My Great-Grandmother made these amazingly obsessive scrapbooks for us when we were kids.  She cut each image out of newspaper and constructed the pages from more newspaper sheets.  There were six great-granddaughters in our family and she made a thick volume for each of us.  I worked with Woodside Press in the Brooklyn Navy Yard to construct an archival box for our book.  My Gram lived through the Depression as a widow with three children, yet she was the most loving and giving person I knew.  She could not pass a yard sale without bringing home treasure, (I think that is genetic).  She would give away anything she owned if someone admired it.  Gram used to save string from her teabags and egg boxes for our chicken eggs.  Here is her wool blanket – (one of my favorite things).  I wrote about my own scrap books here last week.  When I get a free minute to do them, my paintings are collage – no doubt from her influence.  I strive to find beauty in the humble and to appreciate the simple joy in daily life.   I hope to teach my children to be thankful for their good fortune.  But I don’t think I can compare to Gram.