Friday night Colin and I hung out with some friends on the Nor'side at a favorite bar, favored because of the free popcorn and peanuts and the ability to throw shells on the floor (a habit I wish Colin would allow in our apartment). Walking around, hanging out on the rooftop deck at a friend's apartment, it all felt normal and somehow I feel like I might actually belong here in Pittsburgh.
Saturday Colin and I went to McConnells Mill State Park, an old mill set at the bottom of a lovely gorge alongside a river. It's up near the town where his grandparents live and since we were going up to visit them anyway, we decided to get in a little outdoor activity and excercise. (Heaven knows we don't get enough of that lately. Colin blames our full-time jobs. I blame laziness.) It was the perfect day for a hike - relief from the heavy humidity and heat that have settled in Pittsburgh for the past few weeks. When we told his grandparents we were going to the mill they made sure to tell us that at least one person each year is lured by the slippery rocks and falls in the river and drowns. I think it was a relief when we both walked in their door later that afternoon, dry and alive.
Today we went to church in the courtyard of a beautiful nearby church and had brunch with friends. Now Colin is golfing and I'm getting ready to go visit the chickens I'm watching for a few weeks. I have some letters to write and they could use the company -- I think they're feeling a bit cooped up (wow! Is that where the expression came from?) and missing their owner. One, Dotty, is a bit of an escape artist and try as I might, I can't figure out how she gets out of their fenced-in area. I don't think she can figure out how to get back in, either -- I came the other night to feed them and she was running around the yard all flustered and hungry. Freedom wasn't all she thought it would be, I guess.
