My mom read the last blog post and said maybe Jean’s recipes were still at the Thrift store so naturally I went down there this morning to see if they were.  I said to myself, “Also, if there are anymore of those scrapbooks I will buy them.”  There were no recipes anywhere and I came away with 20 or so scrapbooks and two books for 3 dollars.  I felt rather like I was getting away with something.  These books are a treasure trove of history.

I sat on the porch for a long time this morning, quietly turning the pages and only getting through two of them.  They are delightfully engrossing.

“Afghans watch television at an American exhibit in Kabul.”

Look at their eyes.

Jean was a teacher.  And as of the scrapbooks that I have, she was not married.  There aren’t any personal things about her in the books but some cards and little notes given to her by friends and/or acquaintances, and a couple small certificates.  There are no personal opinions or notes.  The only key to her personality are the clipping she saved.  Things like politics, weather, historical sights, antique furniture, poems, quotes, comics, bible verses or prayers, and animal photos.  “You can know a lot about a person by the things they collect.”

“the information that he had been stricken by what is commonly called a stroke was camouflaged in medical double talk.”  

“Grant us the grace of perspective as we listen to the centuries rather than to the hours.”

He’s so cute, he’s the same age as my Seth!!!  So adorable.

“Photographing Animals is a Fascinating Hobby” I can agree to that.

“The duck has established an imaginary boundary line and every time Frank crosses it, the duck jumps in front of him and quacks loudly until the child turns back.”

“There is nothing too little for so little a creature as man.  It is by studying little things that we attain the great knowledge of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible.”

“Mrs. John F Kennedy moving from the White House with her two children today.”

“We are tired of television and of staring stupidly into the screen.”

“We aim to get together and have some fun instead.”

******

I stared at the date on the calendar when I came back inside.  To my surprise, it was 2016.

Have you ever had that feeling before?