My niece Christy, who lost her battle with cancer in August knew that she was dying and she knitted the hats my husband and I are wearing on this self portrait, that she sent to us as an early Christmas present in June before her death. We posed for some portraits with my camera on tripod so that she could see a picture of us wearing her beautiful gifts while she was still alive. She told me the hat she knitted for me is called a Story Book Hat! Life indeed is like a story book that can be painful and sometimes end sadly, but can also leave us with many memories of the joy and love that Christy left on earth for her family and friends to remember her by.