What is your favorite piece of art? (it doesn’t have to be famous)

Since my walls are covered with photos of family, especially my grandchildren, I’d have to say they are my favorite works of art. I’m also very fond of the cards and drawings my grandchildren make for the ‘frig.

And, I love the photos my grandson takes. I’ve had several of them printed and framed. Three years ago, when he was seven, I gave him my old camera. He’s not only taken some great photos (at least in my opinion, and considering his age), but has taken exceptionally good care of that camera. (I’m including some of his first flower pix…I figure Cee will like them.) This past Christmas night, as I was tucking him into bed (my ‘job’ whenever I’m with the kids at bedtime) I learned that he was a bit disappointed this year because he had been hoping for a new camera. Aaaggghhh!! Grammy anguish here! If only I’d known he wanted a camera!  However, he has a birthday in a few weeks (on Valentine’s Day, to be exact), so he’ll soon be snapping away.

What made you smile today?

A phone call and a long chat with a good friend.

Which place do you recommend as a Must-See? Please state which country, state or providence.

I love the Rocky Mountains. While I’ve always been a bit of a wanderer, and would probably spend half the year traveling if it were possible, Colorado or Wyoming are the only places I could call home.

As for special places in Colorado, my favorite, ‘must-see’ is Mesa Verde. Trying to imagine people living on those cliffs–raising children there–boggles my mind. Seeing how far up the cliff dwellings are from the canyon bottom, I can’t help but wonder how many people fell off. However,the cliff dwellings are not only historic, but beautiful, as is the entire canyon. I wish it was possible to stay in one of the dwellings for a few days, or at least overnight, just to experience sunrise, sunset, and a night sky from that unique perspective.

Complete this sentence: When I was younger I used to….  smoke. Between ages 18 and 50, I was a smoker. I quit from time to time, sometimes for just a few weeks, once for a couple of years. But, on my 50th birthday, I quit cold turkey. And, surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard. I had four uncomfortable days, but the discomfort was more emotional than physical as I adjusted my daily routines to being cigarette-free. As for why it was so easy, I think I was just ready. For a year or so, I’d been scolding myself for “wasting” cigarettes by letting them burn up in the ashtray. I’d light a cigarette, set it in the ashtray, and then get distracted with something else and by the time I saw it again it was a little tube of ash. But, given my history of quitting and starting, I didn’t consider myself a non-smoker until I reached the three-year mark. I’ve now been a non-smoker for almost seventeen years.

WEEK 1

As a child, who was your favorite relative? Hmmm. That’s a tough question. My sister and  brother, and my cousin Carla were my favorite playmates. My favorite adult relative was probably my maternal grandmother. She could be a little strict with us (I’m sure I got more than one swat on the behind or spent more than one eternity confined to a chair), and after every event that involved the consumption of large quantities of candy (especially Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s, and Easter) she would make us drink a bitter hot drink she called “sage tea”, so we wouldn’t get worms from all the sugar we’d eaten. I have a vivid memory of the three of us sitting on her back porch trying to choke down our ‘tea’.

So why was she my favorite? Because she kept a large book of Grimm’s fairy tales in her linen closet, and being asked to get that book for her was a thrill because it meant we were going to hear a story. I loved looking at the drawings, but mostly I loved listening to her read the stories as we sat on the floor around her upholstered rocking chair. My favorite stories were “Snow White and Rose Red”, and “Little One-Eye, Little Two-Eyes, and Little Three Eyes.” I haven’t thought about those stories in years and about the only thing I remember is that Little Two-Eyes was a kind of Cinderella, with her mother and sisters always being mean to her because with her two eyes she was nothing special; she was ordinary because she looked like everyone else.

Grandma’s house and the way she lived was also fun. She never learned to drive, so we walked to the grocery store pulling a little cart. She had a garden every summer, and she grew morning glories around the house. We were always allowed to pick strawberries and rhubarb and wash them off with the garden hose, and I loved watching the morning glories close up at nightfall. In the middle of a small patch of lawn in the backyard she also had a little peach tree that never grew any peaches. In fact, I don’t think it ever grew at all, but she never gave up on it. In the basement she had two or three heavy crocks full of homemade pickles, and things like pickled watermelon rind. And, in her laundry room she had a wringer washing machine. We were always eager to help with the laundry–what kid wouldn’t love cranking a big handle and watching the water squish out of the clothes?

Looking back, I guess today we would call her a ‘high energy’ grandma. And, she was very much her own person. She practiced a fundamentalist religion and lived according to the values she believed in–she simply didn’t care what anyone else said. Even when I was very young, I remember somehow understanding her attitude that it was her life and she was going to live it her way. But, mostly I remember her as always busy–cooking, baking, cleaning, canning, doing laundry, sewing and mending, gardening–but never too busy to talk to us, or read a story.

WEEK 2
The Never List: What are things you’ve never done? Or things you know you never will do?
Things I’ve never done: Jump from a plane, go into space, scuba dive, snorkel, been outside the U.S., had a passport, seen the Grand Canyon, been in a movie, played professional sports, been a corporate CEO, learned to ice skate, driven a boat or a motorcycle, gone camping alone, looked for buried treasure, been an economist, driven from ‘sea to shining sea’, written a romance, studied photography, acted in a Shakespearean play, worn a ball gown, been to the top of the Empire State Building, slept in a hammock, been a financial planner, designed a house, repaired a car engine, washed windows on a skyscraper, ridden a jet ski, walked through a cemetery at night, roasted a Christmas goose, driven a race car…the list of things I’ve never done is endless.

At my age, one of the things I do believe is, “Never say never.” When thinking of things I know I’ll never do, I was going to say, “Be 16 again,” but if reincarnation is real, then maybe I will be 16 again. Never say never.

Some of the things I’ve listed I would still like to do (among many others), some I would never consider doing (among many others), and a few hadn’t even occurred to me until just now. I’ll let the reader figure out which is which.