WHAT ABOUT ME?

I was born first of six girls. I really wish I looked like 7 of 9 but only in my dreams. ( As you can see, I am a Star Trek lover from the original series.) Actually I look like a big fat frumpy old lady with graying hair. I lost my original teeth years ago and have worn glasses since about 5 years old. The picture on my sight makes me look gooood!

I have been married now for 35 years to the same man that I met in my final months of school. I’ve been pregnant 4 times, had my oldest daughter, had a miscarriage, had a still birth and then had my youngest daughter. I fostered teen-age girls for a couple of years but then my husband had a heart attack and we had to quit.

One of the reasons we got into fostering in the first place was because of this very special girl we knew. She didn’t really know her father and her mother was out of town for long periods of time. We would babysit her. She became a part of our family as she lived there most of the time. I still hear from her every once in awhile even though she has moved provinces. She now has a life with her husband and two kids of her own.

I’ve enjoyed reading most of my life. When my eyes started getting bad, I started reading on the internet and large print books. I learned how to sew and cook in school but at that time didn’t really like sewing but I did love cooking. Now I am reverse. I especially loved sewing when my girls were growing up. Then I could make them the prettiest little dresses.

I also got into crafting way back when. Every kind of craft imaginable I think I have tried. I call myself a Jane of all trades, master of none. Maybe I’m not so much a crafter but more of an inventor. I always need to be doing something new and interesting. I get bored easily and can’t stick with just one type of craft.

I’m also into painting. I paint some of the crafts I make but I enjoy oil painting. I used to watch Bob Ross on t.v. and that is the only training I’ve had. I can’t draw worth a darn but I can fake it fairly good with oils. I started with about 8X10's then moved up to 12X16's and now I have been working on 16X20's. I have about 7 finished paintings of varied sizes already done but I need some frames for them, plus I have about 5 blank canvasses to get busy on. Some are not too bad if I say so myself.

I am self taught on the computer. I started years ago and learned as I went along. I can remember the first week I had a computer that I bought second hand. I worked on that thing for days and days and couldn’t get it to do anything. Finally I phoned the guy I bought it from and asked him what I was supposed to do. He said, "Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you to press comma 8 to open the programs." Well after that I was away and running full tilt. Now a days computers are so user friendly that you just turn them on and away you go. They sure have come a long way.

I worked outside our home until the kids started coming along. With my first daughter I had a lady that babysat while I went back to school to get some upgrading. Then I found a job and worked there full time. We decided it wasn’t good for the baby so I ended up leaving my job and became a stay at home mom. She was about two by then. After that I always had some sort of job from my home to help pay the bills. I sold Tupperware, Genieware, and Avon for awhile. I babysat, worked in a bar, and in a restaurant for awhile. As my kids got older I took in other kids before and after school and for lunches. When I first got to the beach here, I worked in a restaurant until my feet started giving out on me. Now I sit around doing crafts or writing on the computer.

Now is when I should really be out there working. My husband got let go from his job after being there umpteen years. There wasn’t a lot out there for someone his age so he had to start at the bottom of the ladder again. It’s a good thing the kids are grown and moved out or we’d need to be on welfare assistance.

My health is not so good as I never really took care of myself over the years. I have peripheral neuropothy in my feet and legs, swelling, high blood pressure, erratic heart rhythms, arthritis in my neck (and elsewhere), I’m overweight, and my kidneys are starting to go on me. I am slowly making changes to try to get in better condition but it is really hard after a lifetime of living a certain way.

So now you should know everything about me - NOT.

Have a healthy productive day.