I found the tax shelter in this posting when searching for a gift for my brother. He is a tax preparer and has everything. So I just had to share what I did for him. I took one of those woodcraft houses from Walmart- removed the two screws from the base. I cut a 1" block of wood that fit into the bottom of the house. I glued this block onto the base thus allowing the top of the house to be easily lifted off the base. I cut a 1/2" groove in the center of the block with the table saw so I could set a card of thumb tacks into it. This was hidden in the house until the top was lifted off. I wrote a poem for this & read it to him while my daughter did a Vanna White presentation of the house. Everyone got a good laugh out of this and I finally did a complete craft project! It's been a while. Hope you have as much fun with this as we did. Here's the poem: I drew your name for Christmas It's an honor, don't you know To get my brothers name for Christmas Ah! ashopping I will go. But then I started frettin After searching high and low Whatever will I get 'im (Twas wrong to worry so!) I went into an office shop Maybe something for your desk? I talked to the clerk a lot She tried to aid me in my quest. He could use a tax shelter Is what the lady said It seemed a bit off-kelter But there was nothing left instead. So here's your little shelter All painted so very nice The foundation has been mended The roofs' been polished thrice. The flowers are all blooming In the big pot by the door The bumblebees are buzzing And there's no sawdust on the floor. It seems to be the perfect place I do agree she's right It sure beats a plain old case And your tacks! They're finally safe at night!

I have not seen centerpieces at a Bereavement dinner as well but I have a thought. You could print out a lovely 'fact sheet' for lack of a better word..wih datelines and facts about your dad- from where he was born, his career, his marriage & his siblings & children...his hobbies, etc. There could be a wallet size photo of him at the center top of the paper. They have a parchment type paper at the office supply stores. You could get them copied onto this type paper & then roll them up-scroll style & tie with a piece of ribbon. Have a stemmed bowl or vase as your centerpiece & place the scrolls in there for guests to take. You could even add 1 fresh flower of choice, tucked into the ribbon..maybe buy a few bunches at the grocery store and use them?

Yoyobon, you can see some NZ-themed prints on the link below. I bought home about a dozen different ones: flax, kiwis, sheep, Maori motifs, ferns, paua shells, and the like. I'm probably going to just do random four-patch and one-patch squares. I didn't pick them for the color or the value, so there's not much hope of doing a coherent design. Still, I think I'll enjoy the quilt. Vee, those stained glass windows are wonderful. The Franz Joseph Glacier is gorgeous in real life. I brought back some souvenir stones, very pretty, as well as a few stones from Mount Doom for my family. Carolyn, we stumbled on the Devonport used bookstores by accident. I was headed there because of a quilt shop on the same street. Here is a link that might be useful: New Zealand themed quilt fabric.

Ann, got it re Roger the Chapman. I would agree Sedley’s age may be the reason. I was impressed Margaret Atwood wrote The Testaments at 79. At that age, I’d want to just be resting on my laurels, but good for her. yoyobon, lol agree! Donna aka msmeow I’ve had cats my entire 40 year marriage. Love them, they’re the best! woodnymph, there seem to be some of us who aren’t fans of A Gentleman, I was so hoping I’d like it. My sister has commented to me that she frequently hasn’t liked some of these overhyoed books like Where the Crawdads Sing, I may try that next since it’s sitting on my bookshelf. Reader_in_transit, you are most likely not wrong. Social media may not really be a factor for me as far as why I got away from reading for a time, but Netflix, etc. sure was. I was way too caught up on binge watching. I still watch but only allow myself a certain amount of time per day. Perhaps with younger people social media causes less reading. And people do have short attentions spans these days! Ah yes, the mini series - “Roots” or ”The Thorn Birds” comes to mind Gosh I loved The Thorn Birds. I also agree with your cynicism comment. I wonder if I read The Winds of War now would I not like it as much? Kath, thanks for your recs as well. I do like books written about the medieval time period and haven’t read one in quite some time. Donna here are my babies - cats are the best!