Remembering the Time is now on Pinterest! The Awesome Sauce has been cooking for the last couple weeks but now it’s ready. You can find the curated best that I’ve rounded up for you all in one place. These 11 boards of inspiration, helps, tips and sometimes just plain fun are sure to help you get started sharing your story as well as looking for the stories around you. They might be right there in your own family. They might be hiding in plain sight in a conversation with an old friend. I’ll add more inspiring, helpful pins and refine as time goes by (I think that’s a song title).

 

 

 

Here’s the Remembering the Time Pinterest boards that are up for exploration right now. Hope you enjoy!

 

What’s your Story?–story prompts, historic photos to jump start your imagination and inspire your story

Best Family Reunion Ideas–lots of fun, creative ways to make your reunion memorable

Memoir Inspiration–journal prompts, story ideas, quotes and photos to inspire your own story

Best of Remembering the Time (here’s where you’ll find some of RTT’s best blog posts)

The Art of Memory–tell your story in artistic ways, one of a kind gift ideas, craft/art inspiration

Made You Think–mostly intriguing quotes that will rumble round in your head for days

Great Ways to Improve Your Writing–practical ideas from some of the best writers

Unique Gift Ideas–family and memory themed ideas that will be remembered forever

Vintage Elegance–art nouveau, classic cars, architecture–it you like the elegance of by-gone eras explore this board

Timeless Classics–book covers, classic design, best books–lots to inspire you

New Mexico History–because, well, I’m a NM girl and I love this state. Lots of great historical photos.

 

Please take a look, have fun, re-pin, use and send me any great ideas you find. I’d love to hear from you!

 

I’ve got my farmer hat on today, irrigating my small pecan orchard in the first high temperatures of the year. We just went over 100 this week—summer is here! This hard, grubby work gives me just a taste of what my pioneer relatives must have dealt with to eke a living from the land. Wow—am I glad for ice cream, air conditioning and maybe a bit of Pinterest when the job is done for the day.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Karen

 

 

 

Do you have a long held dream you’d thrill to see fulfilled? I have a wonderful one to share:

 

Las Cruces artist to realize dream

of publishing children’s book.

 

Here’s the back-story. Amy Motto is a retired Marriage and Family Therapist who also happens to have a Fine Arts degree. In 1990 she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis but continued to work as a counselor for another 10 years. When her physical limitations affected her ability to continue in that field, she picked up her pen and a paintbrush.

 

At that time a silky furred little dog, Cassie, also came into her life. Amy says,

“Cassie was born behind a friend’s barn under a car top carrier where her terrier mom whelped a litter of five puppies. The barn owner’s wife was a secretary where I worked and she brought them all to work in a box when they were 6 weeks old. She said she had saved Cassie for me because she was the cutest (the only fuzzy one and the most laid back). I hadn’t told her to save me one, but when I saw her I fell in love with her! She had great big brown button eyes. I asked my boss if I could keep her in my office until I could get home at lunch. He said okay and she fell asleep on my foot! My husband loved her too. He ended up singing to her in the middle of the night because she was whining and he thought if she kept me awake we would have to give her up.”

 

Amy and the adorable mutt shared life together for fourteen years until Cassie passed away. “She taught me an even deeper appreciation of God’s creation,” Amy says. Cassie is the inspiration for a children’s picture book,

Puppies Need Pockets

 

which Amy wrote and illustrated back in 1999. She never forgot it, but tucked it carefully away in her desk for almost two decades, sidelined by the encroaching demands and limitations of dealing with MS. In 2017 she began pursuing options for publishing the book and decided this year to self publish it with the guidance of Karen Ray of Remembering the Time personal history service.

 

Amy’s strong vision for her book and her desire to get it into the hands of children and their parents to enjoy brought the beautiful artwork out of the desk and into the light. Although her ability to paint is greatly reduced, she had clear ideas for the final graphic design touches on her book. She and Ray discussed the options and then Ray consulted with Jessica Connolly of Telos Designs.

 

Connolly has a wide range of experience in the design world and has produced an impressive array of work as well as original art. After 7 years practicing architecture in Austin, Texas, she struck out on her own, pursuing a passion for art and graphic design. In 2011 she established Telos Design, LLC. She works with corporate entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals to create unique logos, collateral material, special event invitations, and web designs. Her experience in both architecture and graphic design combine to bring a unique eye for color, proportion, and composition with a modern aesthetic.

 

Ray and Connolly have worked together on memoir projects for Remembering the Time’s clients and are delighted to collaborate on a children’s book. Connolly has young children at home and while Ray’s are grown,  both moms have logged many hours reading to their kids. They recognized a winner of a children’s book in Puppies Need Pockets. Connolly took Amy’s ideas and “worked her magic” as Ray says, turning her story and  colorful artwork into a charming, fun to read book for children ages 3 to 10.

 

Remembering the Time specializes in helping people realize their dreams of saving their unique memories and experiences. Ray uses her interviewing and writing skills to draw out her clients’ stories and create oral histories and beautiful books they can share with their families. Sometimes, as in Motto’s case, this involves helping to guide a client through the fulfillment of their dream project.

 

Author Amy Motto is married and the mother of three grown sons, two of whom she fostered from infancy. She currently has two rescue dogs and a Sun Conure Parrot. Amy and her husband make their home in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Puppies Need Pockets will be available summer 2018 for on Amazon.com and for private purchase. Contact karen@rememberingthetime.net to reserve a copy.

 

Motto will donate 5% of the proceeds from the sale of Puppies Need Pockets to Can Do Multiple Sclerosis (www.cando-ms.org)

Can Do MS specializes in transforming lives, delivering health and wellness education programs to help families living with MS thrive.

What project is languishing in your desk drawer? Give me a ring and let’s make it happen!

Karen

Time. Your mom not only gave you life, she gave you the priceless gift of time, even if she only carried you close to her heart for nine months. May you feel the weight of that and gratitude for the next breath you take. When she was happy, tired, sad, joyful, wrung out, laughing with you, crying with you and just doing life with you, you occupied her thoughts. You are imprinted on every waking minute of her life.

 

 

If Mother’s Day is a time of grief for you, we understand that too. May you find peace and joy in blessing others this weekend; it will comfort and soothe your own heart too.

 

In honor of Mother’s Day this year, give a hug to a mom you know and pour into it everything you have!

Mom, Madre, Mommy, Ma’am, Lisa—Whatever you call your mom or the lady in your life you love like a mother, you know that the second Sunday in May is a day to honor her. I double dog dare you to do this in a new way. Here are two unique and amazing gift ideas for you to thrill your mom this Mother’s Day:

Want something Mom can unwrap?

 

 

 

Memoir in a Basket

A beautiful gift basket filled with a fill-in–the-blank life story journal, an elegant pen, a list of memory prompts and questions, a consult with me (in person if she’s in Las Cruces or El Paso, by phone if she’s not) assorted coffee and tea and of course chocolate.

Gift certificates are available as well in any denomination for you to help make your mom’s story a reality. Pitch in with your siblings and give Mom the inspiration to share her story.

Memoir in a Basket–$60

Free delivery in Las Cruces

$10 shipping if mailing

Order via email at karen@rememberingthetime.net or by phone at 575-323-1048

 

Want to give Mom some one-on-one time?

 The Gift of Time

Most moms I’ve visited with want time with their kids, a hug, to know they are loved and cherished. So here’s a top notch idea. Give her the gift of time spent listening to her story, interview her about some of her memories. Write them up in a beautiful little book, put in a few photos of her through the years, including some when she’s a gorgeous teenager and some when she’s a gorgeous retiree.

 

You know what I mean. Our moms are beautiful to us all through the years. It isn’t about the mileage on the face.

 

Put in some photos of life before you, even though you secretly know you are the center of her world. Get to know her better, what were her dreams and hopes, what are they now? Tuck away some of those ideas for future dates with your mom. Pick at least one or two a year and make them happen.

 

May you have a lovely Mother’s Day

Karen

(Fellow mom and daughter)

Students all around the country are wrapping up their semesters. The internet is exploding with pet videos to soothe their weary minds and parents and grandparents everywhere are making celebration plans for their graduates. As promised, following are some ideas for preserving these young folks’ life memories to date. In fact, years from now it is often the stories of childhood and youth that we beg our older relatives to tell just one more time.  Decades in the future your fabulous young person’s family will love to see photos and hear stories of events that helped shape them into who they are.

 

 

How Can You Help?

Problem Solved–continue reading for your 3 step, easy plan to make this happen 

 

Here are 3 steps to focus your ideas, gather material and then what you can do with this wonderful story. The key to creating this in a short amount of time is to narrow the scope of your project, gather all your material in one place and then use some easy online or physical tools to make it a tangible reality.

 

Step 1

Pick Your Person and Your Focus

Let’s use the example of a high school or college age young person about to graduate. Decide whether you want to run through a quick general story of their life or focus on a theme of sports, music, hobbies or other interest. For young folks I recommend doing an overview of their life as it shows so many different sides of who they are as a person. This is who you want to honor, right? Even big “kids” delight in seeing photos and hearing stories about when they grew up. Include these original bits, it shows them how valued and loved they are.

I spoke with a gifted wedding photographer earlier this week and she emphasized the importance of having some hard copy photos of your life events. Hang them around your house, put them in an album for the coffee table, put them in places you can actually hold and touch. Printed photos are preserved and enjoyed in a way that purely digital photos just can’t compete with. Besides, when that solar flare finally hits or some other catastrophe, don’t you want to have a photo of the people you love to hold even if you don’t have electricity? Oh yes you do! And we all know those convenient cell phones that hold most of your photos sometimes meet an untimely end in laundry or toilet. Don’t make them the sole repository of your life’s memories.

 

Step 2

Gather Your Material

Pull together photos, artwork, notes and stories from a representative sample of years. I like to take material and photos from about every 2-3 years during a young person’s life. This will usually capture major changes and life events as well as show a progression of growth and interests.

It would be a great idea to interview your subject about some of their key memories of growing up. Even an hour or two of visiting can give you a wealth of stories to type up and include in your book. Best of all, you’ll both enjoy the process and you’ll also have their voice telling the stories. How awesome is that?

Best tip ever:

Do include a few school photos

BUT

Use primarily candid photos; they truly capture

the essence of someone’s personality.

 

Like this one!

My hands down favorite photo of my brother and I.

So thankful my mom had the foresight to take one

showing us as we looked most of the time instead of

all spiffed up in dress clothes.

 

 

 

 

 

11 Interview Questions to get you Started

What do you think are the 3 most important things in life?

Who was/is your best friend in school and why?

What are 10 things that make you laugh?

What do you imagine the world will look like 100 years from now?

What is your favorite childhood memory?

Who was your favorite teacher and why?

Describe your pet(s) and why you enjoy them.

Describe your siblings and what you enjoy doing together.

What things do you enjoy for fun?

Who has been the kindest to you?

Describe a happy moment in your life.

 

 Step 3

Publish Your Story—Print it

Create a tangible book that your graduate can hold and page through, sharing with others. There are several different ways you can do this. Here are 3:

*Scrapbook–A few years ago this was all the rage and can still be a popular tool to creatively share your story. If you enjoy this dig out your supplies, pick up a new album and then give yourself some time to create a beautiful work of art with these saved memories.

*Shutterfly or similar photo book—photo books that can be created online give you quite a bit of creative flexibility and will turn out a nicely bound high quality book. Coupons abound for these types of gifts and the digital creation process is designed to be pretty simple. And yes, you can have both text and photos in the book. Make sure to use both as years from now they’ll want the story behind the photos. Frequent sales with these companies can often bring the price down to not much more than producing it at the local print shop.

*Copy Shop coil bound book—if dollars are tight, never fear, your young person will appreciate and cherish this book format just as much. Here’s a couple ways to do this—first–computer set up– take the photos and text you’ve collected and arrange them in a document on your computer. You can get creative with color, text styles and photo placement. When you like the way it looks create a PDF file to lock everything in place. Then, put it on a jump drive, take it to your local copy shop and have them print up several copies with a coil binding and nice quality paper. Use a heavier glossy card stock for the cover and glossy finish paper inside to really make those photos pop. A book like this will usually run less than $20 to print.

For each of these options I encourage you to include at least a couple photos that are black and white. You can easily convert your color images to this classic style. They have a timeless quality that somehow shows the subject in a different way that really draws out their personality and character.

Now print or order several copies of your gift book. I guarantee it will stand out and it will be cherished, there is nothing more unique and precious than someone’s life story. Your graduate will treasure this always. And of course, you’ll want one for yourself and other family members as well.

Have fun with the process of making this amazing gift for your beloved young person. They will love it and remember it always.

Best Wishes to you and your graduates!

Karen