Lifestyles category, Page 145
Paris couture climbs Mount Olympus, plumbs marine depths
PARIS — Female empowerment, controversies about race, and designs that plunged to the depths of the seas then climbed Mt. Olympus were among themes to grace Paris Couture Week on its drama-filled first day. Here are some highlights of Monday’s spring-summer 2020 couture shows. Dior: Women rule (and glimmer) Dior’s...
Famous ice disk seems to be reforming in MaineVideo
A spinning disk of ice that made Westbrook, Maine, a tourist destination a year ago is returning. The city on Friday shared a photo via Twitter of a rather jagged sheet of ice gently rotating in the Presumpscot River. While it does not yet have the near-perfect round shape of...
National Park Service begins lake bed restoration in Cambria County
Following up on plans announced in December, the National Park Service states that the first phase of a lake bed restoration project at the Johnstown Flood National Memorial will begin this week. The project at St. Michael in Cambria County will begin with manual clearing to remove as many trees...
Out & About: WCCC hosts Culinary Olympics preview party
Members of the American Culinary Federation Culinary Team USA came to Westmoreland County Community College to preview the table display that they will present when competing in the 2020 Internationale Kochkunst Austellung, or International Culinary Olympics, Feb. 14-19 in Stuttgart, Germany. Their presentation — museum-worthy in its perfection — was...
Inheriting the fine china? Many younger folks say no thanks
Last summer, I cleaned out the house where my Grandma lived for 60 years. Every nook and cranny was filled with something — papers, mugs, old photographs, knickknacks, furniture. There were also two complete sets of Johann Haviland china, from plates and platters to an ornate coffee pot. What to...
Out & About: The Westmoreland celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.Video
On Jan. 18-19, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art hosted a weekend of events celebrating the legacy of civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr. Honoring King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, visitors were invited to stop in the Greensburg museum’s Center for Creative Connections and post their own dreams...
Out & About: Coverlet gallery exhibit links textiles and computersVideo
Did you know that there is a link between 19th-century woven coverlets and modern computers? The link is explored in “Technological Textiles: Computing History and Decorative Textiles,” the current exhibition in the Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery at Saint Vincent College. Some of us still remember that early computers...
Remember When: Jan. 20
100 years ago Prohibition begins in Valley area Four days after the national prohibition laws took effect, owners of the Kensington and Krick hotels of New Kensington were arrested for liquor violations. The owners and employees would face charges in federal court. 75 years ago Ford City man real tank...
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?...
