After a brief holiday lapse (too much turkey and tryptophan), the Pittsburgh Area Kossacks group is up and running.
At this writing we're approaching a couple of dozen members who have joined or asked to join and have been sent invitations.
If you are from the Western PA area and are interested in becoming a member of our clan, send me a message via Kos or dweb823@aol.com and we'll send out an invitation.
Send me Kos name, an e-mail address (and if you don't have one, a gmail is preferred to ease your joining a Google e-mail group we will be creating.) Also your address and phone number if you are willing, or at least a home town so we can help measure the geographic spread of our membership.
Our initial group goes as far afield as Erie, with a couple of folks up there and otherwise is spread around the Pittsburgh area and surrounding burbs. And we also have members who live as far away as California, but have ties to Pittsburgh and want to stay in touch.
More below the orange representation of the 2012 Steelers season (ugh that was a BAD loss yesterday.)
Your humble (initial) editor has crossed an important milestone, having celebrated his 70th birthday Sunday. His sweetie helped ease the pain (it was just a day but seemed like a decade) with a double dose of bacon for breakfast. As she usually rations my access to this wonderful food, it was a measure of her affection.
That and a new birdfeeder with a whirling perch designed to send squirrels back to the ground to pick up leftovers completed a wonderful day. We are still awaiting the squirrel's first attempt at the feeder, but he may also be holed up sleeping off the pig-out he enjoyed in our tray feeder Saturday. Then we discovered that the heater we use to keep the bird bath tray from freezing had died, and the bath was now a hockey rink. Given the failure of the NHL to reach agreement with its players, that may be the only ice action we'll see this season around here, but we got a replacement coil and the surface is now free of floes.
Rationing is likely to suffer mightily this coming week as my family descends for further celebration of the milestone....two brothers, a sister, my son and daughter and assorted spouses will meet up with my sweetie's family for a series of delicious feasts, a few games of hearts, (and the always exciting Airing of Grievances.)
Son Eric, chef extraordinare (www.ericcwebster.com) and his sister will prepare a culinary feast on Saturday...details to be revealed, but guaranteed to be superbly delicious.
So come and join us fellow Pittsburgh Area Kossacks....we'll be working shortly on arranging our first meet-up...probably after the first of the year when the dust settles, the squirrel learns his manners and we recover from a few more big meals and the resolution of grievances.
Happy holidays Yinzers everywhere!