TrulyGrace

Empowering Women at the CMNH, the Penguins beat the Hurricanes

Yesterday morning I caught up with correspondence to friends.  I talked to Charles about the end of the semester and invited him and Susan to an event at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in conjunction with the Empowering Women exhibit.  The scheduled event listed on the CMNH website was local art demonstrations organized by Nina Marie Barbuto, which was facilitated by Elizabeth Fortunato and her sister Stephanie.  They provided glass, glue, tiles, grout, and guidance in the creation of self-designed mosaics.  It was the first time I had designed and created a mosaic!  I worked on a pattern I have been playing with before the beginning of the semester/ calendar year.  Stephanie explained that many of the materials were from Construction Junction and Creative Reuse, organizations of recycle here in Pittsburgh.  Upon completion of grouting the mosaic and gently cleaning the glass surfaces with a damp sponge, Stephanie kindly wrapped my tile in plastic, instructed me to allow it to dry at home, and to buff the surface with a dry towel once the grout has set. 

I walked about the Hillman Hall of Geology and its temporary exhibit of designed jewelry, Polar World (Judy H's and my collectively favorite exhibit), the Alcoa American Indian exhibit hall, and ended up in the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh exhibition.  There was a faux mosaic, which had sold, and a set of bowls called "It's the pits" which drew a smile across my face.  The security guard in the exhibit noted to me that I was "like a kid in a candy store" in this exhibit.

I walked home with my tile, had a couple of glasses of Indian chai brewed with Irish tea (hmmm..Mmm!)  and prepared to go to the Penguins game at the Consol Energy Center with Deb.  I caught an earlier bus (traffic, yesterday's/Friday's experience travelling, and the mass exodus from Pitt this weekend), arrived at her place to apply lotion to my hands, and we left for a dinner of French fries and pastrami sandwich halves at the venue.  We sat in section 121 this time, across from the goal as last time (section 115).  Sid didn't play this time, but his jersey was ubiquitous as we entered and found our seats.  Sid Crosby is a joy to watch in action, as his skates skip across the ice as he changes direction while skating.  He was injured in an earlier game this month when a puck hit him in the face, causing facial and dental injuries.  He's a great team player and leader, and is excited to get back in play as soon as the doctors give him the go-ahead.

The Pens started out ranked in the top 3 of the Eastern division before the game, and the Carolina Hurricanes (who have J. Staal now) were ranked a few dozen lower. 

We slayed the Hurricanes.  8-3....There was a presentation to the ticket winners of the "Shirt off my Back" giveaway where the players came out individually, met the winners before the bank of television cameras and were photographed there, and then signed the jersey.  Most of the winners sported Pens jerseys on their backs already....those who didn't were discussed by Deb and me:

me:  S/he hasn't got a jersey yet...Now s/he does...
Deb:  ..and a good one, too!

The children who won were discussed with equal gusto.

We greeted her cats after the grrreat game, refilled her water bottle, and she gave me a ride home. What a wonderful way to end the week.

posted by Grace @ 4/28/2013 09:31:00 AM