Honoring Family in Pittsburgh

I love to stay in the very pink room where I grew up. Returning to my hometown of Pittsburgh is simultaneously restorative, reflective, nostalgic and joyous. This week I am here to honor my grandfather and connect with family.

I enjoy the quiet of the nights and the blooming green hills throughout the area. I relish the comfort of home and engage in Pittsburgh things all week. Mom keeps the coffee pot going. We visit Soergel's for produce - spring onions, green beans, asparagus, strawberry rhubarb pie. We see the pig, the goats, the cow and the sheep and then choose some flowers to plant. Mom and I walk around North Park lake. There is a live jazz singer outside at Narcisi Winery where we eat lunch on the patio. I plant marigolds on the hill and notice that the pine tree I planted in 1st grade is now a huge and unruly pine.





I look at old scrapbooks I've kept since I was ten. I spend full days outside on the deck through the shine and shade on the trees. In the morning I practice yoga here, in the afternoon I read, and when my mom gets back from work we can share a glass of Chardonnay in the fresh air. My brother and I walk through the woods and paint in watercolors at the kitchen table. One night we see the girly movie, "Letters to Juliet." One afternoon we meet my grandma and watch the planes take off at The Runway restaurant in Butler. I think it is funny that we meet grandma at The Runway since she refuses to fly in planes, but she does like watching the takeoffs and landings. She says today is her day off and that the best time to call her is after dark since she is always out and about.





I take more walks. I join my mother at Harp 'n Fiddle to see her receive an award for her leadership and service from the Junior League of Pittsburgh. I watch my cousin's lacrosse game during a humid evening at Linbrook Field. My dad lights the outdoor fire pit and we cook hot dogs and make s'mores.



Mom and I have a ladies lunch at the Naked Grape in Sewickly sipping wine as we bake in the sun, eating on the sidewalk. After browsing in the bookstore we visit The Mattress Factory art gallery on the North Side. We celebrate my cousin's birthday with cake and other relatives start to arrive in Pittsburgh. It is good to be home.







By Saturday the whole family has arrived, gathering at Eat n Park for breakfast. This afternoon we celebrate and honor the life of my grandfather at the church in Ingomar. It is a beautiful day sharing many beautiful thoughts about my grandfather including a story about him delivering a set of twins during the times before sonograms. The second baby was a surprise! At home after the ceremony, my brother and I water the tree with pink leaves that my dad had planted that day. We gather for dinner at The Stone Mansion. It is heartening to see the whole family together and thriving. We relax at my aunt's over dessert which includes delicious cakes from Dudt's Bakery.



The next day is true summer at Ingomar pool. I take my turn jumping off the diving board. Later I log roll down the hill with my young cousins through the freshly cut grass at a family friend's house where we eat dinner. My grandma remembers how my grandpa wouldnt kill anything-even bugs- and that he'd report daily how many bugs the spider in the house had caught. At home we stay up late. During my last day in Pittsburgh we visit Phipps Conservatory and see the blooming agave plant that had grown through the roof to 30 feet.













Lunch is on the river at Bettis' Grill 36. Then we walk though the house where my dad grew up - it is for sale and looks as if my dad's family had just moved out-all the kids' names still scrawled on the wall, their seashells still on display. It is Memorial Day and the flags are waving along driveways in Wexford. Gathering with family again we welcome summer with burgers, corn on the cob, watermelon. Home is where my brothers play chess and my mom and i drink coffee even though it is 10:30 at night and my dad scatters the newspaper. I am grateful for this Potter tribe.

24 Hour Tune Up at Harbin Hot Springs

Drive past the weekend traffic in Napa and the bustling town of Calistoga and you find the quiet winding road to Harbin Hot Springs, a retreat center tucked into the lush and living green hills of Middleton, CA, not far from Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. Upon arrival, Kennedy and I obtain a 24 hour pass from a beatific graying man dressed in a bright purple linen tunic to camp along the river and use the Harbin facilities which include the hot pools, a restaurant and cafe, yoga classes, reading room, health food market and general store, movie theater and 5,000 gorgeous acres of gardens and green.



It is a place noisy with wildlife - we spot a deer, wild turkey, lizards, hummingbird, squirrels and a nest of three baby birds during our stay. Our tent is set up next to the rushing river in a secluded nook of the forest and up the hill we find dinner at the Stonefront Restaurant. I choose the chickpea curry and Kennedy has the asparagus pie with some vegan chocolate cream pie. I am still not sold that vegan baking is "just as good."



From the warm pool under a canopy of trees we watch dusk become night. No speaking is permitted in the hot pools to maintain a meditative and serene environment. The water is extra buoyant and tiny bubbles collect on my skin. The clientele is a variety of families, chic urban dwellers and earthy folks. After a long soak we visit the steam room and sauna and then get a cup of mint tea and relax in the reading room. Back at our camp the night is cool and the stars are fully visible. Sleep comes easily next to the lulling river.

Our refreshing morning moves slowly with cappuccinos on the cafe deck followed by one last soak, this time under the sun. Pulling away from the hot springs, I feel I've been away from the city for far more than 24 hours. Kennedy and I stop at a vineyard on the way home for a tasting and continue back to the city, thoroughly pleased with the Harbin tune-up.