"Show Me" - You

(Please scroll down for Saturday's wordzzle.)

I was eighteen months old as I stood beside the car and held my Daddy's keys. My Daddy, the man I was named after. I've always liked old cars. Yes, these cars pictured are old. Heck, I'm old. I wasn't always so although some days it sure feels like it.




I've always loved cats. At seven years old I couldn't have the keys to the car but I had a tricycle and a cat named Snowball and apparently didn't favor shoestrings.





I love holidays. Always have. I remember hunting Easter eggs in the church cemetery. At eleven this was probably my last hunt. I loved getting new clothes for the holiday. Too bad this photo is in black and white. My outfit was navy blue with red and white trimmings and gold buttons. Ah, high school. I was a girl with dreams back then. Some I fulfilled some are on my life's bucket list.

I'm a natural born redhead. Good thing we did have some color shots in the old days! I missed out on Woodstock; although I visited the site some years ago. I was a wanna be hippy - I didn't frame that photo with daisies for nothing. Look closely and you'll see a headhand with daisies holding back that long red hair. It's who I was. It's the free spirit I hope I still am.

If you've been following this blog all week you know I've been participating in Robert's (Thoughts of a Father) photo project titled "Show Me." Today it was "Show Me" - You.

If you visit on a regular basis you see my face there in the sidebar when you click in so you've already 'seen' my self portrait. The photos I've shared today are me too. There's a part of that little girl and then young woman in everyone of those photos that's still here inside me. In truth, I've shown you me all week. A mailbox along the side of a country road, kitchen cabinets full of keepsakes with stories behind them, special treasures from a loving father, a love of reading and simple pleasures - all little insights into me and who I am - for better or for worse.

The View From My Window and a Tag

The View From My Window

This is the view from my sunroom window where I sit and gaze out at my little corner of the world. The birds, squirrels, and deer roam about outside and tease my camera lens. Today I have captured the hot sulty day with skies of light blue. In the distance a thunderstorm waits.

I Was Tagged

A little over a week ago Debbie of Gittin It Outta My Head tagged me with a meme asking me to post seven weird or random facts about myself. Trust me, I'm not sure you all want to know the weird things about me. I'll try to keep things somewhat normal for you. Here goes:

1. I have natural red hair - strawberry blond to be exact. Did you know that only 4% of the population has natural red hair? That breaks down to only 2% here in the United States. Cool!

2. I'm a Pepsi person as far as cola goes. However, I don't like to drink it straight. Wait now, I only meant that I like it over a tall glass of ice! Want to know the weird part? When I was pregnant with my two children I couldn't stand to drink it or any cola. In college I used to drink it for breakfast. Sometimes I still do.

3. I would much rather spend time on a deserted beach than a crowded one. I love to look for shells and walk just out of reach of the breaking waves.

4. Years ago on a trip to Hawaii I met Don Ho and got his autograph. I remember he had very expressive eyes and was very gracious.

5. I was the first of many generations on either side of my family to go to college. I really wanted to go and be a teacher. I had applied and was accepted but didn't know how I could afford to pay for it. My Mom looked at me and said "if you want to go we'll find a way; I don't know how, but we'll find a way." They did. Thanks Mom and Dad.

6. I have twice climbed the Diamond Head volcano on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. I could never do it again but it was a glorious view to behold from up on top.

7. When I was in high school I used to ride a Honda 350 motorcycle. My classmates couldn't believe I could ride one. I guess girls weren't supposed to be wild and free back then. Boy was it a lot of fun!

Wild and free that I am - ha,ha - I'm going to break the rules and not tag anyone. If you feel you'd like to share some weird and random facts about yourself please do and let me know so I can check it out.

There you have it. It's just a little part of me. Hope you weren't too bored and I hope I haven't scared any of you away. :)

Hope the view from your window today is a pleasant one.

Vintage Valentines

I’ve mentioned before that I was born on Valentine’s Day. Yep, that’s pretty neat. I have red hair too; that’s also pretty neat. You can imagine why all those school parties were extra special for me. Remember making the bag or box to hold all your Valentines in? I loved Valentine’s Day. However, sometimes it’s easy to feel cheated. You know – birthday on the same day – maybe not as many presents. Worst of all, you have to SHARE with everybody else. The cards themselves have always been of interest. A few years ago my Mom and Dad were at a local estate auction of a woman who had been my fifth grade teacher. A box came up for bids. My Mom had seen the box earlier in the preview time before the auction began so she knew what was inside. There was a bag full of old valentines among the contents. Mom asked my Dad to bid on it for me and he won the bid. It turns out the old valentines were ones that past students had sent to my teacher. Some of the names signed on the back I recognized. Most were from students a couple of grades ahead of me in school. For me it was a priceless moment when my Mom gave them to me. I was a teacher and I was being given my teacher’s old valentines from her classroom. Another surprise waited in the box as well. In the box was a roll of tiny school pictures. These were the kind the teacher used to identify her students or cut apart and put in the student file. Better yet, it was MY fifth grade class. I loved the found treasure. Over the years I’ve sent a couple of those old valentines to friends from class just to reminisce.
Currently they’re packed in an old lunch box somewhere in a box that has of yet not been unpacked from my summer move. But alas, I have some new ones to add to my collection. I was at a thrift store on Sunday and picked up a few. They tend to show up this time of year. Some I bought are signed and dated 1928-29. (See the butterfly one?) I got them all for less than a dollar apiece. Please notice that most have little blonde girls on them!! On this day associated with red I want to know what happened to the little redheaded girls. You can see I found only one – a cute little redhead with a bob hairdo. She’s my favorite find – go figure!!