5 Questions

1 1. What makes me  happy?….. in 5 words or less….?

My Children, Photography, Writing, Nature

2. Which talent would you most like to have? 

To be able to draw and paint. To be able to sit in front of an awesome creation of the  world and put it on a canvas to share with the world hopefully inspiring others to love and respect every little detail that we have been blessed with.  

3. Which words or phrases do you overuse most?

Lately, unfortunately, my most used phrase is ‘I need to…’, then there’s I’m exhausted, I’m so far behind and, I don’t want to go to work.

4. What is your favourite movie, book or both?

This is a tough one as I discovered a long time ago that I don’t have a particular favorite thing.  I have a lot of favorite things. Does this mean I have no interests, or just that I’m not ‘picky’ about things?  I don’t know.

Movies that I try to watch every time they are on…

On Golden Pond, Pretty Woman, Free Willy and Karate Kid and White Christmas

Books I love…the Janet Evanovich ‘Number series’.

5. If you could go anywhere in the world for a creative retreat where might it be? 

The Galapagos Islands – hands down.  No second guessing that one.

Timeline of Passion

My timeline of events leading to my desire for blogging and photography.

At the wee age of about 8 I lived in New Hampshire surrounded by woods with lady slippers and acorn hats where I snuck off to and dreamt of gnomes and fairies. My love for wildlife and nature came alive then.

1972 - My brother got my interest in photography when he had his on 'darkroom' in our double wide trailer we lived in at the top of a hill in Arkansas.

1975 through 1990 - I had three awesome children that brought the creative need to try to capture their lives as they insisted on growing up so quickly

1976 - Spent six weeks in France and Germany seeing Europe, capturing another culture of the world that fascinated me.

1990s - Into camping and hiking and outdoor travels and adventures with the kids which really stirred my desire for seeing more of the world immediately around me.

2000 to 2003 I lost a dad, a stepdad and a sister, throw on top a divorce, and changed jobs to a managing a garden center.  Here I shared my love for gardening and began living my passion for writing as I wrote the garden center monthly newsletter.

2002 - My daughter's passion for photography got my interest up again and I purchased a new Canon film SLR and searched for classes to take.

2004 - moved to Wisconsin and a camera goes with me everywhere now. Have started several different blogs just to have a  job get in the way of the creative juices. Joined a couple photography clubs and live and dream even more now of being a travel photographer/writer.

2007 - My first granddaughter was born and my daughter started doing photography books to share their lives with her loved ones.

2008 - Bought my Nikon D90.

2010 - started writing articles for Examiner.com but I so love the blogging much more.  Too many constraints, rules, regulations that squashed my 'style' I guess you could say.

2012 - Discovered Texas Chics and Kim Klassen and retirement sounds more and more like it needs to be moved up so I can begin the next chapter of my creative life.

All of these things keep bringing me back to the gut wrenching passion for writing, traveling, nature/wildlife and photography that some part of myself tells me I should be doing much more than I am.

Giving Back

'Why blog', asks Kim and Xanthe.  I really don't have to think about that much.

I want to share my love for the world with anyone that might be interested but mostly with those that I love.

I currently have two awesome granddaughters.  I want them to grow up to appreciate what the world has to offer.  I want to somehow inspire them to be 'who they are'.  To respect the world.  To enjoy it. To not get 'stuck' in a spot where they 'lose themselves'.

I would like to believe that someday I can be told that I had something to do with the awesomeness that they are. (selfish?  maybe.)

I have a passion for the out of doors, nature, wildlife, writing, photography, gardening, bird watching. I want to share that with the world.  Giving back to the world...in An Artist's Way, by chance?