Challenge Spotlight: Real Moments

Yes, it’s me. I’m back. Dad’s celebration of life was on Saturday and life can go back to normal. Thank you all so much for you condolences and words of support. They really meant everything. So it’s quite fitting that today I shine the spotlight on you and your talents! (Must be the universe talking…)

This month’s Spotlight Challenge is Buzzbee Scraps‘s Real Moments. Here’s how she worded her Challenge: “This month I would love you to think about music. How does music feature in your day to day life? Do you listen daily? What motivates you musically? Or, is there a particular piece of music that always takes you back to a moment in time?” Music is as personal as fingerprints, so I think you’ll find these layouts, tied together by a theme, are revealing and moving. This month, rather than go to the Gallery and Save all the layouts there, I decided to instead pull only the ones that have also been added to the Forum thread. As alwaus, each layout will be linked to the Gallery so you can take a closer look and leave a comment, if you’re so inclined. Just click on the GingerScrapper‘s user name and you”ll be whisked right to it!

First up is this pretty, nostalgic layout by demma13. It’s clear that music soothes her, and the AI image she’s used, with that little flock of doves, certainly reflects that. How perfectly placed is that old-time radio!

Next up is zippyoh. She’s chosen to share her favourite Spotify playlist for 2023. I zoomed in to read it and it’s an eclectic mix of genres, tempos, topics and moods. The iPhone element and the speedwalking gnome are just right to accompany the list.

For her layout, lawyerlyn chose to journal the lyrics of Let the River Run, an incredibly beautiful Carly Simon song – one I have on my own playlist. The photos appear to be sharing her favourite river scenes with us in support of her theme.

CathyS is all of us! Who doesn’t listen to their favourite music while they’re driving their car? Yesterday when I was driving back from Kamloops, I had my SiriusXM set to The Highway and I was belting out all the tunes. Like Cathy said, music takes my mind off the traffic and the winding mountain road, without distracting enough to be dangerous. She listens to praise music, I listen to country. 😉

It looks to me like fontaine and her granddaughter use music as a falling-asleep routine away from home. (I can’t do that because the lyrics will run through my brain all night!) There’s that iPhone element again!

Ooh, do I relate to this photo!! Windswept must be in the same demographic as I am; not too many people listen to music on vinyl any more. Her comment about good and bad is an astute one. I know you know what we mean, that some songs evoke very strong reactions based on memories and the emotions they elicit.

I love this layout so hard!! Margaritaville is part of the soundtrack of my teenage years and gadawg83 has really captured the whole vibe.

For linweb, music is like a touchstone she uses to inspire, to comfort and to praise God.

5grand hears the music of nature. Birds have songs that are identifiable to those who take the time to listen. I hear red-winged blackbirds and quail everyday. At night I hear a screech owl calling to his mate, crickets chirping and frogs croaking. Sometimes I hear coyotes yipping to each other. Soon the crickets and frogs will be replaced by ducks and geese as they make their way south. And indeed, that is the music of life.

Here, kabrak1207 is simply celebrating music. The fellow in the top hat seated at the piano gives a sense of a sweeping crescendo of notes.

Tbear and her grandchildren play the same game I play with my son. He LOVES made-up lyrics and sometimes forgets they’re made up. Don’t you adore the little girl, standing on the staff of music, smiling enthusiastically?

MarilynZ‘s playlist is filled with oldies from the 50s and 60s. Did you know that the music popular when you were 14 to 17 is the music that will always be the music you love most? For me, that’s 1972-1975. And it’s 100% accurate! What’s your heartsong playlist?

DiDi’s Mom‘s layout showcases her favourite hymn. It confuses me a bit, with its somber colour palette, when the lyrics are quite optimistic and joyful. That makes me want to know more…

This layout from granny5pics made me laugh out loud. Acoustics are everything when it comes to music and my singing voice always sounds a LOT better in the shower.

Musical theatre is another one of my loves. I related so strongly to the journaling Pups_r_Paps included here. I’ve been that person! Her focal photo really sets the mood, don’t you think?

Music often tells a story, as Pixel Palette does with her layout. Her simple background and minimal embellishment allows her journaling to be the focus.

I quite enjoy the tongue-in-cheek comment echoes77 made here, then expands in her journaling. I too am grateful for headphones.

Music is a great motivator when engaged in fitness activities. The right playlist can make a workout just fly, and pacing is automatic. Daydreamer is on the right track by incorporating music into her fitness goals.

Here, mdusell has hit on yet another truth about music. Our brains process various stimuli in different areas and in different ways. The music centre is incredibly durable, remaining active and intact for a long time after some other functions have faded. My son is a survivor of multiple childhood strokes that severely damaged the area of the brain in charge of speech. It took him a long time to learn how to communicate verbally again. But the part that’s in charge of music was left alone, so he has the ability to memorize lyrics after only a couple of listens. Music is a key to memory!

GrannyNKy has demonstrated that music can be the message.

And last, beccasue has created this mostly monochromatic layout that really brings all the foregoing bits together in one place. Music is powerful.

This little stroll through the Real Moments Challenge music theme has given me some inspiration but I haven’t figured out how I’ll execute yet. Stay tuned!