Did You Ever Grow a Garden?

Here's another idea for your life story:
Did you grow a garden?  What did you have in your garden?
When I was young we always had a big garden.  My parents planted plenty that we good eat all summer long and that we could can to use during the winter.  They planted tomatoes, squash--zucchini, crookneck, and some winter squashes, onions, radishes, peas, beans, leaf lettuce, corn, carrots, and potatoes.  We had a rhubarb patch, two apple trees, two pear trees, two peach trees and an apricot tree.  As kids we were expected to help plant, weed, harvest and can all of the fruits and vegetables.  We were allowed to eat as many of the vegetables and fruits as we wanted to.  Nothing is quite as good as fresh peas eaten out of the pod while standing in the garden or a juicy tomato picked right from the vine and eaten immediately.  The fruit from the trees was a real treat, and even a stalk of rhubarb was a great sour treat. 
As an adult, I still love to grow things and eat what I have grown.  It is exciting to see the Swiss Chard get great early in the spring.  Watching peas starting to grow brings the hope for summer not being too far away.  The white blossoms on the strawberry plants signals delicious berries to soon follow.  The fruit trees filled with blossoms gives hope of a bountiful fruit crop later in the summer or fall.  

I have tried planting a lot of different things.  Some things grow pretty well and I enjoy the harvest.  Tomatoes are usually a good bet for a large crop.  Last year it was too hot and the tomatoes didn't start to grow until the weather started to cool off.  It was almost the end of summer before we started getting ripe tomatoes, but they kept producing past Thanksgiving.  Swiss Chard always seems to grow well.  I get a few peas although I don't know if I would ever get too many peas.  I can pretty easily eat the peas I grow fresh without even having to cook them.  I've tried different things and sometimes they do okay and sometimes they don't grow well.  Last year I actually grew a good size watermelon and it was delicious. You can read more about gardening experiences here.
Record the memories you have of the gardens throughout your life.  They are very much a part of your life. 

What Was A Favorite Television Show?

 Another question to answer in your your life story is:

What was a favorite television show from your past?

Mister Rogers wasn't on when I was a child, but it was when my children were young.  I think the program made the atmosphere in my home calmer.  When I watched the following youtube video, it brought back a lot memories.

What is your Favorite Memory of Springtime?

Here is another idea to write your life story about:

What is your favorite memory of springtime?

You could write just one favorite memory or you could let your memories of springtime inspire several additions to your story.  For me the blossoms on the fruit trees are always so beautiful in the springtime.  One home I lived in had a plum tree just outside the back door.  The pink blossoms contrasted with the purple leaves and made a spectacular sight that I looked forward to each year.  The first time I planted crocuses and saw the leaves coming up through the snow, I was surprised at that first sign of spring.  Watching flowers begin to bloom brings hope that winter is almost over despite a late snow storm or freeze.  Write down your favorite things from springtime and add more to your story. 

What is Your Favorite Food?

Here's another questions for your life story:
What is Your Favorite Food?
Food often is tied to our memories.  Most people have a birthday cake on their birthday and probably ice cream with it.  Buttered popcorn while watching movies is another food commonly eaten and associated with something fun to do.  Turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie and other foods eaten for Thanksgiving have good memories associated with them.  An orange in the toe of a stocking is a common Christmas food.  Corned beef and cabbage are often eaten for St. Patrick's Day.  Hard boiled eggs are associated with Easter.  Watermelon or root beer floats are common on the Fourth of July.  
When I was growing up some of my favorite foods were fresh peas right out of the pod eaten while standing in the garden.  Tomatoes picked off the vine and eaten right away were a real treat.  Apricots, peaches, pears, plums were very good fresh off the tree.  I remember enjoying eating a stalk of rhubarb savoring each sour bite.  
Write down the favorite foods you remember as a child and why you remember them.  Maybe even writing down some of your bad experiences with food and why you don't like them would be good too as it would give a balanced view to your life story.  Record any recipes you remember that your mother or grandmother made.  Record your favorite recipes that you like to make.  Some day your children or grandchildren may thank you for them.
  

Online Family History Classes

Check out this website if you would like to learn more about researching your family history.  There are classes about research principles and tools, and researching in England, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Russia and the United States.  Here's a great opportunity to find out how to find your ancestors.
http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/education/frameset_education.asp?PAGE=education_research_series_online.asp%3FActiveTab=2

Cyndi's List - Blogs for Genealogy

Cyndi's List - Blogs for Genealogy

The above link is to a great website where you can find lots of information about genealogy. It's been around since 1996. I heard about it years ago, and it is a great resource when you are researching your family history.

What is Your Favorite Song?

 Here's another question to answer to add to your story:
What is your favorite song and why?
I think it is really hard to pick one favorite song.  I find at times I really like a certain song because of the meaning and because of the music.  When I've practiced a song with a choir for a performance, I usually come to really like the song.  I hear it in my mind over and over even when we are not practicing.  Some songs from my childhood such as "I Am A Child of God" still mean a lot to me.  I use "I Am A Child of God" as a way to get rid of thoughts or music that I don't want in my mind.  Maybe someone used swear words around me and they keep popping into my mind or maybe a song that I don't like the meaning of starts playing over and over in my head because I heard it on the radio that day.  I start to sing the song in my mind and before long the words or the song I don't like disappear from my mind.  The music I hear and sing at church is very powerful to me because I love the messages in the songs.

I also like other music.  Since being in the band in junior high and high school, I love marches.  When I need energy I like to listen to marching music.  I also like the music from the three musicals that I played in the stage band for--The Sound of Music, The King and I, and Hello Dolly.  I enjoy classical music too.
 I like some of the popular music from the time I was growing up.  Unfortunately now as an adult, I am bothered by the meaning behind some of music such as promoting drug usage.  Some of the music actually had different words which weren't allowed back then, but today they play the original words despite their blatant messages.


If you are like me you can't pick just one song as your favorite.  I think it's okay to have several favorite songs.  But writing down what music you do like and why can greatly add to your story.