Ruth E. Hendricks https://rutheh.com Daily Journal of Life in Pittsburgh Wed, 04 Nov 2026 04:43:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/rutheh.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/image-1.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Ruth E. Hendricks https://rutheh.com 32 32 8577996 Wordless Wednesday https://rutheh.com/2026/11/03/wordless-wednesday-263/ https://rutheh.com/2026/11/03/wordless-wednesday-263/#respond Wed, 04 Nov 2026 04:43:38 +0000 https://rutheh.com/2026/11/03/wordless-wednesday-263/ ]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/11/03/wordless-wednesday-263/feed/ 0 61284 So I was influenced… https://rutheh.com/2026/11/02/so-i-was-influenced/ https://rutheh.com/2026/11/02/so-i-was-influenced/#respond Tue, 03 Nov 2026 03:39:30 +0000 https://rutheh.com/?p=61271 Continue reading So I was influenced…]]> I admit it.

I follow a young woman Katipederson on TikTok who puts together meals for a family of four for $15, shopping at Aldi or Trader Joe’s or Costco.

I’ve not been inspired to actually prepare any of the meals to feed my family but I like her enthusiasm and energy and the taste testing portion with her teenage son. Here’s her link to her dip. She’s got almost 600 thousand followers.

The other day she shared a dip recipe from Trader Joe’s ingredients. Here’s the total cost of this 13×9 dish of hot dip. Using ingredients from Trader Joe’s. The Steelers vs. Browns (rivals) were playing Sunday afternoon. I had a plan. This is not one of the just under $15 total posts.

I can tell you it’s pretty rich with the cheese and heavy cream in the queso. Don’t over consume.!! And I can tell you that everyone who eats chicken in the house, loved it!!!

Just under $28 for the dip ingredients. If I’d purchased a couple of the bags of the organic corn chips it would have been an additional ten dollars.
I already had a bag of Tostitos scoops at home in the pantry
You drain the liquid off the salsa
It’s not too spicy but is flavorful with jalapeños in the queso
Stir it all up in a large bowl
Bake at 375. It did make a lot

Here’s what you need. I added a can of black beans, rinsed and drained. Got that idea from the comments. That would add $1.49 to the total.

This pic is from the Tik Tok video. The corn chips aren’t shown. I used this screenshot to find the exact products in the store. I’ve not bought them previously.

]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/11/02/so-i-was-influenced/feed/ 0 61271 One Week Comparison of the Playground Trees https://rutheh.com/2026/11/01/one-week-comparison-of-the-playground-trees/ https://rutheh.com/2026/11/01/one-week-comparison-of-the-playground-trees/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2026 03:36:54 +0000 https://rutheh.com/?p=61251
November 1st
October 25th
November 1st

]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/11/01/one-week-comparison-of-the-playground-trees/feed/ 8 61251 “Does anyone really know what time it is?” https://rutheh.com/2026/10/31/does-anyone-really-know-what-time-it-is-2/ https://rutheh.com/2026/10/31/does-anyone-really-know-what-time-it-is-2/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2026 03:04:15 +0000 https://rutheh.com/?p=61243 “The inspiration came from a real encounter Robert Lamm (keyboardist of Chicago) had as a teenager in Brooklyn. When he asked a movie theater usher for the time, the usher cryptically replied, “Does anybody really know what time it is?” This quirky response evolved into a multi-layered existential exploration.”

Song by Chicago

]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/10/31/does-anyone-really-know-what-time-it-is-2/feed/ 9 61243 Julia Child’s Kitchen Guest Blog https://rutheh.com/2026/10/30/julia-childs-kitchen-guest-blog/ https://rutheh.com/2026/10/30/julia-childs-kitchen-guest-blog/#comments Sat, 31 Oct 2026 02:19:46 +0000 https://rutheh.com/?p=61224 Continue reading Julia Child’s Kitchen Guest Blog]]> Oh I wish I were there in person but my son Matthew and granddaughter Prema were in Washington DC. He filmed a short video and I captured a few screenshots from it. Here’s a link to the National Museum of American History Fact Sheet about the exhibition. She donated her Cambridge Massachusetts kitchen to the museum in 2001.

The Garland stove, details in the Fact Sheet.

If you’d like to see a few closeups of the objects (a Pyrex measuring cup, the “Forkery”, a ceramic fig, cat and fish prints from the walls etc) in her kitchen you can click the museum’s search pages here

]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/10/30/julia-childs-kitchen-guest-blog/feed/ 6 61224 Autumn Gallery https://rutheh.com/2026/10/29/autumn-gallery/ https://rutheh.com/2026/10/29/autumn-gallery/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2026 02:54:43 +0000 https://rutheh.com/?p=61218

This Autumn gallery inspired by

Audrey of Minnedota Prairie Roots Blog

]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/10/29/autumn-gallery/feed/ 14 61218 Looks like a picnic c. 1925 https://rutheh.com/2026/10/28/looks-like-a-picnic-c-1925/ https://rutheh.com/2026/10/28/looks-like-a-picnic-c-1925/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2026 02:19:40 +0000 https://rutheh.com/?p=61182 Throwback Thursday. From my grandmother’s album. Durand, Illinois.

I see my Uncle John in the striped tie looking between Aunt Edna (smiling) Could that be the back of Aunt May? My grandfather Judd VanSickle in the straw hat. My mother Marian(born 1912) with the glasses next to my Uncle Robert. My grandmother Charlotte on the far right with the white collared dress. The young man with his back to us tin the newsboy cap must be Ralph and May’s son, our Cousin Melburn
]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/10/28/looks-like-a-picnic-c-1925/feed/ 7 61182 Wordless Wednesday https://rutheh.com/2026/10/27/wordless-wednesday-262/ https://rutheh.com/2026/10/27/wordless-wednesday-262/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2026 02:46:28 +0000 https://rutheh.com/2026/10/27/wordless-wednesday-262/
Neighbor’s sidewalk
]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/10/27/wordless-wednesday-262/feed/ 4 61178 Lucky Day. NO LEAD! One Inch Copper Pipes https://rutheh.com/2026/10/26/lucky-day-no-lead-one-inch-copper-pipes/ https://rutheh.com/2026/10/26/lucky-day-no-lead-one-inch-copper-pipes/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2026 02:34:00 +0000 https://rutheh.com/2026/10/26/lucky-day-no-lead-one-inch-copper-pipes/ Continue reading Lucky Day. NO LEAD! One Inch Copper Pipes]]> This is happening all over the city. It was a very exciting day!

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Department checking for lead pipes. Several houses on our street have to have their pipes replaced. We do not.

My grandson called the shovel and dump truck Mighty Machines (which is an educational Canadian Show about all types of vehicles (premiered in 1994) you can find episodes on YouTube.)

They dug a big hole. Then filled it back up.
Ananda went to get his hard hat and little dump truck.
We watched from the car for quite some time –
A “digger” and a dump truck.
]]> https://rutheh.com/2026/10/26/lucky-day-no-lead-one-inch-copper-pipes/feed/ 15 61160 Mailbox Madonna https://rutheh.com/2026/10/25/mailbox-madonna/ https://rutheh.com/2026/10/25/mailbox-madonna/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2026 02:49:23 +0000 https://rutheh.com/?p=61153 You know I have a collection of Urban Madonnas. This is a rusting unused mailbox.

Google Lens says: Immaculate Heart Virgin Mary
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