Some months ago, my mother shipped me hundreds of old family photos she had discovered while cleaning out my grandmother's house. She asked me to sort through them and create six packets to distribute to family members. Some of the photos date back to the mid 1800s.

Once I started going through them, I realized that they should all be scanned so the complete set could be preserved. The only problem is that I did not have a scanner and to do so at work after hours would be too much for me (we have a slow scanner).

I actually have a printer that is 11 years old--an HP that is still chugging along. So while I have wanted a scanner and a fax and have been researching all-in-one printers, I have held off making a purchase because I don't really need a printer. And...of course...I cannot decide between laser (like I have now) and inkjet. Since I would want a scanner that is legal sized, the price range is $400-700. Not a purchase I would make lightly.

I couldn't really justify buying a scanner for the interim...until 2 days ago. I found a new one from HP that is so sweet! It is about an inch high, has a glass top so that you can what you are scanning and can be separated from its base to scan just about anywhere. It is QUITE quick and has OCR software for scanning text. AND...it was only $39.00.

So, I have spent the evening beginning the LONG task of scanning all these photos. I am doing so at 300 dpi for print quality, but even though the file sizes are large I managed to scan over 30 photos in just about an hour.

I chose my mother's pictures first. While I could have done more, I found it difficult to sort through her photos. You see...my grandmother had cut my mother's face out of several of the photos.

I know that she told my mother that she only had children because my grandfather wanted them. He died when my mother was eleven, leaving my grandmother with three small children she did not want.

I always assumed she raised them with ambivalence. But these photos give evidence of antipathy...certainly not love.