I am not in the least bit sentimental!

Pictured above are four objects which have graced my home for many a year.

First: A needle pointed coaster which Hope Haug, mother of my friend Jay Haug, gave me as a Christmas tree ornament in 1976. I have treasured it all these years. It is now the coaster on which I place my cup of coffee or glass of water on a wee table, right next to the chair which I use for my afternoon reading.

Second: The "soccer loving monk" - a little pewter made paper weight which Irene Rokowski, (mother of my good friend Joe), brought back for me from the trip to Germany that she took with her husband Ray in about 1986.

Third: A "faux" cut glass ash tray which once belonged to my dear Great Aunt Maud. My Mum scavenged this from Aunt Maud's tiny flat in Birmingham. Great Aunt Maud was a simple soul. She had been estranged from her family for many years, but when she re-connected with her niece (my Mum) she became a family favourite.

Fourth: The nail care kit which my oldest sister Maureen gave me at London's Heathrow Airport on Friday 9th July 1976.  I was about to fly to Boston MA,  to become Deacon-in-charge at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Fitchburg, MA.  Little did any of us know that my flight to Boston on that day would change my life. Ask me about that!

The contents of the nail care kit have been renewed, but the leather case is exactly the one which Maureen gave me. 

Maureen's eight siblings, her four children and their spouses, together with her six grand-children will attest that she is a fabulous sister, mother, and grandmother.