Capturing life’s memories….

I don’t know about you, but I have a pretty short memory when it comes to recalling events and daily happenings.

The sad thing is, I think I’ll remember, and yet I quite often forget important details.

I have never been patient enough to do cutesy scrapbooking.  While other people would  create fun and exciting pages, I would struggle to come up with anything even slightly interesting.

(Yes, I have a few years worth of heart or oval shaped scalloped edge photos in my attempts at trying to be creative.)

I was in the habit of writing my family a weekly newsletter, but during the last year it has suffered a lot.  I’m trying to get going on it again. (Knock on wood!)

My blog is a pretty good history of our family happenings, but I don’t share many things which are too personal or too private.

(Or too embarrassing!)

My parents are both gone now and how I would love to know more about their daily lives.  The “life histories” they left behind are both only several pages long.  I do have a lot of old letters my mother wrote to me during my college days, and it is fun to read about her time baby sitting my nephews, her visits taking home made bread to sick neighbors, and some of the daily frustrations and joys of being a farmer’s wife.  Don’t you love to hear about the little things that they did?

My in-laws have wonderful  history books they have written,but I treasure the weekly letters they sent us while on a mission in Ghana and Nigeria sharing their daily struggles to find enough food, or their humility as their prayers were answered for safety.

So, what is my point?

I think I’m writing this to give myself a little nudge in the personal history department, and if it helps someone else get motivated, too, then that is even better.

I thought I’d make a little list of some ideas that might help preserve memories.  Maybe some of them will help you, too.

1.  Write a daily journal (or at least one with several entries in it every  once-in-awhile!)

2.  Blog, Facebook, or email letters that you can print or save.

3.  Write family newsletters.

4.  Save hand written letters or cards you receive from family, or copy ones you send.

5.  Organize photos, making sure to print some and save copies of them in multiple places in case of computer crashing, fires, or other disasters.  Scan in old photos that pre-date digital cameras.

6.  Save old calendars or date books.  They contain small snippets of daily life.

7.  Organize photo albums or scrap books.  Take advantage of coupons and publish hard cover books on line.

8.  Ask relatives to share copies of histories or photos that they have. 

9.  Record, tape, or film relatives talking.

10.  Take lots of pictures.  Do some as yearly traditions to document and compare how things have changed.  Don’t forget to label who they are!

11.  Don’t think it has to be perfect!  You can always edit things later.

Go here for some other good ideas.

“Nothing is ever really lost to us as

long as we remember it.”
― L.M. Montgomery, The Story Girl

JoAnn

P.S.  How do you preserve your history?

P.P.S.  Thanks for the photo, Liz!  Her friend Ashley Gammill took the photo.

We miss you Shane!  My nephew Shane  has been gone for three years.

I’m grateful for my memories of him! 

Thanks for sharing the photo, Travis!

My daughter, Liz, and I seem to be on the same wave length tonight.  Check out her blog post here.

Take me away….Calgon

 

Are you old enough to remember the old television commercials for Calgon Bath Oil Beads?

In the 1980’s the commercials always showed a tired, frazzled woman at the end of a harried day, stressed out from her job, kids, or other frustrating life situations.  She would be waiting for a relaxing soak in a tub full of fragrant bubbles and she would always end with the phrase, “Calgon, take me away!”

I just took a really long, hot soak in the tub.

Yes, it was one of those days!

Since no one wants to hear complaining, I thought I’d show a few pictures of some of my busy summer projects instead.

(I’m trying to refocus my attitude!)

♥ We freshened up some walls and added a few new accessories. 

♥ Several closets were painted, cleaned out, and organized.

♥ A guest bedroom was spruced up, including installing new flooring.

♥ Furniture was rearranged.

♥ Bargain curtains were ordered through a catalog.

♥ Things were repurposed.

Well, I do feel a little bit better now.

My desk at school is still piled high with pressing “busy work”, but I can deal with that tomorrow.

(I may have a little Scarlet O’Hara syndrome.)

Here’s  a happy thought-

Tomorrow is Friday!

Have a great weekend.

JoAnn

 

A little inspiration….

I just watched this video on another blog and wanted to pass it along, too.  (Thanks to KariAnne for sharing it at http://www.thistlewoodfarms.com/youre-an-overcomer)

 

There are times when we have “issues” of some kind- health problems or other disappointments- and maybe we have to deal with some pretty ugly things that we don’t want to face. 

Life can be frustrating or just plain hard. 

Some people are real inspirations as they work through their challenges!

The theme of the video is “Overcoming”.

Take a minute and watch. 

It will make you feel better.

JoAnn

P.S.  Do you know someone who inspires you through their courage?  Please share if you do.

Have a great weekend!

Giving back…

Happy 90th Birthday, Aunt Mardene!

We wanted to celebrate her birthday at Maddox Restaurant in Brigham City (one of her favorite places to eat).

We were going to invite all the cousins, reserve the new rustic lodge, and make it a big affair, after all, turning ninety is a huge milestone.

Then she got sick and ended up in the hospital.

After she was released, she said she didn’t really feel up to a big celebration any more.

So…

We went to plan B, (which actually turned out to be the best idea anyway).  We picked a Saturday and all met at her house, armed with our shovels, pruners, rakes, dust pans, and scrubbing buckets.  The man power was incredible.

 

Even the little ones were helpful.

(Well, they had fun!)

The air was full of delicious cooking smells as we worked!

And then we had a tasty lunch break!

Everyone had a great time!

We all felt like we were able to give back a small part of the love and service Mardene has given to all of us over the years.

 

What did Mardene think of the day?

“BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER!”

Happy 90th Birthday, Mardene!

We LOVE you!

JoAnn

Back to School….ready or not!

It’s official.  School has begun again!

Welcome to my classroom!

This was my bulletin  board outside my classroom door.

It was a real scramble to get everything ready with the limited time we had.  I’m still finding little things I missed doing, but the most essential things are in place.

Rules and procedures are posted.

We’ve practiced and practiced them.

This is my writing and math “wall”.

Math manipulative tools are ready to go.

Daily learning objectives are posted.

We’ve started to increase our stamina.  I think we’re at about 3 minutes, so we have a lot of work to do.

(We are trying to get the students to stay focused on the task at hand for at least 20 solid minutes.  Every single student!  Not an easy task with seven and eight year olds.)

We’re learning our schedule and routines;  memorizing passwords; digging in to a lot of new learning.

 

My windows seem bare without my geraniums, but they are still enjoying the outdoor weather a bit longer.

My desks are all full, but we didn’t quite make the projected THIRTY-TWO students.

However…

Twenty-nine is still a HUGE class!

I hope we have a good year!

JoAnn

P.S.  #tiredteacher #thankgoodnesstomorrowisaholiday

Just wanted to do that!

 

A weekend with the past….

I’ve talked about my Aunt Mardene many times on this blog, and what an amazing lady she is.  She recently ended up in the hospital with some heart and breathing problems and gave us all a little scare.  My sisters and I tried to help out when she returned from the hospital, as we each spent some time with her. 

This little black board sign greeted me when I arrived at her back door.  She wears hearing aids and doesn’t always hear very well, and nobody wanted her to miss any visitors.  My sister Linda converted an old painting into this cute board which sits by the door.  

I enjoyed my visit (I ended up there on a Saturday night/Sunday, so we got to just sit around and visit, while my sisters helped do odd jobs and actually worked!)  We ate some famous Maddox Chicken that I picked up on the way there, and savored a slice of fresh peach pie that we shared!  It was heavenly!  (Note to self: next time buy a whole pie!)

It was fun thinking about growing up on the farm and all the things that are now very different from when I was young. 

We went for a Sunday afternoon drive and drove past the old homestead of my great grandparents, Levi and Matilda Bodily.

The farm has stayed in the family for many years and the relatives living there have done a great job of keeping the old barn and house in good shape.

If you are familiar with old Cache Valley barns you know that many of them are crumbling, leaning, and falling apart.  This one still has a fresh coat of paint on it.

It’s hard to see, but the date says since 1875.

I spent the night in the bedroom with old family portraits of all the Hall and the Bodily clans decorating the walls.  It is always comforting to study the faces of each member of their large farm families, piecing together little bits of history I remember, and admiring their pioneer spirit and hard work. 

This bedroom was also my parents’ bedroom and their memories are always more vivid for me when I’m there in their house.

Yes, I really miss them a lot!

(Mardene lived next door until a few years after my parents’ had died, when we talked her into moving in their house.)

When I headed home, I decided to continue my reminiscing and I drove the old highways through the west side of Cache Valley, weaving in and out of little “towns” like Newton, Trenton, Amalga, Mendon, and Wellsville.

I wanted to find the old Cache Valley Cheese plant that I remembered going to as a small child with my dad when he hauled milk.  He would let me ride down the rollers on empty milk cans as he waited to load them back in his truck and each visit always ended up with a delicious scoop of dairy fresh ice cream.

I’ m not sure that I found it, but I did see an old factory about where it should have been.  It didn’t look at all like I pictured it in my memory.  I need someone to fill me in on the history of the building.  (Anyone know what happened to it?)

The West side of the valley is less developed and quite different from the sights you see as you drive through Logan. Richmond, and Smithfield, but beautiful in its own way.

 

I kind of hated coming back to reality and the hustle and bustle of life-as-a-busy-school-teacher. 

It is always nice to slow down for a bit and keep the past from completely slipping away. 

What do you think of the old saying, “You can never go home”?

In some ways you can go back, but it isn’t ever quite the same!

JoAnn

The Farmers’ Market…

School starts on Wednesday, and I have been busy getting things ready.  Last week we had a full schedule of trainings, so this week has been a real scramble to get my classroom set up for my projected thirty-two students!  That is stressful on several levels- too many bodies for my desks and not enough time to prepare.  On Saturday I decided I needed a little break, so even though no one could go with me, I headed off the the Salt Lake City Farmers’ Market.

There were a LOT of people with the same idea.

It was a warm day, but I loved looking at all the home-grown produce.

I wanted to buy it all.  (The fresh raspberries and nectarines looked so refreshing, but I missed taking a picture of them.)  I avoided the tomatoes since we have our own endless supply of them!

I did buy some “picked fresh this morning butter and sugar corn on the cob” (We cooked it at home and it was truly delicious!)

The flowers were tempting…

The pastries were a big hit with everyone.

The caramel bun in the lower right hand corner had my name on it-and it was worth the whole trip!  They scooped up a big serving of the gooey caramel, too.

There were some fun places to eat lunch.

Live entertainment was playing on a stage.

The vendors were friendly.  This nice man wanted to showcase his overalls!  (I think he figured he would end up on a blog or Facebook.)

I had a great time wandering around looking at everything. 

The market was just what I needed!

Do you have local farmers’ markets where you live?

JoAnn

P.S.  Michelle, I just might go with you again on Saturday!