Dear Blog

Happy Belated Independence Day! I just returned to work after a 10 day hiatus which was spent eating, drinking, smoking, shopping, working on the house, spoiling the Princess & having lots of fun. Mary & Christine came to Philly last Thursday. I met up with them on Friday for lunch after a half-day of work & we reconnected several hours later for a yummy dinner at Barclay Prime in celebration of Christine’s birthday. We took a trip to Sea Isle to visit Mary’s 93 y.o. aunt (and eat seafood), a trip to the Poconos to visit cousin Carol, Phil & Vinny (and eat BBQ) and a trip to old city for a mini-shopping spree (& eat Malaysian). My favorite meal was dinner at Sovalo, a new Italian restaurant in Northern Liberties with Steve, Christine, Molly & Charlie. It was good to see Mary after several years of no communication. Simba & I had a fab. time in the Poconos. Vinny & his friend let me reel-in the fish and I gutted several of them myself!! What a fabulous retreat from city life; the cooler temperature, the peaceful lake, the fresh air, the deer, the grass; oh my – Simba & I were in heaven. Two days after Mary & Christine left, Zachary came to visit w/ his college friend (Pat) & Pat’s brother. Zack looks awesome (as expected!) and is so freaking mature, it’s scary. We had a good dinner at Alma de Cuba and then went out for drinks. George met up with us & we hooked up at the end of the night. Very nice but (per George's suggestion), a one-time occurrence. I'm hoping that George can explain to me how men's minds work as I'm clearly clueless. Steve, Simba & I went to the Haddonfield Art Festival which was larger than I expected. We had a very nice time despite the heat and I was successful in curbing my manic shopping. On productive note, I did manage to get the remaining wallpaper and paneling down from the 3rd floor bedroom. Much to my delight, I uncovered an antique, wrought-iron heating register in the wall. It was very exciting. I met with “brick guy” (Jerry) who will reinforce the 3rd floor wall and paint the decorative cornice on the exterior wall. I also met with "Mike" to complete all of the electrical work, exchanged messages with "Nick" about sheetrock / trim work and decided to install new (vs. refinishing the existing) h/w floors in the LR, DR and stairway. It’s been difficult adjusting to a ‘normal’ work schedule and I’ve continued to make entertainment plans for just about every night of the week (dinner at the Tap w/ Lori & Steve Monday night, BBQ @ Lori’s Tuesday, TRIA w/ Molly & Stephanie (from work) Wednesday, and dinner / fun with Doreen Friday. Let the fun continue!!