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When is the last time you sat down with a box of crayons and drew a picture? If you’re like me, it’s been awhile. My last post was about the budget information I found. In the same folder I found a crayon drawing I made five or six years ago of the backyard I played in as a preschooler. I decided to scan it in and write about it now. The picture wasn’t that vivid when I drew it. The scanner magically intensified the colors, much to my liking. I had an absolute blast drawing that picture. I drew the willow tree with me in my swing. I drew the chicken house in the back, and put my sandbox under the tree. The sidewalk where I learned to skate is on the right, with the fence covered in honeysuckle. The clothesline is behind the fence to the right, and the mysterious storage room I was never allowed to explore is in the top right corner. When I drew the picture, I relied on my memory. Since that time, I’ve found old photos that showed me some errors in my memory. My sandbox was not behind ...

This morning I came across a few long forgotten scraps of paper that hold a meticulous record of my household spending back in 1972. It isn’t my nature to keep such close track of things, but for reasons I’ve forgotten, I wrote it all down for three months and never tossed it out. Today I’m so glad I kept this snippet of data. How amazing to see what inflation has done, in black and white. In July, 1972, our three children had just turned six, four and one. I spent a total of $127.73 that month. Of that sum, $112.95, was spent on groceries. Between weekly shopping trips I made frequent stops at various grocery stores to pick up single items, generally spending less than a dollar. Other expenditure included $2.95 for scotch tape and sneakers for the baby, $2.95 for a photo album, jelly beans and potato roasting nails, $2.29 for a bottle of wine, $2.50 for a haircut (discount salons had not yet been invented), and $.63 for a birthday card at the Hallmark store. I generally wrote a check...

Today is a red letter day for me. We are welcoming little Marley, who was born this morning. She is our fifth grandchild and the third girl. It’s not just every day that a new grandchild arrives, and each time it happens is a very special day. It’s way too soon to write a story about Marley’s birth, but later I will. I did write the story of the arrival of our first grandchild, who is now almost a teenager, but I’ve fallen down on the job with the other two “older” ones. This is my wakeup call that I need to get to that, and soon. I read Keith his story a couple of years ago, and he was delighted. My stories about births include much more than the usual vital statistics. I write a description of our anticipation, my delight when we heard they were safely “out here,” and my joy when I first saw and held them. I might include a few details about the wonder of seeing that Stephanie’s fingernails were shaped like mine, and such things. This is a very personal story, a sort of love letter ...

Every now and then I come across a website about lifestory writing that’s worth mentioning. Today is one of those days. I just came across the site for The Center for Lifestory Writing , sponsored as a ministry by College Church of the Nazarene. The site includes a long list of enjoyable stories (no, I haven’t read all of them yet, but the several I did read were delightful) as well as links to lifestory writing ideas and a monthly column on writing tips by Lea Marvin. This month’s column is both hilarious and write-to-the- point. I urge you to read it! While you’re there, read some stories. You’re sure to get some great ideas for tales of your own, and it’s always interesting to read stories written by “regular people,” rather than the super polished ones in books on library shelves. There’s also a link with guidelines for submitting stories. If you know of another site about lifestory writing that you’ve found interesting and helpful, please post the link as a Comment below. I’m add...

It must be the season for memory triggers. Last night I wrote about having my own memory triggered by coming across the old fashioned key chain that reminded me of hopscotch. This morning I found a link in my e-mail to Do You Remember These? a website featuring an old-time song by that name sung by The Statler Brothers. Do you remember that? The e-mail isn’t new. It’s been around for ages and quite likely you’ve already seen it, but the site is fun, the music great, and you probably will remember at least most of these. Click on over and see if any stories come to mind for you. Memory triggers are everywhere. It’s a good idea to write them down on your story idea list when they come to mind so you won’t forget them, and to help you find things to write about when you are feeling stuck. Write on, Sharon Lippincott, aka Ritergal

This afternoon I picked up an item from my junk drawer and noticed that it sports a metal bead chain with a clasp that holds the two end beads together. When I was young, these bead chains were used as key chains, and they were prized as hopscotch markers. I considered the chain for a minute, wondering if I should save it for one or the other of my younger granddaughters to use when she is old enough to play hopscotch in a few years. Do girls today still play hopscotch? I wondered, thinking back to the endless hours I used to spend drawing hopscotch grids on sidewalks with whatever chalk I could find. I drew them at home to practice. I drew them at school during recess and before class for competitive play with friends. Curious about the state of things today, I checked the web and found several links to sites, like Streetplay Rulesheets , that explain the rules. In my day we drew a grid like the one in the picture here. There are many ways to draw them, as you’ll find with a quick sea...

Before I left on our recent trip I bought a new spiral notebook for the specific purpose of keeping a trip journal so I’d have the details for writing stories later. I managed to write a few lines about each port of call, but didn’t find the experience satisfying. I finally identified the root of the problem. I was writing about the easy stuff, which was mostly a list of things we saw and the status of the yet-to-be diagnosed minor knee injury I sustained as I was walking down the pier at our first port of call. I was writing “senselessly, leaving out my thoughts and reactions. My failure to write about these perceptions was based on the fact that even though I’ve made strides in expanding my description skills, it still doesn’t come naturally. Much of the experience of being in these exotic places was pure sensation —rich wall colors, pungent fragrances, odd shapes pr exotic sounds. I also felt joy at seeing old edifices newly renovated and freshly painted, indicating prosperity and p...

It’s good to be back! The extended space between posts here has accommodated nearly a month of new adventures. My husband and I flew out of JFK International, heading for Heathrow, on August 10, the day the news broke about the latest terrorism threat. Fortunately we were booked on Aer Lingus, which meant changing planes and entering the UK in Dublin, so we had none of the harrowing problems our friends flying directly into Heathrow from the USA experienced. After a day of jetlag recovery in London, we proceeded to Dover and boarded the Celebrity Constellation for a two-week cruise around the Baltic, visiting Klaipeda, Lithuania; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Stockholm, Sweden; Rostok, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, Norway. Just remembering the list makes my head swim! As soon as we docked in Dover, we made a beeline for the bus back to London, then transferred to the metro line out to Heathrow for a flight to Shannon, Ireland, scrambling to make ...