25 Things You May Not Know About Me

About 4 years ago, when I opened my Facebook account, there was a little survey going around. You were supposed to write down 25 things that people might not know about you. I suppose it was a way for people to try to connect and get to know each other in an otherwise impersonal venue.


Today I was thinking about my blogs - this one and the Honey Creek Farm blog. They are so safe and really only reflect tiny snippets of who I am (the happy side). Which is ok because I don't really want to gut spill all over the internet. That's what my personal journal is for, even though I don't keep up on it either. 


I decided to write another list of 25 things that people who read my blog may not know about me. Some of these are repeats from the Facebook post from four years ago. Frankly, I'm not that interesting and it takes a lot of work to come up with 25 more facts that you may not know about me.


1. I'm 49 and am in total denial about my age. In about a year, I will be 50, but I still see myself as being in my twenties. BTW, the bathroom mirror is a constant reminder that I'm living a fantasy.

2. I continue to be far too worried about what others think of me. Not as much as I did in junior high, but enough for it to still be annoying.

3. I am an Evangelical Christian and I believe that true healing can only come from Jesus Christ. I know it because of things that have happened in my own life.

4. I secretly wanted to be a rockstar until I was about 40. That's when I realized that I needed to have some sort of talent to make the "big time". Even though talent, or the lack there of, has not gotten in the way of some who became famous.

5. I hate conflict, especially in my interpersonal relationships and would do almost anything to avoid it. One exception is my kids; fighting with them doesn't scare me, but it does exhaust me sometimes.

6. Dated my husband 7 years before marrying him.

7. I'm a "late bloomer". I married at 37, had first baby at 39 and second at 42 and became a new farmer at age 48.

8. I used to be a drama junkie and that is why (until I started dating my husband) I mostly pursued men who really didn't like me very well.

9. The first concert I ever went to was Andy Gibb. I used to pray regularly that he would marry me. I was 15 at the time.

10. I do almost anything I can to avoid doing dishes. When I was single, I often wouldn't do dishes until all my dishes were dirty and I needed clean ones to eat from. My husband hasn't been so tolerant of my dishes routine, so I have to do them a little more often than I used to. It's worked out ok.

11. Sometimes I think of my kids as "the enemy", which doesn't create a very harmonious environment.

12. Once when I was six, I stapled my finger just to know what it feels like. It hurts.

13. Lost my great grandma, mom and grandma (in that order) within a year and a half of each other. I still consider that the saddest time of my life.

14. I'm really lonely for girlfriends.

15. I believe chocolate and ice cream are "healing foods". (however, you would think that by the amount I consume of those two things, i would be the most healed person-EVER)

16. Hate pigeons with a burning passion!

17. I'm embarrassed by the continued decline of my short term memory!

18. When I was in college, I often had frozen Snickers and Coke for breakfast.

19. I believe there is no such thing as too much alone time or too much quiet. (too bad for me that I don't ever get a chance to test this theory)

20. I love using power tools - they make me feel like I can do anything.

21. I love to write, but I'm embarrassed by my lack of skills in the grammar and spelling departments.

22. My favorite trip I ever took was to Kona, Hawaii 6 months after my hubby and I were married. I snorkeled for the first time and believe the beauty I saw was life changing.

23. When I was 8, my mom used to drive me to dance class on her motorcycle, (Honda 350 Bay-beee)

24. I love to do art more than almost any other thing on this earth. Since we moved to the farm, I don't get a lot of opportunity to do art. I MISS IT!

25. When I was younger, I spent most of my time daydreaming about what I wanted my life to be. Now, I do more of my life. I like the "doing" part but I wish I had more time to daydream. It wasn't very productive, but it was fun and I liked it.


So, there you have it. What are some things you'd like for people to know about you?

A Space to Call My Own

Empty craft corner

Ever since my husband and I have been married, I have wanted a craft area. In our first house, I was fortunate enough to snag one of the spare rooms. However, within 6 months we decided to rent the upstairs of our house and I lost my room. I moved my ever growing craft stash to a little closet and nook downstairs but it was a big hassle to do any projects. It was taking more time to find supplies and putting them away than I was spending working on projects. Our house was often cluttered with my supplies; I had papers and pens stacked on the mantle, the dinning room table, the dresser in our bedroom...basically any flat surface. It didn't look very nice and we were both frustrated by the constant mess. The positive side was, my husband became aware that a craft space would have to be a priority if we ever moved out of our house.

Three years ago, we moved into a newer house, with a little more room and space for me to set up a craft area. It was a storage room in the basement and I loved it. It really felt nice to have my own place to put crafts and to leave projects out to work on later. It had no windows and I shared it with golf clubs, luggage and boxes of childhood mementoes, but I had a desk to lay everything out and leave it to work on later. It meant I could do some creative things in shorter periods of time without hassling with set up and clean up.

In the Fall we moved into our current home, which is approximately half the living space we had before. Our building is divided into 3 sections: the apartment, the "middle room" (which we hope will eventually become a commercial kitchen and entertainment spot for farm socials), and the garage. For now, there is a corner in the middle room and a closet that has been designated for my craft space and supply storage. It's a nice space with a fairly large window and enough room to put at least two work tables.

The craft space now

The other night, as I worked trying to get everything set up, it became painfully obvious that I really have too many things. In my heart, I want to be more of a minimalist, but when I start going through my collected "treasures", I can hardly even consider getting rid of things. Seriously, some day I might really need the hundreds of bottle caps and wine corks I've collected. And all those pieces of fabric will surely come in handy when I decide to take up quilting! What's a girl to do?!

Storage closet in it's current state

I was feeling overwhelmed by the task of organizing my things and making it a functioning work area. I began daydreaming about what my dream "studio" should be. First of all, my dream is to have a separate building located on the far end of our almost 50 acre property. I envision myself packing a backpack with supplies, a change of clothes and snacks. I would hike off on Friday night with the understanding that I would return on Sunday night.  No one would be allowed to bother me unless there were a medical emergency involving blood and guts or maybe if there were a fire - but only if it crossed to my side of the creek.

This fantasy studio would have lots of windows, a couch for napping, unlimited storage and huge tables to layout multiple projects at once. It would have electricity (of course), heating for winter, air conditioning for summer, wireless internet and a bathroom with a large, deep claw foot bathtub for soaking my cares away. Each wall would be decorated with inspirational art of bright colors with beautiful design. Every art supply, and project would remain exactly where I had left it no matter how long it had been there. Thee would be no hunting for a pencil, pen, scissors, glue unless I had misplaced it.  The studio would be quiet when I wanted quiet and full of classic rock when I needed music. There would be an affectionate, handsome, well behaved tom cat lying around to keep me company if I were to get lonely.

These two, as adorable as they are, do not meet the minimum requirements of being "well behaved". They are the reason I have to  make sure everything is sealed in containers or bolted down so nothing is destroyed during their "All Star Wrestling" episodes.

The reality is, I'm lucky to have any space at all and even luckier to have a husband who understands that I have a need (aka burning desire) to be creative. So, I'm going back to work, to downsize my ridiculous amount of "stuff" and to make my area inspirational and functional. Most of all, I'm going to work on having a grateful heart and appreciate the things I do have. I'll post some photos after I finish organizing.

Have a great day!

Latest Treasuries

I'm pleasantly surprised and very thankful that my neglected blog and Etsy shop continue to get some attention and recognition by people who build Treasuries. Here are two of the most recent.




and...



Be sure to stop by these shops and see all they have to offer. You my find a perfect way to spend your Christmas money!

2011 Coming to a Close

Almost every blog you see lately, people are talking about how quickly 2011 flew by. Maybe it's cliche, but really, 2011 did fly by in a flash. This has been one of those years where so many things happened for our family - many changes and new experiences - that it couldn't help but go by quickly.

This was not a very productive year as far as creating new art, though. With moving and starting a farm, spending time making art was not on the priority list. Right now, most of my art supplies are packed in boxes, awaiting their new home. I hope to get a studio spot set up within the next couple of weeks. Then hopefully, I'll spend some time doing art again. I miss it. I miss having ideas and taking time to implement them. I miss selling things and talking to people about things related to art and creativity. I feel that ache in my soul every time I see something I made last year or when I think of things I want to make, but don't have the time to right now. I never want to get to the point where I don't make time to do something creative on a regular basis.

I'm looking forward to 2012 and hoping I will find more ways to incorporate art into my daily life. I hope to write more and be a little more disciplined in my blog writing (yeh, I know, you've heard this from me before).  I appreciate that you have continued to be on my "follow" list. I hope 2012 is an amazing and wonderful year for you.

Happy New Year!

Another Long Pause

Many things have been happening on the new farm. As I type, we have a new high tunnel that is being built, 40 chickens that need to be processed, a new compost bin that needs a lot more organic matter, a messy house and a couple of experimental garden beds that need more logs/sticks and organic matter. I'm also going to start a separate farm blog, but every time I sit down at the computer, I'm either distracted by Facebook or too tired to write any entries.

I'm so grateful to be living in the country and working toward growing food. So far, the things I do here feel like they have more meaning than any other job I've had. It hasn't hurt that the weather has been amazing and the tasks do-able. Check back with me this winter when I have to find ways to unfreeze the chickens waterer, shovel the 300 foot driveway and find a way to get tons of snow off the high tunnel so it won't collapse!

Here are some photos of our place:

The "skeleton" of the high tunnel. Dan is working on anchoring it, then we'll put plastic over  it. The plan is to start growing veggies this winter

Hugelkulture bed with my little "helper" chewing on the sticks

Our neighbor Buzz, who decided to come visit one Sunday morning. We don't have cows of our own, but this guy is so cute, it makes me want to have a few of my own!