Dana Daily

Before reading this entry, you may want to read, Allegheny Arsenal, Parts I , II , and III , if you haven't already. Why Pittsburgh? With the United States now stretching its borders from one ocean to the other, it is easy to forget that at one time Pittsburgh was on the western border of the United States . In Pittsburgh two rivers (the Monongahela and Allegheny) meet at “ The Point ” to form another major river (the Ohio ) which then flows into another you may have heard mentioned in passing, the Mississippi River . Both the British and the French fought for control of the Pittsburgh area in the 1750s. The importance of these waterways cannot be underestimated. A wealth of information is available on a Pittsburgh history blog including this: “ In 1753, George Washington, under orders from Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, explored the land at the confluence and wrote, ‘I spent some time in viewing the rivers and the land in the fork, which I think extremely well suited ...

In my hot little hands I am holding the Lawrenceville Historical Society’s newsletter, promised to me by “Coworker Josh”, published by the Lawrenceville Historical Society. Called Historical Happenings it is a wealth of information regarding the Allegheny Arsenal. The research and articles were submitted for the newsletter by Tom Powers and James Wudarczyk. Since I’ve already discussed a bit of the arsenal’s history, I’ll just make a few additions here. ·         Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of the most sought after architects in the country, designed the arsenal. Many in western PA will recognize the “Latrobe” name as a town in Westmoreland County was named for him. ·         The arsenal consisted of 50 structures (four buildings remain today). ·         The arsenal stretched over 38 acres. ·         Total cost of the arsenal was $300,000 (an e...

So, my blog has a new look. What do you think? We change our underwear. We change our hair color. Why not change our blog designs? My new blog design makes me happy. It simultaneously reminds me of creamsicles and raspberry sorbet. And, just like creamsicles and sorbet, change is good.

If you haven't read Allegheny Arsenal, Part I, click here . One of my coworkers lives in Lawrenceville and in passing I remarked that I was in his neighborhood recently checking out Arsenal Park . Josh seemed surprised, but I explained the email and my interest in history. That got him talking. I never would have guessed that Josh is a history enthusiast, but he is on the Board of Directors for the Lawrenceville Historical Society . GOLD MINE! He shared some more information about the arsenal and then casually mentioned that it just so happens the historical society’s newsletter features the Allegheny Arsenal in this publication. Fact is stranger than fiction. But, it gets even better. He is going to bring me a copy. . .for a quarter. Ah, gotta love his sense of humor. Every year on the first Saturday after the 4 th of July, Lawrenceville hosts “Doo Dah Days”, or rather Doo Dah Day as it lasts only one day, but that is neither here nor there. Doo Dah Day s is a festival...

History has always interested me and the Pittsburgh area has plenty. I stumbled upon today's subject by chance. On a “Roadtrips in Pennsylvania ” website I noted a short paragraph on Allegheny Arsenal Park and realized that I know exactly where it is. Like a lot of people I’m sure, I’ve passed it and never thought twice about its name, the location, or its historical significance. I decided to check it out with Sarah and Emily in tow. Located in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh , home of Sarah and Emily’s paternal great-grandparents incidentally, the   Allegheny Arsenal was established in 1814. It was an important supply and manufacturing center for the Union Army during the American Civil War.  It is also the site of the single largest civilian  disaster during the war. On September 17, 1862 , around 2 pm , the arsenal exploded. The explosion shattered windows in the surrounding community and was heard in Pittsburgh , two miles away. Other explosi...

KidsPlay in the Square is an exciting and educational program available for children and families every Friday morning during the summer, offering stories, crafts and special guests. This morning Faces by Christina was on site for amazing face painting - this is not your mama's face painting. There are some real masterpieces on her site, but my own children chose Minnie Mouse and a "choo choo". Sarah's pick didn't surprise me a bit, but a train for Emily? I guess so.   KDKA was also on hand for a segment on free and fun things to do around Pittsburgh. It will air either tonight on the 5pm news or on Monday. Set your DVRs and be sure to watch for Sarah and Emily. WISH 99.7, a local radio station, provided chips and ice cream. We enjoyed our ice cream back at the car so as not to be towed or ticketed by the meter maid.

Sarah and Emily each receive five pennies at bedtime (see  Night Terror ), the idea being that if either one gets out of bed for any reason after she’s tucked in, she owes me one penny for each occurrence. Emily either doesn’t understand the concept or doesn’t care, but for Sarah it works like a dream (pun intended).  Actually, it might work a little too well. I was awakened one night by the sound of her crying. Since she’s not a nighttime crier, I immediately assumed the worst; she was going to be sick. I flew into her room and asked what was wrong. Through her sobs I figured out that she needed to go potty, but was afraid she’d lose a penny. I can only imagine how long she laid there contemplating her dilemma. Now when I dole out the pennies at bedtime and restate the rule – you get out of bed, you lose a penny – Sarah always pipes up, “unless I have to go potty”.

"The Night Terror" and no, not the nightmares. My kid. My 2 year old kid, specifically. How many of you have heard, or even said, "no two children are the same". Well, if you've said it, you're wrong. If you've heard it, you've been lied to. When it comes to sleep, neither of my kids enjoy it, let alone appreciate it's restorative benefits. Sarah didn't sleep through the night until she was 9 months old. Now though, I bribe her with 5 pennies every night just to get her to stay in bed. It works and as a result, this post is not primarily about her, for which she should feel honored and lucky. Initially I thought Emily would be my sleeper (at 2 weeks she was sleeping an unheard of 10 hours a night), but as she grew, she proved me wrong. She is awful. Bedtime is one battle after another, night after night. As her mom, it's stressful, mentally exhausting, and I flat out dread the evening hours. The long and short of it is, it takes ...

Sarah and Emily were in such good moods yesterday and really wanted to play outside so I took along my camera. Enjoy!

I consider myself fortunate to be in my 30s and have two living grandparents. I also like to think I still have a full set since I have 1 grandma and 1 grandpa, but each are widowed so it's a bit of stretch on my part. With at trip back home this weekend, I was able to visit with each. I promise to get pictures with my grandpa during the next visit, but today we talked Grandma into a "Four Generations" Photo. The self-timer feature has the ability to amuse people of all ages.

I grew up in small-town America and in the course of the 18 years that I was a permanent resident I had not attended a concert by the Silver Cornet Band (which celebrates it's 155th birthday this year). My mom and I took Sarah and Emily to the band's first concert of the season - a Thursday "Concert in the Park". People gathered in South Park on old blankets, old-school lawn chairs, and camp chairs. It was chilly so many covered themselves with blankets as well. My children were content to wear sweatshirts over their dresses (the same dresses they had refused to change out of in spite of my warning that they would get cold as the sun went down). For a 7:30 show time (rather late to start a new activity for 4 and 2 year olds) and the fact that a silver cornet concert is nothing more than some people playing instruments on a somewhat distant stage, the girls enjoyed themselves. I would have enjoyed it more myself had Emily not been begging for popcorn as if she h...

Since I get asked all the time if Sarah and Emily are twins, I decided to start dressing them alike. Here they are before school yesterday. Who knew that hours later Sarah would be diagnosed with strep throat (round 2 for this spring). The antibiotics kicked in fast and she's already feeling better.

June 1 seems like an appropriate day to showcase one of my all time favorite stage productions, Roger and Hammerstein's 1956 "Carousel". Set in 19th century New England, "Carousel" revolves (get it revolves ) around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. Billy attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; when it goes wrong, he has a chance to make things right. While the score is amazing, the dancing is even better. This is the creme de la creme of musical theater, and apparently I'm not the only one to think so. In 1999, Time Magazine named "Carousel" the best musical of the 20th century. The lyrics will make you giggle and the dancing is pure theatrical entertainment; so in honor of June 1, treat yourself to this little rendition of June is bustin out all over.