nd year at NewHeys. Despite all this, we were welcomed as honoured guests and even paraded to the crowd at one point as being "true scousers". I hadn't realized how difficult it is to wave to a crowd whilst simultaneously trying to duck out of sight.
Our route home took us right past Raccoon Creek State Park and so we went for a dip in the lake. Poor Adam had some vaccinations yesterday, ready for school which starts this week, and so he has been a bit drowsy and under the weather. Apart from that we are all fighting fit and ready for another week Stateside.
So we pootled off in convoy with me and one or other of the kids in the Spitty and Shaz in the van. East Liverpool is West of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and I am pretty sure it is a bastion of Republican Bushites with some good honest Christian Fundamentalism thrown in for good measure. So as you can imagine I donned my best Socialist Worker T shirt, my Charles Darwin beard and my "Stuff the System" badge that I nicked from Grandpa Derek back in the 2nd year at NewHeys. Despite all this, we were welcomed as honoured guests and even paraded to the crowd at one point as being "true scousers". I hadn't realized how difficult it is to wave to a crowd whilst simultaneously trying to duck out of sight.
Our route home took us right past Raccoon Creek State Park and so we went for a dip in the lake. Poor Adam had some vaccinations yesterday, ready for school which starts this week, and so he has been a bit drowsy and under the weather. Apart from that we are all fighting fit and ready for another week Stateside.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Bike Pittsburgh
Today we went out for a bike ride with one of Adam's new footy camp buddies...Eli and his dad Avi. Avi is a huge biker and, strangely, I have seen him all over town this summer wearing his day-glow T shirt and pink socks. Quite a character and a great city guide.
We did a loop of the Eliza Furnace Trail. A true urban bikers paradise. It runs along the Monongahela River, taking in the county jail, downtown, the South Side and Hot Metal Bridge. The feeling of cruising quietly along next to a big slow moving river was punctuated by lots of graffiti, 100 car freight trains and the deafening roar of the US376 Parkway.
After this supreme effort we had a quick kick around and then headed for ice cream at Jitters in our old Shadyside stomping ground (sniff).
So here we are on Sunday night. A heavy week looms.
I will resume my obsessive quest to figure out a way of detecting and analyzing vanishingly small amounts of foetal DNA against a massively overwhelming background of mum's DNA in a sample of her blood. This, I admit, has been keeping me awake at nights and yes I admit I am wierd. But.....bloody hell it's good fun.
I can sense the chuckles and head shaking from here.
We did a loop of the Eliza Furnace Trail. A true urban bikers paradise. It runs along the Monongahela River, taking in the county jail, downtown, the South Side and Hot Metal Bridge. The feeling of cruising quietly along next to a big slow moving river was punctuated by lots of graffiti, 100 car freight trains and the deafening roar of the US376 Parkway.
After this supreme effort we had a quick kick around and then headed for ice cream at Jitters in our old Shadyside stomping ground (sniff).
So here we are on Sunday night. A heavy week looms.
I will resume my obsessive quest to figure out a way of detecting and analyzing vanishingly small amounts of foetal DNA against a massively overwhelming background of mum's DNA in a sample of her blood. This, I admit, has been keeping me awake at nights and yes I admit I am wierd. But.....bloody hell it's good fun.
I can sense the chuckles and head shaking from here.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Perfect!
This was close to being a perfect day.
After a good snooze and a leisurely breakfast we strapped the canoe to the roof of the van and headed to Moraine State Park to meet David Finegold for a day of paddling, picnicking and pontificating.
The temperature was well into the 80s today and so the paddling was punctuated by frequent stops on the deserted shores of Lake Arthur and plenty of splashing around in the murky waters.
The highlight of the day was finding a "lawn" of lilies on a finger inlet of the main lake. The place was utterly teaming with life. Absolutely beautiful! It was a Zen moment.
Adam spent much of the day paddling with David Finegold in his Mohawk canoe. Both David and Adam can talk with Olympian prowess and I think they are now officially buddies.
Great!
After a good snooze and a leisurely breakfast we strapped the canoe to the roof of the van and headed to Moraine State Park to meet David Finegold for a day of paddling, picnicking and pontificating.
The temperature was well into the 80s today and so the paddling was punctuated by frequent stops on the deserted shores of Lake Arthur and plenty of splashing around in the murky waters.
The highlight of the day was finding a "lawn" of lilies on a finger inlet of the main lake. The place was utterly teaming with life. Absolutely beautiful! It was a Zen moment.
Adam spent much of the day paddling with David Finegold in his Mohawk canoe. Both David and Adam can talk with Olympian prowess and I think they are now officially buddies.
Great!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Swamped!
Blimey! I had forgotten what it is like to do an honest days work. Things have been mad at the lab, hence my total lack of bloggage.
In contrast, life has been quite quiet on the home front. We have been enjoying sunny days in the garden and lazy walks down to the local park for a play and the famous "Scoops on Beverly" for ice cream. Adam went to footy camp again last week, this time at Schenley Park near the University campus, and next week he is going to "Space Camp" at the Carnegie Science Center.
Sharon took the kids to the National Aviary which, according to the homepage is "America’s only independent indoor nonprofit bird zoo" and also home to Elvis the penguin. Adam told me earnestly that he had seen a Speckled "Wobbler" (read warbler) which gave us all a giggle.
As you can see from the piccy below....Soph has got some new sequined footy boots.
PS: thanks to all those who posted comments. Congratulations to Gareth on winning the Pie and a Pint contest.
In contrast, life has been quite quiet on the home front. We have been enjoying sunny days in the garden and lazy walks down to the local park for a play and the famous "Scoops on Beverly" for ice cream. Adam went to footy camp again last week, this time at Schenley Park near the University campus, and next week he is going to "Space Camp" at the Carnegie Science Center.
Sharon took the kids to the National Aviary which, according to the homepage is "America’s only independent indoor nonprofit bird zoo" and also home to Elvis the penguin. Adam told me earnestly that he had seen a Speckled "Wobbler" (read warbler) which gave us all a giggle.
As you can see from the piccy below....Soph has got some new sequined footy boots.
PS: thanks to all those who posted comments. Congratulations to Gareth on winning the Pie and a Pint contest.
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