The Empty Pickle Jar
I invite you to watch this short movie about time. It makes you stop and think about how you spend your time. Watching this movie reminded me of the important things in life and how easy it is to get sidetracked with the small stuff. I especially like the comment about the chocolate milk at the end.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
I just watched a video about Mr. Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers was on TV when my children were young. I felt his show was one of the best for children to watch. Watching this video brought back memories of the time when my daughters were young. When you see something that brings back memories, record your memories and add to your life story.
Monday, June 4, 2012
What Kind of Foods Did You Eat?
Another question for you life story:
What kind of foods did you eat as a child? Were you really fussy and just wanted one kind of food, or did you like anything place in front of you, or were you somewhere in between? Did you always eat at home, or did you eat out a lot? Did your family have guests over for meals frequently, or was it just your family at mealtimes? Did you all sit down at a table and eat together, or did you each grab a plate of food and eat while watching TV or reading a book? Did you have the table set with place mats or a tablecloth and a full place setting, or did you just use the utensils that you needed like a spoon for a bowl of soup or a fork for a salad? Did you learn to use words like please and thank you, or did you reach across the table to get what you wanted?
Eating is such a fundamental part of our lives that what and how and where and when we eat should be included as part of our story. Write about your favorite foods. Write about the foods you dislike and why. Write about different kinds of food that your family ate. My dad liked to have a bowl of bread and milk for supper each night. The milk was fresh and often still warm right from the cow. He would make a little pile of salt and dip a radish or a green onion or other raw vegetable in the salt and eat it along with the bread and milk. I've learned that bread and milk was a pioneer staple especially for supper. My dad continued with that tradition from his pioneer ancestors. Often the whole family would eat the bread and milk, but sometimes my mother fixed other things for us. My dad still preferred a bowl of bread and milk for supper.
Include stories about food in you life story to make it even more interesting since every one likes food.
What kind of foods did you eat?
What kind of foods did you eat as a child? Were you really fussy and just wanted one kind of food, or did you like anything place in front of you, or were you somewhere in between? Did you always eat at home, or did you eat out a lot? Did your family have guests over for meals frequently, or was it just your family at mealtimes? Did you all sit down at a table and eat together, or did you each grab a plate of food and eat while watching TV or reading a book? Did you have the table set with place mats or a tablecloth and a full place setting, or did you just use the utensils that you needed like a spoon for a bowl of soup or a fork for a salad? Did you learn to use words like please and thank you, or did you reach across the table to get what you wanted?
Eating is such a fundamental part of our lives that what and how and where and when we eat should be included as part of our story. Write about your favorite foods. Write about the foods you dislike and why. Write about different kinds of food that your family ate. My dad liked to have a bowl of bread and milk for supper each night. The milk was fresh and often still warm right from the cow. He would make a little pile of salt and dip a radish or a green onion or other raw vegetable in the salt and eat it along with the bread and milk. I've learned that bread and milk was a pioneer staple especially for supper. My dad continued with that tradition from his pioneer ancestors. Often the whole family would eat the bread and milk, but sometimes my mother fixed other things for us. My dad still preferred a bowl of bread and milk for supper.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
What Are Your Mother's Day Memories?
Another question for your history:
What are your Mother's Day memories?
Mother's Day is an emotional holiday. It can stir up many memories. Some of those will be very good and happy, but some of those memories may be very sad. If you are a mother, you may feel guilt because you are not a perfect mother. It can be hard to hear poems, songs, and stories about mothers when you know how imperfect you are. If you are a woman who wanted to be a mother but is not yet because of or infertility, miscarriages, or not being married, you may feel a lot of pain hearing how wonderful mothers are. If you lost your mother to death or abandonment or any other reason, Mother's Day can be very painful.
The saddest Mother's Day for me was the Mother's Day right after my mother's death. She died two weeks before Mother's Day. We always went to church each Sunday. Of course, we went to church on that Mother's Day. At church, a flower, a booklet, or some other small gift would be given to each mother there. It was hard to see all the mothers getting a flower that Sunday. Someone gave us a flower to put on my mother's grave. After church, we went and put that flower on her grave. That gesture meant a lot to us and gave us some comfort in the loss of our mother.
Write about your Mother's Day experiences. What was the happiest Mother's Day you ever had? What was the saddest Mother's Day you ever had? What have you done to make someone else's Mother's Day happy. What have others done to make Mother's Day special for you. Add more to your story by writing about your Mother's Day memories.
What are your Mother's Day memories?
Mother's Day is an emotional holiday. It can stir up many memories. Some of those will be very good and happy, but some of those memories may be very sad. If you are a mother, you may feel guilt because you are not a perfect mother. It can be hard to hear poems, songs, and stories about mothers when you know how imperfect you are. If you are a woman who wanted to be a mother but is not yet because of or infertility, miscarriages, or not being married, you may feel a lot of pain hearing how wonderful mothers are. If you lost your mother to death or abandonment or any other reason, Mother's Day can be very painful.
The saddest Mother's Day for me was the Mother's Day right after my mother's death. She died two weeks before Mother's Day. We always went to church each Sunday. Of course, we went to church on that Mother's Day. At church, a flower, a booklet, or some other small gift would be given to each mother there. It was hard to see all the mothers getting a flower that Sunday. Someone gave us a flower to put on my mother's grave. After church, we went and put that flower on her grave. That gesture meant a lot to us and gave us some comfort in the loss of our mother.
Write about your Mother's Day experiences. What was the happiest Mother's Day you ever had? What was the saddest Mother's Day you ever had? What have you done to make someone else's Mother's Day happy. What have others done to make Mother's Day special for you. Add more to your story by writing about your Mother's Day memories.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
What Kind of a Home Did You Live In?
Another idea for you life story:
What kind of a home did you live in?
The home you grew up in is an important part of your memories. I often have homes I have lived in before show up in my dreams. Sometimes they are just as I remember them, and sometimes they may be a combination of homes I have lived in. Our homes are a big part of our lives and describing them in our life stories can be an important part of the story.
Describe what kind of home you lived in when you were young. Was your home a single family residence or did you live in an apartment, duplex, townhouse or other multi-family building? What did the home look like? What material was it made from? How big was it? How many bathrooms and bedrooms did it have? Did you have a yard? Did you have grass or trees or a garden? How long did you live in the home? What was the address of the home? Was there anything unusual about the home?
The home I grew up in started out as a two bedroom home without a bathroom. My dad built our home. The two bedrooms were in the basement. The coal-burning furnace divided the two bedrooms. There was only one closet for both of the bedrooms. The kitchen and living room were upstairs. The steps between upstairs and downstairs were on the north side of the house. I believe there was a door going outside on the landing. I remember being taken outside one night on the north side of the house and being shown the North Star and the Big Dipper by my parents. We didn't have a bathroom in the house until I was around nine years old. There was an outhouse on the south side of the house.
When I was around nine years old, my dad added onto the house. He added a living room and two bedrooms and a dining area upstairs and turned the old living room into a bathroom and a master bedroom. Downstairs he added a furnace room and turned the two bedrooms into an area to prepare eggs to be sold. He put the stairs between upstairs and downstairs on the south side of the house and he built a storage room beside the landing and under the dining room area.
These are only a few of the memories I have of the home I grew up in. When I think of that home many memories come flooding back to me. Try writing about the home you grew up in and see how many memories come back to you. Add any pictures you can find, and ask other family members about their memories. You'll have a lot to add your story.
What kind of a home did you live in?
The home you grew up in is an important part of your memories. I often have homes I have lived in before show up in my dreams. Sometimes they are just as I remember them, and sometimes they may be a combination of homes I have lived in. Our homes are a big part of our lives and describing them in our life stories can be an important part of the story.
Describe what kind of home you lived in when you were young. Was your home a single family residence or did you live in an apartment, duplex, townhouse or other multi-family building? What did the home look like? What material was it made from? How big was it? How many bathrooms and bedrooms did it have? Did you have a yard? Did you have grass or trees or a garden? How long did you live in the home? What was the address of the home? Was there anything unusual about the home?
The home I grew up in started out as a two bedroom home without a bathroom. My dad built our home. The two bedrooms were in the basement. The coal-burning furnace divided the two bedrooms. There was only one closet for both of the bedrooms. The kitchen and living room were upstairs. The steps between upstairs and downstairs were on the north side of the house. I believe there was a door going outside on the landing. I remember being taken outside one night on the north side of the house and being shown the North Star and the Big Dipper by my parents. We didn't have a bathroom in the house until I was around nine years old. There was an outhouse on the south side of the house.
When I was around nine years old, my dad added onto the house. He added a living room and two bedrooms and a dining area upstairs and turned the old living room into a bathroom and a master bedroom. Downstairs he added a furnace room and turned the two bedrooms into an area to prepare eggs to be sold. He put the stairs between upstairs and downstairs on the south side of the house and he built a storage room beside the landing and under the dining room area.
These are only a few of the memories I have of the home I grew up in. When I think of that home many memories come flooding back to me. Try writing about the home you grew up in and see how many memories come back to you. Add any pictures you can find, and ask other family members about their memories. You'll have a lot to add your story.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Unusual Foods
Did your family have unusual foods? Unusual foods may be different than most people eat. You probably can't order them at a restaurant. It is interesting when you talk with someone else who remembers eating the same food you did.
When I was young, my mother baked bread for us each week. By the end of the week the loaf of bread was getting dried out. My mother would make french toast and bread pudding from the dried out pieces of bread. I have eaten those as an adult, and I can find recipes for them. There was one recipe, though, that I'm not sure I can duplicate. My mother made Tomatoes and Bread. I think she heated up canned tomatoes and added the dried out bread to them to soften the bread. I think she seasoned the tomatoes with salt and pepper and I think she may have added onion to the tomatoes. We would eat it alongside our eggs for breakfast or with a piece of meat for lunch. A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a friend and she described a dish that her mother made which sounded a lot like my mother's Tomatoes and Bread. I haven't talked with someone else who had eaten something like Tomatoes and Bread. It was interesting to find someone who had eaten a similar food to what I had eaten as a child.
If your mother or grandmother or someone else in your family made a special recipe, ask them for the recipe. Write it down. If you wait until they have passed away, you may not be able to duplicate the recipe. I didn't get the recipe of Tomatoes and Bread from my mother, so I can only guess at the recipe.
Food is definately a big part of your story. Include some of the different kinds of food you ate throughout your life and why you ate them. Write down the recipes. Your family may appreciate having the recipes some day.
When I was young, my mother baked bread for us each week. By the end of the week the loaf of bread was getting dried out. My mother would make french toast and bread pudding from the dried out pieces of bread. I have eaten those as an adult, and I can find recipes for them. There was one recipe, though, that I'm not sure I can duplicate. My mother made Tomatoes and Bread. I think she heated up canned tomatoes and added the dried out bread to them to soften the bread. I think she seasoned the tomatoes with salt and pepper and I think she may have added onion to the tomatoes. We would eat it alongside our eggs for breakfast or with a piece of meat for lunch. A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a friend and she described a dish that her mother made which sounded a lot like my mother's Tomatoes and Bread. I haven't talked with someone else who had eaten something like Tomatoes and Bread. It was interesting to find someone who had eaten a similar food to what I had eaten as a child.
If your mother or grandmother or someone else in your family made a special recipe, ask them for the recipe. Write it down. If you wait until they have passed away, you may not be able to duplicate the recipe. I didn't get the recipe of Tomatoes and Bread from my mother, so I can only guess at the recipe.
Food is definately a big part of your story. Include some of the different kinds of food you ate throughout your life and why you ate them. Write down the recipes. Your family may appreciate having the recipes some day.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
What Was The First Car You Remember in Your Life?
Here's another question for your life story:
What was the first car you remember in your life?
Cars, for many people, are a big part of their life. Most people own cars, unless they live in a metropolitan area with easy access to public transportation or where everything is in walking distance. In your life story write about what kind of transportation you had. What do you remember of the first car in your life. If your family didn't have a car, did you walk everywhere, did you take a bus or train or subway or did you ride a bike?
The first car I remember was a grey pickup truck. I have pictures of my brother, my sister and myself in front of it. It had a flat tire. Maybe my mother figured we wouldn't be going anywhere that day with the flat tire, so it was a good day to take a picture. My parents had bought the truck brand new before I and my brother were born. My sister was eight years older than me. I think my parents thought they were only going to have one child, so a pickup truck made sense especially because of having a farm and needing to haul things. It did become difficult as our family grew. There weren't seat belts in the truck, but still it wasn't a great idea to try to fit five people in the cab of the truck. Many of today's trucks have front and back seats inside the cab, so five or six people can ride comfortably, but since our truck only had one seat we sat on laps to all fit in the cab. In good weather when we were older we rode in the back of the truck. We never had an accident fortunately with that truck. Following is a picture of it with me standing beside it.
What was the first car you remember in your life?
Cars, for many people, are a big part of their life. Most people own cars, unless they live in a metropolitan area with easy access to public transportation or where everything is in walking distance. In your life story write about what kind of transportation you had. What do you remember of the first car in your life. If your family didn't have a car, did you walk everywhere, did you take a bus or train or subway or did you ride a bike?
The first car I remember was a grey pickup truck. I have pictures of my brother, my sister and myself in front of it. It had a flat tire. Maybe my mother figured we wouldn't be going anywhere that day with the flat tire, so it was a good day to take a picture. My parents had bought the truck brand new before I and my brother were born. My sister was eight years older than me. I think my parents thought they were only going to have one child, so a pickup truck made sense especially because of having a farm and needing to haul things. It did become difficult as our family grew. There weren't seat belts in the truck, but still it wasn't a great idea to try to fit five people in the cab of the truck. Many of today's trucks have front and back seats inside the cab, so five or six people can ride comfortably, but since our truck only had one seat we sat on laps to all fit in the cab. In good weather when we were older we rode in the back of the truck. We never had an accident fortunately with that truck. Following is a picture of it with me standing beside it.
Write about the cars in your life. What is the first car you remember? What is the first car that you bought yourself? What is the most memorable car you have ever owned. Write about trips you've taken in your cars. Write about car accidents or when the car broke down. Write about running out of gas or sliding off the road in a snowstorm. Since much of our lives happens in cars, remembering and writing about the cars in your life will add a lot to your life story.
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