Phabulous Philly Phun!

Hi Blog!

We're back! We took a short hiatus from blogging as we traveled about in December and January. Our adventures started with a flight to Philadelphia to visit with our Philly Phamily. On Saturday, December 7, 2018, the Miller/Davis/McNee/Scranton ladies got together for a day of cookie baking. Sisters - Eileen, Sue, Barb and Kathy got the batters beat.

All the while, the next generation had a ball! Here BriAnna and Vicki show off their mad scooping skill.

The end result:

The bakers assembled for a group photo. From left to right, Top - Jen, Eileen, Kathy, Barb, Sue. Bottom - Michelle, Vicki, BriAnna. Front and Center, our littlest baker, Holly. (Missing from the photo was Katie. She had to run home to walk her puppies.)

After the cookies were divided up and exchanged, we retired to Katie's new apartment in Center City where everything was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

While Katie worked during the week, we stayed home with the puppies. Ruthie and Maggie made great supervisors as we put together more Ikea furniture.

The week was filled with coffee shops, puppy walks, hardware stores and a trip to the Center City Christmas Village. We had a chance to sample a few restaurants in Katie's neighborhood. At the end of the week, we received a visit from Dave's brother, Laird, and his wife, Risa. They drove all the way down from Albany to spend the day playing Chuck-luck and eating pie.

 (Our PPPR -- Pie Per Person Ratio -- was just 1:5, but Oh! the quality!  That pie came from Grandma's Kitchen in Albany, New York.)

Before Laird and Risa left town, we joined them at their hotel for a great big brunch buffet. Here, Dave is enjoying the warmth of the fake fireplace in the hotel lobby.

One last puppy walk before it's time to head out. Ruthie has Maggie's back; while Maggie is all ears.

We finished our week by attending the annual Paxon Hollow Pollyanna Party hosted by Eileen and Tom. The coolers were full, the coffee table piled high with snacks and the buffet loaded with all kinds of Italian goodies - pasta, sausage, meatballs and salad. Of course, there were plenty of deserts, including those famous Christmas cookies. The extended family circled the snack table, watched footballs games and exchanged presents. 

A new addition this year: the Pirate Beverage Pillage. Participants brought a mixed six pack of their favorite beverage - craft beer, wine, wine coolers, mixed drinks, hard soda and local craft soda. The offerings were laid out on the table and numbers were drawn each round. On your turn, you could pick from the pile or steal from a neighbor. Once a beverage was stolen three times, it was yours to keep. Unfortunately, we were about to get on a plane, so our six pack went to Katie.

Here Jen and T.O. eye their next acquisition.

As the party wound down, we said our pre-byes, good byes and bye-byes and drove to Newark International Airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong and then on to Yangon. We had a great visit with our Philly Phamily and can't wait to do it again next year!