The Autumn Leaves

C'est une chanson, qui nous ressemble
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Nous vivions tous, les deux ensemble
Toi que m'aimais moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment
Tout doucement sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable les pas des amants désunis

(Okay, the above lyrics don't apply to my life exactly, but perhaps the sentiment does. And how could I resist "The Autumn Leaves?")

My life is in an autumn. The leaves are constantly changing color. Every time you drive on the same street, the trees look different. Fiery reds, vibrant yellows, robust oranges--the colors of autumn that fade into one another, become one another. Breezes that coax the leaves from their branches, sending them into the whirling winds. Every moment is a treasure, because the morning sunrise may never reflect off of the clouds in just that way again, casting the brightly colored leaves in soft pink light. There is no illusion of permanence in autumn.

In love

After I taught my class today, I decided to stop by the grocery store near the studio.

I have found my new Central Market.

The place was huge (it had separate entrances labeled "Health & Wellness", "Produce," and other such things. It possessed the mark of a great grocery store: a wall of cheese (this made me happy, since I went in there to find some chevre). It also had a charcuterie, which I'd never even heard of, right in the middle of the store. Meat hanging all around. Being a (now) pseudo-vegetarian, that wasn't of particular interest, but I was impressed nonetheless. This grocery store has made my day. The Giant Eagle by our house is convenient, but we've found that it's not really suited to our needs (they only have three kinds of chocolate chips, and don't sell Red Curry Paste, for example).

Sooo, this will be our destination for special ingredients. Hooray!

We've made it to another Pizza Friday. This week has flown by! Today's menu features a pear, chevre, and caramelized onion pizza topped with dressed arugula--a variation on a pizza we made for my parents for their Super Bowl party (okay, I admit we're pizza snobs). Unfortunately, this time we don't have access to the $20-a-pound double cream artisanal goat cheese from the fancy cheese store . . .

We do make our own crust. This week, we're using this dough recipe, although divided by 1/4. (Last time we did the full recipe for 2 pizzas, and I thought it was a bit too much crust. By the way, the pizza itself is also worth a try.)

In conclusion, I have been talking way too much about food. Where's my Andyface, so we can go make that pizza?!?

Just Shy of Exhaustion

Life is hilarious, unexpected, and weird sometimes.

I got a call out of the blue offering an interview for a position that I didn't apply to. I'd interviewed for another position at the same facility, and my name was passed on to this other department (I guess I didn't get the first job . . . hrmmm). A week ago, I got another random call with a heads' up about another potential job opportunity from my sweet RS President. We'll see.

My teaching is going well, though I'm not so crazy about having to drive around everywhere all the time--just wears me out. I'm not really sure, considering opportunity cost, that I'm making the best use of my time and talents, but I guess the point is that I had to go any place that would have me at all. There will probably be some reevaluation of this approach as life goes on.



We got our new camera--Canon Powershot. This camera came highly recommended to us, and so far, we've been very pleased. Hopefully the weather will be nice this weekend so we can take some shots of the pretty changing colors on the trees! There are a lot of trees here.

I am super-tired, due to lack of sleep and a fair amount of stress this week. Definitely looking forward to pizza and a movie, or something equally "kick-back-and-relaxy." Heck yes.


That was last week's pizza. Tomato & yellow pepper with provolone and fresh mozzarella, homemade tomato sauce, real Parmigiano Reggiano and chopped fresh parsley. Yum. I love Pizza Fridays!

Fall Has Fallen

This week's forecast here in PGH is definite evidence of the onset of fall. Sweaters, scarves, and coats are climbing out of hibernation [I can't remember the last time I wore the jacket I'm currently donning, but apparently, I was hanging out with a big, furry dog at the time], empty warehouses across the country are turning into HALLOWEEN SUPER STORES, and the air is twinged with the scent of pumpkin spice lattes. Most of all, I am happy--because I LOVE FALL. And I love calling it "Autumn."

Autumn carries with it an air of nostalgia. You reflect on the upcoming end of the cycle of the seasons, on the end of the year, and perhaps (for those of the Romantic persuasion) the end of life. In autumn, we have the beginning of the "holiday season," where many of us enjoy our happiest memories and traditions. There is something about the sound of the leaves crunching beneath your feet, the feel of the crisp air, the way the light hits everything, that evokes these rich emotions within me.

There are, however, other reasons that autumn is my favorite season.

Reason #1: Fall Comfort Food

Despite summer's colorful bounty of crops, there are precious few dishes that actually sound appetizing on a hot summer day--especially when you take into consideration that you have to heat up your whole kitchen (and, in the case of our teeny apartment, the whole house) even to turn a piece of raw chicken breast into a chicken Caesar salad. The onset of fall comes as a great relief to a girl who loves to eat soups, stews, baked pastas, things covered in cheese, and other such rich and delicious foods that I don't bother to feel guilty about loving. Yesterday, to complement the cold and rainy Sunday, Andy and I had Spicy Sweet Potato Coconut Soup and cheese toasts, with chocolate-cinnamon bread pudding for dessert. A menu like that will take the chill right off of you.

Reason #2: Autumnal Attire

Again, there is something about breaking out those long-sleeved shirts and sweaters that is just comforting. Unfortunately, not too much of our wardrobe (cold-weather or otherwise) survived the Great Purge that took place before our move, not to mention the fact that the fall weather wardrobe required in PA is quite different from that of TX . . . so it looks as though we may do some shopping pretty soon (feel free to send us cash or gift cards, we're ever so cold! *weak, sickly cough*).

Reason #3: Pumpkin
(comic courtesy of NatalieDee.com)

Yes, pumpkin gets its own reason. What else can give so much? It can be muffins, jack-o-lanterns, scones, cookies, cakes, beverages, soups, stews, interior decoration, and, of course, the ubiquitous pie. I've already made pumpkin scones and pumpkin cupcakes (or "muffins," if you eat them before noon). I will continue to turn pumpkin into whatever I feel like, tinting my pancakes, my breads, and anything else I can think of a lovely orange color. And I will love it.

I could go on, but three is such a good bullet-point format! So, happy fall, everyone! Now . . . what should I be for Halloween??

Our New Faces

Well, we had a wonderful weekend to celebrate something that's happening on Tuesday. First, we ate at Pamela's, a favorite of the Obama family. There's usually a big line outside of this place, especially on the weekends. We were skeptical, as we often are of anything that is very widely popular, but it actually lived up to (and exceeded) our expectations. The thin, crispy-edged pancakes were borderline addictive (secret ingredient: crack?), and we discovered that Pittsburgh doesn't really wake up before 10AM on a Saturday morning, even when sweet, tasty hotcakes (generously doused with butter and syrup) are on the line.

We tried to go to Shakespeare in the Park, but couldn't find a place to park at the Park, so we left the Park without parking and had our picnic lunch at another Park.

Then, perhaps feeling a little homesick, we cut and pasted an Arts and Jazz fest, by going to the Fair in the Park (arts and crafts fair) and then to Jazz Day at Schenley Plaza. Good times! I love Pittsburgh's free festivals and so forth. Woohoo!

Unfortunately, while at Schenley, we lost our camera. Soo, thanks to Google Image Search, I have located the new and improved Andy & Rachel :



Pretty close, right? I like yoga. And Andy likes hoodies.

Red, Yellow, and Green

One of the biggest adjustments we have made since the move has to do with how we get around. Driving is a totally different experience here than in TX--much more interactive, and much less rule-bound.

Now, I'm pretty sure that many of the laws are the same--at least in the books. A simple example:

We all know that Green means Go, Yellow means Proceed with Caution, and Red means Stop.

If you ask someone in Texas what they do when they approach these lights, they'll probably tell you that, yes, Green means go, and Red means stop . . . but Yellow means "speed up so you make it through the light."

I think if you posed the same question here in Pittsburgh, your answer would be yet different. Here, Green means go, Yellow means go, and Red means look before you go. (As far as I can surmise, it's considered fair game to go on a red light, as long as you actually saw the light change to red. I think almost every single time I go through a yellow light that changed red while I was in the intersection, thinking, "I probably should have stopped," the car behind me also went right through it.)

Drivers also interact much more here. In Texas, if someone has started to make a turn they couldn't quite execute, leaving them sticking out in an awkward position, other drivers will curse this person, saying, "It's your own fault for trying to make that turn, skalliwag!" Here, someone will probably let you correct yourself, with a wave of their hand or a flash of their lights. The same goes for if you're trying to change lanes, parallel park, or do some other maneuver that requires you to hope for the good will of your fellow drivers.

Other things to watch out for include cars parked in the right lane, many right- and left- turn only lanes, cyclists, pedestrians, emergency vehicles (today, on my way to the library, I saw a caravan of 4 cop cars and an ambulance!), narrow streets, street-sweeping signs (restricting parking at certain hours of the week), etc.

We're adjusting, though, and learning how to make a left turn just when the light turns red or green in the absence of a left-turn arrow. (I have, on more than one occasion, been honked at for not making a left turn INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC when the light is green. I don't yet have that level of trust in my fellow drivers, but perhaps it comes with time.) We wonder how this will translate in our next visit to Texas. We're starting to drive like Yanks!

Never Park Your Car Without It . . .

Remember The Club? This handy device could prevent your car from being stolen by some scruffy looking guy with his shirt untucked. Even if you lived in a big city, they would see The Club and cower, knowing they were no match for its airtight engineering. I'm assuming this would-be criminal would then decide a life of crime was too challenging, and straighten up, eventually securing a job as an investment banker. This might jog your memory.

Anyway, since having come here to Pittsburgh, I've noticed that The Club hasn't quite died out around here. Just this morning I saw one latched onto the steering wheel of an Explorer. I hadn't seen one in years back in Texas. Maybe Pittsburgh is stuck in a time warp.

Other evidence of the time warp:
*the prominence of cash-only business establishments (if you're lucky, there may be an ATM [ca. 1990] in the shop)
*K-Mart. I know that K-Mart didn't die everywhere, but since it's been a while since there's been one near me, I associate it with a period of time gone by
*Kennywood Park , apparently where the movie Adventureland was filmed

Conclusion:
Further research needed.

We love it here so far, though. We have an awesome new ward, full of a bunch of really smart (often nerdy and awkward) people. This ward has more advanced degrees (in pursuit or received) per capita than any ward I've ever attended. It's inspiring to hang out with people who use words like "nefarious" in regular conversation, and in a place where having a PhD is not exceptional. That aside, everyone's really nice, too. We counted last night, and in the two months that we've been here, we've had dinner, dessert, and / or game nights with no fewer than 14 couples--and all this with just invitations extended to us. This is good for a couple of introverts: people are making it really difficult for us to fade into the background. It's nice, for a change.

Andy got a job, and I had an interview. I'm on the fence as to whether or not I even want the position if they offer it to me. I guess we'll just wait and cross that bridge when / if we get there.

Another benefit of our new locale is that we have more blue-friends. In fact, we have hunches that a good proportion of our new ward may be democrats, including some of our clerical leaders. It's strange to go to church and not feel like The Enemy.