Lifestyles category, Page 140
Living with Children: Unsure about visitation privileges
Question: Our 10-year-old granddaughter lives with us. We have custody of her but her father, our son, is now asking us for visitation privileges. I probably don’t need to tell you that both he and his ex-wife were not up to parental responsibilities. He says he’s cleaned up his act...
Plan that dream vacation at the Pittsburgh Travel Showcase
It’s never too early to start planning your summer (or any season) getaway. In fact, making travel plans in the middle of winter might help chase away those January blues. Whether your vacation destination is in the Laurel Highlands, halfway across the country, on another continent, on land or sea,...
Travel tip: New Mexico’s White Sands now a national park
Travelers who like to visit America’s national parks now have an added destination — White Sands National Park near Alamogordo, N.M. Previously a national monument, the world’s largest gypsum dunes area — covering 275 square miles — was designated the nation’s 62nd national park on Dec. 20, 2019. Visitors will...
How to perfectly melt chocolate
Chocolate-dipped Oreos, chocolate-covered strawberries, cake toppers — lots of desserts call for perfectly smooth, melted chocolate. But melting chocolate can be intimidating. One wrong step and you’re left with a sticky mess and a burnt pan. However, with just a few simple tips, you can master the art of chocolate...
10 foods that can substitute as cleaning supplies
Cleaning the house isn’t exactly fun, but you might be able to make it easier — or at least, more amusing — with one of these 10 foods substituting as cleaning supplies. You can save some money by not spending on expensive specialty products, not to mention you can avoid...
How to grow the super-fruit goji berry
Gogi berries (Lycium barbarum) are the latest super fruits. They’re high in antioxidants and nutrients, and several cultures dry the berries and use them for medicinal purposes as well. They are said to support immune function and regulate blood pressure. Nightshade- family cousins of the tomato, pepper and eggplant, goji berries...
Leechburg’s Lingrow Farm hosting a wedding open house
Getting married soon? Lingrow Farm is hosting an open house. Brides- and grooms-to-be are invited from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 19 in Gilpin Township where more than 20 professional wedding vendors will be available to help couples plan that special day. The event includes tours of 50 acres of...
National Popcorn Day celebrates crunchy goodnessVideo
Jan. 19 is National Popcorn Day. The Popcorn Board has numerous recipes to help make your Super Bowl viewing, movie night, awards show snacking easy and flavorful. And though traditional butter and salt is hardly passé, the popcornboard.org website has numerous other sweet and savory suggestions. Here’s one. Caramel Pecan...
Applications being accepted for Show and Sell and event for new makers
Calling all crafters. Handmade Arcade is bringing back its Show and Sell, an indie craft pop-up market for crafters who are starting out and who make things by hand. It’s for new and emerging makers, according to a news release. Show and Sell is one of four events this year...
Birthday buddies: Teacher, student celebrate 75-year friendshipVideo
As a young child, Garnet Overly recalls, she always looked forward to school. “Schooling was something I always enjoyed. I enjoyed going to school and I enjoyed my teachers I had in the lower grades. Right now don’t ask me their names,” says Overly, 94, of Donegal Township. “I remember...
What’s plaguing that jade plant?
Question: Several of my jade plants have developed black spots as well as places on the edge or middle of the leaf that totally dry up. I’ve never encountered anything like this and feel it must be some kind of weird virus. I’ve been spraying with a biofungicide and also...
Herbs offer fresh taste from windowsill planters
Bright afternoon sun streams in the dining room window, backlighting a tall ‘Genovese’ basil plant. The herb is flanked by rosemary, thyme, tarragon, parsley and dill. The dill has bitten the dust, but the others are doing well on the windowsill. They will never grow with the vigor of outdoor...
Phipps’ annual orchid, bonsai show is ‘Out of This World’
It’s “all systems go” as Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens prepares for takeoff to a new galaxy of gardens that are truly “Out of This World” in its annual Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show opening Jan. 18. Phipps’ “Guardians of the Galaxy” (the show’s designers) include Jordyn Melino, associate director...
Latrobe chamber offers group tour of Ireland
A journey of discovery from Westmoreland County to the Emerald Isle is less than a year away, in the first-ever foreign travel package offered by the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. There is no limit to the number of chamber and community members who can sign on for...
To make a grain bowl great, start by seasoning farro
The promise of a grain bowl — with vegetables arranged atop it as artfully as a wedding bouquet — is one of a bright, beautiful future. But carelessly made, it can end up a slog of chewy, underseasoned filler. Better than tossing cooked and chilled plain grains with a dressing...
Jam or jelly? Marmalade or preserves? All are good but in different ways
Is there any breakfast more simply satisfying than toast with jam? Or wait, was that jelly? Or was it preserves? Maybe marmalade? Fruit spreads are all deliciously similar, but they do have definite distinctions. Whether you smother your fresh baguette with preserves from the farmers market or smear your peanut...
The perfect baked potato begins with Russets
A fluffy baked potato is a glorious thing, but too often you slice into the potato and it is shiny and waxy, not light and creamy in texture. Baking a potato is the easiest thing in the world, right? Then why are so many potatoes lacking in texture and flavor?...
Snoop Dogg teams up with Dunkin’ on new plant-based sandwich
After helping Dunkin’ launch its Beyond Sausage Sandwich last November by working the counter of a store and surprising customers, Snoop Dogg and the doughnut company are now promoting a new twist on the sandwich. Introduced on Monday, the Beyond D-O-Double G Sandwich features a Beyond Breakfast Sausage patty with...
What’s Brewing? Collaboration beers with bands, bakeries and charities
The excitement continues with beer collaborations across the country and right here in Pennsylvania. Whether a brewery works with a band to invigorate its fan base, a local bakery to rouse your sweet tooth or a charity that is in desperate need of help, one thing is for certain —...
Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau releases destination guide
If you’ve got some free time and enjoy exploring the Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties region, the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau is releasing a free, 72-page brochure packed full of ideas for everything from winter fun to dining, hiking to history. The bureau’s 2020 Destination Guide serves to promote the...
Company changes the game with square-tipped knives
A British cutlery company has gotten the point. Well, to be more accurate, it’s gotten rid of the point. British silversmith company Viners has responded to a new law passed in May 2019 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 was designed to address violent...
And the new Fiesta color is … Butterscotch
Fans of Fiesta dinnerware will have an orangey-yellow color to add to their palette this year. In what has become an annual rite of early January, the Homer Laughlin China Co. announced its newest Fiesta color — Butterscotch — Tuesday morning from the Atlanta Market, formerly the Atlanta International Gift...
Out & About: Good mix of ingredients make for a tasty Art on Tap
Was it a coincidence or masterful planning? The Jan. 10 Art on Tap happy hour at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art featured a “to die for” cream of mushroom soup from Elegant Catering, the featured organization was Empty Bowl and the Heavenly Biscuits provided the music. Knowing the museum...
Easy ways to brighten rooms in winter
When home designer and builder Marnie Oursler talks with clients about building their dream homes along the Delaware coast, their No. 1 request is having bright spaces with lots of natural light. But at this time of year, it can feel like that brightness and light is in short supply...
Out & About: Pop fiction writers meet with Seton Hill MFA students
For most of their tenure, students in the Seton Hill University Writing Popular Fiction MFA program work remotely from home. Twice yearly, they gather at the Greensburg campus for face-to-face meetings and workshops with faculty members and guest writers. Each residency includes a talk and reception with successful pop fiction...
