Clump #158:  Clear pile of sentimental mementos.

Whoa!  This was a tough one.  Trying to thin down today’s pile of papers was heart-wrenching.  Photos, programs from important events, special cards:

Of course, there were also little slips of inspiration and life advice I had cut out.  This one, from a long-forgotten magazine, seemed especially appropriate for the task at hand:

In ten years, will I still want this photo of myself at a taping of Let’s Make A Deal?  Will my children’s children be interested in seeing how goofy I looked in a referee’s uniform, blowing a whistle?  Possibly.

(Like much of the show, which is controlled by the producers, looks are deceiving.  The photo was taken in front of a green screen.  It was a blast, even still!)

Below are the keepables.  One pile of photos and one of other special papers.  On top, a photo of our daughter and son when they went out for Halloween as Brother and Sister Bear from the Berenstain Bears book series.  There are no words for how much I love this picture.  Our son might be an illustration for “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Halloween.”  I also couldn’t part with our younger daughter’s old YMCA ID card on which she looks like a porcelain doll.

And now for the daily dose of color … orange.  From Longwood Gardens this fall:

And from the conservatory this winter, inside:

As much as I love the exotic flowers at Longwood, any grocery store contains an infusion of radiant flowers:

And other gorgeous plants, like these leeks dripping over carrots:

And beautiful peppers:

Great song heard today on the radio (WXPN, 88.5): Valentine’s Day Is Over by Billy Bragg.  Couldn’t get enough of the Cockney (?) accent, the raw emotion, the horn section, and these lyrics:

Thank you for the things you bought me thank you for the card
Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard
That love between two people must be based on understanding
Until that’s true you’ll find your things
All stacked out on the landing, surprise, surprise

Love is really the thing to cherish, not the things.