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Quality Time in Ligonier!

Recently, my cousin and I celebrated our birthdays. When there was a convenient time for both of us, we were going to find a place to eat out. My afternoons didn’t always work nor did her evenings. I mentioned that I had a couple of mornings off so we planned on lunch. I figured it was best that we meet in the middle, so Somerset and Greensburg were definitely out. I threw out Donegal and Ligonier as possible options. My cousin chose the latter, as we had met there before. It was January and we met at Abigail’s Coffeehouse. We both needed to get out after being indoors due to the snow and extreme cold.

There’s a nice Mexican restaurant in town in the Diamond, and she agreed to meet me there. El Vacquero Mexicano is located a couple of doors down from the Ligonier Creamery. If the enchiladas don’t fill you up, then stop in for an ice cream sundae. Next time I’m in Ligonier, I’ll definitely do that. My cousin talked up the tamales, and I almost took her up on that offer. On my next trip there (or when I go to Plaza Azteca), I might order the tamales. Instead, I got the beef enchiladas which were just as good a choice. We had cucumber lime water to drink. It looked like lemonade but tasted like a non-alcoholic mojito. It was nice to catch up and talk about life. I talked about the Fourth of July picnic at the farm and the fireworks.

Next time, I’ll treat us to coffee. Either at Abigail’s, Silver Horse (in Donegal), or one of Greensburg’s finest cafes.

As we left the restaurant and walked around the Diamond, we spotted The Kitchen on Main. Maybe our future dining experience will be there. After an amazing lunch of tamales and enchiladas, it was off to the Ligonier Valley Library.

It had been a long time since I had been here for a visit but this made for a nice post-lunch stop. I brought a book with me that I was previewing for the Fall, once I finish The Jazzmen. Earlier this week, I read the introduction for Three Shades of Blue. The one I read yesterday was Jane Austen’s Bookshelf. It’s not a collection of the iconic author’s finest works, but of other women writers from centuries past.

On my visit to Ligonier (likely in August), I’ll bring my latest Steven Curtis Chapman book. I’m set to begin reading this just after Labor Day. I may also revisit his other books that I read in 2010 (Choosing to SEE) and 2017 (Between Heaven and the Real World) in the future.

We found a quiet room to sit in where we could read our books. There were magazines and newspapers (which hung off of a pole). The latter reminded me of the days when bookstores had newspapers you could read while you sat in the cafe. How I miss you, Monroeville Borders. I plan to stop here again in the future, maybe on my next visit. A library card may also be in the plans for me, either in Ligonier or at one of the local libraries. That would make my Eastern PA cousin feel good as she works in a library. She too has her own blog.

The room I sat in had a beautiful picture window behind me. It provided a great view of the town square and really proved my theory. That is, Ligonier is its own little Stars Hollow/Hallmark Christmas town. Imagine how nice it would look during the holidays.

My meter would be running out soon, so I thanked my Somerset cousin for a great time and parted ways around 1:30pm. I’ll be back soon, though.

The Most Chaotic Night!

This past weekend brought with it chaos. The hot and humid weather made it unbearable to be outside. Our pool’s water temperature got as high as 90 degrees. Definitely some missed opportunities to work out in the air conditioning at the gym. With the heat and humidity came plenty of showers and thunderstorms, and they couldn’t have picked a worse time to arrive. The Gaffron Fourth of July picnic at the farm was a soaker. Most of us took cover inside, and eventually some of us left early. We were spared some of the major storm damage over the weekend, though. Adding insult to injury was the power outages in the area.

The store I work at wasn’t immune to the extreme weather, either. Early in the evening, the power went out at my Giant Eagle. Was this the store’s reaction to Kroger buying Giant Eagle a few days earlier? Kidding aside, I knew something was up when the parking lot looked dark Sunday night. Next door, Target’s power was also out. The evening was chaotic and it would sum up our night when we grabbed buggies and started pulling stuff. The power outage wreaked havoc in the perishable departments, as they lost a lot of product. Deli, Prepared Foods, Meat, Produce, and Dairy as well as Frozen and Bakery. We pulled all that we could. We used shopping carts, watermelon bins, and totes to save what we could. The plastic meat crates did not get used as they wouldn’t hold much. As chaotic as this night was, it was nice to see everyone pull together.

Monday night was not quite as chaotic, but we still kept busy. We began the night restocking Frozen and Dairy, The majority of the night was spent putting up the latter. We had help from everywhere. Meat department helped us quite a bit. Seeing those guys always gives me an opportunity to talk up my uncle, who worked for 40+ years in that profession. More than half of those were with Giant Eagle. We gave it our best effort. Still, we couldn’t save all of the ice cream or any of the frozen pizzas.

Thursday nights on TV can only mean one thing, and that’s Rick Sebak night on WQED! Rick Sebak has worked in public television since the 1970’s, and 2026 is his 50th year on TV. A majority of those years he has spent with Pittsburgh’s station WQED. Over the years he has produced many great shows that talk about the things that make Pittsburgh what it is. He started out local and has branched out nationally. One of his first documentaries is a little piece that I’d love to call Kennywood Memories. If you know, you know.

Kennywood Memories made its debut in September 1988 on WQED and is one of the Sebak specials that definitely stands the test of time. Many other specials are too. Even as the park itself has changed and evolved since then, people still watch it every summer. After that, it’s Things That Aren’t There Anymore and The Pennsylvania Road Show (two specials from the early 1990’s) as well as The Strip Show. If Kennywood Memories is the GOAT, then Pennsylvania Diners and other Roadside Attractions is definitely #2 on my list.

Pennsylvania Diners and some of his national shows that focus on food will definitely make you hungry. The Hot Dog Program and Shore Things will have you in the mood for Summer, as well as what I watched Thursday night. That show was Breakfast Special, which inspired some new features at Kings back in 2010 when it aired.

Today, my cousin and I are having lunch in Ligonier. It was her idea as both of our birthdays have recently occurred. Hers on June 16 and mine two weeks later. We are planning to have lunch at the Mexican restaurant in town, and I might have to take her up on tamales as my order.

While I do want to lay down in the afternoon to rest up for work, I might stop at the library. The Diamond is nice but the forecast is trending towards rain and thunderstorms. I’ll be previewing a new book I bought this past spring (Jane Austen’s Bookshelf). I was inspired by the author of Meet Me at Luke’s to check out this book. Along with Three Shades of Blue, these two books will be part of my reading sometime after August 15.

Fourth of July Cut Short (or not)?!

Saturday was the actual Fourth of July holiday, and that meant it was the day of the annual Gaffron holiday picnic at the Gaffron farm in Guffey. The forecast was trending toward stormy, but we were hopeful that it wasn’t going to ruin our plans. We arrived early to the festivities, more earlier than we have in the past.

As we pulled into our parking space, we saw some chickens in the yard. Those are my cousin’s chickens that he brought with him from the Midwest. He moved home last December. We set up our chairs in the yard and early on, I began to make my rounds. I caught up with everyone who was there and was hopeful this would be a good day. With more people arriving and more chairs set up, the skies began to open up and the rain began to fall. We were sent inside to dodge the fat sprinkles that turned into heavy downpours.

I was going to have to enjoy my food indoors and for that I sat at the table. Those desserts sure looked tempting. The rain had stopped momentarily and we set up our chairs and went back outside. We tried to make the most of it, and then the rain fell once again. It was obvious that this storm wasn’t letting up. Due to the torrential downpours, it was pretty crowded in the kitchen. Standing room only.

The high winds that preceded the rain and thunderstorms did their damage, taking the umbrella and glass table with them. Remember the warning message at the Pittsburgh Zoo near the aquarium? You know the one. It said Coins + Fish= Death (in pictures with Death being represented by a tombstone). Well, high winds + glass table= death (to table). Luckily, no one was hurt but it was a shock, nonetheless. At least there were people around to help clean up. That’s what Gaffrons do, they work together.

The best dish from the Fourth of July smorgasbord was the meatloaf with the hard boiled egg. A little bit of Frank’s made it really stand out. The best dessert was that peanut butter pie. I had to grab a slice (I cut half of one) not realizing that there were two pies. There were lots of cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth, and Mom’s cookie bar went over well. We left early due to the unrelenting rain, and lots of us were drenched. Perhaps I could have driven myself and stuck around a little longer. The picnic was called due to the rain and the fireworks cancelled (or were they?). We lit off a few fireworks at home as well as some smoke bombs. Nothing like the light show at the farm but it would do. My cousin took some pictures and there were fireworks plus a rainbow. But in a way it was justified to end our night early.

My First Visit to the New Cutie’s!

Friday was the first day that Cutie‘s opened up its second floor. While I wasn’t there during the early part of day, I came in around 3 o‘clock. I wasn’t passing up the opportunity to enjoy my coffee in the new seating area.

It was too hot to enjoy my drink outside, even of it was an iced coffee. I ordered the White Sands Cold Brew and put the finishing touches on my blog while taking in the new seating.

The new changes look amazing and Cutie‘s has come a long way. The thumbnail for this blog is one of my favorite pictures that I took yesterday. There are some more additions coming but I like what I’m seeing so far. Here’s a few pictures of the new second floor. One of the pictures is from Cuties and the rest are my own. I think they tell the story just as well.

Cutie’s Coffee Company opened on October 14, 2023, and my first visit was just after New Year’s a few months later. I immediately fell in love with the place and the atmosphere. The baristas past and present know me well and help me pick out something good when I’m not sure. I usually have my drink picked out before I go most of the time.

Weather permitting, there will be Bible Study Monday night in the Cutie‘s parking lot. Not sure what the lesson will be yet. Some of my future visits include ordering their caffeine free refreshers (as I near my appointments the first week of August).

The Fall menu makes its debut on August 29, not that I’m looking forward to it yet. With the new upstairs seating, I can’t to work on a blog while enjoying a pumpkin spice latte this Fall. The 3rd anniversary celebration takes place on the third… of October. That’s a week out from my second vacation.

While this month sees multiple Cuties visits, I’ll also go to Caleese. Though I’m not sure if Export is in my travels yet. Maybe a Ligonier trip on one of my days off to enjoy coffee at Abigail’s or a sundae at the Ligonier Creamery.

I’m looking forward to my plans for lunch this Friday as my cousin and I celebrate our belated birthdays. I suggested Ligonier or Donegal as they’re both halfway points between Greensburg and Somerset. Whatever we agree on, I’ll share on the blog next weekend.

First Blog of 45!

Sunday was my scheduled night off and it was leading up to my birthday. I made plans with my Somerset family that evening. We would go to dinner and then see a movie. It was leading up to the major heat wave we would encounter in the coming week. Therefore, it felt cool by comparison with a little bit of humidity but nothing too oppressive.

Before my evening plans, I took a walk around Twin Lakes as it was on the way and the weather was fine. I timed that well as I left around 4:20pm and made my way to Latrobe. Perfect timing as I made it to Latrobe at 4:45. We had dinner at Tokyo Sushi and Hibachi. Fun fact: We ate here for my birthday several years ago before we went to the theatre. I got the General Tso’s Chicken. It was too much to eat for one meal so I saved a little bit for my lunch on Monday.

After we ate, it was off to the theatre. We drove there in a downpour but fortunately, it wasn’t that far from where we ate. Even after all that food, I still left room for popcorn and Pepsi. The Latrobe 30 Cinema is owned by the same people who also run the Westwood Plaza and Theatre in Johnstown. I went to that theatre a few times when I was a college student in the early 2000’s. The movie we saw several years ago was Toy Story 4. Sunday night we saw the new movie.

I won’t throw out spoilers but this movie had a great storyline. It’s more centered around Jessie (who made her debut in Toy Story 2). Technology is the mortal enemy here as today’s kids are always distracted by their screens. I do like seeing some of the other toys from the previous film, plus Forky returns. He was the center of attention in the last movie, as was Woody and Bo Peep. I was grateful for the dinner and the movie, as it was a treat for my birthday. I’ll return the favor in September for my aunt’s birthday.

The movie ended around 7:30pm, and as I walked out of the theater I saw a few peaks of sunshine. It made for a nice 25 minute drive home. This ends my final weekend of 44 as I would celebrate another year around the sun on Tuesday.

Wednesday night was New Year’s Day in a way, as July 1 marks the first day of the new Toastmasters Year. We were in-person, and we also had guests in attendance. That was the good news. The two girls were students at Saint Vincent College, majoring in Healthcare. Mike and I introduced them to Toastmasters and explained to them how the meeting works and what the roles are.

We had no hotspot for our meeting and couldn’t get Zoom to work, so there goes half of our members for the night. However, Mike and I made the meeting work. I served as acting president for the meeting, as well as Toastmaster and General Evaluator. Mike came up with some Table Topics on the fly (It was a book of impromptu questions that works in a pinch). We even got our guests to take part in Table Topics. I think they liked it, even as I was a little over the top in explaining the rules. I tend to get ahead of myself sometimes.

Mike was our lone speaker, and he gave a good five to seven on developing others. He shared with us stories from his youth and college days, moving onto his Toastmasters journey. He served as District Governor in the 1997-98 Toastmasters year and talked about what it was like serving as a District leader. When talking about the merger of Allegheny Power with First Energy, he talked about the new boss and what he could have done better. In my evaluation, I mentioned that he gave an evaluation within the speech itself. That part on the merger hit home for me, as news broke of Giant Eagle buying Kroger. I’ll share more about that in another blog when I know more.

Our next three meetings are July 15, August 5, and August 19. Summer’s flying by.

Closing thoughts on Wednesday’s meeting:

Mike and I did a great job improvising in the face of challenges.
Next meeting on July 15, I’ll probably keep the same names for some of the roles.
We hope to see Iesha and Dayna return. The consensus was they enjoyed the meeting. Just hope this next one is a little more traditional so they can experience a quality meeting.

Last Day of 44!

Last week, I exorcised some demons from my past.

Friday morning, I had some loose ends to tie up. I got a bill in the middle of the week from the Sleep Center saying I hadn’t paid yet. I did some research and it turned out that I did, so we settled that Friday.

It’s around this time of year that I get a “phantom” bill from Bank of America. It’s for antivirus software that I purchased for an old laptop that I neither use nor I have anymore. I made some calls to the respective customer service representatives, and was able to cancel both of those subscriptions

Now why did I say I was exorcising demons? Because I’ve had these things since my post-college days and I was fighting my own demons then. So having at least one of them was a reminder of the life I used to live. But they’re both gone now so I feel a lot lighter now.

We are already at the first half of 2026. It seems the year has gone by so fast. There are some events that have stood out in these six months. Some are weather related and others are from my own personal experiences. It’s possible you might read about them again in my top ten when I post that in December. I’ll go in order and not share anyone else’s stories unless I was directly a part of them. Without further ago, here’s a few of the newsworthy events of 2026.

January is remembered most for the resignation of long time Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. The coach felt pressure from the fans after another season where it felt the team had underperformed. In my opinion, a couple of 5-11 or 5-12 seasons during Tomlin’s tenure might have helped the team grow better. I know having a streak of so many winning seasons is nice, but what’s the use if it doesn’t help you grow?

The final nail in the coffin was the 30-6 wild card defeat on Monday night football. Replacing the longtime head coach would be Greenfield native and former Packers and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

The end of the month brought us a major winter storm that stretched over multiple states. Pittsburgh wasn’t exempt from the January winter blast as some communities received well over a foot of snow. In the wake of the snow was the extreme cold as Pittsburgh recorded 18 consecutive days with temperatures below freezing. It’s coincidental that I write about this during a holiday week in the dead of summer. We’ll be experiencing 90 degree heat with heat indices well over 100 degrees. If you work outdoors it goes without saying, “Please stay hydrated!”

I was happy to be a part of my adopted sister’s big day when I attended her baby shower over Easter weekend. I got the invite back in January not long after I heard the news that they were expecting their first child. Luckily, I was able to get the day off even though I was thinking of the needs of the business. It was a beautiful morning for a baby shower and I made sure I looked great for the event. It was held at the same place where she and Rob had their wedding five years earlier.

It was a beautiful morning for a baby shower and the parents-to-be received a lot of nice gifts for Chloe. My “niece” made her arrival on May 20 and still has yet to meet her stylish uncle.

We counted down to the last days of our District as our name changes tomorrow morning. District 13 merges with District 10 to form the new District 219. I got to meet some of those Ohio Toastmasters at the Spring Conference. I’m also making plans to attend an online Toastmasters meeting with the new Sandusky Bay club later this Summer.

This Spring, I helped out at my contests serving as Sergeant at Arms and cheering them on to victory. I wasn’t sure when news broke about the merger but now I’m ready to embrace all the changes coming to Toastmasters.

Here’s to our new District 219 and new challenges in the Toastmaster Year.

A Season of Success at Western Maryland Toastmasters!

Toastmasters Club wraps up successful year, prepares for new season

Thursday night was the final Western Maryland Toastmasters meeting of the year, and I was in attendance (online).

The club wrapped up its second full year better than it did its first. 2024-25 saw the club achieve Presidents’ Distinguished status. Not bad for a first year club. This past year brought even more success to the young Toastmasters club. Western Maryland Toastmasters chartered on May 31, 2024.

On a side note, two area directors in Division C had their home clubs achieve Distinguished status or higher.

Unlike most traditional meetings, Western Maryland did an awards ceremony for its members. Speech contestants were honored, both from the Fall and the Spring contests. Other awards included Toastmaster of the Year, Outstanding Toastmaster, and Most Improved Toastmaster.

A couple of the club’s members are also involved with a new club that needs just a few more members to charter. That is the prospective Mineral County Toastmasters club in Keyser, WV, not too far away.

Three of the club’s members will be serving in the District in the 2026-2027 Toastmasters year. One of them is part of the District trio, the first trio to represent the new District 219.

Western Maryland finished Smedley Distinguished, having achieved all ten goals on the Distinguished Club Program. To finish Smedley Distinguished, a club must also have 25 members. Western Maryland has 26. Club President Autumn Jose shared that victory with all of the club members.

After the awards ceremony, past President and current Program Quality Director Sharon Imes installed the new club officers. She began with the Technology Officer (that needs to be an officer role) position and worked through the officers. As new Vice President Public Relations, current President and Area 23 Director Autumn installed her. Sharon is also the incoming District 219 Director and the founder of the Western Maryland Toastmasters club. Following the installation of the new officer slate, incoming President Tammy Fraley spoke and shared her vision for the 2026-2027 Toastmasters year. She encouraged the club members (and guests) to do three things:

The meeting ended early as the club had food to celebrate the end of this successful Toastmasters year. The next three meetings for the club are July 9, 23, and August 13.

BE SEEN…Every member matters.

BE HEARD…Every voice matters.

BE YOU…Every journey matters.

First Half blog post coming early next week

The first half of 2026 is almost complete, and some of the headlines really stand out. In my next blog, I’m going to highlight those events as well as look ahead to July. My birthday ends the 2025-26 Toastmasters year and brings with it a major heatwave that will last into the Fourth of July weekend.

Three of the events from the first half of 2026 that made news for me include:

The January 25 snowstorm that was followed by the extreme cold. We spent 18 days below freezing.
My friend (fashionable sister) Sara’s baby shower at the Greensburg Country Club during Easter weekend. She gave birth to her daughter, Chloe Grace, on May 20.
The End of an Era in Toastmasters as District 10 and District 13 merge to form the new District 219.

Discussing my Cutie’s visit and looking forward to July visits upstairs

Thursday afternoon after waking up, I made a trip down to Cutie’s. The renovations are almost complete. On social media this afternoon, I got to see some of the pictures of the renovations and it looks great. Pretty soon, I’ll be enjoying some of their refreshers. I can’t wait to enjoy a pumpkin spice latte upstairs when the Fall menu rolls out at the end of August. Cutie’s has come a long way in the three years it’s been open.

Where do my coffee travels take me in July? Well there will be the usual Cutie’s an Caleese stops. I’d like to go to both locations this month. The Fourth of July holiday might be when I make a visit to Export. Caleese on the Trail just opened up a few weeks ago. I’ll also make a visit to Steep Mountain. Possibly on the agenda is a trip to Abigail’s coffeehouse in Ligonier.

As summer rolls on, I’m interested in taking a road trip to either Grant Coffee in Vandergrift or 1833 in Freeport. They’re a bit of a ride but it would be worth the drive.

Celebrating Birthdays at Laurel Highlands Toastmasters!

Tuesday night marked our final Toastmasters meeting of the 2025-26 Toastmasters year. We even had some guests show up at the beginning. They were looking for a job fair and just happened to stumble upon our meeting. Talk about a happy accident. This didn’t stop us from talking up Toastmasters and getting to know a little bit more about our guests. Maybe we’ll see one of them at the July 14 meeting.

We kept on track despite the late start. At Toastmasters, we start on time, and we end on time. We had two speakers on the agenda, both with good speeches. Gary was the backup speaker but he stepped in with a really good topic. What should we fear more: Public Speaking or Death?

The meeting stayed on track as we anticipated pizza and a little cake for the two members celebrating birthdays. Table Topics were related to the theme, as was the Word of the Day. Yours truly came up with that one ☝️. Impact and Innovation were our keywords on this night. I’m thinking our theme for July 14 will be Happy New Year. We adjourned the meeting a little bit early to have a celebration. We got some pics of the officers in front of the banner. These will be good for promoting the club as we go into the new Toastmasters year.

My digital frame could use a few additional pictures as I haven’t updated it in almost a year. We celebrated with a little cake and some brownies (from Martin’s in Connellsville). The pizza from Pizza Louie’s was also good. I even took a few slices home myself. This place is located not far from our old meeting location, the Connellsville Library. We wore the nicest birthday hats, and room looked beautiful thanks to our amazing Sergeant at Arms.

We were so caught up in the moment celebrating mine and Ryan’s birthdays. Thus, I failed to mention that I’ll be making an online visit to the Western Maryland club Thursday night. I reached out to the VPE (soon to be President) Tammy and founding member Sharon tonight. I’m looking forward to celebrating the club’s Smedley Distinguished success. I’ll be cheering them on to a repeat performance in 2026-27.

As soon as I got home, I wasted no time getting everything in order to be site admin so that I can work on agendas. The online resources and I will become friends this year for sure. I want to be ready in advance instead of reaching out just a few days before the meeting. I plan on doing this for Greensburg as well but will send a regular email this week.

Our next three Toastmasters meetings are July 14 and 28, and August 11.

Coffee visits always make the week go better, and today was no exception as I visited White Rabbit. I even got a window seat and watched the world go by. After taking care of some business and getting to the bottom of things, I was able to truly relax and read a little bit of The Jazzmen.

Bible study was cancelled Monday due to the rain and thunderstorms moving through the area. I set up my coffee schedule the day before and was able to work things out. The next Cutie’s study is July 6 (weather permitting). The next visit is Thursday after I wake up. I’m looking at something chai or mocha.

End of an Era in Toastmasters!

This morning marked the end of an era. It was our club officer training. It was held online. It was the final event for Districts 10 and 13 before the two districts merge to form the new District 219 on July 1.

Change can be scary, but it can also be exciting.

I logged on to the platform around quarter to nine and hung out in one of the break rooms. I was tempted to go to the one marked Food where one of my friends from Johnstown was. I’m sure the conversation centered around his delicious baked goods. The one I was in had some people in it from District 10, as well as incoming District Director Sharon Imes. She is also a founding member of the Laurel Highlands and Western Maryland Toastmasters clubs. I’ll be at both clubs this week.

I wasn’t in the room for long, as the training was set to begin at 9am.

At our virtual event, I picked up a lot of good tips just in the chat alone. How’s that for networking? I added my own insight too. Hitting Distinguished status before Christmas while focusing on the higher levels for January through June is one tip that really stood out. Thank you Stuart Strickland (incoming Division E Director).

In this new Toastmasters year, I’m getting used to spending more time using the online resources. I’m also getting acclimated to using Google Sheets to make agendas and do Distinguished Club progress. Down the road, I’m going to get the Club Success Plan ready for both of my clubs. The report has to be in by Sept. 30 to make clubs eligible to be Distinguished. I believe our first presenter of the day suggested having it ready by July 30.

While in the breakout room yesterday morning prior to beginning our training, the District Director also talked about supporting the trio. While there is a town hall on July 1, I will be in attendance at the Greensburg Toastmasters meeting. I hope to learn more about what was covered in the meeting.

Eating on a Patio in Downtown Greensburg!

While enjoying my Matcha Latte at Caleese on Friday afternoon, I scrolled through Instagram and saw a post that really caught my eye.

Summer in Greensburg means that dining out may involve enjoying your meal outside while enjoying a nice view of the city. There are plenty of restaurants (and even coffee shops) in our beautiful city that encourage this type of fine dining. From the pictures that I saw and the page I was on (@devourgreensburg), it looks like Parkwood and Stone Merchant Brewing give you nice views. Pennsylvania Avenue also has places where you can dine (and enjoy coffee) outside, like 3Natives and DV8. Cutie’s also made the list and from experience, I love watching the world go by as I enjoy one of their signature drinks.

This week, my coffee travels will take me to Cutie’s and White Rabbit. I may swap the visits depending on Monday’s weather forecast.

Our Dinner Series for 2026 is going well so far and, hard to believe, we’re already at the halfway point for the year.

Kevin and I met at the Olive Garden on Thursday night. It’s a week earlier than expected, but he’s going to the beach next week. That free night opens the door for me to celebrate Western Maryland Toastmasters’ year as they achieved Smedley Distinguished honors. As I waited for Kevin, I journaled and read some of my book I’m currently interested in. Perfect timing to finish just as he walked up and we went inside.

Eating at Olive Garden during my birthday month brings back memories, like when my Somerset County family took me during COVID. We had to keep masks handy, order off a paper menu, and use hand sanitizer. I was in my Gilmore Girls era and was going into the final season of the show around that time. The next year was a little better as Sara treated me to lunch for my 40th. It was a week of celebration of this new milestone. My actual birthday was spent at the Jean Bonnet Tavern in Bedford with my Somerset County family. I had a fun time with the family who adopted me as Sara blessed me with a gift bag full of stuff. My fashion journey was just starting to grow.

Last night, I got a nice compliment from Kevin about how he talked about me during his last days leading up to retirement. He used me as an example and I’m glad to learn of the legacy that I’ve left since graduating in 2000. I do regret not sharing some of the Table Topics questions that I had in mind for him. His response to the Star Trek ones would have been cool to hear, as well as the American vs. foreign cars question.

Olive Garden makes for a great dining experience, and it definitely leaves you feeling full. I contemplated saving half my dinner for work and ordering something for dessert. We met here in the 90 degree heat a few years ago for my birthday and I kind of regret overeating the night before my vacation. That summer started shaky but the rest of the year turned out great. Kevin and I both enjoyed our entrees. I had the shrimp alfredo and he had the chicken parmesan.

Our next time getting together is July 23 at Edo Hibachi behind the mall. That’s always a great dining experience, from watching them make your food to squirting the saki into your mouth. September and October look to be set with Primanti’s and Eat’n Park as the choices. I’m thinking about trying out the new Mexican restaurant in August where Ground Round used to be.

This morning I sat at my computer attending summer TLI. Unlike previous ones I’ve attended, this one was online, likely due to the merger with District 219. I’ll have a more detailed blog about the event in Sunday’s blog.

I did miss making the drive to Youngwood and the room we have for our event. We’ve been here every year since the DTM gauntlet in the summer of 2021. Some of the TLIs we had during COVID were pretty memorable too. The one that stands out is December 2020, when we did the panel discussion on the Spirit of Toastmasters.

I’m preparing for a busy 2026-27 Toastmasters year as I serve as Vice President Education both at Laurel Highlands and Greensburg. At this morning’s presentations and club officer session, I learned from our speakers and facilitator. The training ran from 9am to 1pm.

Thursday night, as I said earlier, I will be attending Western Maryland’s meeting online. The club achieved Smedley Distinguished honors during 2025-26 and I’ll be celebrating them and their achievements. Heading into this new year, they have a lot to proud of. I can’t wait to see what happens with Mineral County Toastmasters and Sandusky Bay Toastmasters, two clubs I hope to check out online in the future.