I spent a large part of my day with my friend Kit. It just worked out that I was home and she was free. It's rare that we spend the day together with just the two of us. We decided to shop, have lunch and do some computer stuff. She had things she wanted to show me, and as it turned out, I knew some things she didn't. You just never know. She brought over her laptop and HP Photo scanner. We scanned a bunch of pictures, mainly of my father as a 3 year old. We were able to zoom in and see all kinds of details, from the dimples on his knuckles to the refection in a window of his father taking his picture. The scanner is amazing. You can resize, re-colorize, restore, and a zillion other tasks. It makes me want to order one right away. I have a box of slowly deteriorating pictures that were glued into albums. I'd like to copy them to CD so they can be saved. The couple on the right in this picture is my parents, in the 50's. I love how my mother is biting her bottom lip. I can only imagine what she's thinking. And how about the couple on the left? Kit said the girl looks like a 'doll'. My parents look so young and so happy. Alas, they didn't stay that way.

We ate lunch at Panera's. The line was out the door. We shopped at Pier 1, Circuit City and Walmart. It wasn't bad in any of those stores. We didn't go anywhere near a mall. I resisted even looking at marked-down Christmas stuff. I don't need anything.

I got a Targus Coolpad laptop cooler from Emily, and it's just the best thing. I told her I didn't even know I wanted one until I got it. It's one of my favorite new things. What was your favorite gift?