Exemplar: Memoir of a Special Place

Grandma's House | The Fond and Familiar by Photographs by Benjamin & Trey Hoyumpa, Book design by Trey Hoyumpa | Make Your Own Book

What makes a house your home? If you home could say, "This is what I want you to remember about me," what things would it point to? When your grandchildren come to visit, what do they see that's different from their own home?

My father remembers a candy jar up on a shelf at his grandmother's house. My mother remembered the dark at the top of the stairs in her childhood home. I remember the carved lions that were the feet of my grandma's sofa. If I could go back in time, I'd photograph them all.

Will a time machine ever be invented? Maybe, but I don't think we can count on it, and a photographic house memoir might be the next best thing.

My house, I fear, will not be saying, "Look what a good housekeeper T.K. was."

Ideas:

• Charge up the camera and plan a photo shoot to motivate spring cleaning efforts.
• The absence of text allows the viewer to fill in his own memories associated with the photos. Even though this was not my grandma's house, the images brought up memories for me.

Reader, what ideas do you get from this book?