Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you Nancy for sending me this Versatile Blogger Award. I really enjoyed reading the post you wrote when you received it and, based on that, I thought to participate. What I didn't think about was that it might be difficult to think of 7 interesting things to write about myself. Then I remembered, you never said they had to be interesting so here goes:


1. When our first daughter, Lori, was born back in 1969, the doctor didn't recommend using plastic pants (disposable diapers didn't exist as far we knew) for at least three months. So every time our baby wet her diaper, it required a complete change of clothes. And we didn't think anything of it.

2. I'm retired and love it more than words can say. I was very unhappy in my job and I firmly believe that life shouldn't be lived unhappily. Now, though, I'm challenged to enjoy this retirement to the fullest because, guess what, there aren't enough hours in the day. I'm still working on sorting all this out - doing the things I love to do, doing the things I need to do, and doing the things that I just want to get done. It's a process but I think I'm making progress.

3. When my sister, Laurel, and I drove our brother back to Ft. Leonard Wood after a weekend leave from the National Guard back in the spring of 1966, we arrived so late in the day that we had to spend the night in a motel. It was located right on the cloverleaf that would take us back to Indiana so we didn't need to look at a map to find our way home. We drove all day and had a great time. The muffler went out on the VW so we bought some white shoe polish, painted a huge mouse on the side of the car and the words 'the mouse that roared', and laughed and laughed. We saw signs that said Springfield so we knew we were headed in the right direction and since we didn't have to worry about changing highways until we got near Chicago, we just kept on going. About the time we were wondering why we weren't seeing signs of Chicago, the engine blew on our little 'mouse that roared'. A couple of helpful motorists, a truck driver and a local resident, stopped to help us. They looked at our license plate and asked where we were headed. We said, "Home, to Indiana". They said, "You're eight miles from the Oklahoma border". Laurel and I looked at each other and, you guessed it, laughed until we couldn't breathe. We had driven all day - the wrong way. And the Springfield signs we had seen were not for Springfield, Illinois like we thought. They were for Springfield, Missouri. How we got home will be a subject for a future post.

4. I'm a koi pond enthusiast. I love my big fish and my tranquil ponds. What I don't love is cleaning the ponds and this spring the cleaning of the big pond is doubly challenging because we're completely re-working it. Some of the rocks that Mr. Right and I are moving were put in place with a tractor so it's a big job but we're finally making some progress. I'll be posting pictures of the finished project if and when we ever get it done.

5. When I was 18, I bought a red '64 Volkswagon Beatle that I loved. My friends and I went out almost every night meeting people we already knew and people we didn't know and having the time of our lives.

6. I used to smoke 3 packs (or more) of cigarettes a day and NOBODY thought that I, of all people, would ever be able to quit; but one day (and I remember exactly where I was when it happened) a thought came into my head that I believed in my heart, "If you don't quit smoking, you will never see your grandchildren". And finally something was powerful enough to make me quit.

7. Lynn, Betty, Rosanne, and Laurel are four very special women that I've known most of my life. Some I seldom see, some I never see but they will always be close to me in my heart. Each one has profoundly affected my life in some way and I'll always love them for it.

That's it and it was a lot of fun re-visiting these amazing times for me. Thank you again, Nancy, for the opportunity.

Now, I'll address the next prerequisite of the award - passing it on to other bloggers. Since Nancy sent it to me and Rhonda, they're both out so I'll send it to Beth. She started me on this blogging journey and I'm very grateful to her for that. The second goes to Mendie. I don't personally know her but, despite the disparity in our ages, I feel like we have a lot in common. The third and fourth go to Toadmama and Imadramamama both of whom I've recently discovered and very much enjoy following.

I hope we're allowed to pass it to four people because I'd really enjoy hearing what each one has to say!