Dave and I stopped by the Pittsburgh Glass Center on Penn Avenue one afternoon. According to their website, "Pittsburgh Glass Center is the largest arts organization on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh's East End and is a cornerstone of the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative's redevelopment of an underutilized part of the city through the arts." We'd wondered where all the neat street art along Penn Ave was coming from; apparently, it is attributable to the Glass Center. Awesome work, guys! It is great to see this neighborhood being revitalized and full of art and color. 

Inside the Glass Center's section of art for sale, we were immediately drawn to the ducks commemorating the giant rubber duck's visit to Pittsburgh. We just had to buy one of the small ones, who we've named Alfred. Alfred graces my bedside stack of books and journals and brings us absolute delight. Alfred was created by local artist Travis Rohrbaugh. 

You can also take classes at the Glass Center, including date-night blown glass classes for two, something that's definitely found its way to our "someday" list of things to do. 

The Glass Center's gallery is currently displaying the Lifeforms exhibit, which was truly amazing. 

Think about it: this entire sculpture is made of glass. Glass is such a fragile, delicate medium; it seems amazing to be able to create such detail. 

We were "blown" away by each piece in the gallery, which were submitted by glass artists from everywhere. The Pittsburgh Glass Center is one of the top art glass centers in the world! 

Submissions could be mixed media as long as they were primarily glass. 

Ants were a popular subject matter for artists. 

We had so many more pictures from the Lifeforms exhibit; each and every piece amazed us. 

As a visitor, you can walk through the entire Glass Center, even the studios where artists work. There wasn't much work going on when we visited, but it was amazing to see the giant ovens and kilns they work with. 

This was another neat discovery in a city full of surprises. We can't wait to see what we find next!

We love Pittsburgh's many neighborhoods. Each one has its own character and feel. This is something Pittsburgh has that Chattanooga didn't. Chattanooga was one continuous place; there was nothing to discover, no interesting neighborhoods tucked away to stumble on. I think Pittsburgh's prolific number of neighborhoods has something to do with all the hills and rivers here; neighborhoods were somewhat dictated by geography. In our quest for the perfect spot to buy our first home, we've been crisscrossing the city on our free days, learning roads and how places connect in a way I never understood in all my years of living here. I'm thankful to Dave for opening up the city to me---having a passenger with a GPS and a good sense of direction has helped helped turn Pittsburgh from a labyrinth to a navigable place for me. 

We spent a day exploring the far East side of town. While we decided it's not the place for us to live, it was fun to check out. Being in Glassport was like being in a different city altogether. It has not recovered from the closing of the steel mills and the evacuation of industry and has a really gritty, tired feel. Also, it is literally built into the side of a cliff; I would not want to navigate the roads in the winter! 

We were fascinated by this old building in the middle of town. It was most recently used as an American Legion Club according to the sign out front, but has clearly fallen into serious disrepair. 

The vines overtaking the building came in a variety of colors. 

Oddly, it looks like the building was just left to crumble one day. Dave stuck his camera in a window, and there were books, National Geographic's from the 1980's (which we had to fight the urge to take with us), and stacks of other paper ephemera. 

The view from another window was even more grim. It looks like there was perhaps a fire; walls and doors were falling down, and objects were strewn about. 

Here, the floor had caved, still covered in chairs and tables used for meetings. It was a very strange, post-apocolyptic feeling. 

In its heyday, this would have been a stunning building. 

Walking around felt like being in some sort of time warp. 

We stumbled on this old church a few weeks later while driving through McKee's Rocks. 

I thought the juxtaposition of the ancient structure and the modern, light-up billboard was strange. 

I liked the clock on the church; while we were there, the bell tower struck 11:00.  I like thinking about a past time when the town would have kept time and determined whether they were late for a meeting or work according to the sound of the church bells. 

Sadly, the building was in need of repairs, but the details were fabulous. 

The structure had a good energy about her; it was as if she were thanking us for paying attention when her bells chimed 11:00. 

Check out this entryway! 

On the completely opposite side of the scale are these Glass Loft apartments on Penn Avenue in the Garfield/ Friendship neighborhood. It is crazy to see how much this area is being revitalized; when I used to live in Pittsburgh, this street was sketchy at best, and I always avoided driving down it. Now, it is populated by artists, coffee shops, a yoga studio, and the original anchors that drove the revitalization, vegan cafe Quiet Storm and the Pittsburgh Glass Center (more on that to come!) 

The architecture of this building is certainly neat. I believe it is also super green and eco-firendly; the sign advertises a tax credit for those who choose to live here. 

While this has nothing to do with architecture, I had to share this photo from the Yoga Hive, located in the Glass Lofts building. Using local Pittsburgh-ese language, the sign greets visitors with the studio's signature, "Namaste, Yinz." For those of you who don't live here, "Yinz" is like the Pittsburgh version of "Y'all." Dave was quite surprised to find Pittsburghers really do have their own language! And if you do live here, the Yoga Hive is having a special evening of Yoga and Kirtan tomorrow evening from 6-7:30. I haven't been yet, but I'm going to try to make it out for tomorrow. 

We woke up early this morning to the season's first dusting of snow! It melted quickly, but there was a thin layer on the deck and the roof of the shed. Yesterday, we picked the last of the green peppers and buried the green sprouts of garlic peeking above the earth under a thick blanket of compost to remind them to go dormant and keep them warm for the winter. I used to hate the cold, but now, after having lived in Florida for a few years, this gradual change of seasons feels natural. The cold air feels crisp and refreshing to breathe in. I think we're going to adjust to living back in the North just fine. 

Before it gets too late in the season, here is a roundup of Dave's best nature photography from over the summer we haven't yet had a chance to share. 

During a walk on the Montour Trail, we spotted these butterflies and bees enjoying this plant.  

There's always time for a dance by the creek! 

We didn't attract many hummingbirds with the new feeder this summer, but the deer are always a joy to watch. 

They loved the apples falling from our tree. 

Hello, Mr. Squirrel. 

We spotted these mushrooms in a Nashville park. 

We named this tree "The Singing Tree," because it was filled with so many songbirds, it sounded like a choir. 

One day, we found this gorgeous butterfly on the driveway. I wasn't sure if she was hurt, because she stayed perfectly still on the pavement even when I knelt right next to her. Because the day was a bit cool, we think she was perhaps sunning, trying to build up warmth from the blacktop. 

We wanted to move her away from cars in the driveway, and she let Dave pick her right up. When he gently placed her on a branch in this tree, she took flight, and flew all the way across the back yard to the neighbor's. 

My parent's neighbor grows tons of flowers, which he shades with colorful umbrellas each year. 

He grows some really lovely and unique varieties, which of course flourish under his careful attention. 

We explored nearby Settler's Cabin Park one sunny Saturday afternoon. 

We're certainly grateful for all summer's beauty we enjoyed, and now we happily welcome fall and winter and the changes they bring. 

In late August, a group called Knit the Bridge organized the United State's largest yarn bombing. They covered most surfaces of the giant Andy Warhol Bridge with a rainbow of colors. We have a feeling Andy would have approved. 

Each blanket was hand-knit or crocheted by volunteers, who then came together to sew their blankets onto the bridge for the installation. When the time came for the blankets to be taken down, they were to be laundered and donated to local homeless and animal shelters to help keep everyone warm for the winter. 

The Andy Warhol bridge was turned into a massive, fantastic, hand-made art project. 

On August 28, the bridge was closed to vehicle traffic for the Knit the Bridge party. 

It was so neat to see the bridge, an industrial, utilitarian structure and component of everyday life, turned into a space for gathering and art. 

An incredible amount of work went into crafting all these blankets by a small team of dedicated volunteers! 

In the center of the bridge, local arts organizations set up booths. Many of them offered fun craft projects for kids and adults. There were also local food vendors and live music in multiple locations along the bridge. 

Mom and Dad enjoyed the day along with Dave and I. 

Kids couldn't have been happier to spend the day playing on the colorful bridge. 

The culmination of the really cool Knit the Bridge party was the even cooler Yoga on the Bridge. Almost an hour before yoga was supposed to start, nearly all the space was full and participants were mat-to-mat. 

The entire Knit the Bridge party, including yoga, was completely free! 

Yoga on the Bridge was so popular, I hope it becomes a Pittsburgh tradition.