Friday Things
1. Someone’s ear hematoma has returned. Major sad face. We’re currently treating it with cold compresses and giving it time to re-absorb on its own. It doesn’t seem to bother Einstein at all, but I’m making sure to give him extra snuggles; can’t hurt!
2. I saw someone Tweet this week that the girls of The Baby-Sitters Club would be 38-40 years old today. Whoa! I hadn’t thought about those books in probably decades… what a blast from the past. I devoured those books, absolutely loved them.
3. Last Saturday, I accidentally got myself sucked into a Dateline Saturday Night Mystery show. I’ve always been fascinated by murder mystery shows like that and I could not turn it off. Newlyweds, a bathtub, no motive… I had to find out how it ended!
4. Important question: is having an old-school pencil sharpener affixed to your house somewhere totally only a Pittsburgh thing, or is this done everywhere? My grandparents had a pencil sharpener attached to the wall going down to their basement. After my grandma passed away and my mom was in the process of selling the house, she went in and took it out and now it’s attached to my husband’s work bench in our garage.
I didn’t think anything of it until Pittsburgh Dad (a popular YouTube sensation here in Pittsburgh) tweeted a picture of a similar pencil sharpener last night and started re-tweeting pictures of followers who have similar old pencil sharpeners in their house somewhere. I totally thought this was only a “my family” thing (although, my husband’s family also has one), but maybe not!
5. I’m totally bummed that the season finale of The Americans was this week! It’s one of my favorite shows and now I have to wait for what seems like for-ev-er for it to come back. Summer TV is the pits! On the plus side, how good was that finale?! I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the next season already!
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6. Does anyone else play Mexican train dominoes? My grandparents taught us how to play a couple Christmases ago, and now we’re all hooked! We brought a set to the beach with us and played in the evening, and we try to get all of our parents over to our house regularly to play big games. It totally brings out my competitive streak ;-)
7. I’m craving a massive cinnamon roll slathered in cream cheese icing. Perhaps a project for this weekend?
8. Are there any good mangoes where you live? They have appeared by the crateful at my grocery store, and on sale to boot, but they are just not any good. Most of them don’t look that great, and the couple that I’ve bought have had to be pitched once I cut into them :( I’m dying for a sweet, juicy mango!
9. Do you have any exciting plans for the long holiday weekend? Not too much here, except maybe some grilling, flower-buying, and fire pit s’mores eating!
10. TGIF! Have a fun and safe weekend! (Duke and Einstein will be doing their usual laying around… naturally.)
OMG – The Americans finale was AMAZING!! And I’m SO sad it’s over. How are we gonna make it until it comes back for the next season??
In the meantime, I am planning to stuff my face with cinnamon rolls this Memorial Day weekend as well. Not too long ago, I stumbled across this recipe on Pintrest and it has been my GO TO ever since. I had made homemade cinnamon rolls many times before, but never with the success I’ve had with this recipe. You should DEFINITELY give it a try! I’m certain you won’t be disappointed!
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/4925880814501115/
Enjoy!
Sue
I just love your puppies!!! You capture their expressions so beautifully! Could just love ’em up!!!
Mangoes… Not in season yet. I have a lot on my two trees… After the birds and squirrels get their share, I should still have a few dozen…yum. My mom’s trees (very old, very big trees) has hundreds of mangoes! Maybe you have mango recipes to share? We will need them! :)
Boy this brought back a lot of memories, also in the stairs going down to the “cellar” we had a flat board with a blade in it hanging right next to the pencil sharpener. It was used to cut cabbage when my dad made sauer kraut. I still have the sharpener, plus one still in the box, that my husband bought because it was adjustable for different size pencils. I wish I still had the crock and the big white “lucky stone” used to keep the kraut submerged.
Ok…. who is Elizabeth’s father? I love James Spader, but why does he always have his head cranked to one side? Great show!!! Even better than Black List.
P
Have a great holiday weekend! Yes our family plays Mexican train as well and all bets are off and the real claws come out! And I too have a pencil sharpener in my laundry room!
Growing up in Pittsburgh, my grandparents had the pencil sharpener attached to their basement steps too. I wasn’t too fond of going down there because of all the spider and cobwebs. (They had a partial dirt floor in their basement which was where their car was parked). So I would sit on the steps and sharpen my pencils from there. Now we have a pencil sharpener attached to a wall in our basement, and the garage side of it too! – it came with the house ;). They did not have a full kitchen, but they did have a full bathroom in their basement. We love to play Mexican Train. In fact, that was our New Year’s Eve game this year. I think we played until 2 in the morning and had so much fun!
I’m living in Thailand for a year and it is, indeed, mango season!!! Before coming, I had no idea how many types of mangoes exist. Thais like green mangoes that are still crisp. They dip them in a hot chili paste (they dip a lot of things in hot chili paste!) I see a lot of the golden yellow mangoes at fruit stands right now; they’re the ones used for mango with sticky rice (pour a little sweetened coconut milk over your mango and you’ll have a whole new appreciation). This is a link about Thai mangoes: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg1120545719747.html?18
Another thing I learned the hard way…. Mango skin has the same toxins as poison ivy/oak. Make sure your mango has been washed before you go peeling it and wiping your hand across your sweat laden face!!!!
Your puppies are adorable:-)
My family LOVES Mexican train, but my friends all roll their eyes when I suggest playing dominoes! So many good memories of it from home–my grandpa always called it Japanese plane crash or Italian motorcycle accident or something ridiculous, and my sister cheats like nobody’s business. Great game!
I’ve lived in IN all my life with no connection to PA (or Italians) until adulthood. I remember basement kitchens,. I also remember pencil sharpeners, match boxes and bottle openers attached to the walls in the basement or the stairwell.
I have an unending love for cinnamon rolls! Although I have several favorite recipes, I just ran across this one on Design Sponge. The picture got me! http://www.designsponge.com/2014/04/in-the-kitchen-with-beth-kirbys-sticky-buns.html
Let me know if you make them & what you think! I haven’t tried them yet…have a great holiday weekend.
1. We LOOOOVE Mexican Train, so much fun!!!
2. Now I want to make some of The Pioneer Woman’s sweet rolls. Thanks. :)
3. I have had several delicious crates of champagne mangos from Sam’s Club. I live in Florida. Don’t know if that has anything to do with why they have so delish, but yum.
4. Going to Memorial Island for a wonderful honoring of our Military, then the pool, and a cookout.
I LOVE FLORIDA :)
I’ve been making dog food for about 25 years, and I’ve found that my dogs are healthier and live longer than dogs that eat conventional store-bought food. Recipes can be as simple as throwing together organic vegetables and “clean” cooked meat from health store/Whole Foods with a little distilled water. Or you can find more extensive recipes that include vitamins, oil, eggs, etc. (see Dr. Pitcairn’s book). My dogs no longer have chronic or recurring medical problems, and vet bills are minimal.
Hugs and kisses to Einstein! So sorry he is not feeling well. Hope he gets all well soon! Happy Memorial Day weekend! Thanks to all who have served for our country in the past and those in the present who are doing a great job!
I am a Realtor here in Pittsburgh and I see many basement pencil sharpeners. Don’t forget “the Pittsburgh potty”! Love your recipes and posts! Hope your sweet pup feels better soon!
Well, I’m from NY and there’s a wall mounted pencil sharpener right outside the basement kitchen (which I do think it’s an Italian thing! I once had to explain to a real estate attorney friend that it was for cooking in the summer, not for an illegal apartment like he thought) in the house my family built so long ago.
Hope Einstein gets better soon! He’s too cute for a cone of shame!
You just made another Pittsburgh girl smile! Hadn’t thought about the pencil sharpener mounted at the top of our basement steps for years! Although my old school Nonno used a knife to sharp his pencils when he wrote letters home to Italy on that tissue paper airmail stationary he had to use. The basement kitchen is such an Italian thing. When I was a kid in the late 196o’s / early 1970’s, I saw so many interesting things happen in the one my Grandparents had from making homemade root beer to a midnight escapade of slaughtering crates of chickens that my uncle said “fell off a truck”. It was many years before I figured out what that meant. I have a brother who lives in a mansion in Fox Chapel and guess what he just installed? A basement kitchen as a shout-out to out heritage. So much fun to hang out down there. Thanks for making me start off my Friday with such happy memories.
I always read you but rarely comment. I do have to add that I have started buying the yellow, kidney-like shaped mangoes here in Florida. I believe they come out of Mexico, but they taste SOOOOOO much better even though they are smaller. Hope that sweet pupper gets his ear cured.
I too live in Florida and buy those mangos by the case. I agree with you 100%. I look forward to them every season as my daughter and I are mangoaholics.
Our family plays Mexican Train whenever we get together. So fun!!
Pencil sharpener attached to the wall…yes. I thought it was because
it’s practical.
I live on Long Island and we had a pencil sharpener attached to the wall in our basement in the house we grew up in. I don’t think it’s a Pitts thing!
Ha! We have an old school pencil sharpener fixed to the wall at the bottom of the basement steps (we live in NY). The original owners put it there when they built the house some time back in the early 1960’s…funny, they were from PA! Love the pups, hope Einstein heals quickly!!
That is so funny that you say about an old school house pencil sharpener. We are from Altoona, Pennsylvania and now live in Florida. We have one attached to my husband’s work bench in the garage, that came with us from Pennsylvania. Love your posts. Have a great weekend.
Love the dogs!! Have you considered having them drain and essentially scar down his ears? I had to do that with my GSD and so have many friends in dog world. Keeps them from recurring. Have a happy holiday weekend.
Hi Elizabeth, That’s our last resort, as we’re trying to avoid an additional procedure since he does not appear to be in pain or really bothered at all by it. If the ear re-absorbs the hematoma it will form scar tissue and won’t be able to recur. Fingers crossed that it works!
I live in the house I grew up in and the same pencil sharpener is attached to the wall in our basement. In fact there is also a rotary dial phone attached to the wall. Not sure if this is an Italian thing our not but we even had a full kitchen in the basement and a match box holder on the wall next to the stove. Hope puppy is better soon. Hate when my fur babies dont feel good.
It’s not an Italian thing to have a kitchen in the basement. My in-laws (German) had one. Useful not only for large meals, but also for canning in the summer. It’s cooler there.
I have to get out of Vegas, it’s going to be too crowded this weekend so I’m headed to Zion National Park for some camping and smores! Poor Einstein!
You have the cutest dogs ever!
Poor Einstein~:-( hope that he gets better <3 to him
Mexican train dominoes are totally a beach thing for us!! Phase 10 & the game 31 are also favorites at the beach.