5 Years Later. Remembering my Nana

Doris Parker

Today marks the five year anniversary of my Nana's passing.

Not a day goes by that I dont think of her in some way.

As kids we called her 'Nana Fly' because
she loved and collected butterflies.

I dont know why, but later in her life
I took to calling her 'Nana pants'

which made her smile everytime.
She had one of the greatest smiles I know.

What's on your shelves?

This what is on mine:

I look at peoples' bookshelves

when I am in their houses.

I like to see what books they read,

and the things they chose to display.

it tells a little story about them.

What do you keep on your shelves?

Best Old House Neighborhoods 2010: the Northeast | Photos | This Old House

This is where I live!
Best Old House Neighborhoods 2010

Mt Airy, Philadelphia, PA

"With a diverse and progressive vibe that makes some people refer to it as Berkeley East, Mount Airy might just be one of the most interesting neighborhoods in the country."

I can't argue with a word of that. I have lived in Philadelphia for almost 14 years, and 9 of those years have been in the Mt. Airy neighborhood. I feel so lucky to live in such a lovely community. The recognition it is being given by such a respected authority on architecture and community makes me smile ear to ear.

Below is a picture of my very own "Old House" in Mt. Airy.

Light as a feather, stiff as a board

A couple of posts back, I mentioned an old stationery store, "The Cubby Hole", in my hometown Wakefield, MA. Sadly, The Cubby Hole no longer exists. What is still there, is the model airplane company, Guillow's. Guillow's has designed and manufactured model airplanes since the early twentieth century. The headquarters/manufacturing facility is located on New Salem St, and backs up to a railraod track. When I was in middle school, I would hang out with my friend Pam, who lived directly across the tracks from Guillow's. When we weren't swimming in her pool, or cutting out pictures of Kirk Cameron from "Teen Beat", we would sometimes venture across the tracks (trains rarely crossed!) and dumpster dive behind the Guillow's factory. What we would walk away with were bags full of scrapped basla wood. For young kids, this was like hitting the jack pot. All we would need after that was a bottle of craft glue, and away we would go, building Barbie houses and various little boxes. I think next time I am home, I might have to revive my dumpster diving. Below are pictures of some inspiring Balsa wood projects I found on Flickr:

laurasdesignportfolio

littletrousers

A Little Hut

(store)

I was on a hunt this morning to find a well-tailored

gray button up shirt.

I thought Etsy would be a good place to start.

On my search I stumbled upon this scarf by Patricia Ayres-

which I am now lusting after:

Charcoal Scarf

Boot Lust

Cole Haan 'Crush'

Nine West 'Elijah'

Frye 'Erin Workboot'

Sailor's Valentines

I think I finally found a purpose for all those

jars of collected shells sitting on my book shelf.

tomandcindy