Thankful Thursday: Family in Utah

Today is Thankful Thursday, and I'm grateful to be visiting family members in Utah.  It's fun to share family photos and make new memories that will be part of our family history.  We'll have a new grandchild (born in late July or August), so the anticipation is growing.  It's great to see my daughter and son-in-law, and I'm having fun with my delightful granddaughter that I rarely see.  So today (as always), I'm grateful for family.

Memory Lane Monday: SONGS

I’m using the ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series as an aid in beginning my personal history this year.  See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article http://exm.nr/jWOpzT along with the #1song from my husband’s birthday.  I create an article about this series each Monday.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader.  These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.

Here is the beginning of my memories about SONGS.

I’ve never heard of this song, but this was the #1 song I pulled up when I entered my  birth date at This Day in Music (http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/birthdayno1). 

Blue Tango - Leroy Anderson

I became more interested in music on the radio in my teen years.  Before then, we simply listened to my parent’s LPs and some that I had as a child.

My best experience with songs was in 2001 when I produced the CD “No Greater Love” for my husband’s group Turning Point.  We had so much fun getting three families together after about 13 years apart and then having them make music together again..  Their harmonies were still tight and the experience was exhilarating .Now, we have a family history “record” of original songs sung by their group from 1974-1987, and others have had the benefit of hearing their music through retail store sales.  The group was selected as one of the Top 10 new LDS artists of 2002.  Another selection from their CD was also included on the CD “Just Believe”.  As I said, it was SO much fun—to learn, to produce and to share.
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As founder of Family Tree Quest, people sometimes ask what tools I recommend for organizing and recording personal and family history.  Here are my highest recommendations.

HeritageCollector Suite-  Your complete Family History Management System  (my highest recommendation)
This has everything you need to get your family history clutter into one, orderly place.  Store and retrieve photos, documents, videos, etc.  Create a PDF for a bound book.  Many bonus items such as storybook and GPS modules.

PersonalHistorian Software- I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts. 

 Flip-Pal™mobile scanner–  Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology.  You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums!  I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

Please leave a comment and tell us the #1 song on your birth date.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of LifeStory Productions, Inc. Flip-pal and Amazon [dot] com.

Memory Lane Monday: Neighbors

I’m using the ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History’ series as an aid in beginning my personal history this year. See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article at http://exm.nr/ietnRo. I create an article about this series each Monday. Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader. These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.

Here is the beginning of my memories about neighbors:

I had great neighbors when I was a child--people nearby whom I could trust. There was a tender elderly couple across the street. He worked as a butcher at Ray ‘n Eddies, a small grocery store not too far from our home. It was great to see him when we went to the market.

The neighbors to the south of us never had children of their own. The husband was deaf and the woman spoke really loud. They helped care for our home when we’d go on vacations. The neighbors to the north of us had three children (all older than me). The mother was a beautiful woman who worked in the PTA with my mom. I also have fond memories of another family across the street. When it came time for her to call her two sons home for dinner, she had a special call she made to them while whistling, and they responded every time.

My best friend lived around the block. I considered her a “neighbor” as well. We’d go down the alley to play at each other’s home.

I think it takes more effort now to be neighborly, but the neighbors I’ve come to know have made a real difference in my life. Everyone has their own uniqueness and contribution. I’m happy to have known many wonderful neighbors in my lifetime.

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As founder of Family Tree Quest, people sometimes ask what tools I recommend for organizing and recording personal and family history. Here are my highest recommendations.

Heritage Collector Suite- Your complete Family History Management System (my highest recommendation)  This has everything you need to get your family history clutter into one, orderly place. Store and retrieve photos, documents, videos, etc. Create a PDF for a bound book. Many bonus items such as storybook and GPS modules.

Personal Historian Software- I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts.

Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner – Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology. You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums! I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

If you're looking for a great summer project, interview relatives or write your own memoirs.

Please leave a comment and let me know how you are integrating Family History into your summer plans.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of LifeStory Productions, Inc. and Amazon [dot] com and Flip-Pal.

My Father's Faith

I will be ever-grateful to my fun-loving, humble father,
James Lynn Calton.

May all fathers BE that kind of father.

We have the perfect example in our loving Heavenly Father.

Memory Lane Monday: Clothes

I’m using the ’52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History’ series as an aid in beginning my personal history this year.  See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article at http://exm.nr/kdyNsp.  I create an article about this series each Monday.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you’d like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via a feed reader.  These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.

Here is the beginning of my memories about CLOTHES.

Aside from the raising and lowering of hemlines and shoulder pads and no shoulder pads and differences in colors and styles throughout several decades, my most fond memories of clothes were from my childhood.  When I was very young, my mother would make me a dress out of matching fabric to hers.  I felt so special at church when we would “match”.  I was too young to feel embarrassment about this.  I always loved it when I could pick out fabric for my Easter dress.  It was usually soft and had a happy floral print.

I also loved “matching” my best friend, Nancy R. (as seen the the picture above). One thing, however, I hardly EVER wore red.  I didn't think it went well with my red hair.

My mom had a favorite dress shop in Long Beach, Luann’s.  Usually, for holidays, my dresses came from that shop where I’d try on several dresses with full petticoats (slips) underneath.  I’d come out with one I loved and I felt happy to go shopping with mom for holidays.  We also shopped at Buffum’s and Broadway and a few other stores in the Lakewood Mall.

I did enjoy sewing as I grew older and made many of my own clothes.  In High School I won the Bank of America Award in Home Economics for the year.  I had sewn a very complex, wool coat in my Homemaking Class which must have been the reason I was nominated.  For some reason, however, I was very embarrassed to have the spotlight on me in this way.  I wanted to “crawl into a hole” rather than accept the award in front of all the students. 

After marriage, I attended many military balls and events calling for formal attire.  It was fun getting dressed up and enjoying the company of others in that setting.  Now, I simply try to be somewhat in fashion, but it’s not a main emphasis in my life. 

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As founder of Family Tree Quest, people sometimes ask what tools I recommend for organizing and recording personal and family history.  Here are my highest recommendations.

Heritage Collector Suite- Your complete Family History Management System  (my highest recommendation)
This has everything you need to get your family history clutter into one, orderly place.  Store and retrieve photos, documents, videos, etc.  Create a PDF for a bound book.  Many bonus items such as storybook and GPS modules.

Personal Historian Software- I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts.

 Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner – Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology.  You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums!  I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

Please leave a comment and let me know YOU stopped by for a visit to my blog and tell me your thoughts on “clothes” for your life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of LifeStory Productions, Inc., Flip-Pal and Amazon [dot] com.

Memory Lane Monday: Books

(Sorry about the spacing in this post.  I couldn't fix it)

I'm using the '52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History' series as an aid in beginning my own personal history this year.  See the entire challenge on my Examiner.com article at http://exm.nr/mGcBtm  I create an article about this series each Monday.  Click subscribe (at the top) if you'd like to get my articles automatically delivered to your email inbox, or click the RSS icon to read my posts via feed reader. These weekly challenges are authored by Amy Coffin of the We Tree blog and hosted on the GeneaBloggers website.  This week’s challenge (at http://exm.nr/mGcBtm) has to do with how documenting your challenges can still be a benefit in writing a personal history.

Here is the beginning of my memories about BOOKS.

The books I remember the most were the Little Golden books from my childhood.  I had one called The Happy Family and there was one about a Prairie Dog (I wish I could remember the title)  I also had a very small book about Santa Claus that I read over and over.

I loved to read until there was a reading contest in elementary school (somewhere in the 2^nd to 4^th grade range).  We were seeing who read the most pages per night.  One of my friends decided to lie about the number of pages read.  I didn’t want to be dishonest, so there was no way I could keep up with the number of pages she lied about.  I was so sad.  After that, reading was not fun for me.

Today, I love to read inspirational and motivational books.  I crave new ideas and information that assists me in living a happy, productive life.
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As founder of Family Tree Quest, people sometimes ask what tools I recommend for organizing and recording personal and family history.  Here are my highest recommendations.

Heritage Collector Suite- Your complete Family History Management System  (my highest recommendation)
This has everything you need to get your family history clutter into one, orderly place.  Store and retrieve photos, documents, videos, etc.  Create a PDF for a bound book.  Many bonus items such as storybook and GPS modules.

Personal Historian Software- I love it’s timelines and personal history prompts.

 Flip-Pal™ mobile scanner – Portable, easy flip-and-scan-technology.  You can even scan pictures in the frame or while they remain in their photo albums!  I sit on the sofa in comfort and scan to my hearts delight.

Please leave a comment and let me know YOU stopped by for a visit to my blog.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” I have not received any compensation from Amy Coffin or GeneaBloggers.com for writing this post. I am listed on the GeneaBloggers Blog Roll because I find it to be a valuable, shared community resource. As founder of Family Tree Quest [dot] com, I am an affiliate of LifeStory Productions, Inc. and Amazon [dot] com.