martinimade

In a departure from the norm for us, we went to Pittsburgh, my hometown, for the holiday.* On Wednesday, the 6.5 hour drive became 10 due to weather and a series of tactical errors. The less said, the better. Other than this:

when you know you are beaten, stop at Eat 'n' Park. You'll feel better afterward.

We did what one does on Thanksgiving, which was eat and visit with family. My Dad and the Tween did origami.

This picture delights me. I'm not sure why.

The next day, I visited a cemetery, as you do. Partly, I wanted to see where my grandmother had been buried and stop in to see her.

Partly, my motive was selfish. I've been searching for official spellings and dates for a couple of relatives and this seemed like a good way to get them.

The woman in the middle is my great-grandmother and who we named the Tween after. I've seen no fewer than five different versions of her first name. 

Then we warmed up and went to Phipps Conservatory, which might be one of my all-time favorite Pittsburgh attractions. Yes, there were flowers:

I am pretty sure this aloe is sentient.

Better, though, were all of the Chihuly installations:

I'm a Chihuly nut.

And stumble across his work more than one would think possible.

Love. 

Also love.

And then home again, as one does. It gets a little bit harder to leave the 'burgh each and every time. That dang city will just always feel like home.

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* Usually, we stay here and make everyone come to us. But my 25th high school reunion was going to be the Saturday after turkey day and I wanted to go. Because I am a member of Gen X, however, no one could be arsed to sign up for the reunion and it was cancelled.