More Lifestyles category, Page 52
Tailor your virtual socializing to fit your family and friendsVideo
The covid-19 pandemic has forced people everywhere to learn ways to be social while maintaining social distance. From Slack chats to Zoom meetings to Facebook Live cooking clubs, there’s a way for just about everyone to find respite from the day-to-day boredom and isolation of quarantine. Game nights, happy hours,...
National fundraiser supports Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and other libraries
A library isn’t just a physical building with books. Patrons are connecting with libraries during the coronavirus pandemic through eBooks, virtual story times, job help and other online resources. Donations are being accepted today for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh through Library Giving Day. The library needs financial help to...
Westmoreland County residents can share stories for pandemic archive
What’s your covid-19 story? Westmoreland County residents are invited to share their pandemic experiences for a digital archive being created by the Saint Vincent College History Department and the Westmoreland Historical Society. “The public is encouraged to submit personal stories about family life, work, school and relationships, along with videos,...
Greensburg-based Feeding the Spirit offers free Saturday meal distribution
For nine years, Feeding the Spirit has offered a free Thursday dinner to those in need at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Greensburg. With the church closed during the coronavirus-related shutdown, the organization needed to come up with a “Plan B,” said Deborah Thackrah, founder of the local nonprofit that...
Improving your home’s function as refuge
When your entire life is happening inside your home, it matters how that space feels and functions. Interior designers often focused on this even before self-quarantine, asking clients how they spend their time at home and how various rooms might make them happier. These questions get at the real purpose...
Living with Children: What to do about aggressive 3-year-old at home and school
Question: My 3-year-old son tends to react physically when he’s mad at a preschool classmate instead of talking it out and letting the teachers intervene. We have encouraged him to use words when he’s angry, but he doesn’t seem to get it. Today he bit a classmate (the second time...
Greensburg Community Days canceled due to coronavirus concerns
The upcoming Greensburg Community Days festival has been canceled. Uncertainties surrounding coronavirus-related shutdowns led to the decision, said Trudy Ivory, Greensburg Recreation Department facilities manager. The 26th annual event was scheduled for May 21-23 at Lynch Field. The long-running kickoff to summer features a midway, games for all ages, crafts...
Need for seed: Gardeners flock to stores, overwhelm websites
NITRO, W.Va. — The sweet peppers were picked over, the tomatoes were taken and the flowers were fixing to be next. The empty spots on the store’s display were starting to outnumber the full ones. Gardeners are feeling the need for seed, grabbing packets off shelves at an accelerated rate....
Quarantine 15: Stop the weight gain with a few painless stepsVideo
What’s the difference between the “Freshman 15” and the “Quarantine 15”? For college freshmen who played sports in high school, the dreaded weight gain might start when they no longer have that regularly scheduled exercise. Then there are the late-night pizza deliveries and fast food runs. And, let’s face it...
At-home workouts: Flatten your tummy as you flatten the curveVideo
“Covid-15” memes abound, referring to the weight we’re afraid we’ll gain without access to gyms, fitness centers and exercise classes. Laps between the couch and the fridge aren’t going to keep you fit while you’re sheltering at home, but there are plenty of ways to flatten your tummy while you’re...
Online sales keep Western Pa. breweries, distilleries, wineries in business during coronavirus pandemic
In the age of coronavirus, we drink alone. But sales figures from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, based on heavy traffic to its Fine Wine & Good Spirits website, and reports from distilleries and wineries in the region since the covid-19 pandemic shut down the Keystone State a month ago...
How should you spend your stimulus check? Here is what experts say
The check is not in the mail. But that big coronavirus stimulus check — up to $1,200 for singles, $2,400 for married couples and an extra $500 for each qualified child — might be in your bank account if the IRS has direct deposit information on you. Some families will...
Carnegie Science Center plans daily online Earth Week activities
Carnegie Science Center will celebrate our home planet with virtual Earth Week programs and activities on social media April 20-26, while the facility on Pittsburgh’s North Shore is closed due to covid-19 restrictions. The center’s Three Things, a curated list of something to read, something to watch and something to...
American Cancer Society’s Bark for Life of South Hills plans online ‘Woofstock’
The American Cancer Society is going online this year for its annual Bark for Life of South Hills fundraiser. Normally held in Pittsburgh’s South Park, the event will be held virtually on April 25 due to covid-19 restrictions. Dog owners who register are encouraged to take photos of themselves walking...
Living with Children: Avoid the soap opera
One website is titled “How to Cope with Kids During Coronavirus.” Another, featuring a staged photo of an obviously frazzled mom with a toddler on her lap, tells the reader that “Parents are losing their minds having kids at home during coronavirus!” There’s yet another, advising on “How to Keep...
Pitt-Greensburg seeks input for planned New Kensington mural
Community members are being invited to share their ideas for a mural planned for the side of the Walt’s Deli building in New Kensington. The mural is a project of the Community Arts and Reintegration Project (CARP), administered by the Center For Applied Research at the University of Pittsburgh at...
Adapting: Coronavirus restrictions keeping beloved Excela volunteer from his roundsVideo
Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways the coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?” The line to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” resonates these days...
Kids can join theater’s ‘Pirates of the Mon’ online adventuresVideo
Children are invited to set sail from home with Gemini Children’s Theater for an action-packed “Pirates of the Mon” adventure. The McKees Rocks-based theater has posted a video in which Allegheny Annie and Captain Schnook board the Black and Gold Pearl in search of the Triangle Treasure. In order to...
Westmoreland Historical Society to offer free online genealogy workshop
As you pass the days in social isolation with your family, are you wondering: Who are these people and where did they come from? The Westmoreland Historical Society can help you find some answers with a free online ”Introduction to Genealogy” workshop, set for 1-3 p.m. April 25. “This beginner’s...
Kennywood video shows how to make Potato Patch fries at homeVideo
Instructive? Sure. Creative? Yep. Disturbing? Eh, kinda. Kennywood Park released a video Wednesday demonstrating how to make its famous Potato Patch fries. Although it wasn’t a human chef manning the kitchen prep, it was perhaps the park’s newest mascot: Patchy the Potato. In a 2-minute video tweet, Patchy — a...
Say ‘hi’ to others with Children’s Museum photo, video challengeVideo
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is sponsoring a “New Ways to Say Hi” challenge, asking kids of all ages and families to share the special ways they are saying “hi” while social distancing. Those wishing to participate are asked to submit a photo or short video (10-15 seconds recommended) showing creative...
Pittsburgh art gallery turns its physical space into a digital den
Amid the coronavirus lockdown, most museums and art galleries have turned to virtual experiences. But one Pittsburgh art outlet has taken things a bit further — digitizing its entire physical space. LikeLike, on North Evaline Street in Garfield, is a gallery launched in February 2018 devoted to art as told...
With salons closed, here’s how to keep hair and nails looking goodVideo
If ever there was a time to focus on inner beauty, this is it. With hair and nail salons closed for the foreseeable future, some of us are starting to feel a little unkempt. “I thank the good Lord that someone invented headbands,” says Teri Bowes of Hempfield. “They’re a...
Communities plan Easter activities while keeping social distance
Easter egg hunts are out this year in local parks, neighbors’ yards and church grounds, but communities are finding ways to share the joy of the season while maintaining social distance. Here’s what’s happening around the area: Carbon-area Easter Bunny visit The Easter Bunny will hitch a ride on a...
Living with Children: The problem with ‘parenting’
I am convinced that “parenting” causes otherwise rational people — people whose thought processes are not typically driven by emotion — to lose their minds. If that is not the case, then why, ever since 1970 (or thereabouts), when “parenting” replaced the simple, straightforward process of raising children to adulthood,...
