Personal History Prompt Jar

~What could you see from your childhood bedroom window?

~What did you do, as a child, that got you in big trouble?

~Do you remember a favorite nursery rhyme?

~Have you ever gone fishing?

These are just a few of the personal history prompts that we’ve folded up mysteriously and sealed into a class jar. Someone you love–grandma, grampa, mom, dad–then, chooses one question each day to trigger a slew of childhood memories. It doesn’t matter so much if they write them down in a formal journal or a simple spiral notebook, as long as they start putting it on paper…for the rest of us to enjoy.

Probably the number one reason people hesitate to begin a journal or personal history in the first place, is because they have no idea where to start. So what better gift to give them than a box or bag or–in our case–a cleaned candle jar–of daily prompts with intriguing questions that will actually be fun to write about. If they answer only one question per day–in six months they will have quite an impressive history. And who knows? That history may just be their Christmas present to you–next year!

Instructions:

Click on the link below to make your own copy of the prompts. Print them on white or colored paper–or both. Cut them into strips. Fold them and store them in a bottle or box. Tie a ribbon around it–and there you have it. A family heirloom in the making. Oh, and adding a pretty pen and notebook or journal is a nice touch too.

 

 

Click the following link:

Personal History Prompts

{ The True Spirit of Christmas }

“If you desire to find the true spirit of Christmas and partake of the sweetness of it, let me make this suggestion to you. During the hurry of the festive occasion of this Christmas season, find time to turn your heart to God. Perhaps in the quiet hours, and in a quiet place, and on your knees—alone or with loved ones—give thanks for the good things that have come to you, and ask that His Spirit might dwell in you as you earnestly strive to serve Him and keep His commandments”

Howard W. Hunter

Happy Thanksgiving!!

ThanksgivingWe here at Gracious Rain hope you have the happiest of Thanksgivings and that you eat so much turkey and cranberry sauce and potatoes and pie that you sleep for a week…well, no…then you’d miss all the cool sales tomorrow and that would be would be terribly counter-productive. Maybe, use moderation…

oh, forget it.

So, ok…go eat stuffing.

Dane Thanksgiving 08

My cute little son in Lithuania breaking dry bread for stuffing–8 hours ago–

because HE knows that some traditions must go on, even in a far away land.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Cranberry Sauce Re-visited

I ran out to pick up some frozen cranberries and found, to my dismay, that they don’t actually exist. Mr. Walmart and I did try to find them, but no luck in frozen foods. Then, while wandering around in the produce section, I serendipitously discovered the little red devils sitting innocently enough, right next to the packaged salads. I grabbed four bags, and ran. Well actually, I paid for them and then ran…home…in my car.

I did just what the recipe said and it was a pretty fun adventure. And now, I can honestly say that my sauce tastes better than theirs. The back of the cranberry bag said you can store them in the freezer just the way they are. So, I saved the other three bags for a great winter tonic that we’ll talk about soon.

The Elusive Sieve

The previous post mentions a sieve, so, while at the market, I went to the homey gadgets section and found a colander, a strainer, a sifter, a steamer…but nothing that said the word, “sieve.” So I chose a large mesh wire strainer and crossed my fingers. Turns out–sieve and strainer are about the same thing.

Cranberries have teeny, tiny seeds…about a billion of them, and so what you want is a wire strainer with small mesh. The new one was too big and let all the seeds through. So I re-poured the hot jelly through a smaller one–that I discovered in a drawer. Then, I found an old pointy, metal strainer of my mom’s that would have worked too. Yeah…I’m a noob.

So, now we have three. But don’t you worry. I’ll be totally prepared if another seed extraction project comes along…

ahhh…when..

I mean when

Happy Cranberries!