Christmas is coming! As if you needed to be reminded, huh? But now starts the dilemma...what to give everyone. There's always the latest and greatest gadget or toy. What will it be this year? Technology has reigned in recent years as we've given new computers, tablets, cellphones, DVRs, all kinds of new gadgets and of course there are new kitchen gadgets to consider. There must be a better breadmaker by now or a bigger griddle or crockpot. But those are just things. Anyone can give things. You can give memories. You can collect all your favorite family recipes into a book or scrapbook. There are programs to help you do it on the computer; websites to put it together professionally and publish it for you or your family members. But don't discount the appreciation you might get from a simple typed copy of family recipes in a three-ring binder. You can decorate the cover, of course. Your local print or copy shop can compile a dozen, two dozen or more pages into a spiral bound book, insert family photos, or even make recipes coincide with a new calendar. My first family cookbook was nothing more than three copies, handwritten, of each of our favorite recipes and placed in a small binder for each chosen family member who had enjoyed the recipes over time. I'm not up to that again...especially that handwritten part. It's so much easier to type your recipes into the computer and print off multiple copies. Or if you really want to get creative, try one of the many photo sites that offer photobooks. You write the pages with their software or you can insert your copies and your pictures into their pages. Add some digital embellishments, just as you would with a cut and paste scrapbook...but so much easier when it's done for you. Then you have the option of buying multiple copies for each member of the family. If you're one of those scrappers, now is the time to start crafting your pages, whether it's for a special recipe and the pictures of your grandson helping put it together or simply chowing down on the latest serving. Your family will love re-living the activity, revisiting the special memories of your recipes or family get-togethers. But putting together a book of memories doesn't have to be a cookbook. Maybe it's all of grandpa's fishing stories or a collection of grandma's quilts or a collection of family reunion pictures over the years. Maybe you or someone in your family has compiled the family tree. Does everyone have a copy? is it up-to-date? We've all lamented that pictures aren't printed out so much anymore. We all have files and files stored away on a computer somewhere. Maybe this Christmas the family deserves a yearbook of all of the years events and get-togethers. And yes, if you can't figure out how to put together those memories that's where a personal historian or lifestory instructor can help. Maybe they don't even need that title, many freelancers are very comfortable interviewing and compiling the family data, with your help, of course. Let one of us help you. But, time is wasting....don't delay, we may work well under pressure, but we prefer not to, of course...Christmas is coming!

Why write? because I can!

I've been asked "why write a blog?' The standard answer should be "why not?" I've told people I don't write because I "have to write". I'm not that driven. But I write because I can. For some reason, I have been blessed with the ability to put words together and not be fearful that they don't sound just right. People worry too much about how they sound when they put words to paper or simply express themselves publicly. If you have something to say, don't you just say it? Isn't that what your writing should be? Yes that's a question for you...Your writing! That means you should write as much as anyone. Write what you want, when you want. If you fantasize being a great novelist, go for it. But if you just want to write a personal diary, do it. Don't just think about it. I know I'm hung up on recording history, sharing history and that means sharing life. We're doing it every day on Facebook now, why wouldn't you simply collect those posts to reflect on your day, your year or your life? I want my children and grandchildren to reflect on my life as to why I did or didn't do certain things. My values, my beliefs. No, I don't expect them to copy my lifestyle, but to borrow from what works for them. I've had some great experiences and some not so great, and I can't spend my every waking moment trying to relay those to the people I love and care for, but I can write down my thoughts and beliefs to share with anyone interested. That’s where my blog comes in. It’s an attempt to share my thoughts, my experiences and still try to motivate others to do the same thing, or even better, let me help them Write It Down! I recently noticed my friend and instructor Denis Ledoux is offering a sale on a Memoir starter package. You can find out more https://www.facebook.com/MemoirNetwork It’s a place to start, so you can write what you feel needs to be written to leave a legacy for your family, friends or who ever.

I write IN books!

I write in books. That’s a confession. Several years ago, I figured out if I want to write in MY books, I can! And you should, too. I know, I know, we’ve been so ingrained since childhood—parents, teachers, librarians…never, never write in books! Why not? Wouldn’t you like to have a previous reader point out the good parts? To highlight good recipes or correct confusing or misleading directions? I actually started with my cookbooks. When they are handed down or handed off, the next cook will know what are good recipes, favorites, or adjustments that made my special recipe special! I think it started when I noticed a few typos or omissions in my favorite cookbooks…like salt! Or sugar! When you’re reading the recipe (that’s not just the list of ingredients), and it says when to mix in the salt…that wasn’t mentioned in the list of ingredients…that could be crucial! Or the one where the list calls for two tablespoons of cinnamon, but only teaspoons in the directions? Critical information, right? But it’s more than that. It’s communications, sometimes across generations and it’s your legacy. I love community cookbooks, where you see a great recipe and it’s submitted by a dear friend or just an acquaintance, or maybe it tells a few key facts about the cook who submitted it. That’s communication, preserving something special that that person thought enough of to submit for a fundraiser. It becomes part of who they are or were. My grandmother never thought of writing down her stories, or certainly not a whole memoir of her life. But the fact that she submitted a Mock Apple Pie recipe ( made with Ritz crackers) to her Grange cookbook reminds me of her ways, of the hard life she had. Who in these times of excess would think of a need for a “mock apple pie?” Yet she made it and apparently liked it. I love the part where the recipe calls for “a piece of butter”…..that’s not a teaspoon or a tablespoon, but a piece! If any of your ancestors submitted favorite recipes to a community fundraiser cookbook, I’ll bet you have a copy or your parents do. It reminds us of the times we shared that recipe, sat around the table or the back porch sharing family stories and good times. This is not advice to submit to community cookbooks, but a recommendation to leave your legacy with your things. Notes with your appliance instruction books, of how or why a special technique worked; in your cookbooks, when you changed a recipe or served it to special people or for events. My family has a quiche recipe we use every year for Christmas. It’s call “Christmas Quiche” by us, not necessarily the rest of the world. If you loved Gone with the Wind or a book of poems, why not say so inside the book cover or over a special passage. Many people highlight their favorite passages in their Bible. It tells a story of who we are, and in the case of later years, of who we were. You may not be a scrapbook-er, or a family historian. You may never write a whole memoir, but you can leave a legacy with the things you use or enjoyed every day. They could be simply notes to you for now, of how or why something works better a certain way, but it will tell your descendants of the person you were and how you lived.

Write It Down!

Back at it again....trying to find the right motivation to stay on the task...writing family history. Hmmm...why do I think it's important. Isn't it important to be remembered? to have great memories of people or places and want everyone to know and remember? It's part of history and that's so important we teach it in schools...presumably so we don't repeat the mistakes or so we can capitalize on the successes. We can do the same whether it's making your mother or grandmother's cookie just the way they did or making them better! I've always treasured the way people used to do things. Maybe because it was a simpler time or a remarkable feat; it was memorable....worth remembering. Now how will everyone remember if we don't Write It Down? That's the title of my column in the Hartland Historical Society newsletter, but even that has trouble motivating people or maybe they secretly wrote everything down and chose not to share it with me. I like that explanation. It's summer in Maine. That means sunshine, heat, rain, swimming, barbecues, family visits, family reunions or just sitting and reflecting on the season or the year. How are you spending your summer? Certainly you've done something worth repeating, whether it's to do it over again with someone else or tell someone what you've done or why. Was there something in your childhood, your early adulthood, early marriage or parenthood that comes to mind with the beginning of summer? Can you do it again? would you want your children or your grandchildren to experience it? Write It Down! or else how will they ever know what was important to you! Summer family gatherings are usually memorable. Maybe it's the location or the people who were able to join you, maybe the music, the games, the food. What comes to mind? This weekend "lobster feeds" of the family kind came to my mind. Our family traditionally attended the Lobster Festival in Rockland, Maine...always went to the parade, often joining family there or seeing family participating in the parade. BUT we never went to the festival grounds for lobster. We always returned home for home-cooked lobster on the front or back lawn. And usually it was my father doing the cooking. He didn't cook much, but lobster was a specialty. Everyone knew how to crack a lobster and get the sweet meat out to dredge in melted butter! Well, if you didn't by some rare chance, there were plenty of people to do it for you or provide a lesson. It was actually fun to share this Maine tradition with new lobster lovers! As a child, it was unimaginable there were people in the world who didn't know how to pick out a lobster! It's like riding a bike once you know how, you always Know! But to grow to adulthood and not know...what deprived people! But I suppose if you are the type who doesn't like lobster ( I know they exist, sadly) you can be forgiven. But not forgiven for forgetting you even tried the experience or letting others know about your experience or preferences. Everyone has something to tell...someone has to Write It Down!...eventually...

Wins, Losses and Volunteerism

There is a game on my computer I have played 245 times, but I’ve only won 244 times. To be truthful, the one failure was caused by a power failure, but that doesn’t count in my book…not for winning or losing! I should have 245 wins! According to my rules! And there is my problem. I should be perfect with a perfect record. I should be able to commit to a volunteer project and have it come out perfect every time. But funny….I don’t think of myself as a perfectionist. But there’s the evidence, I expect to “win” in everything I do. My writing should be perfect, no errors, no misconceptions, misunderstandings, misspelling, or incorrect grammar….my experience demands that I not make errors! My sewing should be absolutely right all the time! My gardening should reap great bounty and blossoms! My cooking should not be burnt, overcooked, undercooked or tasteless. And yes, I am disappointed when it doesn’t come out as expected. But there is such a thing as spreading yourself too thin. Taking on more than you can effectively do well…that’s my life in a nutshell! Does everyone do that? Does everyone take on projects and goals that they can never totally achieve? Or do they have better judgment about what is realistically possible or even probable? Or is this simply my affliction? Is it time to reel in the volunteerism? Or time to lower my expectations? How do other people alter this “condition”? I have always believed, if everyone simply took “their turn” at volunteerism, there would be no lack of volunteers. I’ve DONE my part….several times over and it’s time for someone else to take a turn…but so few people do…why is that? Why do some of us feel a need to volunteer? To organize and publicize events? Bake cookies, pies and bread for bake sales? Create quilts or scrapbooks? And when we do fail at some of these seemingly simple tasks…why do we set ourselves up to do it again? When is the cutoff point? When do you call it quits? Or at least hold back to, at least, see if someone else can do it or is willing to do it. I’ve reached that point of no return, time to reel in the volunteer efforts, to stop setting myself up for disappointment, and take on “do-able” tasks…family tasks and personal tasks that can leave me some satisfaction if not a simple win!

Wow! It's been almost a year since I posted to this blog....no wonder I have no followers! I can't even follow myself. But my interests haven't changed. They just get muddled in with everything else I choose to do. I just read Sheryl Sandberg's book...didn't I? Last year? Really? Well there's that old saying...Time flies.... Time flies too quickly. I'm not getting what I want to do done! I want to finish and publish my family history. I want to tell my stories. I want to make more quilts, to organize my photography even finish a few books. Where does time go? I vow to buckle down to a schedule....every day. And I do, every day, I start with my schedule and I get off track. I even set aside writing time...when was that...last year? Maybe I don't want to know. But I tell myself that as long as I'm trying every day, I am getting somewhere. Something is getting done, just not all the things I imagined. Now there is little time today to devote to writing a blog or planning a blog, or writing project or sewing. But I vow to get something done...today! Just not a new post to this blog...I'll be back!