If she rarely grants herself permission to sit, give her a reason and a reward with shelf life. A pair of art books sure to please are Clotheslines: A Collection of Poetry & Art (edited by Stan Tymorek, $20, www.amazon.com), a lighthearted and surprising look at clothes and what they mean to us (Mom gets several mentions), and Manet: The Still-Life Paintings ($40, www.amazon.com), the artist's own favorite genre ("A painter can say all he wants to with fruit or flowers or even clouds... I should like to be the Saint Francis of still life"). For a last sentimental fillip, track down a hard-to-find or out-of-print classic on www.alibris.com or www.bibliofind.com. Mary Lavin's Collected Stories is worth it for the story "Happiness" alone. It begins with "Mother had a lot to say. This does not mean she was always talking but that we children felt the wells she drew upon were deep, deep, deep." Wrap your find sweetly, tear stains and tattered edges be damned.