When the season changes, I fall into confusion about where to put my coins and bills. In the summer, they go into the zippered inner pocket of my purse. In the winter, I shove them into my coat pocket. But when the weather is variable, I don’t have a consistent place to put things. So I cram my money in wherever and I end up losing it or fumbling around at cash registers.

So today I bought a wallet. I haven’t owned a wallet in years and years. This one is a lovely dark red, vegetable tanned Italian leather with a nifty metal snap. It has space for bills, a zippered coin bit and lots of slots for the myriad point cards, train passes and ID I carry around with me. Pretty much everything you need in a wallet.

When I dug my money out of the three pockets it was in, I ended up with a huge handful of coins—2105 yen in 30 coins—plus the 8,000 yen I discoverd this morning in the pocket of my winter coat. I also unearthed from the same coat pocket the 20 pound note I *knew* I had but couldn’t find before we went to Ireland via London last month. Well, now I have it for next time.