Grandma's Journal

[This is a story from when I wrote a column on grandparenting. Lots more things have been added to these fond memories including the more recent conversations my granddaughter had with each fish she caught. "Sorry, fishy. Here's a little bait to take on your way." And back into the water it would go.]

Do you keep a journal? Journaling is one of those things that I toy with now and then. I used to be a diary-keeper when I was a teen and young adult but life got busy with five kids and I fell out of the habit. Now, with all the writing I do I find that I have a kaleidoscopic journal that is in colorful pieces here and there. I keep a blog and journal on many of my trips—especially if it is to an interesting place like China.

Here and there in my writing I am influenced by my grandchildren. Usually it is because they have provided a good laugh. Case in point: One night we got a 1-800-Grandma call from our oldest grandson, Tyler. It went something like this:

"Tee-hee. Grandma? Can you come and give my Daddy a spanking? Tee-hee-hee."

"A spanking? Why? What's Daddy doing?"

"Well, he's your son and he keeps teasing me."

"Yes, he's my son, but what's he doing?"

"He flipped me with his sock. And it smelled, Grandma! Tee-hee-hee."

"Tyler, is this a 1-800-Grandma call?"

"A what?"

"Never mind. But if your Daddy needs a spanking, you better call 1-800-Grandpa."

Guess I still subscribe to the just-wait-until-your-father-gets-home threat. Tee-hee-hee.

And then there was the time when Kotomi, who was about four, walked up to Cinderella at the Disney World Castle and asked, “So, where’s the prince?”

I could go on but then I’d just be taking advantage of your listening ear—or make that reading eye. The point is that these are precious memories worth noting somewhere because along the way, they are often forgotten and too soon these little people will be grown up with little people of their own. What fun to be able to share the memories of their young lives with each other and their parents who may not have the time to write it down. And what a precious treasure for the future generations.

Journals come in all sizes, shapes, and price-points. When I was younger, I used a diary with the lock that had a one-key-fit-all to open it. Then I advanced to a seventy-nine cent spiral notebook when I figured out anyone could get into the locked diary.

Whatever type of journal you may choose, a clothbound fancy parchment-papered book with a raffia ribbon or a spiral notebook, put it in a place where you will see it often and remember to record those warm fuzzy moments with grands. And even if they aren’t so fuzzy, it may help you to see them in a different light. A journal is a map of a journey. Not necessarily where you are going but where you have been. It’s nice to look back once in a while.

Grandma’s Journal

Do you keep a journal? Journaling is one of those things that I toy with now and then. I used to be a diary-keeper when I was a teen and young adult but life got busy with five kids and I fell out of the habit. Now, with all the writing I do I find that I have a kaleidoscopic journal that is in colorful pieces here and there. I keep a blog and journal on many of my trips—especially if it is to an interesting place like China.

Here and there in my writing I am influenced by my grandchildren. Usually it is because they have provided a good laugh. Case in point: One night we got a 1-800-Grandma call from our oldest grandson, Tyler. It went something like this:

"Tee-hee. Grandma? Can you come and give my Daddy a spanking? Tee-hee-hee."

"A spanking? Why? What's Daddy doing?"

"Well, he's your son and he keeps teasing me."

"Yes, he's my son, but what's he doing?"

"He flipped me with his sock. And it smelled, Grandma! Tee-hee-hee."

"Tyler, is this a 1-800-Grandma call?"

"A what?"

"Never mind. But if your Daddy needs a spanking, you better call 1-800-Grandpa."

Guess I still subscribe to the just-wait-until-your-father-gets-home threat. Tee-hee-hee.

And then there was the time when Kotomi, who was about four, walked up to Cinderella at the Disney World Castle and asked, “So, where’s the prince?”

I could go on but then I’d just be taking advantage of your listening ear—or make that reading eye. The point is that these are precious memories worth noting somewhere because along the way, they are often forgotten and too soon these little people will be grown up with little people of their own. What fun to be able to share the memories of their young lives with each other and their parents who may not have the time to write it down. And what a precious treasure for the future generations.

Journals come in all sizes, shapes, and price-points. When I was younger, I used a diary with the lock that had a one-key-fit-all to open it. Then I advanced to a seventy-nine cent spiral notebook when I figured out anyone could get into the locked diary.

Whatever type of journal you may choose, a clothbound fancy parchment-papered book with a raffia ribbon or a spiral notebook, put it in a place where you will see it often and remember to record those warm fuzzy moments with grands. And even if they aren’t so fuzzy, it may help you to see them in a different light. A journal is a map of a journey. Not necessarily where you are going but where you have been. It’s nice to look back once in a while.

The Travel Photographer In Most Of Us - The Artsy Details

Long ago on a college campus in an old ROTC building where the freshman art students met, a professor challenged this freshman art student to go out and capture the details in a sketch. His directive was that we find a patch of turf, focus our view on a 6x6 inch area and draw what we saw. His objective was to make us more aware of the details in our surroundings, the little things often overlooked. It was a good lesson in many ways.

Today as I take camera in hand, I often think back to that lesson and look for subjects that show more detail in my pictures and of course still lend to the understanding of the place I'm visiting. For example bicycles were the preferred mode of transportation in Amsterdam and I snapped the picture here with flowers growing up through the wheels of one parked in a bike rack. A much prettier way to remember all the bikes.

Most cameras as well as smartphones and tablets will allow you to zoom in on the details you want to capture. It makes for some nice compositions. And if you don't get it right when you snap the picture, you have a second chance with your computer software to crop, enlarge, zoom, etc. Did I mention I love digital pictures?

The next time you have some free time on a trip try sitting in one spot a few minutes and look around you. Look for the details instead of the big picture. What story will your picture tell about the place you are visiting?

Before I leave the artsy part of this I have one more suggestion. When photographing people it is sometimes better to make the picture black and white. Black and white photography often tells a story more dramatically than color. Your eye goes to the story in the picture rather than the pretty colors. While cameras often allow that option when you snap the picture, I would suggest taking it in color and then playing with the black and white or even sepia color on your computer software.

Now go, capture, make something beautiful and tell the story. You can do it!

The Travel Photographer In Most Of Us - Recording The Culture

Every country has a culture of its own and even regions of a country will differ in cultural habits and traditions. These are great opportunities to learn and remember and share with others through pictures. What things give you the cultural flavor of where you visit?

People, their dress, their faces, their daily activity, their celebrations. 

It's not always easy to capture people unless they are actually performing for you on a tour or trying to sell you something like this beautiful little girl in Quito, Ecuador. I gave her a dollar and asked her mom if it was all right to photograph her. She nodded yes when she saw me gesture with my camera. After the picture, I bought several of those colorful scarves you see in the background. The hat, I think is significant of the region the ladies selling the scarves came from but I was never able to confirm that. Mom had on a green hat which leads me to believe that it either meant she was an adult or that she was a merchandiser.

I have been knows to hold the camera at my side or in front of me and click several times hoping to catch a picture of some of the colorful characters or quiet people who pass us by in some places where it wouldn't be possible to stop and ask. Whatever you do though, respect the people of that country by checking with your tour guide or concierge in the hotel to see if picture taking of locals is okay. In Dubai, we were asked specifically not to take pictures of people. I ended up taking pictures of some manikins who were modeling local clothing at a shop.


Homes are an expression of culture and condition.

I remember the first time I visited the Caribbean islands and saw some of the poor conditions of the homes. I had to chuckle though because no matter how ramshackle, they each had a beautifully carved mahogany wood door that would cost a fortune in the States.

In China we actually had the privilege of visiting the home of a farmer and got to see how sparsely they lived. The home was actually part of a small compound where his children lived as well. They were surrounded by fields of cotton and their yards were planted with vegetables which they used for food. It was in stark contrast to the homes we saw in the south of France and in Monaco--make that yachts in Monte Carlo.




Places of worship.

Churches, temples, mosques, etc. are all a reflection of the culture of the area as well. I was getting bored visiting so many churches in France until one guide explained that the reason they were so ornately decorated with stained glass and statues and frescoes and the like was because back in the day, that was the way history and Bible stories were taught.

In Dubai, we had the privilege of visiting a mosque and hearing about some of the practices of Muslim. The tour was led by two ladies from Great Britain who had married Muslim men and converted. It was all very interesting and certainly a great picture taking opportunity to capture the culture.

Transportation.

 From the high speed Autobahn in Germany to the bicycles in Amsterdam. Bullet trains in Japan to camels in Egypt. Transportation is usually quite mixed into the culture of the country. China had mostly bikes at one time but now bikes fight with car, truck and bus traffic in Beijing. Motorcycles are the main mode of transportation in Viet Nam and you see herds of them on the road.

The most unusual scene I captured however was when we were waiting for our tour bus to pick us up at a hotel in Egypt where we'd spent the afternoon. We were waiting under the canopy and suddenly realized a young man was galloping down the street on a camel in the midst of all the motorized traffic!

Vive La Difference!

That's probably not good French but how wonderful this world of ours is with such a diversity of people and cultures. If only we could learn to appreciate our differences instead of fight over them.

The Travel Photographer In Most Of Us - Capturing The Place

In all truthfulness capturing the place is my main objective when I have camera in hand. There is something very satisfying in framing pieces of what I see and capturing it for future viewing.

What is the history?

Many of the places we visit are quite historical. I live in a country whose history is relatively new when compared to Europe, the Baltic, or the Far East. The ruins of Rome were particularly amazing. At the Coliseum the most striking moment I captured was as we first entered and saw a cross in front of us. From there the story unfolded.

The outdoor shots are easier to capture than indoors mainly because of the condition and age of the artifacts you find in museums or places such as the palaces in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately too many people have not learned how to take pictures without a flash and have made it necessary for all the rest of us to replace the lens cap and just view with our eyes. If you are afforded the opportunity to take pictures of artifacts, be sure that you know how to turn off that flash. There is an off switch on smartphones and tablets too. The bright flashes of so many tourist cameras truly do fade colors and affect the preservation of these gems of history (as does reaching out and touching--another pet peeve but I digress).

Capture the facts.

I can not retain all the information that is given on a tour or even available to read as we explore places. Often I will take pictures of the commentary that is available on posted boards that explain what you are seeing or the history of the place where you stand. Later I can use my software to enlarge the pictures and gather the information I need or want to remember. I love digital photography!


Ah, the beauty!

Of course some places you visit simply because they are beautiful, scenic, amazing, spectacular, etc. A lot of that cannot be captured in pictures completely but at least a picture will remind you of it. Landscapes of immense size are often difficult to realistically portray. A good idea is to put something into the foreground that will give you a point of reference. The same is true for large objects. Try to get something into the picture that will help to show the size of the object.

If you are adept at some camera settings, take more than one shot and try some different settings. It will take a little more time sorting them out later but one of the group might give you a better color or shadowing or clarity. The professor of my photography class used to say "If it's worth one shot, it's worth six." And that was before digital! He was always telling us this day would come.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder is so true in photography. Do you have any tricks for capturing the places you visit?

The Travel Photographer In Most Of Us - Personal Documentation

Some people journal their travel adventures in a notebook. Some use their cameras or now their smartphones or tablets to capture the special moments. I do a little of both but probably more photography that writing. The pictures help me remember the trip a little better. I guess that's why they say "a picture is worth. . ." well, you know the rest.

Still, I like journaling a bit too. Pictures don't always capture the emotions I'm feeling about what I'm seeing. I've talked about journaling your travels through writing but today I'd like to offer some suggestions for the inner photographer in you.

I was there! Really. See?

There are those who need to show that they really were where they said they were. Those are the people who love the selfies or to have someone take a picture of them in the places they visit. We aren't like that although we do get the occasional portrait when it's a spectacular backdrop (we always need something for the Christmas card) or it's a major accomplishment like a climb up a huge pile of rocks to see a glacier.

Someone once offered to take our picture while we were on a tour and I laughingly said, "No thanks, we really don't want the kids to know where we're spending their inheritance." The guy turned a bit pink and walked away. By the time I realized he probably thought we weren't married and each had children whom we didn't want to know we were together, he was gone.

Trusting strangers with your equipment.

Before I go any farther, remember to not hand your camera, phone or tablet to strangers unless you can run really fast and tackle hard. Trust a tour guide or another person on your tour if you need some help. If you're single, selfies are the way to go. Practice taking good ones. You can even get an "arm extender" for most small cameras or phones. It's a stick that adds a couple feet to your reach for that selfie. Search online and I'm sure you'll find them.

What's in a background?

While standing in front of a sign certainly shows location, it can't be nearly as nice as the place you are visiting. Would you just go and see the sign without seeing what it represents? Instead find an iconic spot and use that as your background for the personal portrait. And instead of having your travel companion or yourself just standing still, try a little action. Maybe smell a flower, touch a rock, strike a contemplative pose.

Now there are places where you just gotta have fun. The leaning tower of Pisa is one. While we visited the area, we suddenly noticed all these people standing on the grassy grounds with their hands in the air to one side of their bodies. It took a moment to realize they were posing as though they were holding up the leaning tower.

Centering on your subject.

Remember that while you are documenting your presence in a certain spot, you also want to make that spot important in your picture. Offset your personal subject to one side or the other so that the viewer of your picture can actually tell what a wonderful place it was that you visited.

The people you meet.

There are often great local people you meet along the way in your travels and that's also a nice way to make your personal documentation. There is a shot I wish I could go back and take. I missed an opportunity in Turkey to get a shot of Bob with one of the locals who was sitting outside his shop and had asked us if we were German or American. Bob engaged him in conversation and it was one of the highlights of our visit to that city. I was so enamored with the conversation that I forgot to put the camera to my eye and take a shot.

Well, I could go on I suppose but I'm sure there are some ideas you have about taking pictures of you and your travel companions. What do you line up in your viewer?

Creative Travel Journaling - The Journal

We've been looking into travel journaling for a time now and hopefully you've done some homework and have tried some of the things I suggested. Once you have collected your notes, your pictures, all the things you want to keep as memories you need--the journal!

There are lots of ways to compile all these things. If you only want a written version of your travel adventure, you could buy a nice journal with blank pages, a good pen and perhaps a box to store it in. If you like using a computer like I do (my handwriting is atrocious) you could simply use your word processing program to create a file for your travel entries. There are some fancier online journals that allow you to create and write to an online site that can be public or private. Try searching for "online journals" and you should find a few sites. The ones I did find were free. There is also some journaling software available. Again search for "journaling software" and you'll find it.

Blogging is an easy way to journal as well. Blogger.com is free and easy to set up and use. It will not be private but you can use it as a way to invite friends to see what you saw and read about your adventure. You can easily upload photos to the site and embed videos from YouTube. That would require a YouTube account as well but that's not difficult either. My blog evolved into my travel journal. . . well, one of my travel journals.

I love to make books. Could you tell? I'm a writer but I'm also a dabbler in photography. My favorite way to document our trips is through making a photo book. There are lots of sites: Shutterfly, Lulu, Picaboo, Snapfish, etc. My favorite and the one that I have had the best results with for a reasonable price is Shutterfly. The photo books are fun to assemble and allow you to add text so it can become a written as well as a photo journal. Here's one of my photo books:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Start your own Shutterfly Photo Book today.

Now stay with me. I want to put one more option out there for you. If you start a blog, there is also a way to have a photo book as well without assembling it yourself. Blog 2 Print will take whatever pages of your blog you designate and turn it into a written photo journal. They do a great job as well for a reasonable price.

And of course if you are a lover of scrapbooking, there is always that option.

Have I given you enough ideas? Have I missed a few? If so, leave me a comment and tell me what you do to keep your travel memories a treasure to be enjoyed.

Related posts:
Creative Travel Journaling - The View
                                        - The Tools
                                        - The Five Senses
                                        - Descriptive Language

Creative Travel Journaling - The Descriptive Language

A picture is worth a thousand words but a few well chosen words can paint the best pictures. Here are some tips I've picked up along the way to season your journal entries.

Beautiful is an over used word but is usually the first thing out of the mouth. Sometimes I find it most difficult to describe what I see because of the colors. One way to enhance your description is to think of colors in terms of food. Yup. It's something we can all relate to. A cherry red door. Ice blue water. Pink cotton candy sunset. Whipped cream clouds. Burnt toast bark/wood.

Like and as are great ways to give a reference for better description. The thunder came and went like a noisy car playing the bass too loud on its radio. The catfish felt as slippery as a wet slicker coated in mud.

Whenever you can, use action verbs in your journaling. Was and is are not as descriptive. The wind howled is a much stronger description than there was a strong wind. Mosquitoes feasted on my arms paints a better picture than there were a lot of mosquitoes. Remember my french bread? How about describing the sensation of smelling it like this: The fresh bread aroma floated around me, engulfing me in its enticement. Okay maybe a little over the top but you get the idea--a lot better than there was a smell of bread.

Adjectives and adverbs are okay but we can get a little too carried away with them. Again try to insert a good action verb or comparative phrase.

If you find yourself relying on or inserting a certain word too much in your writing, go back and try other ways to say the same thing or say it better. I have a problem with just and really. I have to glean what I write for those words and take them out. They really--oops, they don't add anything and weaken a good sentence.

Assignment: Take a walk through your neighborhood and practice describing things you see using action verbs and descriptive phrases for colors and textures, sounds, smells, etc. If you're lucky maybe a neighbor will invite you in for coffee and pie. Then you can practice describing tastes as well. Good luck!


Related posts:
Creative Travel Journaling - The View
                                        - The Tools
                                        - The Five Senses
                                        - The Journal

Creative Travel Journaling - The FIve Senses

Looking at that title may make you wonder about what the five senses have to do with journaling. Actually a whole lot! A picture may be worth a thousand words but it only goes so far in recording your travel experience. It may show what you see but it won't show what you smelled, tasted, felt, or heard (unless of course it's video in which case you may have some sound).

Too often we record only what we see and forget the other senses. I remember our river cruise through France. We awoke to find ourselves docked by the little town of Ville des Andelys. What I saw was something out of a Monet painting. Slightly foggy air muted the greens, reds, and blues around us like an Impressionist's painting. What I heard as we walked into the town was the quiet of the morning, a single bird calling, and the stirrings of a little town about to begin its day. What I felt was the fresh dew on my feet.

The memory that lingers strongest from that trip though was coming to a Y in the road and suddenly having the smell of fresh bread surround me. Across the street was the bakery. The baker was already at work making her baguettes for the morning business. You see in France most everyone buys a baguette and munches on it for breakfast. And what tastes better than fresh baked bread? Absolutely heavenly.

Use your senses, all of them, to explore and then record what you find. It will add depth to your journaling. Some smells (I'm thinking dirty barn) and tastes (mate-tea of Argentina) are pungent, revolting, or unappealing but they are still a part of your journey. Others like fresh bread, salty sea air, and the scent of pine (always reminds me of Canada) are important elements to include in your journal entries. There are pine trees in Australia that have the softest needles I have ever felt and the skin of a muddy catfish as it wiggles in your hand one of the more unpleasant sensations. The opera sampling we heard in China was enough to make you want to grind your teeth but it was a part of their culture. The cry of a howler monkey in the jungle of Belize sounded like an amplifier gone wild and for a moment that's what we thought it was, but what an awesome sound.

Assignment: Go to a fair, an amusement park, or zoo in your area and see how many ways you can describe your adventure other than just what you saw. Tune in with your other senses and see if you don't deepen your experience. Then try recording it in words as well as pictures.


Related posts:
Creative Travel Journaling - The View
                                        - The Tools
                                        - Descriptive Language
                                        - The Journal

Creative Travel Journaling - The Tools

An artist needs good brushes. A journal writer needs. . .Well, just what would you use? Pen and paper? Camera? Smart phone? iPad? Whatever you do, don't choose to rely on your memory. Your brain will be working overtime to process all that you are seeing and experiencing. When a computer has a problem with memory, you can always install another chip. Unfortunately that's not the case with the human brain. Therefore do take some type of recording tool with you as you tour and explore.

For me, recording on the go requires two tools--pen and paper and camera. I get a small notebook in which to record interesting tidbits I hear along the way. Background stuff. Things to spark more thought for later. Whenever there are free leaflets or brochures I pick them up and jot notes on them as well. Least you become a pack rat, be sure to glean what you need from these and discard before your suitcase becomes overweight for the trip home.

I probably use my camera as much to record information as I do to just take pictures. Whenever there is a display that describes what I am seeing, I take a picture of it to look at later. I can enlarge it on with my pictorial software or even on my camera by pushing the zoom button when it's in view mode. (Please don't tell me you are still using a film camera). I can glean the information I want and either delete the picture or save it for later. The advantage: I don't have to read it all standing there instead of enjoying the views around me--especially if it is in the hot sun or, perish the thought, the rain.

Now if you use a video camera, you might want to record your voice over the top of what you are shooting. More than likely though, it will only irritate your fellow travelers. Especially if you are talking while a tour guide is as well. Better to take notes and when you make your travel films if you need to narrate, do it then. There will be less of a monotone and you can add a lot more interesting facts and details.

My husband does have an iPad but we rarely use it to take pictures or keep notes. It's a bit bulky to have to tote along on a tour but if you don't have a travel computer and want to use a computerized device to journal on, that could be the way to go. There are even keypads that you can attach now to the iPad if you can't type fast enough on the touch screen.

Our iPhones work well when we don't want to carry the big camera or we just happen to be out somewhere and want to document something. If you are adept at typing on the touch screen, it's also a good place to keep notes.

While on the go, you want to use tools that will help you later to sit down and more fully record your travel adventure. As my husband always says, a job well done requires the right tool. But then he's usually off to the hardware store.

Assignment: Visit a local mall or shopping center and take along the tools you've chosen to help you record your observations. Take in the view. Zero in on some details and use your tools to record what you see. Later, write a journal entry as if you'd visited some exotic place on earth. A mall? Exotic? Sure, it's all in the perception.


Related posts:
Creative Travel Journaling - The View
                                        - The Five Senses
                                        - Descriptive Language
                                        - The Journal

Creative Travel Journaling - The View

 When anyone found out that I was an art teacher, I always got the response, "I can't draw a straight line." I always found it humorous since most art does not require straight lines. I am of the opinion however that everyone has some degree of creativity that can be nurtured and explored and used. If you love to journal about your travels and you feel that it needs a little spark, these next few posts might just be for you.

Whether it is in pictures or words, journaling expresses what we experience in the world around us. One of the first things I learned as an art student is that there is the big world and then there is the tiny world. By that I mean we look around us and see our collective surroundings, the big world. But if we zero in on details, we can find so much more, a slice of life, a new-to-me insect, plant, bird, etc., a glimpse into the past and so on.

Example: While on our visit to Leeds Castle in England.. The big picture was seeing the castle and going through the rooms. My travel journal for that day might read: Visited Leeds Castle. Lots of big rooms and history. Beautiful grounds and many waterfowl.

While that documents the visit, the smaller picture was in trying to get to the center of the maze and getting lost along the way time after time. The slice of life was seeing so many kids in the center getting there before us. Were they using GPS? Nope. Just arms and legs to climb over the hedges to get there faster. Kids are kids the world over.

Travel journaling does not involve just posing in front of Notre Dame and smiling for a picture, visiting the Great Wall to say you've been there, or even going to your local zoo to watch the animals. It involves making  contacts with people and places and yes, animals, that create wonder. Write down your impressions or even capture them on film: your new-found knowledge, what made you laugh, what made you cry, what made you want to linger or leave. Those are the memories you want to keep and even share.

Assingment: Sit or walk around your backyard and take in the big picture. Then narrow your observations down to one corner of the yard. Narrow it further to one small spot and examine it closely. See anything you didn't notice before? Now zoom in on a very small 6"X6" square of lawn or garden or bush or tree, etc. How would you describe what you see there? Have you made any new discoveries--right in your backyard?!

Related posts:
Creative Travel Journaling - The Tools
                                        - The Five Senses
                                        - Descriptive Language
                                        - The Journal