I like this picture...it's from a book on native art that I got from my friend. Our places are 2100 sq. feet and hers was bookshelves, top to bottom. Really great books - some were a hundred years old. Books on war, politics, art, animals/nature, philosophy, furniture, musical instruments, gardening...you name it, she had it. My guess would be between 5,000-10,000 books, mostly hardcover. She was in her 70's, yet I'd find Rolling Stone magazines and comic books in amongst the piles. Harry Potter. Lord of the Rings was her favorite. She was so different than others her age. I miss her dearly...she's been gone a year now. She was a good friend. I wrote about her (them) tonight, but I saved it. I've done that three times now. I think I've touched on them before, but one day I'm telling their whole story. I just want to do them justice when I do.

For now, I'm going to share bits and pieces of what they left me. I treasure it. Actually, I inherited this computer from her and some days I stumble across her work - she was brilliant. I had first crack at everything of theirs and I was just too numb to even really think about it. Their home was like a museum full of treasures and antiques and I just didn't want to disturb it. I even kept their cats "at home" for a month and a half after she'd gone...then they got "evicted" by some heartless souls. People swooped in like vultures and I was sad to see their stuff get treated like garbage. Rifled through and some of it completely trashed. I got things that mattered to me - the wood carvings that T painstakingly worked on, usually with my dog at her feet (she'd go over when the kids got too rowdy and "hide" in her workshop until I'd go find her). Often with Lindsay watching, in awe, at the door. She created miniature worlds. Carved beautiful birds. I'll share them all here over time. But for today I'm wishing I had taken all the books and shared them with people. Because many went in the dumpster, I know they did. I suggested they be donated to a library...but the dumpster was easier - it was right outside the door. I gave a bunch of the war books to my son's friend who was really interested in them - he certainly appreciated them. Their library next door put the public one to shame. And it was tragic that the books weren't respected as they should've been and donated to those who would've put them to good use. I have quite a few at my place, I took mostly art books. The Robert Bateman stuff was my favorite and they left me a framed picture that he did as well. The only real art I own...I love it and would never part with it. I'll share their entire story one day, there's just so much to tell.