Lifes Journey In Words

My Grandpa and Me

As we get older some things in your memory fade.  But nothing has ever faded for me, in the memories of my grandpa. 

For as long as I can remember, my grandpa was always white-haired and had what I call “the crown of baldness”, where the hair actually encircles the head all the way around but the very top of head is completely bald!  Sort of looking like he’s wearing a crown of sorts.  My grandpa also had what I called, “sea of blue” eyes.  His eyes were so blue when I was little I thought they reminded me of the sea!  He was a very skinny man, whose body was mostly made of legs, and boy could he ever walk!   It was very tough as a little one to keep up with him.  He was a very stern man and was very old fashioned.  I can remember he even smelled old.  Sometimes he scared my brothers and me because of his stern attitude, but we loved him so.  Because you see he was a secret elf.  He was a key to a world locked in within his own mind.  He was just like us.  He was a kid inside!

He and his parents came from Germany.  They had nothing.  He was extremely artistic and very creative.  When he was old enough to work he became a wood carver, and upholsterer with Marshall Fields and Company.  He continues to transcend his art through everything he did.  He played many instruments; most notably the piano and violin.  He listened to only classical music on the radio.  He drew, he painted, he carved, he built things and he loved it!  And so did we!  He painted beautifully.  He did a whole entire wall mural of Custer’s Last Stand on his basement wall!  He once built his grandkids a roller coaster in his basement!  Which we rode for hours and hours!  It was sheer joy!  Sheer Amazement! Such a blast!

As he got older, and we got older he scaled down the height and bigness of things.  He called me his “Lynnie”. My middle name is Lynn.  It was his way of giving me a nickname.  They all did back then.  It was a way of showing love.  My grandpa had a “studio” of sorts in one of the extra bedrooms in his house.  Down the hallway where they were all located, sometimes he would let us see what he was working on.  He’d let us have a little peek; I think to spur our curiosity.  He was always making something. He had a great level of activity, when I was little and he was already retired he worked at the local roller rink.  He would go in and repair all of the skates, the wheels and the shoe boots.  He was great, he kept that up for a very long time and then suddenly everyone stopped roller skating!  So they did not keep the little old self-made cobbler, they let him go.  I think he was crushed.  He continued to reinvent himself out of nothing.  He was even in the local newspapers a couple of different times.  He was not only repairing violins, he was also making them!  He was also making life- size dollhouses.  All made of wood.  Bathtubs hand carved out of wood!  Staircases made of wood.  He made things come to life.  He garbage-picked.  He collected and he recycled (before there was ever such a thing).And he produced some of the finest things I have ever seen.  He had even fashioned tiny wooden upscale furniture, all of which I still have to this day!

One day, my brothers were out in his garden playing and he called me to have a “peek” in his room. My heart pounded. I was so excited.  I was a lot like him, I was crafty and I liked art. I liked everything about it.  Well, he pulled open the door and said”shh, don’t tell Lynnie”, for on his table lined up were probably twenty little ships in a bottle!  They were beautiful.  My God, how did he do it?  There were so many, I knew that we were each going to be given one! I looked at him, and he was crying!  But it was silent. He smiled, and we left the room.  When he closed the door, I remember saying that I loved them.  He said don’t tell. I just smiled.  It was shortly after that, that he passed away.

I never did receive that ship in a bottle.  But what I did receive was that I knew my grandpa loved each and everyone of us and that when he died he knew that I loved him back.   My grandpa became very sick, and it caused him to be mean.  And that’s what they may remember.  But my heart is full of other memories.  Memories that only an elf could imagine!

(Written by Mary Caliendo 11/15/07)

     What is your legacy?  Ask yourself an important question?  What if you were gone, would you like your friends and family to know about you?  What do you want to know about you?  You may be searching for history about others in your family. Sitting down and mapping out on paper what you want to either write about, collage, or even scrapbook about.  It can be just one single event that has happened in your life, the life of your parents, or grandparents.  Whatever you may want to pass on to your kids, or friends, or extended family.

     One single event or one single person within your family can be the jumping off point in which you start.  Remembering a holiday,a happy time, a gathering of some kind,family vacation, a sporting event, or even sad times that you may want to chronicle in some way. 

Good Luck with your jumping off point. I'll have more later as we continue on your journey to chronicle your legacy. I'm going to start with a jumping of point tonight as well!

#1 The first and only thing that you need to get started and end in an eventual published works of your life is...................................................

You must own you!  What?  Yes, you must own your life and everything that comes along with what you will write, who you will include in that story and you will also have to own everything that goes along with what you will wrote good or bad!   This is not about pointing fingers at someone or blaming someone for the miscues or good things that have put in the space you are in.

Can you do this?  If you can than you have jumped off the first step!

If you don't write, and you do not want to write a poem or Haiku, you can create scrapbooks,colleges, draw or other fine art project ideas and how to's coming soon.

Memory Quilt- You can create a memory quilt by using a special commemorative  t-shirt, concert t-shirt, sporting t-shirt or any other t-shirt type thing that you do not want to throw or give away. If it means something to you, then turn it into a quilt that not only can be passed on to others in your family, it can be used by you right now! If you already know how to quilt, well go for it but if you don't check this out:  Memory Quilt Kit, comes with precut material fabric pieces,batting, plus 1.5 yards of other fabric for the back, a cutting template, fusible knit interface, and directions! This product is made in the USA as well. It is a bit pricey for some $75. 00 and  S&H as seen in the Spet. issue of Uncommon Goods.(USA Artisians and recycled materials only) You can go to www.uncommongoods.com, under sub group of gifts

 Collages

Collages can be known by many names such as: decopage, pastings ,and even photomontage.  Kits are available at many craft stores. But what you have on hand can be used for instance, torn papers that you may like,pieces of cloth from a special dress,anything that perhaps you want to recycle can also be used.  Most collages surfaces are flat.  But you can do dementional collages. You may have to use shadow box type frames for those.

Collages with small little explaination lines either handwritten or typed in microsoft word and put together in a book or notebook(similar to a scrapbook), is now your art legacy. It can be whatever you want to make it.  It can have just names and date and the events listed or you can journal or write a poem or story about what you have to college. You can use what you have available.  If you have old pictures, or just wedding napkin collections, matchbooks,or other memoribilia, it can be colleged!   You tell the story of your life and that's what is left behind. 

There is a huge wealth of resources on the internet as well.  If you go to www.artlex.com it will give you more in depth information on what is a college. You can find many resources at www.collageart.org , and finally an artist shows you what a personal art journal is, and gives you ideas and how to's at www.aisling.net/library/jounaling/AJ2basics.htm (while she updates her web-site, be sure to click on Artists journals. She will have how-to's listed on how to create different collages and art-type journals.

Family Tree Tracing There is so much information out there on tracing your family tree. Some you must be aware are paid for sites, be careful! Go to one of the eldest persons in your family today and start there. Ask questions and write down as much information as you can. Each little tidbit of information will lead you to the next person, date, or happening. This can be included in part of your written version of your legacy/memoir. Yor family members will provide you eith a wealth of information for free!  Once the proper information is gathered you can buy family trees and insert the names/dates and frame them. You can hand draw your and truly make your legacy a work of art.

Have fun creating your history!

*Always remember I'm not endorsing certain products, I just think that they may be fun, exciting, or different. And the ideas that I pass along are purely a way for you to convey your personal legacy.*            More  Resources are coming your way.   To get you started,     As seen on several shows and is on Hallmark.com, and in the Hallmark Stores today:

Marcia Cross from "The Desperate Housewives" show has teamed up with  Hallmark and came up with  The Legacy Keeper.  It retails for about $50.00.  It is a scrapbooking kit that comes with an MP3 player to record voices, a place for pictures, and a 40 page booklet that helps you to put into catagories, your life.  ()For example:  grandparents, children, and parents.)  What a great idea and a great Chritmas present!

"Life, after all makes the best story."  excerpt of a quote by Marcia Cross as seen on Hallmark.com .

Photos are art, and you most likely have tons of pictures.  Tell your life story in pictures.  Coming soon ideas,how-to's, and creations for scrapping those photos that are in your closet in boxes and in bags collecting dust.

                 Coming soon see my photo gallery too! Also coming soon directions for making a family photo tree!

You can  make a family tree  either in a scrap book, frame, or mantle piece. Go as far back as you have pictures for, and aquaint your children with the faces in the photos. It will also spark thoughts in you on which event that these photos were taken. Enjoy remembering times that you may well have forgotten!   This is an art legacy! 

Information, web-sites, and other links.

Some may want to do a memorial to a loved one using an on-line devotional.  There are any number of them listed, here is just one site you can at least look at to get some idea of creating something in the way of a memorial to a loved one.  www.last-memories.com

*although I do not directly endorse one web-site over another, the direction is to give the reader some idea of things that are available. I will add as I see them.*