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1. September 4 is Newspaper Carrier Day.

Have you thought about all the news your local paper brings to you? After being away for a year, I fell upon the local papers with glee. To see names you know, places you've been and ads for businesses where you take your custom is so homey.

• Journaling Idea: What newspapers come into your house? Where do you turn for high school scores? For the school lunch menus? To read about local events?
• Photo Idea: Take a picture of your paper on your lawn. It's a truly American tradition of having the paper carrier toss a folded sheath of
  newsprint right outside your front door. How does yours arrive? In plastic bags? Under the sprinkler? In your pooch's mouth?
• Page Idea: Photocopy and reduce a few local articles and a front page. Whenever I see the front page of the paper from the little town where I grew up, I get a thrill. Each newspaper has its own typeface and style. Add to the front page what you look for in each issue. Does each family member have different tastes?

2. September 11

Since my family and I moved back to the United States last month, I've been struck by the way this nation has changed after the tragedy of 9/11. The most obvious sign of our new national unity is the defiant crop of American flags flying over buildings and front steps. Rather like the dandelion whose seed head is "destroyed" by a puff of air but whose seedlings then spring up and encompass a broader area, the flags that were blown apart that day in September have multiplied and spread across our land. Where once we wore t-shirts proclaiming our choice of beer, we now sport emblems of brave services - firefighters, rescue workers and the like.

• Journaling Idea: How will your family remember September 11? I challenge you to make note of all the stories you heard that touched your heart. I think of a business partner's brother-in-law. He called his wife after the first plane hit to say, "Don't worry about me. I'm safe. They hit the other tower--" and then his voice dissolved as the second plane smashed into the floor where he was standing. I think of the day in England when I dropped coins in an English firefighter's bucket to aid American firefighters, and how I found out that same week that a friend had lost a brother, a New York City firefighter. I think of walking past St. Mary's Church in Thorpe, built in the 10th century and listed in the Domesday Book and looking up to see that for the first time in its 1000 years of existence, the American flag was flying from its tower spotlighted against a stormy sky.
• Photo Idea: Take pictures of the American flags waving in your neighborhood.
• Page Idea: Why not participate in a community service of remembrance or construct such a service for your own family? Take pictures, or add photos from your neighborhood, or use the photos from the news which best capture your sense of 9/11.

3. September 23 is Piano Player Day. (It's also my husband's birthday, but he doesn't mind sharing especially since our family business is a piano store.)

Through the years, being able to play the piano has been a hallmark of good breeding. Before we had radios and televisions, the piano player was the focal point of gatherings, providing entertainment and camaraderie. If you haven't seen Gosford Park, you might want to rent it simply to see Jeremy Norton's hands caressing the keys as he sings. The whole sense of a time and class are portrayed in such scenes. (Gosford Park is rated "R," but for the life of me, I can't see why. I think the rating is amazingly harsh.)

Here in St. Louis, the Scott Joplin House at 2685A Delmar Boulevard plays tribute to the "King of Ragtime." Joplin was a black musical genius whose Maple Leaf Rag set toes tapping in gaslight parlors across the nation.

• Photo Idea: Take a photo of a family member who plays the piano. Or a favorite friend who plays. Do you ever surround the piano and sing? Be sure to get a picture of your group belting out a favorite.
• Journaling Idea: Did you ever take piano lessons? Do your children take piano or music lessons? What funny stories have come from musical roots? Once we had an accomplished musician over to our home for dinner. After eating, he decided to play us a tune. When he sat down at our lovely piano, he couldn't manage to make the keys respond. Seems a little boy who had visited the day before had dropped his toy truck into the piano action. Maybe the wheels on the bus go round and round, but the wheels on the truck were stuck, stuck, stuck. We had to bring in a tuner to untangle the mess.
• Page Idea: Even if you don't have a piano, you can use a die cut to illustrate the instrument. Add music for a background. List your favorite sonatas or pieces. Any artists you particularly love? We're big Oscar Peterson fans at this house.

Hip Tip:

When taking photos of several "exotic" sites, stop to snap signs that tell where you are. It's so difficult to remember what you've seen when you are taking in a lot of new landscape at once. While it seems like a waste at the time, the locator photo will save you the agony of ignorance later.

--Joanna

Joanna's new book Adventures in Journaling is available in stores now! Look for it at your local scrapbook retailer or at my-memories.net.