Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day Friends.     I hope your day is a good one.   Here it is sunny and cold. Is it nice where you are today?     

As I was cleaning up the kitchen, which is on the south side of my house and super sunny all day long, I got a summery feeling and a "the kids are in school" feeling.   I sat down at the kitchen table and went back in time for a few minutes.   The only thing missing was my kitchen radio which I miss quite a lot.

Do places, situations, music etc sometimes take you back in time?   I love those moments.  

I am also looking to buy a Corsair radio with blue tooth.  Radio reception here is nonexistent for all intents and purposes so blue tooth would fit the bill!!      

Recently my son said that he was very influenced by me listening to the radio in the kitchen during the day.    I remember those days but I remember him coming home and the two of us watching Batman the cartoon series.   

Happy Columbus Day!

Happy Columbus Day on this rainy Monday. (repost from 2017)
Cristoforo Colombo, son of Genoa,Italy the great explorer who opened up the Americas.

 What did he look like?

"At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, 71 alleged portraits of Columbus were displayed; most did not match contemporary descriptions. These writings describe him as having reddish or blond hair, which turned to white early in his life, light colored eyes, as well as being a lighter-skinned person with too much sun exposure turning his face red. Accounts consistently describe Columbus as a large and physically strong man of some six feet (1.83 metres) or more in height, easily taller than the average European of his day.
The most iconic image of Columbus is a portrait by Sebastiano del Piombo, which has been reproduced in many textbooks. It agrees with descriptions of Columbus in that it shows a large man with auburn hair, but the painting dates from 1519 and cannot, therefore, have been painted from life. Furthermore, the inscription identifying the subject as Columbus was probably added later, and the face shown differs from other images, including that of the "Virgin of the Navigators."

Welcome to a blog that does not re-write history for bogus, ridiculous political

Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria

correctnessl
What the politically correct leave out in their new history that tries to make Christopher Columbus look bad,  is that Indians of the Americas were killing one another off through horrific human sacrifice at a rate of several hundred thousand per tribe per year!
This human sacrifice, extremely bloody by the way and involving the best, brightest young men and hundreds of thousands of women and children per year, was practiced all the way up to North America.
They believed the gods required it and were at war most of the time to take prisoners for these religious sacrifices and as I said a few hundred thousand were required by that religion per year.
The Spaniards were horrified by what they saw.
Did they build the pyramids etc?
Nope.  As their leaders told the Spaniards, the great buildings were there when they got to the Americas  from wherever they came from.. probably Mongolia . They didn't build them.
Whoever did build them, demanded sacrifice and frightened them immensely.
It would take great fear to push nations into war to gain such high numbers of sacrificial victims.
Part of history removed from view is the huge giants who roamed the Americas pre-Indians. All the tribes have history regarding them and the terror they left behind.
Their skeletons and gigantic skulls were systematically "lost' by the large museums since they interfere with the officially sanctioned history of the world.

It is my belief that those buildings, which are impossible for us to rebuild even today, were pre-flood.
You know when the atomic bomb was tested Robert Oppenheimer said, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds".  He was quoting the Bhagavad Gita written over 5000 years ago which described ancient nuclear war, flying saucers and ships based on magnetic levitation and genetic alteration of people and animals.
When asked how it felt to set off the world's first nuclear bomb, Oppenheimer told them it was the first in our day only... but not the first in the history of the world.
He understood that modern man is not as modern as he thinks nor is history exactly what you've been taught in school.
As Solomon said, what was is, what is was and there is nothing new under the sun.
Nothing.
We cannot build pyramids and walls like we see in Mexico, Central, and South America. The technology does not exist. The tolerances and cuts are impossible even with fine lasers.
We do not have cranes that can lift stones as heavy as those either.
Incas etc built on top of them but the building is vastly inferior by comparison.

So history is not what you are taught in school.
So save the whining and cringing and wringing of hands over Columbus Day and save the whales instead.
Columbus Day is big for Italian Americans and Puerto Ricans.
It should be big for us all.

This little film is a tradition here for Columbus Day.

Thanksgiving Day

To each of you I wish a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.
Remember the author of this  feast of Thanksgiving a day that marks the real beginning of American history. 78% of the women died the first winter in Plimouth, Massachusetts. Only a few children and men passed on and so the Wompanoag Indian guests outnumbered the Pilgrims by more than 2 to 1.

Fire Dreams (1918) 

 I remember here by the fire,
In the flickering reds and saffrons,
They came in a ramshackle tub,
Pilgrims in tall hats,
Pilgrims of iron jaws,
Drifting by weeks on beaten seas,
And the random chapters say
They were glad and sang to God.
 ─Carl Sandburg

Saturday 9 : The Addams Family

Each week Sam supplies us with themed  or random questions to answer.
 It's a lot of fun.
On this chilly November day, here is my version.

The Addams Family

The Addams Family (1964)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) One of TV's spookiest families was inspired by a series of New Yorker cartoons. What's the last magazine you flipped through?

I like the New Yorker magazine. But the latest I flipped through was a 1963 Seventeen magazine.

2) The Addams' butler, Lurch, was originally conceived as a mute. But then actor Ted Cassidy ad libbed the line, "You rang?" and Lurch had a voice, and a catchphrase. Can you think of another catchphrase connected to a TV character?

 Homer Simpson's : "Doh!" 
 Joe Friday:             "Just the facts, ma'm"
 Hawaii Five O :     "Book 'em Dano!"

The Munsters

3) Now here's the most important question of the week: Do you prefer The Addams Family or The
Munsters?
Yes, this really is an important question.
I thought the Munsters was  a nicer program as it always had nice values and Herman, the father, was a good  and gentle man.

4) What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?
Village of the Damned.  I hated it.  I think horror films are the result of  abandonment of morality and repentance in human culture.

I can still remember leaving the theater with my girlfriend Vivian.  It was about 4PM , growing dark and it was foggy and cold outside on a fall day.  It just seemed so creepy after seeing that film. It was the last and only one I ever saw. It  was awful and I don't think it's good to fill your head with that sort of junk.


 5) Thursday was Halloween. What goodies did you give the trick or treaters?

Originally I had planned on individual bags of chips, but, I ended up buying a large huge bag of mixed candies.  They went over very well. There are a lot left though there were tons of kids.

6) Are you attending/have you attended any Halloween parties this year?

No parties. Just me handing out candy to visitors.

7) Did you carve a jack o'lantern this year?

No. But I do have a happy faced electric pumpkin.

8) Do you eat candy corn all year around ... only at Halloween ... or never?

I don't eat candy or sweets of any kind. But when I did, I loved candy corn.

9) In 1964, when The Addams Family premiered, one of the most popular store-bought Halloween costumes was Bambi. It came with a plastic mask held on by a thin elastic band. Tell us about a memorable Halloween costume from your childhood.

For dress up, my mother sewed a gorgeous Martha Washington dress for me complete with hoops. It was wonderful. 




Tomorrow is Sunday Stealing, so join us.

Monday....

Hello, Friends!
We had a wonderful time last night having a friends and family meal. Any holiday is a good excuse to
have people over to share food and a good time,as far as I am concerned.
We had cottage pie and colcannon and cupcakes for dessert. Everyone loved the food and over ate!
 Cottage pie is ground beef , celery, onion and gravy made from beef stock,  a tablespoon of tomato paste and  one of Worcestershire sauce . Some add carrot as well. You cook that and then top it with mashed potato and cheese, I use dairy free cheddar  and bake for about half an hour until the potatoes are brown and crisp on top and cheese nicely crisp and melted.
I will put the recipe on my Rock & Roll Cafe blog.
Colcannon is the Irish version of Bubble and Squeak. It is mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage. People thought they wouldn't  like it until they tried  it and none was left over! I will also work on posting that recipe as well.

The weather has been very sunny with few clouds and though chilly, it does seem that spring is on the way.  The equinox is March 21^st.

fool proof !

I am busy today making wasp and hornet nest deterrents. And here is the link where I showed you how to do that a while ago.  Yes, they work 100% and you will not have wasp or hornet nests near your home if you hang them where you do not want those critters to be!

What are you up to today?

Memorial Day 2

from the local news

Memorial day is the annual "Blessing of the Fleet" in our town where boat owners gather to have their boats blessed and a service is held in the middle of the bay to honor the fallen. Taps is played
and a memorial wreath is laid on the water. Everyone then throws in carnations and roses they have brought to the service. There will be a parade in one of our little townships and a memorial service at the library to honor the fallen. What does your town do to honor Memorial Day?

Eishet Chayil, A Woman of Valor

 


Happy Mother's Day,
I have loved this song all my life.
I dedicate this song, Eishet Chayil, to my mother and to my beloved grandmothers of blessed memory and all women.
To each and every wife and mother I wish you a Happy Mother's Day, whether mother to human kids or fur babies. :)
I found a version with translation so you can understand it.

Sending wishes for love and happiness

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!
I hope this year brings only good things for all of us.

The firework display in Funchal, Madeira Portugal are spectacular and made the Guiness Book of World Records.

Stronghold of Rock

Maoz Tzur really means stronghold of Rock and of course, the rock and stronghold are not physical really though at the time they were. But God is the true rock and salvation.

It is the start of Chanukah.
Chanukah is the Feast of Dedication or festival of lights celebrating the re-dedication of the temple at Jerusalem by the Maccabees long ago.
I wish everyone who celebrates a Chanukah Sameach!
(Ch like loch in Scottish Chan is sort of like Goldie Hawn;s  name. Sameach is Sa-May-ach with the ach sounding like a Scottish ach, Ch is  in the back of the throat in Hebrew )

Here is the song sung while lighting the oil on the lamp for Chanukah (olive oil gives the most steady and clear light) . The chanukiah is placed in the window to announce that a miracle took place.
During the re-dedication of the temple in those days there was not enough oil for the big menorah to burn but by the grace of the Almighty, the tiny bit of oil there was burned for 8 days until more oil could be gotten.
It was a miracle.
For all my Christian friends, the holiday is found in John 10:22-23.

Maoz tzur yeshuati
l’cha naeh l’shabeach
Tikon beit t’filati
v’sham todah n’zabeach.

L’eit tachin matbeach
mitzar hamnabeach
Az egmor b’shir mizmor chanukat hamizbeach
Az egmor b’shir mizmor
chanukat hamizbeach.

 O mighty stronghold of my salvation,
to praise You is a delight.
Restore my House of Prayer
and there we will bring a thanksgiving offering.
When You will have prepared the slaughter
for the blaspheming foe,
Then I shall complete with a song of hymn
the dedication of the Altar.

Thankful!

Note: The recipe for Crumbly Pumpkin pie is wrong! It should be sweetened condensed milk!

I wish you all a very happy and inspirational Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Recipes

Food! Glorious food

Here are some recipes
I will make for Thanksgiving.
Perhaps you would enjoy them as well.

  Corn Pudding

It seems corn would have been on the menu for the first Thanksgiving. A native staple, maize was important in the diet and its harvest helped save the first colony when Indians taught the Pilgrims to add fish heads to their plantings. God bless them.
This is the sweet version of the pudding.

Preheat your oven to 400F
Grease a casserole that holds 2 quarts

 Ingredients:

 5 eggs lightly beaten
1/3 cup of melted butter
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of milk or cream for a richer taste
Place these in a bowl and whisk in 4 Tablespoons of cornstarch.
Now stir in 1 can (15oz size) of whole kernel corn, or use thawed frozen.
15.26 oz can is just shy of 2 cups or 1.91 cups to be exact. Just measure out a wee bit less than 2 cups and you will be fine.
Now add 2 large cans of cream style corn. (This is the 14.75 oz size can)
Mix all of this with your spoon until mixed together.
Place it in your greased casserole and bake for about 1 hour.
I use frozen thawed corn because it has no salt added and canned corn has tons of sodium.
I also think it tastes better. I use the white sweet corn.
I used to use dried corn but I can only find it in Pennsylvania and have not been there to buy groceries in a long time. I go to my mother's hometown to buy things when I can but it is on top of a mountain and once autumn sets in it's not a great drive up.
This is the sweet version of corn pudding.

If you like a savory version try this one:

New England Style Colonial Corn Pudding

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
5 cups canned corn ... drain it well. (you can also use thawed frozen corn or fresh)

1 cup half and half
½ teaspoon  salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
a bit of grated fresh nutmeg
¾ cup crushed oyster crackers
3 tablespoons melted butter
½ cup shredded very sharp cheddar cheese
Paprika
Assembly:
Set the oven at 350 F
Use some of the better to grease a 9-inch casserole pan. It can be round or square
In a separate bowl mix the cream, eggs, salt, and pepper and dash of nutmeg
Now add in half the crackers and 2 Tablespoons of butter
Pour the mix into the baking pan and then cover over with the cheddar cheese
Place the rest of the cracker crumbs over the top
and place some sprinkling of paprika on the top to decorate.
Now, bake it for 45-50 minutes. It will be puffed a bit and the edges browned and crisp.

My Mother's Candied  Sweet Potatoes

Cook 2 lbs yams or sweet potatoes in water and bring up to boil.
Lower heat and cook 25 minutes.
Cool down and peel and cut into chunks or do as my mother did and half them lengthwise then half them lengthwise again.. you will have long thick sticks that way.

Combine 1/4 cup of real Maple Syrup
1/3 cup of brown sugar packed
1/4 tsp of real cinnamon
1/4 cup of butter

Cook this until the mixture boils.
Pour this over the potatoes in the baking dish and bake them for about 40 minutes at 350F.

Sausage and Apple Stuffing

I don't have a recipe for this so I will list the ingredients I use and you will have to wing it.
But you can make your regular dressing.. like a sage and onion style and add walnuts and breakfast sausage, apples etc. to it. You can even add dried cranberries to it.
It is like a meal in itself and everyone loves it.

You will need about a pound of Banquet Beef Breakfast Sausage or a pound of Jenny O Sweet Italian Sausage.  You can use both and a lot of it. These were the sausages mentioned int he original recipe which is old. You can substitute sausage that taste similar to them.
Other ingredients are :
chopped celery
chopped sweet yellow or Vidalia onion
chopped apples
pecans or walnuts chopped a bit
Bell's(Or similar) Poultry seasoning
Turkey or Chicken broth
Bread cubes or the stuffing they sell especially for Thanksgiving time.
You'll need enough bread to match the number of veggies and sausage that you use.
Saute the veggies and apple in butter or Oil or even Pam.
Add Bell's seasoning to them to taste.
There is enough salt in the sausage so I don't add any more.
Fry up the sausages and chop up into bite-sized pieces.
Now you mix the veggies and meat and nuts with the bread.
  Now moisten the stuffing with Turkey stock or broth.
Don't make it soupy but add enough to keep it nice and moist and remember some will evaporate in the oven. You don't want a dry stuffing.
I bake it in a big sheet cake pan for about 50 minutes at 350F. It isn't a think layer either. I make a lot of this stuff.
Check it from time to time. You can add some stock if you need to but remember you aren't making soup here.
You can taste it as you go when preparing to get the seasoning right.
I have sometimes added a couple of beaten eggs to the mix as well, but I don't find it necessary really.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Ingredients:

pie crust

5 Granny  Smith Apples. Tart apples make the best apple pie.

2/3 cup of sugar

1 1/3 cups of sour cream

pix via Pillsbury

2 Teaspoons of vanilla

3 Tablespoons of flour

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp of salt.

Peel and cut the apples...Make your apples thinly sliced, they bake nicer that way.

Mix the sour cream sugar, salt eggs, vanilla and flour smoothly.

Add your apple slices and stir it to blend into the mixture.

Place this filling into the pie crust.

Now place the topping on it all:

3 Tablespoons of sweet butter. The unsalted kind is best

1/4 cups and 2 Tablespoons of sugar

1  teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 Tablespoons of flour.

Mix these ingredients and then crumble it over the top of the pie.

Bake it for about 60 minutes in a 350 F oven.

Now if it isn't done, bake it 15 mins more but cover it with foil before you do to keep it from scorching on top. 

 Cool it down and enjoy it.

Crumbly Pumpkin Pie

You can just buy a graham cracker crust for this one but a regular pie crust will do just as nicely.

Mix 15oz of Libby's plain pumpkin with 14 oz of   SWEETENED condensed  milk.   

Add 1 egg and 1 Teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

Put into the pie crust

Bake for about 15 mins at 425F but no longer

Streusel top Pumpkin but it looks like my recipe

Then reduce the heat  to 350F and add the topping

Topping:
1/2 tsp of brown sugar
2 Tablespoons of flour
2 Tablespoons of cold butter
3/4 cup of walnuts or pecans.
1/4 cup of cinnamon.
Mix all the ingredients then cut in the butter until crumbly.
Stir in the nuts gently and spread over the pie when reducing the heat to 350.
Now, bake it for another 40 mins at 350F.
Test with a knife.. it should come out clean from the center.

I hope you enjoy these!

Women, Know Your Limits!

Harry Enfield made the most entertaining comedic films and BBC Worldwide has uploaded some of them on YouTube.   I would love to share them with  you.
These funny films make powerful statements about how some men view women and mocks that point of view quite well!

The first one is entitled "Women, Know Your Limits" and is a wonderful send up about educated women.


The second title is "Women, For Pity Sake, Don't Drive" a spoof on women drivers from the male perspective.




It's a cold day here and was 32F this morning when I saw the Little off to her bus.
She was bundled up warmly after a breakfast of a thin bagel toasted in the pan and filled with fried egg and cheddar cheese. 
Autumn is in full swing and I hope it doesn't warm up again. I don't like the back and forth warm/cold weather we sometimes have. I think it's unhealthy, don't you?

We will be 7 ot 8 for Thanksgiving Day...not sure yet but the menu is set.  We start out with Butternut Squash soup and canapes.
 Then comes Turkey, candied yams, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, cranberry sauce, green beans  and my  sausage stuffing.
 For dessert I will make pumpkin pie, sour cream apple pie, and chocolate mousse pie. Unsure if I will also make a pecan pie  or a Shoo Fly Pie as well. I don't know what my stamina will be and my oven is broken. I will be using my convection oven for cooking and let someone else roast the turkey.
Tomorrow I will post the recipes for Sour Cream Apple Pie and My Sausage stuffing.

Thankful November....

Welcome new month of Great Thanksgiving.


October did not stay long this year it seemed. For me, it was because of preparation for surgery and all the things that are done before: blood tests, xrays, cat scan maps of the heart. This took up time and made it seem to fly.
I slept through most of Oct 30 and woke up to pain and morphine. That night and the next morning saw more chest pain, far more than I expected and an overwhelming weak sleepiness. It hurt to take a breath and I felt miserable. All I wanted was sleep. I spent most of the afternoon and evening in recovery until late Monday night . They let my daughter in for 5 minutes only since no one is allowed in recovery but it would be hours before I was going to go to a room.
 It was a painful night but I was kept on pain drugs to help and they did help a lot.
On Tuesday I was allowed to go home though I didn't want to. I felt too bad. I slept up until the moment I was to leave.

one wing of this huge place

I went home and to bed. The Famous Anonymous handed out candy to the little ghosts and goblins that came all through the evening.
Today I am still sleepy, still weak but in much less pain. I am badly bruised up  I am swollen on arms and hands from IV's and catheters. My throat is sore from intubation. My groin is bruised on both sides where they went into veins and up to my heart.from the lines that went up to my heart through the veins. They burned the area around the section of my heart that caused it to beat rapidly. Scar tissue will not allow electrical impulses to pass through and so they hope this will end the A-fib.
The two surgeons who worked on me told my daughter it went very well.  Some people need this done as many as 3 times.
Oh, please, no. It was not a nice experience and I hate surgery. Let this do it!


Now we await Thanksgiving Day and in my family a round of birthdays that go from November to Jan.
Today is All Saints Day.

 Christian celebration of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day stems from a belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the "Church triumphant"), and the living (the "Church militant"). In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. It is a national holiday in many historically Catholic countries. In Methodist theology, All Saints Day revolves around "giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints", including those who are "famous or obscure".  As such, individuals throughout the Church Universal are honoured, such as Paul the Apostle, Augustine of Hippo and John Wesley, in addition to individuals who have personally led one to faith in Jesus, such as one's grandmother or friend.  (wikipedia)

And this weeks Torah reading is Vayeira..The story of Abraham coming before God to argue for Sdom.  (Yes it is Sdom not Sodom.)
I thank everyone who prayed for me  and want you to know how grateful I am for your blessed prayers.
Torah portion is Genesis 18:1 - 22:24 and Haftorah is  II Kings 4:1 - 4:37.
Sarah will have a child, Avraham will ask for Sdom's life and Elisha will ask  God to bring the widows child back to life.

Monday .... Labor Day 2017

beach entrance . Kick off your shoes!

Sunny and warm best describes today at the New Jersey shore. An almost cloudless day for the last official day of tourism at the beach.  And the beaches will be packed today!
After today the tourists pack up and the life guards stop guarding the beaches.

Ship Bottom on LBI*.(this photo by Irving Anderson)

The "snowbirds' who live in Florida for the winter and come home to New Jersey for the
summer begin to trickle back down south again, though some wait  until October. They own a home here and in Florida too.
These homes will be empty all winter and our population dwindles down again.

I am joining with Toni's Creative Adventures again and so should you.  It is a great way to get to know people and their thoughts etc.



The Carousel Ride
1.   While on vacation the past two weeks, I took the time to visit an old amusement park

that is now abandoned. Hearing what sounds like carousel music I decided to enter the park through the open gate and much to my surprise I see an old Merry-go-Round glittering with lights

That's me in the foreground at Seaside Heights

2.   Waiting for the ride to stop I find myself getting up on one of the little ramps that take you up to the Carousel.  When the ride finally stops I swing into the saddle of a black horse whose mane is tossed carelessly to the wind.

3.   Feeling like a young kid again I close my eyes, smile and hum along with the music until the ride comes to a complete stop._

4.   Now a little sad I realize it was all in my imagination and leaving the park I think to myself that it is a shame such places closed down from lack of interest.  We used to be a more carefree people in the past, or more willing to leave our cares behind for an innocent day of fun. There were more amusement parks in America once upon a time. Not the mega parks like Disney or Great Adventure where you pay and arm and a leg to wait in long lines, but smaller parks that were more friendly.
 I would like to revive those days. We need them back.   

Today's Month long meme question:
4 What were your hobbies as you were growing up?

  Trains, trains, more trains and did I mention trains?
I wanted to be a railroad engineer.
I enjoyed Archie, Richie Rich and Little Audrey comic books. I spent hours in the library reading through the encyclopedia Britannica.
I liked playing baseball, ice skating and archery and was pretty good at them even at a very young age.

Have a happy and safe Labor Day.
*
LBI is Long Beach Island just across the bay from where I live.

Father's Day: Love in a Candy Box

Never found my Prince...   never even got a glimpse of him.
None of the men I met, dated or married were princes in any sense of the word, sadly.
But my father was a king.
Below I am posting a piece I wrote about my father many years ago but, it still is relevant.






My father was a romantic.
He loved my mother dearly and he loved her mother, who lived with us most of my life, very much also. He showed such a great deal of respect for her and for his own parents and as my maternal Grandmother said.."He is better to me than 20 sons".

My father was head chemist and vice president of a chemical company who for many reasons later opened a soda fountain/ice cream shop that eventually became a small stationary store in a tiny town, selling stationary to big business  and cards and school supplies from the main store.
He took a beating money wise later on from malls and the big stationary chain stores.
But he was honest to a fault and ever the romantic who learned constantly.  You never saw him without a scholarly work in his hands.

 He would bring home boxes of candy to my mother and grandmother sometimes after work as a treat, one I would share in.

Once, I remember him walking home without his brand new coat because he had given it to the town homeless guy.
"Its only a block walk. It's not that cold out"
He wore his old one from then on. It was just as good he said.  A candy box was  tucked under his arm for Mother.  He sat down to dinner as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

In my grandmothers bedroom , inside the closet on a shelf , were old candy boxes filled with her crochet work (she made fillet crochet that was amazing), news clippings of her friends deaths, births of grandchildren, marriages, etc., cards from holidays, mementos and tiny souvenirs of times past. One was used to house her "good gloves" and "my good scraves".

I once asked her why she saved all those boxes.
"Oh, " she said, "its a shame to waste things".
"Yes", I said, "but you could fit this all in one or two hat boxes".
She looked at me with those deep gray eyes , now half blind and said , "But there is so much love in these boxes".