“In quoting others, we cite ourselves.”  ~Julio Cortázar, Around the Day in Eighty Worlds My quote journals / Cindy La Ferle In my freshman year of college, I started copying favorite passages from books and magazines into a Gwen Frostic journal. Attempting to practice my best handwriting, I penned the quotations with a set of fine-point markers I’d purchased from the campus bookstore. While I didn’t realize it at the time, the quotes I chose often reflected a personal issue I’d been trying to sort out, or validated a belief I’d hoped to strengthen. That was back in the early 1970s — years before we had personal computers.I’ve been collecting quotations ever…

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder A few pieces from my mother’s Santa collection / Cindy La Ferle I’ve written a few newspaper columns and magazine essays about the bittersweet task of sorting through your parents’ belongings while preparing for an estate sale. The whole process takes you on a winding trail of memories, starting from your early childhood and leading you right up to the moment you find yourself putting price tags on your family heirlooms. After my mother died, I couldn’t part with her collection…

“Family traditions help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.”  ~Susan Lieberman Thanksgiving at Nate & Andrea’s, 2017 / Cindy La Ferle My late parents loved holiday traditions, and I think of them often this time of year.Right after Thanksgiving, my mother would adorn every tabletop and wall in the house with beautifully crafted decorations that rivaled those at Colonial Williamsburg. My father’s favorite carol was “Joy to the World,” and he would belt it out, off-key, every time it was played on the radio in the car or on the stereo at home.  My folks also loved to entertain our…