8 NON-BORING THINGS ABOUT MEFirst, I don't know if these will

8 NON-BORING THINGS ABOUT ME

First, I don't know if these will fit the definition of "non-boring" -- as my friend Lynne says (from whose blog I got the meme), we are egotistical beings and may find things about ourselves non-boring that others find boring. ;-) Second, I don't know if I will be able to come up with 8! While I was trying to nap, I thought of a number of possibilities, but the memories may escape me as I attempt to write them here.

1. I was born with jet-black hair, which fell out at a year old and turned blonde. As I approached adulthood, it became the light brown that it is now, despite various incarnations as blonde and dark again, depending on my and/or my late husband Steve's preferences and the aid of Miss Clairol.

2. When I was a young girl, possibly 3 or 4, my maternal grandfather, who had trained as a psychologist, had taken me to his office, where he gave me a test in which he had me repeat numbers in sequence and then took me elsewhere for a while. He brought me back and asked me to repeat the numbers he had given me, only backwards, which I was able to do without difficulty. He thought I was a genius! LOL! (However, if I was such a genius, I should be able to remember the numbers now, as well as where he and I went during the time we were away from the office. LOL!)

3. When I was in the 4th grade, my mother gave birth to my youngest sister, Kathy, and not long after that, she almost died of a bleeding ulcer. Thus, at the age of 10, I was put into the position of almost raising my younger siblings, Frank, who was 2 1/2 years younger than me, Jo, who was 4 years younger than me, and baby Kathy. My father was a school teacher and thus occupied elsewhere during the days; we had help from church ladies at first but that didn't last too very long. So part of my childhood consisted of raising my siblings. I remain close to Kathy, in particular.

4. One summer when I was in late grade school, my family was living in Eugene, Oregon while my dad went to summer school at the University of Oregon. A family from our church lived in an old house not far away, and one day when I was going to their house to play, I saw a couple of the younger boys coming across the roof and trying to go down a ladder that went up to it at the back. One of the boys fell and when I got to him, I found that he had a deep, triangle-shaped cut just above the area between his eyes. I told the other boy to hurry and get his mother, and she came immediately, thank goodness. He was rushed to the hospital. I don't recall the treatment, but he recovered all right. My mother told me later that the mother had said I saved her son's life by my quick action.

5. I have always been a very shy and timid person. I don't know if that was because of my natural temperament or due to aspects of my upbringing; perhaps both. I grew up in a church where getting up in front of the congregation to speak was expected, even of teenagers. I would quake in my boots and do an abysmal job when asked to do so. Imagine my panic when I was asked to participate in a regional church-wide speech contest. I was given some good fear-reducing tips by my speech instructor, though, and so I became determined to do a superior job. As it happens, I got up in front of the audience at the competition and I became suddenly confident, competent, and interesting. There weren't ribbons for first, second or third place, but I was one of the few who received a ribbon for the highest honor, being judged as "superior."

6. Not long after that, I was asked to play a lead in a play that someone from our church had written for the teenagers to perform. I was a prosecuting attorney. Once more, I had to battle my shyness and timidity, but I worked hard at memorizing my part (which was tremendously long, I felt). When the day came that us teens put on the play in our church's Sacrament Meeting, (equivalent to most Christian churches' worship services), I once again came out of my shell and I was able to portray a forceful prosecuting attorney. People looked at me in amazement when it was over with, but when they came up to me to tell me what a good job I had done, I became my shy, timid self all over again, and they went away disappointed. LOL!

7. Probably my last high school age accomplishment was to say yes when I was invited to sing a hymn, "I Know that my Redeemer Lives," with four other girls in a quintet. I had been told since early childhood by my mother that I couldn't sing, so this was a brave acceptance on my part. However, as we practiced, I memorized my alto part, as well as realized I could listen to the alto piano notes and follow them, so by the time we sang the song (once again in Sacrament Meeting), I was quite confident and did an excellent job singing it using my technique. It was the closing song for the meeting and when I got down to where my mother was sitting, I found her crying, and I asked her why. She said, "I didn't know you could sing." I just walked away, feeling disgusted. LOL! (Teenagers!)

8. Somehow I am only thinking of incidents where I went against my natural shyness grain. My last one is also the same. When Steve and I had had our 3 boys and were living out here in the country, he had been trained as an airplane pilot and tried working as one but through a series of events out of his control, he wound up without a job. He became interested in manufacturing food dehydrators and grain grinders and I also joined him in this endeavor, as it was a matter of survival for our family. I learned to use the whole grains we ground and the food we dehydrated. I'm not sure it was my idea to start teaching other people how to use the whole grain flours and dehydrated foods, but I could see that this was needed and so I dove in wholeheartedly. I was involved in displaying our products and giving out samples at the county fair at least one year, and coming up with a slogan and design for our booth that earned us a ribbon. (I can't remember what kind of ribbon it was exactly; perhaps honorable mention, but I was happy enough with that.) I continued with these endeavors until our business, Harvest Mills, was sold, in the late 1970's.

As I said, I'm not sure how non-boring these aspects of my life are. However, they're the best I can come up with! (Just don't ask me to do public speaking or demonstrating food processing machines again -- I think I did enough of that to last a lifetime! LOL!) But at least I did come up with 8. ;-)

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- TINY THINGSThe

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- TINY THINGS

The Challenge this go-round among the Round Robins is to photograph tiny things. This was indeed a challenge to me because my camera sometimes rebels at taking pictures of very small items, but I have done my best here. (To see the following shots larger, click on them to go to my Flickr site, where you can also specify to see them even larger.) The first two are of the tiny cat on the necklace that my son Tony, DIL Kamie, and grandsons Michael and Alex gave me for my birthday, and then the tiny cat next to the cat figurine it came in, to give you an idea of its size. (The figurine is only about 3-inches long at the most.)





The other tiny objects that caught my eye were these three tiny bears. I don't know where they came from, other than that my husband Steve acquired them somewhere (God rest his soul) and he said they represented our three sons. As I was photographing them, Socks became curious and thus I got the second photo of her with her face in the picture. That is fine because, again, it gives you some perspective as to the size of the bears. (And she is not a big cat.)





To find links to other bloggers participating in the Challenge so you can go see the tiny things they have featured, head on over to the Round Robin Photo Challenge site here. Have fun!

TWO THINGS ANSWERSThis came from my online friend, Lynn, also

TWO THINGS ANSWERS

This came from my online friend, Lynn, also known as "the boomer", and she sent it as a forward but I thought it would make a great meme.


Two names you go by: Sue and Suzanne

Two things you are wearing right NOW: black sweatshirt with colorful Native American horse design on it and blue jeans

Two of your favorite things to do: scrapbooking and making computer signature tags

Two things you want very badly at the moment: For gas prices to stop going up and for health and well-being in all ways for my children and their families

To have Two people who will fill this out: I don't know

Two things you ate today: turkey hot dog and carrots with ranch dressing

Two people you last talked to: J.D. and Kris

Two things you're doing tomorrow: Go to Costco and answer e-mail

Two Favorite holidays: Mother's Day and Christmas

Two favorite beverages: Sugar-free Suisse Mocha and caffeine free diet Pepsi

If you would like to do this, let me know and I'll come visit your blog!

4 THINGS I LOVEI was just over at my niece, Mrs. Darling's

4 THINGS I LOVE

I was just over at my niece, Mrs. Darling's blog, and saw this meme. She didn't tag anyone in particular but said that anyone who wished to do so could consider themselves tagged by her. I have done something similar to this via e-mail, but I don't know if I have blogged it. Since my preferences seem to change over time, it's possible that my answers are different now, anyway, so I'm re-doing the exercise.

4 Jobs I've Had

President of custom cardboard box manufacturing company
Text processor for regional insurance company claims department
Product demonstrator and salesperson for food dehydrator manufacturing company
Secretary-receptionist at bank headquarters

4 Books I Love (Besides the Bible)

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and subsequent books by Alexander McCall Smith
Dreams From my Father by Barack Obama
The Shack by William P. Young
Understanding Your Grief book and journal by Alan D. Wolfelt

4 Favorite Foods

Roast turkey
Mashed potatoes
Pumpkin pie
Chocolate cake

4 Random Things

Body Shop Candied Citrus bath products
Pictures of my children and grandchildren
My cats
Remembrance figurine in memory of my mother for Mother's Day

I am also not going to tag anyone, but if you would like to do this meme, just let me know so I can come and see what y'all love!

MEME ABOUT MEI have done something very similar to this via

MEME ABOUT ME

I have done something very similar to this via e-mail, but it was on my Australian friend Lynne's blog, so I decided to borrow it and answer the questions for myself here.

1. WHO WERE YOU NAMED AFTER? - A classical piece called "The Suite of Suzanne."

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? - At my mother's interment.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? - Sometimes -- it is fairly easy to read, unless I have been writing a lot.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? - A turkey hot dog!

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? - 3 sons (Age 39, 37 and 35)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? - I would hope so.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? - Sometimes -- mainly in writing.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS - No -- they were removed when I was 2.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? - Not a chance.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? - Old-fashioned oatmeal, which I eat as a snack.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? - Yes, most definitely, because I wear lace-up runners all the time.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? - Obviously not physically, as I have demonstrated this week.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? - Chocolate (Lynne, what's jaffa?)

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? - Their smile

15. RED OR PINK? - Rose pink is what I prefer

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? - My weight and the qualities it creates physically

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? -- My grandkids when I haven't seen them for a while

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO RESPOND? - I would like that because I like learning about other people, but it's a personal choice that I respect

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? - Blue jeans and white runners

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? - "Snap" pretzels. (Not sure what that means exactly, except they are small squares with a grid inside)

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? - the rattling of the keys as I type

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? - aqua

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS - chocolate cake or brownies, pumpkin pie, roast turkey

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? - A lady from the U.S. Postal Service about my stolen mail.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? - Yes, very much

26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? - Football but only when there is a key game played by local teams

27. HAIR COLOUR? - Light brown

28. EYE COLOUR? - Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? - No, just glasses. (My allergies preclude contacts)

30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS - Happy endings, by far

31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? - Atonement

32. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? - Denim blue with a colorful Native American horse on it

33. SUMMER OR WINTER? - Summer

34. HUGS OR KISSES? - Hugs

35. FAVOURITE DESSERT? - Chocolate cake

36. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? - no idea

37. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? - Borrowed from Lynne, as it's so good: people who don't read my blog (most of the human race!!!)

38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? - I have two started: The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama and The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith

39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? - I no longer need to use a mouse pad

40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? - The Larry King Show

41. FAVORITE SOUND? - A cat's purr

42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? - Beatles, I guess, although some of their early songs sound discordant to me now. I loved them as a teenager!

43. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? - Hawaii

44. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? - Sheesh, I don't know. I have been told some of my photographs are nice.

45. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Logan, Utah

Feel free to do this meme and let me know in the comments (including URL), so I can come and see what you wrote.

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- Variety ShowThis

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- Variety Show

This was a very fun Round Robin Photo Challenge for me, and easier than some, because I had a number of items that I could have used. I have a variety of counted cross-stitched items but a lot of them are put away in a trunk and I didn't know quite how I would display and photograph them. I have a few seashells from the Oregon coast and had intended to buy more while out there earlier this week but I didn't think of it while there, or go to the kinds of gift shops that carried them. My biggest collection of items consists of dolls I bought a number of years ago. They are in my spare room and not easy to access, but I was able to get several pictures of some of the dolls. I call them Emily's (my sole granddaughter's) inheritance. ;-) (But only if she wants them.)

The story of my doll collection is that I was hooked for a while on the Home Shopping Network about 10 years ago and they had a lot of dolls for sale. I had just lost my husband a couple of years before to leukemia and for some reason the pretty little doll faces and clothes appealed to me tremendously. I was told by someone who is qualified to know that I was acting out of grief. Now when I look at them, I kind of wonder why I bought them. I guess I have moved on. Anyway, here are pictures of the dolls. (You may want to click on them to see them bigger at my Flickr site.)







The one poor doll in the background of the last shot seems to be losing her hair.

At the time I bought the dolls, I also thought they might be valuable someday, and certainly that was a selling point on the HSN shows where they were sold. I don't even know if dolls are sold on that channel any more because I am unable to get it. I have kept the boxes the dolls came in, up in the loft in my garage, but I imagine they are homes for mice now. (I had heard that the dolls that retained the most value were those kept in mint condition, in the boxes they came in, but I always wanted to look at the dolls, thinking they were pretty, rather then leave them boxed.)

My attraction to the dolls may go back to my childhood, too, as I was a child who looked at the dolls I was given and admired their lovely features rather than played with them. My grandparents (Mom's parents) gave me a set of beautiful dolls of foreign lands that I kept up on a shelf in my bedroom. While I was outside playing, my sister, Jo, who is 4 years younger than me and preferred to play with dolls, got into all of my dolls, especially the foreign ones, and messed them up. My complaints to my mother fell on deaf ears. (Don't get me wrong; I love my sister dearly, and now that we are a lot older, I would gladly give her any of the dolls she wanted!) Maybe in buying these dolls as an adult, I was making up for that time in my childhood where I was unable to enjoy my pretty dolls in the way I preferred -- by looking at them and admiring them. But this amateur psychoanalysis is all speculation . . . although it does let you get to know me better. ;-)

As for the way this collection fits the theme, the variety of dolls here was fun. There is a Scottish lass, a little school girl with round glasses, plus there are many with varying old-fashioned styles of dresses and hats or head decorations. They all came with their own stands and so are arranged in no particular order on what was once a built-in train table for my husband's train set when he was growing up. Once when my mother was here and stayed in the room, she took one look at the doll set and her single word was, "Pretty!" And that's what they are -- a source of feminine beauty that somehow has brought me joy and satisfaction, and I think that's what I must have ultimately wanted from them.

To find links to the other participants in the Round Robin Photo Challenge and see what these ingenious bloggers have come up with, head on over to the site here.

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- Your One Perfect

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- Your One Perfect Scene Captioned

In thinking about this challenge, I first considered using a land- or seascape picture, but I couldn't think of a landscape shot that I would consider "my" perfect scene. I have seascape photos, as well, and they come closer to what my perfect scene might be. However, partly to be different and express my individuality, and in part because Socks was so cooperative in posing for this picture, not to mention that she and my other two cats are totally unique to me and my house, I decided to use the picture here:

















For those who don't know Socks' story, she and her two brothers were abandoned at my business out here in the country south of Portland, Oregon by her mother when they were 2 to 2 1/2 months old. Not long after we found these kittens, it worked out that Socks came to live with me. She turned out to be very much a rascal of a little girl, and she still has a lot of that mischievousness in her. With lots of love, though, and an attempt to try not to treat her in any way that she considers threatening, she has gentled way down and is a very sweet and loving cat about 95% of the time. Having her presence on this perch in my living room is heart-warming and makes me happy, so it is my one perfect scene. And the caption expresses what I think of her.

You will find links to the other participants in the Round Robin Photo Challenge here. They are always interesting, imaginative, and exceptionally creative! Enjoy!

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- First Signs of

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE -- First Signs of Spring

Where I live, in northwestern Oregon, the first signs of spring begin with the daffodil leaves and stems coming up, starting in mid-February. By the time I noticed them this year, around the first of March, the daffodils were starting to bloom. They are lovely, as the picture here shows:



The following is a photo of blossoms on a tree to the south of my driveway. I have no idea what kind of tree it is, as it bears fruit that reminds me of what a crabapple ought to look like but many years ago, when my mother- and father-in-law lived here and I lived down the road, I picked some of the fruit from this tree, thinking they WERE crabapples, and tried to make jelly out of them. My father-in-law chuckled royally about that and said that they most definitely were not crabapples. I can't remember what he said they were. But the blossoms are pretty! LOL!



Part of my lawn is covered with brown leaves, and in spots, little violet-like flowers are coming up through them, as below:



Just about my favorite sign of spring, though, is when the camellias planted on the north and south sides of my house come into bloom. It seems that those on the north side are blooming more profusely and earlier than those on the south side. The following pictures are of a group of camellia flowers from the north side of my house, and then a single blossom on the south side. (Regarding the spelling of camellia, I have looked it up and it can also be spelled "camelia", but my spell check seems to favor the spelling with the two "L's" in this post.) It's wonderful when the camellias bloom because I can see them from my kitchen window and that particular plant has grown so tall, reaching the top of the house, that I can see camellia flowers from my upstairs office window as well.





It has been known to snow in March in the past, and I once got a picture of my camellia flowers with snow on them, but I am thinking positive that this year, there will be no snow in March. ;-)

At the Round Robin Photo Challenge site, you will find links to other blogs participating in this challenge. Their entries are always creative and interesting!