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- 18-year-old grandkid's Eagle Scout Court of Honor and dinner
- (same night) Hear my son-in-law play Tchaik 6 (assuming comp tic's and we'll ride in with him, so not even a parking fee).
- (next afternoon) Hear my 16-year-old grandkid play principal horn in Pines of Rome (Pittsburgh Youth Symphony) in Heinz Hall.

pretty good stuff...albeit 22 hours (just a bit above speed limits) of r/t driving in the '07 Toyota through the wee hours (part of the strategy in making it there and back in only 11 hrs. each way).

and hail no...I ain't takin' no tuba to keep up with my "practice routine".






13-year-old makes good grades, is a good swimmer and is a Tenderfoot (or whatever they call 'em, these day) Scout.
It's good to have one "plain ol' " grandkid.
That one will probably end up the happiest (??)

Sounds like a great weekend in the 'Burg, Grandpa!

prodigal wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 2:41 pm Sounds like a great weekend in the 'Burg, Grandpa!

also: May XX is better than most anything Dec - March re: Pitts., driving, etc.

Sounds like a great weekend. I haven't been back to Pittsburgh in an embarrassing number of years. Great city, especially in the springtime.

I'd let you practice on my new to me B&S 5099, but she will be here in MD with me hopefully before you head out. Story to follow when I take delivery. Let's just say, sometimes it takes a village, a family, and even a student.

Bloke, just don't get a Primanti Bros. sandwich. As a native Yinzer, I love my Steelers, and Penguins but I just can't stomach that much in one bite! I mean, I understand a burp of the sandwich, Cole slaw and whatever else, but all of the flavors at one is a bit too much IMHO.

I don't have the tires nor the chains to get in and out of there in the winter.

Understood. They're calling for 1-30 inches here in NE MD in the next week.

My last day of school is June 25 as of now. Md. Law states that we can go till 6/30, I think we'll be there.

I floated the idea of a Summer concert in June with my Freshmen and Seniors today. I asked my then to be graduated seniors if they'd want to play, and they're in. If this is a go, I want some full orchestra pieces and someone else to conduct. I want to play along on my 186! Or maybe some Wagner on the F tuba!

prodigal wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 5:24 pm Bloke, just don't get a Primanti Bros. sandwich. As a native Yinzer, I love my Steelers, and Penguins but I just can't stomach that much in one bite! I mean, I understand a burp of the sandwich, Cole slaw and whatever else, but all of the flavors at one is a bit too much IMHO.

I haven't had one since my 20s but I can still taste them, and I miss them so, so much.

My buddy and I worked at Heinz Hall as ushers in college. We would stop at Primantis on the way and get sandwiches and two Iron City beers and then go to work. Probably not ideal for the hall, but ideal for us.

If you get a chance to eat at Pamela's Diner, probably a top 3 meal of all time for me. I daydream of it often...

I love Pittsburgh. One of the most underrated cities in America.

Three things to check out that probably are not on your radar

Soldiers and Sailors museum
https://www.soldiersandsailorshall.org/

Roberto Clemente Museum
https://clementemuseum.com/

you have to do the incline a get the best view of the city
https://www.duquesneincline.org/

prodigal wrote: Thu Feb 19, 2026 5:24 pm Bloke, just don't get a Primanti Bros. sandwich. As a native Yinzer, I love my Steelers, and Penguins but I just can't stomach that much in one bite! I mean, I understand a burp of the sandwich, Cole slaw and whatever else, but all of the flavors at one is a bit too much IMHO.

I say hold the slaw. It's a decent sandwich. It's still a must for a tourist. I'm more of a pierogi guy

I'm not a tourist.
I'm just a grandparent.
I don't go to cities unless I'm compelled to.
This is an exception.

Someone I've known forever moved there a year or so ago. He said that housing is a disaster because everything available has serious problems. They did finally find one, built in the late 1940s, that was in acceptably good condition. I don't know if they have been to the symphony yet -- there are more like line dance music players. And I keep getting pictures of the weather report.

Mary Ann wrote: Fri Feb 20, 2026 12:42 pm Someone I've known forever moved there a year or so ago. He said that housing is a disaster because everything available has serious problems. They did finally find one, built in the late 1940s, that was in acceptably good condition. I don't know if they have been to the symphony yet -- there are more like line dance music players. And I keep getting pictures of the weather report.

My daughter and her husband paid a big chunk for their place even before all of the bidenflation, and then threw another hundred and something thousand dollars at it to make into an okay house. It's pretty cool now but it's not big, Even though three stories. I'm sure that after all the money printing that occurred they could not have afforded to have done what they did to it, and nor would they have probably been able to buy it in the first place.

I feel sorry for their big dog who is rarely let outside except to poop and two cats who have to stay inside all the time.

bloke wrote: Fri Feb 20, 2026 9:48 am I'm not a tourist.
I'm just a grandparent.
I don't go to cities unless I'm compelled to.
This is an exception.

Not a grandparent. But I briefly left Kitsapalaccia last evening for Gig Harbor, or South Port Orchard, WA. So that I could get a spare Ergobone for one of my horns. That, and to hit a Sonic. No, I don’t drive to Port Angeles for Frugals. My dog doesn’t tolerate the big city life.

Imp n arn.

I've never been much for public drinking and - now that we've had a hyperinflationary period whereby restaurant food all now costs between two and four times as much as it did around the year 2000, I just don't find those types of experiences to be worth the cost. I discourage my children from taking us out to eat, and (again) I'm just not interested in going out to drink. (Even though I play the tuba. I really don't like beer... certainly not American piss beers.)

We don't go out to eat ever... not even fast food, because I just don't like the idea of paying $4 to $7 for a really bad hamburger... and not even Chick-fil-A...(Christian chicken with a smile is just as expensive as anyone's else.)
I enjoy this comfortable house (though it's really too large, and we'll probably move to something smaller within a few years), these pastures that I fenced, working out in the shop on some of your instruments with the radio going, and occasionally traipsing through my woods.
Going out once or twice a week to play some music (and being paid back a little bit for my time) is enough socializing for me, along with my wife dragging me to her monthly Scottish heritage club meetings (I'm about as Scottish as Marvin the Martian), whereby I pitch in and do some of the 3D stuff that they need done, when it's time to do those things.

What I would like is to be able to traipse through my woods, or float on my pond. Ain't gonna happen here, and moving requires more wherewithal than I think I'll ever have again. So I roast and enjoy the indoors as much as possible.

I wanted to live in the limestone belt of central PA while going through college, and teach elementary band. Teach during the day, and cast a line for a wild brown trout in the evenings, and hunt in the fall.


Well, I'm in Maryland, but VERY blessed with just under 7 acres with livestock and kids. We never go out to eat, sometimes we pick up a pizza from one of the two mom and pop pizza places after a late game or practice. We are blessed with discount grocers around us to feed our four kids, but we raise our own (or I hunt for) meat and try to grow as best a garden as we can, which will be off to a late start this year.

Self-sufficiency is our hobby, and I enjoy the farm chores after teaching teenagers all day and dealing with my kids drama, doing hard, dirty work is good therapy.

It is overly expensive to live in NE Maryland for the quality of living though, where I grew up, NE of Pittsburgh was about a third the cost of everything here, with more space, but it was the rust belt and jobs were/are on the decline. We do have many more sunny days here which is wonderful.