My 2x Great Grandmas Speak To Me On Mother’s Day

Irish American Pittsburgh

While I can say they had their moments, it is more accurate to state that my mother and grandmothers were not cut out to have or raise children. Mostly, this is not their fault but the consequence of being surrounded by traumatized, abusive men and cold parents of their own. Mother’s Day like too many […]

Day One, Year Two: My Obligatory Anniversary Covid-19 Anniversary Post

Covid-19 Anniversary

On this day in 2020, Laura worked her final full day at her office with the City of Pittsburgh, came home and began to set up her home workspace in our kitchen. She’s in that workspace right now, working. This is what we consider our demarcation of the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. This is day 1, […]

16-Year-Old Trans Male and Older Sibling Shot to Death by Mother in Western Pennsylvania

Jasmine Jeffrey Bright

Another tragedy involving a trans neighbor unfolded Monday, February 22 in Ambridge, Beaver County, Pennsylvania when a 48-year-old mother shot both of her young adult children in the head, killing them at the scene inside the family home. 22-year-old Jasmine Cannady and younger brother, 16-year-old Jeffery ‘JJ’ Bright died. JJ has been repeatedly misgendered and […]

Gay Respectability and How Our Families Reacted to Our Wedding

lesbian wedding

Today marks our two week wedding anniversary. We had originally planned to celebrate with Mexican food and a Henry Louis Gates marathon, but the frigid temps make it patently unfair to ask any human being to go out into the weather to deliver food. So it is soup from the pantry and HLG marathon. Married […]

Both of my parents have COVID-19

Last week, my brother contacted me to let me know. He had authorized requesting hospice for them. They live in an assisted living facility here in Pittsburgh. They have a myriad of underlying conditions, ravages of lives hard lived and filled with tragedies. Of course, they end up both contracting an international pandemic causing virus. […]

My Pandemic Pittsburgh Wedding Cookie Table

Pittsburgh Cookie Table Pandemic

Our wedding cookie table looks a little different than at a typical wedding. I have to admit this one was a little tough – having a cookie table at my wedding reception was one of the things I genuinely look forward to experiencing. While I didn’t attend a lot of weddings growing up, cookie tables […]

One more wedding photo

The Vulnerability of a Wedding Registry

Lesbian Wedding Registry

You would think a wedding registry would be the fun part of wedding planning, but oh no no no no. We had no intention of putting together a registry – we aren’t establisheding a new household, we aren’t young, it’s a pandemic, etc. It was hard enough figuring out the backyard logistics of serving apple […]

Encourage your children to donate their gently used toys to Play It Forward (Adults, too)

Donate toys for Christmas

There’s a great toy distribution project called Play It Forward Pittsburgh. For the past ten years, they have distributed gently used toys to neighbors in need during this reason. Hundreds of volunteers sort, clean, and pack the toys for distribution out of the Convention Center (DLCC.) Play It Foward Pgh is a super queer friendly […]

Thanksgiving Things to Do in Pittsburgh

Food! If you have never had the joy of restaurant dining on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day, you may experience sticker shock – upwards of $40/person is not unusual. And that’s not a buffet. BUT there’s a great option on the Northside called Bistro-to-Go on East Ohio Street. Their traditional turkey dinners are fantastic and at […]