At the Friends of the Free Library used bookstore on Chestnut Street, between 7th and 8th. Shopping used bookstores is a shared love of Scott’s and mine.

Happy New Year! I find the Mummer’s Parade to be one of Philly’s more inexplicable seasonal traditions.

Counting down…

At the end of a long walk around the city, an artsy photo of Lenfest Plaza, looking towards the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center.

This is a placeholder image. I didn’t manage to take a single photo today. The post-travel jetlag hit me hard and I spent the day in a groggy haze.

Curious whether Scott liked the stool that we fixed up for him? Here’s your answer.

The day we visited Better Bargains, I found an old mission-style stool for $10. Scott loves the Craftsman style a whole heck of a lot and so I bought it. Over the course of my stay in Portland, my parents and I rehabbed it. My dad took it apart and re-glued it so the joints were square. My mom cleaned and sanded every inch of it. I rubbed several coats of Tung oil into the parched wood.

In a crazy bit of good fortune, I happened to bring one of Scott’s worn-out Hawaiian shirts with me. Originally, I’d planned to have my mom teach me how to use a sewing machine (it’s a giant hole in my how-to knowledge). We never got around to pulling out the sewing machine, but instead used the shirt to cover the the stool. It’s amazing how well it worked.

We were all so proud of the finished product.

Jean, Leana and Amy. I love them all (particularly that lady in the middle. She’s pretty darn terrific).

Merry Christmas, friends. I hope your days are as full with family, gifts and turkey as mine has been.

Red and gold balls on one of the trees in Maywood Park. They decorate every one of the community’s traffic circle evergreens. Baubles like this wouldn’t last five minutes in Philly.