Day 5

Dear Jamey and Jack,

As you know Dad had to work this morning. Which meant I wandered the streets of Portland. Until I came upon the PERFECT intersection. At which point I quit wandering and stayed at the perfect place for three hours. Yes, you read that right--three hours. You two would have been bored out of your minds. I think it's a good thing you were with Grandma Lou!

Just in case you are wondering, this perfect location is found at the intersection of NW Couch St and SW 11th Ave in downtown Portland.

Four of the most wonderful things sit on three of the four corners.

First corner: Powells City of Books. Oh my. This store is an independent bookstore that takes up a WHOLE block. I spent half of the three hours there. I even bought each of you a book!

Second corner: Sur La Table. A kitchen store full of all kinds of wonderful things. It would take far too long to mention all of the fun things I always seem to find in that store. It would also take much too long to explain exactly how I came up with enough self-discipline to walk out of the store leaving behind the cutest table linens and the lovely green, oval gratin dish...

Perhaps what adjoins Sur La Table was the only think that helped me keep my credit card tucked safely away. Yep, a Peet's Coffee and Tea was right there just begging me to come in. And I did. And I ordered a tasty drink! Then I sat at one of the tables while I drank my drink so I would smell like coffee for the rest of the day.

Third corner: Anthropologie. The home and gift section is full of things that I "need". Fortunately I am far too frugal to spend $24 for a dish towel that I would be too afraid to use for fear of getting something on it. However, it was a close call. Anthropologie has a habit of making me question my values. Regardless, I more than completely enjoyed my 30 minutes of wandering...

Hunger pulled me away from the perfect intersection...eventually, that is. I found a nice little cafe that had more than one vegetarian option (that isn't salad) on the menu--something we don't see much of in Arkansas, so I'm trying to take advantage of my opportunities.

Please give Grandma Lou a HUGE hug to thank her for giving me a morning at the perfect intersection.

Switching topics... Guess what? We're coming home tomorrow! But I probably won't see you until you're asleep. I promise to give you each a kiss on your sleepy cheeks when I get back to the basement. Until then, keep having fun!

I love you!

Love, Mama

PS: Dad just got back, and he wants to check out the book store. It sounds like we're going back this evening! Yippee!!!