Christmas Memories

Part 6 of my 60T🖤60 Project began on November 19th and ended on December 23rd. (For more information about my 60T🖤60 project, go to my other blog My Life Is Like A Song) Seeing that end date, and knowing that sometimes, I sprint to a deadline to complete a mini-project; making Part 6 have a Christmas theme seemed the smartest thing to do. I didn't want to be focusing on a different theme the week before Christmas.

When our kids were young, I often felt rushed when Christmas came around. I procrastinate naturally, but with a family birthday in mid December, I would wait to get a tree or decorate until after we had celebrated the birthday. I had read or heard from parenting experts to ensure that a child gets to celebrate their birthday separately from the Christmas celebrations, and I accepted this advice by not letting our house become too Christmassy until after the birthday. 

I have to admit that in mid-November this year, I was not feeling cheerful or excited about Christmas coming. I was already feeling stressed, overwhelmed and not in a celebratory mood. 

Focusing my project on Christmas would force me to look at the positives and help to make Christmas more festive. Coincidentally, on the day that my project started, I attended a "Spill The Tea" event by Tea With Tracie where Brenda Jasmin was speaking about infusing more joy and less stress during the holidays. One of the activities was for us to determine what made us happy; our "Ho Ho Ho list" and what drained us or things we wanted to let go of; our "Ho Ho Heck No" list. It was perfect timing to start Part 6 of my 60T🖤60 Project. I wanted to focus on what I loved the most and let go of what I didn't.

Photos

My first activity was to gather past Christmas memories and create a Christmas-themed photobook. Looking back at happy times lifted my mood. I didn't complete it in time to order for Blurb's Black Friday sale so I decided to show it digitally to my family at Christmas before completing it, in case they had extra photos or memories they wanted to share to improve it. (That was the plan but it dien't work out the way I hoped).

Looking back at all our Christmas cards gave me the idea to display them on our "living frame". A few years ago, my husband took an old frame, removed the broken glass, and added wire with clips to hold photos. We rotate photos depending on seasons or celebrations. Normally at Christmas, we add photos taken at Christmas time, but I liked focusing on our Christmas cards or photos we sent with Christmas cards when I didn't order actual photo cards.

Last year I ordered snowball garlands. I thought the balls would be bigger than they ended up being when I received them. I was happy that one of them fit perfectly around our living frame to make it more festive.

Christmas Card

I wasn't sure whether to send Christmas cards this year, especially as more and more people are choosing to end the tradition. We didn't have a recent family photo; and we lost our dog this year. 

Working on my Christmas photobook and seeing our past Christmas cards, gave me the idea to have Christmas memories as a theme for the card. We had festive family photos over the years that we had never shared because they were taken at Christmas or New Year's; when our Christmas cards would have already been sent. I included a photo with our dog; a photo with the kids' partners. I included the new card in the living frame (top middle).  I wanted to let people know the news about our dog, so added the sad news in a fun rhyme.

Getting together and telling stories
Looking back at Christmas memories
Excited as we anticipate making more
Before we reach 2024

(couple of more private lines)
This year was sad saying goodbye to our pup
The house is sadly quieter but needs less cleanup

Festive decorating is coming along
We’ll enjoy our favourite Christmas movie or song
A dusting of snow sets the mood
Menus will mix classics with new found food

May your Christmas be spent with friends and family
On New Year’s Eve, pop the Bublé or bubbly
While making a wish upon a star
“Joy for our loved ones near and far”

Music

I love Christmas music and especially love new Christmas songs over traditional ones. I used to have CDs of our favourite Christmas songs, but with technology changes, when we switched from iTunes to Apple Music, I lost those playlists. This project encouraged me to search and add old and new Christmas songs in a playlist (almost 500 songs!) in order to create a top 20 favourite songs playlist.

I really enjoyed listening to my favourite songs during the holiday season. My in-laws arrived at Christmas with a CD we made for them in the late 1990's or early 2000's.

I found it interesting how different this list was to my current one.

Every year, I love playing Christmas songs on the piano. This year was extra fun trying to learn songs on the ukulele. I initially thought I'd learn the Hawaiian Song Mele Kalikimaka; but it ended up being too difficult for me, so I found a couple of easier ones to learn.

Last year I tried to compose a Christmas melody. I wondered what made a melody sound Christmassy if it didn't have Christmas lyrics. I found some chord progressions that are popular in Christmas songs but didn't compose anything I liked. I enjoyed trying again this year, but still no success. One of these years, I'll compose a Christmas melody I will love. I'm adding that to my wishlist like I did in 1996 when I added "to write a song I like" on my list of dreams.

Movies

Last year, our daughter wrote a list of movies and shows to watch and put it on the fridge. I stored it with the Christmas decorations to continue the tradition. With a little research, I created a new list that we kept on the fridge this eyar. This helped in the decision-making process. We didn't need to keep searching streaming apps to figure out what to watch since I already did that to compile the list. When we watched one, we'd colour the bullet. I stored the list with the decorations again this year to be reminded to continue to complete watching it; or to re-print an updated list.

Gifts

Shopping for me is often stressful because I don't like buying something for the sake of buying something, but this year, I found meaningful gifts and had lots of help from my daughter that made me happy with the gifts I was giving.

Sometimes I also feel that if we are feeling happier, we are open to seeing clues for what we are looking for. In contrast, if we are feeling negative, clues pass us by without us noticing. I like to think that my improved mentality helped for me to find great ideas for gifts.

For many years, our kids decorated a gingerbread house during the holidays. 

I serendipitously found a gingerbread house that included the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, and downtown Toronto. I thought it would be a fun Christmas time activity for us to build it.

Food

While making the photobook, seeing photos of treats and foods we love at Christmas time helped me plan better and get the ingredients I needed early. I made favourites like tourtière (French Canadian meatpie) and sweetheart cookies (jam thumbprint cookies sometimes with marshmallows). 

Instead of my traditional shortbread recipe, I tried a new sugar cookie recipe cut in hearts and snowflakes  that turned out great (forgot to take a photo). A newer tradition is to make scones with cream. This year, our daughter found a bakery that sold homemade scones and traditional British clotted cream with homemade butter.

My French-Canadian heritage, mixed with my husband's British heritage, adds up to delicious treats.

When I first spent Christmas with my husband's family, they introduced me to a British tradition called Christmas crackers. Two people hold a cracker until it pops to reveal a paper crown/hat, a toy and a joke. When I popped mine, I felt a little disappointed at first by the yellow crown (instead of my favorite purple), but I was thrilled to find a heart keychain, just like the one I got last year. What a coincidence! (I love hearts in case you haven't been a regular reader of my blog)

Looking back at photos reminded me how much I love seeing Christmas lights around the city. I had hoped to visit the Eaton Centre, Nathan Phillips Square, the Distillery District or Inglewood "Kringlewood" Drive lined with giant inflatable Santas; like we had in the past or the new Illumi light festival in Mississauga, but I ended up not in the mood with the rainy weather. 

Even if I focused on Christmas Memories to help make Christmas more festive and meaningful, plans don't always go as we hope. With COVID visiting our family, and us not being all together, the gingerbread pieces and royal icing ended up in the freezer. My Christmas-themed photobook was saved for next year.

It's a good reminder that life is filled with ups and downs. Everything isn't always perfect, but we can make the best of what is presented to us.

This reminds me of a great quote: "Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out." 

Letting Go of Books

I started this blog post last October but didn't finish it. As I am decluttering more books this weekend, I thought I'd see if I could finish it and maybe add some insight that I didn't have at that time.

As I go through my bookcases, which were overflowing into boxes, the criteria I'm using is whether I:

Let Go

• a book that is easily accessible in the future - so a classic that won't disappear
• a book I loved but will not want to re-read. Whether it's too sad or an interest that isn't one anymore
• useful info that I keep reading and re-reading about - decluttering, productivity, procrastination...how many of these do I need and will I re-read them? 
• informative books that I made summary notes from
• books I wished I wanted to read
• books I wished my kids wanted to read

Keep

• a book about a passion, like travel - I will continue to want to travel, so I love keeping my travel books; especially if I wrote notes in them
• useful info I will want in the future - like my favourite parenting books I'll want to refer to when I'm a grandmother
• rare books like my hometown books that can't be repurchased
• books that may inspire a new idea some day...

 "A Clearing Realization: 

There were books that I didn’t need few years ago but had an intuition to keep.  

for example today .. I had the urge to take few books from my library, and put them together, magically out of nowhere, they spurred a spark of inspiration for a new project for my next book. Suddenly I realized why I kept them. 

The same goes to some pieces of clothes, that may not fit together with my wardrobe at a previous stage. But now after many clearing processes for my wardrobe, it fit perfectly well. 

Listen to your intuition and inspiration when you are clearing. Feel the spark and the inspiration that few items give you, still don’t have logical reason why. Trust your inspiration."

*******

That's what I wrote in October. The last quote is probably from the book Simple Abundance. It sounds like that author. I'm disappointed that I didn't reference it in my draft. I will add the reference when I find it.

As I continued to declutter my books in the past few days, I find it interesting to not have listened to my previous advice.

For example, I got rid of travel books!!! 😲 

I am wanting to create more and more space in my house and I realized that I don't need to keep so many books. I took a photo of the notes insde my travel books - and luckily I wrote notes at the back of the book and not throughout so the notes are saved and the book can be enjoyed by someone else.

Last fall I kept this book. 

It's not easy to find. It's no longer available at Indigo. The author came to our Moms' group and she signed my copy. I scanned the cover and her signature. I would love for someone else to read this book and enjoy it like I did, rather than it sit on my shelf because I met her and she signed it. The photo will remind me in case I want to re-read it in a decade or two. It is available at the library and maybe will return to the book store.

Another book I was keeping was because it was a gift from my husband. I love the film and loved the book. Why not share the love. Why keep an amazing book on my shelf unread for years (obviously I had read it, but then it was sitting there being unread).

Although I scanned the note, I cut out the page and filed it in my chronological Memories folder. Maybe that's a better place for the note than inside the book.

I had been keeping books for decades having read them. Do we keep them to show how "smart" we are and to show that we read all these books. I have lived in this house for almost 25 years. It's not getting any bigger. I also feel that sharing a book shares the knowledge, passion and love. That has been a big mindshift for me. As the years pass and my love of reading continues, I shouldn't keep all the books I read - even if I love them and even if they have memories. 

The memories are not in the physical books. The memories are in my mind and in my heart.

Present Memories

When I think about memories making me happy, I am thinking about the present. How am I feeling today? Does that memory add something to the present or is it stuck in the past?

When I was choosing my word for 2022, present memories was one of the reasons why I chose the word present.

Just looking at our photos or remembering moments can bring happiness to today. I love that! Looking back at happy memories makes me happy in the present.

I went a step further when we revisited our old apartment and wedding reception hall on our anniversary a couple of years ago. Upon reflection, I am recognizing that the new memories felt different for our apartment and wedding reception hall.

First, we went inside our old condo building that I absolutely love. It's one of my favourite buildings in Toronto. I love flat iron buildings and having actually lived in one when we first moved to Toronto was amazing. 

When we got engaged, we went up to the roof to take photos so we wanted to recreate that moment on this anniversary. The photo of me has the revolving restaurant at the top of the Westin Harbour Castle in the background - where my husband proposed.

We also wanted to see the changed skyscape with all the new buildings. In 2010, while walking from Lake Ontario to our house in midtown, I stopped and went up to the roof to reminisce and see the view. You can read that blog post here. 

We thought it would be fun to see the views from the 1990's, 2010 and 2019. I LOVE the CN Tower and always marvel when I see it, so seeing it from our old building once again was extra special. The photo below of me is from 2010. The 2019 photo on the right is my husband taking a photo with the new L Tower. 

Next, we walked in to the Novotel next door where we had our wedding reception.  The front desk area had changed, but we remembered the old front desk where we stood for what seemed like an hour while they tried to find our reservation. With an early morning flight for our honeymoon, we had gone home to change into our "going away outfits" and brought our luggage to be sent to our room before we returned to our recption.  Not the happiest moment to be reminded of.

From the lobby we climbed the curved staircase to the reception hall which was locked. We looked out the hallway glass door to see the patio where some people may have gone out to cool down but I don't remember going out there for long. I tried to conjure up warm or happy feelings. Of course, I'm happy that we got married and had a great reception there, but seeing it on this day didn't add any value to those memories.

The reception hall didn't have a great view like the condo rooftop did. It also reminded us of a bad experience. Sometimes, bad experiences happen for a reason and it turns out for the better or becomes a funny story, but this one didn't really have that. I love the memories and photos I have of our wedding dinner and reception, but maybe the location itself isn't that important. 

During my Revive55 Project, I was trying to "revive" memories, but sometimes, some memories are just that. Moments in time to treasure. Keep what you love and let go of what you don't.

Enjoying Memories One Day At A Time

What a difference a year makes. February 12th is special to me because it's the anniversary of the Opening Ceremony I attended at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics (and the 10th anniversary celebration I attended last year). It was a childhood dream come true. This message isn't about that experience. 

My point today is to use these types of "anniversaries" to enjoy our memories. I find that looking back at my memories brings happiness to my days and it brings me hope for the future. Looking back at past memories is making happy memories today. It helps me to look forward to making more memories.

I love making photo albums, blogging and am now starting to vlog. Those are my hobbies and my passions but they're not needed to enjoy our memories.

I have often heard from friends that they want to make photo albums but don't have time or don't make the time. Is it possible that it's because they don't enjoy it or they don't prioritize it? 

I may love knitted sweaters but don't necessarily want to knit a sweater.  Some people may love having photo albums (or the idea of having photos albums) but may not want to take the time to make them. Making the album is a chore to them - and maybe there are chores we do that we hate doing but we like it when it's done. Maybe the consequence of those chores not being done is a lot worse than the consequence of a photo album not done. Undone albums don't smell or take up counter or floor space.

Everyone can enjoy their photos and their memories if they want to. Before my Revive55 Project, I believed that the way to do that was by making photo albums and video compilations. I thought it was about taking mementos out of their boxes and enjoying them. 

I thought I would want to inspire others to do what I wanted to do. I realized though that I want to inspire people to enjoy their memories whether they want the hobby of album-making or not. I want to inspire people to remember the moments that matter to them. 

I know people who don't even want to go look at their digital photo collection because they find it overwhelming so they just put their heads in the sand and think that some day they will sit down and get it all organized.

They think that some day, they will make time for photo albums or photobooks. But why? You don't need photo albums to enjoy your photos. You don't need photo albums to relive your memories. Technology is making our memory keeping a lot easier. I'll write about using technology for instant memory enjoyment in future posts.

One way to start to better enjoy your memories is to notice when we are reminded of past moments. 

Today and this weekend, I will have a mini-celebration to remember my Olympics memories. I'll wear my Olympic t-shirts, look at my photos and videos, take out my Olympics mementos box and watch some of the Opening Ceremony that is on YouTube. 

On Sunday, Valentine's Day, I will look back at past Valentine's Days. I have a box of greeting cards. I decluttered them during my Revive55 Project, but hadn't decided how to organize the ones I wanted to keep. This weekend, I will separate the Valentine ones to enjoy every year on February 14. 

I may use that same idea to organize our anniversary cards or my birthday cards. We don't receive as many cards in the mail anymore so it will be fun to read cards from previous years. That's a lot better than them sitting in a box. But that's me. Memories is my hobby so I want to spend time on them. But you don't have to. Memories may be important to you but you aren't interested in the time-consuming hobby of memory-keeping and preserving.

My Olympics memories are major ones for me so I spend a lot of time on them, but there are SO many smaller ones that I want to enjoy.

I have to admit that I am overwhelmed by my photo collection. Although I keep working at it, and want to purge, organize and create projects; the way I will do that in the future is to focus on these anniversary memories. I'll use these reminders as nudges to take a small step forward.

Besides obvious anniversary events, we are often reminded of other memories - and the "anniversary" may not necessarily be a date on the calendar. We might:

• see a movie set in a place we've visited
• read a book that reminds us of a childhood memory
• see a news article that reminds us of an event we attended
• hear a song that reminds us of a concert
• see someone that reminds us of a friend
• read a newsletter or blog that reminds us of something we're happy to remember

When I am reminded of a memory, I will find the photos if there are any, tell the story or just daydream of that time. While I'm in the photos, I'll delete less important ones and "heart" (star) more important ones.

For example, recently, it was the anniversary of my cousin's death in 2018. When I went to his funeral in Fredericton, afterwards, I took a day trip to Saint John to see the tide come in then go out at the Reversing Falls. I had taken photos and videos but had not looked at them since so I took the time to remember my cousin and my trip to his province. I looked back at my photos and made a video compilation of the Reversing Falls like I had meant to do when I took them - and because that's my hobby and passion. You can see the video on my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/suze20to.

Enjoying our memories can be as simple as remembering or reflecting, sharing a story or looking at photos or videos. So if you don't enjoy making photo albums or creating projects, don't feel guilty but find other ways to enjoy your memories. Let go of "some day I'll organize my photo collection" and enjoy little bits one day at a time. 

Although I love taking time to create memories-themed projects and celebrations, I don't have enough time to capture all my memories in this way so I am finding quick ways to enjoy the other ones. I hope I'll inspire you to do the same.

Scenic Route Part Two

Don't worry about a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright

Singin' don't worry about a thing

'Cause every little thing gonna be alright

(Three Little Birds by Bob Marley)

I finished the second part of my Scenic Route video. If you haven't seen the first part, you can watch it by clicking here.  My original blog post from 2018 can be found here.

I created the first part using iMovie which is pretty easy to learn but it has its limitations. I used Final Cut Pro to make the second part. I have to admit that it took me a lot longer to do it but I will want to continue to use Final Cut Pro.

I will have to learn how to use it better however. When I started to create my next video, I actually started it in iMovie figuring I could just make it quicker. It was a simpler video so I figured I didn't need the extra features in Final Cut Pro. I'm in the process of making a how-to video where I show how I make a highlight video from a few clips. It's not that difficult to do if you're interested in enjoying your videos more.

The first part of the Scenic Route video included a lot of written passages. I was thinking at the time to have the video read more like a book that included video and audio clips but the second part doesn't include as many written passages.  When I recorded the story, it just seemed more interesting to me to hear the story told than to read it. I was surprised how much emotion came up when I told the story to a camera.

After showing the first part I made with my iPhone to my husband, he told me that the video quality would be much better with his Fuji XT-4 camera and external microphone. We now have them set up on a tripod ready to video whenever we want. Even my untrained eye and ear can tell the difference in quality between the two recordings.

Unfortunately, the heater in my study was on while I recorded the video for part 2. I was bummed because I didn't think I could re-record the video with as much genuine emotion. I told the story on the recording for the first time in a while, so it was fresh and I felt what I was saying. I'm not an actor so I didn't think I could recreate it as well if I re-recorded it.

My husband showed me how to get rid of the humming using Final Cut Pro. I really need to learn how to use it better because it's amazing!! iMovie have noise reduction but it's not as precise as Final Cut Pro. The sound isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than it originally was. Someone more experienced could also have improved it more but I'm happy with the lack of experience I have.

Here is Scenic Route Part Two. Hope you enjoy it. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more videos and/or subscribe to my blog to read more posts. (click on the icon below my photo on the right column)

They Are More Beautiful If They Are Few

In my last post, I wrote about collecting more and more photos and memories during the months leading to our eldest leaving home for university and during a trip to Quebec for his last March Break. 

Luckily, we managed to have another family trip that summer driving along Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. I tried to remember every detail of this "last" trip together. I collected rocks from every beach we went to. I took photos of the rocks and separated them so that I could remember wich ones were from where. 

The rocks remind me of a special time. One of my favourite photos is the photo I took of my husband taking a photo of our kids skipping rock. Of course, his photo is a better photograph, but I love the moment that I captured.

The rocks were a memento of our time on the beach but not every beach we stopped at was special on this day. The one that 'took our breath away' in relation to the rocks was Big Bay; "The Stone Skipping capital of Canada.

But like I would later read,

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few. " Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Or in my case that day, one cannot collect all the beautiful rocks on the beach.

I would also add that although a few are beautiful, the collection as a whole on the beach are most beautiful.

I still haven't done anything with my rock collection. They are in a beautiful box but not being enjoyed or remembered.

Before learning this recent lesson, I continued to collect more and more memories. I took lots of photos and collected more and more mementos.

Last year, I started the Revive55 Project with the goal of preserving all these moments I had been collecting. How could I better remember and enjoy all these memories? During my project though, I read this shell quote and took an uncluttering course which changed my opinion.

While writing about collecting shells in Gift From The Sea, Anne Morrow Lindberg reflects:

"I couldn't even walk head up looking out to sea, for fear of missing something precious at my feet. The collector walks with blinders on; he sees nothing but the prize."

"In fact, the acquisitive instinct is incompatible with true appreciation of beauty." 

"For it is only framed in space that beauty blooms."

I may not need a box full of rocks to remember this holiday, but one (or a few) special ones from this beach. 

Even our kids were looking at their feet and found precious rocks, like this heart-shaped one because they know I love hearts. This rock "framed in space" in my daughter's hands is the most special.

As beautiful as the lake or the sky is, I do have to admit that the rocks are the precious part of this beach.

Although I have read this idea of less is more in various places, and appreciate its message; I still struggle with getting rid of things. During my Revive55 Project, I did select the most precious from some of my possessions. I have gotten rid of some of the least special but there is still more decluttering and deleting to be done.

To help, I have accepted that I need an 'in-between' phase. I am putting more in storage to see what I miss and want to better appreciate and what I am ready to let go of, even if I still like them. That's the challenge with decluttering mementos. We kept them because they mattered but as the years and moments accumulate, our space isn't big enough to keep the growing collection. Perhaps as time passes, our memory of the item will diminish so it will be easier to let go.

As I see my precious keepsakes surrounded by space rather than cluttered with others, it gives me more motivation to continue to make more space.

Memories Bliss Point

When my eldest was in his last year of high school, it hit me. It was New Year's Eve and I looked at the New Year, not with my usual excitement and hope for the future but the beginning of the end.  This was the year when our family of 4 living together would end.

Was this our last New Year's Eve celebration together?

I wished I could stop time, but I couldn't, so I wiped away the tears and enjoyed what could have been our last New Year's celebration, but luckily there would be more.

With the end in sight, we went on a road trip to Quebec City, Mont Trembland and Montreal for the last March Break. I cherished this trip and wondered if it would be our last family trip. I continued collecting more and more mementos and taking more and more photos. Fast forward a few years and a few more "last" family trips and as the collection grew, it became more overwhelming to organize it all. 

I have been researching memories and nostalgia, to better understand why we remember some things and not others. I began the Revive55 Project in order to preserve my memories and hopefully remember more but are more memories better? Is there a bliss point when it comes to memories? What is the perfect balance of enough memories so that they are optimally enjoyed but not too many so that they are lost in the clutter?

Each one of us has our own bliss point. For some of us, experiencing the moment is our bliss point; for others taking photos and enjoying them is what we love. While others want to document the stories by writing or recording them.

In my last post "Time is the Most Unforgiving of Fires"  I wrote: 

We remember our memories better when we relive them. 

We can remember them in our mind, look at our photos and/or read the stories we have written. We can prevent our memories from fading with time by reliving them.

Undocumented Stories

I wrote a blog post on my personal blog My Life Is Like A Song about Black Lives Matter where I share what has resonated with me on the topic. You can read my full blog post by clicking here.

I shared an article that I saw on the CBC website about the University of Western Ontario professor Philippe Rushton that reminded me of my university days.

"Rushton was a psychology professor [whose] work was widely criticized as racist as he attempted to draw conclusions between race and intelligence, fuelling beliefs that white people were genetically superior to Black people."  Click here to read the full article.

Our student newspaper at the University of Waterloo asked a question every week and printed the answers they received. I remembered being asked about Rushton's research and searched online to find this newspaper clipping.

Here's my (zoomed in) response:

Do you have memories with no documentation? 

During my Revive55 Project, I went through my memory boxes. I found a different "Campus Question" newspaper clipping that I was in and remembered this one as well, but I didn't have a clipping for this one. Reflecting back, what are the chances that I was featured in two "Campus Questions"? Hanging out at the Campus Centre where the newspaper office was probably helped.

This controversy with the university professor's research may be especially memorable to me because I was doing research in the Chemical Engineering Department so I was very interested in the methodology that this professor was presenting for his findings. When the reporter asked me if I wanted to share my thoughts on it, I wasn't shy to share my opinion.

Which brings me back to the idea of our memories. I was telling my daughter my memory of the campus question but did wonder, 'am I remembering this right?' 'am I embellishing it?'

When we don't have documentation for moments in our lives, we have a few options.

In this case, I was lucky to find the newspaper clipping online. Our university newspapers have been scanned. Last year, I went through many of them, trying to find this clipping.  Although I didn't find it at the time, I found other meaningful moments from concerts or other events that I was happy to be reminded of.

Telling stories helps us remember. I have often told the story of the days when I started dating my husband so we remember some of the details, but we don't have photos or specific mementos. We luckily have a photo of us from around that time period - we think before we were actually dating. But without cell phones, many of these earlier moments are not photographed.

I am taking a course called Tiny Story Society. This month's challenge was to photograph a story that isn't documented. We were asked to first document the story from memory to tell or write the story the way we remember it.

This week I was driving my daughter to Waterloo where I met my husband, so I took the time to go on campus and photograph the place where we watched a movie the night before our first official date. COVID-19 days made for an unusual photo with an empty hall that would normally be full of students lounging in chairs, walking or standing around.

I also went to the bar where I first saw him and we went for our first date.

Memories of lining up on this ramp, and watching people leave are so memorable.

Although this venue is no longer a bar, it was the venue for the open house our daughter attended while trying to decide on her university choice. My husband took a photo that day as we remembered the stage I was sitting on when I first saw him; the DJ booth where we'd make song requests and the dance floor where we spent hours enjoying our favourite songs.

Sometimes, actually going to the place isn't possible but there are other ways to bring those memories back to life.

What story do you want to capture?

Leap Day Memories 2020

Tomorrow is February 29th. Leap Day!

Do you have memories on this day? I don't remember anything specific from my past leap days. I remember that a friend of a friend has her birthday on that day. I have watched the movie Leap Year but can't remember if I did on Leap Day.

I look forward to opening my TimeHop app tomorrow to see what photos I took and tweets or Facebook messages I posted on this day.

Special days give us the opportunity to make memories.

By chance I am flying to Hawaii on the 29th this year. Leap Days will have special meaning to me in the future, but only if I make a conscious choice to remember the date that I flew to Hawaii. I don't remember the date that I flew to many other destinations. It's not something that we remember if it's just another date.

To make a date memorable, we need to celebrate it. To mark it as a special day. We want to involve all our senses so I hope that it's true that the smells in Hawaii are unforgettable. I will hopefully have a Mai Tai (or other special cocktail) upon arrival rather than my regular glass of wine. I will see if I can download Leap Year to watch on the plane on the way there.

I will add an event in my calendar for the next Leap Year to have a Mai Tai, put on a flowery dress and celebrate the day we went to Hawaii for the first time.

Before I knew that I was going to Hawaii, I had planned to try to make February 29th memorable. As part of my Revive55 Project, I want to re-create past memories and create new ones. We don't have to go on holiday to create special memories.

If you have past Leap Day memories, are they worth repeating or re-creating?

If you don't have past Leap Day memories, create something new and special. Is there a place in your city or town where you are that you've always wanted to go but haven't? Make it a Leap Day tradition.

Is there a restaurant or activity you love but it's too extravagant to do every year? Do it every 4 years!

Is there a tourist attraction that going every year is too often for you? Because it's there and you could go anytime, maybe time passes and you don't go? I'm thinking of the CN Tower as an example. The majority of people in Toronto probably haven't been up the CN Tower in the last decade. It's a great idea as a Leap Year experience and since it's not very often, splurge by having a drink or meal. Order something different so that it's even more memorable.

If you'd rather enjoy the day at home, try a new recipe, use your good china and crystal, watch Leap Year if you like romantic comedies or do something else memorable.

According to an Irish legend, St. Brigid struck a deal with St. Patrick to allow women to propose to men on Leap Day. This is believed to have been to balance the traditional roles of men and women like how leap day balances the calendar.

As a new tradition, you could find a new Irish recipe or find an Irish pub to celebrate.

Whether you choose to celebrate Leap Day or not, I hope you enjoyed the second month of 2020.

2020 Memories of the 2010 Olympics

To help keep our memories alive, it helps to relive them by looking at photos and videos or retelling the stories of those times. Experiencing the moments again is another way to keep them alive.

At the end of the year when I was looking back at 2019 and the 2010's, I looked back at the end of 2009. What was my life like then? Could I have imagined everything that happened in the 2010's? This reminded me that in December 2009, I was about to have my experience of a lifetime attending the Opening Ceremony and Men's Moguls for the 2010 Olympics.

That experience was so magical that I enjoyed thinking back to the person who didn't know how great it was going to be.

That's when I had an aha moment. In two months, it would be the 10th anniversary of the Vancouver Games. I have been saying since then that I want to go to Whistler who co-hosted the Games. How has ten years passed already?

Before we had kids, my husband and I used to go skiing in Whistler every year. I loved it so much there. The skiing was incredible and the village was amazing. I would have loved to go to Whistler during the Olympics but it was not meant to be.

Since then, I have had many friends post on social media or send me photos of Olympic rings when they went to Whistler. I loved the photos and hoped that some day I would go back to Whistler, ski my favourite runs, enjoy the village and see the Olympic rings!!

That aha moment I had was to use the 10th anniversary of the Games and combine a Vancouver reminiscing stopover with a Whistler ski trip.

We booked our trip to arrive on the eve of the Opening Ceremony anniversary day. There have been times that the Olympic cauldron has been lit for special occasions in the last decade. I hoped they would light it for the 10th anniversary but was doubtful that they would on a Wednesday. With family day weekend a few days later, I thought they may do it then.

It didn't matter though. I wanted to go celebrate my personal 10th anniversary experience. I wanted to see the cauldron even without the flame. I had not seen it without the flame although friends had sent me photos of it when they visited it. I wanted to see the hotel where I stayed even if we decided to stay elsewhere. I wanted to go to Cypress Mountain where the moguls event had taken place.

A month before our trip, I saw news that they were having anniversary celebrations the weekend after family day weekend. I was initially a little disappointed but realized that even if I had known that before booking my trip, I wanted to be there the day of the Opening Ceremony on February 12th, not ten days later. It wouldn't have changed my plans.

A couple of days before our departure, I saw the news that they would light the cauldron the morning that we would be there. I screamed in that moment, running to my husband to tell him the news. I couldn't believe it. On a Wednesday morning, for two hours, the cauldron would be lit!!

We had a late night flight arriving at 10pm, so I was just hoping that there wouldn't be any delays and there weren't. Lucky us!!

The next morning, I was happy to just grab a quick bite, but my husband wanted a nicer breakfast. He googled places between our hotel and the cauldron and found one that he liked. As we walked closer, I see a sign for the hotel I stayed in after the men's moguls. What a view with the harbour in the background! I had not been to this side of the hotel so I didn't initially recognize it as my 2010 hotel.

My husband didn't realize it at the time, but he chose a restaurant that was inside that hotel. Afterwards, we walked through the lobby to the front desk where I pretended I was checking in like I did 10 years ago.

Walking through the hotel brought back such amazing memories.

There were two cauldrons in 2010. One inside the Opening Ceremony venue and one near the harbour where it is today. Wayne Gretzky left the ceremony and rode in a truck to get to the outdoor cauldron to light it. After the ceremony, I rushed to catch a bus to get to the midnight ferry to Victoria. I didn't see the outdoor cauldron until I saw it broadcast on the ferry.

When I returned to Vancouver a couple of days later for the Men's Moguls, I was ecstatic to see the cauldron lit even if we couldn't get close to it because of the fence that surrounded it.

I was still able to take amazing photos of it through the fence, just not with me in them.

Another memory from 10 years ago was my friend lending me his Olympic torch for the night. He had run in the relay a few days before and knowing how much I love the Olympics, lent it to me.

Someone said that I look like a kid in a candy store in this photo. At this moment in time, this is as close to my Olympic dream that I think I'm going to get. I didn't have Olympic tickets yet and no plans to go.

I'm sharing both photos to show the difference ten years makes. Back in Vancouver on the 10th anniversary, there were torch relay runners and volunteers who attended the lighting ceremony. One of the runners lent me his torch for a photo. I'm a lot closer to the cauldron this time. We could feel the heat from the flames as we stood nearby.

I had tears in my eyes as the song "I Believe" from 2010 played on the loud speakers before O Canada when they lit the cauldron. I am so happy that I went back and got to re-create past memories and create new ones with my husband who wasn't there in 2010.

Our reminiscing tour continued to Cypress Mountain where Alexandre Bilodeau won the first gold medal for Canada on home soil. And I was there!! I still have to pinch myself to believe my experience.

The moguls run looked quite different in 2020. The base of the run is a parking lot. The moguls, aerial jump, stands and lights are gone. 

I was still happy to see it and create new memories by posing by the first Olympic rings I would see on my trip and having a great lunch in the chalet that was reserved for athletes, coaches and entourage in 2010 and now display mementos from the Games.

If you want to read more about my 2010 Olympic experience, you can read my blog posts by clicking:

• here for Men's Moguls
• here for Opening Ceremony
• here for pre-Opening Ceremony

Thank you for reading.

Chasing dreams...capturing memories.

Passport Stamps Journal

I found this great travel journal that has passport stamps on the cover.

It gave me the idea to scan my old passports, cut out the stamps and tape them into the journal. I also want to write some details and memorable moments from our trips.

For years I had said that I had set foot in all Canadian provinces (not territories) but lately I had been doubting my story that we landed in Newfoundland when I was questioned once. Why would we land in Newfoundland? Where was I coming back from?

While looking at my passports, I got my answer. On our way back from England in 1995, we went through customs in St. John's, Newfoundland. I didn't dream it.

I love how some customs agents are meticulous in matching the outbound stamp with the inbound stamp like they did on the right side of this page, while others stamp over previous stamps.

What amazing memories to go back through the passports, even if it is just to look at them. I also like the idea of writing memories in the passport itself once they've expired.

I do have a few pages that are disorganized though so I'm happier with mine to separate the entries and scan a page twice when stamps overlap and are from different years.

Looking through, I'm also noticing that there are trips without stamps. I figured it was worth adding mention of them so that the travel journal was complete. I will hopefully find a little memento of the trip to include.

I am reflecting on the finished product before taping the scans in. Should I organize them chronologically or geographically or by type of trip (family, couple, business)? I have placed them chronologically to see how full it becomes. Even with skipping pages for missed stamps and leaving space for writing, the journal is less than half full. Continuing chronologically with future trips would be easy to add new stamps.

If I choose to organize them geographically, it would mean leaving pages blank for future trips after each geographic region. I'm not sure how I feel about empty pages between filled pages.

I like the geographic-themed journal if I had enough stamps to fill the journal but maybe I'll decide to go chronologically. If you have an idea or opinion, I'd love to hear it.

I bought the journal at The Papery at Yonge and St. Clair. It used to be my favourite store when I lived in the neighbourhood. We recently went back to this neighbourhood to reminisce and create new memories.