Helen was a pack rat long before she ever had AD. It was only a couple of months ago when I had to finally buy a roll of paper towels. I still have enough baggies for about another year. It's been over a year since she died and about 4 years before that since she went shopping.

Well lately I have been drinking a lot of green tea. I make about 2 pitchers of ice tea a day. Well this morning I was down to 4 tea bags and have already spent my grocery budget for the month. I knew we other kinds of tea in the house, so I got out the step stool and was checking the cupboard. There on the top shelf was an unopened box of 100 green tea bags. I just had to smile. A gift from my little pack rat.

AUHHH...that is sweet. Like she is still looking after you. Well, I am headed towards bed. I hope you are doing O.K. for the Holidays Lori, I know it can be a rough time.

I will go to "Christmas Eve Service" tomorrow night, and stocked up like a pack-rat myself, at Costco, because I thought I might end up snowed-in, all through the Holiday! Long story, but you would have been proud. Can't call me a "Princess" nope, not any more!

Nite Lor, Lor.

It's things like that that bring back memories, Lori.

Merry Christmas from Me and from Helen.

Lori,

I can relate on the pack rat-itis of our LO's. With Old Navy, it was this constant need to write letters, and he never could remember where he put his note pads.

Today, DH decided it was time to clear out one of the extra closets and he pulled down this really large (big enough for my portable sewing machine to set in) wicker basket. It was heavier than he thought it would be...

no wonder... it was filled to the brim with note cards, legal pads, secretarial notebooks, and spiral notebooks!

From the looks of things, we won't run out of writing supplies for at least 10 years!

Merry Christmas from Old Navy's family!

Need lint rollers, address books, emery boards, ear muffs??????? We have tons!!!!

~Kelly~

I'll take some Ear-Muffs, Kelly!

Lori,

100 tea bags!!?? Oh my, did you get lucky. I can't wait to hear what else you may find one day. Better look in all those cabinets, you may just have more surprises. Helen sure is looking out for you. And when you found that tea, she was probably saying to you that it was about time you found them. LOL

Jackie

Thank goodness for packrats (did I just say that??)

I have an abundance of paperclips, post-it notes, and general office supplies that I will never use. Any takers? There may be more but that's just what pops into my head right now.

Try donating them to a local non-profit agency.

Pack rats, mom takes the prize. Any takers for cottage cheese containers of all shapes and sizes. Mom saved every kind of container she used whether glass or plastic. I clean out one cupboard and still have more, now wonder she never had room for pots and pans.

Oh, and what is it with the toothpicks?, everywhere!!!!

Good idea about the office supplies. I know a battered women's shelter around here I will donate them to.

Linda, could the art dept at your local school use the containers? I wish I had taken the time to take all the yogurt cups up to the high school for their art dept, now, come to think of it.

My parents were both packrats too, long before the AD set in. When I moved back in with my mom and was home with my newborn I started organizing the kitchen. I had to smile at the cottage cheese container comment, because on top of all the Tupperware Mom owned she had a full drawer (deep, wide drawer) of cottage cheese, margarine and similar containers. I got rid of them one day while she was at work. I was so proud of what I had done but her reaction was that I was "throwing away her life". My dad had only been gone about 5 months so I wonder if that's what she meant or if it was a sign of things to come - we got the official dx 5 years later.

Lori, it touches my heart to know that your dear Helen is watching out for you now. Dad was the shopper in our family and I'm still, almost 10 years later, using the last of the saran wrap I found hidden away when we moved.

Thanks for reminding me. Mom was a tupperware dealer so we have everything in the kitchen, plus new product from her days as a dealer that isn't even open yet, as well as pieces gathered from her customers that she was going to send in for replacements. It takes up one whole room. My sisters and I won't have to buy any for years to come.