Clump #161:  Papers relating to my parents.

Second day of sad paper sorting.  The handling of clutter from a deceased parent is a chore that carries an added heaviness.  If not for the artificial self-imposed deadline of this project, it would be a task I’d procrastinate forever.  As it turned out, as weighty as it seemed, it was a relatively simple job.  Upon closer examination, I realized these were papers my younger sister had advised me to shred.

The pile in the photo is illuminated by a pair of lanterns I saved when clearing out my father’s possessions after his death.  I don’t know how long he had them, but when I turned them on, the batteries still held their charge.  So like my dad: practical, steadfast, always prepared, keeping us safe.  They’ve sat in a closet for the year and a half since I took them over, but when we recently lost power for almost three days, I grabbed them and the batteries still worked.  And they kept on working for the duration of the three days … and again for this photo.  Papers can go; lanterns will stay.

A — fortunately rare — danger of clutter build-up.  I cut out this comic, probably many years ago, meaning to give it to my dad.  Now that I’ve unearthed it, he is no longer here.  He certainly wouldn’t have worn a tee shirt with such a boastful slogan, but the caption reflected his strong analytical side:

And the pigment therapy color of the day is … Purple.

Crocuses last spring on the way to a visit with my mom …

mainly purple and lavender …

planted in front of a miniature golf course, in a long block of color:

From a trip last summer to the Montreal Biosphere:

Our common iris, jewel-like in a spring rain:

Purple and red tulips in Manhattan ostracizing a lonely yellow blossom:

Time to wrap up with another song selection.  Something that touched me this week: Italian skater, Carolina Kostner’s elegantly beautiful prayer on skates to “Ave Maria.” Apparently Ms. Kostner came back to skating after a difficult time “to show her love of skating,” according to commentator Scott Hamilton.  She won the Olympic bronze medal, but if they had given out a medal for sheer artistry, she would have won gold.